A/N Thank you to all you guys that are reading, following and especially reviewing. More action and drama coming your way. Please enjoy the latest update and don't forget to review! Thank you so much!

Chapter 22- Secrets and Lies

August 18, 2036, Upstate New York

A lumbering brown beast crashed through the rotting barn, causing boards to fall all around it. The roof already had a few holes and with the violent movements of the creature was causing it to come down around it. The beast turned to fend off the 9-inch long silver daggers that were being thrown at it. It only saw a flash of black before everything went dark when two daggers found their marks- its eyes.

The darkly clad figure seemed to effortlessly dodge the pieces of the rotting roof as it feel around him. The beast was thrashing and swinging its dangerous clawed arms wildly, hoping to blindly connect the attack. As the dark figure drew back his hand, it transformed into a red, scaly claw before it came forward, only to be caught in the steely claw of the slobbering monster in front of him.

The monsters eyes had regenerated, but the figure did not even flinch. His porcelain skin was framed by ebony waves of hair as he stepped into the light that came through a now gaping hole in the roof. He suddenly leapt into the air, bringing one long leg around and slamming it into the creature's side. The creature roared in pain as it released his clawed hand.

Jumping back, he quickly assessed the situation. This was one of the chiropterans created with Mary Frances' blood and it had armored skin. Hagi quickly leapt forward and his clawed hand found the armored skin over and over in metallic clangs.

Once the beast was positioned in the right place, he jumped high into the air, landing gracefully in what was once a hay loft. The timbers were creaking in a weak protest at the weight of the man. The stoic face turned to the support beam he had hoped would have broken under the burden of his weight.

An unruly lock of hair fell into the center of his face, but did not obstruct the view of the beast as it found its footing… and the loft where the chevalier stood. It roared as it leapt up to join him. One support beam groaned and then splintered, causing the loft to sway. Hagi turned, flipping his bangs from his face as he crouched down to keep his balance on the swaying loft. If the other support beam gave out, the loft would fall, but the other beam held fast.

With a sudden burst, Hagi was on the other side of the loft, the heel of his steel boot slamming against the beam, causing it to split. A mighty rush of wind and the sound of tearing fabric signaled the release of his wings. Since the showdown at the Met, his lost wing had grown back, but both were now more heavily armored at the place where they emerged from between the shoulder blades. It was hard to negotiate a clear path for his wide wings amid the falling debris.

The beast roared as it fell with the loft with the entire loft all around it. It was now quiet save for the lowing of disturbed cattle outside. Plumes of dust seemed to separate as Hagi's dark form landed elegantly on the dusty floor. Before him lay the creature he had battled, impaled by numerous timbers and not yet dead.

He slowly unsheathed the long blade at his side in a smooth motion. His face was set as stone. The features held the beauty of a stone monument from a cemetery. His wings lent to the look of an avenging demon with an angelic face as he brought the long blade across the beasts throat in a swift motion. Blood sprayed in grotesque fountains as the beastly head fell away from the massive body.

The chevalier took a breath as his wings retracted and he moved toward what was left of the entry way. As he walked into the light of day, he looked down at his bloody sword and the daggers he had retrieved. This kind of clean up would require water- a stream or river would be best. He did not want to use the water supply for the cattle and end up contaminating them. For now, he slipped them back into his coat and the sword into its hilt, those items needed to be cleaned as well.

A quarter of a mile from the barn in the field, he found the place where he had found the chiropteran and thrown his cello case at it. It still rested there where it had landed. A few locals were standing at the fence, watching the odd-looking stranger as he shouldered the massive case and headed on his way.

It was nightfall once he had found a good place to wash everything. He allowed the night breeze to move through his raven strands of hair while he surveyed his surroundings. It was time he returned to LA and retrieve Mary Frances, but something was bothering the stoic man. He knew that he was obviously her biological father, but he still did not recall ever coming into any kind of contact with any human in the US or anywhere else for that matter. Was what Julia said possible? Could he have done something like that and out of remorse, blocked it from his memory?

His jacket was nearly dry as he leaned against the tree that held it. No one was around to see his expression that he still held, but he sighed in frustration as he pressed his head against the trunk of the tree. Thinking about this made him more anxious; he had to find some answers.

The gust of wind left by the small stream was the only evidence he'd been there. The jacket was gone with the cello that now held the cleaned long blade and many of the daggers. He always kept a handful of them on his person, just in case.

He pulled out his cell phone and called David to inform him that the last of the chiropterans on the east side of the US was just killed.

David answered gruffly, "Lulu has contacted us to let us know that she and Mary Frances have almost eliminated the threat from the west. She says the survivors have congregated in a rural area between Kansas and Colorado."

Hagi responded in his usual monotone, "Then her training has progressed well."

"Hagi, you were the one that was supposed to train her. None would have escaped if you were there and she would be trained better since her powers exceed Lulu's," David scolded.

"Lulu would not be capable of handling the chiropterans alone, David," Hagi corrected.

"We are aware of Lulu's abilities," he responded with a slight tone of irritation. "Joel is not thrilled with this situation, Hagi. You were to stay with Mary Frances to protect her. What would happen if Argiano or Smith tried to take her again? Do you think Lulu would be able to protect her alone?" He knew Hagi got the point. He added, "Mary Frances is to be protected at all costs, the same as the queens."

It was quiet for a moment. David knew the real reason for Hagi's disobedience. He also knew that he had no right to reprimand him. Hagi was a free agent, able to choose for himself. The chevalier was only bound to Saya and chose to help the Red Shield while she was asleep. "Hagi, you have been an invaluable asset to this organization. I just ask that, in the future, if you need us to change the way things work, let us know so we can make adjustments.

He ended the call as he made his way to the memorial he always frequented in New York. He passed a store and remembered what day it was. It was not in his nature to do these things for someone other than Saya, but then again, there were so many things going on lately that made him question everything he'd thought he'd known.

~Three days later in LA~

The smell of coffee and french toast filled the air in the small apartment as Lulu prepared to get cozy for a full day of cartoons. Mary Frances had noticed how much the small chiropteran liked cartoons and bought her the complete collection of Merrie Melodies, Tom and Jerry, and a few animes the girl seemed to like.

The fair skin, raven haired woman ran a hand through her short style as she thought about dying it, but found she'd rather leave it black. The look Lulu gave her when she purchased a pack of burgundy hair dye would have made a statue cry. She smirked as she thought, "Speaking of statues, I wonder how Lurch is doing?"

She brought Lulu back a tumbler full of blood with a curly straw before she went into the kitchen and took her birthday french toast and a mug of black coffee with her to her room. She smiled as she walked through the living room and said, "Thanks for the french toast and coffee."

"Happy birthday, Mary Frances," Lulu called back as one of the cartoons started up and the black out curtains were double checked.

Once she settled in at the computer and the machine fired up, she logged on to find an email from Kai that told her to open Skype. She smirked at the aging man came on the screen in front of her and smiled.

"Hey, Mary Frances," he smiled and then made some enthusiastic motions off screen. "We have a surprise for you!"

She grinned and asked, "Really?" Her hand found the gold pendant and chain at her throat and added, "More surprises?"

He scowled briefly as Riku, Kanade, and Hibiki squeezed together with Kai. Kai counted down and then they began to sing "Happy Birthday" in English.

She laughed at the sweetness of the gesture and the accents. When Riku slipped up, she almost snorted since it sounded like a swear word. "You guys really didn't have to do all this," she smiled as they finished the song, "but thanks anyway."

"You learned Japanese for us," Riku said.

She smiled sweetly and commented, "I don't know which gift I like more now."

The group looked at Kai with puzzled expressions, causing him to shrug. Riku leaned into the screen and asked, "You mean the pendant on your neck was a gift?"

"Yeah," she answered with a look of bewilderment on her face, "you mean you guys didn't send it?"

They all shook their heads and Riku commented, "It's a gold Japanese character that means 'Family'."

"It's really pretty," Hibiki noted. "You sure Lulu didn't give it to you?"

She shook her head. "It came in a box with a simple hand written note about family being there for each other." She rummaged around her desk and found the box, "Ah-ha!" She showed it to the screen.

The words were in English and she read it aloud, "Family means always being there for one another and unconditional love." She added, "It doesn't have a return address or anything to show where it's from." She then added, "Besides, Lulu gave me Moses' scythe and helped me and Gary to design some new weaponry… not to mention, she made breakfast today."

While she spoke, Kai recognized the handwriting from a note that was left at Omoro once about taking the girls out to the park while Kai got dinner service ready at Omoro. He was interrupted when Kanade leaned forward and commented, "That looks like Uncle Hagi's handwriting."

Hibiki nudged her sister and smiled, "At least he'll give his daughter a gift. He only gave us Pocki on our birthdays."

"He gave us the swords," Kanade retorted as she stuck her tongue out at Hibiki.

Riku dramatically rolled his eyes and muttered, "…and it starts."

Kai was the only one that noticed the look of distaste on the princess's face as she removed the necklace and placed it on her dresser. He quickly shooed the quarreling group from the room. Once they were gone, he looked at her angry expression gazing away from the screen. "Mary Frances, I know he really screwed up, but he's trying. You need to give him a chance."

He could see the angry tears in her eyes as she responded, "I gave him a chance, he messed up. I gave him another chance and he left."

He ran a hand through his graying hair and said, "I know. You have to understand that this is all new to him. He's never done anything without Saya."

"He obviously did one thing without her,' she muttered.

"I know," Kai said sadly, "but you have to understand, he has only loved her his entire life and now he's faced with a monumental problem- he has this to explain to her. He'll be lucky if he comes back alive when she finds out."

She smirked, "Yeah, I get that." She looked off and murmured, "He didn't love my mom- he completely forgot her. Me- I'm just some fucked-up mistake." She stood on her feet and moved toward the bureau where she had placed the necklace and swiped it onto the floor. Again the tears were there but she refused to let them fall.

"Mary Frances…" Kai called, "…Mary Frances." When he got her attention, she swiped her arm under her eyes. "Listen to me! You may not have been planned, but you are no mistake. Don't do this to yourself. Yeah, your dad messed up and you may have come from that mistake, but that doesn't make you a mistake."

She held back the tears and then responded in a voice filled with pain, "Daddy Green says that all the time. He tells me 'Kids aren't an accident, they're a happy surprise.'"

Kai hit his fists on the table for emphasis and commanded, "Then listen to him!" He composed himself before he added, "Hagi… Hagi and I need to have a long talk when you guys get back here."

Once they both had cooled off a bit, she commented in a very cold voice, "Kai, if I didn't have Daddy Green anymore, I'm glad I'd still have you."

He smiled at this and briefly looked at the picture of his dad sitting on the corner of his desk. He thought, "See that, Dad, I'm keeping the family together, just like you."

He had to wipe a tear from his eye and clear his throat. He was suddenly slammed with the most pain filled emotion. His gaze turned to the screen to see her turn her head from the screen. The emotion was coming from her. He wondered, Who are you Mary Frances, and why do you hurt so much?"

She took a very deep breath and turned back to the screen with no tears or pain in her eyes. "Well, I do know one thing," she gave a watery smile, "I can suck it up and travel with him, but could you do me a huge favor, Uncle Kai?"

He smiled and answered, "No, Mary Frances, you need to stay with him." Before she could protest, he added, "It's not because I can't protect you or whatever lie the Red Shield may have concocted, but because I know that you two need each other."

She smirked in disbelief, "He needs me? What the hell does he need me for?"

He smirked back, "Because I've never seen that chevalier laugh or shout or show any emotion. I think it's about time someone showed him how."

"You want me to get him to laugh?" she scoffed.

"It doesn't matter what you get him to do. The fact is, you are his flesh and blood and he needs to learn what a connection like that means. He needs to loosen up and learn to relax- I think you could teach him that."

"And what do I get?" she asked as she looked at Kai like the devil about to make a deal.

He leaned forward and made sure the kids weren't there, "You get to find someone that will stand by you, no matter what. I know you are lying about a lot of stuff and one thing you need above all else is love and protection."

She blinked with a look of shock briefly crossing her face. When it passed, her poker face came up. "What makes you think I'm hiding anything?"

"You seem to have pain and bitterness surrounding you like air. You may lie well, but those emotions can't be hid- not forever. You need to let someone into your world that can help you." He gestured around himself, "Look around you. I'm a human raising chiropteran queens, but they were babies when I got them. You have already grown up and answered your own questions- those answers that Hagi should have been there to give."

She nodded sadly as Kai clicked on something to the side. "I haven't read this," he informed. "I could, but it's not my place. Recently, Joel was going through some of the old papers from the Zoo that survived the fire. You know that your father was brought to the Zoo as a companion for Saya, but you don't know the details of his life before that."

She looked at him intently. "What do you mean?"

"What he was before he was purchased," Kai answered. "Amshel sent letters back to the Zoo as he traveled Europe looking for a 12-year-old boy that would suit their needs to breed Saya. It talks about the family Amshel observed for a month before he took your father from his family, giving them a loaf of bread as payment."

"So he had really shitty parents, too," she muttered.

"I don't know," Kai admitted. "I don't feel it's my place to read them. I felt only Saya should know… and you, but Joel and Julia have already read them. David says he won't and neither will the girls." The file pinged in her email as he finished, "I think you should get to know your father as he was, before all of this stuff happened to him."

She nodded and responded, "Guess I should get to reading. See you in a few weeks."

He nodded as the connection ended.

She looked at the file attached to the email and moved the mouse to click it, but stopped short. She wondered briefly, "Do I really want to know?" Answering her own question, she said, "I want this man out of my life and I just want everything normal again." She moved the cursor again and clicked it open. There were several letters and she was grateful that Amshel had decent handwriting.

She began reading a tale about a very poor family that traveled in a small caravan. The man Amshel had to follow them from place to place as they were kicked out wherever they went. The father was a terrible drunk. "A stout, dark haired, dark eyed, dark skinned man that suffered bouts of violence" was how he was described.

The mother had dark locks of straight hair and medium colored skin. She was tall and very beautiful with emerald green eyes and feet that rarely stayed home.

"The Boy" as Amshell referred to him, looked nothing like his elder siblings. They were dark skinned and ill-tempered. He was smart and had very light skin under his long raven hair. He had a quick hand and was able to pick pockets with an ease and grace his siblings did not possess. He would occasionally dance for crowds as well as sing.

The further she went into the story, the more she was shaking her head as she was enlightened to his reasoning for how he behaved around her. He had no idea how to be a father because he never had anyone that showed him. He was taken from a house with an absentee mother that used all her time to sell her body as a prostitute and his father was a useless drunk. Then he was placed in a mansion where they performed experiments… and he was to be nothing more than a stud.

She smirked evilly, "Now I know that secret… and another as well."