A Royal Capture

Chapter Twelve

They had gotten out from beneath the base. They had been so close! Where had it gone wrong? What had happened?

The sudden explosion from the surface drove their escape tunnel to collapse... and Belphegor had been trapped beneath the rocks. Soro dug upwards, trying to reach the surface, from which he hoped he'd be able to dig the prince out as well, but... what if he was caught? He really should've just run the second he left the caved-in tunnel, but Soro wouldn't stand for that. He was much too human. He dug furiously, his breathing hard and his body bruised.

"Bel... BEL!"

Yamamoto sighed as at last, Kikyo knelt, too weak to continue fighting. The baseball player wasn't in great shape himself, though, with several harsh bruises and cuts marking his lightly tanned skin, making the old scar on his chin seem like a scratch. He sighed and wiped at a wound that had opened on his forehead, keeping blood from getting into his eyes. "A-all right. That just about takes care of that..." The swordsman knelt in front of Kikyo, though he kept his guard up. "So tell me, Kikyo," he said with a smile. "Where's Andrew Spark? I'd have thought he'd have noticed everything by now."

Kikyo frowned and looked down. "... Out," he muttered. "But he'll be back soon. He never misses breakfast, after all."

"I don't either," Yamamoto answered, sounding a bit random. "But that's not important! Where is he?" The Cloud gave him a flat look, before Yamamoto understood. "OHH... you mean out like out, not like, 'get out,' out. I get it!"

Kikyo rolled his eyes. How could I have possibly lost to this bastard?

"Kikyo... you seem as though you are in need of help, bark," came Juniper's voice. The young Cloud guardian stalked over to the two, giving Yamamoto a venemous glare. "I am here, bark. I can help you, bark."

"Oho...? But where are your..."

"Fighting, as there were intruders in the base, bark. I locked them in a basement, and fed them to my slaves, bark."

Yamamoto's eyes widened. His group hadn't gone that way... who else was it? He frowned, looking at Juniper, before giving a serious smirk. "All right. I need a couple answers, so I'm afraid I can't let you pass through here."

"Our goals are the same, bark," Juniper muttered. "A fight it is, bark." He held out his box weapon, soon releasing the Cloud-flame wolf he held so dear.

"Vooooooooiiiiii!"

Xanxus's head snapped up, as it had previously been hanging with boredom. The boss stood upright and glanced to Byakuran, eyes determined as he pointed down a hall. "I just heard Squalo," he said. "Go that way."

Byakuran giggled. "My, I think you're hearing things after being witness to my awesome attacks. Maybe you should hang back."

The boss's eyes sharpened. "We're going. Down that hall," he spat. "Or I'm going alone." He started down the hallway, fists clenched as he made towards a basement door.

"Hey, wait up!" Byakuran protested, following after Xanxus with wide eyes. "I didn't hear anything, and Squ is pretty loud! Xanxus, maybe you should stay back!"

"I know what I heard!" Xanxus answered, before throwing the door open, light spilling into a pitch-black room. "Squalo!"

"V-Voi! Boss?! Watch out, there's-"

Xanxus walked into the room, ignoring Squalo and glaring at the lions, who all bowed in submission as he walked in. "Afraid of the little kitty cats, shark trash?" he asked cockily, smirking.

"Boss..." Squalo quickly made his way up the stairs, soon grabbing Xanxus in a fierce man-hug, back pats and awkward coughs included. "God I missed you, Xanxus," Squalo whispered, tears welling up in his eyes as he held the other male tightly.

"Finally! Our fanservice is back!" Lussuria cheered.

"Finally! My money is back!" Mammon cheered as well, before pausig, "Er, I mean, family. But the money's cool too."

Levi gave his painful-looking happy expression. "Boss! I may or may not be completely and halfheartedly completely excited to see and/or be in the presence of your body and mind! May I say that while I hate or do not hate seeing you with certain people who may or may not have silver hair, my love that I may or may not have for you is immense, and furthermore..."

"Hi trash," Xanxus said after he'd gotten sufficient inspiration from Squalo's complete and utter fangirling over him. "Ready to go home?"

"Yes!" they said excitedly, and the boss smirked, soon starting to get them out of their bonds, though he made sure to scowl at Levi so that the Lightning guardian wouldn't feel too special.

"Squalo, you should've done a better job. If you'd been faster and actually gotten them out of these fetters, I might've acknowledged your efforts and let you be seme tonight. But since you didn't, you don't."

"Ooh, Squ-chan got dissed," Byakuran giggled, only to groaned as Squalo kicked him in the stomach, sending him to the ground.

"Don't beat on the albino trash quite yet," Xanxus muttered. "You and he are the only ones who are decent right now, condition wise. You need to be able to protect these trashes, and-" He paused, taking a sudden notice in Mammon's adult body. "When the hell did you get so big?"

"That's what Fran said," giggled Byakuran.

"You really enjoy being able to say stupid crap without Shouichi slapping you, huh?" Squalo muttered to him.

"Fufu~ Wish I could do it more often," the albino replied.

"The Arcobaleno curse seems to have bee broken," Mammon sighed, getting to his feet.

"Yeah, it was," Squalo agreeed, turning back to them. "Reborn and Colonello are the same way."

"... I wonder if Fon is, too...," Mammon mumbled. "He and I haven't fought in a long time... (except for that one soccer match)."

Squalo sighed and moved to the top of the basement. "Well, babies, let's try and get out of here," he said, walking out, yelping when he came face-to-face with Daisy.

"Where are you guys going?" he asked. "I went to go play with my unconscious doll, and he was gone. Did you break him out?"

"What are you talking about, Daisy?" Byakuran asked, cocking his head

"Hibari Kyoya, of course...," Daisy replied, holding Bubu closer. "I went to go cut him up some more but he was gone..."

"Sweet, so we don't have to worry about him," Byakuran giggled as he slipped in front of the rest of the Varia. "He was probably a butt to break out." He took his box weapon, soon releasing the Sky Dragon. "All right! So let's take care of you."

"Invaders... before we even wake up... I thought the explosions outside were kind of weird, and now I know that all the noise is thanks to you. You were my Lord Byakuran, but now I won't even say your name. Once you were everything. Now you are nothing."

"Enough of your talking," Byakuran said, his voice seeming to drop an octave when he got serious. He sent the white dragon racing towards Daisy, his eyes cold.

The younger man tried to move out of the way, but Daisy was quickly bitten and infused with Sky flames, his eyes large and wild as he fumbled for his box weapon, opening it just as the harmonizing Sky flames began to paralyze him. A Sun-class crocodile materialized, and moved to its master's side, attempting to heal him, soon expelling the harmonizing factor and enabling Daisy to move. Byakuran knew that as a Sun, this meant hand-to-hand combat, one of his weak spots. He attempted to attack with the Sky Dragon again, but it was held up by Daisy's own weapon. "Mini White Dragon!" Byakuran hissed, throwing one of the small darts towards Daisy's heart, only to have it barely dodged. Daisy threw a punch, and Byakuran dodged, but the next blow was an uppercut that hit him square in the jaw, shattering it.

As Byakuran stepped back, clenching his fists, unable to fight back, Lussuria took notice of his predicament, and despite being thin and parched, his body was still as strong as ever thanks to his Sun flames. He dashed out quickly, and managed to throw a skillful kick into Daisy's waist, pushing him back, though the Sun didn't go down.

"Nobody hurts my family!" the Muay Thair artist declared, soon locked in a fierce battle with the other Sun. Daisy knew his basic attacks, but he'd learned more techniques, and those were the ones he focused on using. It would seem onesided, but constantly it would flip from being a battle favoring Daisy, to one that preferred Lussuria. The tables didn't turn, but instead spun as the two punched, kicked, and pretty much everything else involving physical combat. As they did so, Squalo ushered Mammon and Levi out of the room and got them behind Byakuran, before rapidly joining the fight by bringing out his classic box weapon.

"Squalo Grande Pioggia, assholes!" he screamed as he sent the shark after Daisy.

"Go Squ!" Byakuran cheered despite his pained jaw.

"Help out, you idiot!" Xanxus snapped, but the Sky simply shook his head, hand cradling his wound.

"You three gotta get out," he said. "Run."

"Hell no. I'll run out of here with the shark and Sun trashes, but not just with Levi and Mammon.

"Boss's right. We're Varia, after all," Mammon said with a small smile. "We'll be okay. You go on ahead! Look for Fran and Bel!"

Byakuran paused, looking between the group, before giving a small smile. "Varia Quality, huh? I trust you guys. You'll be able to handle it." He dashed off, leaving the Varia to handle Daisy.

It wasn't long, however, before Byakuran found Yamamoto fighting with some Spiaggia with a wolf box weapon. Byakuran frowned and hid behind a corner, then sent the Sky dragon to attack the Spiaggia, successfully pinning him to the ground.

"Woah! Where did that guy come from?" Yamamoto wondered, instinctively reaching down to touch the dragon's head.

"Fufu~ Surprise! I found you two~," Byakuran giggled as he walked over, before spotting Kikyo knelt on the ground. "Oh, not playing today, Kikyo?" he asked, only to receive a glare in return.

"... Traitor," the Cloud spat, as though Byakuran was some lowlife he wouldn't usually deign to speak to.

The Sky ignored him and walked towards Yamamoto. "Who's this kid giving you trouble?"

"He seems to have attacked some of the captives with lions," Yamamoto answered, rubbing a wound on his left arm. "I wanted to find out more information."

"Lions? Ah, don't worry, they're safe. Xanxus scared the lions into submission with sheer badassery, and now they're going to try and take down Daisy all together."

"Daisy? Is Daisy a lion now?" Yamamoto asked, cocking his head curiously.

"No, no. But he showed up," Byakuran giggled. "And he's gonna get his butt kicked."

"Sweet! Hey, let's take care of this guy, and then we can go," Yamamoto added with a grin. "Pretty sure no one's found Bel or Fran yet."

"All right!" Byakuran agreed, grinning, before wincing at his jaw pain and once more cradling the injury in his hand.

("Yes, I know. I will. No, I'm coming right now. It won't be much issue, I promise.")

"Thank you, sir."

As the line disconnected, Non worriedly rushed along the hallways, hoping not to come into contact with anyone else. He needed to find Eve, Urn, and Kei. Undoubtedly, the two were down in the vast underground chambers where training took place, and they hadn't yet taken notice of the attacks. He ran along the stretch of hallway, hoping to get there in time, when a sudden explosion in front of him made him stop dead, heart racing. He released his sea lion box weapon, the comical Rain animal growing serious the second it sensed its master's fear.

A silver-haired male stepped into the hall, one that Non instantly recognized.

"Gokudera Hayato... the Vongola's Storm guardian...," he whispered.

"Hey, bastard! Who the hell are you?" the silverette growled as he took notice of Non. "Well, it doesn't really matter. I have someone I need to return to, so there's no chance of you winning!"

Non bit his lip and quivered, then steeled his nerves. "Drown in laughter, freeze in fun!" he shouted. "I am Non, the Rain guardian of the Spiaggia, and I will not lose!" The sea lion defending him rocked back, before lunging forward, powerful Rain flames materializing beneath it like a small ocean, which he immediately slammed down on, creating a huge wave that flooded forward, washing over the Storm guardian. "G-got him?" Non whispered, only to gasp as a bullet of Storm flames crashed directly into his chest. He fell back on his knees, eyes widening, knees shaking.

"You don't even know who you picked a fight with, bastard," Gokudera snorted, Sistema C.A.I. surrounding him, its protective bone shields making certain he wouldn't be hurt, or even affected by the tranquil factor. Flame Arrow was linked to his arm, smoking from the powerful bullet it had released. "Now, rather than being washed by your Rain flames, you will be burned by my Storm. But before that happens, why don't you tell me where Fran is, huh?"

"F-Fr..." Non shook harder, feeling his body slowly start to crumble before he could stop it. With a single tear rolling down his cheek, he reached up, pointing down the hall.

"That's better, bastard," Gokudera snorted, before reaching down, now using Sun flames to stop the dissasembly. "Boss would be upset if I just let you die after you gave us that information. If you come with me, I'll let you live."

Non's breathing steadied as he was healed again, and he nodded, still scared, but already knowing the choice he would have to make. "I h-honestly don't feel any loyalty to this famiglia. I know better than to feel loyalty... trust... love..."

"Screw that. You can't trust these guys, sure, but that doesn't mean you haveta distrust everyone you see," Gokudera muttered. "You almost remind me of a less badass version of myself... Not trusting people, acting all stupid... look, you have a boss. You're not supposed to be disloyal if you have a boss," he muttered.

"I'm sorry...?" Non whispered, clearly not.

Gokudera rolled his eyes, then frowned, feeling something odd in the air. No, no. There was no one else around. A bit more alert, the Storm guardian continued down the hall, pausing when Non took his sleeve and tugged on it. "There. That's Fran's room," he whispered.

The Storm guardian's eyes darted down to the unlocked door, and he frowned. "Don't play games with me," he hissed. "A captive's room wouldn't be so poorly guarded. Even by amateurs like you lot!"

"Amateurs?"

Gokudera tensed as a voice sounded behind him.

"That's rather rude, isn't it... foolish one..."

Meanwhile, at the base...

"It seems like there's a lot of combat going on. I think it's time for us to join the party, Tsuna," Reborn muttered, arms folded. "It's probably chaos in there, but I'd like it no other way."

"Don't run your mouth so much, hey," Colonello hummed. "Lal and I will take the south end. You two should attack head-on from the north."

"I was thinking the same," Tsunayoshi said, his eyes locked on the base ahead, calculating the damage his friends had done thus far. He turned as Kusakabe ran over to them. "How are Hibari and Mukuro?"

"Mukuro is fine, Kyo-san fell unconscious again. Mukuro's taking care of him, though, and we suspect he'll pull through just fine. The only remaining issue is his amnesia."

"Thank goodness they're all right...," Tsunayoshi sighed. "Last report I got was from Yamamoto and Byakuran, who are doing well, and noted that the Varia are mostly reunited and fighting Daisy, as well as Bluebell, who apparently showed up when Takeshi and Byakuran did, back at the scene. I'm certain they'll make it just fine. There's one thing that's been bothering me, though... While Gokudera was attempting infiltration, he said a tunnel caved in below him. Reborn, would you mind coming to check that out with me?"

"As long as you don't start digging for fossils," the older male replied with a smirk.

"Geez, will you ever give me a rest? I wouldn't even do that!" Tsunayoshi sighed. "All right, Lal, Colonello. See you two!"

"See ya, hey!" Colonello shouted back as he and Lal ran off along the perimeter of the base.

Tsuna and Reborn made their way towards the caved in tunnel, the cloudy sky above starting to lighten with the rays of dawn. As Tsunayoshi leaned over and inspected the place curiously, his eyes narrowed. "You see anything, Reborn?" Reborn shook his head slowly.

"No, I don't."

Tsuna nodded, glancing around the area, before sighing. "Let's go, then. I guess I shouldn't have worried."

"Indeed."

Distracted as they were, neither of them noticed the bloody footprints that led away from the cave-in.

-End Chapter

*blows on steaming fingers* Hey everybody~ So I had a birthday and got a pair of zebra finches last week! *dances* XP

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