"Kage!" My voice echoed in the darkness, bouncing off the walls and back toward me. I sighed, I had been searching for the girl for an hour now, and she had not made herself known in that time frame. My sons had allowed her to escape, and it seemed that was how it was going to stay.

"Kage!" I called out again, leaning on my cane. I had been searching for her, but she didn't want to be found...

Captain Mortu was expecting me to bring her back with me, but I hadn't thought about what I would do if Kage refused to show herself. He had pulled back his men to their space ship, as I had asked, and now it was my turn to hold up my end of the deal.

Only, it was appearing I wouldn't be able to.

"Kage!" I called out again, a tinge of desperation entering my tone.

"Kage, Kage, Kage, would you ever shut up?" a voice grumbled in annoyance, apparently trying to mimic my voice. "Could you ever be quiet? The poor girl's trying to sleep. Do you even have an inkling of a clue as to how rare that is? So, just do me this favor, and shut up!"

"Who is there?" I demanded, searching the shadows for the stranger. I didn't recognize the voice, which put me on edge. I didn't like not knowing who I was dealing with, it was better to lay the cards out on the table. "Who are you? Answer me!

"A stranger, a friend, a companion when needed," the voice seemed to shrug, bouncing off the walls like my voice had. "A trouble maker and a saint, depending on the situation."

"An actress," I clarified.

"How insightful," the voice giggled. "But as for who I am, let's just say I'm a friend...Or you I guess you could consider me one."

"How do I know I can trust you?"

"So suspicious! Do you ever just let yourself relax? Really, you need a chill pill."

I felt my fur bristle in annoyance.

"I do not need-"

"What you need," the voice broke in. "Is this."

A clattering sound ricocheted in the tunnel, and my head snapped toward the noise. Just because a sound can seem innocent does not necessarily mean it is. A fallen rock can sound similar to a misstep of a enemy.

"Chill! Seriously, if I wanted to hurt you do you think I would be talking to you right now? Don't you think I would have attacked by now? Really, the bad guys always come storming into battle, they don't act smart and lay out a good battle plan. Don't you think I would have done that by now? Trust me, I'm an ally. A friend."

"Come out of the shadows, if you are a friend."

I was still unsure of this stranger, her demeanor suggested that she seemed to know something I didn't...And that was never a good thing.

"Get what I dropped, and then go home. Trust me, some things are better when you don't know."

"I would have to disagree," I muttered, heading toward where the clattering sound had originally come from. The dim light of the sewer seemed to reflect off something on the ground, glittering. I reached one clawed hand to the object, fingering the object hesitantly. I picked whatever it was up, the sound of a chain dragging on the ground as I lifted it up.

A necklace.

My eyes widened in shock as I took it in. It seemed to match the description Captain Mortu had given in regards to the necklace he was searching for!

"How did you get this?" I asked quietly. It had been around Kage's neck... "What did you do to her?" I demanded, glaring into the shadows.

"Don't look for her," the shadows said calmly. "I'm taking her away from this place. She doesn't belong down here, and you know that. She deserves to feel the sunshine on her face, the freedom to laugh, the love of her mother."

"Shouldn't Kage decide that for herself?" I demanded, angry that this stranger was going to take my daughter away. "And how dare you speak of her mother? She passed away some time ago."

"Tell Mortu to go home, he's got enough problems without my interference. Tell him I never looked at whatever's in that necklace, and that he'll just have to trust me on that. Tell the boys to be a bit more careful topside, or just make their presence known. They're not exactly stealth material, if you know what I mean." The voice was calm, almost friendly. Who was this person?

"Show yourself," I asked softly, looking for a darker shape in the shadows.

"Only for you, and because you helped my baby girl."

In the corner of my eye, I saw a person step out of the shadows. I turned towards the woman, taking a step away in shock. It looked like Kage had aged twenty years in a moment, but I knew better.

This was Kage's mother.

Her dark brown hair was left down, framing her tanned face and sea blue eyes. A red painted smile was on her face, her eyes glittered with warmth and mischief, and I knew that this woman was usually 'up to no good'.

"Thank you for taking care of her," the red painted lips parted, saying the simple sentence with all the gratitude a mother could express. The second the last word left her mouth, she was gone, disappearing into the shadows. I knew one thing for certain as I felt the necklace in my hand:

I would never see this woman again.

Or Kage.