Why Video Game Characters Aren't Allowed to Add-lib...
Raziel stumbles backwards from his last, and seemingly final attack on Kain. Kain was visibly wounded, though Raziel had seen him worse for wear before, and was not quick enough to stop him from teleporting to the top level of the Chronoplast, where the active gateway waited to be put to use and thus take Kain into Nosgoth's past.
"You almost had me, Raziel," Kain said with a slight smirk, "But this is not where—or how—it ends."
Easy for you to say, thought Raziel. Kain had always been such a pompous...but that didn't matter. His vengeance was all that mattered. And he would get it, one way...or another.
"Fate promises more twists before this drama unfolds completely," Kain concluded, and then turned towards the gateway. But Raziel blinked as he considered what Kain had just said.
"Hold it," he exclaimed suddenly. Kain did and looked around; he was obviously surprised that Raziel had tried to stop him. He didn't remember reading anything about this in the script... "Kain, think about what you just said. 'Fate promises more twists before this drama unfolds completely.' What, did Fate send you an e-mail? 'Yo, Kain, take Raziel through the Chronoplast. If you do, I promise more twists before your drama unfolds completely'?"
Kain grumbled and crossed his arms over his chest. "I didn't write the script, okay? You have issues, take it up with Eidos or Crystal Dynamics, not me."
"Well, I don't see why we have to go to them to get things done," Raziel persisted. He too had now crossed his arms over his...well, his arms were a bit lankier than Kain's, and so it was more like over his rib cage than his chest. "I mean, after all, the series is named after you, isn't it? The Legacy of Kain? So, that more or less means that you can do whatever you please, rather they like it or not. Right?"
"Oh, yeah, a likely story," Kain snorted, "You just want me to fight you so you can kill me and absorb my soul. Fat chance, Raz. Besides, it is named after me—what would they call it if I died, huh? The Legacy of Raziel? Please..."
"Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of 'The Journeys of Raziel' or maybe 'Raziel's Revenge'. I mean, it worked for that Wolverine guy and all," Raziel shrugged, "But, yeah, that was my plan, more or less. With there being no other playable characters but you and me."
"Oh, come on, without me, they'll discontinue the series," Kain laughed. "Who wants to play a game based solely on the antics of a walking corpse that looks like origami?"
Raziel's eyes flashed. "Hey, you didn't look too great yourself it your first game, Mr. Two Dimensional. I couldn't decided whose graphics looked better: yours in Blood Omen, or Super Mario Brothers for the original Nintendo."
"Mario is a classic!" Kain snapped. "And I at least didn't look like I'd float away with the first good gust of wind."
"A Playstation can only read so much information, why do you think they came out with the Playstation 2?" Raziel snapped back. "I also have issues with those bat beckons..."
"They cleaned them up in the later games to just spots on the ground!" Kain yelled back. "What else do you want from me?! And as I mentioned, you aren't exactly breath taking yourself. The paddles from Pong looked more technologically advanced than you did."
"That's not my fault, it's the system they put me on!" Raziel retorted, though considered. "You know, I was wrong to compare you to Mario," he said as an after thought, "At least he can jump without transforming into a wolf. If you can call that horrendous blotch of color a wolf."
"Easy, Raziel, don't dis the animators," Kain growls, "Besides, at least I have a great battle cry. What have you got other than the curse of forever solving block puzzles?"
"I just happen to have one of the best voices in the video game industry, thank you very much," Raziel snorted. "And Vae Victus?! You call that a good battle cry?? Couldn't those people at Silicon Knights at least have used English?" He growled. "You kill somebody and yell Vae Victus, and that makes it the best battle cry in the world, right??" Raziel prepared himself to leap up and attack Kain. "Yeah, well, Sic Semper Tyranius, you Mario-looking son of a..."
"That's it!" Kain yelled back, and beat Raziel to the punch by leaping down at him first. When they clashed, it was no gallant fight between rivals, such as what you might expect of the two main characters from the series. Instead, it was a full out brawl with no magic or swords of any kind involved. For this reason, they threw up a lot of dust and it was near impossible to tell what they were doing to each other. Times would pause just long enough for the dust to settle that one might be able to see Kain banging Raziel's head into the ground, or Raziel putting the ankle lock on Kain. But for the most part one would have only been able to hear the sounds of fighting and insults being slung back and forth at each other.
Kain: "Origami freak!"
Raziel: "Mario wanna be!"
Kain: "Blue cockroach!"
Raziel: "Blood-sucking mosquito!"
Kain: "Mosquito?! Why you...Take that! Let's see how good a voice you have after I shove my foot down you're throat!"
Raziel: No jaw, you dingbat! Uhg! That's for my clan! Uh! That's for throwing me in the Abyss! Gah! That's for never getting me a pony! I mean, for betraying me!
It went on like this for about ten or fifteen minutes, until they both had beaten each other to the point of exhaustion. When the dust settled, they were laying side by side on the floor, panting. For a long time they did nothing else. Kain's emblem was torn and his armor was displaced, not to mention the various cuts and scrapes that were already healing or healed. Raziel's hair was all over the place, and the cloth that covered his missing jaw lay just barely out of arm's reach beside him, exposing his lack of said jaw. Not to mention the various cuts and scrapes that would heal up as soon as he found a soul. At length, Kain managed to roll over and look at Raziel.
"So," he gasped, "Maybe...we should just...go back to the script, and...Let me meet you...In Soul Reaver 2."
"Don't you mean...Nosgoth's past?" Raziel corrected.
"Yeah, whatever," Kain shrugged. "Sound...good to you?"
Raziel nodded, and Kain dragged himself up. With some effort, he then made it back up to the top of the Chronoplast and through the door.
Raziel lay on his back for a minute, then got up and put the cloth back on around his face. Stupid Kain, he thought as he limped towards the Chronoplast himself. Just as he reached the threshold, the Elder God's voice spoke to him.
"Be warned, Raziel—once you cross the threshold..."
"Oh, shove it in your eyes, Master," Raziel snapped irritably.
There was a short silence, then a snort. "Fine," the Elder grumbled, "See if I save your hide from total damnation again."
Raziel sighed and walked through the gateway. Once on the other side, Moebius the Time-Streamer steps forward and addresses him.
"Raziel...Redeemer and destroyer...Pawn and messiah...Welcome, time-spanned soul...Welcome, to your—"Moebius cut himself short as he got his first good look at Raziel. "What the Pillars of Nosgoth happened to you? World War 3?"
Raziel narrowed his eyes at the Time Guardian. "Don't ask," he hissed.
Raziel stumbles backwards from his last, and seemingly final attack on Kain. Kain was visibly wounded, though Raziel had seen him worse for wear before, and was not quick enough to stop him from teleporting to the top level of the Chronoplast, where the active gateway waited to be put to use and thus take Kain into Nosgoth's past.
"You almost had me, Raziel," Kain said with a slight smirk, "But this is not where—or how—it ends."
Easy for you to say, thought Raziel. Kain had always been such a pompous...but that didn't matter. His vengeance was all that mattered. And he would get it, one way...or another.
"Fate promises more twists before this drama unfolds completely," Kain concluded, and then turned towards the gateway. But Raziel blinked as he considered what Kain had just said.
"Hold it," he exclaimed suddenly. Kain did and looked around; he was obviously surprised that Raziel had tried to stop him. He didn't remember reading anything about this in the script... "Kain, think about what you just said. 'Fate promises more twists before this drama unfolds completely.' What, did Fate send you an e-mail? 'Yo, Kain, take Raziel through the Chronoplast. If you do, I promise more twists before your drama unfolds completely'?"
Kain grumbled and crossed his arms over his chest. "I didn't write the script, okay? You have issues, take it up with Eidos or Crystal Dynamics, not me."
"Well, I don't see why we have to go to them to get things done," Raziel persisted. He too had now crossed his arms over his...well, his arms were a bit lankier than Kain's, and so it was more like over his rib cage than his chest. "I mean, after all, the series is named after you, isn't it? The Legacy of Kain? So, that more or less means that you can do whatever you please, rather they like it or not. Right?"
"Oh, yeah, a likely story," Kain snorted, "You just want me to fight you so you can kill me and absorb my soul. Fat chance, Raz. Besides, it is named after me—what would they call it if I died, huh? The Legacy of Raziel? Please..."
"Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of 'The Journeys of Raziel' or maybe 'Raziel's Revenge'. I mean, it worked for that Wolverine guy and all," Raziel shrugged, "But, yeah, that was my plan, more or less. With there being no other playable characters but you and me."
"Oh, come on, without me, they'll discontinue the series," Kain laughed. "Who wants to play a game based solely on the antics of a walking corpse that looks like origami?"
Raziel's eyes flashed. "Hey, you didn't look too great yourself it your first game, Mr. Two Dimensional. I couldn't decided whose graphics looked better: yours in Blood Omen, or Super Mario Brothers for the original Nintendo."
"Mario is a classic!" Kain snapped. "And I at least didn't look like I'd float away with the first good gust of wind."
"A Playstation can only read so much information, why do you think they came out with the Playstation 2?" Raziel snapped back. "I also have issues with those bat beckons..."
"They cleaned them up in the later games to just spots on the ground!" Kain yelled back. "What else do you want from me?! And as I mentioned, you aren't exactly breath taking yourself. The paddles from Pong looked more technologically advanced than you did."
"That's not my fault, it's the system they put me on!" Raziel retorted, though considered. "You know, I was wrong to compare you to Mario," he said as an after thought, "At least he can jump without transforming into a wolf. If you can call that horrendous blotch of color a wolf."
"Easy, Raziel, don't dis the animators," Kain growls, "Besides, at least I have a great battle cry. What have you got other than the curse of forever solving block puzzles?"
"I just happen to have one of the best voices in the video game industry, thank you very much," Raziel snorted. "And Vae Victus?! You call that a good battle cry?? Couldn't those people at Silicon Knights at least have used English?" He growled. "You kill somebody and yell Vae Victus, and that makes it the best battle cry in the world, right??" Raziel prepared himself to leap up and attack Kain. "Yeah, well, Sic Semper Tyranius, you Mario-looking son of a..."
"That's it!" Kain yelled back, and beat Raziel to the punch by leaping down at him first. When they clashed, it was no gallant fight between rivals, such as what you might expect of the two main characters from the series. Instead, it was a full out brawl with no magic or swords of any kind involved. For this reason, they threw up a lot of dust and it was near impossible to tell what they were doing to each other. Times would pause just long enough for the dust to settle that one might be able to see Kain banging Raziel's head into the ground, or Raziel putting the ankle lock on Kain. But for the most part one would have only been able to hear the sounds of fighting and insults being slung back and forth at each other.
Kain: "Origami freak!"
Raziel: "Mario wanna be!"
Kain: "Blue cockroach!"
Raziel: "Blood-sucking mosquito!"
Kain: "Mosquito?! Why you...Take that! Let's see how good a voice you have after I shove my foot down you're throat!"
Raziel: No jaw, you dingbat! Uhg! That's for my clan! Uh! That's for throwing me in the Abyss! Gah! That's for never getting me a pony! I mean, for betraying me!
It went on like this for about ten or fifteen minutes, until they both had beaten each other to the point of exhaustion. When the dust settled, they were laying side by side on the floor, panting. For a long time they did nothing else. Kain's emblem was torn and his armor was displaced, not to mention the various cuts and scrapes that were already healing or healed. Raziel's hair was all over the place, and the cloth that covered his missing jaw lay just barely out of arm's reach beside him, exposing his lack of said jaw. Not to mention the various cuts and scrapes that would heal up as soon as he found a soul. At length, Kain managed to roll over and look at Raziel.
"So," he gasped, "Maybe...we should just...go back to the script, and...Let me meet you...In Soul Reaver 2."
"Don't you mean...Nosgoth's past?" Raziel corrected.
"Yeah, whatever," Kain shrugged. "Sound...good to you?"
Raziel nodded, and Kain dragged himself up. With some effort, he then made it back up to the top of the Chronoplast and through the door.
Raziel lay on his back for a minute, then got up and put the cloth back on around his face. Stupid Kain, he thought as he limped towards the Chronoplast himself. Just as he reached the threshold, the Elder God's voice spoke to him.
"Be warned, Raziel—once you cross the threshold..."
"Oh, shove it in your eyes, Master," Raziel snapped irritably.
There was a short silence, then a snort. "Fine," the Elder grumbled, "See if I save your hide from total damnation again."
Raziel sighed and walked through the gateway. Once on the other side, Moebius the Time-Streamer steps forward and addresses him.
"Raziel...Redeemer and destroyer...Pawn and messiah...Welcome, time-spanned soul...Welcome, to your—"Moebius cut himself short as he got his first good look at Raziel. "What the Pillars of Nosgoth happened to you? World War 3?"
Raziel narrowed his eyes at the Time Guardian. "Don't ask," he hissed.