Disclaimer: I don't own Legacy of Kain or any other identifiable pop culture references.

A/N: It's been a long time since I've acknowledged reviews, even though I love your feedback dearly. Again, no particular order. Did I forget anyone? I did write better responses, but I realized that I was spoiling things, and most of what's left is fluffy gratitude.

Jako: I can't answer that yet, simply because I'm being pointlessly mysterious. (Translation: I don't have a clue.)

Za: I'm glad you liked that part. As for Janos being stubborn, that's just something I decided to throw in.

Bear vs Chris: I'm glad one of you thinks so. (confused look)

Arallion: Thanks for the compliment.

Alexia Lupin: You brighten my day. :)

Lunatic Pandora: All answers will be revealed in time, thanks for all the comments.

JesteretseJ: I'll try harder to make it grammatically perfect.

Varewulf: You're trying to save me from the evil writer's block, aren't you? I'm not going to explain most of my decisions, except that you've made me realize something that I need to pay attention to. (Nothing to be concerned about.) One clarification, I didn't mention what video game she failed to summon from because I couldn't think of one that makes sense.

One last note: Nevermind, you'll find out in about five minutes. Don't sue me for injuries to body or equipment.

Jennifer and Raziel had stopped in a video game store after an afternoon of relaxing in the park. She offered Raziel the chance to pick out the next game for her collection, remembering what he had said about it earlier.

Jennifer brushed her hand along the shelf, realizing that there were indeed other games that had callable characters. She was shocked at how strongly she felt the life coming from Tomb Raider, but then she reminded herself that this series also had an obsessive fan base. Jennifer selected one of the early discs, deciding that it was at least worth checking out.

Raziel had selected Shadow Hearts; he eyed Jennifer's choice critically. "Have you found someone?"

"There's life here, but I don't plan on bringing her out. It's too much responsibility," Jennifer whispered so the clerk wouldn't hear her. "I don't want to worry about letting another disoriented character wander lose."

"I hope you're not regretting your decision about me," Raziel muttered

"It's not you that's the problem," Jennifer said. "It was stressful with Janos for a while, but he's tolerable. It's just that I'm starting to become aware of what might happen if there's a next time." She took the bag with the two games and followed Raziel out of the store.

"How many of those games are candidates?" Raziel asked.

"There are only a dozen or so that would be easy," Jennifer said, "but there are several more that are promising."

Raziel suddenly froze. "It's not possible," he said in shock.

Jennifer followed his gaze. Across the street was a man in a trench coat; he looked very familiar. "He looks like you did," Jennifer said, thinking perhaps that it was a coincidence.

"He is me," Raziel said angrily, "but I'm already here. How is this possible?"

"You can be pulled out infinitely, I imagine," Jennifer said. She thought for a moment then corrected herself. "No, it would start to cause problems at around ten."

The vampire across the street pulled his hand out of his pocket for a moment. He scrutinized the device he held in his three-fingered talon, and then shoved it back into his pocket. Jennifer thought that it might be a pager. The fake Raziel then began walking swiftly down the street.

"Don't try to follow us," the real Raziel told Jennifer. He took off down the street after his former self.

Jennifer became very worried about what he was going to do. She remembered the last time Raziel had argued with himself. Even when he wasn't able to communicate with his other incarnations, the result was not good. Jennifer ignored Raziel's instruction and ran after him.

It took Jennifer a long while to catch up with Raziel. "He disappeared," he said, indicating the other version. "I thought I told you to stay behind."

"What are you planning to do?" Jennifer challenged.

"I just want to talk to him," Raziel said.

"What if he wasn't in the mood to talk?" She insisted.

Raziel's expression turned a very cold shade of hostile. "What are you implying?"

Jennifer tried very hard to meet his gaze, even though she did not want to. "Your Seraphan self did not cooperate with you, and you killed him. Do you want your former vampire self dead?"

"I'm tired of death," Raziel said wearily. "He has nothing to fear from me."

When the pair got home, Raziel sat out on the balcony. He was lost in his own thoughts, or perhaps just sulking. Jennifer didn't care to think about the distinction as she busied herself on the computer. She could only think of one other person that could pull vampires out of video games, and she knew how to find out who that was. She found that Kain's keeper was online and tried to ask about the doll maker's location. Jennifer swore as the other replied that the vampire had left already.

Jennifer sent out a couple of cryptic requests to the main boards and waited. Several hours passed, and she was on the verge of losing hope when she got a reply.

DraconicWraith: Kain, is that really you? It's Jennifer.

HopeorDeath: The 'Emperor' is sitting on my couch, I'm typing for him.

(Jennifer let her spirits sink a little at this. She was afraid that she was talking to a reality-impaired psycho, but she decided that it was better than nothing.)

DW: Where is Elizavere? He's set another of his creations lose.

HOD: Is this about Janos Audron?

DW: No, Janos is my fault. This is something that I can't control.

HOD: He just left. I don't know how long it will take him to reach you...

DW: Thanks for your help.

HOD: Thank you. I never thought that he would be so difficult to live with. I didn't have the guts to tell him to leave.

Jennifer allowed herself the slightest bit of shock at this news. She thought that maybe Kain had stumbled onto someone who only claimed to be a fanatic. Then again, playing host to a vampire isn't always as fun as it sounds.

Jennifer glanced up to see Raziel suddenly leap off the balcony. She assumed that he was going out to look for his former self again. Jennifer was still convinced that no good could come of this.

Out of curiosity, Jennifer looked back to the computer. Other people had responded to her request, indicating that Kain had not stayed in one place for very long. Jennifer thought about firing off a message that she had found what she was looking for, but this was a good way to track where he had already been, and she still wasn't sure that HOD wasn't just messing with her.

Jennifer's fears were cast aside when she heard the distinctive sound of a cloud of bats converging on her balcony. Kain slipped in through the sliding door. He seemed very weary, almost sick.

"Oh my god, what's wrong with you?" Jennifer asked fearfully.

Kain acted as if his entire body ached as he lowered himself into the recliner. He let his eyelids sink for a moment, not bothering to answer.

"Kain, take your true form for a moment," Jennifer said concernedly, already sensing the problem.

Kain did not move, but he regarded Jennifer with a hostile stare.

"Kain..." Jennifer returned his stare, her threat unspoken, 'Don't make me force you.'

Kain reluctantly let himself slip back into his doll form. Jennifer clasped her hands over her open mouth, her face a mask of shock and horror. "You are coming apart at the seams," she finally whispered. Jennifer recovered herself. "You should have come to me sooner. I can't repair your body; I would probably destroy you in trying."

"So, after all these years, I am to die like this. It is a cruel irony," Kain sighed.

"I could try to give you a new body, but it would be dangerous," Jennifer said gently.

"What choice do I have?" Kain asked rhetorically.

Jennifer started rooting through her fabric drawer. "By the way, what happened with your fans?" She examined some muslin, but a simple test proved that it would rip too easily.

"There were many reasons," Kain reflected. His eyes flickered to the computer screen; it was still showing the message boards. "I think perhaps you are already familiar with some of them."

Jennifer choked in embarrassment. She was glad to see that Kain did not seem exceedingly angry. One of the posts had been from a very upset man who had unsuccessfully tried to woo the vampire. Fortunately, most of the reasons were a bit more pedestrian.

Brightflame clumsily ambled out of the bedroom and clambered onto the arm of Kain's chair. "Oh, how the mighty have fallen," she said smugly.

"If you hurt her again, I'll make your new body out of this," Jennifer threatened, holding up the sizable remains of the blue cloth the she had used to make Janos.

Kain snarled as he lowered his hand back to the arm of the chair. He had been about to knock the impertinent creature away.

Jennifer finally found an appropriate white fabric and used Janos' template to start cutting out the pieces. The two vampires were similar enough that Jennifer only had to distort the pattern a little bit. "Do you ever actually use your doll form?" She asked.

"Never," Kain growled.

"It's odd that you would be falling apart," Jennifer said distractedly.

"It doesn't matter," Kain said. "What is this new creation that Elizavere has set loose? I would imagine that he would be reluctant after our last encounter."

Jennifer set down her scissors. "It's another version of Raziel. What was he like before he grew his wings?"

Kain was mildly shocked at this news. "He is still unquestionably loyal to me." The vampire became lost in thought. Jennifer could not read his emotions very well; Kain's eye ridges gave the impression that he was always angry.

End Notes: I couldn't find anyplace to put this in the story, (it wasn't flowing right,) but at some point Brightflame explains that the Rainbow Bright doll had given her a jolt that now allows her to move around like a living creature. I know that explaining it myself instead of letting the characters do it is the lazy way out.