Chapter 8

Raven: I'm soooo sorry that I haven't updated in soo long. Exams was harsh

Alaude: Hn

Raven: That's so meannn! I will try and update as much as possible

Giotto: On with the story!

Giotto could hear the loud screams coming from everywhere as he ran through the corridors. He sighed; maybe it wasn't such a good idea to send G and Deamon off on their own. Another loud scream of agony pierced the air and he shuddered as he thought of what his two guardians were doing to the poor people. No, definitely not a good idea. He knew the slave traders deserved it since they were using young children for their own desires but he knew what his guardians could do, especially Deamon. He turned the corner and noticed a door that was partly open. When he heard loud clashes of metal in that direction he knew that was where he needs to go. Immediately he headed for the room dreading what he will find. He entered silently and was shocked at what he saw. His husband and oldest child were locked in, what appeared to be, a death match. Dear Lord, help him.

"Kyoya, Alaude!" he yelled in worry catching both their attention. Alaude, ignoring Giotto completely, growled menacingly and kicked Kyoya hard enough to send him crashing into the opposite wall. He only turns his attention to Giotto when he settles down next to him with an angered huff of breath.

"What's going on? Why are you attacking our son?" Giotto rebuked in anger yet there was a clear worried edge to his voice. Alaude looked at him blankly for a few seconds then regarded Kyoya with an irritated glint in his eyes. He watched as Kyoya slowly started to get back up from where he laid sprawled out on the ground. He glared at him with fury.

"He isn't himself," he whispered angrily, "we spilt up after we entered this place. I took out a few people when I noticed a mist-user running away and followed him. I lost him, but when I came into this room and saw Kyoya he just suddenly attacked me for no reason," he finished with a glare sent at the wall, rage burning in his eyes. It was clear he wasn't going let his oldest son go off on his own again anytime soon

"Do you think the mist-user got to him before you…?" Giotto was cut off when Kyoya came at them, rage and bloodlust rolling off him in waves. He was actually serious at killing them! Giotto dodged to the right as Alaude went left, both watching with narrowed eyes as Kyoya hit the ground with one of his tonfas smashing a crater in the concrete, using only a small bit of his massive strength to illustrate his rage. For a split second purple flames licked up the weapon. The floor was cracking, the spider web pattern fanning out from the hole in the ground. He then turned and sprang directly for Alaude who twisted out of Kyoya's way so that he could use the momentum to kick him to the side again. Giotto moved quickly so he could try and subdue Kyoya before they had to go to drastic measure and that meant hurting their son. Kyoya on the other hand managed to dodge his father in his attempt to force him to the ground. Giotto growled in anger and desperation, Kyoya was always very good in fighting against him, having been trained by Alaude. It was at that moment when Alaude formed his own plan, one that Giotto immediately recognised…and didn't like.

"Alaude-no!"

"We only have so many options, Giotto. We can't get close enough so it's hurt him seriously or knock him out."

Giotto gave a pointed look at the tense Alaude. It was a look he commonly gave and Alaude understood it as take-the-obvious-choice. Alaude being Alaude ignored Giotto. He shifted his stance to a more offensive type: feet apart, knees bent and arms poised for attack.

"Alaude ! You can't hurt him! He's our son!"

"He's our son that is under an illusion and will kill us if we do not fight back! You know Kyoya enough to realise that he will not stop unless we are down for the count and since we refuse to harm him he will win!" responded Alaude in a rare fit of emotion. His fists were clenched so tight the knuckles shone a marble white. His eyes burned with something between anger, sadness and desperation.
The dialogue, that was rapidly approaching an argument, was interrupted by Kyoya that took his time circling them. His eyes were trapped in the last emotion he felt before the illusion enslaved him: anger. The illusion intensified the anger so much that Kyoya looked one step away from turning into a savage animal. Their boy's mind was probably trapped in seeing them as absolute brutes or possibly the man that runs this whole slave-trading operation. That idea didn't sit well with Giotto, at all. Kyoya sprang at Alaude first but he was so lost in his rage that the attacks were nothing to Alaude who blocked it with no effort. Trying to snap Kyoya out of this rage induced illusion was going to be hard, even if his attacks were careless. Kyoya knew when to back off so when Alaude found an opening to aim Kyoya would jump back and repeat.

"Giotto, go find the illusionist," Alaude said as he dodged another of Kyoya's attacks. Giotto nodded and he dashed to the door on the other side of the room. Hopefully by killing or knocking the illusionist out it could stop the effect of the illusion had on Kyoya. He exited the room after evading an attack sent his way from Kyoya who had tried going after him in his attempt to escape. He didn't know how long he ran before he found another large door that caught his attention. He came to a halt in front of the massive wooden structure, designed to look like the old Chinese designs with brass knobs and dragon carvings. He reached within himself and activated his flames before he aimed a kick next to the door's handle. When it swung open he let the flames dissipate and glared at the only person occupying the chamber. The man turned from where he was standing and observing an ugly painting. He stared at Giotto, making it obvious he was scrutinising him for flaws.

"So Vongola Primo arrives," he said with a smirk, "did your husband like the present I left him? The boy was such a novice when it comes to illusions; just telling him what was going to happen to the pathetic boy he saved just made him snap. That anger of his is like a double edge-sword, don't you think?"

His words made Giotto's glare harden and his fists clench. This was the man who was in control of the operations here; he wasn't just a person the leader would use so he could hide. No, this man was the real leader. The man just grinned at him, his amusement apparent. Giotto finally calmed his rage to the point where he could look at the bastard as calmly as he could without imagining that he was ripping the man apart with his bare hands. The man's black hair and dark green coloured eyes reminded Giotto of a poisons plant Mukuro had once showed him and the black loose pants and black button up shirt reminded him of a normal civilian if it wasn't for the scar on his face and his dark, sinister smile.

"What is Kyoya seeing then?" Giotto questioned calmly as he stalked away from the door. The other tilted his head and made a soft humming noise as if he was trying to remember what he had made Giotto's child imagine.

"Oh yes, I made him see the person who was trying to kidnap the little brunette boy after I told him what he was planning on doing to the scrawny little thing."

Giotto nearly flinched when he thought of how his son must have felt when he heard what was going to happen to his new younger brother. This also made his blood boil. Calmest man in the house be damned, he had a son to snap awake and another waiting for both his parents as well as his brother at home. He was going to finish this quickly!

Giotto shifted into a stance that could easily be used for offense or defence. When the leader did nothing but smile at him he decided to see what he could do. If he was a mist-user then he wouldn't be as skilled in long range fighting, Giotto reasoned. That would actually prove a bit difficult since he didn't have any weapons on his person. He would probably know some defensive moves since he is an illusionist, but getting close enough is going to be the problem. But once he is in a fighting range close enough for hand to hand combat then maybe-

Battle plan formed Giotto called forth the energy needed to summon his flame but kept it bubble just underneath the surface. With the sudden change in eye colour the leader obviously though Giotto was going to bring forth his flames so the first illusion caught him head on. The concrete floor began soaking up in black spots and then suddenly the most disgusting bugs began crawling out of the black masses. First maggots began bubbling out of the hole in the ground and then a big foot of something reached out. With a rotted face and gore matted hair sticking to its body, an unhinged jaw with horns jutting out of random places, it let out an unworldly screech before starting its stampede towards Giotto. With every step it took on its unstable legs maggots and other creepy crawlies were flying off of it and landing on the floor with soft pitter patters. Just before it could swipe at the man a wall of flame rose out of the ground and with another screech its body started melting. Not seconds later the illusion melted away with it. The leader, panicking with the knowledge that his illusion could be swept away so easily, concocted up another one.

As soon as Giotto's nose cleared form the scent of rotting flesh the ground began to tremble. First it was small vines rising up from where ever it was erupting from, the walls, the ground, out of the cracks in the ceiling, and then the dead looking twigs started doubling in size then tripling. Roots began sprouting forth; leaves with the colour of the dead grew from little buds. The sound of the wood growing and stretching to form claws and spears and a space that is unmoveable resonated in his ears to the point of where the grinding sound would have made him mad if he was any other person.

But he wasn't. He was a man on a mission.

When Giotto took his first step deeper into the room the wooden claws flew at him with speed that mildly impressed him. He dodged to the right in order not the get impaled. The hand swept passed him and he took this chance to kick upwards with as much force as he could. The wood splintered on impact. As soon as the wooden chips were above his head he stepped back to the left, narrowly avoiding three branches that were as sharp as spears. What he didn't anticipate though was that the spears suddenly grew out thorns, each the size of his foot, at in impeccable speed. His right arm's upper sleeve got caught and he hastily ripped himself away. He couldn't take any chances that this illusion didn't include poison.

He swiftly pivoted on his heel to block an attack at his back, arms crossed before his chest, and then he leaned back a bit. The branch that was aimed for his head swooshed pass his nose. He grabbed the offending twig and snapped it clean off. He used his temporary blade to stop the stab of another spear. Giotto had to leap in to the air to avoid being crushed when a massive branch began curling around him. But then he got caught by another branch. It wrapped around his ankle and whipped him back to the ground. He flipped to try and land on his feet but by then branches from all side had begun curling around his frame. Shit, what was this guy? This was an illusion to that of the highest extent. Everything felt so real it was like fighting in a real battle. This was the same type of illusion Daemon would use when he got serious in a fight, or when he tried to piss of Alaude.

And then he heard it. The cry of pain was unmistakably Tsuna's. High above him his little boy was being dangled from his ankles, his shirt was ridden up to bunch at his neck and it revealed the claw marks that were etched onto his stomach. When a drop of blood landed on the floor in front of Giotto…it was like he lost it. Fuck the plan. With a bubbling anger he summoned his flames, looked up into Tsuna's fear-ridden eyes and sent the molten heat to expand in every direction, every corner of the room; into every little crevice.

Almost instantly the illusion melted away into nothingness, just in time for Giotto to see the bastard's face, arms and legs get burned before he was sent flying into the now barren wall. The painting had been burned straight off of the wall, and the chipped paint began to peel off.

The leader had hit the wall with a thud so loud that if wasn't unconscious than Giotto would actually take the time to be impressed. He wasn't. Giotto nudged him with his foot but he didn't even let out a moan. Nodding in satisfaction with his handiwork, he fisted his hand in the unconscious leader's collar and began unceremoniously dragging him back to where he left his husband and son.

Raven: Well there we go, next chapter. I'll start working on the next one soon. I got help from my lil' sister, she was a great help too

Giotto: that would be great

Raven: Please R&R