~Hongjoong's POV~

"Wait!"

At the warning I reflexively dropped into a fighting stance, sword at the ready to kill whatever new nightmare had reared its ugly head. My eyes darted frantically around the room but was only met with the confused looks of my crew.

What am I looking for? I wondered and turned to Ten with the question ready on my lips when there came a low rumble from beneath our feet.

I dashed forward as the floor shifted like a living, breathing thing, until it gave way with a deafening blast. In a squeal of metal it opened like the giant maw of a beast ready to devour us whole. A barrage of debris pelted my body as I held my ground, clouds of dust obstructing my view as I searched for everyone else. I couldn't tell if they were still alive or had fallen to their death into the depths of the ship.

My eyes finally spotted a figure on the ground not too far from where I stood. Once the dust settled I realized it was Ten, clutching at her chest as blood seeped through her fingers and pooled onto the ground around her. She was deathly pale, her chest rising and falling in shallow gasps.

The massive legs of the Matriarch erupted from the opening followed by her millions of eyes, like pools of blood rolling around in her head. She tore from the floor with a bone shaking battlecry like a demon from the pits of hell.

Stars she is even bigger than before...

The Matriarch fixed her crazed eyes on Ten and aggressively clacked her fangs together. She rose a leg in the air, riddled with lethal spines, preparing to obliterate the defenseless girl with one strike. I sprinted forward with my weapon lighting up the air around me in a desperate attempt to save her.

But somebody else reached her first.

Brandishing a long whip, San ran out from nowhere and snapped the cord forward, wrapping around it's leg. The sound was like a crack of lightning as the Matriarch wobbled unsteadily then crashed forward into the floor with the momentum she had built.

With the Matriarch now immobilized, in a whirlwind of fur and gnashing teeth, Cerber bounded forward and launched herself onto the spider's back. Then Cerber fought, bleeding profusely from her reopened wounds, with more ferocity than anything I'd ever seen. All three heads bit down on top of the Matriarch's hairy one, teeth grinding against her skull, and shook her violently from side to side. The spider bucked back attempting to throw her off her assailant but Cerber dug deep and latched on.

Out of the corner of my eye I spotted San dragging Ten out of the way, who was crying out in pain and leaving a bloody trail across the floor.

Finally out of the chaos that had broken loose I spotted my men. Yeosang was rapidly flinging throwing knives, one after the other in quick succession, into her abdomen. Each one lodged into its target with a wet thump. The Matriarch flailed angrily but was unable to land a blow as Yeosang nimbly dodged each attack.

Yunho ducked under a leg that had been thrusted in his direction, narrowly missing decapitation. With a shout he withdrew his plasma rifle and fired a shot, blowing the tip of the claw clean off.

I sprinted in their direction, sword buzzing with electricity as I swung wildly through the air. I managed to hack a leg off in my race to the other side of the hangar. Blood, like red mist in the air, being sucked into my lungs. The discarded limb writhed like something unholy on the ground. It had a wicked natural blade to it that kicked up, nearly cutting me in half.

A still wounded Wooyoung clung to Mingi's back as they dodged the Matriarch's swinging limbs. Seongwha drew his sword, the edge of it slicing the air, as he parried her attacks and prevented the Matriarch from even coming close. His face was a picture of intense concentration.

My second in command and oldest friend held his own. He fought through his terror as he connected a fist to an appendage blocking his way. The bone cracked and bended to an unnatural angle beneath his brute strength.

Between our adrenaline and gasping breaths we knew we were fighting the battle along a razors edge. One wrong move from any one of us would end with everyone being slaughtered.

The Matriarch coiled in, overwhelmed by the onslaught, and pulled herself up and out of the opening.

Then the stump of her leg that I had cut off shifted.

The bone beneath it rolled around in the opening gushing fresh blood onto the floor. Then, with a wail from the Matriarch, a forked appendage ruptured forth from the bleeding wound. I felt my stomach lurch at the gruesome sight.

She had sprouted two legs.

God how did I not notice we'd been fighting it with nine legs this whole time?!

Now, in addition to the one she had lost her earlier, she had ten deadly limbs that she brandished with a newfound fury. There was nothing in the database about this. Nothing about just how powerful this desert dwelling creature is.

The new legs smashed into the wall above us, caving in a part of the ceiling and pushing a docked jet precariously close to the edge, threatening to crush everyone underneath if it rocked forward.

"Run!" I yelled with as much power as I could.

Heart slamming in my chest I sprinted towards my men as they all scrambled to get clear of the looming danger above. There was a scrape of metal against metal and sparks flew as it slid forward and off the perch into the air. A moment of silence then, as it grew close, the jet thundered down through the air and landed with a resounding boom that rocked the ground.

I felt the rush of air as it landed behind me, just a breath away from my back, and propelled me forward onto the ground. By some miracle it hadn't exploded and that gave me brief relief even as cold panic tightened in my chest. I finally noticed the crew had escaped unscathed, picking themselves up off the ground.

I heaved a sigh when I counted and noticed that none of them had been caught under it.

At this point we knew were fighting an uphill battle. As we slowly became exhausted from the fight she was gradually increasing in size and every strike we made she only regenerated from, coming back even stronger.

With the Matriarch thwarted yet again she let loose an earsplitting scream that rattled my bones. She drooled from her mouth and hissed as she surveyed us with her demonic eyes. In the blink of an eye she pitched her leg through the air towards the ground where San, who was distracted, tried picking up an unconscious Ten.

"San watch out!" I hollered.

At the last second I shoved San, who had gathered her in his arms, out of the way and lifted my sword just in time to block the downward strike. San ended up sprawled out on his stomach and Ten, like a rag doll, rolled over the floor.

I braced myself using as much strength as I could muster, arms shaking from the weight of it. My
sword pulsed to life and lit up the hangar as electricity arched up onto her leg. I expended the last of my energy with a scream of fury as the energy danced up and along her body like a bolt of lightning, charring wherever it had touched. She recoiled violently and very nearly knocked Cerber loose. The animal raked it's claws along the Matriarch's back and held on for it's life. The air smelled disgusting liked burnt hair.

"Get into position! We need to trap it in the old ship!" I commanded.

All of my crew save for one raced for the open grate of the ventilation duct of the hangar. They were bound for cryogenic bay zero and if the plan was going to work and we were going to survive they had to reach it before San and I did. The Matriarch sat unmoving, smoking and stunned from being electrocuted.

"She's been aiming attacks at 10-24 this entire time because she was the one who destroyed the nest," I told San as I felt the strength completely sapped from my body. The light from my sword wavered in and out as it lost power. "Use her to bait the Matriarch and lure her there, I'll take care of the rest!"

San nodded and brought two fingers into his mouth. He whistled loudly and Cerber's ears perked up. She released the Matriarch from her jaws and leapt from her back, landing in front of San and I.

San climbed astride the hulking animal and I helped lift a limp Ten onto it's back who moaned in protest at the movement. She was surprisingly light even though she was utterly deadweight. San positioned her in the center and tied her waist to a rope around one of the dog's necks.

The Matriarch let out a low rolling snarl as she came to. Her eyes locked onto us as she rose up on her ten legs, prepared to give chase. San held out his hand and I grabbed it, barely able to crawl onto Cerber's back before she bounded for the exit.

The Matriarch pounded over the floor in her bloodthirsty pursuit. We barely made it through the open doorway into the halls when she came crashing through, busting the doors wide open and smashing into the wall on the far side.

The wind blew through Cerber's dark fur as she tore down the hallway at an incredible speed. Paws and claws clamoring over the slick floors as we raced towards cryogenic bay zero. San and I both had our arms over Ten keeping her upright as her blood soaked into the fur beneath us. If not for her eyes that fluttered open every now and then I would think she had died on us.

Why's she taking so long to recover this time?

The deafening sound of an alarm going off over head interrupted me from my thoughts. The hallway was bathed in red light as a voice overhead said "Power source reaching critical levels. Please proceed to the nearest escape pod in an orderly fashion to await further instructions..."

My face pinched in concern. I knew we were in a dire situation and fighting against time. We needed to get Ten help quickly else she really would die on us and we could be stranded in the middle of space with little to no hope of rescue.

Just hold on a little longer, Ten.

The Matriarch was gradually gaining speed as the doors to our destination came into view. They slowly slid open as we neared, Mingi and Yunho straining with effort, prying them apart to receive us.

We sailed through the door and veered to the left, Cerber's legs spinning over the floor trying to keep us upright. Her breath came out in hot rapid pants, drool dripping from her jowls, and all three tongues lolling out of her mouth.

My men formed a line and fired at the Matriarch in an attempt to slow her down. Blue plasma connected with her head and legs, blowing off pieces of her but by bit. Enraged she charged them but at the last second they threw themselves out of the way. Her momentum sent her crashing into the cryogenic pods in the center of the room. Glass shattered and littered the floor in glittering flecks and fluid splashed over the floors and far wall. Bright white light filled the space and the smell of her burning flesh invaded my nostrils.

We entered the access point aboard our old ship that was falling apart around us. I took San's rifle from his hands and jumped off of Cerber's back.

"What're you doing Hongjoong?" San asked panicked.

The Matriarch was trying to cram herself through the small opening. Howling and clawing along the ceiling and floors as she forced her body forward. She was relentless and I knew she wouldn't stop until we were all dead.

Fumbling and cursing, I began to disassemble the weapon. A task that was nearly impossible because my hands were shaking so hard. Each piece clattered to the floor until I was left with the plasmic core. It hummed in my hands as I held it keeping a wary eye on the monster in front of me.

"Hongjoong wait! What're you doing?!" San cried eyes darting back and forth between me and the Matriarch. "The core is too unstable, you're going to get yourself killed!"

As if spurred on by his words the core shocked my palm and burned my skin. I hissed as bubbles rose up under my skin where I'd been struck. The blue orb crackled as it expanded bigger and bigger. The edges wavered and shimmered slowly losing stability.

It was going to explode.

In a flurry of legs the Matriarch made it through. She bent the very walls with her size running straight for us, her red eyes reflecting strangely in the blue glow.

"Get out of here San!" I screamed at him.

"Please Hongjoong..." He begged.

He hesitated for only a second, his expression pained, before spurring Cerber on. The heads barked ferociously and lashed out, raking the approaching Matriarch across the face. It left her blind and shrieking with a nasty gash where her eyes had been.

Disoriented from the attack the spider spun in circles trying to spot where they'd gone. She knocked barrels of fuel over the room filling with the fumes. Now the core in my hand was exponentially more dangerous. Luckily Cerber had already made her escape back through the door onto the ATEEZ.

"Come on!" I roared at her. She reared her mangled head in my direction and ran towards me. Her appearance was the stuff that nightmares are made of, horrendously disfigured from her wounds that covered her body. Wicked fast she was nearly on top of me when she ululated a war cry, her fangs dripping with venom. I ran my arm straight into her gaping mouth pushing the bomb in as far I could. Tears spilled out from my eyes from searing my palm on the plasma. I dragged my arm out and dropped to the floor as she went over the top of me.

Once clear I sprang to my feet and ran to the door. My men just on the other side yelling for me to run their arms outstretched to pull me in.

"Get it shut!" I ordered.

Then I ran. I ran faster than I ever had in my entire life as I felt the presence behind me draw ever closer. I barely had time to scramble under the closing door. The door sealed off with a thump, metal rods locking it into place preventing the Matriarch from entering the ship. I laid on the cool floor panting and sweating. I gripped my chest and felt my heartbeat frantically pounding back.

Ten was still unconscious on the back or Cerber when San ran to me and helped me to my feet. "Are you alright?"

We're alright, I felt relief spread through my body. For now we're alright.

I nodded my head wiping sweat from my brow.

The Matriarch rammed against the door trying to reach us. It began to buckle under the amount of weight that was being thrown against it.

"The manual lock!" Yunho exclaimed.

Both Yunho and Seongwha reached the door at the same time trying to pull down the handle to eject the spacecraft before she could escape.

"Shit it's jammed!" Seongwha said red faced. The veins on his arms visible under the stress. Yunho put all of his weight down on it breathing through gritted teeth.

Mingi ran forward and, with a yell and smashed both fists down on the handle. With a bang it slammed to the floor sealing of the ship from the ATEEZ.

The room let out a collective sigh of relief. The sounds of the Matriarch grew muffled as the two ships separated. We all watched on as the old ship drifted away into the deep of space with the Matriarch trapped inside.

"Brace yourselves." I told the room. Everyone complied and held onto whatever they could get their hands on.

Suddenly the darkness of space lit up like a sun causing all of us to shield our eyes from the intensity. Afterwards there was the sound of a far off blast and the ship blew up into a massive ball of light. A shockwave hit the side of the ship and rattled the hull, making me grip the edge of the door I stood next to even tighter. The floor tilted up and I nearly lost my footing, objects slid across the floor and crashed into the far wall with a clang.

Once the ATEEZ righted itself again I took a steadying breath feeling my pulse slow. It's finally over...

Is everyone okay? I thought and looked around the room.

Seongwha and Yunho both had somehow escaped with only minor injuries. Small cuts and parts of exposed skin that was red with the promise of a bruise. Yeosang was nursing some kind of head injury and walked with a limp. Mingi's tall frame was leaned against a desk with his eyes closed trying to slow his breathing.

Wooyoung was propped up against the wall his face white as a sheet. He smiled when I looked over at him and gave me a thumbs up. "You got that bitch captain." He gasped.

San was looking over Ten, her condition still critical. Yunho came to crouch beside her looking over her injuries. He held two fingers to her neck checking her pulse. "She's still alive but she's really weak from blood loss. Let's get her to my room and I can take a look."

I looked down at her face. Pale and pretty with dark hair spilling over the floor around her head. Even though she had sustained grave injuries she looked almost peaceful. Her eyes moved behind her eyelids. She looked like she was not only sleeping.

She looked like she was dreaming.

                       ***AUTHOR'S NOTE***

So we are at the end of another chapter! I don't know where all these ideas come from but since I've been writing more and more often it's become easier and I feel like my writing is improving. :-) I want to thank stanateezz for getting back to me and taking time out of their day to read my story and vote. I really love this group and I want to create a story that would make them proud. But none of this would be possible if I didn't have the support of some amazing readers. I wanted to dedicate this chapter to one specific reader they gave my story a shot and has commented and said some really sweet things that have given me more motivation to keep writing. So thank you so much dreamperfection You
good keep going.;)