Rein woke up with a start, the smell of something burning drifting in the air.

She hurried to the kitchen, under the false impression that maybe Lucky had returned and accidentally set the lodge on fire. But it was only Kalluto and Zushi, working together on pancakes at five in the morning. Gon was on the side, hastily opening the windows to try and do something about the smoke.

She rubbed at her eyes and did her best not to inhale it. "What happened?"

Zushi held the fiery frying pan in confusion as flames and smoke emerged from it. Kalluto dumped a carton of milk on the pan, and the fire was extinguished. "If you don't know how to cook," he swiped the handle from his friend's irresponsible hands, "don't lie about it."

Footsteps came quickly down the hall and Machi burst into the room with her hair hanging loose. "I smelled smoke. Is Lucky...?" She stopped abruptly at the sight. Her look scanned the room quickly, and dimmed when she realized Lucky was still missing. She made no noise as she sat down and started to brush out her hair, silently bringing it to a messy ponytail at the top.

Breakfast was later eaten in an air of dread, concerned about Lucky's disappearance. When Zushi had gone missing, it was only a chance that the organization had been behind it. (Phinks had told them later of his reasons for running away, and things had been tense, but they'd been able to put that aside.) But Lucky was their sole target. If he died, they could get their two jewels and get any wish they wanted. It seemed impossible to think that he was snuggled up safe somewhere when he wasn't even picking up his calls.

As breakfast finished, they all thought of what to do. They had no idea where Lucky had been taken, and whether it was even worth the risk when they didn't know if he was still alive. Machi's phone was placed on the table, on standby just in case, in hopes that he could contact them.

In an unforeseen turn of events, the phone buzzed with Lucky's picture on it. Their looks were bewildered and Rein reached for it, but it was Machi who picked up immediately. "Where are you?" she demanded before putting it on speaker.

"I don't know!" His voice was hoarse and rushed. In the background, they could hear sounds of rustling and faraway shouts, and a few gunshots. "I regained consciousness yesterday afternoon and I've been trying to call, but it just wasn't connecting!"

There was a collective sigh of relief when it seemed Lucky was his normal self. There was no distinct anguish to his words.

"Have they hurt you?" Machi inquired to clarify. "Are you hurt at all?"

"Don't worry, you won't have to bandage me up again." He suddenly hushed, and stayed that way for the next few minutes. Everyone at the lodge knew to keep quiet—most, anyway. Killua was clasping a hand over Gon's mouth—and waited until he started talking again. "At least I hope so. I've been running around this mountain since I escaped, but there's only so many hiding places. They might find me soon."

Machi's face turned into something akin to a frown. "Hide well. Wade through water if they're using dogs, but avoid it if you can. When you were taken, you had bandages in place of a shirt. Don't hide in a river and get hypothermia."

"At ease, my lady," Lucky said like it was nothing. "I, a mere peasant, am an expert in being lowly both like dirt and with dirt, and in dirt I shall lie if it means my life. All to see m'la-"

Rein cleared her throat and raised her hand. She knew Lucky couldn't see her, but it felt appropriate when sticking her nose in whatever this was. "So you'll be fine?" she asked loudly.

A pause, and a breath in. "Pinky, am I on speaker?"

Machi was hanging her head at what he'd just said, pinching the bridge of her nose with both hands. "Yes," she said, the sound sharp. "This entire time."

"O-oh." He started to speak hurriedly. "For the record, the peasant and m'lady thing was a reference to something that happened in Aiai, which I guess doesn't really help my case, but it was an inside joke thing, I swear! ...Emo Loser isn't there, is he? Could you not tell him about this-"

"Who's a loser," Feitan growled audibly.

"Oh no. I swear, I'm not hitting on...!" He sighed, and changed the subject. "I'm using my Hatsu. I keep opening my list to find things I need to survive. Somehow I managed to jam all their vehicle engines with bits of my jacket hood I tore off, and I have a stick in handy right now. I don't know what to use it for yet but it's probably to knock someone unconscious. But my power is new, and I don't know how long I can keep this up."

"Any landmarks?" Machi asked, doing her best to recover from the earlier topic.

"Forest? Mountain? I was unconscious on the way here, and-" A sudden screeching noise came from the phone, and the loud clatter of it hitting the ground after quite a fall. There was a cry from Lucky before it abruptly stopped, and all went quiet.

"Lucky? Lucky!" Everyone started shouting his name, but there was no reply.

Feitan was the first to lean in. "If you listening, I give you permission to use lethal force," was all he said before standing up with a nod to Machi. He went with Phinks to the back, trying to look for a map of the area.

Machi took up her phone and went with them, taking care not to accidentally hang up.

"If only we could track his phone. Machi's keeping the line connected, right?" Killua's fist tightened. Clearly, he also didn't want to let him die. Killing such a human disaster, and one so sweet at that, just seemed wrong. "My older brother is good at these things, but..."

Kalluto finished for him. "Milluki doesn't like us, Killua even less. If we have nothing to offer, he won't do it. Even if he agrees, he's too far away to do anything in time."

"Shalnark could probably do it," Rein said, her hopeful look landing crestfallen when she realized, "But he's not here either. And we have no way to contact him."

Their expressions were grim when Shalnark in question strolled into the room, whistling. He set his large bag onto the floor and leaned back onto the sofa opposite them, and said, "Hi." Their mouths were all agape as they stared at him and his perfect, almost too smug timing.

"W-well," Rein sputtered. "Speak of the Devil."

After overcoming the shock, they explained the dire situation to Shalnark pretty quickly. He shrugged. "My work was done with the Nen remover. Shizuku and Nobu said they'd take care of things and find Danchou as soon as they whip Hisoka into shape. I thought I'd go back to Meteor City for a bit. But it seems," he leaned forward to clasp his hands together, "things aren't going so well here."

"And?" Killua tapped his foot, impatient. "Can you track where his call is coming from or not? I'd hate to think my brother is better than you."

"Don't underestimate me!" Shalnark said, holding a proud fist to his chest. From his bag he drew various devices as the other Spiders came forth with maps, Machi's connected phone, and other necessary items. Locking his fingers, he cracked his knuckles. "I'll have this done quickly."

They waited in relative silence as Shalnark did his work and repeatedly shushed them during it. The moment his face lit up, spontaneous relief filled the air. He waved for a map and a pencil, scribbled a few things down, and gave a contented grin. Shalnark left it in Feitan's hands as he took up his bag once more.

"I'm still going back to Meteor City. I have some business there. But good luck," was the only thing he left as he hefted up his heavy bag and started to leave.

Fei took the map back and began to plot the course and mark spots where they could run into an ambush.

"Oh, also, Rein!" Shalnark called her over from the entrance, and dug his hands into his bag. "I forgot to give you this when we left Greed Island." He handed her the object with a satisfied look.

She took it. "A phone."

"Remember? The one I said would be yours. You really need a way to contact people."

"Okay. Why," asked Rein, and flipped it over to the back, holding it by the tips of her fingers, "does it have a pink sparkly case with rhinestones on it?"

He took it out of her hands and readjusted her hold so she would be holding it firmly. "With your disregard for technology, you probably aren't going to care about your phone even if it's useful. If it's this shiny, you won't forget about it. Do you remember your password? Of course you don't, I'll tell you again."

Despite her protests that she didn't need a phone, which in reality was just a way to cover up the fact that she had absolutely no idea how to use it, Shalnark managed to pound her password into her memory and keep the ridiculously sparkly phone in her hands when he left. She frowned down at the jewel-studded case, too bulky for her tastes. She stuck it in her pocket for now, ignoring it. How could such a thing possibly come in handy?

*     *     *

Shalnark left them a map leading them to the way there, and the path to get there quickly without detection. They rushed to the destination, all determined to defeat the large organization and bring Lucky back to safety, and for Gon and Killua to find a way to convince Kurapika to stand down.

Machi never would have expected for Lucky to already be dead.

It just wasn't a likelihood in her mind. Of course, she knew he was in danger, and against other Nen users, he was only still a baby both in ability and experience. Naturally, Lucky was on the unfortunate side of things, and they had all worried for him because of that. It was a definite possibility that he could be well done in before they arrived, as he was at an obvious disadvantage.

But he was Lucky. Lucky, who pulled through no matter what, somehow able to keep his cool by pushing his priorities aside and slowly gaining the hearts of anyone beside him. Lucky, who had managed to survive through so much and still put others' interests before his own. Lucky, who trampled right through his own pain for someone else's sake when no one else would do it for him.

And that side of him, she believed could never be killed.

She had believed so.

Everyone dies. But even when he was brought in as a captive by Feitan, even when she'd removed the arrow from his chest, even when he'd been in critical condition less than a week before, she never would have expected his ending to be like this; blood running out into the dirt, alone.

Machi had a near perfect memory, but even she couldn't completely register when or how she'd killed the man who was trying to take Lucky's jewel away from him. Her Nen strings tightened in her fists as an even bigger group overcame the crest of the hill, coming for the retrieval of his body and surprised when they were faced with an enemy.

She would fight them and she would finish them all, every last one.

Machi shifted her foot to ease into her fighting stance, and was surprised when her leg hit his body. She spared a glance back, and had to bite her lip to keep herself together.

He was still so warm, so very, very warm.

They'd been just minutes too late.

The group tried to deal with the sudden onslaught of enemies making their way towards them, with Nen abilities they weren't familiar with. There came energy blasts and all kinds of manipulated items as they all tried to protect the jewel that Lucky had... died for. Lucky, immortal Lucky.

Rein had never been in battle before, never a proper one. Never one that was drawn out and painful, never enemies that actually hit her in multiple places and did the same to her allies. Her heart hurt, but she could ignore it for now.

Because Lucky was alive, right? He couldn't be dead. He was so seemingly invincible against whatever was thrown at him. No, he must have been fine. Machi could fix him, right? He must have been unconscious or sleeping as he so loved to do. Yes. Yes, that was it. And after this was all done, he would pass out on the sofa and blush when he saw the rest of them and Rein made a few teasing points for supposedly hitting on Machi. She'd never seen him blush before. Rein wondered what it would look like, when all this was over and he was safe and they were all happy.

An blade nicked her ear as the opponent in front of her advanced with dual swords.

Rein had been separated from the rest of the group at the base of the mountain. She didn't know whether they had also been drawn into one-on-one fights, but if they were, she knew they could be trusted. Her only job was to fight the enemy before her as quickly as possible.

She threw a few of her stones his way, but he simply flicked them away with the edge of his sword as he moved forward. However, the one rock which shone brighter than the others hit the sharp edge right on the spot, just as she wanted. She had to move up a tree and leap to the next one over to avoid being cut, maneuvering through the branches easily almost as if she'd done this before.

Suddenly receiving information, her tired expression grew to a grin. She wiped at her brow as she leapt to the ground to avoid an easy stab, and milled around for the next few moments, conjuring the perfect, jaded piece of flint. The next time she was swiped at, she threw the ball of flint to meet the edge of the steel sword, and transmuted its qualities on impact. Her enemy suddenly became embalmed in flames, and fell off the edge of the cliff trying to deal with them.

Her Hatsu, her Hatsu had worked! Two of her ideas had worked! Getting over her short moment of triumph, she ran hastily back down to where the others were supposed to be. She had to run, go quickly to the rest and help them and bring themselves back safe and-

Her breath caught in her chest painfully at the sight before her, and her eyes peeled open in horror.

"Ph..." she had trouble saying, and her voice went ever so quiet. "...Phinks?"

His body was propped up against the tree, a large spike protruding from his middle. His blond hair, normally perfectly swept back and set, was hanging down in loose strands she'd never seen before. Phinks was usually both firm in his stance and expression with a power that never left him even in his sleep, but right now he seemed so incredibly limp. Doll-like, almost as if...

(But that couldn't be the case. Phinks was strong and stubborn. He couldn't possibly...)

She was afraid to register the rest of it. Slowly, Rein reached out her hand, and snatched it back as soon as it brushed against his cooled skin. Her entire hand trembled as she brought it back to her face and saw that it was covered in blood.

No.

She grabbed Phinks by the shoulders and started to shake him.

"Ph-Phinks, look up. Look up."

No, please, this couldn't be happening!

His head lolled to the side, and she could only take a panicked step back as the rest of him crashed into the ground, a small, red handprint left on his tracksuit.

Rein took a numb stagger and backed way from the body, eyes wide and her hand still covered in his blood. No. Stiff, she shook her head ever so slightly. Oh stars, no, please. Not again. With a sudden gasp that hurt her throat, she pulled away from him and rushed to where the others were supposed to be. She barged through, thorns tearing at her skin as she could think of nothing but making it, making it and wishing for them all to be safe.

There's something different about seeing a loved one dead, and watching one die right before your eyes, and that difference carved itself into her skin once more.

A hail of bullets from somewhere far way shot through Zushi, and even Zepile as he slouched over him in an attempt to protect him. She had no idea why he was here, but man who said he would stay behind had come all this way just to be met like this.

Her eyes were burning through with fire, the sensation searing a horrid sight into her skull.

No, she wanted to beg, but her lips stayed frozen.

Unable to breathe, her view finally started to take in the rest of it, and what she saw ripped through her and twisted her insides in a way she never imagined would ever happen. The blood on her hand dripped to the ground as she could only stand there in petrified horror.

Anything but this, please, please.

Lucky already dead, Machi's hands rendered useless on the ground next to him. Two others far from saving. Feitan was alive, but she'd never seen him in such bad condition before, staggering and spitting blood as he sometimes called out to Phinks for backup and forgot he wasn't there to support him anymore. And the others, stars, they were nowhere in sight.

There were only a few lingering enemies and one of them caught sight of her, and they pulled out a switchblade as they approached. The blade came closer to her as they lunged, but she stood there numbly as it all came by in slow motion.

Just like before, she'd been helpless to do anything.

The blade thrusted forward.

She was... she was only a Conjurer.

It cut through the cloth of her shirt.

She hadn't been able to do anything, and she still couldn't. Stars, she couldn't, and they were all...!

Reality catching up with her, the man's knife finally scratched her skin as she collapsed to the ground and gave a guttural cry before the world went black.

*     *     *

...

Rewind?

...

*     *     *

Rein woke up with a start, the smell of something burning drifting in the air.

So how's life

I think this chapter's title explained things pretty simply.

Not too proud of the flow of things and how it was written but we'll be coming back to it a lot so I thought a more dream-like take to the events would be better.

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