CONTINUED DISCLAIMER: I do not own the direct quotes from Defiance. Anything that was mentioned in the game itself belongs to the scriptwriters.

Review Responses:

Varyssa: Yup, Kain and Marina have good chemistry. I don't plan on ripping them apart again. I see what you mean about "certain whores" though, but maybe an Umah bashing chapter would be fun. ;)

Smoke: Thanks for the advice. I have an annoying habit with the automatic knowledge thing, and I guess it doesn't add much depth to the story. Anyhoo, thanks for reviewing!

Rikku142: Someone else who doesn't like Vorador! Yay! :) But, thanks for the writing tip. Oh yes, and I'm including the Raziel scene in the fic.

bahamut: There's an interesting idea! (Has a scene in mind where Marina sneaks behind Umah and hits her in the head with a tire iron. "My Kain!")

shalisa: Another vote for BO2? Interesting. Personally, I like BO2 the best even though everyone else said it sucked. Thanks for your review!

I emerged from the misty fuchsia portal and for once did not see the foundation of another temple. No. Now, I was positioned on a precarious strip of land that encircled a deep gully. It was of an immeasurable distance to the bottom, and one false move meant a sure end to any being. Across, I could make out an ancient structure. The Vampire Citadel, I presumed. Kain and Raziel were somewhere inside. Still, there was the problem of this subterranean drop before me. Trying to remain calm, I gazed around me for another avenue to get to the other side, but there was none. There would be only one medium available to cross the ravine.

Summoning my courage, I took a couple of steps backward and leapt over the yawning gully. I cleared my landing with inches to spare. Jumping was my most hated facility, yet in an emergency, there was no other option.

Chancing to explore the edifice that lay before me, I wandered the cold, stony, musty halls. The place was dead save for the sparse dried grass that grew in between the flagstones. The Vampire Citadel had been built on a mountaintop, obviously meant for Winged Beings. Cold air blew all around me. There was no escaping the assaulting elemental force.

Hurrying through the corridors, I tried to find Kain and Raziel. Perhaps they were below. The Citadel was bound to have secret chambers in its cavernous depths. Afer coming around another bend, a mural caught my eye, as faded and decrepit as it was. It illustrated the fateful battle of the two heroes. A demonized antagonist, who somewhat resembled Kain in appearance, had plunged a flaming sword into the chest of the regal, blue-skinned Ancient. I now knew the roles had been reversed. Raziel carried the flaming sword. He was the enemy now. The picture covered one wall that framed a flight of steps. I took this as a sign of where the two "champions" might be.

Rushing down the steps, I entered the underground chamber. A pool was at is center with not much else except another doorway. Scurrying through it, I discovered I was in a distinguished corridor that didn't appear as badly damaged as the rest of the Citadel. I could sense a being with great power lay ahead. Beings maybe. Did everyone else chance to meet at the same place? All remaining Guardians including the wretched Time-Streamer could be clustered together and it wouldn't faze me. My rapid footsteps created the patterned metal floor to creak and moan, but I was not concerned. All sound would be muffled by the thickly tiled walls of brown, green, and burgundy. Tulip-like structures cast a magical white light that was harsh and unnatural, creating ghostly shadows. Still, I would not back down. It was all or nothing now. This tunnel reminded me of the architecture of the eerily still halls of the Chronoplast. Surprisingly, I longed to be there instead of here. At least then, life had more stability and Kain and I were both blissful in our arrogance. Presently, we were no longer an emperor and his "uncrowned empress," but a pair of lost, confused, pestilent vampires in a strange era.

I reached the end of the corridor and looked down. There was a shallow crater. Nothing more. Frowning, I jumped down there. The path couldn't stop here. I wouldn't let it. As it turned out, there was an open gap in a heap of piled up rocks I could gain access through. Skidding into another hallway that was designed much like the first, I tore past the frescoes of agonized Ancients in contorted and weeping positions and snatched the handles on the second set of gold doors; propelling myself into the final chamber.

I gasped upon entry. There were so many sights and sounds to take in. Approaching the edge of the outcropping where the floor had simply fallen away, I peeked at the activity going on at the bottom and nearly cried out. "Oh, Raziel…." I murmured sadly.

I had arrived just in time to witness Raziel being absorbed into the physical Reaver blade. Raziel spoke haltingly. "The two become one-both Soul Reavers-together-and the Scion of Balance is healed. And, I am not your enemy, not your destroyer. I am, as before, your right hand. Your sword." I was touched beyond belief. Raziel's hate had dissipated, and at so dear a cost. His forgiveness moved me, even though I was not physically there.

"No, Raziel. This can't be the way," Kain protested vehemently.

"And now you will see the true enemy," Raziel promised breathlessly. His voice had gone raspy. Soon, the deed was done, and within the next few moments, he was gone. Passed from this earth into another. Would he suffer as the Hylden did in theirs?

Before I could get down there, another unforeseen incident occurred. Where there was emptiness at the bottom of the chasm, there was now a humongous tentacled being. Long, snaking, suckered arms unbound themselves around a confused Kain. The beast was studded with sickly green eyes and was repulsive to gaze upon. I noticed that my necklace was throbbing wildly now, competing with the violent shuddering of the Soul Reaver itself. I had the distinct feeling that only Kain and I could glimpse this creature. The significantly changed Soul Reaver and my necklace were on the same vibration. Hardly surprising, since the necklace repelled the Soul Reaver, and the two objects were forged by mystical hands, either Ancient or mortal.

The being laughed cruelly, and it disturbed me to the core when I recognized it. It was the exact duplicate of the laugh I had heard in my dreams. So, it was this being that had been threatening me while I lay sleeping.

"You may ponder the futility of your ambitions as you spend a deathless eternity beneath a mountain of rubble. You and your Soul Reaver will go equally mad as the eons pass. The Citadel of the apostates will become your living tomb," the thing leered.

Kain responded with some cutting insults of his own while physically cutting off the creature's many tentacles. It wasn't long before a full-scale war brewed between the two. All I could do was watch. If I joined the fray, I could jeopardize Kain's offensive. Besides, my measly human-crafted sword couldn't do any considerable damage. This was his fight and his alone.

And so I surveyed the scene from above. Kain dodged the swinging tentacles and sent out a flurry of blows whenever possible until one arm struck him across the room. It had come out of nothingness! Somehow, I could no longer keep my eyes open. I could only hope against hope that Raziel was somehow fighting right there next to his sire. Together, they could face any foe.

Eventually, the raging conflict dissipated and ended with the foul tentacled being howling in anguish. Opening my eyes, I saw that Kain was battered, but not beaten. How long had I closed my eyes? Minutes? Hours? Days? Still, I was relieved that Kain had won. This round.

The fiendish being, although defeated, would not stop his loathsome speeches. "You cannot destroy me, Kain. I am the Engine of Life itself. The Wheel will turn. The plague of your kind will be purged from this world. And on that inevitable day, your wretched, stagnant soul will finally be mine."

Suddenly, a harsh crack was heard throughout the foundation of the chamber. The ground rumbled ominously. It was going to cave in!

"In the meantime, you'd best burrow deep," Kain snarled maliciously before teleporting away. I followed his lead and ran down the corridor, back through the rock pile, and up to the beginning hallway that was in front of that odd still pool at the entrance of this subterranean, cursed place. Even from here, I could sense the structure behind me buckling. Shrugging through the doors, I only began to feel safe once my boots touched the flagstones in the freezing outdoors. Up near the snowy mountaintop, the temperature was uncomfortably low, yet, I was glad to be animate enough to stand in the chilled air. But where had Kain gone?

Following a hunch, I tripped up a sloping hall past those curious lamps of artificial light, to a vast room filled with crumbling chairs arranged in a circle. Beyond was Kain; gazing down at Nosgoth's landscape from his high perch. Slowly, I came up beside him by the open terrace.

"Where's Raziel?" I asked.

"Marina." The white-haired vampire whipped around in shock. Opening his mouth slightly to probably inquire how I'd gotten here, he ultimately shut it. With me, he knew where there was a will; there was a way. His face fell. "He's here. In the sword."

"I know. I watched from above."

He nodded absently. "Raziel sacrificed himself, so I could fight the hideous demon that lurked in the shadows. "The true enemy," he said. I don't understand it all myself."

"Neither do I." I couldn't help moving closer to him.

"That creature played a major role in this. I'm sure of it. He's the prime mover of all the pawns on the board, even Moebius."

"Is Moebius…"

Kain gestured to the Soul Reaver. "The Time-Streamer got what he deserved."

Moebius dead. Raziel dead. How many others?

Kain's voice cut into my thoughts. "We must find Janos. If he has been raised…" I let the sentence hang in the cold, wintry breeze. I was staring at the Pillars. Kain followed my gaze. The nine columns were worse off than before. In fact, they didn't resemble columns anymore, for each had been reduced to a mere stump. The stumps where Kain had built his throne.

"What has happened?" I asked. Nonetheless, I think I already knew.

"The Pillars have eroded entirely. The fatal moment has passed, although the people of Nosgoth and all future generations will have to pay for the consequences."

Staring up at the intense expression on his face, I noticed his eyes were full of pain, but his mouth was set into a daunting, almost amused line. Was he secretly happy? Hopeful? Angry? Had the grief from losing his son affected his mind?

"What are we to do now?" My words came out in a whisper.

He looked into my eyes. Golden met golden. "Fix it," he replied softly.

Momentarily, every trouble was forgotten when our lips united. The Soul Reaver crackled loudly. I wondered foolishly if Raziel approved.

One week later…

The day was gone, and a strong evening breeze had kicked up from the mountainous north. The sky was bluer than her skirt. Indeed, as the night progressed, it would darken to black, allowing the stars to break through. Her old friend from childhood; the silver crescent moon, peeked at her through the boughs of the pine trees. The world seemed to be running as smoothly as a quietly ticking well-oiled clock, but the men folk said differently.

The loggers and vampire hunters from nearby towns brought back awful tales of the Pillars. Trembling in the middle of the public square at Ziegsturhl, the grown men said the Pillars had simply collapsed. Exploded. In spite of this, her wise mother advised her to forget about this ugly turn of events that could be mere fabrications by drunken louts and pray for a bountiful harvest instead. But she couldn't do that. No, she felt a keen connection to the Pillars; she had to see them with her own two eyes. Unfortunately, the hours had slipped away and twilight had come upon her sooner than expected.

Making her way across the grass-lined lane, a man appeared from the surrounding wilderness. She gasped. Panicked, she froze in her tracks. Perhaps the dark stranger wouldn't glimpse the lone, defenseless lady in the road. To her horror, the dark stranger proceeded to walk towards her. Hastily, she braced herself.

The evening lights illuminated the stranger's face and she recognized it at once. "Kain! You startled me!"

"Marina, what are you doing out of doors?" He sounded concerned.

"I came to catch sight of the Pillars."

Kain snorted. "Not much to catch sight of."

"Oh, but I am so glad you're back, Kain! I feared the worst. You weren't back for over a month. I began having dreams of your death."

"There are different types of death, Marina." His tone was vaguely bitter.

Curiously, Marina tried to glimpse his features. They were hidden under a broad-brimmed hat. He was different somehow. She just couldn't place my finger on it.

Suddenly he smiled. "Did you worry about me, Marina?"

She was blushing, but she didn't care. "Of course."

"Had you any suitors once I was gone?"

"Yes, but I sent them away. Mother doesn't know. She wants me to marry in the worst way. Soon."

"Be a wife of a peddler or a farmer? You are destined for something else, Marina. I guarantee it. You shall become a goddess."

"Kain, do not tease me!" She giggled.

"I mean it whole-heartedly. You will become a goddess—a Goddess of the Night" He raised his head and Marina found his eyes had transformed from blue to gold.

END

Yes. It's true. The end! I hope everyone enjoyed the story from beginning to finish as I have enjoyed writing it. Thanks to all my faithful reviewers! You guys are great! :) It seems like there's a tie between Defiance and BO2. Perhaps the sequel will have elements of both. In any case, there will be very little Umah, if any. (Just because.) The second part should be posted by the end of February. Hopefully by then I'll have more ideas. Help is welcomed. Also, be sure to read Varyssa's "The Seventh Lieutenant." That's a good story. Well, I'll see you all later in "Controlling the Flame!"