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Turned On	By : blackwaltz0 Category: +M through R > Phantasy Star Views: 2172 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Phantasy Star, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 17
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- 19
(A/N: It's been five months since I last updated this story. I'm sorry, I've been updating my other fanfics instead. I know this chapter and the next one that comes after it deviates slightly from game canon, but the second Air Castle run is practically identical to the first and I wanted to spice up the plot a bit. I hope it's come out interesting and not too cliché. Also, for those people who are still reading after the five-month hiatus� I love you guys and you are the ones I'm writing this for! Happy readings! :D)

Before Chaz and company knew it, they were back at the Air Castle. They had driven from Meese all the way to the Tyler spaceport, and from there the Landale shuttled them smoothly to the destroyed Palma's asteroid belt. The journey had taken many long, boring hours, but as soon as Wren had announced from the bridge that they would be touching down in ten minutes, suddenly all that time and waiting seemed mortifyingly short.

It was easy to find their old landing point. The enormous jets of the Landale had blackened the surface of the asteroid, leaving three gigantic burn points in the dust. There was nary a bump or a shudder as the ship was brought down, but Chaz and Rune, Rika and Kyra were too busy arming and armoring themselves to notice. Everything had to be perfect. If one little, singular thing went wrong it could mean the death of them all.

The Air Castle felt different to last time. Lassic's three servants were dead, his huge fortress left undefended. The castle was left with a palpable animosity, an anger, a hate so deep it had infected every stone and brick and stair. Lassic had let them play with his guardians freely, had given his domain air and gravity to accommodate their living bodies, but he had not expected his foes to slaughter the twisted dark espers so easily. He was like a arrogant braggart who had been certain of victory, only to taste the bitter sting of defeat.

But in that fury there was also eagerness, a deep sadistic hunger for conflict. He wanted Chaz and company to come to him, wanted to be there in person to watch the Lutz draw that last, final breath. They would come, he felt it deep in his cold, bloodless heart. They would come for him.

And they would die.

They analyzed the atmosphere in much the same way as they had before, sending Wren out as a lone scout to make sure the others could survive outside of the protection of the Landale. Chaz felt a sense of worry that he had not experienced before the last time his friend had gone out there alone. There was no reason to believe that anything had changed from the other day, but he could not be certain. He'd feel a lot better once they got the transmission that he was okay.

Unlike last time there was an unexplainable delay. Nothing came through. Chaz's worries deepened. Had anything happened out there? Had Lassic anticipated where they would land and had killed the scout as a warning? As revenge for his three slain servants? Chaz shifted anxiously from foot to foot, touching the handle of the sword he had strapped to his back, relocated from his belt to accommodate quicker access to his twin knives. The knives had served him well in his last decisive battle, hopefully they would do so again.

Rika was sitting down on what passed for a seat on the Landale and watched Chaz fidget. She too had a nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach. If they beat Lassic and survived to live another day then she would have to face the additional fear of telling Chaz exactly how she felt about him. She wanted so badly to get everything off her chest for good, for real, but the chance of rejection was just far scarier than anything Lassic could conjure by himself.

Kyra wanted to go home. As an esper she could sense all of Lassic's bad feelings towards them, and the long slow wear of ages granted after excruciating undeath. Doubtless Rune could feel it as well, but he was standing strong and unmoving, his lips pressed into a thin little line. Stoic. As the Lutz she would have expected as much, but as Rune, the mortal man who made her laugh and got jealous and felt fear, well, she was concerned for him.

As for Rune, he wanted it all to end. The evil presence behind Zio and Dark Force had recognised Rune for who and what he was, drawing its clawed hand deep into the past and dredging up this old skeleton from history. Somebody that even the great esper Noah had feared. If this were a chess game that dark power had brought out its queen, and it could do some serious damage to them, the Great Light's little pawns.

But even a pawn could take out a queen, with a bit of luck and a skilled player in control. He also needed to protect the kid, Chaz, their king. That was his responsibility even more than destroying Lassic was.

It had been ten minutes since Wren had left the safety of the Landale, and still no word. If they lost him the battle would be significantly harder to win. If Chaz lost him he wouldn't know what to do. The boy was just about to open his mouth and suggest that they go out anyway, to find their friend despite the atmospheric uncertainty, when the communication system in the airlock began to beep insistently.

Chaz was onto it right away. He held down the button and spoke clearly so the remove receiver would be able to pick up his voice. "This is the Landale, can you hear me? What's taking so long out there? Is everything okay?" He also wanted to ask whether Wren himself was okay, but he tastefully held the question back on his tongue.

There was silence on the other side of the line, then Wren managed a reply. It was a relief. "I hear you. I am sorry for the delay. Atmospheric conditions are normal, but there is a slight change out here that my sensors are unable to analyze. I am not quite certain how I am able to sense it at all." There was a pause on the line. Chaz couldn't hear Wren breathing or anything like that, but he had an inkling the android was debating with himself as to whether he should voice a personal observation or not. "It is as if this castle is� humming."

Rune's ears perked up at the mention. He and Kyra had been able to sense it long before they had come close to the asteroid. Chaz and Rika felt it in their nerves ever since they had touched down on the ground. Now Wren, who was severely handicapped when it came to things like these had finally picked up on it too. Even that was rather surprising. "Don't worry, it's not the black energy wave. We're safe. It's Lassic's magical field influencing everything around us, making the castle seem like it hates us. Just ignore it." The Lutz explained softly.

"What about you? Are you okay?" Chaz pressed into the receiver device.

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" Wren replied, a little confused.

The hunter sighed, yet smiled. That dummy. He looked back to check out his other three friends, silently asking them if they were ready to go. He saw the similar reflection of suppressed fear in their eyes. Good, at least he wasn't the only one who was nervous. "Okay, we're coming out now. Wait for us." He said before he released the button on the intercom system.

They all noticed what had caused Wren to stop and stare once the airlock opened and they descended down the long metal ramp to the surface of the asteroid. The Air Castle had changed, not in foundation, but in certain parts it had sort of blurred. Moving like mist, some parts of the building had become indistinct. It was a little difficult to look at, the eye just couldn't maintain focus on the castle for very long without watering.

Wren was standing not far off from the end of the ramp. He went and rejoined the group once they were all gathered together and gawking at the spectacle. As a party they all looked at the strange sight. Chaz sort of equated it to a dimension worm rippling and pulsing, only in very tiny translucent fragments scattered all over the castle. "I cannot explain this phenomena." Wren said dully, then turned to Rune. He was their resident expert on magic. When the android couldn't explain something under his own parameters it was up to Rune to offer an analysis.

Grimly, Rune put a hand to his brow and groaned. He had been worried about something like this. It was not going to be a safe and easy journey to the foot of Lassic's throne, though he had sort of expected that already. Rika didn't like the sound of that groan. He was their guide, if there was something he didn't like then it was a problem for them all. "What is it?" She asked the esper.

Rune laughed in a not very encouraging manner. "Ignore what I said about ignoring the magic. I thought it was just normal background magic because Lassic is furious with us, but looking at what I see now�" He inspected the Air Castle a second time and shook his head in cynical dismay. "He's set something up for us somewhere inside that castle. It's probably a trap. We've got to tread carefully."

Kyra leaned over and whispered something quietly into Rune's ear. Rika and Wren could make out what she said easily due to their advanced senses of hearing, but she had been wise enough to whisper it in her own native language. It sounded like a statement, then a question whispered in an even lower tone. Rune turned to her and didn't say anything at all, but he smiled and nodded. Kyra seemed quite satisfied by this.

Time to become the leader again. Chaz dug his spine out of his inventory and took a few purposeful steps towards the castle. Magic didn't scare him all that much, he had been up against far worse. He was not alone. They were all behind him, supporting him. "Let's just get this over with." He announced earnestly to his friends. "Kill Lassic, take the torch, and be back on Dezoris in time for breakfast. Follow me."

The strange blurring mist lurked inside of the castle too, instead of just at the entrance. As they progressed inside in a safe line of five they were loath to touch it, they maneuvered around the blurs whenever they had the chance. When they had no choice but to walk through the mist any body part that touched it experienced an odd, very soft vibration. It was unnerving.

As for the castle inside it was pretty much the same as last time, dark and cold, stinking of sulfur. The Air Castle was utterly silent as the small team of adventurers progressed into the main hall. The silence was almost as creepy as the mist. If anything were to attack them they'd hear it coming from a mile away, but in having to experience that sudden initial shock they would all jump out of their skins in fright.

In the main hall Chaz looked up to the balconies suspended above their heads and the slitted, stone ventilated roof. Smoke from the magma pits rose up to escape from those little gates, but there was less of that vapor now that the pits were cooling off and growing dark. They had already climbed to the very top of the castle and had not caught sight nor sound of the magician they were looking for, so there lay only one last direction they could take. Downward to the basement.

Rika broke away from the group and walked to the other side of the hall. She walked with tense anticipation, her claws out in case she was suddenly attacked, bristling like a cat. Something else had changed. She could see it, but she wanted to think that it was a good thing instead of something bad. "Look, the barrier's gone." She informed the others, waving her hand through the space where the three creatures had once stood.

"It's because we've already killed them, the illusions can't exist if the originals are destroyed! Alright!" Kyra exclaimed as she ran up and stood beside her friend, then she pumped a fist into the air with delight. Like a child she jumped into the freed part of the hall and then back again. She repeated this action several times with happy laughter.

It temporarily killed the eerie mood. The others relaxed. Beyond the illusion there was not an entirely new area of the Air Castle to explore, merely a shortcut to the innermost sanctum of the keep. Chaz and company were not attacked during their search but the deeper down they get into the building the heavier and thicker the blurry mist became. It was like the castle had been placed on top of a huge volcanic air vent with the mist slowly and steadily filtering through.

And, like the gaseous fumes of a volcanic vent the mist was slowly beginning to work its influence on the more vulnerable members of the group. Everybody including Wren had trouble keeping hold of their sense of direction, their concentration, and their ability to think clearly. To varying degrees it affected them all. Perhaps the most dangerous quality of the mist was that the five adventurers hardly noticed the change.

Eventually they found the long stairway which led into the basement. It was small and deep, hidden in one empty room attached to a long snakelike corridor. The hallway smelled of blood and smoke, days ago Rune had fought a cadre of biomonsters solo here and won. The party stopped before the stairway, looking down into the basement. It was unnaturally dark down there and shimmering.

Chaz nudged his way to the front of the group and took a small torch from off his belt. "Looks like this is the way to go." He muttered as he shone the torch down to the stone stairwell. Rather than dispel the light the young hunter had to squint and look away as something in the stairwell caused the torchlight to reflect and bounce right back into his eyes. He gasped sharply. What the heck was down there, a polished mirror?

The rest of the group was crowding around him as he clicked off the torch and tried to blink the white spots out of his eyes. Rika had her hand on his shoulder as she peered over his head into the darkness, while Kyra nearly put herself into a voluntary headlock by poking her head out underneath his arm. Rune and Wren stood at his side. Chaz bit his lip, it didn't seem like a good idea to descend into the darkness with no notion of what it might bring. "What should we do?" He asked Rune, turning to his side to look at him.

Rune got out a; "Well, uh�" before he was interrupted by Wren, who gently pushed Chaz and his two female hangers-on out of the way.

"Please allow me to take a closer look at the stairwell. I have excellent sight when it comes to scouting out the dark." He asked of his leader quietly. Chaz considered it, they'd be stuck where they were if they did not continue. If it was a trap then surely Wren would be intelligent enough to avoid it. He nodded his consent silently. They would all be close behind him if something were to go wrong.

They gave him some space and Wren switched his optics from colour differentiation to night vision. He experienced a moment of sudden chaos as his senses went from half light-half darkness to total darkness and he climbed down into the stairwell where he promptly disappeared from view. The four left in the light could still hear him, his tentative footsteps echoing on the stones.

After a minute with no communication by Wren from the stairwell Rika cupped part of a hand around her mouth and called out; "What do you see down there?", partially deafening Chaz whose ear had been very close at the time. He winced a little and wiggled a finger in his ear to work out the ringing. Poor Chaz, he had not even entered combat yet and his senses had been assaulted twice already.

The footsteps came back, but they were progressively louder now as Wren went back the way he came. He blinked a bit as he climbed back into the light and ignored the outstretched hands of his friends because they would not be able to pull him back up anyway. "Rune, are you certain that the mist is harmless?" The android asked the esper, not quite giving them the all-clear that the others were hoping for.

"I'm not quite sure anyway. All I can give you is an educated guess because I've never seen anything like it before. Why do you ask?" Rune sighed in resignation. He was pragmatic, not expecting good news of any sorts. The path to the boss was never an easy one.

"Approximately twenty five steps down the mist has gathered into what appears to be a screen. It has covered that part of the stairwell from the stairs to the ceiling. If you wish to take that path then we will have to pass through that screen." He said carefully, giving his report. They could make of it whatever they wanted, but he personally did not trust that blurry spider's web out there in the dark.

"�Just like another gate�" Chaz heard Rune whisper in a very low tone, secretly to himself. The young hunter held his breath for a few moments. He didn't want to think that Rune was hiding something from them, but he couldn't be sure. It might not mean anything at all.

Chaz weighed the information privately and came to a hopefully practical decision. "Right, let's go in, but everybody take a partner so if something happens to one of you the other will be able to do something about it. We'll go down to the basement in pairs." Kyra straightened up and started digging around in her inventory for the long matchsticks they used as a lottery, but Chaz held up a hand and stopped her.

He shook his head solemnly. "No, this time I'm going to pick who goes with who. Kyra and Rune will be one pair on account of that they get along so well, Rika and Wren will be the other pair because you two work well as a team. I'll take the point and lead by myself, okay?"

Rune and Kyra seemed quite pleased with Chaz's decision, yet it was the most unlikely person in the group who objected, with the most counter-productive request ever. Wren spoke up and out of turn. "That does not sound wise. You would be alone should anything happen to you. It is important that the leader remain protected. Chaz, I must insist that you pair with Rika and I will go by myself."

"For-" The hunter started to say, then stopped himself in time. He didn't want to start an argument there and now, in full view of everybody else. He just wanted the two most important people in his life protected and safe. Wren should understand that if anything were to happen to him or Rika then Chaz would just lose his way. In his mind it was worse than putting himself in physical danger. Best to keep them together, where they could protect one another. Chaz took a deep breath. "Wren, please. Just trust me."

Wren made eye contact with Chaz and for a moment they just stared each other down. Words could have been said, sincere, honest words, but not publicly. Silence would have to do, it would have to be enough. Chaz wanted Wren safe, Wren wanted Chaz safe, but Chaz was the leader and Wren was not. Chaz was controlling their relationship and Wren was not. He backed down. "�Alright. I will trust you." He replied softly.

"It'll be fine. You'll see." Chaz smiled and then they got organized into their respective groups. The blond hunter would go in first, then two minutes later Rune and Kyra would follow him. Two minutes after that Rika and Wren would bring up the rear. Whatever that misty screen was hiding from them they would be prepared for it. They would be safe.

So the hunter went first, alone and unprotected into the unknown. He could feel the eyes of his friends on his armored back as he shone the torch down onto the stone steps carefully, so he could avoid the shimmering reflection and move without falling down the stairs. His other hand was clasped around the hilt of one of his daggers, resting snugly on his belt. It grew dark all around him and his footsteps began to echo, the change in the light sound causing a rattling chill to dart up his spine.

He stopped in his tracks and looked over his shoulder for one last reassuring glimpse of his friends. He saw Rika waving back at him, her face an expression of concern but still she wished him good luck. Chaz felt an impulse to go back the way he had come to where it was safe, but what kind of good would that do for him? Rika's wave spurred him on. Soon he disappeared.

Abruptly the sound of his footsteps vanished. He had walked through the screen. Two minutes later Kyra and Rune prepared to follow him. The female esper was a little edgy over dark, cramped spaces but Rune did something uncharacteristic of himself and courteously held her hand. "The kid's getting braver." She heard him remark of Chaz and she was inclined to agree. Rune smirked and guided her down the stairway. "Come on, let's match him."

Eventually those two were gone as well. Rika worried that they were behaving like lambs walking straight into a slaughterhouse. Chaz was acting stronger now, more like their leader should be. He must be anticipating the fight ahead, his personality always performed a little lurch towards courage and competence during decisive battles. She gave a small frown. "Rune was right, but we shouldn't have let him go off on his own."

"I know." Wren agreed gently. "I tried to stop him."

"I really care about him, Wren."

"As do I."

His choice of words were probably a little too sincere and Rika looked at him curiously for a moment, but Wren kept up a straight face. It was easy, he was too concerned with Chaz and Lassic to appear any other way. It inspired a smile in Rika, who wanted to forever remain the optimist. "Well, hopefully not as much as I do." She giggled, toying with the white flower in her hair.

Wren looked at her evenly. He wasn't about to lie to Rika, but he wasn't going to be honest with her either. Chaz would just about kill him, if Rika didn't do it herself first. Gods, how exactly had he gotten himself into this mess in the first place? Thankfully, with Chaz on the line it was so completely worth it.

The two minutes were up. He tactfully changed the subject. "It is time to go. Let's follow them." He said as he picked up his weapon and extended a hand to Rika in offering. If they were walking into a trap then best to find out sooner rather than later.

She took his metal-plated hand without hesitation. She wasn't afraid of the dark, wasn't afraid of anything save for the others' sake.

So down they went into the basement, the last two members of the team vanishing yet accounted for.

But not for long.

��

Walking through the mist caused Rika's skin to prickle, the soft hairs on the back of her neck to rise, and her stomach to give a little flip flop of anxiety. The screen had just run a very weak magical charge through her, but while not painful to her it had still felt quite unpleasant. She opened her eyes. The basement wasn't as dark as she had expected, torches burned slowly on the walls every hundred meters or so along the corridor. Rika usually would not have found this very strange but oddities always wound up attracting her eye.

The wood which was meant to fuel the flames did not burn at all while the fire voraciously illuminated everything around it. More magic, so Lassic must know they were there. The numan girl felt weak on her feet, like she had walked straight out of reality and into a dream. It was really hard to think, to retain information, to do anything at all. I've been hypnotized, the rational part of her mind thought in abject horror, exposure to that mist has put me into a trance.

But shouldn't awareness of being in a trance be enough to snap her straight out of that trance? Apparently not. She shook her head slowly, and with the same speed of brain function Rika realised that she was not supposed to be alone. She had a partner, so where had he gotten to?

She had a look around for him. Wren was actually standing right next to her, which gave a good impression on just how dazed Rika was right now. They were still holding hands and she nearly bumped into him. "Oh, there you are." She hummed in almost a singsong. "Don't disappear, we're meant to stick together from now on. Where are we? Is this the basement or have we stepped into a dream?"

The girl swayed and Wren grabbed her by the upper arms to keep her from falling over. He wasn't exactly feeling the best himself but at least his reflexes were fast enough to do that. Many of his functions had shut down when he and Rika had passed through the screen and he hadn't been able to reactivate them yet. His auto-map and compass were both locked out. He spoke after a lengthy pause. "I do not know. I hope so."

"This is what I feel like when I dream, only this time I'm aware that I'm dreaming. What if this really is a dream? What if we're unconscious somewhere, defenseless when Lassic comes to get us?" Rika pulled herself together for a bit, raising her head to look him in the eye. She wanted to be afraid because she knew that she should be, but for some reason she couldn't feel anything else but giddy confusion.

The android shook her very gently to maintain her attention on him. Wren never dreamed, not really, so he couldn't compare this altered state of awareness to anything else. "Don't be ridiculous. Gather yourself together and we will progress to Lassic's chamber. It seems to be a rather straightforward path ahead. I am going to let go of you now." He did, tentatively. Rika didn't fall over, she actually straightened up and composed herself admirably, smiling.

"I'm sorry. I'll try to fight the daze, I know I can. Let's get moving." She promised resolutely. The two of them held hands and pressed on, along the winding corridor lit by unnatural flame. There was always a bit of a downward slope which gave the encouraging notion that they were proceeding deeper and deeper into the bowels of the Air Castle. The hallways twisted like a coiled snake and split in two at some points, leading into long cul-de-sacs which became a misleading annoyance.

The general direction was clear however, all the branching dead ends doing nothing more kill some time. Rika's mental acuity gradually returned to her with every step, the daze not quite fading but the numan girl finding a way to both accept the dreamlike state and then put it out of her mind, just like a real dream. She started to think that she could probably fight again, if they were attacked.

Two levels down from where they had started it was becoming apparent that as Rika recovered, Wren was beginning to worsen. Maybe it was because the dream state was so alien to him, or because Lassic's trap would only allow enough clarity of mind for just one of them. Rika noticed something was wrong when he practically tripped down the stairs coming to the third basement floor. He caught himself in time, but the half-vacant look on his face was troubling.

"Wren, are you alright? Can you hear me?" Rika asked, watching her friend trying to stay nonchalant but just slightly leaning against the wall for support. They had come very far, it was probably just a little bit farther to the end. She was not going to leave him behind. Gosh, the situation reversal had happened so fast that it had crept on them without a sound.

"Yes� I am fine, I just cannot maintain optimal condition in this area. I am unable to explain why, but have patience with me and I can continue. Rika�" He stood and picked up his gun. "All peripherals have shut down. I am no better than a palman at the moment. I can no longer provide information in this state."

Neither of them knew why their minds were being affected so. The daze grew as their minds were being read, analyzed and then manufactured into the surprise that was waiting for them just around the bend. Lassic wanted to hurt them physically and tear them limb from limb, make them bleed and scream, but before that he had one delightful task up ahead of him. He wanted to hurt their souls, find the nerve which displayed the most sensitivity and then impale it with a blunt needle.

The key was in their minds, and with a little sneaky rummaging and creativity the trap was baited with ease. With no high spirits their will to fight would be lost. When the magic had found what it wanted in Wren's mind, just as it had with Rika's the magic seemed to fade. From that point on the android showed somewhat of a speedy improvement.

On the last basement level the corridors held no slope to it. This was it, this was the end. The two adventurers rounded a corner and were met with a sudden surprise heralded by familiar, yet foreign laughter.

Kyra Tierney was sitting in the middle of the stone hallway, perched on top of a tall wooden barstool, specifically one which had come from Gyuna's tavern. Her hands were in her lap, her blue eyes sparkling, but her presence there made absolutely no sense at all. She was meant to be sticking close to Rune, and why was she giggling like that? Wren lowered his weapon and Rika stepped forward in puzzlement. "Kyra? What are you doing here?" She gasped.

"I know a secret!" The female esper proclaimed in a loud voice, her demeanor that of a gossip with her hands into some extremely juicy dirt. She was just about gloating. "Rune told me a secret! When I heard it I knew I had to stay behind, because Rika, you need to know this." She started to giggle again, maniacally.

Nobody had to tell Rika or Wren that something fishy was going on. But� Kyra really was a gossip, and she could have stayed behind if she wanted to. As for Gyuna's barstool, well, with the daze it was easy to ignore things that didn't make sense. Wren was wary. He raised his weapon again in case it was a trick. "I am not certain that you are Kyra Tierney. Please identify yourself."

The esper girl continued ranting as if she had not heard Wren speaking at all. Perhaps that was true, as Kyra did not seem to make direct eye contact with either of them. "It's about Chaz." She sang. "He really likes somebody! Rune told me who it is. Let me tell you, I was amazed when I heard it! Talk about the most unlikely person in the world! But I guess that's Chaz for you, isn't it? Always has to be a surprise."

The strange Kyra's words got through to Rika and her eyes widened a little in shock. Chaz's mystery girlfriend, Kyra knew who it was! All she'd have to do was ask and she could know who her rival was, the person she'd have to compete with to earn Chaz's heart. Wren standing beside her felt a very strange emotion, a chilling feeling of dread. Kyra shouldn't know, but if Rune knew (and that was possible) he could have told Kyra, and then�

Rika piped up. She had to know. "Who is she?" She exclaimed. "Please tell me who she is!"

When Kyra heard the word 'she; she shut up quickly, momentarily stunned by just how inaccurate Rika was. She blinked a few times, then a long, feline smile spread across her face. Rika didn't like it, had she said something wrong? "Oh, Rika. You poor girl. You really don't know, do you?" The esper said with thick syrupy pity, rocking back and forth on her stool a little. "Chaz is a deviant. He swings his sword with both hands, if you know what I mean."

No, Rika didn't get what she meant, and even if she did deep down in her mind she could not accept it. She felt Wren let go of her hand so he could cling more firmly to his weapon, feeling fear and not quite understanding it, feeling weak and being unsure if it was a side effect of the daze or the anxiety. Wow, real terror. He hadn't felt anything like that for centuries, if ever. "I don't see what relevance this has to your identification. Are you Kyra Tierney or not? Answer the question."

"Be quiet Wren, please. I need to know this. If I can't find out now it'll torment me." Rika pleaded, momentarily glancing at her friend. She didn't notice just how tightly the android was gripping his weapon, white-knuckled were he a palman. Even if she did she didn't care right now, her attention was on the laughing esper. She placed a hand over her heart in sincerity. "I don't understand what you mean. Who is it that Chaz likes? You don't need to worry about upsetting me, I just have to know."

Kyra went from looking at Rika to looking at Wren. The cunning smile became sinister, her sparkling eyes mocking. Gracefully she climbed off the barstool and stood at her full height. She was slightly taller than Wren remembered her to be. He was more than certain that this wasn't their true friend, but he didn't know how to prove it. His peripherals had been shut down, he couldn't even run the most basic of scans on her. All he could do was look and listen. Wait. That was a start�

The blue-haired girl folded her arms and opened her mouth to speak. It was only then that Wren realised no air came out; she wasn't breathing. He could not hear the gentle sound of her exhalation and her chest did not rise and fall with the effort. "Rika. If you want to know who it is that Chaz likes, all you have to do is look at the person standing right next to-"

Wren killed her before she could finish her sentence. He pointed his cannon at the target and pulled the trigger, a burst of superheated plasma destroying her where she stood. There was no blood or gore, there was not anything at all, only the explosion, the chemical smell and the bright light. She was gone.

Rika shrieked. Kyra was their ally and Wren had just turned on her like a cold and unfeeling machine. She looked at the android with wide eyes, too stunned to be angry or terrified or upset. Rika rarely screamed or made a fuss at all, but that had been her friend. "You just� you just�" She stammered as smoke lazily drifted from the cannon's barrel.

"It's alright." Wren reassured her from his deep fount of calm. He was really withdrawing more than he had left, these days. He walked up to where Kyra had stood, haphazardly fanning the smoke away. He knelt. If he had been mistaken then he had just killed one of his closest friends, but he was ninety two percent certain that he was right. All that was left of the girl was a long tan cloak, she had not been wearing that when she was alive. Wren smiled a little in relief. "That was not Kyra. It was merely an illusion to trick our minds."

The cloak he was holding up belonged to a chaos sorcerer, another or Lassic's nameless minions. The squeezing presence around Rika's heart remained there. Even if it was not real she had just seen one friend attacking another friend. It was a decidedly traumatic experience to catch the very split second of somebody disintegrating before your eyes. Also, she had been so close to finding out who Chaz liked, only to have the information snatched away from her. "She was going to tell me the truth." Rika murmured numbly.

So thank the gods that Wren had managed to shut her up in time. The cloak of the dark sorcerer was beginning to dissolve in his hands, wearing away to loose fibers which became dust within seconds. Wren shook his hand a little to rid himself of the foreign particles. "It was just another servant of Lassic. It does not seem wise to trust the words of our enemy, especially when its express purpose was to mislead us. It was merely telling you what you did not wish to hear."

As Wren pushed himself back up from one knee Rika recalled the words the fake Kyra had said to her just before she died. 'If you want to know who it is Chaz likes all you have to do is look at the person standing right next to you'. Her own mind filled in the last part, it seemed the most likely word to come next. Wren knew. Rika knew that Wren knew, but he would not talk about it. Maybe there was a reason for that. "Why won't you tell me who Chaz likes?" She questioned him softly but firmly.

"Because I also do not want to tell you what you do not wish to hear." Wren said as he averted his eyes from Rika. The numan girl immediately felt concerned for him. He seemed slightly upset and sad. "Listen, this is primarily Chaz's business and if he does not want anybody to learn about his private life then I am not about to spread rumors about him. Talk to Chaz. Don't expect anything from me."

He was right. It was selfish to drag her friend into this confusing mess with herself and Chaz only to satisfy her catlike curiosity. She had confided in Wren and he had helped her, but asking him to betray his newly reinforced friendship with Chaz was just too much. She felt ashamed of herself and blushed. "One thing doesn't add up though." She muttered. "Why do you know so much about Chaz's personal life anyway?"

This time Wren almost blushed himself, temporarily stunned. He couldn't help but flash back to the night before for a moment or two. He couldn't very well tell the stark truth and say; 'because last night I sucked his dick and I liked it', but he had to say something. Lies only beget more lies, over time. The wren-type fidgeted a little as he tried to come up with a simpler explanation. Ugh, if it was so simple then why was it so hard to think up?

Then, from out of the blue he had it. He could have sighed out of such relief. "When you are somebody like myself, who does not have a set of clearly defined emotions it is easy for people to come to me for advice. I am not judgmental and I do not look down upon others in revulsion or disgust. Chaz came to me with his problems just as you did upon that mountainside on Dezoris. I can no more breach his confidence in me than I can for you, Rika. I'm only trying to keep my promises."

And that was the honest truth. It was airtight. Rika smiled weakly, in apology. "Yes, it's very important to keep your trust in people. I'm sorry for trying to make you break it, Wren. I just wanted to know what he likes in a girl before I go and offer my heart to him. I just don't want him to ignore me or laugh at me."

He experienced empathy for the girl. He was beginning to understand exactly how she felt. They were rivals but they were also tutor and student, comrade and comrade. Wren walked back over to Rika and sympathetically placed an arm around her shoulders, in a loose little hug. He squeezed her lightly. "You don't have to apologize. I hope that Chaz will notice you and you won't have to feel this way anymore."

Only he knew that he was lying, and somewhere deep inside of him he felt terrible for it.
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