Kaidan & Delilah: Part 2

They got in just in time before the door slid closed. "...." they looked around. One silence they followed then uncloaked figures down the spiralling steps, going further and further down into the depths of the hideaway.

They reached the bottom....hearing what sounded like...chanting. ".....what's going on..." Kaidan wondered.

Lilah could hear something the farther down they went in. It sounded like chanting. As they crept closer, a dim light began to show meaning they were nearing the end. She was not sure what to expect when they reached the hideout. "It sounds like chanting...could they be performing a spell or having a seance?" She asked quietly.

It was a large open high ceiling room with a criterion the centre of theorem, with a purple glowing bubbling liquid within it. There standing above the bubbling crater, standing topless with his spider tattoo on show, was Desmond Horlock. He was the one chanting and he began dropping certain items into the bubbling liquid.

"Its him...." frowned Kaidan.

Lilah looked at what was going on. It looked like something out of a horror film. Vampires chanting in a circle and a large black cauldron full of a bubbling substance. The wretched smell filled the air. Her eyes stopped when she saw the man that raped her and nearly killed her. That familiar spider tattoo on his chest made her shiver slightly. It looked like they hadn't noticed their presence yet.

"Kaidan...what should we do? Whatever is going on here feels very sinister. I don't like it at all..." She whispered.

".....this is all ancient magic......and forbidden." he said, "We need to find out what he is performing....because that's a large cauldron......" he was worried it was leading to a VERY bad situation.

Lilah looked at the cauldron and saw just how huge it was. Big enough to hold the body of a child or even an adult. The situation was looking more and more grim the longer they watched. "You don't think he is going to use one of the children he took do you? A child could easily fit in that cauldron..." She started to feel panic rising inside her heart.

".......Well we best find where they are holding the kids first...." he said, "It looks like they are still preparing." observed Kaidan, "We best be quick though." he said in hushed voice, "Let's move." creeping in the shadows stealthy, they got moving away from the main chamber and into the halls.

"Most likely they'll keep them in a holding chamber." said Kaidan.

"Right. Let's hurry." She whispered and let Kaidan lead. It was still dark and there was not many other ways to go in the long tunnel.

They got looking for a good little while but Kaidan could hear whimpering and sniffling, he looked into a room and found children in cages, crying and looking really scared, "Lilah." he said motioning her to look in.

Lilah could hear the whimpering and crying as well. She joined Kaidan and looked in and saw all the children kept in small cages. She noticed one that looked just like the village head. It must have been his missing child. "We have to do something. We can't let them stay in those cages. We have to free them." Lilah was torn between doing what she knew they needed to do and freeing the poor children. It would be unwise to free them first. They would cause a fuss and they might get caught.

"We might need to find a way to sneak them out, let's find a back way they are not using." he suggested.

"You go on ahead. I will try to calm the children down and look around the room to find a way out. Be careful." Delilah snuck into the room and saw all the children were upset. Some of them looked malnourished and were very pale and sickly. Once inside, she looked around and went over to the child that seemed to be most calm. She took off her hood and face mask to show she meant no harm.

"Shh its ok. I won't hurt you. I'm here to help." The boy in the cage was the one that looked like the headman. "Tell me, is your name Oliver?" She asked the boy.

"Stay out of sight and keep the noise to a minimum." he said as he went on to look for a back exit to see if they can get he kids out of here.

He got looking around and couldn't seem to find anything, this was not looking good. But he paused coming to a room that wasn't closed properly.He heated footsteps and quickly went in closing it quietly as the guard walked by with out a worry. He sighed. "....." he looked to see it was a bed chamber......but...didn't seemed to be...used...

The little boy whimpered a bit and wiped his tears. "Yes I'm Oliver...who are you?" He asked her. "I'm a friend. My name is Lilah. I am a friend of your fathers and I'm here to set you all free." Lilah had a lock pick in her satchel, but she wanted to wait for Kaidan to come back before she set the children free. "Just try to keep quiet for a little bit longer. My friend is looking for a safe way out of here." She smiled.

THe room looked.....familliar somehow....but couldn't put his finger on it. "I best not linger." he said to himself and got sneaking out again, heading backache kids and Lilah.

He arrived in 5 minutes. "THere's nothing, the only way we'll get out is if we stop Desmond now." he said with a sigh.

Lilah was relieved when Kaidan came back in one piece. "Kaidan, thank goodness." She whispered when he came in. But from what he said it was going to be hard getting the children out without being noticed. "There are so many of them. We are greatly outnumbered. We can at least sabotage the ceremony and slow things down or cause a distraction." She said.

"Which if we can get them all to the other side of the hideout it could work." he said. "........I'll lure them over with a distraction and see if I can destroy that mix of whatever he is making."

"They have been bringing bones....." said Oliver.

"There are only four children in total. I should be able to get them out rather quickly." She said to Kaidan. Both she and Kaidan had turned their attention to Oliver when he spoke up. "Bones? Did you see what kind they were, Oliver?" He was only five but she was sure he knew what human bones looked like.

"........I don't know....but there were other kids.....they took one ever 7 days.....we haven't seen them again...." he was sniffling in fear.

"This is not good." said Kaidan. ".......We need to get them out and now. Come with me Lilah, You four, just stay calm and we'll be back, I'll get their attention and Lilah will come back and get you all out of here got it?" he said.

They all nodded but still scared. "Lilah, follow me."

---

They got back to the centre chamber and the cauldrons contents had changed colour to a bright purple, "I'll let them see me and get them all to follow me, onceI get the out of this chamber you go and get the kids out."

Lilah followed Kaidan out but looked back at the kids and saw how scared they were as they left. Once they were away, Kaidan began to lay out his plan. "Kaidan you can't! That's suicide!" She said in a hushed, but worried tone. "There has to be a better way. If Harlok catches you, he will kill you for sure this time." She said taking his hands.

"You are quieter than me, and the kids need to be taken out now. I know his tricks and he'll focus on me see its me. He won't kill me....I won't let him." he pulled his face mask down and hers, kissing her, "I promise." he smiled, "Now...wait for it." he Got his mask back on and he got running out, making himself know out in the open.

The guards spotted him and solid Harlock, he paused giving a grin, "....Well Well, isn't this surprise." he sniggered, ".....Gentlemen....bring our surprised guest to me." Kaidan got running the opposite way and the chase was one. Harlock chuckled, "I thought they would come a bit later....no matter."

"But Kaidan..." She trusted him, but she still worried about him as well as his plan. "I can't let you do this alone..." He didn't give her much choice when he pulled his mask then hers down and kissed her. "I'm holding you to that promise." She said and pulled her mask back up watching him throw himself to the wolves.

Once the sanctuary was empty, Lilah ran back to the children and used her lock pick to get them out of the cages as quickly as possible. She carried two of them in her arms and Oliver, being the oldest, was able to carry one of the younger ones. "Ok kids, just follow me and be very quiet." Scout was ahead of her keeping a look out. Lilah couldn't take the path she and Kaidan took, so she had to guide them through the sanctuary to the exit. "Quickly children." She whispered.

The guards were still pursuing Kaidan through the tunnels and halls, but Kaidan was making mental markers of the tunnels to make sure he knew where to run back. Suddenly Kaidan got stopped by a dead end, And the goons were sniggering, "I don't why a bunch fools are laughing at their deaths." he hissed ands eyes glowing.

He pulled out his daggers then with his flitting he used his speed to cut down all the ones who were not fully other guard, ands fending off the others. But their was MANY of these guards and Kaidan growled, 'Hurry Lilah.' he said in his head.

Kaidan's distraction worked well. She was able to make it through the sanctuary with no problems. "We're almost there. Just stay close Oliver. It's really dark in this tunnel." In her mind, she was thinking of Kaidan and hoped he was safe. 'Hold on love. I'll be there soon.' She thought to herself.

Kaidan then got ramming through the crowd and one caught his scarf which he cut loose and his face mask came off, notching at this time got running back through the halls with the enemy stallion pursuit. But then he got clotheslines out of no where, "UGH!!!" his back slammed back to the stone ground and Kaidan was coughing his guts up.

There standing over him, was non other than Harlock smirking down at him, "I'm sooooo sorry to do that My boy....but I am THRILLED he decided to join us." he smirked.