Chapter 8: An unusual Friendship…

I ran as fast as my feet could take me…not once did I look back. There was too much at stake now, clearly it was no longer safe for me.

Running through the woods like a crazed man, not knowing which route to take, just trusting my internal instincts….begging my legs to take me to safety.

I needed to find them, Arthur…Gwen….Lance and Uncle Gaius.

I needed to find them all.

Never the athletic type of a person, I found myself pushing my body even further, running as fast as I could, it did not matter where I was heading.

What mattered was that I was far away from all these people.

The CIA agent

The "phony" HQ guys

and not to forget – Morgana….

If she was alive…then, my plight was just beginning.

Who could I run to?

I stopped to catch my breath.

There was no other person….I had to find Lance….he would lead me to Arthur…eventually.

The Magic Room

"Care to explain, how the suspect managed to knock you out into oblivion?" The senior agent wondered, sarcasm clearly visible in his tone, nonchalantly he handed her a piece of cloth, "You have a little scratch on your forehead, you might want to use this to wipe the blood off ya." He lamely suggested.

She grabbed it from him wordlessly, still in pain, she silently cursed Merlin for hitting her so hard on the head, "It came totally unexpected…."

"Of course…" he muttered, "Things with you seem to be that sort of way."

"He seemed a genuine guy, besides you were releasing him…weren't you?" Kiki challenged further, dabbing the piece of cloth on her forehead.

"The only way we could bring him in without a struggle…either way, it appears to have gone not as planned."

She stared blankly at the middle aged man in front of her, clearly years of service to the CIA had depersonalized him completely.

In front of her stood a man, whose sole purpose in life was to be committed to the government completely. If he ever knew about her stupidly trusting Merlin, he would have her head.

"I don't think he had any part to play in Uther Pendragon's murder…" she slowly said.

"He didn't just have a part, Agent. He masterminded the whole thing." A huge smirk appeared on his face, as he noticed her surprise. "Merlin Emrys, isn't as naïve as he claims to be….there is more to it….did he tell you that little story about the Order of the Dragon?"

She nodded slowly, "They are equivalent to the Illuminati…"

He laughed out loud, "Equivalent? I dare not say. More powerful…yes and not to forget very much feared. Do you know who their leader is?"

She nodded once more, "Uther Pendragon….."

He pulled out a chair and ordered her to sit down, "How very wrong of you…."

She sat down, keeping her hands tightly folded. Her eyes followed his, it was then she noticed, that his eyes were soft, within that hard exterior, there once existed a man that possessed a gentle heart.

All that was now gone…

"The Order of the Dragon's sole purpose is to protect people who belong to their order and swear loyalty to them. They can grant any wish to their members at any cost…Their ways are a mystery to us…it is hard to believe…but it works for them…some of my agents have seen it with their very own eyes….I have been on their trail since God knows when….one could call it an obsession…I know Merlin in and out."

"You knew him?" Kiki couldn't believe what she was hearing.

He fell back reaching into his suite, he pulled out a packet of cigarettes and proceeded calmly to light himself one, "Care to join me?"

She politely refused, "I have had one too many, Thank you. Please do not stop now, how do you know him?"

"The Pendragons are part of the order, yes…but Uther despised the Order, for he no longer believed in their protection. He was realistic, the occult, the traditions seemed ridiculous to him…"

"I see…but why would your focus be on Merlin?"

He sighed heavily to himself, "Merlin was groomed in the ways of the Order. He is their light….have you heard of the Knight's Templars?"

"The holy warrior monks of the Catholic Church during the middle ages….yes, I studied them in history for a while. But what do they have to do with Order of the Dragon?" Kiki's headache intensified, clearly she had misread this Merlin of a character. How on earth had she been this naïve?

" The Order of the Dragon is similar, they were skilled in the occult, warlocks and witches…they were bound to the Kingdom and it's king. Their sole purpose was to protect the Kingdom. At first they were persecuted but then they grew in power as the King found good in them. They became his counsel, they protected the kingdom along with the knights. Times were good. The Order outlived many and continued on for centuries….their initiation rituals are top secret; of course these have changed over time, as we find ourselves in the 21st century." He paused to take a long drag of his cigarette.

"This still doesn't answer my question."

A thin smile escaped from the corner of his lips, he found her confusion to his story quite amusing, "Like the Templars, the Order of the Dragon possessed a Grand Master. Someone that overlooked them and that others followed. A Grand Master could only be distinguished from birth. It was something one was destined to become…"

"This is sounding sillier by the minute…" Kiki found herself commenting.

He ignored her, opting to continue his story, "As the centuries passed on, the Order was handed over from one Grand Master to the other. The Knights templars had the support of the church, in the end they were betrayed. The Order of the Dragon, had magic…they never opened up the means of their power, opting to remain secretive….till this very day nobody has a clue about them…."

"Until now…" Kiki stated,

But the older agent shook his head, "A minor slip, but things must have gone awry, this is the most public they have ever been….needless to say, the public has no clue about this order…why Merlin would speak to you about it, whatever the truth he tried to conceal, indicates something is wrong…."

"He claimed to be a part of the Order but by birth, the next in line would be either Morgana or Arthur."

To that statement, the older agent chuckled, "Indeed, the Pendragons, like every other wealthy family within the Order assist in it's funding….they abide to it's traditions and they support the order. In exchange, they expect it's powers and it's protection. The deeper secrets only few know, and those few are the ones that possess the gifts…Morgana….showed signs of the occult, I suspect they showed her the world Uther and Arthur fear….the world of magic….it's power…relentless."

"Again I ask…why is the focus on Merlin?"

"They say people who protect in the name of the order posses a special gift. The gift of sight, to foresee what happens next. The future. Over 10 years ago, the CIA managed to infiltrate their fortress."

"Infiltrate? You mean you had a spy?" Kiki grew keen.

"You could say that, this spy never got the chance to be a part of the order, but he developed a special connection with the young members of the order. It intrigued him that Pendragon corporation selected a few children to be taken special care of…the spy was told that they were gifted, and Pendragon corp. was interested to invest in their education."

"The spy worked for Pendragon corp?"

"Even better, the spy was hired by Uther to protect his children. A body guard."

"How? Wouldn't it have been wise to take up someone from the order?" Kiki questioned further

The agent smiled, "Indeed, but 20 years ago, Uther Pendragon was plotting to pull away from the order…..So this spy happened to have grown close with a particular young boy….between the age of 10 and 11. He was not a Pendragon, but a very good friend of the Pendragon heir. The CIA agent noted that the friendship was a rather odd one. For it seemed that Pendragon's heir seemed to boss this particular boy around, yet he would not complain. However when he was around other children he would take up the lead, and they respected him. When it came to Arthur, this special child became submissive. Arthur clearly meant the world to him. The CIA agent, noted this and decided to teach the young boy a thing or two. The two spent countless of days together, the young boy looked unto him as a mentor. Running to him for advise, it became obvious that most of the advise always involved Arthur, how to get Arthur out of one situation or another. The child showed clear concern for Arthur and the agent could not understand such close ties between the boys. The CIA agent managed to stay one more year with the children. Arthur and Morgana grew bossier, but the other child…he was smarter…and it scared the CIA agent to note that 12 year old was wise beyond his years. One day the boy approached the man, he asked him about his opinions on loyalty. To which the agent replied, my loyalties are aligned to my beliefs. The boy thought for a brief moment and then said, you do not believe in this family, their trust in you grows, but your loyalties lie elsewhere. This shook the spy, confused he asked the boy what he meant. The boy softly spoke, I feel that our paths will clash as the years proceed."

"And did their paths clash?" Kiki curiously asked.

"The boy trusted him wholly. They grew close until his cover was loosing it's credibility. The agent opted to disappear. But the boy remained relentless in his search for his so called mentor. Years passed when he eventually discovered the agent."

"How was the agent discovered?"

"The agent never gave up on the order, as the years tallied, the agent became the sole person in charge of the operation…one day the CIA opted to raid what they felt was headquarters….you may know it as Pendragon Laboratories, which is now known as the Sanctuary. A raid had been executed, many were taken in, for questioning….and the agent who led the raid stumbled upon the boy who was now well off age. Instantly he knew that his former friend had felt betrayed, there was a short pause between them, and when the agent approached him, he vocalized his disappointment….the agent tried to reason with him, but the young man would not have it and within seconds he unleashed a surge of energy towards the agent that pushed the man to the wall, knocking him unconscious…he escaped and the agent survived, their unusual friendship had been broken and the two different characters would never see each other again-"

"Until today…." Kiki cleared her throat, "doesn't take a genius to know that you were the agent and the boy happened to be little Merlin."

"I saw what he is capable of….He is their chosen one…their Grand master and with time he will come to power….he is more ruthless that the last Grand Master….and I will stop at nothing to get him where he belongs…"

"And where is that?" Kiki covered her yawn, it was time for some well deserved sleep, the sun was struggling to break free, and the day would only be more hectic.

"Away from human society….Agent." the older man stood up, "I think you grow tired, get some rest, we will continue our hunt later in the day, you may brief your team about the classified case, however I do hope you keep my personal vendetta with the boy to yourself."

She smiled at him, "No worries."

he was about to step out of the office, she called after him, "Excuse me Sir, I still do not know your name?"

He sighed, "You can call me K."

"What does that stand for? What like Agent K from Men in Black?"

He shook his head, "People give me odd looks when I tell them my name."

"Try me…." Kiki challenged.

"Kilgharrah…." He murmured.

Kiki's mouth fell open….

Agent Kilgharrah smiled, "Funny….I've gotten odd looks here and there, but your reaction to my name has been the most unique one out of all."

With that he shut the door behind him, and left her staring aimlessly into open space.

I tried sneaking back into Uncle Gaius home…but that feat seemed nearly impossible as I sensed the perimeter of our home being closely guarded by CIA or whoever these freaks were.

Damn it! I silently curse, Kilgharrah was bent on catching me. I had nowhere to run, nowhere to hide and not a single clue of Arthur's whereabouts.

. But then I remembered Gwen, perhaps Arthur had left clues for me to find him at her place….one never knew

It was only worth trying…..

I rang the doorbell once, when there was no response I opted to try my hands at lock picking but the door opened instantly.

"Merlin?" She exclaimed, her expression seemed genuine as if she was indeed happy to see me, she leaped up falling into my arms.

"I was so worried."

"Where is Arthur?" I asked, almost instantly

"He….he….I do not know." She urged me to come into her home.

"Lance? I need to speak to Lance or Leon or anyone of them…" I run into her home searching every corner, one could never be too sure. Perhaps it was a trap. One thing was for sure…I was no longer safe.

"Can you stay still for a moment?" she reprimanded, "You are making me dizzy."

I pulled her close to me, "You are not safe, they will come looking for you….and Arthur….I mentioned you. Thinking that you'd be with him. You cannot stay here."

"He wouldn't take me with him, said it would be too dangerous-"

"Do you have a car?" I quickly ask.

"Yes but-"

"We need to go! Pack your stuff and let's get out….I will figure out where we can go, but for now we have to flee Camelot."

"Why? My Job….my place?"

"Gwen! Trust me, If the CIA don't get to us first Morgana will eventually we need to get out." I urged her to pack, "I need some clothes as well…"

Gwen nodded and rushed to Pack whatever she could.

As she was running around her flat packing all that she deemed was necessary, my eyes spotted a pistol.

Slowly she crept behind me, "It was my fathers…." She lowly stated.

"We might require this…" I say coldly, looking into her big brown eyes, I tell her softly, "it is better to have something protecting us."

She quietly agreed, "I am ready to go Merlin."

We got in the car immediately. "Where are we going?"

"Just drive….We need to go on the outskirts of Camelot, there is a place, we can go to….Lance could be there." I mumble.

"Where?" Gwen insisted once more.

"Ealdor!" I say out loud, "We go to Ealdor. They cannot possibly find us there."

The Magic room

"You need some sleep Kiki." Oliver came into the interrogation room, "We have to be there for Pendragon Corp press release this afternoon."

She looked up at him hopelessly, "When exactly?"

He glanced at his watch, "In about 7 hours, catch some sleep, girl…you look like you saw a ghost."

She shrugged her shoulders, "Those guys that came in…you think they are CIA?"

"Sure as hell think they are…at first I was skeptical, but they got their shit right….I mean Agent K's been on the Pendragon's asses for years!"

"Kilgharrah.."she slowly whispered out.

Oliver cringed, "Sounds horrid. K's a lot better…hold up….Kil-what? Isn't that the dude….who was a dragon and some crap like that…."

"He was spinning me in circles." Kiki slowly stated.

"Like hell yeah he was! All of us…."

"He's not gonna get away with this Oliver…." Kiki turned to her colleague, "I….trusted him!"

"Let's forget about that...for now. You need some sleep." He dragged her out of the seat and escorted her to his car and unto the passenger seat.

By the time he had taken his place on the driver's seat, he had noticed that his partner was already fast asleep.

Note: Thank you for reviewing. I decided to continue the story even though I initially lost all the files to this story. Opinions would be helpful. I welcome all sorts of feed back

Many Thanks

Viktobi.