On reflection, I'd say that this is more self-gratifying than usual. In the next chapter, I put a hr at the point where it gets more character-centered.

There were many times when I wished I could just start over again. The outburst from this morning had left me severly frustrated. The only good point was that the kids had the common sense to stay out of my way. They had eaten breakfast before I woke up, and there were plenty of toys in their rooms, so they could stay holed up for several more hours.

Even with the energy I expended in binding Moebius, a nap would only exhaust me this early in the day. I felt restless and I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I finally decided that I would watch Moebius work. I sensed that he was genuinely working to create a new time-manipulation device, but it was far from complete.

I wrote a note for the kids on the refridgerator with a dry-erase marker. I decided that it was better if they didn't realize right away that I was gone. I had finally reached the point of not caring for their safety. They had already proven that they were more durable than I had originally imagined.

Only my moped had any fuel, but I wanted to save that for an emergency. I was in no hurry, and I needed to collect my thoughts, so I was content to ride my bike. I would have walked, but Moebius was back at the Eternal Prison and it was quite some distance away.

I found the Timestreamer in the central guard chamber, hunched over his work. Pieces of the ruined control mechanism laid scattered around him. "Insufferable mess," he muttered as he sorted through the brass fragments. "It's not complete."

"I know," I replied in a tone that said that I really did.

Moebius favored me with a harsh stare. "The damage is worse than I thought. Kain never did cease to cause me hardship."

"Oh poor baby," I cooed condenscendingly.

"You must not want this completed very soon," Moebius grumbled. "I need this piece from the other one." He held up a brass part that was in two peices, obviously expecting me to get it.

"That's on the other side of the prison. You must be nuts," I complained. "There's spiders and lunatics and jailers."

"This would transport you, if it were functional," Moebius sighed. "I don't think that there's anything living anymore."

I snatched the broken part and began walking through the prison. The old coot was right about the lack of life here, but the tomblike silence was almost worse. I tried to avoid breathing. Any attempt to describe what I was smelling would not do justice.

This had always been my favorite chapter in the game, and so I new the route well. However, there were some differences. I encountered a hallway that seemed to stretch forever, and I seem to recall that the designers had wanted an infinate hallway, but fortunately I could avoid it.

Eventually, I began hearing voices in the silence. If I concentrated, I could make out pleas for mercy and stories told by the prisoners. A particularly loud scream caused my skin to tighten in fear. I pressed myself against a wall and tried to force away my panic.

A white shape emerged from a dark hallway. "Kain?" I called as I recognized the albino fledgeling. He didn't acknowledge me, and there was a mirage-like distortion surrounding him. I realized that I was watching an echo from another time.

I decided to follow the echo for a while, knowing that it would end up where I needed to be. I knew I was drawing false comfort from this illusion, except that now I at least knew where many of the screams were coming from. I could not see what Kain was killing, but by his calm savagery I could guess that he was slaughtering prisoners.

The spectre faded away, but the echoes from long-dead prisoners did not. I was slowly managing to tune out the sounds of suffering. I was actually startled when I heard a whimper from a living throat. One of the prisoners was crouched in a corner. It broke my heart to see him, but I didn't know what kind of mercy I could show. I didn't want to kill, and I doubted that the wretch truly wanted death. I also was unsure of the wisdom in leading him out of here. Even if he had attoned for whatever crime had sent him here, his stay had left him unsuitable for any decent life outside.

I finally found the orrey-like mechanism. It had exploded, scattering its parts. I found the part that Moebius wanted and then gathered anything else that seemed salvagable so I wouldn't have to come back here.

One of the hallways had collapsed behind me, so I couldn't retrace my steps. I found a different route, one that led through the maze of bars. I became severly disoriented before I remembered that I was starting from the far end. Still, I became sure that it didn't matter because the path changed.

I was beginning to fight down the frustration and panic at not being able to find the way out when I heard a familiar voice. I wasn't able to understand what he was saying, but I was positive that it was Magnus. He then appeared from the darkness surrounding the maze.

I pressed myself against the bars at my back and watched the apparition pace like a caged animal. His mutterings were distorted by the intervening years, but I was still mesmerized by fear. My only comfort was the bars between us.

Just then, Magnus turned and stared directly at me with his one good eye. I shrieked and ran in blind panic. The bars of the maze kept slamming down in front of me and I scrabbled against them uselessly. I'm not quite sure how I found the exit, but I didn't stop running until I had returned to the central guard room.