Disclaimer: I don't own Legacy of Kain or any other identifiable pop culture references.
First, I'd like to give you people a bit of recommended reading. First off is "Restoring Balance" by Syvia. That one inspired me, but I think she handled that situation better than I did. The other one is "All of this past" by Lilitha-Star, simply because I don't think anyone has noticed it.
A/N: The song Jennifer was singing is called "Sweet Dreams," and though she's following the melody of the Eurythmics version, she's keeping more to the tempo of the Marilyn Manson version.
Zaran: Even though I'm not sure what happens in part 20, I'd estimate that you wouldn't appear until at least 23. (I gotta make this thing move faster.) I gotta warn you, Janos is more afraid of rabid fan girls than Raziel is.
RavenWolf: You've got to learn how to keep your muses under control or else you'll never get anything done.
Varyssa: Wow, you actually sound like you were worried. hug Don't worry, I haven't saved him from heroine addiction so many times just to kill him in such a boring way.
Lunatic Pandora: I'm sure what you imagined is more interesting than what really happens. This first phase of this chunk is prompted by your comments.
Janos walked sedately into the hospital. The orderlies gave him curious looks, but did not question his presence. They were used to seeing him here, though normally it was in the company of a badly hurt child or unconscious senior citizen. A few of the hospital staff were so attuned to Janos' presence that they unconsciously stepped to the side before they realized that this wasn't an emergency, and the angel was unlikely to shove them out of the way. Janos gave them a friendly nod.
After a few moments, Janos was found by the man he was looking for. "Ah, Janos. What unfortunate person have you brought to us today?"
"Hello, Rodriguez." Janos waffled a bit, uncertain of how to answer. "I did not think it wise to bring him with me. He is a special case."
Rodriguez frowned in confusion. "If he's hurt, then we would not turn him away."
"It is an old injury," Janos sighed. "Do you know of anyone who is good with scar tissue?"
Rodriguez thought for a moment then snapped his fingers. "The new guy, Frank Williams. He might be able to help. Even if he can't, you should meet him anyway."
Janos nodded his agreement and walked with Rodriguez down the hall.
"I saw you in the tabloids recently," Rodriguez said conversationally. "Or at least they claimed it was you, but they didn't get any of the details right."
"I don't think I've done anything especially interesting since that wreck on the highway," Janos said.
Rodriguez nodded. "They must have had a very uninspired month if they are making up stories about you."
Janos shuddered slightly. "What sort of stories are they telling?"
"It was supposedly an interview," Rodriguez said. "They're trying to make people think that you are some fluff-filled angel."
Janos sighed, "I've been portrayed as a devil before. At least they are painting me in a more favorable light, even if I am not really that nice."
"You seem nicer than some people I've met," Rodriguez said. "Frank's in here."
Rodriguez opened the door to the break room and stepped inside. "Frank? I'd like to introduce you to Janos Audron. Janos, this is Frank Williams."
"You're still hung up on that legend, Rodriguez?" Frank asked, looking up from his crossword puzzle. His face froze and he dropped his pen. He gaped for a moment, and then spluttered, "You are real."
Janos gave a small, tight-lipped smile. "It is a pleasure to meet you."
To his credit, Dr. Williams recovered quickly from his shock. Janos spent some time describing Magnus' condition. Even though he was talking to a blue creature with large wings, Dr. Williams was inclined to believe that the explanation was exaggerated.
Raziel cautiously crept down into the basement. He was curious about who Magnus really was when he was sane. Raziel didn't want to admit it until he was sure, but he thought that perhaps Magnus was a kindred spirit of sorts.
The damaged vampire was hunched in the corner. "Go away," he moaned miserably.
Raziel frowned. He would not be put off so easily. "I only want to talk."
"Don't look at me," Magnus said. "I'm disgusting."
"Actually, I ended up looking worse than you do," Raziel smirked before letting his form settle into that of the destroyed wraith. He crouched in front of Magnus. Raziel no longer felt the keen revulsion for his own ravaged body. Of course, he would rather be handsome, but his true form was still good for when he needed the shock value.
Magnus eyed Raziel curiously. He shuddered as Raziel's lack of stomach reminded him of the precarious situation his own entrails were in. Magnus stared at Raziel's scarf. "Why do you…" Magnus stopped as his searching gaze fell on Raziel's hollow pelvis. "Never mind." Magnus decided that he didn't want to know what would cause a creature to conceal his face while leaving that area exposed, even if there was nothing personal left.
Raziel let his appearance settle back into his human guise. "You could learn how to do this."
Magnus remembered that Kain had a similar ability. They had been hunting together, and Magnus was surprised to see Kain casually stroll up to some saucy wench and talk to her conversationally before draining her of blood. Magnus knew that the trick was less than an illusion, and wouldn't help him in this case. He shook his head glumly.
Raziel sighed and held out a hand. At least let me try to get that chain off you.
Magnus slowly rose and sat down at the crude table. Raziel fished a saw out of the toolbox and set to work on the thick manacle.
"What happened to you?" Magnus asked hesitantly.
Raziel kept sawing smoothly at Magnus' shackle. He had been expecting a question like this, but he was still trying to think of the easiest way to say it.
"It was by Kain's command," Raziel began. He was about to continue when Magnus wrenched his wrist away from Raziel's grasp.
"Are you another traitor?" Magnus asked in revulsion.
Raziel growled in annoyance. "I was executed in a manner that was befitting to one, but I was his most loyal lieutenant.
"Then why would he do such a thing?" Magnus asked in worried confusion.
Raziel started sawing again at Magnus' chain. "Kain thought that he could use me to change destiny. He was right, at least when it came to his own. It was fortunate that he managed to persuade me against killing him."
Magnus jerked his wrist away again in horror. This time, the saw skipped against his arm, but the wound remained open only for a moment.
In frustration, Raziel grabbed Magnus' shackle and twisted it. The weakened metal snapped easily. Magnus gulped nervously, suddenly deciding that Raziel was stronger than he looked.
"I don't regret hating him any more than I regret loving him," Raziel said heatedly. He stopped, unable to put his emotions into words.
Magnus rubbed his newly exposed wrist uncomfortably. He wasn't quite sure what to make of his new acquaintance.
"Shall we see if I can get that furnace off your back?" Raziel asked, trying to shake off the bad feelings that their conversation had stirred up.
Magnus nodded nervously. Raziel ran his fingers around the seams in the boiler, trying to see how it was attached. In places, it seemed that Magnus' skin had grown around the foreign metal, incorporating it into his body. Cautiously, Raziel loosened one of the bolts that held the boiler together. He tugged at it, only to get a scream of pain from Magnus.
Raziel immediately stopped, letting his hands drop to his sides. He could easily torture anyone he pleased, but he didn't want to cause Magnus any more agony.
Magnus sat with his bottom lip quivering. He was dimly aware that he had suffered far worse, but it wasn't the pain that was bothering him. Fogged memories of the experiments that he had endured plagued Magnus' thoughts.
Later the next evening, Dr. Williams showed up. He almost shrunk back in terror when he saw Magnus. He had not believed it when Janos hold told him that someone had tried to dissect his patient. To his credit, Dr. Williams collected himself quickly and began to examine Magnus with detached clinical interest.
Now it was Magnus' turn to recoil in terror. He suffered flashes of memory where the jailers had examined him with the same cold actions.
At great risk to herself, Jennifer grabbed onto the frightened vampire and forced him into unconsciousness. She grimaced in an expression of her torn emotions.
It was Dr. Williams that gave voice to some of those emotions. "I will not operate on an unwilling patient."
"He wants to be restored," Janos calmly insisted.
"Have you ever had to examine someone who had been the victim of abuse?" Jennifer questioned quietly. Without waiting for an answer, she continued. "I can keep Magnus unconscious. Do what you need to do." Jennifer shuddered slightly. She was suffering from the same moral conflict as the doctor, but she had already leapt to the rational conclusion without dealing with the emotional side.
After a brief pre-examination, Dr Williams complained. "This room is full of germs. I can't operate on him here. An infection could kill him."
"The ones who did this to him had no concept of germs," Janos affirmed. "He cannot die of an infection."
Dr. Williams removed the hooks that had held Magnus' flayed skin in place for so long. He quickly discovered that any fresh cut on Magnus' body would heal within minutes. He used that knowledge to his advantage as he sliced through the healed flesh at the edges of Magnus' wound. The fresh cuts would then re-knit together when held against each other. It was in this way that Dr. Williams reconstructed Magnus' body.
Raziel glanced up at Jennifer. He noticed that the skin around her lips had gone pale like that of a hungry fledgling.
Jennifer was singing very quietly, "Sweet dreams are made of this, who am I to disagree, travel the world and the seven seas, everybody's looking for something."
Raziel sensed that the operation was severely disturbing to Jennifer, and that she was attempting to distract herself from what was happening. Only part of her attention would be consumed by keeping Magnus under control. From what Raziel could tell, the song that Jennifer was singing only had eight lines. Still, Raziel could tell that Jennifer was becoming more disturbed by the second. The whiteness that had surrounded her lips had spread to her entire face, and she was no longer murmuring the song.
Dr. Williams ceased his work for a moment and said, "Let him wake up, I want to see how he's feeling." The doctor took one look at Jennifer's glazed expression. "You should take her out for some air."
Raziel half-carried Jennifer through the door that led directly outside. He allowed himself a small measure of concern. If he hadn't known that Jennifer was fully recovered from her recent bloodletting, he would have sworn that someone had completely drained her.
"Jennifer," Raziel said, gently shaking the girl.
Jennifer knotted her fists in Raziel's shirt. "There's only so much that I can take," she said, a slight tremor creeping into her voice.
"This is coming from a woman who can giggle during a slasher film," Raziel smirked.
Jennifer breathed a shuddering sigh against Raziel's chest. "Those aren't real."
Raziel rubbed Jennifer's back. When she had recovered a little, Jennifer pulled away so that she could look at Raziel. He was pleased to see that some of the color had crept back into Jennifer's face.
"Are you ready to go back in?" Raziel asked gently.
"Yeah," Jennifer breathed.
When they walked back down into the basement, they saw that Janos was holding a struggling Magnus.
"I've told you, your blood thirst is only in your mind," Janos said, doubling his efforts to hold onto Magnus. The boiler kept him from getting a good grip. He yelled in surprise and pain as Magnus bit into his wrist.
Raziel leapt in and helped Janos wrestle Magnus to the floor. Janos rubbed his wrist, though the wound had already closed. Magnus lapped at his fangs, though most of the blood had spilled down his face.
Since Magnus was under control, Jennifer asked the Doctor, "What do you want to do now?"
Dr. Williams gulped nervously and said, "He seems to be handling the surgery rather well. If you'd be kind enough to do whatever it is you do to make him sleep, I'd like to continue."
Magnus sagged into unconsciousness again. After several intense hours, Dr. Williams managed to remove the boiler and encourage the skin to seal over all of Magnus' wounds.
"I do not want to be standing over him when he wakes up again," Dr. Williams said.
"We will take care of him now," Janos said, understanding the doctor's hesitation.
Jennifer led Dr. Williams into the kitchen. Even though he had developed a deathly fear of his vampiric patient, he was unwilling to completely leave until he was sure that everything was going smoothly. After a few muffled thumps, Janos came up the stairs so that he could thank Dr. Williams and assure him that Magnus would be just fine.