The stone slab disappeared, and revealed a large, domed room. It was high, at least thirty metres, and there was soft light filtering through the oculus at the highest point.

Large pillars dotted the room, seemingly serving no purpose, but to obscure the vision of the room. It was at least one hundred metres across.

They all made their way into the room, and the stone slab slid back into position behind them.

"It only opens on human touch." Paul said "Xenos can't open it."

Eran nodded, and Aki growled "What is this place?"

"I've called it the temple. It's some sort of ritual site. I don't know its real purpose."

They had walked into the room, passing a few pillars "We need to get to the centre."

Aki had unsheathed his wrist blades, Eran was holding his spear, and Weyland's hands were in the coat pockets, no doubt reaching for his guns.

They rounded one pillar, and then they saw the first body. Weyland moved carefully towards it. The weapon was still in the man's hand, yet his skin had shrivelled, and his body had dried out.

The cause of death was all too evident. There was a huge bite wound, almost taking his head off his neck. The spine was snapped.

Weyland checked him for further damage, but there was none.

"What happened here?" Aki asked

Paul shook his head "I don't fully know."

They moved further on, through the almost forest like pillars, to the middle of the room.

They passed through the last ring of pillars and reached the centre.

The soft light of the oculus was filtering downwards, onto a large altar.

On the steps leading up to it, the second security guy lay, his face and head mauled terribly. On top of the altar, the corpse of the colonist lay, its chest cavity destroyed and ripped.

"Oh god!" Paul said "They actually tried it..."

"Tried what? Paul?" Weyland looked around sharply "Is there a xenomorph on the loose?"

"I don't know." Paul moved up towards the altar. He checked the man's body, paying careful attention to the wound in the chest. Akkan had walked up with him, examining the corpse as well.

This was not caused by a xenomorph.

"We don't think this was caused by a xenomorph. The wound is too large."

Weyland breathed a sigh of relief

"We aren't out of it yet."

Paul checked a cylindrical cask at the end of the Altar. It was empty. "They've used the chemical…"

"Chemical?"

"There were three of those casks here. They contained a black liquid, a chemical. There were three of those standing here when I came here the first time…"

Weyland quickly checked the altar. "They've used one and taken the other two."

Eran turned at Aki and clicked something.
"Eran knows where at least one other is."

Weyland turned towards Eran. "Interesting to know. Why won't you tell us?"

Eran hung his head, and Aki translated again "He says it hurts too much."

"It's in your memories, right?"

Eran nodded.

Paul cleared his throat "Perhaps I can help. I've been spending a lot of time conversing with Akkan's mind in the last few years."

Eran nodded again.

Paul went on "If you would allow me to connect with your mind, perhaps I can find out what happened without you having to go through the experience of remembering.

Eran seemed unsure. He looked at Aki for help, who smiled encouragingly, and patted him on his back. "You can say no if you don't want to." He clicked.

"Will it help?" Eran said, in his watery, croaky English?

"It helped with some of Akkan's traumata, and even with mine."

Eran nodded again.

Paul squared his shoulders, and turned to Weyland and Aki. "When I submerge in Eran's mind, I will be vulnerable. The physical connection must not be broken. You must take care to keep both of us safe."

He turned to Akkan: You must guard us as well, but not only on the physical plain.

I understand, love. Be careful.

They had heaved the corpse off the altar, and Eran had sat down, his spear down beside him. Paul sat in front of him, cross-legged.

"I will put my hands on the side of your head, but you have to relax and let me in. I can't force my way into your mind, that's not how mild telepathy works..."

Eran nodded

"If you feel I'm going somewhere you don't want me to, you can always softly close the door in your mind on it."

Eran nodded again.

"Once I'm in the deep part of your mind, you'll enter some sort of dreamless sleep. It is completely normal. I will withdraw once I am done."

Eran nodded.

"We will be fine!" Paul smiled encouragingly, and Aki pressed Eran's talon for comfort.

The scientist lifted his hands, and put them up against Eran's cheeks. He felt the cool, smooth xenomorph skin under his hands, not dissimilar from Akkan's. Closing his eyes, he stretched out his mind, and slowly, felt it make contact with Eran's.

The xenomorph was breathing hard, forcing himself to relax and not to shut Paul out.

Touching his mind felt like making contact with a jagged scar. Paul felt Eran's thoughts, his worries about Aki, his …

There was a door that was closed. He wouldn't go that way.

He moved further, into the reaches of the mind. This was different than Akkan's. Akkan's mind was accelerated, boosted in certain areas, but still pretty xenomorphish and harmoniously... In here it was different. Conflicting Identities clashed, Eran's xenomorph side, and the… other one.

Paul dived deeper.

Down here, the torrent of thoughts was quieter. The deep mind would not be far.

Thoughts, memories drifted past him.

This was it. Down here was one of the memories he was looking for.

He latched on to one.

A searing pain in his butt made Paul, except that he wasn't Paul anymore scream. He was being pushed up against a wall, his neck held uncomfortably tight by a large talon, and someone was pushing hard against his butt, into his butt, fucking, no raping him. He felt his inner maw gash, he wriggled and screeched in pain.

The perpetrator of the act, a large xenomorph warrior, hissed at him and he felt the creature's lust and anger overwhelm him.

There was the gashing of jaws, and then a searing pain on his back in a place Paul's human mind couldn't quite place. There was the sizzle of acid burning through rock, and the rhythmic slap of-

Paul managed to tear himself away from Eran's memory. That was terrible!

He himself felt the agony the creature must have felt. He had experienced similar things, but he had gotten past them with Akkan's help.

But this wasn't what he was looking for.

Venturing deeper, he found another memory.

This was even more terrifying.

He felt restraints tighten around his arms, his legs, his neck and his chest. They burned his skin, and he thrashed, in fear and in anger.

For he could not think, only feel, and he wanted to go. He hissed, gashed his head, looking down at the room in front of him.

Humans, the weak prey, was milling around in front of him, sticking needles into his body, making him screech in pain.

He saw, integrated within a machinery, one of the casks, open, a tube going into it.

The humans mumbled in their strange talk, and one of them pressed a button, and moved up to him. He heard him talk, and discerned two words.

Blood Moon.

He had though he had felt pain.

But he was wrong.

This was worse. This was much worse.

Black liquid was pumped from the cask through the needles into his veins, and he screamed.

Akkan slunk around the two, Paul sweating, and Eran hissing softly. His lover was in discomfort.

Weyland hat sat down on the stairs, a handgun on his knees, watching the perimeter.

Aki was moving around, checking the area.

Suddenly, Akkan heard a clatter, then a quiet patting of feet.

Aki had heard it too, moving back, and Weyland, even though his hearing not being as good, had read the body language of the aliens well enough to be on his guard.

"Aki, what is it?"

"There's something here with us."

Two torches were switched on, sweeping the area. The pillars were illuminated, but the area between them stayed dark.

The soft footsteps returned, closer now. They seemed to be coming from the right, and Weyland turned.

There was a soft scratching, and then silence again.

"What is it?"

Akkan shrugged his shoulders, looking very strange, and took up position beside Paul.

Weyland checked the pillars again. It was somewhere around here.

There was a soft sound, and suddenly, Weyland felt something. He jumped to the side, narrowly evading a small creature, which landed on the floor. He jumped backwards, letting off a barrage of shots.

The creature, only the size of a child, with black-blue skin, an elongated, pointy head, and an angry, gashing jaw, jumped away, out of the beam of the torch.

"It's here!"

Aki rushed over to him, looking around.

"Back to back!" Weyland ordered, and Aki complied. Akkan had assumed combat stance close to Paul, his body a fluid motion. He had been practicing.

Switching on the torch he had attached to his handgun, he put the other one back in his pocket, and reached for the large calibre revolver.
"What is it?" Aki asked

"It's small, but it looks pretty fierce."

They heard the patter of feet again, and something launched itself at Weyland. He managed to get one shot off, and then the creature brought him down. He swatted at the small form, but it dodged him.

Its teeth glinted in the half-light.
Weyland gave it a kick, the creature attempting to evade again, but still getting hit, and flying off into the dark.

Its attack came relentless though. Weyland had scrambled to his feet, but the creature jumped at him again, only to be swatted away into the darkness by a swing from Aki's fist.

Weyland wiped the blood from the scratches in his cheek "Did you hit it?"

"Only with the fist" he growled.

There was a patter in the dark again, and the creature launched itself at Weyland again.

But this time neither Weyland nor Aki had the time to react.

Akkan had launched himself from the altar in one large jump through the air, and had plucked the creature from the air.

There was the fizz of xenomorph blood on the ground as it swiped his cheek, and then the sickening crack of a proper head bite, destroying the creature's head.

Paul slowly surfaced from Eran's mind.

It felt like climbing out of an icy lake. His feelings were numbed, and he felt as if he had lost something down there in Eran's deep mind.

It had been horrible watching himself torture Akkan, but it was nothing compared to the feeling of the black chemical being inserted in Eran's veins. It was surprising he had actually survived it.

He passed back from the Xeno's mind, and detached his fingers. He felt weak and shaky, not getting up, but leaning back.

Akkan was upon him in seconds. PAUL! The xeno's mouth was smeared by strange blood, and there was a gash in the side of his neck. Paul was too weak to think anything. The touch of Akkan's mind was comforting to him. It soothed him, feeling the Xenomorph lift him up, and cuddle him.

Akkan…

You are weak!

You don't know what I saw. What I felt...

I can feel it…

Akkan cuddled Paul tighter.

Slowly, Eran came to as well, stretching, and getting up. He shook his head as if to clear it from cobwebs.

"What did you see?" Weyland asked.

Akkan slowly let Paul back on the ground, still supporting him with his talon.

Paul breathed in. "I think I know what blood moon is. "

"Well?"

"It's an experiment gone wrong. It's out of control. And we have to stop it!"