BODY-SWAP

Chapter 9

Raziel, Nosgoth, Janos, Kain and the like belonging to Eidos and their assorted minions.

Here it is! Another update, after so long. I've finally worked out the details of the plot *thinks: what plot?!?*. Thank you so much for reviewing. Hope you enjoy. ^_^

To my vast surprise, Young Kain says "Ow!" and sits down heavily, the fight seemingly knocked out of him. Raziel, in my body, staggers backwards moaning under my breath and clutching at my forehead with both hands.

"Fools!" I snap, swiftly putting myself between them in case of further incident, "this is not the time! The Sarafan will be at our doors at any moment…oh, god, I'm proclaiming instead of speaking…Raz, we have to get ourselves switched back or I'm going to sound like a Hammer Horror flick for the rest of my life…"

"She's right," puts in Janos, who is peering out of the battered doorway with some alarm, "I can see some ridiculously tacky suits of armour heading our way. We'd better hurry."

"What about him?" Raziel demands, pointing at Young Kain, who bares his fangs and hisses.

"We take him with us."

"What?" snap both Janos and Raziel, at once. I fold my arms decisively, while Young Kain eyes us all up as if trying to decide which one of us to eat first. I notice he is staring rather fixedly at Raziel in my body and I angrily swat him with my claws.

"Down, you! Listen," I continue, in the face of stony glares from the other two, "what we have here is basically a point-and-press Sarafan killer. He's going to be useful. Psychotic and arrogant, but useful." I grab Young Kain's arm and drag him to his feet. "Now let's move! I don't want to wait around until another Raziel shows up and complicates things even further."

So we run.

Raziel, stuck in a human body, hangs at the rear, grousing and whinging, while Young Kain (who seems to have adapted to his rather motley set of companions remarkably well) bounds ahead like a leopard on speed, springing from outcrop to outcrop across barely credible distances. It's only due to the fact that Raziel's body can glide that I'm keeping up. Janos cruises serenely at my side, his jet-feathered wings flicking and turning him against the air as we make our escape.

A group of Sarafan ambush us as we're almost out of the castle grounds. I skid to a halt, the Reaver burning on my arm, and hear Janos roar angrily behind me.

Raziel sticks two perfectly manicured nails in my mouth and whistles. "Hey! White-hair!"

This is directed at Young Kain, who is chasing rats on one of the upper levels. "Those men," Raziel calls in my high-pitched tones, "those men have taken the original Soul Reaver!"

Kain's eyes flare red, briefly. The Sarafan, unnerved, start to cluster together in a clanking knot of armour. "It's true," Raziel continues. "See that one at the back? He's got it stuck down his trousers right this minute. He said he was going to use it as a marshmallow fork at the next Sarafan family Barbeque."

There is a brief blur of movement, and a lot of screaming, as Kain descends from above in a towering rage.

"Gosh, you were right," says Raziel, strutting past me inscouciently, "point and press, marvellous."

We make it to the edges of Janos's stronghold, and at the Ancient vampire's advice, head for the Time-Streaming device.

"If it really is Moebius who is responsible for your plight," Janos says, curling his lip as we pick our way through the swamp (from some way off, we can all hear the sounds of soldiers, mutants and attack dogs meeting various interesting and messy ends at the hands of Young Kain, who, so far as we can tell, hasn't had this much fun in years) "then we should seek him out and demand that he reverses the effect. Much as you make a wonderful vampire, Miss Angel, it is not your destiny to live this way. It is Raziel's."

Kain abruptly bounds into view, covered in blood, says, "Why haven't I been to this place before?!" and then leaps off in pursuit of ravens. I find myself hoping they are some of Vorador's minions and not just ordinary birds.

Raziel, who is finding the swamp a real slog even though he has had the sense not to put my kitten-heels back on, says: "What if he can't?"

And on that glum note, we move on in silence, broken only by the deep, pleased chuckle of Kain as he finds some hapless prisoners to eat.

Sorry it was short! I'll do some more very soon. ^_^