It seems in the last chapter I forgot to add a disclaimer, my bad.

I'm just playing in someone else's sandbox, folks. Stargate and Legacy of Kain are far to great to be owned by someone like me.


By the time Mitchell and Carter had arrived in town word had spread in Ziegsturhl that The Pillars had been captured by the invaders. It was only a matter of time before the knowledge spread beyond the small village to consume the whole of Nosgoth, where it would fester in the ranks of her defenders and cripple them. Not tonight though. Because in small villages like this where the only guards were two or three young volunteers with three hand me down swords that had long ago dulled on armor and bone and a single crossbow between them the only real defense from the creatures of the night was to lock your doors, hope that the folk remedies of garlic and frog carcasses hung in your windows will protect you, hunker down and pray you'll still be alive when the sun comes up. Normally such superstition annoyed Daniel, seeing people reduced to this almost animal like state of terror by myths and legends was part of the reason he stayed on the team. Chasing away the imagined nightmares with logic and science was his contribution to humanity at large.

But on Planet Nosgoth the nightmares were all to real.

Myths and legends stalked the planet's populace. He had seen things, wondrous things, and terrible things. And while he was sure that there were perfectly logical, scientific explanations for everything he had experienced in his time on the planet, that somehow managed to be even less comforting. Still, the people (both the living and the dead, if some of the odder stories were to be believed) of the planet were fighting tooth and nail against the Ori, and he was not about to pack and run away. As long as there was actually a war to fight, he wasn't going to give up, none of them were. Daniel met his fellow team members in what passed for a villager square, the two looked weary from their long journey. Kain and the few member of the militia that were up to drinking their sorrows away had commandeered the local tavern despite the protests of it's proprietor, apparently the thought of saying 'no' to fifteen rowdy soldiers, a particularly haggard looking knight dripping with inhuman gore, and also Teal'c had led the owner to rethink his hours.

"What's the situation?" Mitchell asked.

"Not good. I assume you heard?" Daniel said he turned to lead them to the tavern.

"We saw. We had to pass near the Pillars to get here. The entire area is crawling with Ori Soldiers." Carter added.

"And Prior Cyclops." Mitchell grunted, invoking SGC's nickname for the scarred, one eyed Prior from Tomin's homeworld.

"He was trying to exorcize The Pillars of an "Evil Spirit" or something along those lines." Carter added.

"Yeah, well we got other problems at any rate." Mitchell stated flatly.

"What happened at Coorhagen?" Daniel immediately inquired. Kain had asked that they immediately set out for his hometown, if there was a problem.

"We'll talk inside…where's Kain?"

"Well…" Daniel sighed as he turned to lead them to the Tavern. "Kain and his men seem to be honoring an old Nosgoth tradition of drinking yourself into oblivion after a massive defeat."

"Vala and Teal'c?" Mitchell asked, almost afraid to ask.

Daniel looked at the others, shrugged helplessly and then followed them into the tavern.

Like many bars on Earth he had traversed, Mitchell thought that the tavern smelled of cheap alcohol and despair, although he noted that it was entirely likely that this was what it smelled like before what little remained of Kain's troops (that were still upright) invaded. Extra chairs had been set up and a few empty crates were used for makeshift tables, a few of the men picked listlessly at cold, greasy meals. In the center of it all, Kain held court with his feet propped up at the table he sat at, leering at a passing tavern wench. Vala sat in his lap, leaning against her shoulder with her head rolled back, mouth opened while she snored loudly into his ear. Teal'c sat at his right, starring stonily at the tankard of ale he had ordered an hour ago and had yet to try.

The three of them weaved their way through the maze of tables and burned out drunks in the making to march their way to Kain's table. If Carter hadn't known better she would have thought she saw the briefest glimmer of relief in Teal'c's otherwise impassive eyes. Kain's eyes immediately settled upon the new arrivals, and a mirthless grin spread across his face.

"Ah, Colonel Mitchell, Colonel Carter, what fine news do you bring from glorious Coorhagen? I trust you took a moment to enjoy it's beauty and sample it's hospitality?" Kain asked eagerly. Carter and Mitchell were both silent for a moment as they looked at each other.

"They wouldn't let us in." Mitchell finally decided to blurt out.

Kain's smile remained for a while as he allowed the news to sink in.

"And you…showed them my family crest?" Kain asked.

"They said that bearing the mark of a noble wasn't tantamount to actually being of noble blood." Mitchell added.

Kain starred at them blankly for a while, blinked a few times, then tossed back his head and laughed heartily. He curled one hand into a fist and slammed it down hard onto the table, causing a loud crack to resound throughout the small building, those attending didn't know if it was the table or the bones in his hand. Vala awoke with a snort at the sound, knuckling sleep from her eyes.

"Truly, we noble born are blessed with the purity of our bloodlines. Sadly arrogance breeds stupidity, and nothing breeds arrogance like the sense of entitlement we nobleman possess." Kain took another deep drink from his tankard. The others were silent, they knew enough not to interrupt him once he got rolling. "Did you not explain to them that the Ori Plague is sweeping throughout the entire area? Did you not explain to them that you carried with you the only possible means of curing the disease?"

"Well…" Carter began.

"Of course you did! But do they listen? No! Of course not!" Kain stood, dumping Vala to the ground with a hollow thud. "Ingrates! Fools! Do they not know that death is sweeping towards them on the winds? Do they heed any warning but that of a council of inbred swine masquerading as wisemen and politicians?" Kain threw his drink to the ground.

"Bah! To the abyss with them! Let the plague clear out those unworthy to carry their titles!"

Kain plopped back down into his seat, rubbing his temples as Vala crawled into a nearby seat. Mitchell and Carter took their own seats as Daniel pulled up an unoccupied chair.

"So where are we at?" Mitchell asked.

"I'll see those still battle ready off to Willendorf. Then I'll…I'll resign my post and join you at Coorhagen. Hopefully we can reach the city before the plague does. Once there I'll beat the city council until they agree to distribute your 'vaccine' or everyone in the city dies. Whichever comes first."

"And the Pillars?" Teal'c asked.

"The Circle will deal with it. Probably. Eventually…" Kain chuckled darkly. "The Pillars are not my responsibility are they?"

Carter and Daniel both exchanged worried looks. If there was anything they knew about Kain, it was that he made everything his responsibility. He had an opinion on everything that was his business and everything [I]was[/I] his business, they had never seen him completely wash his hands of something before.

Kain reached down to scoop up Vala with one hand as he stood shakily on two legs. He dropped a pile of coins onto the table in front of them.

"Treat yourself." Kain growled.

"Are we going somewhere?" Vala asked, her words slightly less slurred than one would imagine they would be.

"To bed." Kain stated matter-of-factly as he turned to stagger out the door.

"Together?"

"Yes."

"Goody." Vala stumbled a bit. "Are you as drunk as I am?"

"That…is a distinct possibility my dear." Kain said as he picked her up and draped her across his shoulder. "So I am most certainly not taking advantage of you."

Carter, Mitchell, and Teal'c watched as Kain clumsily made his way down the street and towards the local inn with his prize as she waved goodbye to everyone.

"That is…quite possibly the saddest thing I have seen in my entire life." Carter said solemnly.

Mitchell tossed his gear onto the table in defeat.

"I really don't know if there's much more we can do here." He finally said.

"You aren't suggesting that we just pack up and leave?" Carter asked.

"We came here to make sure the vaccine is distributed and help support the war effort any way we can." He reminded her. "The best healers available are producing the vaccine and it's being distributed as fast as possible. We've passed along valuable Intel about the Ori, even given some of our Anti Prior devices and a few weapons to King Ottmar's army…we lost SG-3, Sam. The entire team. We were due back two days ago."

"I believe Colonel Mitchell is correct. There is nothing more we can offer to the war effort here. Not when we may be needed elsewhere." Teal'c intoned gravely.

"Daniel, what do you think?…Daniel?" Carter looked around. The archeologist had grabbed a few coins and then briskly made his way to the bar after Kain had taken Vala up the stairs.

"Aw, crap." Mitchell exclaimed when he caught sight of him. "Is he going to be withdrawn and brooding now? Because Kain got to third base with Vala? Really? Really?" Time and stress had broken down whatever reserves of patience and good humor he had left, the sight of Daniel sulking over a tankard set him off.

"I'll go talk to him." Carter sighed.

"No. I'll go talk to him." Mitchell sighed. Hesitantly making his way to where Daniel sat, starring into his own drink in a manner not unlike Teal'c had been doing not long ago.

"Hey. You aren't supposed to be drinking on the job." Mitchell grunted.

"Uh, yeah that's why I ordered water." Daniel said.

Awkward silence followed.

"You can do that in this place?"

"Apparently."

"Look…" Mitchell decided to cut right to the chase. "Kain and Vala…are both really drunk. [I]Soooo[/I] drunk…I'm sure they'll both feel really bad about it. In the morning."

"So you came over here to give me a pep talk because you think I'm jealous of Kain?" Daniel asked.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Frankly? He can have her. Maybe if those two hook up it'll get her out of my hair for a while." Daniel stated simply.

"I'm pretty sure he's just banging her to get back at Tomin." Mitchell added as he took a seat in between Daniel and what he was pretty sure was someone who was just unconscious and not dead from alcohol poisoning.

"This is a fucked up planet." Daniel finally said.

"Yep."


"Mmmm…Daniel." Vala said as the sounds of birds greeted her upon her awakening.

"Better. Kain."

Vala's eyes snapped at the answer. The-Person-Who-Most-Certainly-Was-Not-Daniel starred back at her with a cold, appraising gaze. She screamed and rolled out of the bed. Kain sat up and began to resemble his armor as Vala slowly gathered herself.

"So you and I-" Vala asked.

"Yes. Several times in fact."

"But I didn't-"

"We were both very drunk, if that's any consolation."

"Why does my-"

"You may have been more drunk than I."

The silence that went several levels above awkward settled onto the room. A kind of palpable miasma of awkwardness in fact. Vala was absolutely speechless, a rare state for her. Kain seemed to be going on his merry way, buckling and strapping on his armor as he hunted down the pieces that were scattered about the room rather haphazardly.

"I…" Vala began.

"Don't waste your breath." Kain snapped. "It reeks of alcohol and vomit." He turned and strode up to her, eyes narrowed. She was tangled in the bed sheet, which she kept wrapped tightly around herself as she fought to regain her footing.

"You and I…" She said as she managed to finally stand. "Are never to speak of this again."

"You found my performance so underwhelming?" Kain chortled.

"Lalalala!" Vala shouted, sticking her fingers into her ears. Kain bent to pull his sword out from under the bed.

"Honestly, Vala. Where is your good humor?"

"Where are my pants?"

"I believe they are outside in the hall. With the rest of your clothing." Kain smiled cruelly. "You are welcome to retrieve them yourself."

"Sadistic prick." Vala muttered as she swept past him.

"What did you say?" Kain asked, forcing anger into his voice.

"Nothing! Nothing!" Vala insisted as she nudged the door open and stuck her head out into the hallway.

An Ori Soldier stared back at her, eyes widened in surprise. He dropped her panties and leveled his staff weapon at her.

"Vala?"

There is a point in everyone's life in which they honestly believe that there was some kind of God. And that this God, this divine omnipresence who ruled all things hated them with a passion and went out of it's way to make them suffer. It was one of these moments that Vala found herself in as Tomin ordered his soldier to stand down. Tearing off his helmet and beaming at her with all his love and affection. It was in that split second when Kain, with all the subtly of a bull in a china shop, shouldered the door open, knocking Tomin into the opposite room. The Ori Soldier swung the staff around to aim at the newcomer, but as he did so Vala grabbed the improbably designed weapon and forced it away from him, causing the shot to go wild. Kain didn't hesitate, taking his chance he closed the distance between himself and the soldier and impaled the crusader through the neck with his sword, where the battle the night before and countless minor skirmishes before that had told him their armor was weakest.

The Ori Soldier dropped to his knees, gurgling and grasping at the wound as his life's blood as it sprayed everywhere. Kain was not allowed a chance to enjoy his kill as a group of Ori Soldiers rounded the corner and let loose with their staff weapons. Vala ducked, grabbed the staff weapon and then tackled Kain, carrying them both into the open door of a nearby room. Kain deftly kicked the door closed as he rolled to his feet, shaking his head to clear it. Vala had just saved his life, perhaps she was more useful than he had previously assumed. Vala quickly shoved a nearby desk to bar the door, as if that would stop them.

"The Ori Commander?" Kain asked.

"Tomin. My husband." Vala explained hastily.

"Ah, just making sure." He cleared his throat before shouting. "Commander Tomin! Call off your dogs, I have your wife!"

Vala shot Kain a withering glare, he shrugged at her. What else were they to do? There was a moment of silence as Tomin either collected himself or considered the situation.

"Kill her, and I'll kill you!" Tomin finally shouted. He tried to sound threatening, but a distinct edge of fear crept into his voice.

"Kill her? Why would I kill her when there are so many ways I can inflict pain on her and keep her alive, and therefore useful to me?" Kain nodded to Vala, who starred blankly at him for a moment before catching on.

"Oh, right. OW! PLEASE TOMIN, DO WHAT HE SAYS! HE'S INSANE! A MADMAN!" Vala added her own voice to the charade. "PLEASE DON'T LET HIM HURT ME ANYMORE!" Vala sobbed, suddenly breaking down into tears. Kain flashed her a toothy grin.

"You…monster! Stop it! I SAID STOP IT!" Tomin screamed, his fist banging loudly on the cheap wood.

"Oh I'll stop. As soon as I've ridden her-oh, excuse me I spoke, ridden with her, out of this hellhole and all the way back to Willendorf."

Kain was pleased, he could almost feel Tomin's anxiety and anger through the door. His frustration, at the thought of loosing something he held precious. Oh perhaps it was the thought of loosing in general that galled him. Kain didn't know the man well enough to make such a judgment, but he did sound genuinely concerned with Vala. That, at least, was admirable. Foolish perhaps, but still admirable.

"And…and you promise you will let her go?" Tomin finally asked.

"When I reach Willendorf."

"No. When you make it beyond the town limits." Tomin shot back defiantly.

"Every time to try to bargain with me, I'll cut a piece off your wife." Kain said flatly.

"I promise you, you will not be pursued!" Tomin shouted.

"And how, exactly, would I hold you to such a promise?"

"I give you my word." Tomin demanded, slightly insulted.

Kain had to admit, the boy did sound genuine, but he couldn't just leave Vala to the Ori Soldiers. Her husband may simply be a liar as gifted as his wife.

"No deal. Try to argue the point again and your wife looses an eye. Or perhaps her nose…"

"PLEASE TOMIN!" Vala sobbed. "DO WHAT HE SAYS!" Kain smirked as he grabbed Vala and pulled her close, shielding his body with her own. "Don't get any ideas." She hissed to him as he drew his sword and held it to her throat.

"Vala, my dear, have I given you a reason not to trust my honor?" Kain whispered as he kicked the table barring the door to the side. The door swung open to reveal Tomin, who glared daggers at the man.

Kain grabbed Vala's breast as he made his way into the hall.

Tomin bristled.

Kain smirked.

Vala made a mental note to smack the crap out of him when it was all over.

"So, at last we meet face to face." Kain mused as he watched Tomin shake with fury.

"You led the men I defeated at the Pillars of the Ori." Tomin snarled.

"Pillars of the Ori?" Kain chuckled, amused. "Really? What propaganda have you been fed, Tomin?"

"The Pillars rightfully belong in the hands of those who believe, for they are the locks that hold the Demons of The Night-"

"Yes, yes, yes. I'm sure that whatever fairy tail that sorcerer masquerading as a priest filled your head with is truly fascinating. But I'm truly short on time." Kain backed away, backed towards the stairs, towards freedom…an Ori Soldier leapt out at him from behind a corner, staff weapon swinging for his head. Kain parried the blow and dispatched the man with a slash to the throat. He was dimly aware of Vala screaming for Tomin to stop when agony bloomed in his side. His armor offered him excellent protection, it was of far better quality than that of his enemies, but even that had it's limits….

Kain feel to his knees as Tomin fired again, this time striking him in the back. The energy blast blasting through the heavy metal and exposing his left shoulder blade in an explosion of energy, molten metal and vaporized flesh. He screamed in rage…but…Kain could not…

Vala, running away….good girl. Go get help….

And then… Tomin, standing over him. His sword held high…

Pain in his back, through his stomach….

Darkness.

Fire.

And the Necromancer…..


Fuck, I had a hard time with this chapter. It feels rushed and I don't particularly like the dialogue, I'm also seriously thinking of chucking the whole drunken one night stand between Kain and Vala. Might make for some funny Kain/Adria interaction latter though.