AN: Here is the next Chapter of Rise Hellfire. Enjoy.

Rise of Hellfire

Chapter three

Paris, France (A day after the rescue of Rosie and Kiki)

The dripping sound of water falling from the ceiling echoed through the eerie silence of the Parisian catacombs. It was a silence that would cause even most stalwart of people to jump out of their skin at even the slightest hint of movement. A small group of armed men dressed in all black made their way through the corridors guns at the ready. Leading the group was a young woman in mid to late 20's. The woman was also clad in all black and the steady clicking of her knee high boots was the only other noise besides the steady dripping water. Her cold brown eyes scanned the underground cavern as if looking for something.

"Madam, how much further?" one of the armed men asked hesitantly, his grip tightening on his gun.

The woman grinned sinisterly, "Why Captain, are you scared?" She continued on purposefully down the corridor her boots clicking ominously on the cavern floor.

"N...no madam," he stuttered as he followed behind her.

Suddenly, a rustling sound cut through the silence as a beautiful woman appeared in front of Medusa. "Greetings, Sister." Medusa greeted with a seductive smile. "What do you have to report?"

The other woman returned her smile wickedly, "Everything is going to plan, sister, despite the loss of our little pets."

"That reminds me Sister, why did you let your child's father rescue them without any resistance?" Medusa asked curiously. Last she had heard Circe wanted her ex-boyfriend to suffer for the role he played in her Uncle John's downfall.

"It is simple, Medusa," Circe replied, "What better way to torture Hellfire than to allow him to get to know his daughter and that the kitsune pup and come to love them as a father, before snatching them away from him. It also provided us with an opportunity to retrieve this without interference from the Museum." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a talisman that the image of a half bird/half woman harpy on it.

Medusa smiled evilly as she took the talisman from Circe, "An excellent argument, Sister, and a most devious plan. Report back to Grandmother, and tell her everything is progressing as scheduled."

"Of course, Medusa," Circe said with a bow before disappearing in a blast of air, causing some of the HYDRA soldiers to take a step back in fear.

Medusa rolled her eyes at the soldiers' terror; so much for these guys being big tough men. She couldn't wait to see how they reacted to what was to come. Continuing through the catacombs, the group came upon a massive chamber with a statue of what the HYDRA soldiers thought was an angel holding a small chest. Medusa approach the statue and placed the talisman in an indentation in the chest, causing it to open. Reaching down into her boot, Medusa then pulled out an athame and proceeded to slice her palm open. The blood dripped into the chest as Medusa chanted under her breath in a long-forgotten language.

"NO!" A voice screamed out from the darkness as bright light filled the room, causing the HYDRA soldiers and Medusa to shield their eyes. When the light faded, a young woman dressed in ancient armor stood before the group. As if that was not odd enough, the woman also had a pair of wings growing from her back. "How dare you try to awaken the Cursed Ones," the woman said in a voice that echoed through room, sending a blast of air out and causing Medusa and the soldiers to be knocked back several feet. She then moved in front of the statue while pulling out a short sword. "I will not allow you to break the seal."

Medusa glared at the woman, her cold brown eyes meeting the woman's brilliant green ones. "Stand aside, you pathetic Spirit," she snarled, causing the soldiers to take a further step back as she raised her hand and sent out a powerful bolt of energy. The angel-like creature shot up into the air to avoid the blast, before swooping down and swiping at Medusa with her sword. Medusa rolled away from the sword. "Don't just stand there you fucking idiots!" she shouted at the soldiers, startling them. "Shoot the meddlesome bitch."

The sound of gunfire filled the chamber as the soldiers proceeded to fire at the angel. Medusa smiled evilly as she watched the Protector of the seal constantly having to avoid the barrage of bullets flying at her. Making her way back to the statue, Medusa continued her spell to break the seal. The Protector's feeble attempts to stop her amused the dark witch to no end, and before long she heard the sound of stone crumbling and the screech that signaled the awakening of the first of Enchnida's lieutenants as the statue shattered in pieces.

The Protector let out a piercing shriek of pain as a bullet ripped through one of her wings, sending her plummeting to the ground. "No!" she shouted, staggering her feet and attempting to stop Medusa, only to be sent flying into wall by a ferocious blast of wind as a portal appeared were the statue once stood. Searing pain from her wing and the impact with the wall caused the Protector to pass out as a tall woman with black bat wings stepped out of the portal.

Medusa smiled at the woman, "Welcome back to the Human World, Megaera, Queen of the Harpies."

Megaera turned her pitch black eyes to Medusa. "What year is it, Mortal?" she asked, looking around the room.

"It is 2015. You have been imprisoned almost six thousand years," Medusa replied. "Enchnida has need of you and your army once more."

Megaera stepped forward, her wings shrinking back into her body. "I am her ever faithful servant. However, I require nourishment if I am to regain my powers."

Medusa indicated to the soldiers behind her, "By all means,feed to your heart's content. These men are yours for the taking." With that said, Medusa disappeared in a fashion similar to Circe only an hour earlier, leaving the HYDRA soldiers to face the demoness alone.

"No Megaera," the Protector called out weakly, trying to stand up and protect the men who only moments ago she had been trying to kill. "Cousin, I beg you. Do not give in to the darkness once again."

Megaera sneered at the angel, "Erytheia, I should have known you would have been the one to guard me." She walked over to Erytheia and grabbed her by the throat. "You were always a soft hearted fool, little cousin. Always seeing these pathetic mortals as something to protect. Well know this: I will not kill you today, oh no. I want to watch you suffer as this pathetic world burns." With that said, Megaera threw Erytheia across the room, knocking her out. With her cousin out of the way, the Queen of the Harpies set upon the HYDRA soldiers, draining their life force from them. Her cruel laughter echoed through the chamber as each man collapsed lifeless to the ground.

Despite being unconscious, a single tear fell down Erytheia's cheek at her cousin's senseless violence. Once all the men were lifeless on ground, Megaera unleashed her powers, calling forth her army from the portal. There was an earth-shattering shriek as hundreds of harpies began pouring out of the portal and swarming out of the Catacombs into an unsuspecting world. With a final, evil smile, Megaera summoned her wings and took off into the air, leaving the place of her imprisonment.

A few moments after Megaera and her army left, Erytheia slowly began to regain consciousness. "No," she whispered softly. "I failed. I must warn the Guardians." She shakily got to her feet and with the last of her strength, flew out the chamber to the streets of Paris where she collapsed in an alley. As she once again lost consciousness, Erytheia saw a flash of silver as a man appeared over her.

Medical wing, Museum of Antiquities

New York Branch (2 days later)

Grant smiled at his sleeping daughter across the room as he fed Kiki her early morning bottle. The doctors at the Museum wanted to keep both girls under observation for another day or two to ensure they didn't have any long term effects from their time in captivity. After their release, Grant was going to take the girls and 33 to his Gramsy's house on Long Beach Island for a couple of weeks, while his team and family got the house he'd inherited from his Gramps in Essex County, New Jersey ready for the small family of three to move into.

A small yawn from Kiki caught his attention, and he looked down and saw the kitsune half demon push the bottle away, clearly full. Putting the bottle on the table beside Rosie's bed, Grant proceeded to burp Kiki as the nurse on duty had shown him the first night. While he was still nervous about being a dad, Grant found that he took to the role with ease. Rosie and Kiki had helped him more in the last three days by simply being their sweet, innocent selves than anyone else when it came to finding peace with himself.

He smiled down at Kiki and gently stroked a finger down her cheek. "You getting sleepy, Sweetheart?" he whispered softly as Kiki's golden brown eyes started to drift closed. Grant started to hum softly as he stood up and placed her back in her crib and covered her with a light purple blanket.

"Daddy," a sleepy voice called from the bed letting him know Rosie was now waking up.

Grant walked to his daughter's bedside and brushed a stray curl out of her face. "Morning, Princess," he whispered, softly placing a tender kiss on her forehead. "Are you hungry?" Rosie nodded softly, clutching the stuffed chocolate lab puppy Grant had given her a few hours ago. He reached over to his phone on the bedside table to call his sister, knowing she was coming on duty for her shift as a doctor in a little while, to ask her to bring up some breakfast for him and Rosie.

Twenty minutes later, the door opened and a young woman a little older than Grant walked in, carrying a brown bag from one of the bagel places near his house. "Just so you know, Grant, that dog of yours has been very moody without you around."

"Don't pretend you don't love watching him, CJ," Grant shot back, rolling his eyes at his older sister. Even though technically she was Grant's cousin, the pair had always been more like brother and sister. They had tried to protect each other and Tommy from the abuse they

suffered at the hands of Maynard and Vivian Ward.

"Whatever you say bro," she shot back before walking over to the bed. "Hey Rosie, how are you feeling, Sweetie?" Rosie looked shyly at her aunt and just shrugged as she clutched her dog tighter. "Still a little nervous, I see," CJ said kindly, knowing that her niece still needed time to adapt to being in a loving environment. "Well take your time honey, you're safe now." She then turned to Grant. "Gramsy is gonna come visit with you and the girls for a bit. She said something about wanting to finally meet her great-grandbabies."

Grant rolled his eyes, "Translation: she wants to come and spoil them rotten."

CJ laughed at her brother as she finally put down the bag of bagels, "Probably, but hey, at least your girls have gotten her to stop nagging me and Julian about when we're gonna make her a great-grandmother. Anyway, I got rounds to make. I'll try to stop by on my break." She touched Grant affectionately on the shoulder before she turned to Rosie. "I'll see you in a little while, Rosie Posie." With that said, CJ left the room, leaving Grant and his daughters alone once more.

"Alright, Princess, let's get your breakfast ready," he said, pulling a tray over to his daughter's bed before reaching into the bag his sister had brought. Grant then pulled out a plain bagel with butter, along with a paper plate. He put both down in front of his daughter and watched as his little girl hesitantly took a bite of bagel.

A short while later, as Rosie sat watching Sofia the First on his laptop and he reviewed files of possible new trainees for the Hellchasers, there was a knock on the door. Grant looked up to see his grandmother walking in, and the pair shared a quick smile. He could also see two gift bags in his grandmother's hands and knew his comment to his sister had not been that far off. Though Gramsy had always tried to instill in her children and grandchildren the independent spirit and strong sense of doing what is right, she never could resist spoiling them a little. At 93 years old, Catherine "Cate" Thompson had known more than her fair share of heartbreak. Her late husband had been killed on the day Grant was born, and then just a year later, her youngest child, Grant's mother Angelina, had been murdered. However, despite all her heartache, Gramsy had continued to guide Grant, CJ, and Tommy as best she could as their powers had each started to emerge.

"Hello, my darling boy," Gramsy said with a smile as Grant got up to meet her by the door. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before she handed him the bags she had brought for his daughters, which her grandson placed on the bedside table.

Grant returned his grandmother's smile and led her over to the chair he had just vacated, before he sat down on the bed next to Rosie, causing her to look up from her show. When Rosie saw the newcomer, she tried to hide shyly behind her father. "It's ok, Princess," Grant soothed, "This is Daddy's Granny."

Gramsy smiled softly at her newly discovered great-granddaughter. "Hello, my Little Flower," she said kindly, her doe-colored eyes shining with unshed tears. "I'm Nana, what's your name?"

Rosie looked up at her father, who smiled encouragingly. "Rosie," she whispered softly, clutching her puppy close to her.

"That's a beautiful name," Gramsy responded softly. "And what's your friend's name?" she asked, pointing at the stuffed animal. Rosie shrugged in response and Gramsy just smiled before continuing, "Well, your daddy once had toy dog just like that when he was a little boy about your age."

"Weally?" Rosie whispered, looking at her great grandmother.

Gramsy smiled. "Yes darling, it's name was Ruru. Your daddy use to take Ruru everywhere with him. I have a picture if you would like to see it," she said, trying to draw the shy little girl out of her shell. Gramsy then reached into her pocket and pulled out a picture of Grant when he was Rosie's age, and sure enough he was clutching a stuffed animal that looked exactly like Rosie's. She handed the picture to the little girl and watched as a smile lit up her sweet face.

"That daddy?" Rosie asked, pointing at little Grant.

"Yeah, Princess," Grant replied kissing his daughter's blonde curls, "That's Daddy when he was your age."

Gramsy reached over slowly and took her great-granddaughter's hand. "Rosie would you like to keep that picture of your daddy?" she asked softly.

Rosie's eyes lit up even more as she looked up from the picture. "Yes pwease," she said politely.

"Then it's yours, my Little Flower, and I have something else for you and your sister. Would you like to see it?

Rosie nodded. Gramsy reached over to one of the gift bags and handed it to the toddler. Grant smiled at his grandmother before saying, "Here princess, let Daddy help you with that." He reached into the bag and pulled out a card that read,

"To my darling granddaughter,

When each day dawns, I wish you Joy

When your spirit takes flight,

I wish you Peace

When you follow your dreams,

I wish you Hope

When you are in doubt, I wish you Faith

With all my heart and soul, I wish you love.

Hugs and kisses, Nana."

After reading the card, Grant reached back into the bag and pulled out a beautiful silver jewelry box engraved with Rosie's name. "Look, Princess." he said handing the gift to his little girl.

Rosie looked at the jewelry box a for a moment before she smiled at her father and great grandmother, "Pwetty," she whispered. "Tank you, Nana."

Gramsy smiled. "You are welcome, my precious Little Flower." She looked at her watch. "I have go to a meeting, my Little Flower, will you make sure your sister gets her present when she wakes up?" she asked Rosie tenderly. The toddler nodded and reached her arms out to Gramsy, silently asking for a hug and causing Grant to smile as he watched them embrace. Gramsy then turned to him and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. "I'm so proud of you. Your mother and grandfather would be too," she whispered before she walked out the door of the hospital room.