Wow, I didn't expect this many people to start following my story so quickly! For that, here's another chapter that is sure to please~

Sure, it's short, but I can promise that the next chapters will be longer. So be patient, okay?

Disclaimer: *points at other chapters in the story for disclaimers*

Chapter 10

Things got progressively worse after receiving the horrible news. Nanoha would simply not stop crying, and neither did Fate or Hayate. The Wolkenritter did everything they could to calm their Mistress and be strong for her, which was easier said than done. Chrono's anger exploded in a series of curses directed at Yuuno, the Polonez siblings, and everyone in between in the three tongues he knew, much to everyone's annoyance. Eventually, it got to the point where Amy had to get him out of the room after Vivio asked him what an 'et chuta' meant.

When Chrono did leave, he slammed his fist into the wall, causing the hall to shake with the force of it. Granted, he ended up doing more damage to himself than it, if his blood-stained knuckles were of any indication. But the Admiral didn't care. He could honestly care less about that at the moment. An injury was nothing compared to having lost one of your friends.

Footsteps sounded up the stairs, and it wasn't long before Amy came up. Her face was set into worry. "Chrono, are you alright?" she asked tentatively.

"Fine. Just dandy," he replied, his voice thick with sarcasm. "Trying to get over the fact that the ferret's actually dead, of course, but I'm alright all the same."

"Chrono-"

"I'm trying to figure out just what he did to get himself killed!" Chrono yelled angrily, startling Amy. He turned towards her with a gaze that could melt steel. "I tell him to take care of himself, and the next thing I know, he's dead! He couldn't stop being stubborn to the very end, huh? He had to go out there and get involved with those assassins, not telling us what was going on! And then...and then he just had to go and..."

Chrono didn't finish his sentence. He couldn't bring himself to. The realization that the archaeologist was dead hit him over the head like a hammer. His body shaking, he let the tears fall, letting out small, choking sobs as he mourned for his friend.

Amy crossed the hall and gently pulled her husband into her arms. After a few moments, he returned the embrace as he continued sobbing. Despite reminding herself to be strong for her distraught husband, Amy felt her eyes water as she recalled the times spent with the kindhearted librarian.

Yuuno-kun...why did you have to die now of all times?

"G-Goodbye, Yuuno-kun..."

A warm, soft sensation brushed against Yuuno's cheek, and he felt something wet splash onto his eyes. After this sentence, he heard a series of sobs coming from his right, and he swore he heard "You stupid ferret" somewhere in the background. The sobs began increasing in volume and anguish, and Yuuno forced himself to pry his eyes open to see what was going on.

What he saw almost made his heart stop.

Nanoha, Fate, Hayate, Vivio, and the rest of his friends were standing in front of him, dressed in black as though they were at a funeral. They all held tissues in their hands, wiping away the tears that fell from their eyes. Nanoha's sobbing was the most distinct to Yuuno, a sound of utter hopelessness and despair coupled with regret as she and Vivio leaned against Fate. The blond Enforcer stared at him through a wall of tears.

Yuuno drew in a breath to speak, but that was when a tall man stepped into the view. He wore a white shirt and black pants, and had a shock of light brown hair. When he spoke, his voice sounded eerily familiar to Yuuno.

"It's about time for us to send him off. Would the pallbearers please come forward?" he said.

Yuuno's eyes widened as it dawned on him why everyone was crying and dressed in mourner's clothes. As it turned out, they were at a funeral...his funeral.

The funeral director gently ushered the crying women away from the casket before Yuuno could call out to them. As soon as they left, Chrono, Zafira, Verossa, Vice and Erio appeared in front of them. All of them looked utterly drained, but Chrono in particular struck Yuuno hard. He had never seen the Admiral look so remorseful.

The Admiral reached out with his left hand and patted Yuuno's chest, which was currently covered with the decorative blanket that the Scrya tribe used for burials. A few tears splashed unto the blanket as Chrono looked at him.

"Rest in peace, ferret boy," he muttered, and let go. Wiping at his face, he nodded to the men beside him, who started to walk to the other side of the casket.

"No! Stop!" Yunno cried out. "All of you, listen to me! I'm not dead! Seriously, I'm not!"

Unfortunately, they didn't hear him at all. It was as if he didn't even exist. He started to move, but he found that his body was practically bound down to the casket. His breath hitched when he saw that he was bound in a series of thick green chains from head to toe. These chains looked just about the same as when he'd cast that Arrester Chain spell on Atenza-

And suddenly, the funeral director was in front of him. It occurred to him why the man's voice was so familiar. The person who was directing his funeral was Atenza. The same face, the same hair, the same smug smirk on his face...it was uncanny.

"I-I'm sorry," Yuuno whispered hoarsely.

The smile dropped from Atenza's face, and as the lid to the casket shut closed, he heard the man's reply, which were three words backed with vengeance.

"You will be."

The chains, seeming to glow in the dark, flashed a bright green as they started to tighten, and Yuuno struggled for air as he tried to break free. His mind began racing on possible ways he could break out, how he could call for help, how he could call for his friends...

The world went green as the spell was complete. There was an ear splitting explosion, and then everything went black.

The large van that pulled up in front of Mariel and Jasper was blacker than the clouds that hung in the sky. A crash of thunder sounded in the air, as though commemorating this moment. Neither assassin, though, felt very happy at the moment. In Jasper's arms was the reason they had lost a trusted colleague. The unconscious Yuuno Scrya hung limp in the man's arms, breathing slightly letting them that he was alive. Of course, they both wished that he was dead after all that he'd done to them, but they weren't about to go against their boss.

The doors opened, and a figure stepped out of the passenger seats. It was obvious that it was a girl, and she was dressed in a velvet trench coat, black jeans and boots. Despite it being almost midnight, she was wearing sunglasses, and a purple and pink sun hat. Bouncy red curls surrounded her face, and her cherry red lips were pulled into a thin line as she surveyed the man in front of her.

"So, this is the Yuuno Scrya I've heard so much about?" she asked. Her tongue slid across her lips briefly as they pulled into a teasing smile. "For someone you claimed to be dangerous, he sure is a cutie."

"Beatrice, he killed my brother," Mariel snapped.

"Oh, right," Beatrice replied. "Must've slipped my mind. But admit it; Atenza told me you had something going for him."

"The key word being 'had'. Once he killed my brother, that's where he crossed the line. I won't stop until I see him dead," Mariel growled with feeling. Her eyes began glowing yellow as she drew in her mana, images starting to come to mind. She was going to kill him. With the Kaiser as her witness, she was going to kill him.

A shimmer of yellow descended on the archaeologist as Mariel's spell started to take effect. A few seconds later, Yuuno's eyes snapped open with a start, and then he started to scream in utter agony, a sound that made Beatrice step back. Yuuno jerked out of Jasper's arms, hitting the ground as the spell sent excruciating pain through his body. The pain continued for a long time until Beatrice yelled, "Mariel. Enough."

"It's not enough. It's never going to be enough," Mariel growled, the spell reaching its peak. The aura darkened over Yuuno, pulling another agonizing scream from his throat. "You don't even have the decency to apologize! Die, you son of a-"

"I said ENOUGH!" In a blur of purple and black, Beatrice struck Mariel in the face with all the force of a moving train. The assassin cried out in pain, grasping her injured cheek as she crumpled to her feet. The aura around Yuuno disappeared, and he stopped screaming. He lay there on the ground, panting heavily as he tried to recover.

Beatrice glared hard at Mariel. "Have you lost your mind? When I say for you to stop, I mean it," she growled angrily. "I don't care about your precious brother or any of your personal agendas. You are under my orders, and I am you boss. You won't be doing anything to Yuuno while he's under our care. That goes for you as well, Jasper," she added, glaring at the hitman. "If I catch either of you harrassing him, you will regret it. Is that understood?"

Mariel glared at Yuuno for a moment before returning her gaze to the floor. "Yes, ma'am."

Beatrice clasped her hands together. "Well, I am happy to say that we've got everything set for the attack on the Takamachi residence," she said. "I just happened to give them the news that Mr. Cutie Pie here is no longer among the living."

Jasper's eyes widened. "What? Why would you do that?!"

"Because the target involved is currently at an emotional crisis, as she's found out from her 'best friend' that she's our next target. I just decided to add the right ingredients to make things really sizzle over there," Beatrice replied. "I think the next installment in our suspense drama is going to keep them on their toes, don't you think?"

Jasper groaned. "Boss, stop acting like everything's a television show," he groaned. "But you know you can't keep this up forever. They might choose to retaliate and come after us."

"Or they'll be too wallowed up in grief to notice us coming," Beatrice suggested. She shrugged her shoulders. "Either turnout ought to be fun."

"Well, while he's still awake," Mariel growled, tearing her eyes away from Yuuno, "I do believe that you have something to discuss with him. It's the only reason he's still alive and not dropped off in a ditch somewhere."

"Okay, okay," Beatrice muttered, waving her hand indifferently. "Honestly, I don't get why you assassins are so impatient." She walked over to the bound Yuuno, and knelt before him. "Hellooooo, cutie pie!"

Yuuno was slightly disturbed by how she was addressing him. "Y-You had something...to discuss with me?" he asked.

Beatrice's lips curled into a smug smile. "Oh, I think that you're going to enjoy what I have to offer you, Mr. Scrya~" she purred. "Of course, I have to bring you with me so that you can get the full details of what I'm offering you."

"...Not until you give me the gist of what's going on," Yuuno said. "I'm not getting in that car or going anywhere with you if you don't."

"Geez, and people wonder why I'm a shut-in," Beatrice muttered. "Oh, well. Yuuno Scrya, we need your expertise in one of your very best areas; and that is research."

"What kind of research?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just hack into the files of the TSAB's computer and steal top information about their plans," Beatrice replied. "Shouldn't be too hard."

"Are you crazy?! There's no way I'm doing that," Yuuno yelled.

"And why not?"

"Because that's treason, and that would make me a ringleader in this plot of yours to take over the TSAB!" Yuuno said. "I absolutely refuse to do that!"

"I figured you might do such a thing. I also figured that it might be handy of me to bring something that would easily persuade you." Beatrice pulled out a silver gun, and pointed it at the archaeologist's head. The smirk was gone from her face. "Compared to what Mariel did to you earlier, this is going to be quite painless."

Yuuno looked at the barrel that was inches away from his forehead, and he swallowed. He didn't want to betray his friends, but he really didn't want to end up dead. And this would have to be right after Chrono told him to stay out of trouble...

"Alright. Alright, I'll do it. Just don't do anything horrible to my friends," he said.

Beatrice smirked slightly as she removed the gun from his head. "Unfortunately, that's still on our list, ferret. But do what your supposed to do without any slipups, and I might make some arrangements," she replied. She turned towards the men in the van. "Alright, pick him up and take him out of here."

The two heavily armed guards marched over to Yuuno, their heavy boots sloshing mud in his face. They roughly hauled him up by his arms, almost pulling them off with the force. Beatrice smirked as he coughed out the mud that had found its way into his mouth.

"Come along, lady and gentlemen," she said, turning back to the van. "We've got a lot to do, and little time to do it."

Of course, I can't have Yuuno killed off. He's going to be featured in the last few chapters of this story, as well as the (semi-planned) sequel that I've planned, "Trust No One". I can't guarantee a release date, because I have a bad habit of not following up on those. So, just know that it'll be a while after this story is done.

Am I planning on making a series out of this? Not sure. But I think the ending will leave room for a sequel potential.

I've planned up to Chapter 14, so this will keep going, hopefully with longer chapters. I hope you enjoyed!

~God Bless, iheartgod175