Sacrifice
A Sequel to Quietly into the Night
Conventional Couples
Rating: PG-13

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Antar – Royal Palace

Kyle held up his hand to stop the others from talking. The others stopped dead behind him and began to listen. Motioning to the others to stay where they were, he moved forward to try and find the source of the noise. He rounded a curve in the tunnel, keeping close to the smooth damp walls. Suddenly, an arm reached out and pulled him down to the ground. Before he could shout, a hand was clamped over his mouth, and another set arms pinned his legs down.
Shit! Kyle thought to himself. How am I going to get out of this? Buddha, I sure could use some help down here.
"Kyle? Is that you?" a disembodied voice asked.
"Murghmph," Kyle muttered against the hand still covering his mouth.
"What? Oh, sorry," said the voice and the hand was removed
"Yes, it's me," he whispered, angrily. "Why did you go and attack me for?"
"Well, how were we supposed to know it was you?" the voice said defensively. "Next time try announcing yourself, why don't you?"
"Real funny Liz. I assume that Max and Jereon are the ones holding me down? Where is Isabelle?"

The arms holding Kyle down let go, and he sat up gingerly. A small lamp was illuminated and filled the tunnel with a soft glow. Kyle looked upward and saw Isabelle, standing above him with a blaster of some type aimed at his head.
"Damn, you guys don't mess around, do you?"
"Not when it's this important," said Max, grimly. "Have you found them yet?"
"No, but we do know where they aren't being held. Look, why don't we move back down the tunnel to where the others are waiting before Michael decides to go all King-like again."
"I heard that Buddha boy," said Michael, as he came around the corner.
"Great job with the waiting, Michael," snapped Kyle. "For all you knew, I could have been captured by a platoon of guardsmen.
"Nah, I figured it was Max and Liz. Either that, or you had fallen, and you couldn't get up."
A small chuckle escaped from the Earth contingent as they pictured Kyle lying on the floor saying 'Help, I've fallen and I can't get up,' like the familiar commercial.
"Right, and you knew this because?" asked Kyle.
"If it had been Kivar's guardsmen, there would have been a hell of a lot more noise. Either from you killing them, or them trying to shut you up while you tried to warn us," said Michael, smugly.
"I hate it when he's right," muttered Kyle.

"Look, as fun as all this has been," said Max. "We do have something we need to accomplish."
"Max is right," said Kyle, reaching into his back pocket. He pulled out a map and proceeded to spread it out on the ground in front of everybody. He pointed out the areas that they had searched, noting that there was no sign of Maria and the kids in the dungeon. Max showed him the areas that they had searched as well.
"Do you think this means that Kivar has, well, had them killed?" asked Saranara softly.
"No!" said Kyle emphatically. "I've connected with Kam a couple of times, very briefly. He would let me know that they were still okay, and in the same place, but he wasn't sure where that was."
"Kyle, let me see that map," said Liz, suddenly. She looked closely at the map, and then closed her eyes, as if remembering something.
"He's holding them in there," she said, pointing to a small room on the map. "It's the same place that he took me that time, when he was trying to convince me to marry him."

The others gathered around the map and examined it closely.
"There are no tunnels leading to that room," said Isabelle.
"Way to state the obvious, Isabelle," said Michael.
Isabelle stiffened, and Jereon started to move past her towards Michael. Isabelle held up a hand to restrain him.
"Don't," she whispered. "He's just worried about Maria."
"But how can they speak to you that way? First Liz, and now Michael. These people are supposed to be your friends."
"It's because we are friends that they can talk to me that way. Believe me when I say, I've been pretty nasty to them too, but it doesn't matter. In the end, we are always there for each other."
Jereon said nothing, and they both turned their attention back to the map. Different ideas were tossed out and discarded when Saranara said, "The ceilings! What are the ceilings made from? Is it something we can break through?"
"My guess is yes," said Naloch. "The ceilings are made out of regular building material. Why, what are you thinking of, daughter?"

Saranara looked at the map again and pointed to a tunnel that led to a room near the chamber where Maria and the children were being held.
"If we can get into this room," she said. "We can go up into the ceiling and travel to the room where they are being held. We can break through the ceiling there, get them out and back through the ceiling again. From there, all we have to do is get into the room where the tunnel is, go back through the tunnel and you can go home!" she finished, triumphantly.
Liz reached out and squeezed her arm gently and smiled at the Antarian girl.
"Saranara, that is brilliant!" she said. "It's so simple, and that's what makes it brilliant."
Saranara smiled shyly, pleased that she was able to contribute to the group.

The moved out immediately, unwilling to wait even one more second before rescuing the others. As they walked, Kyle slipped his arm around Saranara's waist and squeezed gently.
"You are wonderful you know," he told her.
"No I'm not, Kyle, but you are sweet to say so," she answered. "I just want to get those poor children out of that monster's hands."
"We all do," said Kyle. "We all do."
Max and Michael walked ahead of the others followed by Isabelle and Jereon. Liz and Naloch walked together and talked softly.
"Aren't you afraid?" asked Liz.
"Afraid of what, dying?" he said. "No, I'm old Liz, and I've lived my life. My beloved wife, and my dearest friends are all dead. Joining them does not scare me. I am sad to leave my children though. I wonder what is to become of them."
Liz thought for a moment before she answered. "Well, I know for a fact that Kyle loves Saranara deeply, and I'm beginning to suspect that Isabelle and Jereon are falling in love as well. But for them to be together, it means that somebody has to leave the life they've always known. Is it selfish of me to want Kyle and Isabelle to come home?"
"No Liz. I don't think it's selfish at all; in fact, I myself would like that more than anything. I know that you would keep my children safe on Earth."
"Well," Liz said, laughing softly, thinking of some of their adventures on Earth. "I don't know if I can promise you safe, but it would never be dull."

"Okay everybody," whispered Max. "This passageway leads to the room we want. Is everybody ready?" he asked, looking around.
One by one, everybody nodded. Kyle slipped forward and triggered the mechanism that activated the panel that allowed them to slip into the room. They slipped into the room quietly. Michael, and Max made quick work of breaking a hole in the ceiling. Max climbed up, followed by Michael. Jereon and Kyle helped Isabelle and Saranara climb up. Liz was moving forward to climb up when Naloch stopped her.
"If it happens Liz, if I die, tell my children I loved them."
"Of course I will, Naloch, but I'm going to do my best to make sure that I don't have to deliver that message," she said hugging him.
"Liz, come on!" hissed Kyle. "Move it!"
Liz climbed up into the ceiling, followed by Naloch. Kyle and Jereon clambered up behind them and they moved across the ceiling beams. Max halted and used his powers to drill a small hole into the ceiling. He peered down into the room below, and then looked back at the others, and smiled.
"We found them," he said. "And they are alone. Kyle, try and contact Kam and let them know where we are."
Kyle closed his eyes and concentrated, while Max peered through the hole into the room below. He watched as his son stopped what he was doing and looked up at the ceiling, and then motioned to Maria and Lexie to move to a far corner of the room.
"All set," whispered Max.

Using their powers, Michael and Max changed the molecular structure to a part of the ceiling, causing it to vanish. They dropped down into the room and rushed over to where Maria and the children stood. Max swept both of his children up into his arms and Michael grabbed Maria. Max passed first Kam, then Lexie up to Kyle and Jereon who passed them to Liz and Isabelle. Liz led the children back across the ceiling, while Michael helped his wife climb up out of the room. Max and Michael followed, and rearranged the molecules to close the hole in the ceiling. They dropped one by one back into the room that would allow them access to the tunnel. Kyle opened the panel to the tunnel and stepped through. He turned to help the others when a door in the room opened, and the room filled with guardsmen. Max shoved Kam and Lexie towards Kyle, and pulled Maria's backpack off his shoulder and tossed it to Kyle. He looked back for Michael and Maria, but they were across the room, separated from them by Kivar's soldiers.
"Do it," shouted Michael. "Close it now!"
"Kyle," Max said to his friend. "Take them home, keep them safe," he said as he closed the panel and used his powers to destroy the mechanism that opened it.
"Going somewhere Zan?" said a voice.
Max turned around to see Kivar standing in the doorway, with an evil smile on his face.