Here's another chapter for your liking. I've planned this up to chapter 12, so it'll keep going for now.

Disclaimer: If I owned Nanoha, I'm sure this would be a spin-off series.

Chapter 11: Rescue Mission

It would be seven forty in the morning when Chrono came downstairs from the guest room, having decided since seven that there was no way he could sleep. As he walked downstairs, he smelled the delicious breakfast Hayate was making. He quietly peeked into the kitchen to see said Lieutenant over the stove, an army of plates on the countertop topped with omelets that looked like they weighed half a pound.

Even though he hadn't eaten anything since last night, he couldn't bring himself to eat. He had been thinking of Yuuno all night after he'd gotten the news, and the last thing he'd told the archaeologist before he left the hospital. Chrono wondered if he should have had Nanoha or Vita stay with Yuuno that day, just to make sure the archaeologist didn't go off on his own agenda.

It had been a few hours since quiet came over the Takamachi-Harlaown household. Most of the occupants of the house were asleep on the couch or in the spare rooms, save for himself and Hayate, who were early birds and used to staying up until five in the morning to work. After the chaotic night he'd just had, Chrono was starting to hate being the "early bird" of his family. His mother and sister needed at least three cups of sugar laden coffee to get going in the morning.

"Is anybody else up, Chrono-kun?" Hayate asked, having noticed him sitting on the couch.

"No, not that I know off. Nanoha and Fate won't be up for a while, and neither will Amy. They were up for most of the night talking about Yuuno," he said. "I tried to get some sleep around three, but..."

"You ended up waking up anyway," Hayate said. "I know the feeling. It comes with being the early bird."

"I'm really starting to hate that expression," Chrono muttered as Hayate put his food out on the table. The omelet that sat in front of him had pretty much everything in it, and beside him was a stack of pancakes. He looked up at Hayate, an eyebrow raised. "Are you trying to fatten me up?"

Hayate chuckled. "Amy did say you need to eat a full breakfast in the morning. I'm sure you'd be much happier with this instead of eating a pack of instant oatmeal."

Chrono smiled slightly. "Thanks, Hayate. To be honest, I am hungry," he said, picking up his fork and digging in.

"I just hope everyone else is just as hungry as you are," she replied. "Later, we'll have to find something to do about planning the funeral and all-"

"Wait just a minute." Chrono's eyes narrowed as he came to a realization. "Something's not quite right here. Beatrice told us that Yuuno's dead and all, right? Did she mention just where he was found? Or if there was a body at all?"

Hayate stiffened, her eyes wide as she saw what Chrono was saying. "You're right...you're absolutely right! She didn't mention any of those things when she called! Which means-"

"That's right," Chrono interrupted. "Yuuno's not dead. It takes more than bullets to kill that ferret."

Hayate smirked at that, but only for a moment. "So, what do you propose we do now? We've already sent out a national manhunt for the Polonez siblings as well as their sharpshooter."

"We're going to do what we should have done a week ago: find Yuuno and bring him back as soon as possible, before things get out of hand and these people have a chance to make their next move. I'm tired of leaving things up to chance. Plus," Chrono answered, "I'm going to beat the crap out of him when I see him again."

Hayate laughed. "You and Yuuno are always trying to beat each other up," she replied.

"It's not like I do it for no reason," Chrono replied. "The little ferret's always getting into something."

Just then, the communication window next to the door chimed. Hayate ran over to answer it, and pulled it up. It was Teana, and she looked as though she'd literally stayed up all night working. The gaze from her tired eyes though meant that she was serious.

"Hayate-san, is Fate-san there?" she asked urgently.

"At the moment, she's sleeping," Chrono answered, coming behind Hayate. "But I'll tell her that you've called."

"This isn't something that can wait, Admiral. We've located the van that the Polonez siblings paid for. It's heading straight for our main base of operations."

That got Chrono's attention. He and Hayate exchanged small glances at each other before looking back at Teana. "Where are they now?"

"They're halfway down the highway. We've dispatched several cars to take care of the matter, and the other Enforcers are looking for Fate's guidance at the moment on what to do next. Since I'm her Aide..."

"I'll wake her up and tell her immediately. But until she gets there, I'll need you to go in her place and intercept that van. The sooner we capture them, the better chance we have of finding out what happened to Yuuno," Chrono replied.

Teana saluted. "Yes, sir!" she replied, and signed off.

Chrono reached over the couch and threw on his suit jacket. While he was in the midst of fastening the buttons, he turned to Hayate. "Come on. We don't have much time."

Nodding, Hayate rushed up the stairs of Nanoha's house, her boots clacking against the wooden stairs. Chrono sighed as he went for the other spare bedrooms. He was relieved that they were getting somewhere, but he was also just as concerned. If they were going to do what he thought they were, then they really didn't have much time to mobilize and attack.

Carefully, he walked into the bedroom where Amy and Arf were sleeping, the former buried in the pillow, and the latter sleeping in the chair. He ruffled his wife's hair, an action that almost always got her up and going.

Sure enough, a moan came from the pillow and a hand reached to lazily slap his away. "Mm...wha..."

"Hey. Sorry to wake you up so early, but there's been a new development in the case," he said.

"What kind of development?" she asked, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

Chrono sighed heartily. "Basically, Beatrice was lying to us about Yuuno being dead. She never even told us where she found a body or anything. That means he's still out there and he needs our help."

Amy perked up at this. "Oh, thank the Kaiser. Nanoha will be happy to hear that news."

"Hayate's telling her right now. I told Teana to intercept the Polonez siblings before they could get to HQ. That's where they're headed when she called me," Chrono replied.

Amy shot up like a rocket, the action shoving her husband off the bed. "Then what are we waiting for? You need to get out there and help, Chrono! We don't know what those criminals are going to do if they get to HQ!"

"You do have a point, Amy. But before I go..." He looked down at where her feet were placed. "Could you get off of me?"

Amy looked down and chuckled nervously. "Sorry...must've gotten a little excited," she replied.

"I can tell," Chrono deadpanned. Just then, he heard footsteps coming in his direction, and the doors opened to reveal an out of breath Nanoha, dressed in her Barrier Jacket and Raising Heart in Exelion Mode. The fire in her eyes could have melted steel.

"Chrono-kun, Teana just contacted Fate to tell her that they've caught up with the car, but now there's an all out battle erupting between the parties," she replied. "She also said that Yuuno is indeed in that car, and that they're not giving him up without a fight."

This time, Chrono jumped up off the floor. "We need to leave. Now," he said. He turned to Amy and Arf. "You two stay back here and keep an eye on things while we're gone. I have a feeling you'll need to."

Arf groaned. "Man, I miss being in the action..."

Meanwhile on the highway...

"Get out of our way!" Beatrice yelled. "Subzero Shocker!"

Teana watched the blue wave of energy fly out of the shorter woman's hands and head for the other Enforcer on her left side. She screamed a warning, but by the time he saw it, the wave was upon him. He screamed in agony as he was electrocuted by the absolute-zero cold air. The force of the blast sent him flying backwards and crashing into another car.

"Ever heard the phrase 'shockingly cold', buster?" the woman sneered.

"Whoever you are, identify yourself. If you surrender peacefully, your sentence will be greatly reduced. However, should you decline, I will have no choice but to use force to take you down," Teana stated clearly, Cross Mirage in Dagger Mode.

Beatrice scoffed. "Your Bureau talks about peaceful solutions, yet you're so quick to use force at every turn. No wonder we need to get rid of you," she replied. "Now, be a good girl, and do as you're told. Get out of my way."

"So, your answer is clear then," Teana said simply. "Cross Mirage."

"Crossfire Shoot," the Device replied, and an array of orange bullets sprang up around Teana before flying for their intended target. Beatrice smirked as she leapt into the air, but the bullets merely gave chase. Waving her hand, she flung another wave of ice that destroyed the bullets, covering the highway in smoke.

Beatrice landed on top of the car with a slam. "As much as I'd love to play with a sharpshooter, sweetie, I've got a job to do. If you're not going to move, I'll have no choice but to run you and your handsome friends over," she replied. "And trust me, I'm content with that thought."

Teana was losing patience. "Just let go of Head Librarian Scrya, Beatrice, and like I said, we'll let you have a shorter sen-"

"Sorry, kiddo, but we can't do that."

Beatrice's eyes widened as she saw Jasper walk out of the car. He looked like he'd just woken up, and the side of his face was red from having slept against the seat of the car for too long. The eyes that were currently glaring at Teana showed that he wasn't that tired.

"What are you doing, Jasper?" Beatrice growled. "I told you to stay in the car."

"Look, I'm tired, and I want to get this job over and done with so I can get some sleep," the hitman growled. "But you're arguing too loud and I can't sleep."

"Identify yourself," one of the Enforcers barked, their Device at the ready.

"The name's Jasper. Jasper Impala. And that's the last name you're ever gonna hear in your life," he snapped. With superhuman reflexes, he whipped out his gun and aimed at several Enforcers.

Gunshots rang out as Teana fired another Crossfire Shoot, this one aimed at Jasper. The hitman dove out of the way, and started shooting at the Enforcers surrounding the car. Most of them put up shields to deflect the bullets, but others didn't do it in time. Two of the Enforcers cried out in pain as the bullets connected with their stomachs, sending them down.

"No!" Teana cried, but was stopped when Jasper pulled a fast one on her. The bullet barely missed hitting her in the head by inches, and she heard a clang as the bullet met the door of her car. She turned and glared at the hitman, who was currently blowing smoke from the barrel of his gun.

"Now, I don't like to shoot ladies at all, especially if she's a real beauty like the one in front of me. But I swear, if you don't get the out of the way, I'll gun her down. Period." Jasper's eyes narrowed as he glared at the rest of the Enforcers. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we have a job to do."

Teana was about to fire off another barrage of bullets before looking up to see a storm of pink ones surge towards them. She smirked as she realized just who that could be.

"Actually," she replied, "you've got bigger problems than us to worry about."

Beatrice's eyes widened with dawning comprehension and she slammed her foot on top of the roof. "Pedro, start the van!" she yelled to the driver. Jasper, meanwhile, attempted to run back into the car.

Her warning came to late. The Axel Shooter crashed down unto their van, homing in to pound the two in all directions. Beatrice and Jasper screamed as they were hit, the bullets exploding into a medium-sized cloud of pink smoke. The van took only five hits before a smoking hole appeared in the roof, and Beatrice was thrown to the ground.

Teana sighed with relief as Nanoha Takamachi, Fate Testarossa-Harlaown and Chrono Harlaown arrived on the scene, Devices at the ready. They all looked ready to beat the living tar out of Beatrice and Jasper.

Beatrice's eyes widened in shock as she saw them, and Jasper resembled a ghost what with how pale he was. The other Enforcers, including Teana, wisely stepped back as Nanoha stepped forward. Her light blue eyes had gone almost Chrono's shade as she glared at the woman in front of her.

"Give Yuuno-kun back to me. Now."

Yuuno was still breathing heavily after the rude awakening he'd just received. He'd fallen asleep on the way into Cranagan when he'd heard arguing outside. He thought that it was just Beatrice yelling at Pedro again, or at some hapless driver, so he went back to sleep.

Reality brutally interrupted his sleep when a pink bullet crashed through the roof and almost hit him head on.

As Yuuno tried to slow his hammering heart, he noticed that Jasper had also left the car. Pedro was currently slumped over the steering wheel, having been knocked out by the Axel Shooter. The only other person in the car was Mariel, but he hadn't heard a word out of her for the duration of the ride. When he looked over the seat, he heard the soft sound of snoring, confirming that she was indeed asleep. He couldnt't help but wonder how in the world she managed to sleep through that.

But that was the least of his worries. With her asleep, and Beatrice and Jasper occupied, he could use this opportunity to escape.

He was about to crawl out when he heard a growl from the other side of the van. He pressed his ear against the side of the van to hear what was going on.

"Give Yuuno-kun back to me. Now."

Yuuno's heart soared. Nanoha was alive, and not only that, but she had tracked them down before Yuuno was supposed to head to the TSAB to hack into their files. As he leaned in closer, he could make out Fate's and Chrono's voice as well, and both of them sounded very angry. He swore that he'd heard Fate actually give the woman a death threat if she didn't comply with their orders, and Chrono was trying to restrain her.

I never thought that would happen. Things back home must have been worse than I thought.

But Yuuno didn't like the idea of sitting back and waiting to be rescued. If he waited too long, Beatrice might suddenly change her mind and have either Jasper or Mariel kill him before Nanoha or the others had a chance to free him. He had to save himself, or die trying.

Calling up the mana necessary for the teleport spell, a green Mid-Childan circle sprang up underneath him, sweat forming on his forehead as he encountered the number of wards that covered the truck. Unlike the first time when he and Joseph had escaped, where he'd been able to just dismember them, these wards were too complex for him to simply take apart. He let out a breath of exertion as he disengaged the spell. There was no way he could just teleport out of here.

I'll have to ram the door open and jump out. But I can't do that without waking up Mariel. And if Jasper and Beatrice see me, I'm a dead man. Or as Chrono would put it, a dead ferret.

The next thing Yuuno knew, an explosion rocked the van, sending him flying to the other side of the vehicle and waking up Mariel and Pedro. The driver looked around for a few confused seconds before outright screaming in terror. An array of yellow bullets streaked through with purple lightning crashed through the windshield, three of them slamming into the back of the van. Yuuno screamed as he ducked to avoid the attacks.

Mariel looked around wildly, and her gaze finally settled on Fate, who was currently walking towards them with an array of yellow projectiles surrounding her. Her eyes widened as she screamed, "Pedro, drive! NOW!"

Pedro needed no second bidding. Quickly starting up the engine, he gunned it, and swerved out of the way as Fate launched the Photon Lancer. Screeching tires filled Yuuno's ears, and shouts could be heard from outside the van. Pedro slammed into the guardrail, an action that threw Yuuno up into the ceiling. Just as quickly, Pedro spun the wheel and lurched towards a squad of Enforcers that were sitting in the middle of the road. Majority of them took evasive action as the van plowed through their blockade.

The action tore off the front of the car and shattered the remains of the windshield, sending glass flying everywhere. The car rocked and swayed as it careened into place and Pedro abruptly turned off on the right exit that led to the Bureau's main base of operations.

"Pedro, whatever you do, don't stop driving!" Mariel shrieked. "One way or another, we will get those plans!"

Yuuno looked over to see something metal glinting in the sunlight coming from the window. Upon closer inspection, he saw that it was a small knife. Swallowing, he slid over to the other side, secured the knife and started working with it to cut the ropes that bound his hands together. More than a few times, he stabbed himself with it, but he worked through the pain to saw off the ropes. A few injuries to the hand mattered little to him at the moment.

Mariel's ears perked up at the sound of cutting. She turned around to see Yuuno wriggling around, the ropes on his hands starting to give way as he cut them. She mentally cursed Atenza for leaving that knife back there. Drawing in her mana, she quickly went to work to casting her spell.

"Stay where you are, Yuuno," she growled with authority as he finally cut himself loose.

The yellow shimmer of Mariel's spell came upon Yuuno in an instant, and with it the unbearable pain. He screamed in utter pain, clutching his head with his hands and crumbling into a shivering heap. Mariel laughed as she watched the librarian writhe in pain in front of her.

"Unless you want to die at my hands, Yuuno, you'd better stay and do what we tell you to. You've had your way long enough. Now, it's my turn."

Yuuno raised his head up shakily, and in that flicker of a moment, Mariel saw angry determination in his eyes. With a series of groans, he pulled himself up to face her, using the back of the seat to get up.

"What-"

"As if...I have to...listen...to what...you have...to say!" he shot back. Before she could react, he reached out and shoved her backwards, sending her into the front seat. The color left her eyes as she slammed into the dashboard, and this action distracted Pedro, who missed the turn that he was supposed to take and was heading for a unfinished bridge.

Yuuno collapsed against the seat, the effects of the spell wearing off slowly. He hoped that Mariel was knocked out long enough for him to make his escape. And by the looks of things, he needed to act now, or else he wouldn't make it out of this alive.

"Time to jump ship," Yuuno remarked, and started to fool with the locks on the back of the van. Pedro turned to face the front, and screamed like a girl as he saw where they were heading.

With a mighty tug, and a small war cry, Yuuno finally yanked off the last lock, and rammed into the doors with his body. The doors immediately gave way, and he crashed onto the road face first, flipping over and over like a rag doll. Horns blared as cars swerved to avoid running him over. Yuuno eventually collided with the guard rail, his head snapping upwards with the impact. His glasses flew off his head, and cracked against the road.

Yuuno fought to stay awake. Every part of his body hurt from the collision with the guard rail, the road and Mariel's torture spell. He tasted iron against his mouth, and he saw his right arm bent at an unnatural angle. He didn't need to be Shamal to know that it was broken. A crash sounded off in the distance, followed by a horrific explosion, but it was mostly numbed out as the librarian was rapidly losing consciousness.

All of a sudden, a roar of air exploded into his ears, and then heavy boots hit the ground in front of him. Yuuno could barely look up as it hurt him immensely, but one look at the Device the person was holding told him who it was.

"Yuuno!" Chrono's voice was filled with worry as he rushed over to the archaeologist's side. "What did you do now, ferret boy?!"

Yuuno chuckled slightly, which quickly turned into a choking noise as blood rushed up his throat. A small puddle of it formed on the ground as he coughed it out. Chrono grimaced as he viewed Yuuno's injuries.

"Nanoha!" he yelled, turning to face the sky. "I've found him! He's right here by I-98!"

"Chrono...thank the Kaiser you're alive," Yuuno said hoarsely. He could barely see the Admiral because of how groggy his vision was, but at least he could still talk. "F-For a moment, I thought that you and Nanoha had been killed already..."

"What are you talking about?!" Chrono replied. His narrowed eyes widened as he finally connected the dots. "Wait...you mean to tell me that..."

"Y-Yeah...you were...going to be assassinated, Chrono. I was going to tell you...but, I was blackmailed, and kidnapped afterwards," Yuuno explained. "It...it was part of a conspiracy to destroy the Bureau from the inside out...and I got involved in it."

"That still doesn't explain why you didn't call Fate when these murders started happening, Yuuno!" Chrono yelled, his anger getting the best of him. "If you had told us, the Polonez siblings would be locked up, and the conspiracy would have been shut down! If you had told us, you wouldn't be in this situation right now! You wouldn't be-" Chrono stopped when he realized that the librarian hadn't bothered to get a word in edgewise. "..Yuuno. Yuuno, answer me."

Yuuno's eyes were shut tight, and his mouth was slightly open, blood leaking down the side of his face. He was so pale that he could have resembled a ghost, and he was barely breathing.

Before Chrono could do anything, Nanoha landed next to him. Her Barrier Jacket was riddled with grey marks and holes, signs of the battle they'd just had with Beatrice. Her light blue eyes were filled with horror and worry as she gazed upon her childhood friend.

"Y-YUUNO-KUN!" she cried out, picking up the archaeologist. Panic arose in her heart as she realized that the man wasn't breathing. "Chrono-kun! Y-You've got to do something! Otherwise, Yuuno will-"

"I know! I'm calling for help right now!" Chrono fumbled with his communicator as he dialed the emergency number. "Medical Ward, I need a bus here, stat! Three people are currently injured..."

As the smell of smoke permeated the air and a crowd of worried people started to surround the scene, Nanoha clung onto Yuuno as though he would turn into dust if she let go. First he'd been shot, then he'd been kidnapped and now...this. It was all too much for her to bear.

Yuuno-kun, we just got you back. Don't die on me now of all times! she cried in her head, tears leaking from her eyes.

Chrono turned to Nanoha after he finished up his call to the medics. He grimaced as he watched Nanoha cry over the archaeologist. It got even worse when he felt tears burn his eyes as the anger and worry from last night came back in an instant.

"You stupid ferret," he growled, resisting the urge to punch the guard rail beside him. "Why did you chose now of all times to leave us?"

Fate dragged the handcuffed Beatrice and Jasper over to one of the many police cars that were sitting on the road. Every part of her ached and she felt the numbness from Beatrice's Subzero Shocker climb all over her body. The battle they'd had wasn't an easy one as Jasper was intent on gunning down the Enforcers, and Beatrice was using her swift, graceful attacks to freeze them into place. With this combination, it had been rather tricky for her, Nanoha, Chrono and Teana to handle.

And it wasn't just because of her opponent's skills, either. They were fighting on a public highway, meaning innocent lives were constant danger. They had to be rather conservative about their powers so as to not blow up the highway and anyone with it.

Beatrice and Jasper, however, had no regard for this. In fact, when a couple of cars were still idling by one the road, Beatrice had shot out a rather ugly spell that called down ice spears that crashed into the roofs of several, causing a series of ugly accidents that stretched for miles.

That was the straw that broke the camel's back for Nanoha, who was already stressed due to the whole situation with Yuuno. The two assassins had no chance of victory as the White Devil proved just why she'd earned her nickname, firing off a powerful Exelion Buster at near point-blank range. The resulting damage carved a trench through the road that stretched for miles, and also made short work of a few police cruisers that were in the way. When Fate made to check on them, they were lying in a crater, heavily injured but still alive. At that point, Beatrice surrendered, leading to their current situation.

Neither Chrono nor Nanoha were there at the moment, as they had given chase after Yuuno not long after Nanoha defeated Beatrice and Jasper. That left Fate and Teana to send the assassins to prison and call in buses for the wounded. Thankfully, there weren't many casualties, but the damage was substantial and it would take months to repair.

She hoped the city wouldn't slap her with the bill because of the damage Nanoha caused.

As the police cars carrying Beatrice and Jasper drove away, Fate heard her brother's voice in her head.

"Fate, are you there?"

"Yeah, onii-san. We've just arrested Beatrice and Jasper, in no part thanks to Nanoha."

"Are there any casualties?"

"Not many. One of the Enforcers didn't make it, though. He was killed instantly, the medics said."

"Kaiser bless his soul. But...at least a few good things came out of this."

Fate noted the uneasiness in her brother's voice. "Onii-san...is something wrong? What happened? Did you find Yuuno?"

"Oh, we found him alright."

"And? What happened?"

Chrono's mental voice sighed heartily. When he spoke again, his voice was laced with sadness.

"The medics just told me that Yuuno could die. For real this time."

To be honest, I was going to have a really long fight scene that went to the next chapter, but I lost it. Besides, I want to get this done so that I can start on the sequel, which WILL be planned and have more espionage/crime drama, as well as explore this Silver Claw that our antagonists were involved in.

Next chapter will be the last, sadly, but it'll contain the preview for "Trust No One", so that's a bonus. I really did enjoy working on this story, even though, I kind of made this up as I went along and didn't stick to plan. This is the last major cliffhanger in the story, so no more Yuuno-at-death's-door endings.

I hope you've enjoyed this story as much as I've had fun writing it, and see you for the final chapter!

God bless, iheartgod175