A/N This is for all you that were completely broken up about Lulu's death. By the way, she is one of my favorite characters, too. Actually, I love all the characters, but I could do without Amshel. Enjoy! Please don't forget to let me know what you think of the story so far.

Chapter 13- Beloved Found

Within a week, chocolate bars began to be handed out to soldiers in the military. The young, strange girl that the Marines had found was nearly recovered. Their medic seemed to know that she needed blood. Her courage and perseverance were an inspiration to all the young men and women there. It was two months before she was fully recovered. All that had been fortunate to come in contact with her were astounded that she had not even one scar on her little body. Unfortunately, she seemed to have no memory of who she was or what had happened to her.

Everyone at the base was on edge. Every day another soldier went missing and more of those monsters kept showing up. They were stronger and seemed more intelligent. No one understood what was going on.

They had moved the little girl to the VIP tent which she shared with an aging officer who had many children and grandchildren at home. She reminded him of his youngest granddaughter, so he called her Alice, after the girl. She had to stay indoors, for some reason she couldn't go into the sun. Her skin would blister right away and the burning would persist well into that night. She had to receive at least one transfusion a day, but the men didn't mind lending their young mascot a pint or two.

A camouflaged guard stuck his head into the tent, being careful to keep the sun from seeping in. "Sir, you must come. The Red Shield has important news to share with you and they are demanding all officers are to attend the meeting."

The old man groaned as he glanced toward Alice, knowing she was wrapped up in a video game on his ipad. He looked back, "Who was sent this time? Is it that blasted General Whitehead?"

"No sir, they sent someone else. It's David. He's real worked up about something, too. He brought someone with him."

He smirked, "One of his lower ranked soldiers?"

The guard shook his head as he was trying to find a way to describe the man. "I know he's not military… I'm not sure what he is." At this, the officer became curious and grabbed his jacket. "He's dressed like… I don't like to say, but I think he looks like he's going to a costume party or something."

The older soldier smirked, "He had a giant case on his back… a cello that looks like a coffin?"

"Yeah," the soldier straightened, letting in a bit of light that luckily, never reached Alice.

"Hey!" she shouted as she ducked behind the bed she was sitting on.

The soldier looked sheepish as he closed the flap around himself and came in. "Sorry," he directed at Alice. He asked the officer, "How'd you know?"

"I used to be in the secret service, guarding the secretary of defense in 2007. I was young and bold, trying to prove myself," he explained. "We were at the Met on business with a company called Cinq Fleches. Man, I saw things that night you wouldn't believe. We had seen hell that night and lived to tell about it." He sighed, "When the dust settled I decided to come back and help to find any survivors of the explosion. Some young red-head with a Japanese accent was passing out this picture of someone that was really important to him. He wouldn't take "dead" for an answer. He said the man's name was Hagi."

"We searched and searched, but all we found were red crystals and dead bodies," he buttoned his uniform and checked his reflection. "I always wondered if he had gotten out. Now I get to find out how he got out."

~0~

David and Hagi waited patiently for the arrival of the commanding officers of the US military that was occupying the area. Hagi stood against the wall, no expression on his face, but he kept feeling a presence- someone familiar was near and it wasn't human. Right now, this meeting was more important.

The officers and commanders entered the room and greeted David with a salute, not really noticing Hagi. One seemed to single him out though. He had sky blue eyes under his bushy, grey and white eyebrows. He shook the chevalier's hand and greeted him warmly, "Well, for the life of me, I never thought I'd get to meet you. I am Officer James Craig. I was one of the secret servicemen that were there the night of the Met explosion. After the dust settled, I helped them search for survivors." He smiled warmly, releasing Hagi's hand, "Your picture was passed out to all the searchers- that Kai was sure that you were gonna be okay."

Hagi raised an eyebrow. No one had ever told him that the Red Shield continued to look for him after the explosion. He was certain that they had all returned to Okinawa thinking he was dead. Joel never made any indications to think otherwise. He gave the man a bow and replied, "Thank you for searching for me."

"I was meaning to ask…" he began but was interrupted by an over-zealous staff sergeant as he took his seat near him.

David commanded their attention, but barely needed to raise his voice. He lifted his hand, revealing a familiar looking chocolate bar. They were being handed out all over the base by seemingly grateful locals. The room fell silent as David eyed them all and cleared his throat.

"As many of you know, my name is David. I am the assistant to Joel Goldschmidt VI, the CEO of a secret organization called The Red Shield. You have been briefed about the fact that no information about The Red Shield or the creatures we will be discussing. It is imperative that this remain between those in this room." A quick glance around proved that the group was willing to stay tight-lipped.

"About 30 years ago, a company called Cinq Fleches used a similar guise to pass off an agent called Delta 67. It turned all those that heard Diva's song into those monsters you have been seeing. These may be weaker versions, but their numbers are enough to overwhelm us."

"Wait," one of the highly decorated generals called as he rose from his seat, "do you mean to tell us that these candy bars turned our missing men and women into… those creatures?"

"Yes," David answered gravely. "I know the United States has not told you the real reason why you are here. They believe this is a remnant of what happened in 2007 and that because Iceland is so remote, the chiropterans weren't spotted until now. That is not the case."

The faces displayed around him were all surprised, a bit frightened, but most of all curious. He pressed a button on a remote and his wife, Dr. Julia appeared on the screen. "This is my wife, Dr. Julia. She is the head of the bio-medical research that is being conducted on these transformations."

"Good morning," Dr. Julia chimed in from the screen. "I am the head scientist and researcher of The Red Shield. I wish to inform you that the candy bars you have been eating are changing a few of your soldiers into these monsters. They offered them to our operatives. I have analyzed them. The transformation rate is only 20%, but the good news is that we are working toward a remedy to this serum. While we are working in this, keep your men and women away from anything the locals may give you. Don't take any chances."

"Dr. Julia," an officer spoke up, "what if they have already eaten some of the bars?"

"There is no guarantee that they won't transform, but the chance are only 1 in 5. If you keep them away from anything that could be tainted, they should not have an effect."

As the questions continued, Hagi couldn't shake the feeling that someone was close- someone similar to him, but different. It wasn't a princess. His presence was not needed for this meeting, so began to move toward the door when a question stopped him in his tracks.

Another commander asked as he rubbed his beard with his fingertips, "So, how do we defeat these monsters? So far the newest ones seem to be completely invincible."

David responded with a sad sigh, "Hagi is our only weapon at this moment." He gestured to the chevalier. It was still a painful thought to bring up Lulu. She would have been fighting alongside Hagi if she were alive. He added, "Hagi is uniquely trained to fight these monsters."

A young, impetuous officer stood up and demanded, "If he can be trained to fight something like that, then any of us could be too! Train me to do it…"

David ignored the young man's comment, "Our real weapon will not be available to us until next year."

There were several arguments to his last statement, but Hagi managed to slink out without being noticed. It would be more like eight months until Saya woke up. He had to get the princesses out before that time. He had to get Mary Frances out of the clutches of Argiano and to the clinic in Okinawa, but first he had to find that presence.

~0~

The cold iron bars broke up the image that lay beyond the plated glass window. The smell and taste of freedom, it was something one took for granted until they had to go without it.

Mary Frances was learning this for herself. She was in the middle of her daily transfusion, looking out the window- to freedom. There had to be a way out.

She hadn't seen even one other princess in at least a month and she was still being held against her will, in total isolation.

Her hair was now short and completely black. Dr. Smith would not allow hair dye, but at least they had it trimmed so it was all one color. As it was, her hair was already long enough to tickle the nape of her neck.

She mused over the memory of the information Argiano had shared with her. He told her the story of the two queens as he had learned it from Dr. Collins. He would visit Argiano in prison and share the tale piece by piece. She now knew about the more-than-a-century-long-war that had been won when Saya defeated Diva. She knew that Diva's daughters were now being looked after by The Red Shield. He had also told her of how all the chevaliers had once been human, but turned.

Images came into her mind as she lay back on the cot and stared blankly out the window. She imagined what it must have been like for them- dying only to become some other-worldly creature that never sleeps or eats.

Her mind turned to her… to him. Even in her mind, she couldn't think of him as a father. She wasn't stupid and she knew from the moment she set eyes on him, he wasn't either. He was already looking for the princesses before she was conceived. That meant he knew if he slept with a human, he probably had gotten her pregnant. He should have at least checked on her mother overt the years. Surely he had to know the risk he was taking? He had to have known.

Her thoughts were interrupted when a technician came in the room with a needle. "Nighty-night time for me- or so he thinks," she thought as she smirked. They moved by patterns and she had memorized the schedule as well as the general layout of this wing of the facility. She calmly awaited the warm feeling of his hand on her arm, to steady her while he injected the medicine that would knock her out.

His hand was grabbed and the next thing he knew, he was in the wall with an excruciating headache.

She made quick work of stripping him of his lab coat and glasses. It was hurriedly, but she manages to tie some of her hair back and pull the rest of it back with an extra large rubber band she had found on the floor. If she kept a good distance from anyone in the facility, they might not recognize her.

She looked herself over and realized she would not be very convincing without pants. They only allowed the princesses to wear drab blue hospital gowns. The technician was slightly shorter than her and a bit heavier. She had to turn the waistband 3 times and pull the legs down a bit. His shoes were a bit larger than her feet, but she could manage.

Mary Frances gave one last look at the now nearly naked man lying on the floor and smirked, "That was just too easy." She dashed down the hallway with a speed no human could see, only slowing to walk past the cameras so no one would suspect anything. The small door that she knew was a laundry shoot was only 100 feet away.

The next moment, she was flopped in a pile of soiled sheets and surprised faces of the guards she never calculated on being there. "Oh shit,' she murmured as she tried to figure a way out of this. The guards closed in on her, leaving her no escape. She beamed an innocent looking smile and placed her hands on her head in surrender. It was the fifteenth time she had tried and failed to escape.

~0~

Nathan beamed a genuine smile as he watched Kendra, the youngest daughter of James wave gratefully before turning to go back into her daughter's house. He could relax now that all of Diva's line was safe with their families. His plan had been last minute, but it worked.

While he was at the facility 3 months ago, he had managed to overhear a conversation of the plans Argiano and Dr. Smith had for the princesses.

They had planned to keep Mary Frances and create chiropterans using her blood. Argiano commanded Dr. Smith to turn the princesses into chiropterans.

Nathan smirked as he recalled saying, "Not while I'm here."

He came up with a brilliant plan. The guard that was supposed to give the injections was always notoriously late. While the previous guard, sick of covering for his coworker, left on time, Nathan snuck the chiropterans he found into each cell as he removed the princesses that were there. Unfortunately, the latest princess was in another part of the facility at the time. When they late guard did show his face, he thought the other guard already gave the injections.

Now all he had to do was to figure out how he would get their favorite test subject out. As he headed back to the airport for his flight to Iceland, he thought, "Hagi's daughter… I would love to be there when Saya finds out. It's going to be one hell of a blood bath. He'll probably get worse than Solomon did from Diva." He sighed as he wondered, "I wonder why this newest generation of chevaliers can't keep their dingalings to themselves?"

~0~

"What?" Julia asked into the cell phone as she looked at her screen. Her emails had been lit up all morning. The princesses had mysteriously returned to their families and they were praising a name she thought she'd never hear again- Nathan Mahler. "But he's dead!" Julia responded to the joy filled family member.

Kai, who was there with his two daughters, was getting a drink of water from the cooler when he overheard the last of the conversation. "Who's dead?" he asked.

"Nathan Mahler," she responded.

Kai affirmed it, "Yeah, I didn't see him die, but I did see the corpse of a chiropteran that could only be him cut in half on the stage of the Met that night."

She tapped a pen on her desk and informed him, "The princesses Fimm Örvar kidnapped have been returned."

Kai's face lit up, "That's great! Then Hagi and the Red Shield succeeded."

She shook her head and responded, "No. Apparently someone managed to rescue them from the facility."

"Who?"

"They claim his name is Nathan Mahler," Julia answered.

Kai began to cough as he swallowed his drink too hard. After he regained his composure enough to breathe he asked, "Nathan Mahler? Are they sure it's the same guy?"

"He matched the description down to the cowboy boots and pink tights," she answered as she began to scroll through her contacts.

Kai smirked and responded, "Only Nathan could dress like that." He looked up at Julia and asked, "So what are we going to do?"

She placed her cell phone back to her ear and responded, "All we can do is contact David and Joel to inform them that Nathan Mahler is alive and we think he may be working with the Red Shield."

"Do you really trust him?" Kai asked as he raised an eyebrow. Julia had been complacent with her trust before and Kai was doubting her still.

She shook her head in response as she asked to speak with Joel. When the secretary transferred her to Joel, she informed him of the situation. She added, "From what we have learned so far, we can't judge whether he is trying to help us or if he is working under his own agenda."

She knew if her husband was here, he would be certain the rogue chevalier was only working for his own gain- whatever it may be.

~0~

Hagi continued on his quest through the camp. That presence was so different from any princess, but yet so familiar. As he came closer to the tent where the presence was, he almost could see the image of a small, lavender haired girl. He shook his head attributing the thought to grief. No one in the Red Shield could say that Lulu hadn't touched their lives in some way and they all missed the only remaining Schiff greatly. Now all the Schiff were gone and hopefully together, somewhere, enjoying the sunlight they could never feel or see in this life.

Not wanting to give away his approach to the being within the tent, Hagi opted to open the flap and look directly inside. The tent was neat and organized, save for the blanket crumpled on the floor. There was a noise from some sort of digital game emanating from under the blanket.

His footsteps were muffled by the soft ground under the tent as he came to the bundle on the ground next to the bed.

"Hey," came a familiar voice from under the blanket, "close the flap, will ya!? Kinda allergic to sunlight here!"

Hagi closed the flap tight as he thought, "It couldn't be!" He lifted the blanket to reveal a lavender haired girl with eyes nearly to large for her face. "Lulu!" he whispered in disbelief.

Her brow furrowed and she corrected, "No, it's Alice." She looked over the smartly dressed man and asked, "What kind of soldier are you? I've never seen anyone wear a suit into a battlefield."

He raised an eyebrow, "Don't you recognize me?"

"Should I?" she asked as she looked him over and then flopped onto the bed. "Do you know Jimmy? He stays here, too. He kinda looks after me. He lets me use his ipad to play Candy Crush! See!" she showed him the device with the colorful images of candy in little rows and columns. She began to explain the game to her new friend as she continued to play. Whether he was interested or not, Lulu kept chatting about the game and ignoring the fact that this man somehow knew her.

The tent flap opened just barely, allowing the aging soldier to enter. "Well, Hagi, this is a pleasant surprise. I never expected to see you in my tent."

He stood and spoke, "I apologize for my intrusion. This young girl- how did you come to have her here with you?"

The soldier proceeded to tell the tale of how Lulu came to be in their camp and how they cared for her in spite of her odd health concerns. She was quite resilient for someone so young, so he said.

Hagi spoke openly to the aging soldier, "The girl you have here is a Red Shield operative named Lulu. She was under the guidance of CIA agent Lewis and my self."

The soldier and the lavender haired girl shared a look of surprise. She finally asked, "You mean… you know me? You really know who I am?"

Hagi looked into her confused and hopeful green eyes and responded, "Yes. Your name is Lulu. You are the only remaining Schiff and a CIA agent that also works for the Red Shield."

She still looked as if she had no idea what he was talking about. She then asked, "Who are you again?"

No one could tell the pain Hagi felt that she did not recognize him. He understood that her memory was wiped out in the incident that caused her near death experience, but it still hurt him. He responded in his usual monotone, "I am Hagi, the one who serves Saya."

None of this made any sense to Lulu nor did it jar her memory. She came with Hagi to David, holding to his hand like a small child. She didn't recognize the aging man at all.

Everyone back at the Red Shield base greeted her warmly and even threw a small party for her. Julia teleconferenced with David, Hagi, and Lulu. She was glad to see the Schiff girl and all agreed that it would be best for Lulu to return to Okinawa to receive treatment. Hagi would accompany her since Lulu seemed to trust him more than anyone else.