A/N: This took forever since I suck at fighting scenes. Also, there's some cursing in this chapter. I think these boys deserved to drop the f-bomb. Until I have more ideas, this will be marked as completed. Also, character death and angst abound.
Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! If I did, CEDEF would have more screen time and Iemitsu's first impression to readers wouldn't have been him as a drunk moron. He works in intelligence, he must have a brain!
Decline of Vongola: Part 2
The boys had decided to split up, all being carefully monitored by the agents. Massimo and Federico roamed the halls together while Xanxus was with his Rain guardian Squalo, all of the teens on high alert. Cayenne was at the security monitors, looking for any changes. While illusions could fool the human eye, they couldn't affect cameras in the same way. And if the feed was cut, he could inform his teammates. "Everything is normal so far." He reported.
Minutes passed and Cayenne finally caught a glimpse of an intruder. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that there were several in different parts of the manor. "Get ready to welcome some guests. Look for signs of the attackers being controlled, their eyes should be clouded have a dark blue film." Cayenne informs. "So eyes being the window to the soul, that kinda shit?" Xanxus asks warily. "Yep!" Cilantro chirped. "Does anyone else have the sudden urge to punch him?" Cinnamon asks bluntly.
Massimo nervously gripped his crossbow, his knuckles turning white from how tight he held the weapon. "Easy there Massimo, don't want you accidentally shooting yourself or me." Federico comments, Massimo sighed. "This plan is insane. Why am I going along with this?" He complains as Federico held back a grin. Massimo was starting to return to his regular, whiny self. Silence hadn't suited his brother. "You have the best intuition, just leave the fighting to me." "Then get ready, someone's here."
One of their attackers had green sparks coming off of his body, Federico silently cursed. It just had to be a Lightning! Those monsters were known for being able to take hits and shake them off like they were nothing. Federico took out a semi-automatic and opened fire. The lightning created a shield, the other attacker vaulting over him and charging the brothers with twin blades.
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"Alright, who's closest to Federico and Massimo's location?" Cayenne demands, watching the action on the screen. "I'm on it. Tell 'em to hang on." Cinnamon grunted, running through the halls. He activated his Cloud flames, the brass knuckles on his hands morphing into metal gauntlets. "If at all possible, try to lure them into one of the traps we set beforehand. I designed them to maim, not kill." Cayenne states. "Damn sadist." Cinnamon muttered under his breath.
Federico cursed, blocking the blades with the body of his gun. He was thanking every deity out there that it had a reinforced frame. Massimo was quickly reloading his crossbow after each shoot he took, attacking from a distance. Federico felt the strength in his arms about to give out when Cinnamon tackled his opponent to the ground, not hesitating to snap the man's neck. "Cinnamon, we need one of them alive." Cayenne says in exasperation.
"Hold your glasses, alright? We still got a live one. What is this fucker a sumo wrestler?" Cinnamon exclaims. "Just make your way to one of the traps and Cilantro will attempt to peer into the connection to our mystery Mist once he's captured." Cayenne orders. "Easier said than done!" He yells as spikes shot from the shield to pierce the Vongola brothers. Cinnamon only had time to tackle one brother away from the attack, Massimo watching in horror as a spike pierced Federico's chest. "Federico!"
Time seemed to slow as the large man smirked, his eyes filled with sadistic delight. "Two down, one more to go." The spikes retracted, Federico's body falling limply to the ground. Massimo began to shake, his eyes turning orange as his flames wildly thrashed. "Calm down kid! I know you're upset but you're going to burn yourself out at this rate!" Cinnamon yells. Massimo ignored the man as he walked forward, Sky flames bashing themselves against the Lightning's shield until it shattered. Cinnamon cursed aloud. "Dammit, Cilantro get your ass over here! There might not be anything left of the man by the time you get here."
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A shiver ran down Xanxus and Squalo's spines as they felt Massimo's flames reflect his anguish and rage. "Shit. Cayenne, where are my brothers?" Xanxus demands. "In the main dining hall. Does your Rain know how to use his flames? We're going to need one hell of a tranquilizer when this is over." Cayenne says irritably. He just hoped that Cilantro would be on the scene before any permanent damage was done.
Cinnamon tore off Federico's shirt, grimacing when he saw the damage. Federico was pierced straight through the heart, without a medical team and a Sun Federico didn't have long to live. Whoever the bastard pulling the strings was, he always seemed to be two steps ahead of them. "Damn it, Cilantro should have been here by now. What's taking him so long?"
His blood ran cold when he heard Cilantro chuckle quietly, the laugh steadily increasing in volume. "Did you fools honestly think I couldn't overtake a second rate Mist? I will give this lackey credit, this vessel has lasted longer than the others." His voice had lowered an octave. They finally got the attention of the person pulling the strings but their plan was going up in flames. "What do you want?" Cinnamon asks through gritted teeth. The Mist chuckled. "I'm only doing what I've done for centuries, looking out for the family."
He's insane. That was the only possible explanation that made sense to Cinnamon. In the background Massimo was incinerating the Lightning, watching the man scream in pain with complete apathy. Massimo's flames went haywire, lashing out at everything as a flash of emotion finally appeared in the teen's eyes. Massimo collapsed, clutching at his chest. "Well then, it seems my work here is complete." And with that, the signal for Cilantro's line was cut off.
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Thankfully one of the family doctors was still in the mansion and rushed Massimo to the infirmary. Cayenne searched the security feed for Cilantro, only to find their partner burned from the inside out by foreign flames. Even though the man had been a lazy bum at times, he was the glue that kept their group together. Cinnamon's phone began to ring, he was wondering when the Vongola intuition would realize something was amiss.
"Hey boss man. How are things on your end?" Cinnamon asks, watching the heart monitor. The oxygen mask and flame transfusions were also a stark reminder of their failure."We just wiped out the Buffone and Guerra families. How are the boys?" Iemitsu asks, there was a tense silence. "There was another attack. Federico and Cilantro were killed and Massimo is still in the infirmary." Cinnamon says solemnly. "Goddamn it! Tell me we at least have some more information on this bastard!"
"We know that he has some sort of history with the family and seems to think that he's helping it in some way. Were there any traitors in the past that may have disagreed with Nono's policies?" Cayenne asks, taking the phone from Cinnamon. "That's quite a long list. I'll see if Nono knows anything. Christ, is Xanxus alright?" Iemitsu asks, Cayenne looked thoughtful. "He's fine, for some reason the intruders didn't seem interested in him."
While Massimo would recover, he wouldn't be able to use any flames. Iemitsu grimaced, not only had Timoteo just lost another son but he had lost one of his best intelligence officers. When he found the person behind these attacks, he was going to make them pay for hurting his famiglia. He squashed down the urge to visit his own family, not wanting to call attention to them.
Xanxus would be looking into the family archives, looking for a suspect in his brother's deaths when he would discover why the Mist never targeted him. Only Massimo's interference would stop the possible bloodbath, even if the relationship with Timoteo was now strained. Now all their hopes would be placed on a young Japanese boy that couldn't go down the stairs without tripping over his own feet.
