Chapter 2
Strength through adversity. The strongest steel is forged by the fires of hell. It is pounded and struck repeatedly before it's plunged back into the molten fire. The fire gives it power and flexibility, and the blows give it strength. Those two things make the metal pliable and able to withstand every battle it's called upon to fight. – Sherrilyn Kenyon
April 2015- Three weeks after Puerto Rico.
A gentle rain splashed against the windows of Grant's safe house as he silently made his way through it. It was after midnight and everyone else was already fast asleep. Entering the living room, he smiled softly at Agent 33 (or 33 as they had recently discovered thanks to the wonder trio of Oracle, Nessa, and Cyn), who lay fast asleep on the couch. He paused briefly to cover her with a blanket before continuing on with his once-over of the house, checking all the doors and windows as he went and then making his way upstairs.
His final stop was the room where his newly recovered daughter Rosie slept peacefully, along with another little girl he and the team had rescued from the HYDRA/KHAOS base. He paused in the doorway and took in the sight of Rosie cuddled up under the Belle quilt that Kara, his sister and Sakura had picked out just this morning. She was also clutching a dog stuffed animal tightly in her arms. The second little girl, who couldn't have been older than four months, was fast asleep in the crib against the back wall. In the middle of the room Ares was sleeping soundly, though Grant knew that even just a small peep would have the Lab/Shepard mix up and ready to protect the little girls.
Grant felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders as an unexpected feeling of peace washed over him. His daughter was safe and sound where she belonged.
Sanctuary, Two weeks ago.
"What? Run that by me again," a young Japanese woman said from her seat at the situation room table where Grant, 33, and the Hellchasers had gathered to go over their plans to stop KHAOS. "Since when do you have a daughter, Grant?" she asked curiously.
"Apparently, since about two years ago. I only found out a few days ago before the whole Puerto Rico fiasco," Grant replied, meeting the woman's golden eyes that marked her as something otherworldly. "From what I was able to gather, her mother gave her to John and HYDRA when she was only a few months old. Well, John being the bastard that he was knew that he could use her as a bargaining chip if I ever decided to rebel against him, so he had her taken to a joint HYDRA/KHAOS facility."
Everyone at the table was horrified that someone would willingly abandon their child to HYDRA. The woman who spoke muttered angrily in her native Japanese and her eyes flashed to an almost blood red color, serving as further proof of her supernatural origins.
"I'm sorry man, but your ex was a psycho bitch," a tall, African-American man said before quickly turning to the Japanese woman. "No offense to you, Sakura."
Sakura smiled coldly, showing off her fangs. "None taken, Damian. I know what you meant, and personally if I ever meet this woman, Grant, I will use my uncle's Wind scar on her and then have Mom reanimate her just so I can use her for target practice." A shiver involuntarily went through the group at the cold tone in Sakura's voice. Gone was the snarky, flirty Sakura everyone in the room knew and loved, and in her place was the fierce, cold demoness. In fact, at that moment every Hellchaser in the room could see the ruthlessness of her father coming out to play.
Like most of the Hellchasers, Sakura's past could be described as tragic. While she had grown up with loving parents, which was a little shocking since her father was the king at not showing emotions, Sakura had also seen her share of tragedy. Of course that was to be expected, considering she had been born in the Warring States Era of Japan to an extremely powerful Demon Lord and a snarky wind sorceress. Needless to say her parents had their fair share of enemies and Sakura still bore some of the mental and physical scars from some of those enemies.
"Sakura, are you ok?" Cyn asked, breaking the demoness from her thoughts. Her bright blue eyes met Sakura's amber ones with a look of concern that was mirrored by everyone else at the table.
"Of course I am," she scoffed before smiling at Cyn. "But thanks for your concern, Cyn." Sakura turned back to Grant. "So how do you want to do this, Grant? After all, your little girl needs her aunts and uncles to help daddy save the day."
Grant looked at each and everyone of the Hellchasers and found himself in awe at just how far his friends would go to help him save his little girl. He smirked at his team with an almost cocky air. "I was thinking we rain down our own brand of chaos on those bastards."
New Mexico, Two days later.
The Hellchasers and Agent 33 made their way stealthily toward the joint HYDRA/KHAOS base located in the middle of the New Mexican desert, just outside of a small town under the cover of darkness. They had split up into two teams of four, with Grant, Agent 33, Sakura, and Demon making up one team and Cowboy, JB, Noelani, and Shark making up the second team. Back at base, Cyn, Oracle and Nessa acted as their eyes and ears monitoring the enemy movements and also coordinating any medical aid that may be needed. The plan was simple: rescue Grant's daughter, get any intel regarding KHAOS and HYDRA's plans, and render the base completely unusable. Cowboy and his team were the first to split off and to create a diversion for Grant's team and provide the extraction transport. Meanwhile, Grant and his team proceeded towards the containment wing.
"Ok, my lovelies, there should be an entrance to the tunnels that will lead you to the containment unit about 100 yards past your current location," Oracle's perky voice rang out over the comms. "From the looks of the most current schematics of the building, HYDRA and KHAOS don't know the tunnels exist. Once you guys get in the tunnels it should be a straight shot to both the containment unit and also one of the server rooms."
Grant and the team stealthily made their way towards tunnels. Water dripped from the pipes overhead and the air held the lingering smell of stagnant water. The only source of light came from the team's flashlights.
"Fuck, this place reeks to high heaven," Sakura muttered behind Grant as the smell hit her sensitive nose. As a dog demon, Sakura had an enhanced sense of smell so the scent hit her particularly hard.
"Sorry, girlie," Oracle said apologetically over the comm system. "On the bright side, you guys should be reaching the end of the tunnel in about 50 feet."
"Thank Kami," Sakura muttered as the group cautiously made their way forward.
Grant scanned the area with his flashlight, looking for a way into the base. Suddenly, he spotted a smaller tunnel that branched off to the group's left. Grant let out a soft whistle to draws his team's attention to his discovery. "Hellfire to Oracle, we found another tunnel. It looks to lead towards the surface. Tell JB and Cowboy to be ready to blow this place to hell on my signal."
"Roger, Hellfire. You guys be safe and bring your baby home."
After muttering an affirmative into his comm, Grant turned to his teammates. "Sakura, Demon you guys bring up the rear. 33, you're with me," he whispered, raising his gun higher as the team began to make their way through the smaller tunnel.
The smaller tunnel took them to a set of stairs that lead to a metal door. Once everyone was assembled there by the door, Grant cautiously opened the door a crack and saw that it led to a supply room. The team swiftly entered the room. Grant exchanged a quick look with his friends as Demon crept silently to the door of the room.
Demon peeked out the door and saw an empty hallway. "We're clear, man," he whispered to Grant, who nodded in acknowledgement, trusting Demon's assessment. Damian "Demon" Lawrence had met Grant through Stefan and the Museum about 10 years right before Grant had started at the Academy. At the time, Demon was a Navy SEAL recruit whose mother was an associate member of the previous generation of the Hellchasers. Over the years the pair worked together on a few joint SHIELD/US Military ops before Demon retired from the SEALS about three years after they met, and joined the BAU over at the FBI. When Grant and Stefan had started the current generation of Hellchasers, Demon had jumped at the chance to work with his friend once again.
Grant held up three fingers to signal them to move on three. Seconds later, the team made their way out to the hallway. They proceeded to cautiously creep down the hallway, Oracle providing them with directions to the server room. As they passed each room one of the team made sure to peek in and check for any hostile soldiers.
After about ten minutes, the quartet made it to the server room. Grant and Demon went in first to clear it while Sakura and 33 kept watch. Much to their surprise, the room was empty and Demon beckoned the girls in to join them. 33 made her way directly to one of the stationed along the left wall of the room and began hacking the base's network.
"Oracle," Grant said into his comm, "get me a sitrep from bravo team. This base is way too empty and there is no way in Hell that Khaos and Hydra would leave any of their bases this vacant without blowing it sky high."
"Will do Hellfire," Oracle responded quickly.
Grant then turned to Sakura and Demon, "I want weapons to remain hot until we are out of this place." The pair nodded and Grant made his way over to 33. "How's it coming?"
"It's coming along. I may not be as fast as Oracle, Nessa, or Cyn, but I should be done in the next few minutes." 33 then looked up at Grant softly. "How are you feeling, Grant? You haven't fully recovered from being shot." she asked in a soft, concerned voice.
"I'll be fine, 33. Let's focus on getting my daughter home safe." Grant replied in a low voice. "I appreciate the concern though."
A few minutes later, 33 was finished with the hack and the group cautiously made their way out of the server room.
As soon as Grant entered the hallway, he sensed something that seemed to call out to him. While the others tried to figure out which way they should go, Grant remembered something his Gramsy had always told him growing up. Part of the magic that flowed through Gramsy's side was the ability to sense those he loved and to call to them when they were close by. The strongest of that ability was between that of a parent and child.
Going along with that sense, Grant indicated to the right and the team started moving forward. 33 looked like she wanted to say something, but Demon and Sakura both shook their heads. They had both seen Grant's siblings and Gramsy do something similar throughout the time they had known the family. Making their way stealthily down the hallway, they were once again greeted by a lack of guards in the base. The quartet made their towards the area where the sensation pulling at Grant was the strongest.
15 minutes later, Grant stopped in front of a door at the end of the hallway. There on the door were a series of deadbolts, and from behind it he could sense fear and sadness pouring through. He shot a look at Sakura, causing the demoness to step forward, her claws glowing an eerie green.
33's eyes widened as she watched Sakura touch the door, which proceeded to melt away from the spot where Sakura's hand rested. "What the hell?" She whispered in shock.
"It's a little gift I inherited from my father," Sakura said, chuckling softly at the look of shock on the newest member of the team. "After you, Hellfire."
Grant nodded and proceeded inside the room, gun still raised as his eyes scanned the room. Through the darkness of the room he could can see a small figure shivering on a bed. Silently, he motioned for the others to check the rest of room. While they did that Grant crept towards the bed. When he got closer, he saw a little girl no older than three years old, fast asleep and clinging to a worn baby blanket. His heart pounded as he realized that this innocent little girl was his daughter. She looked just like the picture Whitehall had shown him days earlier. He reached up to gently brush a blonde curl out of his daughter's face, causing her to begin to stir.
He leant down and whispered softly, "Roselyn, it's time to wake up baby." Her hazel eyes slowly opened at his words. "That's it, Princess," he encouraged, gently brushing back another curl.
"Daddy?" The little girl asked sleepily when her hazel eyes fully met his chocolate brown ones.
"Yeah Princess," he whispered quietly, "Daddy's here to take you home, ok?"
Rosie sat up in her bed, and after another moment threw herself into her father's arms, her tiny hands gripping his tactical vest tightly. "Daddy," she cried, snuggling as close as she could to him. Grant's heart broke as he wrapped his arms around his little girl.
"Shh Princess, daddy's here. You're safe now, baby girl," he soothed, running his fingers gently through his daughter's hair and hoping it would calm her down. Despite the air of calmness he was trying to project for his daughter, internally Grant was freaking out. He didn't know how to be a father, let alone a father to sweet innocent three year old who had probably never known kindness. Also, he could feel the Berserker rage beginning to rise under his skin as he took in the conditions his daughter had been kept in. The room was sparse with only one tiny window, his daughter's bed, what looked like a crib, and nothing else. To top it off the room was freezing and his daughter had only a thin blanket and a tattered nightgown to keep her warm.
Taking a deep calming breath and inhaling his daughter baby scent, Grant buried the rage back down inside him. He swore to himself and his daughter that his ex would pay for what she had done to their child.
"Grant," Sakura called out softly, causing him to look up from where he was holding his daughter. "There's another little girl here," she whispered, walking over to him and clutching a bundle of blankets. She showed him the infant and Grant noticed the tiny fangs as the infant yawned and snuggled deeper into the blankets. Sakura and Grant's eyes met before the demoness whispered so 33 and Demon couldn't hear, "Grant, she's a Kitsune pup."
The two were interrupted as Rosie lifted her head from her father's chest and whispered shyly, "Kiki come with us too, Daddy?" Grant's heart melted even further as he looked into his daughter's pleading hazel eyes.
"We'll take her with us. Hopefully, we can find her parents," he replied before slowly standing up. "We need to move and get to the rendezvous point. 33, you take point, Demon I want you bringing up the rear. Sakura and I will stay in the middle with the girls."
Demon nodded before muttering into his comm. "Baby girl, got the package along with an extra. How far are we from the exit?"
"According to the layout there should be an exit about 500 feet down the hall. Just be careful you guys, Cowboy's team is reporting a disturbing lack of guards as well," Oracle said softly to the team.
Before leaving the room, Grant looked down at his daughter again and whispered, "Rosie, I need you to keep be very quiet and still, baby. Daddy and his friends are going to take you and Kiki home." Rosie nodded and rested her head once again on Grant's tact vest right over his heart.
The team proceeded to make their way towards the exit. As they got to near the door, 33 paused. "This is seriously disconcerting," she whispered to the others, who each nodded.
"We need to keep moving," Grant said, looking down quickly at Rosie to see the toddler was surprisingly starting to fall asleep in his arms. "I want these two out of here yesterday." His team nodded and they swiftly made their way to the rendezvous point where Cowboy, and the others were waiting with a commandeered pair of SUVs to take them to the airstrip.
"I see you picked up a spare passenger, Hell," James "JB" Bentley commented in a no-nonsense way. JB and Grant had been friends since childhood when JB's father had been the ambassador from Great Britain. He, along with Sakura, Demon, and Cowboy, had been the first people to join Grant's Hellchasers team when he and Stefan put it together six years ago.
"We'll explain once we're in the air and far away from this hellhole. Cowboy," he said turning his other childhood friend, "blow this place to next month."
Cowboy nodded before he pulled out his compound bow and one of his incendiary arrows. He took aim and, once everyone else was in the SUV, fired at one of bombs his team had planted nearby. The bomb would start off a chain reaction of other bombs they placed strategically around the base, hopefully leveling the building. As soon as the arrow was in the air he hopped in the SUV and the cars sped of towards the airstrip.
Present day
Pulling himself from his thoughts, Grant slowly made his way into his daughter's room. Ares lifted his head sleepily to look at his master before laying back down. Grant crept over to Rosie's bed and brushed a stray curl out of her face before placing a gentle kiss on the top of her head.
He then made his way over to the crib and smiled as he watched the infant sleep. Suddenly, the infant's eyes slowly opened and she let out a sweet little yawn. Grant picked up the infant and gently started rocking her in his arms. "Go back to sleep Tsukiko." He whispered still rocking Kiki and his mind once again began to drift for moment.
Museum Headquaters, Medical wing
12 hours after the rescue of Rosie and Kiki
Grant sat at his daughter's bedside, clutching her tiny hand as the toddler slept. He hadn't left her side for more than five minutes since they had rescued her 12 hours ago. Also in the room was a crib with the infant kitsune the team had rescued. Rosie had refused to let the infant be more than 10 feet away from her and had pitched an epic tantrum when one of the doctors tried to the baby into another room to be checked. When Grant tried to calm Rosie down she had simply continued to sob that they couldn't take away her little sissy, a fact which had stunned everyone in the room, Grant in particular. Once he had assured his daughter that no one was taking Kiki away from her, he asked her what she had meant when she called Kiki her sissy.
It was only when they were visited by Sakura's mother, Kagura, about five hours ago that team found out the truth behind Kiki and Rosie's bond. While she had confirmed Sakura's analysis of Kiki being a kitsune, Kagura had pointed out that the infant was only a half demon. According to Kagura, Kiki's (short for Tsukiko) mother had been held captive with Rosie for about four months (two months prior to the infant's birth and two months after). During that time, the baby's mother, a Kitsune demoness named Hoshiko, was a protector figure to Grant's daughter, keeping her safe from the KHAOS and HYDRA soldiers. From what Kagura could gather, Hoshiko's clan had been attacked by HYDRA soldiers and wiped out. Hoshiko had only survived because HYDRA wanted to use her child as weapon due to her half blooded roots. After looking through the files 33 had located, Kagura had found that Hoshiko had become sick shortly after giving birth to Kiki and with the last bit of strength cast a protection around the two children.
After Kagura had told them this, Grant surprised himself by saying that he would raise Kiki with Rosie. He reasoned that Kiki's mother had protected his daughter up until her death, so the least he could do is raise her child as his own as well. So now Grant would have to get used to idea of being a father of not just one little girl but two. Despite his nerves at being a father, and despite only knowing the girls for the less than a day, Grant realized he wouldn't have it any other way.
Present Day
Once again Grant was pulled from his memories and saw that Kiki had once again fallen asleep. He smiled softly at the infant before he placed her in her crib once again. Quietly Grant made his way out of the room and headed to bed. There was a lot to do tomorrow, none the least of which included bringing the girls to visit Gramsy and discuss the preparations for the traditional blessing ceremony. He also had a few meetings at the Museum so the girls would also get to spend time with Nana Wynne and Papa Stefan. With a final glance back into the room at his little girls, Grant went to bed with a gentle smile on his face.
