Lunatic Pandora1: Yes, Magnus. I like the crazy ones.
Soul of Ashes: Lack of criticizm isn't bad, though it is also helpful. Pointing out the good parts is a way of letting someone know when they've done something right. (Yes, I know, I forget that more often than the rest of you, it seems.)
Varyssa: Know that this wasn't the first time that Janos has played the "guardian angel." He is still trying to redeem himself for the wrongs that he's committed against humanity. Though I must warn you... (Darn it, I just realised that there's something severly wrong with this.)
sigh Darn stupid writer's block, I'm going to deplete my queue again.
Disclaimer: I don't own Legacy of Kain or any other identifiable pop culture references.
When they got back to the house, Azrael was just preparing to leave on his motorcycle. "Wait," Raziel told him. "You're going to show me where Cynthia lives. She's gone too far this time."
After Raziel quickly explained the situation, Azrael started his bike. Raziel climbed on behind him and they were off.
Jennifer walked into the house, hoping that Raziel could handle this with a cool head. She laid Magnus on the couch and willed him into his flesh form, though he remained unconscious. Curious, Janos wandered over and gazed at the disfigured vampire.
"His name is Magnus," Jennifer told Janos. She took a breath and sighed before saying, "Kain found him in the Eternal Prison."
Janos frowned. He had read the implied meanings behind Jennifer's words. Janos pushed away the memories of his own imprisonment in the Hylden's device, and how he was the one who directed Kain to visit that place. Janos tried to say something, but he choked as the words became stuck in his suddenly dry throat.
"I've tried to do everything I could for him," Jennifer continued. "Please, maybe you could help." She stroked Magnus' temple again, careful to avoid the sharp edge where his skull had been cut away to reveal his brain.
Janos found his voice again. "How do you know about the Eternal Prison?"
Jennifer refused to meet Janos' eyes. "It was in a game."
"Why did you not tell me?" Janos asked.
"I doubted that you would want to see it," Jennifer answered, blinking away the beginning of a tear.
Janos gave off a gravelly sigh and knelt down beside Magnus. "This is Hylden magic," he spat, standing up again in revulsion.
Jennifer nodded. "The poor fool took on more than he could handle. Can you remove it?"
Janos grimaced. A quiet fury burned in his eyes. Janos took a moment to calm himself, and then laid a talon on Manus' bare shoulder. "It is done," the angel intoned.
"Thank you," Jennifer murmured as she mentally released the bonds that she had placed on Magnus.
Magnus slowly raised into consciousness. The first thing he saw when he opened his eye was Janos' kind face.
"You are lucky," Janos told the bewildered vampire. "Or maybe, not so much."
Magnus shuddered in alarm as he became aware of the transparent membrane that held his entrails from spilling everywhere. "What… They did this to me, didn't they?"
"Shhh, don't try to remember," Jennifer soothed. "It's over now."
Magnus tried to cover his face with his hand. He jerked back in alarm as he encountered the metal hooks that kept his lips peeled back. His unnecessary breath came in ragged puffs. Magnus sat up slowly, aware of the disconcerting weight of the boiler attached to his back.
Janos laid a comforting hand on Magnus' shoulder. "Try to take it easy."
Magnus nodded and shuddered slightly.
"Would you like a blanket?" Jennifer asked.
Magnus mumbled a 'thank you' and took the offered cover. He wrapped it the best he could, as the cold boiler on his back was quite bulky. Suddenly, his eye grew wide. "The leader," he said as he inhaled the scent of the blanket.
Jennifer realized her mistake. Kain had borrowed that same blanket when he had visited, and it probably still smelled like him. "He managed to survive," Jennifer told Magnus.
"Is he here?" Magnus asked, hope and excitement brightening his mangled face.
Jennifer shook her head slowly. "He comes when he sees fit, not when commanded," she paraphrased.
Jennifer knew that it wasn't strictly true. She was sure that Kain would come as soon as he heard that Magnus was here, but that was the problem. The online forum had just changed its rules. Anyone who claimed that the vampires were real was instantly banned. It was a result of the arguments that were sparked by such implausible comments. Jennifer had no way to know where Kain was now, or how to contact him.
Magnus nodded stoically. The knowledge that his leader was still alive warmed him. Magnus then sighed with weariness. "Is there some place I could rest?"
"I think you'll find the basement comfortable," Janos said, leading Magnus downstairs.
When Janos came back up, he asked Jennifer, "Why did you not completely remove his memories of what happened?"
Jennifer blew a long stream of air as she formed her answer. "What would it be like to wake up one day to discover that you're horribly deformed, but you have no idea of how or why it happened?"
Janos frowned at Jennifer. He couldn't help but imagine that she was thinking of the transformation that he had suffered while powering the device.
"I've fogged his memories," Jennifer continued, oblivious to what she had reminded Janos of. "He's vaguely aware of where he's been and what happened to him, but he'd have to concentrate to remember anything specific." Jennifer crossed her arms in frustration. "He's probably going to go mad again, anyway."
"Why do you not just restore him to the way he was?" Janos questioned. "You were able to change Raziel's appearance."
Jennifer shook her head. "Raziel did that on his own. You could pass as a human if you'd stop being so stubborn about that."
"I could not," Janos insisted.
Jennifer was about to yell at Janos when Raziel came stalking through the room. "Magnus was not alone," Raziel stated angrily.
"What?" Jennifer asked. She gasped with comprehension when Raziel held up three fingers. "Faustus, Marcus, and Sebastian," Jennifer said, each name enunciated with the dread that accompanied such a revelation.
Raziel nodded sternly. "We've got to stop them."
Jennifer thought for a moment, and then shook her head. "I'm not going with you." Before Raziel could ask why, Jennifer continued, "Marcus. I would be the chink in your armor. If he gets into my mind, he could make me force you into your plush form. You'd be helpless. Face it, I'm more of a liability than Azrael."
Raziel nodded. "I guess I'll just have to destroy them."
"Does that bother you?" Jennifer asked, sure that she already knew the answer. The obvious stare Raziel gave her confirmed that he had no regard for their lives. Jennifer sighed, "I doubt the traitors are redeemable anyway."
"Traitors?" Janos questioned.
Jennifer nodded. "If Kain's game is accurate, they all worked for the enemy." She rolled her eyes towards the ceiling, trying to remember. "Faustus claimed that he simply wanted to join the winning side, while Sebastian claimed that he's the one that cost Kain the war. I don't remember where Marcus fits into this."
"Marcus refused to join Kain's army, but he willingly went to the Sarafan after they won," Raziel said.
"I'm coming with you," Janos said, his eyes hard.
Raziel nodded. Three against one was uncomfortable odds. At least this way, he'd have someone at his back.
Raziel led Janos to Cynthia's. They followed the streets, mainly to take advantage of the warm air rising from the pavement. Raziel still had to beat his wings to stay aloft, while Janos coasted serenely above him.
They both landed on the roof of a two-story apartment building across the street from Cynthia's house. The three traitorous vampires were skulking in the shadows on the front lawn. Janos and Raziel considered their options for destroying the three traitors. Jennifer had told them that the way to kill a plushy was to destroy its body, and the way to get to the real body was the severely damage the flesh form.
Janos unexpectedly thought of something. "Raziel, where is your weapon? I have not seen it since we came to Earth."
Raziel shook his head. "Jennifer took me from one of the moments when I was separated from it." He paused in thought. Raziel knew in truth that it was the other way around; that he had been the soul of the sword in a moment when he hadn't been bonded to the wraith form that he identified with. "Really, I doubt that she was capable of summoning my twinned soul, even if she had chosen a moment when it was bonded to me."
Janos turned back to consider the traitorous vampires. "Which one is Sebastian?" he asked, remembering the expanded explanations that Jennifer and Raziel had given him.
"He's the one in the gray cloak and helmet," Raziel said.
"He's mine," Janos said, a slight growl edging his voice.
Raziel laid a restraining hand on Janos' arm. "We are not going to ambush them. I know it doesn't make any sense, but I want to challenge them before going in for the kill."
Janos gazed at Raziel. "Do you think honor means anything to them?"
Raziel shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I care about honor. You can stay up here if you want, but I have to do this my way."
Raziel lightly dropped down to the ground, leaving Janos to wait for his opportunity from the roof. Raziel took a moment to fold his wings before approaching the three vampires.
"Ah, we were hoping you would return," Sebastian said, his metallic voice grating with smugness.
Raziel noticed that Marcus had brought his hands up to the sides of his bald head. After a moment, Marcus adjusted his dark priest's robes nervously, the look of surprise clearly written on his face.
Raziel's eyes narrowed at the mind-controlling vampire. "Did you just try to control me?" Raziel asked, his voice dripping with scorn.
Faustus turned to Marcus, "I thought you said you could control minds."
"I can," Marcus said.
Faustus' eyes registered a look of shock as his mind fell to Marcus' charm, then in a blur of red he leapt at Raziel.
Raziel calmly dodged and caught Faustus' long black ponytail in one hand. He yanked the unfortunate vampire to the ground and started advancing on Marcus. "I don't appreciate your attempts to manipulate me," Raziel hissed.
Janos chose that moment to attack. He swooped down and deftly knocked Marcus to the ground without slowing his speed. Sebastian had seen the angel coming and was already running away. "Coward!" Janos yelled as he chased Sebastian around to the back of the house.
Raziel allowed himself a moment's distraction at seeing Janos' skill clearly for the first time. Marcus was twitching on the ground, severely stunned by the blow. Raziel had felt a similar attack during his battle with Janos in the Vampire Citadel. Raziel now considered the possibility that Janos had been holding back that day; it was either that, or these vampires were less durable than Raziel realized.
Raziel's mind was drawn back into the present by Faustus clawing at his hand. The pretty vampire was desperately trying to free his hair from Raziel's fist. Raziel flung Faustus on top of Marcus and summoned the fireball variation that he managed to learn. The two vampires barely had time to scream as the heat consumed their bodies, leaving nothing but ash.
Janos returned, his hands and arms covered with blood and fiberfill. He and Raziel exchanged a knowing look; all three traitors were completely destroyed."We've got to stop her before she makes more," Raziel said.
Janos indicated the house with an outspread talon, "Let's go, then."