The Hellhound's Return

Mystic Fate, Part II

~X~

Kali grunted as she landed in the deepest, darkest pit of the Underworld. She could only venture a guess that she was down a lot further than she had been during her last visit with Imperious, and she'd only seen part of this place when she had followed Hekatoid here during his reign of terror.

Holding her breath, Kali turned in a full circle, trying to take in as much as she could as she walked through the blackened halls. It was like being in a large hall. Corridors split off from the main hall, where she could only guess was where the Choosing Ceremony had taken place, and the corridors probably led to different rooms that the Terrors inhabited or called their own.

Creeping along the wall, Kali strained her hearing. Hoping to pick up the faintest of sounds. Where had Sculpin taken Udonna? They'd only had a few seconds head start on her, so there was no way they could've got far. But then, Sculpin had lived down here for centuries. He knew this place better than she did and probably knew all the fastest routes out.

"Where are you?" Kali asked, stopping at a fork and looking both left and right. Great, she grumbled. Now, what was she to do? What if she chose to go one way and it turned out to either being a dead end, or something way worse than Sculpin? Also, on the flip side, if she did choose the wrong way then it gave Sculpin an even greater advantage of either getting way or destroying Udonna.

"You look lost, little Ranger."

Kali whirled around, her hand on her Morpher. "Legend -" she broke off as Necrolai grabbed her wrist, twisting it away from her hip.

"We wouldn't want to do anything stupid," said Necrolai.

"I'm surprised you're even still alive," Kali said, her eyes narrowing. "You're a total failure. When the Terrors lost Eithne and Leanbow, I thought for sure they'd destroy you, you know? Do us all a favour. Even LeeLee."

Necrolai's eyes widened. "LeeLee?" she gasped.

"She's better off without you," said Kali. "From what I can tell you never appreciated her. I was quick to judge her, but then, given who you are, as a person, much less a parent, who could blame me?"

Necrolai dropped Kali's wrist. "You don't know what you're talking about," she said. "I love my daughter. I just wanted what was best for her."

"Best for her?" Kali snorted. "By forcing a legacy that she didn't want onto her? By making it difficult for her to make friends? How is that loving her?"

"I only did what my mother did to me."

Kali rubbed her wrist and watched Necrolai closely. She didn't fully trust the Vampire bat, even if she did trust her daughter. "LeeLee's still alive if you're wondering," she said. "She's making a great life for herself on the surface world. If you cared about her, at all, then you'd do everything to make sure she's safe."

"Why do you think I am here?!" Necrolai snarled. "Sculpin wants to help the master destroy the surface world. He cares not for the humans or anyone else that stands in his way, including LeeLee. But, she is still my daughter, regardless of whether she wanted my future or not. I don't want her to be hurt."

Kali bit the inside of her cheek. Necrolai was her best bet of finding Sculpin and Udonna. "If you want to save LeeLee then help me," she said. "I followed Sculpin down here. He has taken Udonna. I intend to get her back and stop him once and for all, but I can't do that alone. You're the Queen of the Vampires and I'm a Hellhound. I'm sure our combined magic can stop him."

Necrolai shook her head. "Our combined ours could cause a lot of damage, yes" she confirmed. "But it won't keep him down forever. We need something more powerful. Something that matches his abilities."