20050317 Disclaimer: I don't own LOK or anything else that doesn't belong to me. Sarah is mine, but her dialogue might not be. Today's Oingo Boingo song is "JustAnother Day."

Janos had reluctantly invited Kain to rest in his home for the day. For a time, Kain did sleep in one of the spare rooms, but he awoke when he heard Sarah stagger past his door. After spending a sleepless hour in thought, Kain decided that it was time to confront the girl on her repression.

Kain slipped into his pants and buckled on his shoulder harness before walking out into the marbled hallway. He wandered around the aerie long enough to become frustrated before he heard Sarah's singing coming from the suspended galleries at the mountain's interior.

Kain stood on the interior balcony and tried to locate both the girl and the path he would have to take to find her. Her singing echoed off of the high stone walls.

It's just another day, there's murder in the air
It drags me when I walk, I smell it everywhere
It's just another day, where people cling to light
To drive away the fear, that comes with every night

Kain finally saw Sarah sitting on one of the suspended bridges. She was wearing a robe that looked like it had been meant for a winged being. A box of drawing charcoal sat beside her, along with a small stack of paper. She was hunched over the drawing in her lap.

I had a dream last night, the world was set on fire
And everywhere I ran, there wasn't any water
The temperature increased, the sky was crimson red
The clouds turned into smoke, and everyone was dead
but there's a smile on my face, for everyone
There's a golden coin, that reflects the sun
There's a lonely place, that's always cold
There's a place in the stars for when you get old

Sarah abruptly stopped singing as she noticed Kain. She clasped her charcoal in a worried fist.

"I want answers," Kain said. His voice was firm but soft.

"Is my free will to be exercised only when it accords with your whim?" Sarah asked. She couldn't quite manage the indignant tone that Raziel had used, but the accent was clear.

"Don't," Kain growled warningly.

Sarah laid her drawing at Kain's feet. It was an image of Kain grabbing Raziel by the shoulders.

Kain picked up the drawing and studied it. Raziel seemed to be only half-conscious, and pieces of the background showed through his limp body. The Kain in the drawing had a horrified expression on his face, and he seemed to be yelling something.

"What is the meaning of this?" Kain asked, doubt beginning to tug at his mind.

Sarah kept her head down and spoke quietly, "When you saved Raziel, you saw the price for your actions. You then spent all of your energy trying to stop him from doing the one thing that he really needed to do."

Kain looked at the drawing again and considered the expression on his image's face. "What was the price?"

Sarah was silent for a moment. Kain was about to repeat his question when she said, "I'm not sure why exactly you were so concerned. It was bad, but you had to triumph in the end."

"What happened?" Kain growled, his patience growing thin.

Sarah shook her head. "It doesn't matter. There is enough time to untangle this mess."

Kain roared in anger, "Do you really expect me to trust you with the fate of Nosgoth?"

Sarah cringed in fear, her features twisted into a mask of complete despair. Tears flowed freely even through her closed eyelids. She shook her head; it was a clear reply.

Kain was surprised at Sarah's dualistic mind-set; how she could be aware of Kain's unwillingness to trust her, yet be so blatantly guarded.

"Give me the answers I require," Kain growled through clenched teeth.

Sarah's voice was no more than a whisper. "Please, I need more time. I'll tell you what I can once I decide it's safe."

Kain calmed in temporary resignation "What makes you think that you can be an adequate judge?" He challenged. "Why the sudden confidence in your abilities?"

Fresh wetness clung to Sarah's eyelashes. "The thought of screwing this up terrifies me," she said hauntingly. "I might just end up telling you everything, but for now doing that might make things worse."

While Kain was infuriated by Sarah's attitude, he could also see the wisdom in her hesitation. He decided to let the matter rest for the moment.

"I'm going to retrieve the last fragment of the balance emblem," Kain announced. "Do you have any insight on how I'm supposed to get it?"

Sarah shrugged. "You probably know Moebutt better than I do."

Kain wondered at how easily Sarah had insulted the time streamer. She didn't even seem to notice that she did it. "Indulge me. You may know something about him that I do not."

"Moebius is a puppet, haven't you figured that out yet?" Sarah asked. She was throwing Kain's words back at him, but they lacked the proper fire.

"What would you suggest?" Kain asked.

"I remember that Janos told you to go into the oracle chamber. There's nothing that you need to see in there." Sarah said.

"Why, then, do I have the means to unseal it?" Kain asked.

"That one's a bit complicated," Sarah said. "Your arrival is foretold, the fates have willed it." She frowned in thought for several moments. "He's just trying to trick you into getting yourself killed." Sarah cringed as she realized what she had just said.

Fortunately, Kain was now in a generous mood; he would allow Sarah time to explain herself. "Killed?" Kain growled. "I haven't come this far to end up dead."

Sarah flinched. "I realize that." She stared at the scenery around her, as if the answers were simply hovering in the air like lost souls. "You'll survive this."

Kain noticed the lack of conviction in Sarah's voice. "Raziel has the only weapon that can kill me."

"I know," Sarah said. She tangled her fingers in her hair and bit her lip. "You know Raziel; you're going to have to decide what you're going to do. I wouldn't recommend confronting him when he's pissed off."

"That might be unavoidable," Kain said.

"He might decide to attack you, but he won't hurt Janos," Sarah assured Kain.

Kain turned and walked away from his reluctant advisor. There was much that he had to think about. Kain was begging to think that all of his carefully laid plans would unravel right before his eyes if he did not do something to regain control of the situation.

Author's Notes: This one was a mess; I want to upload the creation document somewhere so people could see it. I'm still not happy with this... I really wanted to use the "Well, they're certainly trying to eliminate you, Kain, there can be no doubt of that. I am assaulted relentlessly with demands for your demise," line. Oh well, there's always later.

Tomlette: Real life doth happen. :q I was thinking that Sarah ranks below Kain and Raziel in importance, which is why I was concentrating on them for a while. Then again, with all the fics here, the OC in Nosgoth scenario is starting to become more... (I dunno, I'm helpless without a thesaurus.)

John-Paul: I thought hotmail was email? Oh well. If you're reading any other fics here, you might want to introduce yourself to their authors as well. Join the community.

Lunatic Pandora1: Yeah, short ones happen. I might try to re-chapter this on the rewrite so it's more balanced. Razzy Plush was so much easier in that regard. As you see, Sarah doesn't consider the device important right now. Who knows what the future may hold? (I don't)

Varyssa: I think I said it once, I'll say it again... Dear Squid! What have I done? Btw, you showed up on the Eidos forums, but then you dissapeared again. Why didn't you stick around?