This chapter is going to be short. Very short. We'll take a little break from Yuuno and Joseph in this one; as our dear ferret boy's been kidnapped and stranded in the middle of nowhere, it's going to be interesting to find out how Nanoha and the others are going to take it.

Disclaimer: Haha. No.

Chapter 8: The Discovery

(The next day...)

Chrono wasn't a man of many emotions. This had naturally come about from his training as an Enforcer and then later as an Admiral; no matter what the situation, he made sure that he was calm, in control and didn't explode.

However, every now and again, there were exceptions to that rule-especially when his mother was involved.

When he saw the outfit that she had bought for the opera they were going to see that weekend, he couldn't keep calm, remain in control, and not explode.

"M-Mom, this is insane!" He stared at his clothes in utter shock. "There is no way I'm wearing this to the opera!"

His mother's face was plastered with a smile. "Oh, I'm sure you will, with the right motive. Do I need to get Yuuno to post that picture on Facebook like he was planning to?"

Chrono swore he felt the room temperature drop a few degrees. "...Fine, I'll wear it."

A choking sound came from the other side of the room, and it wasn't hard to find out who it was.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!" Hayate Yagami couldn't hold in her laughter much longer and was currently struggling to keep herself from falling to the floor. Behind her, Arf was snickering.

Ignoring them, the thoroughly flustered Admiral took the moment to look down at the costume he was wearing. It was...extravagant, to say the least. It was a deep red, decorated with gold and poofy frills. Apparently, he was supposed to represent one of the characters in the opera; some ambassador or emissary or something. When he had tried the ridiculous thing on, he found that the pants were so tight that he could barely walk, and that he could barely breathe in that outfit either. If he had to go to the opera house dressed like this, he would never make it before he would pass out.

However, he'd be willing to put up with the stupid costume as long as nobody took any pictures, Yuuno in particular. Chrono hadn't realized just how mischievous the librarian was...which came back to haunt him after a very embarrassing picture of him emerged on Facebook after the New Years' party. Yuuno had claimed that he was just posting pictures of the events, but Chrono knew it was payback for the "ferret cage" joke he'd played during the Christmas party a few years back.

That little ferret was going to get his someday...

The moment was interrupted when Fate came back in from answering a phone call. Chrono didn't even know that she had left the room, but he could immediately tell from the steely look on her face that it was serious.

"Everything okay?" he asked, while looking for something to pull the dreaded thing off.

"No, it's not okay. I just got a call from one of the officers at Cranagan," she said. "The Polonez siblings have struck again."

"Oh great..." Chrono really didn't feel like dealing with those assassins again. "Care to explain what's happened?"

"Well, there's been another dead body found outside the hospital. It was very professional; barely any blood came from his body," she explained. "That person also had his car stolen. Teana's also interviewed the owner of a dealership who says that they paid for one of his full size vans in cash. We tracked the van's last known location to Yuuno's apartment complex. We got there to see if Yuuno knew anything...and he was gone," she said.

All heads snapped towards Fate in an instant. The laughter was quickly gone from Lindy's and Hayate's faces, Arf looked worried and Chrono was concerned.

"This...this is a joke, isn't it?" Hayate said shakily.

"I'm afraid not. Someone broke into his house, because the door was wide open, and there had been signs of a struggle. I don't think Yuuno would've gone without a fight," she said. "There had been another car there that belonged to Joseph Today, who's supposed to be at the art show at Hotel Augusta soon. We haven't found any traces of him either."

"Are you seriously saying that both of them were kidnapped?" Arf asked.

"That's what I think. I found a wallet belonging to Joseph that was buried in the cake we had yesterday. They didn't take anything else with them," Fate replied.

"...You know what? It's about time we closed this case," he said. He turned to his mother. "I'm sorry, Mom. But we'll have to put the opera outing on hold until we put these crooks behind bars."

"No need to apologize," she said. "You do have a job to do, Chrono. Also...you don't have to wear the outfit."

Chrono sighed. At least one good thing had come out of this. "I'll make note of that. Anyway, we need to send out a Missing Persons alert immediately. Fate, I'm going to have you contact every Enforcer in the area and have them search for Yuuno, as well as those siblings," he said.

"I should also got to talk to Nanoha and tell her what's going on," Hayate said.

"Yes," Fate said, and rushed out of the room, Arf following her. Hayate barely caught the door before it slammed shut. Lindy noted Chrono's tense expression, and looked at him questioningly.

"Chrono? Are you alright?" she asked.

"I should've never left him alone..." Chrono's right hand was balled tightly into a fist. "What did that little ferret do now to get himself kidnapped?"

"I'm not sure, but if I were you, I would do everything in my power to make sure that he comes home safely," she said. "He is one of your friends as well. Plus...you need to keep Nanoha from going out there and personally confronting those two. I think we know what'll happen if she does."

"Yeah.. I don't think we need her flat out killing anybody...yet, anyway. That's up to the judge to decide when we finally arrest them."

"Well, we'd better get going," Lindy said. "The sooner we get done with this case, the better."

"Give me a minute, okay? I need to get out of this outfit before I suffocate," Chrono said.

As his mother left the room, Chrono let out a hearty sigh. It had been little over a week since Yuuno had been shot, and the next thing he knew, the Librarian had been kidnapped. There was no doubt in Chrono's mind that Yuuno had been taken because of what he knew.

You probably knew a little too much about those plans, ferret boy...

Teana stared at her computer screen, completely startled by what she was reading. When she had pulled up the list of contacts on Yuuno's computer, she had found two emails from the late Mrs. Froy: one asking Yuuno for help, and another listed 'Secret Plans'. When she had clicked on the email, it opened up to a document that included pictures of an opera house, a playbill, and a layout for one of the theaters.

"What could this possibly mean?" she muttered as she scrolled down, her eyes barely flickering over the pages she passed. She got down to the last page...and thought that her heart would stop.

In her shock, she barely heard the sound of the door opening and heels clacking on the floor. A hand rested on her shoulder, and she jumped.

"O-Oh! Sorry to frighten you, Teana," Fate said.

"Oh, Fate-san!" Teana laughed nervously. "Sorry. I was just in the middle of reading..."

Fate's smile disappeared as her eyes wandered over the pictures up on Tea's screen. Her skin paled and her eyes widened in horror.

"By the Kaiser..." she gasped.

The target on screen was none other than Nanoha Takamachi.

"Mama, when will Fate-mama be home?" Vivio asked.

"She should be home soon, Vivio," Nanoha replied. "She's still working on the case of those assassins...I hope she's not working overtime..."

It was just then that the communication window chimed. Vivio jumped off the couch to answer it, and saw the rather anxious face of her godmother.

"Vivio! Is Nanoha there? I need to talk with her right now!"

Vivio noted how concerned her godmother looked, and asked, "What's going on, Fate-mama?"

"I'm curious as well, Fate-chan," Nanoha said, wiping her hands on her apron. She'd been in the middle of making dinner. "You look awful..."

"Nanoha, I need you and Vivio to pack your things, and get out of the house. I'll meet up with you two eve-"

"F-Fate-chan, slow down!" Nanoha said. "What do you mean, we have to leave?"

"Nanoha, I just found out who the Polonez siblings are after," she said.

"Well, who is it?" Nanoha was starting to feel just as anxious as Fate was. She could tell that the blonde Enforcer was hesitating, as though what she had to say would shatter her.

What Fate said next, however, nearly did.

"It's you."

Nanoha barely had anytime to process this before the doorbell rang. Seeing as her mother was in a shocked state, Vivio ran over to the door and answered it. Standing there at the door was her aunt Hayate, still dressed in uniform and looking like the wind had torn up parts of her hair.

"Hi, Auntie Hayate!" Vivio chirped.

"Hi, Vivio," Hayate replied, smiling back. "Is Nanoha-mama home?"

"Yup, although she's in the the middle of a phone call with Fate-mama." Vivio's face fell as she turned to look at Nanoha, who was deep in conversation with Fate. "Fate-mama says that we have to pack up and leave soon."

Hayate was confused. "Why?"

"She said something about Nanoha-mama being 'targeted'," Vivio responded. Before Hayate could respond, shouting started coming from the other side of the room.

"But, that's crazy, Fate-chan! Why they kidnap Yuuno-kun?! He doesn't have anything to give them!" Nanoha shouted. "And on top of that, why are they targeting me?!"

Hayate stiffened, and turned towards the holoscreen. "What do you mean, Nanoha-chan's being targeted?"

Both women jumped, startled by the brunette's presence. "Oh, Hayate-chan...we didn't hear you come in," Nanoha stated nervously, trying to regain her composure.

"I can tell." Hayate made her way over to the holoscreen, her face set into a hardened expression. "Fate-chan, I hope you have an explanation for this."

Fate started talking.

In the main entrance of the office, a darkly clad figure watched the scene unfold on the holoscreen in front of her. Her eyes were hidden by a thick pair of shades that covered her eyes. The smile on her face, however, was a clear sign that she was enjoying this far too much.

"Well, this certainly is an interesting development. I can't wait to see what happens next."

With that, she turned away and walked off without another word.

I know what you're thinking: the target was already revealed to be Chrono. But could there be another target as well? Or...is the cast being set up? You decide!

It looks like Yuuno and Joe are going to have a tough case on their hands. With only a few days until the assassins' intended destination, it's a race against the clock to save their friends before it's too late. Also, you'll learn who this other mystery person is in due time...

Read and review please!

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