"You've been here before?" Jarle asked as Kain moved farther into the room.

"Once. Years ago." Kain walked to the basin Moebius had used to see into the Time Streams. Did he have a hand in Jarle's presents here? There was nothing to show he did, only the knowledge that it was not beneath him. Nothing was. But what if someone else had joined the game?

Looking around, Kain noted the doors to one of the Streaming rooms was open. "Did you come from that one?" Kain asked Jarle.

"Yes." After traveling with Kain, Jarle no longer felt the fear he did on their first meeting. "Now what?" He walked up to the other door on the right side of the room. It was closed. "Do we try to open this?"

"Yes, that is the best idea for the time." Kain looked over to Raziel. It was clear to anyone that he was still working on the things Kain had told him only moments ago. "Come here, Raziel." Mutely, Raziel obeyed. "I need you to be alright. I need you to trust me. Can you?"

Raziel remained silent.

"I need you to trust me… Can you?" Kain repeated the words louder and slower than before. Finally Raziel nodded. "Good. Help Jarle find a way into the next room." Raziel moved over to where Jarle stood, looking the door over. Kain watched as they started to look for some sign of entry. Why was he doing this? He had no way of knowing for sure that Jarle was indeed from the past. Someone set him here. Why? And who? Why did Kain get rid of all of his plans when this child showed who he was?

The reason was obvious. He would have taken any way that showed itself if he didn't have to hurt Raziel. He was Kain's first born, he was the reason for Kain's being here, now. If Kain never had Raziel beside him, Kain felt he would have gone mad.

His thoughts were brought back as the doors to the next Time Streaming room opened.

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Times had always been tough. But now, it was unbearable. Not only did they have to deal with the pain of the War ripping the land in two, but now their future was being taken from them. The first it had happened to was no one's child. With his disappearance, the town lost the best blacksmith they had ever seen. But the second hit home.

No one wanted their child to be torn from their arms.

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"You know what you're doing?" Jarle asked as Kain spun the dials. The device was set to send them back to as far as it could. Back to Jarle's own time.

"Word of advice: never try to operate one of this machines unless you know what you're doing." Kain smiled at Jarle. "Raziel, I want you to put a hand here, Jarle, your hand on the other side. Good, now hold on."

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He remembered talk of the blacksmith. He was the first to be turned. He had known the blacksmith. He also remembered the blacksmith's name. He use to visit when his mother let him go. They would talk. It was the blacksmith who taught him how to fight.

He remembered hearing about how he was the first…

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They were about to leave, their task done, when the portal lit up once more. They turned, expecting the worst. And found it.

"I thought you said this was a fool proof way to get rid of him!"

Kain stepped down the stairs to where the two Ancients stood. "Am I correct in amusing you were the two that sent this child to our time?"

"Yes," one of the Ancients said defiantly. His companion gave him a look. "There's no point in denying it. I am Ivan. This is my good friend, Magus. Who are you and what do you want?"

Kain smiled, and the Ancients flinched. "I am Kain. This is my first born lieutenants. And I wont bother introducing Jarle to you, after all it seems it was you two who so kindly sent him to us."

Ivan and Magus winced at his words. "That still leaves what are you doing here?"

"On the contrary, I have told you. Jarle is why we are here. What we want is to speak to someone in power."

"And what right do you have to speak to such a person?!"

"Think," Kain said, walking up to Magus, "of your lives… Or is it unlives now?"

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"We have paid a great price for this victory, but the thirst is bearable--"

The Ancient was cut short by the doors opening with a force that shattered the lock. In strode a man who looked nothing like a human.

"Who are you?!" he shouted to the intruder.

"Better question: what am I?"

Just then Magus and Ivan made an appearance. "My Lord, this man is called Kain--"

"If we are talking about being called something, then you shall call me Lord Kain," the intruder, Kain, said. Behind him stood two more figures. A boy and an other man. "The two behind me are Raziel and the boy is Jarle. One of these two," he motioned to Magus and Ivan, "are responsible for his making."

The Ancient looked at Magus and Ivan. "Who did it?"

Magus looked down. "I did, sir."

The Ancient turned to Ivan. "If you had no fault in his making, then what hand did you have to play in his presents here?"

"I tried to send him away."

"Where to?"

Kain cut in before Ivan had a chance to answer. "Who are you?"

"My name is Avernus Audron. Now let Ivan talk. Where did you plan on hiding him?"

Again Kain cut in. "He hid him in my time."

Avernus turned to look at Kain. "Why would he do that?"

"Why not? You know nothing of the future and you probably don't care." All the Ancients shot glares at him. "Or if you did, why did you set it up to decay? If you really cared, you would have never listened to who ever told you to kill the Hylden."

"Why?"

"'We have paid a great price for this victory, but the thirst is bearable'? Do you really think the Hylden lack a sense of humor? Do you really think they would leave you with just a blood thirst?"

"What do you know of it?!" Avernus walked over to Kain and said, "What could you know of it…?" But he trailed off as Kain smiled as smile that showed his fangs quiet nicely.

"More than you could ever imagine…"

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Author's Note: I was afraid that I wouldn't get a chapter up today. But I did. *happy dance* Thank you to all who reviewed!