Maximus stared forlornly at the closed door, so close… Shaking off the thought and the ache that still burned in his loins, he made his way toward the entrance. Zelda was right, this wasn't something that could wait, those kids needed to be rescued immediately and they could pick back up where they left off once he came back.

Though, the idea of barricading the door was becoming more and more appealing by the minute…

Turning the corner, Vlad and Leila stood waiting for him. When he stopped next to his old friend, Vlad sniffed the air before understanding dawned. A sardonic smile twisted his lips as they locked eyes.

Maximus already knew what he was thinking and shared his humor. "Karma, isn't it?"

Vlad shook his head, the smile never leaving as he gestured to the car. "It would seem so, although given the circumstances surrounding your relationship I would have preferred Karma wait to sink its nails in you."

Leila stared in confusion as the two chatted, not seeing the correlation until Vlad asked, "How close?"

A granite hard smile carved into Maximus's face as he glanced with aching longing back up to the room and the woman he'd just left. "Enough that if the messenger had come an instant later I would have gladly taken whatever punishment you dolled out. Nothing would have pulled me away from her side at that point."

Vlad nodded while Leila cringed in sympathy for her sister. To have come so far and just think she hit the finish line only for them to take Maximus was a bit cruel but there was nothing they could do about it. She'd apologize to her later but for now…

"Well, let's get this show on the road boys. The faster we get this finished, the faster Maximus can get home to his lady love and we get to sleep easier knowing one less ring exists in the world."

It was still massively surprising that someone had managed to build one under Vlad's nose but then again, Vlad only ran parts of Romania, not all of it.

In times like this she was sure he wished he did run all of it, this would never happen under his rule. It wouldn't surprise her in the slightest if the first thing he did upon coming home was to rip into the leader of that area.

Maximus straightened, nodding in agreement with her bleak encouragement as he took the driver's seat out of habit. Vlad and Leila exchanged glances, an entire conversation flashing between them before they followed. Today was going to be a long day.

They parked the car blocks away to not alert their prey of them approaching. There was no way of knowing how many people were guarding this place and the number of vampires was unknown as well. The last thing they needed was for one to take a kid hostage or to just kill them.

The building layout was mostly underground, Leila hadn't gotten much from the mystery woman's essence. Just flashes of the place and the vague area it was in, to her frustration. Vlad had been quick to remind her that her powers were only just starting to even out again and what she had gotten was enough for him to figure out where they were going. It didn't feel like enough but it would have to be.

Vlad gestured for Maximus to position himself in the front, ready to storm through at his signal while he brought Leila around to the side entrance. The basement was closer to this entrance and if Maximus started a big enough distraction, or killed all the captors, they could get the kids out without any casualties.

Once inside, they listened for the heartbeat's only to hear those from down below. Damn, that meant all the captors were vampires and they still had no idea if there was one guarding the kids or not.

Finding the door downward was easy, killing the guard they nearly knocked into before he could utter a sound was a bit trickier. Leila's whip had lashed out on instinct, cleaving his head off before any noise could escape him. Vlad's fire would have worked as well, but it was considerably more noticeable. He sent her an approving glance from over his shoulder as they continued to a large roomful of cells.

The design of the room was familiar and it only took a minute for Leila to grasp why that was. This was the same design as the cells in Vlad's prison from childhood. Her stomach twisted as she got her first glance at the children living the hell her husband had been forced to for so long.

The cells were tiny, even for children, making them have to crunch up to fit and briefly the horrified thought of how in the hell had an adult Vlad fit in one passed through her mind before she forced it down. Her husband didn't need her pity and neither did these kids. They needed her help to get out and that she would give them.

Vlad gave the signal through his ear piece for Maximus to start the distraction and not a second later the sound of the front door being kicked in rang throughout the building. Running footsteps raced toward the front as voices boomed in Leila's ears, but she wasn't focused on that. Vlad was faced toward the door, poised to attack the second someone made a move into the room and thus giving her the clearance she needed to move to the cells.

The kids all shrunk back from her when she approached, their pitiful cries gouging holes into her heart as she knelt to their level. "It's okay now, we're here to get you guys out. The noise is a friend of ours keeping the guards distracted and we need to move quickly." She prayed they spoke English because her Romanian was still in its fledgling stages. Unless one of the kids cursed, she wouldn't understand them. Yet another thing she needed to work on…

Shaking the thought to the side, she watched as some of the kids lost their fear as hope bloomed. Thank God some of them did understand her, although as she glanced at the ones still cowering, a good chunk didn't. She may have to get Vlad over here to calm them down, but for now she could focus on getting the ones who would come close enough out.

Dropping her voice into what she hoped was a soothing tone without being patronizing, she coaxed. "Alright, I know this is scary and you don't know us, but we need to get you guys out of here."

Seeing how some of them still hesitated, an idea struck her. Turning her body just enough for them to see Vlad at the entrance, she pointed at him with a confident smile. "See that man there? That's your voivode. And he's not going to let anything happen to you or me."

Vlad glanced back at her with confusion before understanding dawned when the kids all seemed to relax a bit. Some staring at him in wonder while others began to chatter in excitement over being rescued by the prince himself. She'd thought his legendary status amongst his people might help this along and was relieved to be proven correct.

For his part, Vlad didn't comment as he felt the children's eyes bore into him. If it made them feel better to make him into some saving knight then he'd allow it. He remembered with painful clarity how he'd begged for anyone to come and save him in the early years of his imprisonment. No one had come, but Leila and he could save these children. He wasn't a white knight, far from it in fact, but he'd let them believe he was.

The kids were all considerably more cooperative after that, a few hesitantly inching forward for Leila to help out of their cell. She quickly placed them down, knowing how Vlad hated touch and knowing that they most likely did as well. By the time she'd finished with half the cells that reached to the ceiling, her stomach was ready to evict all its contents onto the stone floor. The condition some of these kids were in was horrific and as she pasted on a comforting smile, the urge to run out and join Maximus in the slaughter was overwhelming.

"Don't." Vlad's voice broke her out of her thoughts. Turning partially to him, she waited for some elaboration which he gave after a second.

"I understand your rage, but right now you are where you're needed most. Let Maximus handle them, if you wish you can always join me when I visit them later in the dungeon but for now focus. They need you more than vengeance."

Leila forced her rage back with extreme difficulty and nodded at her husband. He was right, now was not the time to scare the hell out of the kids by whipping their captors into tiny pieces no matter how appealing the thought was. She'd never joined Vlad in the dungeon for anything but necessity however as she helped a little boy whose eyes were strikingly similar to Zelda's out of the cramped space, she acknowledged that there was a good possibility that she would be joining Vlad this time around.

"I'll be taking you up on that, but you're right. Not now." She focused all her attention on the kids, missing the intense stare Vlad leveled on her as she soothed the kids to the best of her ability.

One of them in particular caught her attention, the form was huddled all the way back into the cell and if it weren't for her supernatural sight she wouldn't have been able to see anything. The girl's eyes stuck out among all the others, the familiar copper making Leila's heart twist in her chest.

Reaching slowly into the hole, Leila watched as those eyes widened before little teeth sank into the fleshy part of her hand. Muffling a hiss, she sent up a prayer of thanks it wasn't the charged hand the little girl had bitten. She understood her fright given the circumstances, but with her limited Romanian, this was the best she could do without calling Vlad over.

Ignoring the hand thoroughly clamped between the girl's teeth, Leila coaxed her as she maneuvered her arm to pull the kid out. "Hey there sweetheart, I doubt you can understand me, but just as soon as I get you out I won't touch you again, alright? I'm well versed in people who don't like touch and I'm not about to force it on you, but you have to work with me to get out of here."

The light of understanding dawned as she inched forward and with a sigh of relief Leila wiggled her out. Maybe she did understand English, at least some of it anyway. Considering how young she looked, it was entirely possible that she only knew snippets. Romanian was her main language, most likely, and if Leila needed a translator she had Vlad but she was glad the girl understood some of what she was saying. Every bit counted…

Finally pulling her free, Leila went to set her down only for the girl to latch on tighter. Oh, this was new…

Vlad's eyes didn't leave his wife as she gently rocked one of the girls that didn't seem to want to let go of her. Patting her back, she shot a confused glance at Vlad with a helpless shrug when the girl refused to relinquish her hold.

The clinginess had surprised her, but he answered the confusion in a hushed voice. "People cope in different ways, Leila."

That was true, apparently this little one wanted to clamp to her and not let go. Which wouldn't be a bad thing, if there weren't still other kids she needed to get free. Either Leila had been right and her English was limited, or she was too scared to listen as she cuddled closer to her chest. The ball of quaking bones and skin made Leila want to wrap her arms around the kid and promise that nothing would ever hurt her again. Apparently her maternal instinct was still working, who knew?

Sighing through her nose, she called to Vlad. "A little help?"

He backed away from the door while still keeping his hearing focused for the sound of footsteps. Turning to Leila and the girl who shrank back from him, he explained in Romania what was going on to her.

While she relaxed slightly, her grip was still tight around Leila and it didn't truly surprise Vlad. He could see some of her injuries, the ones not hidden from her place curled against Leila's chest, and they spoke of prolonged torture and repeated assaults. He had much the same injuries in his younger years and seeing them again made wrath burn through him. Whoever had started this ring would be in his dungeon for centuries, he would ensure it.

When the girl refused to release Leila yet again, she gave him a helpless glance. She wasn't about to force the kid to let go, for one with how severely undernourished she was even the slightest bit of strength might break bones and for two…Well, Leila couldn't bring herself to remove the only thing giving this girl a feeling of safety in this mess. Even if the kid's chosen security blanket was Leila's hair…

She didn't bother untangling the little fingers, just letting her do as she pleased while waiting for some kind of plan from Vlad.

Her husband let out a sigh, eyeing the children that were still in their cages. There weren't too many, and most of them didn't speak English so it may be a good idea for him to handle it anyway, but he wasn't sure if they'd let him near enough to be of help.

Gesturing back to the door, he told her. "Take my post, I'll see if I can convince them to let me pull them free."

Leila nodded, giving him a tense smile and freeing one of her hands to squeeze his for the briefest moment before breezing to the door. This couldn't be easy on Vlad, what with all his own memories in a similar place, but she pushed her pity to the side and replaced it with adoration for the man who was ruthlessly wading through the worst of his past for the sake of kids he'd never met before.

That was her husband, the dragon in scarred scale, even though he'd deny it if she said so. Turning toward the door, Leila allowed her whip to uncoil and watched as the little girl in her arms stared in open fascination. She could stare all she liked as long as she didn't try to grab it…

Leila glanced back at Vlad only to feel her heart lurch up into her throat to choke her. He'd gotten most of the kids out now, but he'd had to pause because the boy from before with Zelda's eyes had latched onto his leg in a hug.

She watched as Vlad froze momentarily, memories assaulting him as a sharp pain cleaved through their bond of a past time with his son, before he haltingly wrapped one of his arms around the boy. The embrace lasted only a second, but even that amount felt painful to Vlad before the boy scuttled back into the crowd. Content to watch now that he'd gotten that out of his system.

Leila swallowed around her suddenly tight throat, the moment had been touching even though it had been equally as painful for Vlad to feel. She'd never seen him in the capacity of a parent before but now that she'd caught a glimpse…it fit him. She could almost imagine what he'd been like centuries ago with his own son and the image made her ache. Damn it, was now really the time to discover she wanted kids with this man!?

With his past he had more than enough reason to not want them. The topic had never come up, for obvious reasons, but maybe after they got out of here she'd broach the subject with him. He looked so right with that boy curled against him, the image just sliding into place as if it was completely natural for him. Shaking off the thought and her new baby fever to be considered later, she snapped her attention to the door when footsteps began to run toward their direction.

Just as she was about to snap her whip at the intruder's head, she heard Maximus's voice. "It's me!" As if as an afterthought as he ran into the room.

Leila huffed, allowing her whip to fizzle out with frustration. "You could have said that earlier, I damn near took your head clear off!"

He grimaced, nodding in acceptance of her point before turning to Vlad who had just finished freeing the last of the children. "All the captors have been subdued and are ready for transport back to the castle."

As they discussed what would need to be done from here, the boy from before had wandered closer to the door. Before any of them could react, a final guard who they hadn't noticed wrestled him into a choke hold while backing away. The glint of terror the likes of a cornered animal in his eyes made Leila's stomach drop in dread. Damn it, they'd managed it this far without problems, that kid was not going to die now! Not when he was so close to being out of this hellhole.

Before she could snap her whip and cleave the captor's legs off, Maximus lunged forward. She'd never seen Maximus fight like this, but as she watched him tear the pathetic excuse for a man limb from limb, she wasn't surprised. Staying far back, she watched as Maximus shredded the last of the guards. The man had been in the Crusades, one of the original templar knights, she would be stupid to get too close while he was in fight mode.

She glanced down at the boy now sitting on the floor, watching with stunned fascination as his previous captor was reduced to nothing more than bloody strips of muscle. To her surprise, he didn't seem scared of Maximus's display, in fact he seemed almost appreciative. It hit with the force of a sledge hammer.

The way the boy had cringed away from that guard's touch specifically and his relief at seeing him dispatched now… That had been one of the people who'd defiled him and suddenly, Leila more than understood why he wasn't scared of Maximus.

That man had been this boy's personal satan, and he'd just seen Maximus rip him into shreds. Leila would have been appreciative of anyone who had killed Szylagi in such a way during her capture and she'd been held under less painful circumstances than these kids. She wouldn't fault the boy for being glad to see one of his captors gone.

She shared a knowing glance with Vlad, these kids were going to need some serious therapy after this… Not that she or Vlad were ones to talk, the shit they'd lived through would make a therapist cry, quit or puke and they'd never gone to see one. Still, it may do them some good. That was yet another thing she'd bring up to Vlad later, although by the look in his eyes he was already planning everything out.

Pulling herself back to the present, she felt the girl tense in her arms. Thankfully Leila had managed to push her head into her throat before Maximus had gone wild, but she could still see the aftermath. Unlike the boy, she looked slightly ill at the sight but again Leila couldn't blame her, it was a gross sight.

Vlad moved to calm Maximus, knowing that he was the only one, aside from possibly Zelda, who could do so without losing life or limb. "We need to get the children back to the castle. We can search for their families from there and handle the rest of the preparations."

She watched as Maximus slowly relaxed, until he sighed with exhaustion. Glancing down at the boy, he grimaced at the show he'd put on. Hopefully he wouldn't be terrified to be in the car with him, while he could walk back to the castle he really didn't feel like it.

The boy lunged up into Maximus's arms, cutting off his concerns and making him jolt in surprise as the boy wrapped himself around Maximus in a hug. Well, apparently he had no reason to worry after all…

Patting the child's back, he looked over to Leila who was in much the same position with a little girl. She shrugged before tightening the hold she had around her bundle, if that's where the kid wanted to be she wouldn't evict her. The full body rubber under her clothes kept her voltage under control and her non gloved hand was at her side, ready in case they needed it.

After a moment, the boy squirmed to be let down, which Maximus immediately acquiesced to, surprised that he had allowed the hug at all if he were honest. The boy stared up at him, the similarity between his and Zelda's eyes burning into him as he watched the boy take him in. His eyes had been what had made him react so violently to begin with, the reminder of when Zelda had been held captive not twenty four hours ago surging his protective instinct to the surface.

Shaking off the unsettling emotions the boy brought out in him, he turned to Vlad and asked. "Are we ready to go home now?"

He had Zelda waiting for him and while he knew that he had to help Vlad get all of these prisoners settled before he could go to her, every step toward the castle was one in the right direction.

Vlad's mouth twitched in amusement as he moved back to Leila's side, the crowd of children following behind him like a herd of ducklings to his wife's amusement and his chagrin. Leila didn't bother to muffle her chuckles, the sight of Vlad's new following making humor flash through her. Trust her husband to pick up a pack of children without even trying. Oh she wished she had a camera right now…

Vlad shot her a grimace, edged with aggravation at her laughing, as he answered Maximus. "Yes, I believe so. We can give them blood on the way there."

With that, they all headed out toward the car while Vlad called his people to bring a few more vehicles to transport the rest of the children and get started on finding their parents.

Leila settled into the seat of the car, the girl still clinging tightly to her torso, as she watched the kids all chatter amongst themselves. It was only a minute before Vlad joined her, sparing a glance down at the child still clamped to her before taking his place at her side. The girl tensed briefly at his proximity, before slowly relaxing when he made no move for her, only gripping Leila's hand in his.

Relaxing against Vlad's side, Leila allowed herself to finally let go of the tension she'd held since this whole mess had started. One child trafficking ring down, while there were hundreds more in the world, at least Romania was most likely clear of them. Although, the steely glint in Vlad's eyes said he would most likely be taking a trip soon to check for himself if Romania had any more hiding in the shadows. Leila would go with him, finding these things was easier with her ability.

Seeing the determination in his wife's eyes, Vlad gave her hand a squeeze in understanding. He knew better than to try to talk her out of helping him, not when the mission had something this important at risk.

As she curled against him, he automatically opened his arm for her to take her normal place against his side. Words were unnecessary now.