The very second that Rune burst through the airlock onto the surface of Azura he was prepared. It was just as well too, for the living golem trapped outside had been just as prepared as Rune was, yet it had the patience of a near-immortal on its side. It had been looming over the airlock with one huge formless fist raised, waiting to bring it down like a sledgehammer on the very first thing that passed through.

But Rune was an intelligent esper and knew how golems worked and thought of things from his studies back at the esper mansion. He had a plan himself. As the doors slid open Rune kept himself rooted in the threshold, tossing something he had picked up off the floor into the surface world. It was the same trick for springing a mouse trap, and the golems were not true sentient creatures so they wouldn't be expecting it. The esper smiled, but on the inside he was desperately impatient to get the hell out of there.

The severed claw of a silvault would work just fine for him. He had snatched it up near the exit of the facility and while it would have made an absolutely killer back scratcher Rune needed it as bait. As he threw the limb the little bit of robot became subject to Azura's outer gravity and didn't bounce as it hit the ground, it just fell there like a glittering piece of skeleton. A crushing stone fist came down upon the fragment with several tons of force behind the blow. Rune couldn't help but step back slightly as he witnessed this, bumping into Wren who had been waiting patiently behind him.

Rune was still running the show. When the exact moment was right they would move again. The esper was the only one who could effectively kill the golem so all the pressure was on him. As the giant monster raised its fist from the ground and saw that no bloodied palman smear lay beneath it, Rune acted. He burst out of the open airlock and darted around the impact zone as fast as gravity would allow, gravel rolling under the soles of his boots as he came to a stop and pointed a spellcasting hand at the abomination.

"Seals!" Rune cried and felt the energy being wrenched from his body as the spell was called into existence, glowing blue hieroglyphs sucking the golem's source of power away. The golem moaned in anger as it realised its time was up, and unwillingly gave in to oblivion as its consciousness ebbed and faded. It joined its brother and became just as it had been before, a formless, unidentifiable statue. Good riddance to bad guardians.

Wren came up and pushed Rune forward with a weak little shove. It was good that Rune had been able to neutralize the enemy but they did not have a second to spare. "Back to the ship." He said curtly and took the point position for himself this time, giving Rune something to follow. Soon enough they would have to come back here, to Azura, but for now they needed to gather, regroup and assess their losses. Too many unexpected things had gone wrong.

The esper saw Wren's lips move but he couldn't make out the words. By the time he realised that the radio had crapped out on him his android companion had already moved on ahead. The message was pretty clear though and Rune followed along behind him, one hand fiddling with his wrist in order to get the radio online again. The uneasy crackles it had made earlier were enough for Rune to worry that the damn thing might have broken. It just wouldn't respond. Great.

But the idea that Siren might be alive again by now and trailing them weighed far more heavily on his mind than the busted radio did. Rune could live with the silence between here and their spaceship for now. All he need do was watch Wren's back and his own. He looked over his shoulder every so often, half expecting the red haired wren-type to be only five paces away from them with his gun drawn, or his hand raised in readying a conjuration.

That Siren had used real, true magic and Rune needed to know why. It wasn't a skill you could just load into a machine on a whim, flaeli had been a thousand years worth of improvement on a fire spell created during the time of Lassic and Alis Landale. Noah's master had taught it, then Noah in turn, and so forth until it had been a staple spell of the espers in the mansion. At some point that wisdom must have been leaked, transcoded somehow and then implanted into the Siren that had attacked them. It was the only way that made sense.

Only that was a load of bullshit. Esper magic couldn't be coded, broken down and then handed to somebody like a gift. To be a true magician it was all in the soul, the mind and the willpower. There was no genetic or physical evidence to explain the reason why the espers bore the powers that they had, but it was a common point of belief amongst the inhabitants of Dezoris that people made espers of themselves from their own choosing, from a subconscious inclination in their souls.

That was how the seed was sown, at least. Once a person's potential was discovered what came after was training. Diligent, thorough, excruciating training. It was then that the potential became power, and that power became magic. Rune himself had come from a family that had had the magical history of a clod of dirt, but from the rough came the diamond, as they say. Could something like that have happened to an android? A will, a desire, and a conviction so strong that it could have created potential?

If androids had souls, then it might be possible. When Rune looked at Wren and especially at Demi he could almost believe that was so, but they were only two androids up against the hundreds and maybe thousands of brainless, thoughtless robots he had encountered as the Lutz. Rune didn't know what to think or to believe. He just didn't have enough information to make up his mind, but Siren still bugged him even though he was now far behind.

The shape of the Myau Eighteen was coming back into view, just as they had left it an hour or so earlier. Rune had never been so glad to see a spaceship before, it was enough to want to make him go back to the Myst Vale and give the ship's namesake a kiss on his great big furry mouth. Doing all that pondering with his nerves on edge hadn't helped Rune's headache much. He felt weak and faint, and he couldn't help his hands from shaking a bit. Near-migraines were always like that, but the esper just wanted to get his damn space suit off and sit down.

At the entrance of the ship Wren halted and turned to Rune, saying something that he was totally unable to hear or understand. The esper just looked back blankly at him. After a couple of moments Wren seemed to get the idea of what was wrong and went on ahead instead, climbing up a ladder that was a little too small for him on the Myau's side. He opened the sealed hatch by swiping the Waizz Star over the scanner rather than merely entering the correct password and climbed inside. Leaning out of the doorway a bit, he gestured mutely for Rune to follow.

Rune followed gladly. He ascended the ladder as quickly as he could and accepted Wren's hand as it was held out for him, the android hauling the esper up into the ship's airlock the rest of the way. The door snapped closed behind them and they were safe, locked away from the dangerous blue moon. Passing through the airlock they went back into the true part of the ship, where there was warmth, normal gravity and oxygen to consume.

The magician got his helmet off at the very first chance he had. Rune sighed and smoothed down some of his hair that had been sticking up slightly, able to rest at last. Wren disconnected his photon eraser cannon from his arm and put the safety on, placing it down by the ship's entrance. He didn't waste any time. "I shall go to the bridge and make preparations for departure. Lift-off estimated at five minutes. You can relax now, Rune." He said.

"I'll come with you." Rune replied as he straightened up again. If they really were leaving here the esper knew that he needed to be in the co-pilot's seat or risk getting smashed to the ground when the spaceship took off. He placed his helmet down alongside Wren's gun and was very glad to be rid of it, then he followed his friend up to the bridge where he flopped down into one of the chairs. It was mind-boggling how an hour and a half of space exploration had left him feeling so drained.

As Wren began the preparations Rune's tide of inevitable questions began to pile up, starting with the simplest one first. "Do you mind if I take this space suit off now? Don't worry, I'm wearing some clothes underneath. This damn thing is killing me."

"If you wish. I do not care." Wren answered as he accessed the ship's computer and made deep contact with its mainframe. Rune nodded in gratitude and stood once more, beginning to wrestle his way out of the heavy garment. It was much easier to take off than to put it on, but it was still quite a chore to do alone. Rune would have appreciated some help but Wren was the only other person there and he was busy plotting their course back to Zelan.

Rune began to emerge from the space suit after a couple of minutes, like a moth breaking free of its cocoon. Only this moth hadn't really transformed at all and was only a tired, headachy esper. He was just wearing his green pants and socks, along with a paler green undershirt that looked very worn. He laid the empty suit down against the wall and took his original seat, strapping himself in.

"Okay, what the hell was that all about?" He said at last.

The Myau Eighteen rumbled as its jets fired and it began to raise itself into the air. Its pilot was mostly preoccupied with flying, but he could still talk and give answers at the same time. "I am just as mystified as you are. An enemy target attacked us and we had no choice but to retreat. It is my hope that the second time will be more successful now that we know what to expect. I do not like to do this but I believe we should take Demi with us next time to create a party of three. We may be able to overpower the enemy with our numbers."

"Wait, wait, wait." Rune announced suddenly. "What do you mean 'next time'? We just barely escaped that guy by the skin of our teeth and you're saying that we should go back for more?" Without thinking Rune held his head lightly with a hand, protecting where it hurt the most. "That android back there was hurling esper spells at us! I don't get it, since when have machines been able to do that? Wren?"

"I have never heard of that circumstance before. The wren series was created for their adaptability and combat prowess to replace the common soldier. This did not include your race of people, Rune." The windscreen of the cockpit was beginning to fill up with stars. In about half an hour they would be docking with Zelan. Wren continued emotionlessly. "The Alisa Three must be removed from the Algo system. If the inhabitants of the dome worlds are to ever find a location to colonize then they must move on. If Siren prohibits its then he must also be removed. It is very simple. I do not see the problem."

"The problem is that you're underestimating what a person with esper spells can do. You don't just learn them overnight. That Siren we just saw might be your big brother and all but don't think for a moment that it's okay for you to pretend he's just another enemy target." Rune tried to reason with him. Wren had not been around when he, Chaz and Rika had fought Zio. He didn't know what kind of damage espers turned bad could do. The android had only known Rune and Kyra and they had been friendly targets, using their powers only when needed.

They were safely in space now and their course to Zelan was set, locked firmly into the auto pilot. Wren was free to take his hands away from the wheel and his eyes from the windscreen. In a first for what seemed like a very long time Wren turned to Rune and actually looked offended, looked vaguely angry. "That Siren was in no way my 'big brother'. Do not try to insinuate that ever again. Our series type may have been the same but that was the only similarity we shared. All I wish is to see Algo in balance again."

For five awkward minutes they shared a silence. On Azura androids and espers had killed each other wantonly, and now after their excursion there Rune and Wren were having trouble not picking each other apart. The subject of race is such a funny thing, people could go about and be civil to one another without even noticing it, but once it was placed right in front of them it was impossible to ignore. On Azura who had been at fault, the androids or the espers?

"I think the radio in my suit is broken." Rune said finally, just wanting to dispel the silence on the bridge. If nobody talked then he'd have to start thinking, and if he did that his thoughts would go around and around in circles again.

"Likewise I lost communication with Zelan while we were within Azura's spaceport. That is why we stopped receiving the transmissions of the others after a time." Wren replied mechanically, and distantly.

"Boy, everybody up there must be worried sick." Rune mused as he leant back into his chair, gladly resting his weary head. Today had been one of the stranger days in his experience. He hoped the others were okay.

"We will be with them shortly. Please be patient." The android reassured him. Whatever small sense of anger he had displayed to Rune was now gone, replaced by indifferent apathy.

So Rune decided to take that advice and be very patient. He was so impatient and tired, in fact, that despite all that had happened to him in the past hour or so Rune fell asleep.

†††

Siren lay inactive on the ground for close to five minutes, immobile, still. Rune and Wren had gotten the better of him and had fled while the going was good, yet that was not the last they were going to hear of the servant of Orakio, the slayer of Layan scum. Siren's recovery function booted automatically after a time and the ancient wren-type opened his eyes again, blank but somehow smoldering with anger. He was conditionally emotionless, that was, he showed no emotion at all unless the situation called for it. And Siren was angry, furious and burning with rage.

The layan and his friend had tricked him! They had gotten away! He pulled himself into a standing position and considered going after them while the trail was still hot and fresh, but that would not be a very wise thing for him to do. Wildly chasing after an enemy was the inclination of a common foot soldier, and Siren was no such thing. Siren was old, and he was massively intelligent. Aside from an explosive, wicked temper his mind was as cold and as logical as deep space. No, he would not be able to catch up with them now, but…

He walked towards the broken cryogenic chamber and retrieved his dropped weapon. The gun wasn't damaged and Siren rewired the accessory back into his right arm, connecting the cables to the ports and thinking all the while. His biometric clock told him that one thousand years had elapsed since he had entered his cold dark sleep at knife-point, the deadly slasher of Lune and the small army of foul sorcerers behind him a large enough incentive to put his life away. Siren scowled. Chances were the green-haired warlord no longer walked upon the land of the living. It was a shame, Siren had wanted to put a bullet in his brow in repayment.

One thousand years had passed and yet Siren felt nothing at all about it. People that he had once known, familiar faces and voices gone, lost to time. The only things that the android had known and put faith into had been the will and way of his master, and the soul of his partner. Siren looked to the entrance of Azura's spaceport, heading for it at a leisurely pace. The enemy must be in their ship by now, getting ready to go home.

What would his master Orakio have bade him to do, had he been here to give orders? Siren did not possess enough of an imagination to guess. With the hyper-jamming frequency gone from tormenting his body Siren was free to experience all his half-frozen system creeping back up to their optimal performance. He could understand that the layan people had caused the Devastation Wars which had resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocent people, and he had seen with his own eyes the magical backer of the layan race. His Lord Orakio had stood beside him that day along with the android Mium. Together they had battled the entity known as Dark Force.

Lord Orakio had died that day and he could do no more than imprison it despite the absolutely phenomenal skill of his sword. Orakio had sealed Dark Force into a sacred temple by piercing its wicked heart and pinning it down onto the seal for forevermore. The creature was eternal and would never die, its powers living on in the dark magics of the layan race. They were possessed by evil, filled with it, and they would never be whole pure beings ever again. Layans were really no better than demons, that was why Siren took so much quiescent pleasure in destroying them.

He could hardly believe that the dark race had survived, even up until now. It meant that all the effort he had put into his mission and purpose had been for naught. He had not succeeded, but he could be grateful for all the experience he had gathered up until now, experiences that would tell him exactly what to do. Siren opened the airlock and walked out onto the barren surface of the moon. The sudden lack of atmosphere didn't faze him, didn't bother him, and the low gravity meant nothing to him at all.

Siren maneuvered around the frozen and immobile golems turned back into statues at the entrance, passing them by as if they were just part of the scenery. The android had spectacular long-range vision and he looked up slowly, tracking the ascent of the moderately distant spaceship with his eyes. If he hadn't taken his time he might have been able to catch up with them, but they were out of his reach now. The blue-haired layan and the orakian traitor had gotten away.

Only not quite. Siren was free to take all the time in the worlds. The spaceship was rapidly becoming a little pinprick of reflected light as it flew further and further away from the surface of Azura, yet its direction was clear. Like a moon orbiting another moon, Zelan hung in the sky like a floating castle. It was impossible to miss. The wren-type android smiled, but there was nothing friendly about it. It was a lovely space station, but it seemed to be either a base or a resting point for the enemy. It might be packed full of layans. What blasphemy!

He needed to destroy those two explorers for the crime of merely existing. His logic was so cold and simple to him, it felt pure and right. It was true that the layan had fought back when he had attacked him, but despite that information the layan had not really tried to hurt him of his own choosing. Siren's smile faded as he thought about that. This was not because they had woken him up from his deep sleep, if anything Siren was truly grateful for that, no, this was because it correlated to his pre-programmed mission, to his own desires.

He supposed that the other wren-type android, the Forren could be forgiven if he would earnestly renounce his allegiance to the layan people and would come back into the light. Siren could feel forgiveness and mercy for other androids, but for Rune there would be none. His people had followed the will of Dark Force, had killed his loyal comrades, and had slain his master. There could never be any forgiveness for that.

Consumed by his own thoughts Siren turned on his heel curtly and faced the twin blue-stone golems partially barring the way. Worthless dolls. Away with them! No more prisons, he was free! He raised his weapon to the primitive constructs and showed no change in his expression when he took both of their heads clean off their bodies. A rocking boom sounded the as two shots fired, an accurate double-blast causing it to slowly rain rubble and chunks of semi molten stone.

His unaltered aim was still perfect and that was quite satisfactory to him. The force of the impact pushed the now headless bodies backwards and they broke apart on contact with the ground, sending up a very lazy cloud of dust. Siren went back the way he had came and entered the correct number code into the access panel, not needing anything as devious as a Waizz Star to pass on through. This spaceport had once been his headquarters, so he knew all the passwords. He had created most of them himself.

Had he been palman he might have felt something for the dead shells of his servants lying all about the facility. As he was, Siren knew that machines did not need or deserve the grief. Losing his servants had just been another strategic setback for him, or another good reason to exact revenge. Siren inspected a great many of these felled machines, checking their vital spots and places of injury. The layans that had attacked Azura knew all about robot and android construction and had used that information well. There was hardly a robot in the throng that had not been utterly destroyed.

But not quite. The red haired wren-type managed to find two worker bots and one slave apparatus that had not had all their vital systems completely damaged. Using his rather considerable strength Siren dragged them one at a time to the clear center of the spaceport, arranging them in a line. Kneeling, the android used his most prized skill, something he had learned at the side of Lord Orakio himself and diligently got to work. This was what he enjoyed most of all, even more than layan-slaying.

Siren repaired whatever systems he could of the three damaged robots using his bare hands, then he was forced to compromise their already flimsy life-support systems by connecting them back to their various power sources and ordering them back into mock-life. The machines twitched and flinched as they sat up and recognised their quiet, calm master. It seemed like the workers and the slave wouldn't last much longer than ten minutes before their systems failed and they became scrap metal all over again.

That was alright. If Siren wanted long-term servants he could make them later. For now he just needed one simple task done. "Do you see my cryochamber, the device resting against the far wall? I order you to remove it for me. Do it now or I shall take back the life that I have given you." He didn't need to threaten them. The machines were so broken and so close to dying that they would have attempted to obey the command no matter what it was. They would die obeying their orders, that much was certain.

And that was what Siren thought was the honorable, acceptable way to go. He watched silently as the three half sentient machines moaned and dragged and whimpered their way towards the side of the cryogenic chamber, lurching about like swaying zombies. One worker keeled over and died just as its stumpy limbs touched the surface of the device, yet the others took no notice of it. In fact, the slave robot actually stood on the fallen worker, crushing it underfoot.

This was real servitude at work. Siren impartially watched his two remaining servants die in front of him as they struggled to complete their set task. Through all their efforts they had not even been able to entirely succeed. When the gigantic slave finally died last, about three minutes after the other worker had kicked the bucket, half of the pathway had been forced open. It was wide enough for three people to walk abreast and still fit through, but the doorway was not fully open. It was wide enough.

Up ahead was the hangar where all the space shuttles were stored and the sub-level runway that led up to the surface world lay. Once Siren opened the closed gates to the runway he'd have a leisurely amount of time to select a spaceship that seemed worthy of him and repair it. He was certain that all the tools he would ever need would already be stored on the ships. About seven spaceships would be waiting for him quietly, their auto pilots programmed for a course straight to the Alisa Three. They were made for short, quick little flights, not deep space travel.

Siren could easily kill the auto pilot and plan a quaint course of his own, one that would lead directly to the metallic castle in the sky. If he stayed on Azura all he could do was fester in his cold rage and that would accomplish nothing. It was time to begin something, and that something was a hunt, one millennia overdue. Siren moved to the doorway and walked over the bodies of his dead servants, their pains forgotten, their short lives forgotten, but their sacrifice well made.

In the name of his master, and in the name of all the pure-hearted orakians that had died under the might of the layan scourge, Zelan must fall.

†††

Rune was able to gather about twenty short minutes of blissful shuteye before Wren gently shook him awake. They had just successfully docked at Zelan and the others were waiting outside for them, gathered into a little group. It felt like a cheat to be woken up after so short a nap, he hadn't even had enough time to dream, but the brief rest had glossed over in his mind the things that had happened to him over in Azura, making it all seem so unreal. Rune rose from the co-pilot's seat and stretched, ready to meet up with his friends.

Standing out on the walkway and heading the pack of friends was Chaz Ashley, still standing out and carrying himself like a leader even though that time had passed for him. By his side was Rika, now subdued and quiet, her mind partially on the secret she had discovered in room thirty nine. Demi and Hahn were also there as well, expectant and hopeful while Raja stood at the back, tall enough to see comfortably over everybody's heads. It was a sizeable 'welcome back' party, though they were all fiercely worried about their two missing friends so it became more of a 'please tell us you're alright' party instead.

When the doorway to the Myau Eighteen opened up and connected seamlessly with the walkway everyone appeared to hold their breath. They of course knew that the explorers had been unable to complete their mission, they had returned far too early for that, but they had no idea why the mission had been aborted in the first place. It was a mystery to them. When Zelan had broken contact with Wren's electronic signal and they lost both visual and audio Chaz nearly threw a fit. He had hated the idea that something might have happened and there was nothing he could do to help.

Rika had returned to the others from her little 'walk' right after Zelan and Demi had lost Wren's signal. Age-old technology rarely worked flawlessly anymore but she had been surprised at Chaz's juvenile outburst, and only she had been able to calm him down. They had remarked upon how ashen her face had looked, how freaked out she seemed to be, and Chaz most of all noticed the sizeable tear in her long pink dress at the shoulder, showing a bit of skin. She had made up excuses for all those things, plausible ones too, but her eyes had strayed to where Demi was sitting calmly in her chair, unaware of what Rika had found.

But anyway, the focus was now on Rune as he was the first person to step out of the spaceship unharmed. The Lutz looked excessively tired, kind of weak, and he did not resist it when Chaz rushed up to him and gave the esper more walking support. It had felt so weird to be at normal gravity at one moment, low gravity at another moment and then to feel the pressure of the Gs at takeoff. His body was still trying to adjust. "Rune!" Chaz exclaimed eagerly, helping him along. "What happened down there? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, and it's a long story." Rune answered tiredly and tried to push the youth away. He didn't need any help to walk, he could do that on his own. The esper looked up and saw the others waiting for him, cheerful Demi, silly Raja and intelligent Hahn. He turned to Rika though and smiled. Rune had always kind of liked Rika. If Chaz hadn't been there first and foremost in the beginning he might have made a pass at her himself. "There you are. I was wondering where you had run off to."

His words caused the girl to raise her head and smile genuinely. She had been very worried too, but as she was about to say something Wren stepped out of the ship beside Rune and Demi animated herself immediately. "Master!" She cried and ran to him on her short little legs, her emotions set free now that her friends were safe. The android girl grabbed his hand and tugged on it long enough for Wren to give in and drop to one knee, so she was able to wrap her arms around his neck and give him a hug.

"Did you see any moon men?" Raja laughed as he leant on his silver staff, overseeing the reunion with mirth. "Well, aside from those rock moon men we saw. That was a pretty engaging battle, you know! Hahn and I were about to start placing bets! You should have lasted longer, I had you to win by a knockout in the fifth round!"

"Gosh, when I saw that statue's eyes light up I thought I was going to faint. I thought I was going to witness the death of my friends over a computer screen." Hahn admitted with relief. Thankfully his quick judgement and reflexes had saved the day.

"Demi… please let go of me. I cannot move like this." Wren said in order to get his clinging servant off him. He had only been gone for an hour or three so there was no need for such a display of affection. Demi shook her head like she didn't want to but let go a couple of seconds later, unable to disobey an order, even if it was expressed as a simple request.

Hugs were contagious again as Rika took her turn with Rune. The esper wondered if the numan girl regretted it, as he was a little sweaty from all his time in his space suit. Over her head Rune glanced at Chaz and became very serious. "We all need to sit down and have a meeting or something. Let Wren and I tell you guys the long story of what the hell just happened and figure out what to do next. I don't know how much of Azura you saw." They probably hadn't seen Siren, as one of them would have mentioned it by now.

Rika pulled away and looked up at Rune carefully. She was very interested in what they had to say because she had missed out on so much. Rika may have retired from fighting but that certainly didn't mean she had retired from being useful. She could still think, plan and be helpful, her mind just as sharp as her claws had been.

"Let's go back to the main control room. We can talk there." The girl's gaze swept across the spaceship hangar, connecting with every person there. "Come on, let's move."