My post gets deleted off the Eidos forum every time I include a disclaimer so "nyah."

20050704: First Adventure: Part 2

Soul of Ashes: Heh, the problem is that I take myself too seriously. My sense of humor is tied up in allowing my to laugh at myself just enough to keep me from doing something stupid. I have liberated myself from the restriction that it has to make sense, but it's probably not going to be much funnier than Razzy Plush.

Varyssa: I'm not actually in control of Kain and Raziel, just their situation and Hillary. Well, maybe I do have some influence.

RockyShoreline: Thanks for the support. Though the desperation factor does work to my advantage in this, I'd rather do without it. It's the summer weather, most either people lost their educational internet access or just have better things to do.

Razielim Vampiress: I'm hoping my rehabilitation will lead to me turning out something good. I feel the anti-muses nibbling my toes. Unfortunately for those of us with nothing better to do, many of the people who hang out here have better things to do during the summer months.

Raziel nervously adjusted the rope tied around his waist. "Are you sure that this is going to work?"

"Of course," I answered confidently. "Can you think of any other way?"

"No," Raziel muttered.

"Are you ready?" Kain asked. At Raziel's nod, he began running with the rope behind him.

Raziel resolutely held his wings taut, and soon he was gliding skyward like a demonic kite. Moments later, he was gliding over the top of the cliff, and the rope went slack. Kain scaled the rope with me hanging from his shoulders; I never would have had the strength to climb up on my own.

We walked across the top of the cliff, and Kain said, "That is the hylden city."

"Yes," I said confidently. "The gate's down there."

"I sealed the gate," Kain said.

"It's a weak spot," I tried to convince him. "We'll be able to get through."

"I believe her," Raziel came to my defense.

"No offense, but you'll believe anyone," I argued calmly.

Raziel blinked, unsure of how to reason with someone who wasn't trying to manipulate him.

"Why is it that I feel that I can trust you?" Kain asked.

"It's a self-defense mechanism," I explained sheepishly. "Can you honestly say that the thought of killing me is as appealing as it sounds?"

Kain sneered. "It is appealing enough."

I cleared my throat, for some reason it felt tight. "I have a way to re-open the gate for just long enough for us to get through."

I hung from Kain's shoulders again as he dropped into the subterranean cavern. The lake and ruined buildings had not changed.

A figure emerged from the shadows and asked, "Kain, is that you?"

Kain shrugged me off of his back and said, "Vorador, I did not realize that you were still here."

Vorador frowned as he studied Kain's features. Seeing the start of a long and confusing conversation, I piped up, "Kain got really old and then went traveling through time. We're trying to rescue Janos from the demon dimension now, so please don't get in our way."

Vorador's eyes widened in surprise, and then settled into a deeper scowl than before. "How did he end up there?"

Just then, their conversation was drowned out by a loud roaring. "Cuddles!" I yelled.

True to my warning, a large demon came tearing out from a secluded corner of the scenery. Kain and Vorador paid the demon no mind, they simply continued arguing. Raziel was the one to face off against Cuddles. His wraith blade flared to life on his arm, and he began expertly slashing at his foe. The demon quickly grew bewildered but it took several minutes for Raziel to put it down.

I turned my attention back to Kain and Vorador now. They were still quarrelling fiercely, occasionally taking swipes at each other. Raziel walked up beside me and took in the show for a moment.

"Break it up, would you?" I said to Raziel. I tried to moderate my voice so that it couldn't be interpreted as a demand; my worry turned into a fearful whimper.

Raziel watched the two vampires fighting for a moment. He then leapt right between them, knocking Vorador to the ground and kicking Kain squarely in the forehead.

"No one kills him before I do," Raziel yelled at Vorador.

"You already did kill me!" Kain bellowed at Raziel. He rubbed his forehead, the thick bones had absorbed the impact. Kain was thinking about what had come after that, and reconsidering whether Janos was really worth another trip into the demon dimension. It surprised him when he felt empathetic towards Janos, and decided that no one deserved that fate.

"How did you manage to survive?" Raziel asked as he stood up and dusted himself off.

"I don't know," Kain said.

There was an abandoned hylden vehicle lying half-submerged in the lake. Though I hated the thought of leaving my backpack behind, I knew that it would only be a burden in the water. I stuck my shoes into my backpack and handed it to Kain. With a signal to Raziel, I waded into the water and paddled to the abandoned vehicle.

"Are you sure that you'll be able to drive this thing?" Raziel asked.

"Not a problem," I answered as I sat down in the pilot's seat and began fiddling with the controls.

Soon, I had the craft wobbling unsteadily through the air. I cursed the lack of brakes as the craft sedately butted up against one of the broken columns. Kain and Vorador both leapt into the open hatchway.

I carefully guided the craft down the hallway that led to the gate, wincing as the metal screeched evilly against the walls. I sensed Raziel's voice among the noise, but I couldn't make out what he was saying. He was the only one not in pain from the sound.

When we finally hovered over where the gate had been, I pulled out a device that looked deceptively like a garage door opener. I clicked the button, and the gate flared into life below us.

I'm not sure about what happened next; I woke up on the ceiling of the craft with a ringing skull.

"Do you call that a landing?" Vorador asked.

"Hey, any landing you can walk away from…" I snapped as I painfully got to my feet.

The demon dimension was dark and smoky. From our vantage point on a ridge, we could see the square buildings of a hylden city that rivaled many cities that I had seen on Earth. A lone green light in a tower drew my attention.

Suddenly, Kain's talon clamped down on my shoulder. "There are demons coming. We need weapons."

I grabbed my backpack and tipped it upside-down. An assortment of medieval weapons tumbled out of it. Vorador grimaced at the quality of many of the weapons, but he snatched up a sword anyway.

Kain quickly grabbed what I assumed would normally be a two-handed sword. He was taller and stronger than any barbarian would typically be, so he used a combination of one-handed and two-handed techniques.

I watched the carnage as the three vampires fought off a wave of demons. Occasionally, Kain's or Vorador's weapon would break, forcing them to grab another out of the pile.

A horned demon broke away from the battle and came charging towards me. Without thinking, I snatched a katana out of the pile and tried to slash at the demon as I ducked under its arm. I felt little resistance on the blade, and I cussed at only scratching the thing.

The demon tried to come around for another swipe at me, but only the top half of its body turned. It collapsed to the ground, its body only held together by a small flap of skin. I stared at it in shock, and then turned my attention to the katana. Its blade was vaguely translucent with an oily sheen to it. The handle felt like some rubberized plastic.

"Let me see that sword," Kain growled from behind me.

I slowly knelt so that I could set the sword on the ground. "You're welcome to it," I whispered. I had never been afraid of sharp things before, but I would have rather dug through a box of broken glass than get near that sword again.

Kain picked up the sword and casually slashed at the still-struggling demon. Its head came off cleanly. At the same time, Raziel impaled a lightening demon, reducing the local population to none.

Kain slid his new prize back into its white scabbard, and Vorador selected another weapon from the pile. Though I did not know what I was going to do with it, I picked up a long-handled mace.

Without looking back, we began marching towards the hylden city.