Author's Note: No, I have not been trapped in a mountain for the last several weeks or anything like that. But, I've been MIA for so long and it is completely inexcusable. I'm so sorry for the later than usual updates! But I'm back...(for now). Anyways, I need to first give a very special shoutout to my friend, Rissy, who continually pushed me to write this chapter. Without her, this update would have probably been pushed back to an even later date, so thank you for the constant reminders, Rissy!

Disclaimer: All the lovely characters in Katekyo Hitman Reborn! belong to the amazing Akira Amano. I do not own or claim to own anything.

Chapter 21: Out of Options

"Join the Disdetta Family?" Mukuro repeated, incredulous.

Lance inclined his head. "This is my offer to you, Mukuro-kun. I assure you, it's in your best interests to accept this offer."

"Kufufu..." Mukuro's lips twisted into a smirk. "So this is what you came all the way down here to tell me, Lance-kun? And to actually think that I thought this would be worth my time." Mukuro said wryly. "Well, I thank you for your most generous offer, Lance-kun, but I will have to decline. I see no benefits to Chrome and I joining your little Family."

Lance shook his head, looking highly amused. "But that's not the real reason why you won't accept. The truth is, you don't want to betray Sawada Tsunayoshi's trust, isn't that right?" Lance chuckled. "You're surprisingly loyal, Mukuro-kun."

Mukuro narrowed his eyes balefully. "I would appreciate it if you didn't insert false words into my mouth, Lance-kun." He twirled his trident casually. "As fun as this conversation was, I must now ask you to leave...unless you wish for me to escort you out through force, of course."

Despite the blatant threat directed at him, Lance still looked as untroubled as before. "Let's not act so hastily now, Mukuro-kun. You haven't even heard the best part of the deal yet." His black eyes glimmered. "Should you choose to join the Disdetta Family, Mukuro-kun, I can give you the thing you wish for the most."

Mukuro raised an eyebrow. "And that would be?"

"I can save your sister."

Mukuro's mismatched eyes widened. He extended his trident at the smirking Lance. "How dare you..."

"Now, now, Mukuro-kun." Lance chided. "Should you really be pointing your weapon at Chrome-chan's only possible source of a cure?"

Lance faked a sympathetic sigh. "It must be hard. I know that poor Chrome-chan is running out of time. She doesn't have much longer until her organs completely break down, right? And even though you have been supplying her with your own Mist Flames in an attempt to stop the deterioration, it really isn't working anymore. The extended experimentation she suffered at the hands of the Estraneo Family is finally taking its toll, isn't it?"

"I don't suppose I can ask where you received all this information from, can I?" Mukuro asked through clenched teeth.

"Let's just say that I've run a little background check on you, Mukuro-kun." Lance said, smiling thinly. "So what will your answer be? Remember, Mukuro-kun, the Disdetta is an extended Family with members knowledgeable in a wide variety of spells. We can undoubtedly cure your precious Chrome-chan." He extended a hand toward the illusionist. "All I ask is that you join us."

Mukuro looked conflicted, eyes darting from Lance's outstretched hand to the warehouse where his sister lay. Finally, after weighing all of his possible outcomes, Mukuro emotionlessly raised his hand to meet Lance's own.

Lance's smile widened. "Excellent choice. I look forward to working with you and your sister, Mukuro-kun."

"I've agreed to my part." Mukuro said stiffly. "Now uphold your end of the bargain. Cure Chrome now."

"But of course, Mukuro-kun." Lance gave what seemed to be a taunting smile. He then followed Mukuro into the warehouse, all the while throwing a condescending look at the decrepit interior. Mukuro's lips narrowed into a thin line, but he didn't say a word.

The two approached the couch that Chrome lay upon. The purple-haired girl looked far from well—even asleep, her breathing seemed to be heavily labored. Droplets of sweat beaded her pallid skin, causing strands of her hair to stick to her forehead.

Lance knelt down by Chrome's side and stroked her cheek in a deceivingly innocent manner. "Such a shame that your cute Chrome-chan has fallen to such a state, Mukuro-kun," he purred. His dug his fingernails down the side of her face. "Doesn't she look so fragile? So broken..."

Mukuro's own hand came down sharply, slapping Lance's away. "I don't think that curing Chrome requires you to lay your hands on her like that, Lance-kun." His voice seemed calm, but the hardened look in his eyes suggested otherwise.

Lance smiled disarmingly. "Protective, aren't we, Mukuro-kun?" When Mukuro's glare intensified, Lance held his arms up in a disarming manner. "Relax, Mukuro-kun, I merely jest."

"I would greatly appreciate it if you spend less time joking around and more time upholding your end of the bargain." Mukuro said stiffly.

Lance merely smiled again. "But of course." He took a simple silver ring from within his pocket, slid it onto his finger, and lit up a flame. Pressing the lit flame to Chrome's chest, Lance murmured a single word: "Activate."

A faint light resonated at the spot that Lance touched before illuminating the rest of Chrome's body. Chrome seemed to take a deep, shuddering breath before sighing into an easier sleep.

Seeing this, Mukuro's own body relaxed fractionally. "...You truly cured her." His voice was incredulous.

"Your doubt wounds me so, Mukuro-kun." Lance said. "I did promise to cure Chrome as part of the deal we made, didn't I?"

Mukuro inclined his head. "So you did."

"Yes," Lance smiled thinly. "And it would only be fair if you upheld your side as well. So, Mukuro-kun, I have your first orders from the Disdetta Family." His smile changed into a smirk. "I wish for your to retrieve Sawada Tsunayoshi for us."

Mukuro didn't look too surprised by this order, merely cocking an eyebrow in response. "Retrieve Tsunayoshi-kun for you? But you seem to have overestimated my abilities, Lance-kun." He smiled languidly. "I don't keep tabs on Tsunayoshi-kun so I am unable to aid you in your search. Besides, even if I did know where he is, those Guardians of his will rip me into pieces before I can even get near him."

"Are you saying that you refuse to help me then, Mukuro-kun?" Lance asked with a raised eyebrow.

Mukuro shrugged, adopting the same casual tone as Lance. "Oh, I'm not refusing to help you, Lance-kun. I'm just saying that I'm unable to."

Mukuro was surprised when Lance suddenly began to chuckle. "To be honest, I never thought that your loyalty for Sawada Tsunayoshi would run this deep." Lance continued before Mukuro could interrupt. "Now now, Mukuro-kun. There's no need to make up excuses if you don't wish to help us."

"I never said..."

"It really is a shame that you would go breaking off our promise like that." Lance continued, shaking his head. "And after I had just helped you cure your precious Chrome-chan as well." Lance faked a sigh. "Well, no matter, I'm quite sure you'll change your mind very quickly after you see this..."

Lance raised a hand over Chrome's body as a flame flickered into life on his ring. Mukuro looked puzzled at first, but his confusion quickly changed into shock and anger when he saw Chrome's peaceful slumber interrupted. His sister's face suddenly contorted with pain, her body convulsing as she thrashed blindly around on the couch. Mukuro turned quickly to see a small smile playing at Lance's mouth and immediately saw red.

"Stop." In an instant, Mukuro summoned his trident and raised it threateningly up to Lance's throat. Lance looked unperturbed and his eyes glittered with malicious amusement. But he let his flame die out and slowly lowered his hand. Chrome's body immediately relaxed and she slumped back down onto the couch.

Mukuro's face relaxed just a fraction at seeing his sister out of pain, but he kept the trident at Lance's throat. "How dare you." he hissed. "What the hell did you just do to Chrome, you bastard?"

"It was merely an incentive for you, Mukuro-kun. A warning that there will be consequences if you choose to defy us." Lance walked over to Chrome, ignoring Mukuro's burning glare, and pulled up the sleeve of her shirt to reveal a blood-red seal tattooed on Chrome's arm. The stark red of the seal contrasted sharply with Chrome's pale skin, making the image of the intertwining crossbones stand out even more than it should.

Mukuro's eyes widened when he caught sight of the red seal mark. "That can't be a..."

Lance's lips quirked into a smile. "Oh, but indeed it is, Mukuro-kun. As you can see, I have placed a curse seal on Chrome here."

At once, the trident was directed at Lance's throat again. "How dare you!" Mukuro hissed. "Remove it immediately!"

"How dare I?" Lance looked completely calm. "This was the only way to cure Chrome-chan, of course. Through this seal, I can have the Disdetta Family provide her with sufficient flames in order to keep her illusionary organs from breaking down. As you know, Mukuro-kun, Chrome-chan needs to be consistently supplied a large amount of lames in order for her organs to function—a burden," he glanced at Mukuro. "too great for a single person to bear."

Mukuro merely glared in response. "But," Lance continued. "With this seal, Chrome will be able to be provided flames from several members of the Family at any given time, with me being the one controlling the overall flame output, of course." Here Lance's tone shifted to something more sinister. "This also means that I alone have absolute control over Chrome. I can, at any given time, shut down the flow of flames through the seal. I do hope you understand what I'm implying, Mukuro-kun."

"Take the seal off of her at once." Mukuro demanded. "I never asked for something like this. I'll find another cure instead."

Lance smiled thinly. "And if I say no?"

"Then I hope you're prepared for a one-way ticket to hell, Lance-kun." Mukuro replied, not missing a beat.

"I don't think that you're in any position to be threatening me, Mukuro-kun," Lance said, nonchalant as ever. "This is such a crude way of putting it, but I do have a hostage here, you know?"

Mukuro's eyes narrowed, but he knew that what Lance said was true. "This is a blatant violation of our agreement, Lance-kun." he growled, hatred written on every inch of his face.

"Need I remind you that you were the one who broke off the deal first when you refused to cooperate us in capturing Sawada Tsunayoshi?" Lance shrugged. "Well, it wasn't like I expected you to agree to help us anyways." He smirked. "So it was a good thing that I came prepared."

Realization slowly dawned on Mukuro's face. His grip tightened on his trident. "You...you planned this whole thing out? From the very beginning?"

"What else would you have expected, Mukuro-kun?" Lance's eyes shone with mirth. "It would have been so much easier and painless for both of us if you had just joined us and agreed to obediently follow your given orders. But I figured that I would be met with some resistance so I needed something to, ah, convince you with..."

"Do you mean to say that you placed that curse seal on Chrome even before I agreed to join you?" Mukuro asked through gritted teeth.

Lance merely smiled. "Every plan needs a good back-up, don't you agree?"

Immediately, Mukuro shot forward with his trident but Lance gripped the base of the weapon, locking it effectively in place. "You shouldn't act so rashly on your emotions like that, Mukuro-kun." Lance chided. "Killing me won't get rid of the curse seal, you know? In fact, as soon as I am killed, the seal will trigger itself, immediately cutting off the flow of flames to Chrome. You can imagine the outcome if it comes to that, right, Mukuro-kun?"

Mukuro was absolutely livid—he looked as if nothing would bring him greater pleasure than to stab his trident through the smirking man in front of him. But both he and Lance knew he could and would not do anything to risk Chrome's safety. Slowly, and with great reluctance, he lowered his trident.

"Much better," Lance said. "But there's really no reason for you to rage, Mukuro-kun. Once you successfully complete my orders, that is to say, bring us back Sawada Tsunayoshi, I will completely remove the seal from Chrome. Though removing the seal means that you'll be back to where you started, but then again," he shrugged. "it's your choice to make."

"You need not concern yourself with that." Mukuro said stiffly. "I already said that I will find another way to cure Chrome. But how will I know that you will keep to your promise?"

"Well, it's not like you actually have much of a choice right now. I would say that you're pretty much out of options." Lance noted. "But I do swear to you that as a member of the Disdetta Family, I will take the seal off of Chrome as soon as you bring us the Vongola Decimo."

Mukuro clenched his fists. It was at Lance had said—he was completely out of options. Lance had anticipated every possibility and had cut them off accordingly. So keeping his face perfectly blank, Mukuro gave a single, stiff nod. Only his mismatched eyes revealed the raw anger he was holding in.

Lance couldn't have looked any more pleased. "Well then, I look forward to seeing good results, Mukuro-kun."

Author's Notes: A shorter than usual chapter, I know, but I'll work to update the new chapter (hopefully) a bit earlier. Anyways, poor poor Mukuro-kun and Chrome-chan. How dare the Disdetta use Chrome against Mukuro! What a dirty move... Do you agree as well? Please let me know of your thoughts! And if you have any questions or need me to clarify anything about the current situation, please feel free to ask.

-Bird of Dreams