You may already realize that this chapter is being updated a little sooner than the previous ones have. The reason for it is because I've been able to speed up the progress of my series just a bit. It would've been out a few days ago but was caught up with other things that kept me busy. Whether this'll happen again soon is up in the air.

I'm glad to see that by the reviews that I got that you guys are okay with how I explain the whole Serenity thing. Now, I hope you enjoy this chapter and as for the disclaimer, I don't own digimon.

Never raise your hand to your children; it leaves your midsection unprotected
Robert Orben

Chapter 2:
Daughter

"Do you mind telling us why you and your goons came barging in and pointing your weapons at us?" questioned Ken as he was the first to recover from the shock from their surprise visitors.

"It's quite simple really." answered Rowan as she stood behind her guys as a precaution. "We're just here to get what belongs to us. Now hand over the scrolls that you're friend Daisuke took from us."

"Well, let me think about it, uh… no." For his remark one of the men slammed the blunt end of his rifle against Ken's face. "Maybe I should have rephrased my answer."

"I believe it would be wise if you do as we ask." informed Rowan in a calm voice that didn't show any sign of animosity behind it.

Spitting out the blood from his mouth, Ken looked at them with a definite stare. "In my opinion I think you should kiss my ass." Once again Ken's retort resulted in him getting a beating as this time he had the wind knocked out of him with a punch to the stomach.

"It would be wise that you stop with snide remarks before you regret it." Giving a quick signal a few of the men pressed their rifles to the heads of the girls. "Give us what we want or one by one your friends will get a few additional holes in their heads."

Seeing that he was in no position to argue, Ken reluctantly went to the desk and opened one of the draws pulled out the scrolls. "Here's what you came for. Take them and get the hell out."

When it seemed as though one of the armed men was going to retrieve the scrolls Rowan told him that she would get them herself. Cautiously she went over and when she got close enough she got involved in a stare down with Ken. Neither one said a word as they were seeing who would back down first. That person would be Rowan as she turned her gaze to the side which fell upon the computer screen that still had the information about Serenity on it.

"I see that ancient scrolls weren't the only things that you've been researching. It's quite impressive that you were able to hack into our computer system." Despite that something like this would anger someone; Rowan didn't seem all that offended by it in the lease.

"What can I say? My friends and I are full of surprises." A moment of silence pass before continued. "You created her didn't you?" The unforeseen question had Hikari, Miyako and Mimi confused as they didn't know what their friend was getting at. "You're the one who was in charge of creating Serenity."

"Yes, I was the one who was in charge of the project of bringing Serenity into the living. Also, I was the one who was responsible for her training that she has undergone in preparation for today's activity."

"Does she even know about the connection that she shares with Daisuke?" asked Hikari, not caring about the rifle that was still pointed at her head.

"Not completely. She has some knowledge about how she came to be but nothing proof positive. As for whatever connection she has with your vampire friend, she doesn't. In her mind he's nothing more than a enemy and not as what you may refer to as her father. Even if she does know more than she let's on it doesn't seem to lessen her determination to fight him."

Before the conversation could go any further Rowan's cell phone went off. Putting it out she turned it on to answer. "Hello?" There was silence as she listened to whoever was on the other end of the line. "All right, I understand." Having apparently finishing the conversation Rowan ended the call. "Okay, we got what we came for so let's get going."

Following their orders all of the men began to leave the building to the point where Rowan was the last one to left. "Well, it has been a pleasure to meet you all but I must leave." She turned around and was about to leave until Miyako as last spoke up.

"You're enjoying this aren't you?" That question made Rowan stop her departure. "Obtaining Daisuke's blood to create that girl, Serenity so she could deal with her father and give you the chance to get the scrolls and if possible take out Daisuke out. You must be so proud of yourself."

"On the contrary Inoue, I'm not. In fact, I feel the opposite." Having said all that she wanted to say, Rowan left leaving Ken and the others behind in confusion.

It would be Mimi who would get everyone back on track. "What do we do now guys?"

Apparently taking on the leadership role, Ken went into the weapons' cabinet. "We quickly arm ourselves and hurry over to where Daisuke is fighting where we stop him from killing his very own daughter." As he was completing with his weapon gathering he was joined by Hikari, then Miyako and Mimi.

Getting what they needed to get they headed off to the area where their friend was suppose to be at. "Do you think we'll get there in time?" asked Hikari to Ken.

"To be honest, I don't know. I truly don't know."

-/-/-/-/-

"What's the info that we've got about our girl?" Soon after leaving Daisuke's place, Rowan hurried into one of the troop's jeeps.

"Ma'am, we haven't been able to get a very good detailed report but from what we could gather she is still fighting against her target. It's unknown on the condition on either one of them. However, it appears as though it they continue their fight it may result in the building coming down on them. How should we proceed with this ma'am?"

The officer looked over to Rowan and saw that she was rubbing the bridge of her nose as if trying to relieve some sort of tension. "I hope I'm not over stepping my boundaries when I say this ma'am but perhaps you're becoming a bit too personal in this operation. After all, you've treated the girl as if she was your very own. Maybe you should-"

"I appreciate your crictisim but I prefer that you keep it to yourself." Rowan quickly responded, not really in the mood for one of her subordinates talking about business that he was in no position to talk about. "Let's get out of here and go get her." Following the order that was given to him the man drove the jeep off to pick up their partner in the overall mission. "Please be okay Serenity until we get there. I couldn't bare it if we get there too late."

-/-/-/-/-

"Are you about ready to give up?" For the last hour both Daisuke and Serenity had gone tooth and nail at one another. The result was them being all bruised and battered with blood seeping from various wounds that they received.

Wiping the blood from his mouth, Daisuke simply smiled in response. "I'm not even close of quickly. So let's just skip the rest of the formalities and continue where we left off."

Agreeing to the request Serenity went after went after him again and despite the obvious exhaustion that the two were experiencing they continued to go at one another with all they could muster. At one point, Serenity grabbed Daisuke by the collar and flung him into a support beam with such force that it caused him to crash through it. "Why do you insist on fighting me?" asked Daisuke in between coughing up blood. "I know that you were ordered to come after me but I got this nagging feeling that there's another reason why you're so dead set on taking me out. Tell me if I'm off base with my suspicion."

Serenity looked at Daisuke with a venomous stare. "You're right. I have another reason why I'm so set on finishing you off. However, I choose to keep that information to myself. Now, if you don't mind, I do believe that it's time for me to put an end to this affair."

Even with him hardly being able to get to his feet, Daisuke readied himself. "I'll like to see you try. But don't expect me on jus trolling over and playing dead. Well, no more dead than usual." Charging at one another they went at each other with all they had remaining within them.

When it seemed as though the fight was going to come to a close one of the walls blew up, causing the two fighters to be thrown on opposite sides of the room. Nothing could be seen as a cloud of smoke came over the entire area. Soon the smoke began to clear and from the now destroyed wall a figure could be seen walking inside. "Serenity, come along now. It's time for us to leave." From the sound of the voice it was clear that it belonged to a female.

"But Rowan, I still could win this fight." By how Serenity sounded it was obvious that she wasn't too keen on the idea of leaving. "Allow me to finish what I have started."

"Your request can't be granted. Besides, we got what we came for and you'll have another opportunity to finish this but we must leave now." Reluctantly Serenity agreed and followed Rowan to the demolished wall. Unfortunately as they were trying to leave, one of the support beams for the rafters came hurling down towards them.

It seemed as though they were going to meet their maker until they were suddenly pushed out of harm's way. Seeing what had saved them, they saw that it was Daisuke but it didn't come without a price. By getting them out of the way the beam had fallen on top of his legs, trapping underneath it.

Taken by completely surprise at what the person that she was supposed to take out did, Serenity looked at Daisuke in shock. Swallowing the pain that was going through his legs, Daisuke stared straight into Serenity's eyes. "Well, here's your chance. You wanted to take me out and here's your chance. Now you have the perfect opportunity to do it." There was no doubt that it was the perfect chance for Serenity to finish all this but it seemed as though she was somewhat hesitating to deliver the finishing blow.

"Serenity come on, we've got to get going." hollered Rowan from one of the jeeps. Taking one last look at her fallen adversary she joined her comrade where they drove off, leaving Daisuke on the verge of death. "Uh, if this is how I'm going to meet my end it would surely suck." That was the last thing he said before the feeling of unconsciousness over took him.

-/-/-/-/-

For who knows how long, Daisuke finally opened his eyes and was greeted by the sight of his friends. "Ah, you're finally awake. That must mean that you'll be up and about in no time." Ken exclaimed as he was cleaning up the medical equipment that he used to help bandage his battered friend.

Lifting himself to a sitting position Daisuke could see that despite having his legs and ribs heavily wrapped he was in good condition. "How long have I been out?"

"About a day and a half." answered Hikari as she handed him a cup of blood. "We found you alone and unconscious so we brought you back here to get you fixed up. Luckily there hasn't been any trouble since we've brought you back. I guess after they got the scrolls they decided to not even bother to come back."

"What are you talking about? Someone took the scrolls?"

"It was one of the Takenaka Corporation's retrieval teams." Miyako answered as she took over the explaining. "We were doing the research that you asked us to do and when we came across some important we were going to meet up with you until they came charging in, heavily armed and were prepared to do whatever it took to get what they wanted. When Ken gave them the scrolls they simply turned around and left." As Miyako was saying what had transpired Daisuke sat in his bed in silence.

"Don't blame Ken, Daisuke." spoke Mimi in her friend's defense. "When they threatened to kill us he believed that there was no other choice but to give them the scrolls."

"Oh, I'm not made at him. If I were in his shoes I most likely have done the same thing. It just sucks that we couldn't get the full translation before they were taken.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." smirk Ken. To help answer the question that was going through his friends' heads he went to the desk and opened a drawer and pulled out a stack of computer paper. "Shortly after you left and unbeknownst the others, the computer program that I used to translate what was left of the scrolls finished the translating and make a copy of it. Apparently we got the one up on the Takenaka Corporation."

"Yeah, if you don't count the fact that they have a highly skilled fighter who's almost on par with me on their side." retorted Daisuke. He attempted to get to his feet but the injuries that he suffered earlier came to affect as he stumbled and would've fallen if Mimi didn't keep him up and helped him back into bed.

"Despite that she's a terrific fighter, I know nothing about her. Except that when she started to bleed I could smell her blood and I don't know how but I believe that she has some kind of connection with me. I just don't know what the connection could be."

All four friends looked at one another cautiously, wondering if they should tell Daisuke what they knew. It would be Hikari who would decide what to do. "Perhaps you should stay seated Daisuke. There's something that we need to tell you."

-/-/-/-/-

"How are you feeling? Suffered any serious injuries?"

"I'm fine Rowan, so please stop smoothing me." After the tussle with Daisuke, the Takenaka Corporation retrieval team returned to headquarters where Rowan took the battered Serenity to the medical room for observation.

"For someone who just took part in their first actual fight you came out of it pretty well." What she said was true as that the only serious injuries that Serenity had were a dislocated right shoulder and severely sprained left knee.

As the examination went on a monitor that was built into the wall turned on and revealed the three higher ups that were still concealing their identities behind shadows. "How is our young warrior doing?"

Answering on Serenity's behalf, Rowan spoke up. "She's doing quite sirs. She'll have to be out of action for a couple of weeks but beyond that there's nothing else to report."

"Very well then, for the time being she'll just be recovering in case her services are needed again." informed one of the male higher ups. "Now that we've got the scrolls in our possession it'll be only a matter of time until we have the text translated. So until then you better rest up. It's unknown when you'll be needed again." With that the monitor turned off.

"You heard the boss. Get some rest because you'll need the energy to recuperate." Allowing Serenity to lean against her, Rowan helped her to her living quarters. After placing her in bed Rowan headed off, leaving Serenity alone with her thoughts. Being on her own, Serenity prepared to sleep but she couldn't help but think back to when Daisuke pushed her out of harm's way and being unable to take him out when she had the chance.

-/-/-/-/-

"Are you doing all right?" Shortly after being told about the truth of Serenity's origin, Daisuke went to the back of his place to have some alone time with his thoughts. That time would be broken by Hikari's appearance. Apparently she was the only one who was willing to confront him.

"I'm okay, all things considering." An uneasy silence went across them before continuing. "A daughter. Even saying it doesn't help to get over the shock. I mean, I always dreamed to have a kid of my own but after being turned that dream went away. To imagine that those bastards at the Takenaka Corporation used by blood along with someone that I cared for to create a living person to deal with me. Obviously there's no low that they won't sink to get what they want." His anger couldn't be held any longer as he punched the wall which he would regret as the punch aggravated his injuries further. Being somewhat cautious Hikari put a hand on his shoulder.

"I know that it must be tough for you but maybe it's not as bad as you think." Getting any type of retaliation she continued. "After all, she didn't kill you when she had the perfect opportunity to do so. Perhaps she has more good in Serenity than even she knows."

"You actually believe that?"

"If she's anything like her father then I have no doubt about it."

Their conversation would be cut short by Ken calling them back inside. Going in they saw that their friend was walking around in a happy manner. "I've figured it out. I finally figured out the translation to the scrolls." That comment caught the immediate interest of everyone.

"Well, what did the scrolls say or do we have to play twenty-one questions to find out?" asked a not so patient Daisuke.

Coming back to his senses Ken readied himself to explain his excited attitude. "The translation of the scrolls is completed and the part that I'm about to mention will definitely gain your interest." Placing the copied of the scrolls on the table Ken was preparing to tell everyone what he had discovered.

"When the thorns of the world are defended by the Angel, the Spike and their allies, a new vampire champion will come forth. He'll be the one to protect the world from the evil and all those who embrace it. Only when he has fulfilled his mission he shall be rewarded by living once more."

No one said a word as they allowed what they just heard to sink in. "Are you telling me that there is something in the scrolls about me being human again?" By the way Daisuke spoke he could hardly believe what he just heard.

"Well, I'm not certain on the how's that suppose to happen but if what this part of the translation is true then it is a possibility."

"But what did it mean by the thorns of the world being defeated by the Angel and the Spike?" questioned Mimi.

"It must be talking about the Circle of the Black Thorn." Daisuke answered her question. By the expression on his friends' faces it was obvious that they didn't understand what he was talking about. "It was a secret society that was hardly known about by anyone that was outside of their group. Everyone that was a member was the worst of the worst from both human and demon world. They were basically the ones who help put into motion the majority of the major evil events that have occurred throughout the world. The last I heard was that every member was killed in Los Angeles a few years back by the first two vampires with souls, who went under the names of Angel and Spike." Daisuke stopped his explanation as he allowed what he just said to get through.

"Unfortunately their victory didn't come without a price. Some of their allies were taken out and those who survived had to fight an army of demons. To this day it's still unknown if any of them are dead or alive but that isn't the point. It's that there's a chance of me being an actual flesh and blood yuman being again. I'll be honest in saying that doesn't sound so bad."

"That's of course is when or if you'll be able to save the world from the evil that surrounds it." spoke Hikar, who was being blatantly honest. "And something tells me that includes more than just the Takenaka Corporation."

That remark mellowed the feel of the room as it reminded them of what's to come for them. It would be Daisuke who would change it. "Well, all I have to say about it is this: bring them on."

Hopefully you readers enjoyed this chapter and how I did the whole Daisuke/Serenity battle situation. I originally wanted to do a more impactful thing with it but was unable to do so. Also, don't think that you've seen the last of the Serenity character. She'll be appearing again as the story progresses.