Don't own KHR.

And the Plot Thickens

"Lambo?! What the hell?! Why did the lights just go –"

"Contact Iemitsu." Lambo's voice didn't sound quite right, but he barely even noticed as he threw a jacket on over his sleepwear. "Contact Iemitsu now."

"And why should Jyuudaime do that, stupid c –"

"Because something has happened and if you get in my way so help me God I will knock you out and contact him myself."

There was a stunned silence as the others tried to process this new side of Lambo they had never seen before. Tsuna muttered a quiet, "okay" and dialed his father, placing it on speaker as he did so.

"Moshi moshi?"

"Ah, otou-san? Did something…happen?"

There was an awkward pause on the other side of the call, as if Iemitsu were surprised by something. "Um, yeah, something happened not even an hour ago. I'm on my way over now."

The silence on their side was now awkward as they all turned to look at Lambo, who was staring outside with a steely look in his eyes, daring anyone to mess with him at that moment.

Iemitsu arrived ten minutes later, taking all of them to the Decimo's office. Any attempt to stop Lambo from joining them was halted as he glared death at the CEDEF leader. The Lightning Guardian leaned casually on the door jamb, watching the Decimo's father with an unnerving intensity that only Reborn seemed to actually notice.

"A few days ago, Basil was sent on a mission to gain intelligence from the Corvino Famiglia. Everything was going smoothly until about half an hour ago, when he figured out something rather disturbing. It appears that the Corvino predicted that we would send Basil, and were hoping to capture and experiment on him to find out more about his merging with his Box Weapon. Basil managed to figure it out, and somehow sent us the message before he was captured."

"We've hacked the cameras," Iemitsu continued, typing something on his laptop and connecting it to the television in the room.

The screen flickered for a moment, adjusting the camera feed to match the size of the television, before it settled on a scene that had many of them tensing. Basil was strapped to a table, various machines attached to him to read his energy level and torture him in equal amount. A man stood by the table, and Lambo narrowed his eyes in a venomous glare.

"Come now, Vongola, this doesn't have to hurt," the man was saying, gesturing at the machines surrounding the two, "just answer the questions we have for you and then you can go."

"Yeah right," was the weary reply. "I'm not stupid, Signore Corvino. You will kill me whether I cooperate or not."

"Nonsense," came the immediate response, "why on earth would I want to kill you? Surely, after this is done, you will realize that is more fortuitous to remain here rather than return to those Vongola trash."

Basil spit in his face after that, and the torture session he went through for his defiance had Lambo gritting his teeth to stop a vicious snarl from escaping.

"Well?" he asked impatiently, shifting when no one appeared ready to start moving. "Aren't we going to go get him?"

The other Guardians shared uncomfortable looks but it was Iemitsu who broke the news to him. "I'm sorry, Lambo-kun, but we can't save him. It would be too dangerous for any of us to go, even as a group."

'Bullshit,' Lambo thought, 'there's no way that we as a group couldn't take down a Family as small, though admittedly deadly, as the Corvino.' But no one else spoke out for saving Basil, the brother Lambo had always wanted to be there for him. And because of that, for the first time in his life, Lambo hated them all.

"Right." Lambo sighed, and shifted a little, his façade and true self flickering in and out as he struggled with the information he'd been given. 'Guess it's time for the big reveal,' he thought semi-sarcastically. "Right. Well, I would like to say that it was nice knowing you guys, but since none of you like me, I won't bother."

"Lambo?" Tsuna shot up, looking frantic. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to go save Basil, obviously." Lambo scoffed as he walked out of the room, calling his horns to him without pause. As he was putting them on, a familiar voice rang out.

"If you do this, it'll be considered betrayal; you won't be a Guardian anymore."

Lambo swung around, and the hatred that flashed in his eyes actually impressed Reborn in that moment. "If going to save my nii-san when no one else will, despite the fact that CEDEF protocol dictates that he be saved in the best-case scenario and killed at the worst, is considered betrayal, then I would rather be a traitor than a part of such a Family!" he growled, a bolt of electricity running to his hand and summoning one of Reborn's extra guns into his hand.

He left after that, not even acknowledging the look Reborn threw him.

Yes, this can be considered an interlude.

The end is getting closer, but I felt like prolonging your suffering, as well as my own. On the bright side, that means that this is getting sent out earlier than planned. One more chapter or so to go, then this thing is done! And, if you were wondering, I did in fact write all of this yesterday. Hope you like it.

Please review.

Ja ne!