Disclaimer: I don't own LOK or POP. Elizabeth was a stock sue-type until she lost her grip on reality.

20060601

This one was actually written forwards instead of backwards, with the aid of a proper computer and the vcr. I actually wrote over the course of two days, only coming up for air to record another session of game footage. I had most of the ideas before I hit the keyboard, but I gained more as I played and then watched.

I am withholding chapters for reviews, but it's more to encourage reviewing as reading instead of just reviewing at the end of the story, I'm not holding out for numbers. Plus, I've got embelleshments to tack in. I'm also going to be gone for a couple of days.

Raziel stepped back, satisfied, as the last of the stone golums recoiled before suddenly exploding. Raziel's triumph was short-lived, as a piece of shrapnel hit him in the forehead. He felt a keen sense of embarrassment and wonder that such a small thing should bring him down, and then he fell into unconsciousness.

Raziel's dreams whirled in a muddled stew. He was Kain's faithful Lieutenant once again. He was sitting on the back of some creature and riding through an empty wasteland. Kain and Moebius were on similar creatures, and they were watching the procession of a vampire army through the moonlit knight. Kain turned towards Raziel, a proud look burning in his eye. They were returning victorious.

Raziel's dream whirled again, this time he stood in a magnificent reception hall. Vorador stood up from his throne and greeted Kain like a good friend. Raziel watched the scene with only mild interest. His mind was empty of thoughts of secrets and destiny, and he had no reason not to trust to situation.

Raziel's attention had been wandering, so he was mildly surprised when Moebius turned to him and said, "You have the key."

As Raziel walked towards the hourglass and pulled the dagger out of its sheath, reality melted around him. In his dreamlike state, he did not notice.

"Hey Raziel!" A voice called out. It broke Raziel out of his revere, though he had already inserted the dagger into the lock.

"Elizabeth?" Raziel asked incredulously.

All hell broke loose at that moment. Raziel stared about in horror, finally fully awake. The man who he had seen as Kain was a bearded mortal. Vorador had been replaced by a bewildered man in pink robes. Both of them were frightened of the sand that poured out of the hourglass.

The man who Raziel had seen as Moebius had also changed, though he was still clearly an old wizard. However, Raziel knew those violet eyes could only belong to the Gamester.

"I'm the bad guy, and I want that dagger," the Gamester declared.

Though still slightly disoriented, Raziel knew the rules well enough. He dodged the Gamester's grasping hand and continued rolling to avoid the falling debris.

Elizabeth was here, Raziel remembered. It was then he spotted her running away. He could not follow, as a gate fell and trapped him with a pack of sand creatures.

"The dagger's the only thing that can kill those things," Liz shouted from the hallway. "Sand gives it powers. It can rewind the last thirty seconds."

The sand creatures were skilled, but Raziel was even more so. With a bit of experimenting, Raziel found that the dagger not only killed the sand creatures, but completely destroyed them.

When all of the creatures were destroyed, Raziel noticed a luminous cloud of sand in the middle of the room. Enticed, he reached out to touch it, and he was pulled in. Raziel writhed as the sands gave him visions of what was to come.

When Raziel awoke, he stiffly rose to his feet. The continuing tremors had cracked the wall beside the gate, giving him a way through. Elizabeth was standing on the other side of that gate.

Raziel locked eyes with Elizabeth, causing her to draw back. With a snarl on his lips, Raziel rushed after her.

"I know that you're responsible for this!" Raziel yelled. Unfortunately, a pile of debris chose that moment to fall, once again preventing Raziel from reaching Eliza.

Raziel snarled in frustration and turned right, the only direction open to him. The visions had shown him doing incredible feats of athleticism. Raziel did possess supernatural agility, but he doubted that he would be able to defy gravity without his wings.

With all other options exhausted, Raziel decided to try flipping off of a wall. To his surprise, he was able to do it, though he wasn't as graceful as what the visions had shown him. When he emerged from the room, Raziel saw Elizabeth again.

"Get back here!" Raziel demanded, his patience wearing thin. However, Eliza didn't have a chance to respond as the castle dumped another load of rubble in Raziel's path.

As Raziel fought his way through the crumbling palace, the dagger slowly revealed its powers to him. The strangest was the power to turn back time. Raziel found it very perplexing that he could receive an injury and then prevent it by dodging after he had used the dagger. This was useful, as Raziel's ability to heal was impaired by his enemies' lack of blood.