Twenty minutes away from their destination the Landale received a radio communication from Zelan. Demi noticed it as a little red flashing light on the communications network she was carefully monitoring along with the ship’s general wellbeing. She was focusing on that with dedication while her master concentrated on navigation and the piloting of their vehicle. She looked at the flashing dot with unease. Obviously it had to be a transmission from their enemy, and they would have to deal with it before they could land.

The fact that he could send a transmission to them at all meant that the rogue android had already hacked his way out of Zelan’s read-only mode, assuming the reins of control. Demi looked to Wren sitting in the pilot’s seat. He seemed perfectly blank, unconcerned. She was loathe to disturb him but it appeared she had no choice. "We’ve received a request for a video up-link from Zelan. I think Siren wants to talk with us. Should I accept?" She informed her master dutifully.

Wren did not even look away from his task. It was as if he hadn’t heard her at all with the way he continued to update the navigational route, but after several seconds he finally answered her. It was with dispassion and apathy. "I have been anticipating this contact. Siren is a wren series, he understands how combat must be. Go and gather the others, I expect they will want to be present, but please inform Rune that I wish to be the one in charge of negotiations."

He had expected contact? Well, he probably understood Siren and his thought processes better than she ever would. They’d have to convince their foe to allow them to land and give their mortal friends oxygen and heat, or else Wren and Demi would have to stand and fight on their own. To receive something they would have to give away something, and Demi didn’t want to have to guess what the cost might be. "I will be as quick as I can."

When Demi hopped off her chair and left to gather the other teammates in the lounge Wren took a little while to secure a safe, reliable route in the Landale’s autopilot system, as he had redesigned it himself when they had found the ship entombed beneath Tyler. A basic facsimile of his own neural pathways had been programmed into the system, so hopefully the ship would think as he thought and take sensible action during emergencies.

The android leant on the back of his chair with one hand and lightly rubbed down his face with the other. He didn’t want to think about the kind of state his Zelan would be in once they extricate the enemy from his seat of power. It might take days or weeks or months to repair. This did not shake him the most; it hardly even bothered him at all. Wren was not afraid of a little hard work. He had not been afraid of anything since the war, and even then he had been unusually brave, or nonchalant, or stupid. Either way there had only existed one or two occasions when he had been honestly, brutally frightened.

Once the very first time his life was threatened, the other during… well, that was not the issue here. Wren had the memory of that fear and it kept jumping back up to the front of his mind, with the only way to truly get rid of it as deletion. He would not delete it. If he did he would forget what fear was, and Wren could not afford to think that he was invincible. He was not invincible. If he was then Siren was, and Siren needed to die.

He decided not to wait for Demi and the others to join him. Wren accessed the communications network and allowed a video and audio link to be established between the Landale and Zelan. He’d rather start this out on his own; he knew the siren-type frightened Demi. The blackness of space made a perfect projection screen, the video image superimposed over the ship’s windscreen with audio coming out over the dashboard speakers. It projected somebody standing in front of a recording device of his own. Of course, it could only be one person standing there.

Siren looked directly at Wren and Wren stared right back at Siren. It was like gazing into a discoloured mirror. Introductions and pleasantries were short and formal, not at all sweet. "Greetings from the spaceship Landale." He said.

"Greetings from the space station Zelan."

"I trust you are keeping the facility in some semblance of order."

The red-haired android smirked at him. "I always take meticulous care of what is mine."

Wren narrowed his eyes slightly. Siren was trying to rile him up but it was not going to work, there was nothing substantial enough inside him to get riled up in the first place. Still, he thought that he could trust Zelan for the short term to the enemy android. Siren had no reason to be destructive to anything but his primary target. If anything Zelan was an asset to him, so he would not harm that asset. It was a bit of a cautious relief. "What would it take to remove you from Zelan without conflict or tribulation?" He ventured, preferring a non-violent method if possible.

The other android folded his arms and appeared to think about the question deeply, but he never broke eye contact with Wren. He was in a position of great power from where he was standing, he held all the cards and it was him who got to make all the requests. There was only one thing that he wanted though, one simple and unshakable thing. Siren could forgive a former orakian but he could never, ever forgive a fleshling with layan blood running through their veins.

"I will gladly give you back Zelan on two very important conditions. The first is that you deliver unto me your layan comrades who have turned away from the light and the one true way, that you will stand aside with your small servant and do nothing as I kill them, one by one. You may keep your servant, as she is a former orakian I do not care. The second condition is that afterwards you will swear utter allegiance to myself and Lord Orakio, and henceforth you will call me master until your death. You will follow my way for the rest of your life."

Only two conditions, but they were major ones. Wren considered them anyway out of politeness, weighed them against the risks he and his friends took by ignoring them and came to a single, simple conclusion. Wren had his pride. He had never called anybody ‘master’ his entire life and he knew that he never would. Better that his friends risk death than face it with certainty. He was loyal to them and he trusted they would get Zelan back. "Please forgive the colourful turn of my language, Siren, but I have processed your requests and you can take your conditions and shove them."

Somebody on Siren’s side of the broadcast off-screen laughed for a second at Wren’s choice of words. That somebody shut up quickly moments after Siren glared off-screen. This struck Wren as incredibly odd, as there was not meant to be anybody left aboard the station save for their enemy. The laugh sounded strangely familiar too. Siren snorted and waved a hand dismissively at the Landale’s pilot. "Very well, if that is what you wish. I have offered you salvation multiple times and you have rejected them on all occasions. If you truly desire to be a filthy layan then you may die like one, and Zelan will remain mine."

The sliding door to the cockpit opened and Demi along with her five flesh-and-blood friends filed inside. Wren turned to look over his shoulder for a moment and Siren glanced over as well, counting them in his mind to make sure they matched with his target registry. Good, they were all there. He was not mistaken. Wren went back to the conversation at hand. "We will engage in combat, then. I ask that you reinstate life-support back into Zelan’s host protocol. Give my comrades a chance to participate in battle."

His ‘comrades’ remained silent as was expressly requested by Demi, but Rune and Chaz looked like they really, really wanted to say something very badly to the red haired wren-type. They felt like they should be in control of the situation and they were not. Siren looked at Wren and smirked, finding something funny. "Why would I want to do that? Your landale-class ship is merely a glorified freighter unable to defend itself. All I need do is send out my servants in battle-ready fighter ships and they will blow you out of the stars."

… Yes, that was also quite possible too. They were standing on thin ice now. They needed to have something, something they could use as leverage to barter for oxygen and heat. Wren remained stone-faced as he grudgingly decided to pull out his trump card, his last resort. He was loathe to do it, but they were getting nowhere with the negotiations and he detected that Chaz was going to explode if the situation wasn’t defused soon. "I am equipped with a positronic bolt unit. I am quite sure you are aware of what this is. All I need do is board your ship, life support or not, and I can destroy your base within ten seconds of concentrated fire. I could kill you easily."

It was obviously a bluff but it was the only leverage they had, and it was the truth. Wren was perfectly capable of destroying Zelan with his ultimate weapon. He’d hate to do it but if it was the only way… no, he could not do it. Its only use was as a bargaining chip. Siren had a feeling that it was only a hollow threat but he could not stand to take such a risky chance. "I do not believe you. Nevertheless, your filthy layan friends will be permitted to breathe and enter Zelan. In return you will disable your apparent positronic bolt unit. Is this acceptable to you?"

"I can accept those terms."

Rune finally broke his silence. He couldn’t help himself; he had to have his say. Nobody could really silence him for long. The Lutz pointed at Siren accusingly. "That’s crazy! You can’t trust him! How do you know he isn’t lying? He knows you won’t blow up your own base but we won’t know if he’s kept his word until we’re on the floor writhing and gasping!"

"The layan has every right not to trust me." Siren told his audience in bland monotone, recognizing Rune as the one who had initially woken him up. "But I still will keep my word. I do not need to rely on atmospheric conditions to kill you; my own two hands and my loyal servants are more than enough."

Siren beckoned off-screen in a bit of a summoning gesture. Two other androids walked into shot and stood beside him to his left. The girl android actually smiled and waved to the camera before she even identified who it was she was waving to. The gold android spoke in his light albion accent that was pretty much extinct in the present, just another relic. "Hello, we will be your welcome-wagon once you touch down on bright, sunny-"

Mieus screamed and pointed at the screen. "Mother! Grandfather!"

Demi’s eyes went as wide as saucers as well. "Mieus?"

"Mieus?"

"Colonel?"

"Major? You are awake?"

"Hold on, you know the colonel?"

"You know my grandfather?"

"Wait, that’s Demi’s-"

"I’m confused…"

This sudden burst of heated dialogue happened practically all at once. Mieus shouted at Demi, Demi shouted back at Mieus, Wren just echoed her then Warren finally recognized him, prompting Wren to stare at the major in disbelief. After that Warren and Mieus turned to look at each other and fired off questions of their own. It had never occurred to them that they might be connected somehow via a third person. Rika piped up at that point and realized that the android girl on the screen was the one who had attacked her the other night. Finally, Warren put a hand to his head and moaned in deep confusion.

And then there was laughter. It was coming from Siren. "It seems as though there is a history here I did not expect. How fascinating." Mieus was bristling beside him like an angry cat, as if one push would send her over the edge into a flurry of shouting and swearing and flashing claws. Warren just looked sad, maybe a little let-down. Siren continued. "I have said everything that I needed to say to your small clan. We have come to a compromised understanding. Come aboard Zelan and we may kill each other. It will be… fun I suppose. Until then, farewell."

With that he casually walked out of shot and out of the room, leaving his servants to continue the broadcast. The two parties just watched one another for several uncertain seconds. Nobody spoke. If anybody said a word any number of things could happen, all of them bad. The tension could be cut with a knife. Warren seemed like he was terrified of touching Mieus at the moment but if he didn’t do something soon she would go off. He put both his hands on her shoulders and pulled her closer towards him, leaning against his front. She relaxed. It was a relief.

Rika was sensitive to the tense situation. She felt like a stranger looking in on the beginnings of a family feud. It was funny considering all of them were androids, but nonetheless she seized Chaz by the upper arm and hauled him to the door of the cockpit. "Maybe we should go and give you all some privacy. Looks like you know one another. C’mon Chaz, come with me." She said as she pulled.

He resisted a bit as Rika tried to haul him away, but she was stronger than she outwardly appeared and he couldn’t resist for long. He couldn’t dig his heels into the ground either; there was no traction. "How can they know one another? They’re the enemy."

But Raja and Hahn were also doing what Rika said. They left the cockpit with Chaz being gently pulled behind them. They might as well get prepared for the impending battle with their spare time. Only Rune remained and he refused to leave, but he stood in the corner of the room and stayed totally silent. He was thinking hard and fast with a serious frown on his face, but he was also listening intently too. Perhaps it was eavesdropping but nobody had expressly asked him to leave.

He had only been anticipating one android, not three. That made matters far more complicated. He watched Demi flounder where she was standing and then clasp her hands together as if in prayer. "Mieus… you’re awake. Oh gosh, I’m sorry. Are you okay? Talk to me, please."

Whatever kind of peace she was deriving from Warren shattered and she lashed out at the screen in anger. Her hands were clenched into fists and her arms were shaking, her deep blue eyes bright. "Don’t you dare give me that crap, mother! You know exactly how I am! After everything that happened to me you let him put me to sleep! You let him kill me! How could you? How could you?"

"Calm down, darling. It’s okay…" Warren said softly in the hopes of making her feel better. He could tell that she was entirely far too tense. He tried to hug her, and then…

All that succeeded in doing was to redirect Mieus’ anger briefly from Demi to himself. She spun towards him, shrugged his hands off her shoulders, and then she reached out and slapped him across the face. If she couldn’t attack Wren and Demi for the moment then at least her partner was within an arm’s reach. "Shut up! It’s not okay! How dare you say its okay!" She turned back to the two androids on the Landale and all the anger seemed to evaporate out of her. Now she looked close to tears. "I needed you and you did nothing."

Wren chose to ignore Mieus’ little outburst. He was still rather surprised to see the major standing there, beside his technical granddaughter, touching her and even addressing her with affection. He was meant to be dead. They both were. "I see that you live again. Is this Siren’s doing? He is our enemy. You will not attack us when we board."

Warren gasped in shock when Mieus struck him. It wasn’t necessarily a hard slap but it still stung. He held his cheek, waited for a moment to absorb the pain impulses and then looked back to the computer screen. "We cannot do that. Siren is our master. I know you can’t understand the implications of that, colonel, but servitude is our life." He removed his hand. Mieus had left a faint mark on him. He smiled. "Forren, it’s been so long. I didn’t realize you were that particular forren-type until I checked my network addresses and matched the memory of your signal to you."

"Why is he calling you colonel, master? You’re not a colonel." Demi asked him anxiously. She hadn’t expected any of this to happen, especially Mieus. It was all an awful rush that didn’t quite feel so good. He didn’t have a military rank, and if he did he’d never told her about it. But on the other hand that title didn’t sound so foreign, either.

"You are correct. I am not a colonel." Wren told Demi and then he seemed to deflate, mimicking a sigh. The past had finally caught up with him. Somehow, someday he knew that it would. He just wished it could have been during a time when he was alone. "I am still only a lieutenant colonel. I declined the promotion shortly after I killed you. I could not take it; it was tainted. I had to put forward my notice of resignation instead. It was all I could do to try and clear up the mistake you had made, major."

Mieus had come to her senses and realized what she had done. She made an ‘aww’ sound and took Warren by the chin, inspecting the mark she had made. It would be gone in about ten minutes or so but she regretted making it all the same. The major just looked back at her like a kicked puppy. "I’m sorry sweetie. I didn’t mean to hit you but I just got so angry. You poor thing, come here…"

"It's alright, I know how you feel. I'm pretty upset too." He explained to her gently, taking her gloved hands and holding them in his own. He didn't resist her as she stood on tip-toes to kiss him kindly in apology. He just didn't know how to react to seeing Forren alive and functional again, to know that he had spent a thousand years in imprisonment and suffering while his executioner had enjoyed a millennium of life. It wasn't fair. It was horribly unfair and yet of all things Warren actually felt glad to see somebody he knew and recognised in this dead new world.

"So you are now part of the enemy. I will write you two into my target registry now." Wren said with concealed resignation. He could care less whether Warren or Mieus wound up dead; they would be dead anyway. Killing them would just be righting a wrong and bringing things back to how they were meant to be. He impartially watched the kiss end and thought it a mockery of palman emotive behavior. It was pathetic, with no purpose. "Mieus, listen to me. You have been mislead by Siren."

"Please listen to him." Demi added by Wren's side. "He is a cruel, unkind android. All he'll do is use you to get at what he wants." But she didn't think she'd get through to her, Mieus had always been stubborn and pigheaded to a fault. It was just something that had inexplicably grown with her strange personality over time.

"By all means," Mieus smiled as she cuddled back against Warren's front, "he can use me as much as he wants. I'd welcome it, actually. At least then I'd be contributing to something important. At least my existence here will matter. I don't care about you anymore. If the both of you don't care one way or the other whether I die then why shouldn't I think the same of you? If my master orders me to kill you then you had just better watch out."

There was a sense of righteous justice in Mieus' spiteful words. In a way Demi and her master sort of deserved it. They had thrown her away. She herself would have felt terrible and hurt if Wren were to ever discard her. She had failed and never had she felt it so deeply than she did right now. "Mieus... you know I love you, don't you?" The small android girl told her softly.

Mieus just looked back at her blankly. She knew that Demi believed her own words but it was not enough. Saying that she loved her was never enough, there had never been any proof. Androids probably weren't even capable of love anyway. "It's far too late for that now. You had twenty four years and you missed it." She stated sadly but firmly.

"Forren?" Warren said soberly, thankfully killing the conversation between Demi and her estranged daughter. If it carried on Mieus might get upset again and Warren didn't want that, she had been hurt enough in her short, sad life. Wren focussed on the major to show that he silently held his attention. He was glad that he was holding onto the fiery mieu-type now, it seemed to give him enough confidence to speak with the person who had killed him. "There's only one thing that I want to ask you, and I think you already know what the question will be. Please tell me. I have to know."

Wren knew what he wanted to hear. Warren had always been like an obedient little puppy, loyal, amiable and always desperate to please, but like all dogs he had sharp teeth, so one day he had turned feral and decided to use them. No matter how loving an animal once it attacked the master its fate was to be put down. Wren had just been the one left holding the smoking gun. He had felt betrayed because damn it, he had cared about the master but he cared about Warren as well. It just translated itself as anger.

Yes, so he had once been a very angry, hot-tempered grump of a wren-type. He could barely remember it now, but at the same time it was as clear as a bell. He closed his eyes, wishing, if only for a moment that he could feel something freshly again. "... Very well. What you suspect was correct. It was me."

"That was very cruel of you."

"I had my reasons."

Mieus glanced up at her partner but didn't say a word, wondering why he didn't seem furious. She knew that she'd be burning with hatred and thoughts of revenge. The girl realised they had another thing in common now, they both owed their suffering to one singular man. Warren looked like he was thinking for a bit, about his predicament and what Wren had said, then he relaxed and laughed gently with self-pity. "I wish I could hate you, but I don't. I wish you could board Zelan so I could take my vengeance upon you, but I can't. I don't seem to have it in me. I'm not revenge-oriented."

"We will dock with Zelan in just under ten minutes." Wren told him lifelessly. He put his hand down upon Demi's small shoulder. The girl did not react to him. "I trust we will be able to talk more then."

But they both knew that was not going to happen. "I guess we'd better roll out the red carpet." A pause. "... It was nice seeing you again, Forren."

"You too, major."

The connection between the Landale and Zelan finally ended. The image and audio faded, turning the projection screen back into the windscreen of their ship. Rune watched the two androids just stand there for a few moments longer, then Demi turned and climbed back into her chair while Wren sat down in the pilot's seat. Not an audible word passed between then, they merely went right back to their tasks. The esper got up from where he was leaning against the wall and quietly walked over to his friends.

He cleared his throat to remind them that he was still there. Leaning over the pilot's chair Rune spoke quietly enough so that Demi would not have to hear, only her master. "I don't care who any of them are. If they're with Siren then they're no different than he is. We'll have to destroy them." Maybe he was being a hard-ass, but it wasn't like they hadn't mown through legions of machines before.

Would Rune have a different opinion were they up against a handful of espers? They would never know. "There will be no complications." Wren replied to him coldly.

"Yes," Demi agreed from across the cockpit, "no complications at all."

†††

The Landale docked with Zelan and the space station guided them inside safely. It was strange to know that Siren was authorizing such great care over their ship, only for the purpose of killing them later in a violent and bloody manner. Maybe he wanted to keep the Landale intact in the docking bay for some kind of later use. Certainly there was no other spaceship like it in the star system. Rune and his team of friends and warriors were back on Zelan once more, now the territory of the enemy.

There was heat and oxygen outside of the hull of their vehicle but not as Wren and Demi had once willed it, the temperature a little colder and the air a little thinner than what could be considered 'normal'. Rune realised that he could see his own breath fogging up in the air. He knew that it was another form of pressure, to cut down their battle effectiveness and give a fighting edge to those who did not care about breathing or maintaining body temperature. He saw that Rika standing beside him was already rubbing her arms briskly, trying to coax her goosebumps away.

Dangers existed for people who breathed shallow air for a protracted period of time. Rune was well aware of them, having lived in the mountains surrounding the Myst Vale for so long. Raja was also no stranger to light air and the altitude sickness that it carried; he had climbed a mountain or six way back in his youth. As they stepped down the metal ramp onto the raised platforms of the space dock the dezorian moved to the point of the small group and spun around dramatically, his robes whirling.

"Remember to breathe carefully and mindfully when there's not enough air to go around! If you don't take the proper precautions your heart will start to race, your blood will begin to starve and eventually you'll just pass out onto the floor. If that doesn't happen then you'll probably start to see things instead, stuff that isn't real." He explained to everybody seriously. Rune nodded when he was done; he was more or less correct. It made perfect sense to Hahn and Chaz and Rika decided to believe them, for they would know best.

A great silence consumed the space dock and the entirety of Zelan, one that was hollow and empty, like a vacuum. There were voices in the cold empty that were inaudible, unspoken, existing only in code. It was almost as if the protectors could sense it but could not be sure if it were real. At least they outnumbered the enemy. That was about the only thing they had left going for them.

Swords and daggers were unsheathed, claws came out of hiding, and guns were adjusted and prepared. Once they left the spaceship dock the hunting would begin. They gathered for a brief conference. "So who's going to go with who? I think we should only split into two groups, because there's three androids we have to take care of instead of just one." Chaz said to the rest of the party. "If that's the case then I'm going with Rika. There's no way you're going to split us up."

He said that with a smile. As if anybody would ever attempt to split them up in the first place. "I'll go with you." Hahn volunteered. He had traveled with them the most during the war and felt comfortable with Chaz and Rika by his side.

And they'd need a healer, too. Hahn and Rika knew some competent healing techniques and Chaz could tend to a wound in a pinch, but they were all fighters at heart and needed to focus on combat thusly. "Yeah, me too." Raja chimed in with a nod towards Chaz and Rika. "I'll follow you lot. No offense or anything but I'd rather join a team with people I can actually heal. You metal fellows are beyond me."

Wren and Demi were perfectly capable of attending to their own medical care. They decided to stick together too as there was no beneficial reason for them to stay apart. This desire was not voiced out loud; it only needed to be commonly assumed and understood by the both of them.

This only left Rune as the last person to join a team. Chaz already had nearly a full team going for him and the esper felt he was still partnered with Wren from the Azura expedition the other night. There were no proper healers in the group but Demi's medical power unit should be enough. Shrugging with nonchalance Rune smiled. "Alright, so it changes last night's plan a little bit. Considering the circumstances I guess that's a good idea. I'll stick with Wren and Demi and offer some magical support. Is there any way to contact one another if, say, the shit hits the fan?"

"As long as nobody has deleted my login clearance I can probably hijack the PA system if I can get close enough to a computer terminal." Demi told Rune in a hesitant manner. It looked like she was still in a little shock from earlier. The girl became apologetic. "I would have used it the night Siren took over but you were all asleep and I would not have been able to hear you communicate back."

"On our end I guess I could say a prayer and hope that you on the other end of this sky castle can hear it, esper." Raja announced, speaking to Rune. He'd probably wind up having a feeling just like when he and the bishop had met on that snowfield so long ago. It couldn't have been any longer than forty eight hours but it felt much, much longer. "Is that good enough for you?"

"Yeah, sure."

A little white box squeaked at them from across the space dock, sitting right at the entrance to the rest of the station. It sounded a bit like a bird's mating call. It was the size of a small dog and sat on orb-like wheels, with an extendable telescopic eye which peered at them knowingly. The strange machine squealed at them for a second time, urgently, then it began to back up and away.

Demi reacted as though she had understood its musical, high-pitched language, which of course she had. She took a step forward and reached out to the retreating robot in surprise. "Wait! What did you say?" She gasped.

"It will lead us to its creator. Follow it." Wren ordered and as soon as he said that Whistler performed a speedy three-point-turn and sped off as fast as its little wheels could carry it. The android didn't need to tell anybody twice. The protectors were upon that squealing box immediately like hounds upon a hart, weapons at the ready for when its master came into sight and range.

It was a good robot and it had plenty of pep to it, but it was also small and a good pair of legs could keep up with it with some moderate effort. Whistler wasn't trying to lose them and it wasn't hoping to get captured either; it was merely the bait which would lead its pursuers into a trap. Rune, Wren and Demi were at the front and doing a fine job of keeping up, while Chaz, Rika, Hahn and Raja were struggling half a dozen paces behind.

When they came to an intersection Whistler did not hesitate and continued straight ahead, on-course to the very center and heart of the space station. Rune and the rest of his group did not pause either and continued the chase, but Chaz threw an arm out to Rika and stopped her in her tracks. He started to say something but suddenly Hahn plowed straight into him, nearly knocking the youth to his knees. Raja trundled to a halt behind them, wheezing his lungs out.

"Chaaaaz!" Rika whined and ripped her arm out of his grasp. "What are you doing? We're going to lose them!"

"We're supposed to split up. It's a large station to cover and that robot might be a decoy. Come on, I say we go the other way." All paths eventually led to the same place, anyway. The androids and Rune should be able to take care of themselves. Chaz felt slightly dizzy, as did the other male members of their group. Too much breathing of too little air, but at least Rika felt alright. After a few moments Chaz turned and ran down the other intersection, trying to control his breathing better this time.

Oh, fine. It was either do as he said or lose him entirely. Rika huffed and caught up to him within seconds, then easily surpassed him. It was difficult to run in toe shoes and a dress but she managed it, then Hahn popped up by her side. The scholar had always been a rather talented runner. Together they left Chaz and Raja in the proverbial dust.

Chaz gritted his teeth in pain and annoyance as his burned shoulder prickled horribly each time he threw an arm out to help balance him as he ran. He didn't want Rika to leave him behind but she already was. All he had now was Raja huffing and puffing along behind him. "Rika!" He called. "Wait up!"

Shortly after turning a corner Rika stopped and so did Hahn. It wasn't because of Chaz. In the hallway a stone's throw away from them stood Mieus. It seemed like she had been waiting just for them, a dark and smoky smile upon her lips. A shiver ran down Rika's spine and Hahn gallantly stepped in front of her to protect her from attack. He had a weak constitution compared to the numan girl but that was not the point; he still felt that he should protect her.

"You." Rika said, assuming a combat stance.

As Chaz and Raja came around the bend in the corridor Mieus laughed softly. "Come and catch me, sweetheart." She replied.

Just like Whistler Mieus turned and ran, giggling all the while. She was enjoying this and she loved the thrill of the chase. Hahn and Rika couldn't let her get away. "C'mon!" Rika cried and pulled Hahn along with her, she had revived Mieus once and thought it was her responsibility to make sure she would never harm anybody else. Hahn could help her, and Chaz and Raja too if they kept up.

The android girl's long red hair streamed out behind her like a streak as she kicked her sprint up a notch to reach the second intersection in the path. The protectors weren't the only ones running on a loose plan. Theirs was built on teamwork, on coordination, and faith for their master.

It was really very exciting.

†††

// "I've got four targets chasing me, two up front and two behind. Ready to split with me? I'm coming up to your checkpoint now." //

// "What? You want to split up with me already? Ha ha ha… Let me lend you a hand. I'm ready." //

// "Oh be quiet; you're not funny. Hee hee… Be careful okay?" //

// "Yes dear." //

// "How is Whistler's progress, master?" //

// "No complications to report. Targets one, four and five are mine. Focus on your own objectives, you two." //

// "Yes sir. Targets three and seven belong to me." //

// "That leaves me with targets two and six, right?" //

// "Affirmative. Go." //

†††

Chaz was becoming worried. Half of their team was creeping further and further away from him and if it were not for his wound making him hiss and flinch in pain he might stand a chance of keeping pace with the others. The lightheadedness he was experiencing continued to deepen, too, causing bright spots to swell and burst in his vision. Rika and Hahn followed the red-haired girl down one pathway of the intersection and Chaz didn't think twice about following them, stumbling once when his sight greyed out a bit.

The stumble allowed Raja to take the lead for just a second or two, right at the point when the corridor branched off into two separate paths. That was it, that was enough to change the outcome of the entire evening, and ultimately Chaz Ashley's life for forevermore.

He sensed a sudden blur of motion and Raja was roughly slammed into the face of the metal wall, his shoulder and side impacting with the hard surface and creating a heavy thumping sound. The dezorian priest stuck his temple due to the blow and he was out like a light almost instantaneously, rough yet painless at least for the moment. He'd wind up having the most horrible of headaches as soon as he woke up. He crumpled down to the floor like a pile of rags, lying perfectly still.

The hunter had witnessed it all happen. The gold android from the broadcast had come out of nowhere and mashed the bishop like an enraged bull, but he had been aiming for him; Chaz. He stood between the hunter and the retreating Mieus, cutting Chaz off from Rika and Hahn. He was a big android, getting around him might be tricky and he couldn't leave Raja behind. Chaz stepped back and held his sword at the ready, adjusting his stance for battle.

He'd missed and hit the wrong person. Gah. Warren dropped down to one knee and checked Raja's neck for a pulse. He glanced to Chaz for a moment and held up a hand to him as if saying; 'Give me a minute, we can fight soon. Just let me see if he's okay.' There was a pulse and he was still breathing, it didn't even seem like he had broken any bones. "What a hardy old man. He's only unconscious." Warren diagnosed, rising again.

"Aiming for me?" Chaz asked, his body tense and edgy. If he hadn't stumbled the android would have tackled right into his wounded shoulder. He was the last one standing in his taxed little group, but he thought that he could take this wren-type. It would be easy. He was no stranger to fighting humanoid machines.

"You're lucky I didn't chop your friend in half. I was considering it." The major admitted, raising the sword that he held in his hand. He cocked his head slightly as he examined the youth standing in front of him. He bore a striking resemblance to the son of his first master. They might have been around the same age, he supposed. "You're rather young for layan scum."

"People tell me that all the time." Chaz joked but worried about his friends. He was going to be busy here taking apart this machine, he hoped they wouldn't be needing him anytime soon. When he saw the sword Warren was carrying Chaz relaxed. He knew swords like he knew the back of his hand, if things progressed to a sword fight he'd be back in his element at last. "So are you going to use that blade? You going to fight me?"

"I've been given orders to kill any layan I see. I can't disobey those orders. Please go easy on me, I'm just an amateur and I haven't been in a battle for a very long time. Come and strike me." It was an invitation.

"What about Raja?"

He assumed Chaz was referring to his fallen friend. "He's in no immediate danger, but you are. I'll suffocate him once I'm finished with you. He won't feel a thing." Warren wasn't trying to threaten him, he was just informing Chaz about what would happen once he was done. He removed the medical bag he had slung over one shoulder and set it down beside the unconscious dezorian. Turning back to the hunter he smiled fondly and beckoned. "Come on, lets get this over with."

Chaz frowned. He didn't like to see that much confidence in an enemy. Moreover, it was like talking to a normal palman instead of a machine. This wren had more personality than all the other wrens Chaz had seen put together. It was creepy.

The first strike was his. His hunter training whispered to him that it meant Warren was planning to begin his own assault with a counter strike. Nevertheless…

He raised his sword, uttered a war cry and lunged, letting the battle begin.

†††

// "Alright, target six is currently out of commission. I'm working my way through target two now but it might take a while. He seems pretty eager. Mieus, you are now free to engage your targets without interruption. Good luck." //

Good, because it was getting progressively harder to keep her distance from the pink-haired girl trailing her like the wind. Man she had quite a pair of legs to her name. The good-looking guy she had with her was keeping pace admirably as well. If she had a heart it would have been beating wildly with excitement. It was important to start their battle far away from her partner and his skirmish so any screaming in anger or in pain would not be heard by either party.

Another bend in the path and that was far enough. Mieus grinned with a flashing of teeth and headed straight for the wall, but instead of slamming right into it she got her boots upon the surface and ran right up the wall, kicking off at the very height of her climb and flipping herself into the air. Rika and Hahn ran right beneath her, they could not help it or stop themselves in time. Mieus spun, angling her body gracefully and landing in a crouch, now behind her enemies and cutting off the protectors from their lagging friends. They could not go back.

Not without going through Mieus, first. She stood from her crouch just as Hahn and Rika turned around to face her. The claws slid out of her gloves slowly, making a silky metallic noise. They were long and hooked and beautifully sharp. "The moment you stepped on this space station you became destined to die by my hands. I won't make it easy for either of you. I'll rip you both into tiny, bleeding shreds!" She threatened with glee.

Rika looked about and finally realised that Hahn was the only other person by her side. Chaz and Raja had completely vanished. Hahn just smiled weakly at her and shrugged. It looked like they would have to deal with the android girl on their own. Rika wasn't very concerned, she didn't need Chaz around for absolutely everything. "What makes you think you can defeat us? We're very experienced fighters." The numan asked, cautious.

"And I'm an experienced murderer. I will make you feel so much pain that you'll be begging for death by the end. My master Siren has ordered me to kill all you layans so that is what I will do." Her eyes became distant and she smiled dreamily. "Once you filth are out of the way he will praise me for being such a good girl."

So it was killing for affection. Mieus was starved of love and would do anything to fill that empty void where her soul should be. Rika suddenly felt sorry for her. She had liked Mieus, well, back when she had only been the harmless face of a sleeping angel. Her beauty was merely skin-deep, on the inside there existed only a hollow. "That is really very pathetic." Rika said at last, sadly.

Mieus was unconcerned. Why would she believe a single thing the layans said? They were liars and cheats, servants to the dark gods and they corrupted everything that they touched. She had to remain strong and believe in her master. Everything focussed upon belief. "I don't have all day. If you're going to attack me then hurry up about it, or else I'll kill your cute little friend where he stands."

When he realised Mieus was talking about him Hahn blushed slightly. Bad guy or not he still couldn't help but think that the girl was exceptionally lovely. It sucked that he was going to have to ruin those good looks. The scholar drew the brand new gleaming daggers from his belt and adjusted the angle of the blades in his palms, experimenting until it felt just right. He sighed and stepped up to the challenge. "If that's what you want then go ahead and try. You'll have to fight me before you even get a chance to touch Rika."

And boy, what a horrible risk he was taking! Hahn was terrified. He knew that compared to his other friends he was ridiculously weak, that was why he had trained so hard for so long to catch up, but he was aware that it would not be enough. It would be better for all involved if Rika defended him, not the other way around, but he was responsible as Chaz's close friend to protect the woman that Chaz loved. Hahn could feel that he was shaking in his boots but he had to be strong, had to be strong, had to be strong…

Hahn darted forward and stabbed with his finely-honed dagger, drew back just as quickly as he had attacked, alternated hands and slashed diagonally, then sideways, the blade moving in quick blurs of motion that almost seemed blue. Mieus threw her weight onto her heels and her calves and leaned away from the first stab, then twisted and ducked to avoid strikes two and three. A few thin strands of her fiery red hair fell to the ground. That was all.

"Stop it, Hahn! At least let me help!" Rika complained but couldn't really see a way to insert herself into the fight, it was a two-person death dance and she knew it. The scholar was moving very fast but Mieus was easily keeping pace with her evasive tactics. From the sidelines Rika raised her hands and used her deban technique, hoping to offer him some kind of defense if he wouldn't accept anything else.

Mieus got underneath him as he thrust out for another stab, going straight for his midsection and chest. She fit into the strange embrace and raked him hard with her claws, tearing through the compressed air that was the deban technique and shredding into his clothing, armor and flesh. Blood flowed, but not nearly hard enough to satisfy her.

He grunted in pain but his concealed armor saved him from most of the injury. Hahn stepped back and raised an arm up defensively just in time to block a second slashing attack destined for his face, her forearm smacking against his wrist. He pushed her away roughly to add some space between them but Mieus came back with a vengeance and roundhouse kicked him to the ground.

Blood spattered on the metal floor and became smeared when Hahn struggled to get to his feet again. His chest burned terribly but it wasn't bad, it was only moderate pain. Mieus was impatient and wouldn't think twice about kicking the man when he was down, and possibly shoving a set of four bladed claws into his back. "Is that it?" She cried with a triumphant, disappointed smile. She kicked him hard in the arm as he struggled to his hands and knees and Hahn went down again. "I had such expectations of you layan filth and is this the extent of your combat prowess? How disgusting!"

Rika tapped Mieus on the shoulder. She turned around. "Hey." She said.

She slapped Mieus so hard that had she been made of authentic flesh and blood she would have either become bruised black and blue or just knocked out entirely. Rika put her entire arm into the strike. Mieus doubled over with her long hair obscuring her face, motionless for the moment. In this brief time of peace Rika helped Hahn up to his feet and treated the wound with a gires technique, but it was really nothing serious.

"You okay, Rika?" Hahn asked sheepishly, his voice a little unsteady.

"Damn it, I'm not made of glass. I can fight too." She scolded, focussing on the restorative technique.

Suddenly there was laughter, an unstable giggling which emanated from the android girl. Her shoulders trembled with it and she brushed aside the obscuring strands of hair to reveal her face. She was wearing a mad, amused grin. "Wow… nobody has hit me for a very long time. It brings back memories. I had forgotten how good it felt…"

Hahn launched a wat technique at her before she could do anything else. A brittle, tinkling sound filled the air as Mieus' guard arm and part of her torso absorbed the skill, encasing the limb in an inch-thick layer of ice. She looked at it in serene, childish wonderment. Her fingers were frozen, so too was the joint in her elbow. Even her left breast was sealed, the cold causing the faint outline of her nipples to be vaguely apparent under her red bodysuit. Hahn couldn't help but look, his gaze dropped down automatically to stare at that and Mieus definitely noticed it.

"Hey, eyes up here please!" She ordered sharply, angrily.

He obeyed her without thinking, raising his eyes and his hands and dropping his guard. He hadn't meant to look, he really hadn't, he was a married man after all! "I'm sorry-" He began to say.

Then thick and heavy cracks formed around the casing as she clenched her hand all of a sudden, with inpalman strength. Mieus retracted her claws, drew her fist back and punched Hahn hard with the results of his own technique, striking him in the chin with metal, synthetic flesh and the coldness of the ice. Rika heard a hideous crunch as Hahn's jaw fractured and the poor man moaned, unable to open his mouth wide enough for a scream.

Hahn hit the ground again and this time he was down and out for good, spitting out a mouthful of blood and a tooth and then lying perfectly still. He struggled to maintain consciousness for a few moments but he was gone, he had already tried his best. Mieus straightened up and inspected her gloved knuckles, the ice falling off in brittle clumps and sheets. There was blood on her knuckles. She raised her loose fist to her mouth and kissed them sensually, tasting Hahn's blood already turning quite cold.

"He was a pervert. He deserved what he got." Mieus reasoned gently, nudging Hahn with the toe of her boot. "Anyway, it's your turn now. Hope you put up a better fight than he did." She added, stepping away from from the man.

Rika glared daggers at the girl from where she stood. She didn't know what to say, there was nothing she could say now. It was time to speak with her claws.

†††

// "Target three has been clawed into submission. Just gotta finish up target seven and then I'll be by your side very soon, Master Siren. Please be careful with yourself, you're not entirely repaired yet." //

It was sweet that she worried. Siren didn't mind if Mieus became so attached to him, it would make her loyalty all the stronger. Ten minutes had passed since the layans had stepped into his territory and already two were out of the fight. His servants were doing well but they could stand to be doing a little better, too. They would learn.

Siren set Zelan's main computer into standby mode and folded his arms, waiting. This was not their original plan but they were doing well with it, it was pleasing to see Warren and Mieus refusing to succumb to the hatred that was running through their minds, soullessly fighting the enemies which seemed to have no relation to their past. Siren had taken those for himself, the two which had awoken him from his slumber and the Le Cille girl. Oh, how he so wanted to get his hands on that girl…

Whistler was leading the trio straight to him. He had found a use for the little robot after all. Siren checked his gun one last time and then focussed for a minute on his spellcasting hand, light waves of clear heat rising from his fingertips. This dark magic which had been granted to him was a beneficial curse, a means to fight the filthy layan race on their own terms. He had never regretted those powers, not even once.

He could hear footsteps approaching and the electric hum of globular wheels on the smooth floor, with whistles and clicks and squeals. Siren turned around. Wren and Demi with Rune close behind them entered the main control area, Whistler shooting across the room to roll to a halt by Siren's side. The blue-haired layan looked like he was having trouble breathing, but that was subsiding as his heartbeat returned to normal. Demi kind of hid behind Wren and his great height. She was afraid.

"How kind of you to drop in." Siren said dully, then smiled. He sent a silent signal to Zelan and the metal door behind the three slammed shut and locked, the clearance light switching from green to red. They were now trapped inside. There was no escape.

"This atmosphere is not capable of sustaining natural life comfortably." Wren stated for the sake of his lightheaded, cold, gasping friend. "You assured us that you would keep your word."

"And I have." The enemy wren-type smirked with an underlying shade of cruelty. He did not move as the three protectors slowly approached him, until they were ten feet away from one another. "I asked Warren for the correct oxygen content and temperature for optimal palman living conditions and then I decided to halve it. Your layan allies will not be killed by the atmosphere. That is all I promised."

"It's fine…" Rune said as he straightened up and smiled reassuringly, "I'm fine. It's not a problem."

"So it has come to this." Siren announced softly. "I regret killing orakians, even if they have renounced the title."

"If this is the way that orakians operate then I would rather remain layan."

Siren became deathly serious. "You will regret saying that. Oh yes, you will regret it for the rest of your life." The android esper fell into an attacking stance.

"Which shouldn't be more than… oh, perhaps another ten minutes."