༺♥༻

Trees blurred and sticks crunched underfoot as the two teenagers rushed through the forest, quickly heading towards where they knew Gon would be.

After all, if one of the Chimera Ants had found them, then they'd surely find Gon and Palm, but they'd be damned if they let anyone hurt them.

Sliding to a stop once they reached a large tree that beautifully sat in the middle of a sparkling lake, Valentine and Killua looked around, noticing their stuff on the ground but they were no where to be found.

Picking up Gon's backpack and looking around, a worried look formed on the blonde's face as she looked up at the silverette, noticing the worry in his eyes as well.

"Do you think that.. another Ant got to them while we were fighting that Chimera Ant?",Valentine questioned and her golden eyes glistened with panic.

Slowly shaking his head, Killua looked around and knelt down, placing his hand on the grass as he furrowed his eyebrows in concentration.

'I don't sense any around',The silverette reassured her and watched as Valentine's expression softened with relief,'So, that could only mean...'

Cutting himself off, Killua's lips pursed and he grabbed Valentine's hand in his own, gently pulling her with him as they ran back to the hotel.

༺♥༻

Quickly rushing to the door, Valentine hurriedly pushed it open and it loudly slammed against the wall, startling the two in the room.

Blinking in shock at the scene in front of them, the blonde's lips parted and a confused noise left her lips as she tilted her head to the side.

Sitting in the middle of the floor, was Gon and he was surrounded by a multitude of papers as Palm stood over him, a dark aura surrounding her body as she glared down at the boy.

Meanwhile, Jaxon was standing in the corner with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyebrows were furrowed, his lips pulled into a frown at the punishment.

Seeing the knife that was tightly held in the woman's grasp, Valentine tensed up and her eyes widened slightly, noticing that Killua had tensed up beside her as well.

'What're you doing?',Killua exclaimed and stepped forward, placing himself in front of Valentine as he stepped closer to them.

But was still close enough to protect her if he needed to.

'What? Can't you tell?',Palm asked and looked down at the silverette, a dark look on her face,'This is his punishment. His punishment for hurting my feelings, that's what!'

Looking towards Palm, Killua furrowed his eyebrows in anger and stared at the woman with confusion in his eyes.

What could Gon have possibly done that would hurt the woman's feelings.

'Well, knock it off!',The silverette exclaimed,'You're the one who's being unreasonable here. Can't you see that?'

As soon as Palm held up the knife in her hands, Killua's left arm shot up in front of Valentine and slightly pushed her back, placing his body in front of her in case the woman decided to attack.

'You just stay out of it! This is none of your business!

'Oh yeah? Well, right back at you, idiot',Killua shot back and glared at the woman in front of him,'Why don't you just go away?'

Eyes widened, a small gasp left Palm's lips and she was quite surprised by the boy's comment, but what shocked her the most was the wounds the boy carried.

Slowly, her eyes fluttered towards the young teenager behind him and her eyes softened for a moment at the dried blood on her face, also noticing the bruises that were beginning to coat her skin, before looking back at Killua.

'Where did the two of you.. get those wounds?'

Humming slightly, Killua glanced up at his own forehead and then, looked down at Valentine behind him, his eyes softening with apology and sorrow.

He was still blaming himself that she had gotten hurt.

'Oh.. Val and I were training, is that alright?'

'Let me give you some more!'

Sensing a hostile aura heading straight for them, Valentine gasped and placed her hand on Killua's arm, stepping in front of him as a high-pitched ringing filled the air.

The two disappeared just as Palm thrust her knife forward and she slid to a stop, her hands shaking once she realized they were gone.

A small sigh of relief left Killua and a smile of thanks formed on his face as he stared down at Valentine, grateful for her help, placing his hand on top of her own.

'Palm!'

Looking towards the woman with a blank look on his face, Killua slowly shook his head and glanced at Valentine for a moment, before looking back at Palm.

'It's fine. Your knife's pretty slow so even without Val's help, I could dodge it in my sleep, but it just so happens that her reaction time is quicker than mine'

A groan left Palm's lips and her hands tightened around the knife in her grasp, her body shaking as ragged breaths left her lips.

'I was.. so sure I got him..'

A yell of rage left the woman's lips as she turned to face them and stomped her foot on the ground, causing the papers aligning the floor to fly up into the air.

Staring at the woman with wide eyes, Jaxon slowly inched his way towards the door and noticed that Zeus's talons tightened on his shoulder.

Yelping in shock, Killua placed Valentine on his back; which caused her to let out a noise of surprise, and he picked up Gon in one arm, rushing out of the house; with Jaxon close behind, causing the blonde to wrap her arms around his shoulders to make sure she didn't fall off.

She couldn't tell if he realized she could've teleported them away or not, but it seemed that all that was on his mind at the moment, was to get the two of them away from the psychotic woman chasing after them.

'Come back here so I can kill you!'

Pants left Killua's lips as he ran and glancing back at the woman chasing after them, a small yell of shock left his lips as he noticed she was a few feet behind them.

'Oh yeah? Well, just catch us if you can, you idiot!'

A small drop of sweat fell down the side of Valentine's face at the silverette's words and her face blanked as she slowly blinked.

He just had to taunt her, didn't he?

'If you're going to chase someone, the least you could do is actually make it worth it by keeping pace with your target!'

At her brother's words, Valentine felt a drop of sweat slowly fall down the side of her forehead and she pursed her lips.

"Jaxon! Don't taunt her!"

Great, she was stuck with two people who loved to taunt a woman with a knife.

How wonderful.

'Wait right there, you little...!'

The woman's screams of rage began to fade away the further they got and Gon looked up at the silverette.

'You've got to stop, Killua',Gon stated and furrowed his eyebrows,'Running away's only gonna make her a lot angrier'

Glancing at the boy as if he were insane, Jaxon lifted his hand and brought down his fist, punching the boy upside the head for his stupidity, causing Gon to yell out in pain.

'Who cares if she gets angrier?! I'd rather run away now then chance getting stabbed by a knife!'

'But if we ditch her, we won't have to see her again!'

A small sigh left Gon's lips and he glanced up at Valentine, who looked down at him as well, slowly shaking her head.

'Look, we're gonna have to call up Knuckle and tell him that we've gotta figure out someplace else to meet up with him and Shoot'

'Sorry but I'm going back'

Feeling his eye twitch in annoyance, Jaxon was about to hit the boy again when his sister beat him to it, her fist smacking the boy upside the head causing Gon to yell out in pain.

"Are you trying to get killed!? That's what's going to happen if we return there right now, her bloodlust is insane at the moment",Valentine told the boy,"Besides, she'd stab all five of us if she got the chance!"

Screeching in agreement, Zeus hurriedly flapped his wings to keep up with the four teenagers and he kept glancing back to make sure Palm wouldn't suddenly pop up behind them.

༺♥༻

Shaking hands clenched the sink of the locked bathroom the young girl was in, trembling breaths leaving the girl's lips as sweat slowly fell down the side of her face; her hair falling in a curtain around her as her head was tilted down slightly.

Gradually raising her gaze, eyes of gold locked onto her own reflection and Valentine watched as her eyes continuously flickered between a bright gold; that reminded her of the sun, and a dark midnight black; that reminded her of the darkest of shadows.

The veins along her jaw began to darken and the color slowly spread up her face, causing the veins underneath and above her eyes to darken into a dark midnight shade, her teeth growing into a sharpened state.

Feeling as if her body was overheating, Valentine turned on the tap and leaned down, cupping her hands so that the cold water puddled within them.

Splashing the cool liquid over her burning skin, the girl sighed in relief and did it a few more times, before turning the water off, slowly leaning up as she took a towel of the rack, wiping at her face to dry it off.

Lowering the towel, the young blonde slowly opened her eyes and a gasp of horror left her lips as she jumped back, staring at the mirror with wide eyes.

Staring back at her, was the other half of herself that she had seen within her mind and a grin was plastered on her face as her sharpened teeth glistened in the light.

The other Valentine lifted her hand and slowly waved her fingers, as if to taunt her.

Shaking her head, Valentine blinked and as soon as she opened her eyes, she was staring back at her normal reflection, causing her eyebrows to furrow slightly.

Slowing down her breathing, the blonde hung up the towel once more and unlocked the bathroom door, walking out as she turned off the light.

Noticing that Gon and Jaxon were gone; with Zeus and Killua being the only others in the room, Valentine furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and slightly tilted her head to the side.

She wondered where the other two had gone.

"Killua.. Where'd my brother and Gon go?"

Hearing her soft voice, the silverette immediately perked up and turned around, a small smile on his face.

'Oh, they went to go grab some—'

Noticing the way her cheeks were reddened and small traces of water that had washed something away immediately caught his attention, causing him to tense up slightly.

Furrowing his eyebrows slightly, Killua slowly trailed his eyes over her and his gaze softened with worry as he took notice of the state she was in.

'Is.. everything okay, Val?'

As she slowly blinked, Killua watched as she stared at him for a moment and her eyes widened only slightly; that he wouldn't have noticed if he wasn't studying her so closely, before a soft smile formed on her face.

"I'm alright, Killua"

Clearly not believing her, the silverette stood up from the bed and walked closer to her; to the point of where he was so close that she could feel his breath, causing Valentine to look up at him in confusion.

Her breath hitched in her throat as Killua slowly lifted his hand and softly placed it on her cheek, his thumb gently trailing along her skin, slowly leaning closer to her as his eyes looked in between her own; studying her reaction and her emotions.

'Please.. tell me what's wrong?',The silverette asked her softly and watched as she instinctively leaned into his touch, her eyelashes fluttering slightly,'I can tell that you're lying to me..'

Swallowing down whatever she could in her suddenly dry mouth, Valentine slowly opened her eyes causing the sun and the ocean to clash together, her lips parting slightly as she took in a shaky breath.

"I think.. that other side of me from before is playing with my head.. and I don't know what to—"

Before she could even finish her sentence, Killua immediately pulled his girl close and held her to his chest, his hand gently running through her hair; noticing as her muscles began to untense.

Remembering the way she looked when she attacked Knuckle, a worried frown tugged at the teen's lips and he pulled Valentine closer, her hair soft under his hand.

That night Killua silently made a promise to himself and her, that no matter what, he wouldn't let Valentine lose herself and he would make sure that side of her never reared it's head again.

༺♥༻

Finally, Knuckle and Shoot thought that the four; including Jaxon, were ready to see Kite and they lead them down to an underground room covered in brick and stone.

Seeing Shoot's cage hovering in the air, Valentine furrowed her eyebrows and tilted her head to the side, a confused look on her face.

As the cage rattled and shook, the young blonde realized that Kite had to be in there and she glanced towards Gon out of the corner of her eye, wondering what Gon would do once he was released.

If they had placed him in Shoot's cage, then something had to be wrong and this caused Valentine to shakily breath in, nervously playing with her fingers.

'Kite is inside this cage',Shoot warned them,'But he's no longer the person you once knew'

Staring at the cage, Gon nodded to himself and determined look filled his eyes as a drop of sweat fell down the side of his face.

'It's okay, we're gonna find a way to cure him somehow'

The cage slowly began to lower to the ground and a small clicking noise filled the air as the bottom gently touched the stone covered floor.

'Hotel Rafflesia; once I deal a certain amount of damage to my enemy, the cage traps them inside, either whole or just a part'

A small, barely audible, gasp left Killua's lips and his eyes widened in realization as he stared at the cage, thinking back to the battle between him, Valentine and Shoot.

So, this was how Shoot had taken his eye.

The small door on the cage slowly began to rise and Valentine held out her hand, her nails slowly beginning to sharpen just in case something went wrong.

Once it was fully open, a very small version of Kite began to stumble out and a green aura sparked around him, before he fully exited the cage.

'Once out, he'll return to his original size. Be careful',Shoot warned them,'He can't use Nen, but he's still as strong as ever'

Slowly, the man began to grow to his original height and Jaxon rose his eyebrows in shock, surprised by just how tall Kite actually was.

With one of his hands on the ground, Kite looked up at them all and Valentine's eyes widened, a small gasp of horror leaving her lips at the sight in front of her.

Shrieking in horror, Zeus's eyes widened and his wings spread out slightly as his beak dropped open, staring at the scene in alarm.

Scars and welts of all sizes covered the man's body from his head, all of the way down to his stomach, reaching the top of his jeans.

And if she had to guess, Valentine would assume that these very scars were also on the man's legs and feet.

'Kite..',Gon breathed out and was in shock at the man's state.

Eyes slowly fluttering closed, Valentine glanced away from the scene and her hair moved in front of her face, hiding her expression.

Glancing down at Valentine, a frown formed on Killua's face and he gently placed his hand on her back, moving his thumb in slow circles to calm her down.

'Most likely, he was being used as a training tool for the soldier ants',Knuckle told the four,'He mechanically attacks anything that gets close to him'

Despite the warning, Gon slowly began to approach Kite and a small gasp left Valentine's lips as she went to stop him, her eyes wide.

But, the hold on her arm pulled her back and the blonde looked up at her boyfriend out of the corner of her eye with a small frown as he wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on top of her head.

'I know you want to stop him, but Gon needs to do this.. for himself'

With the frown still on her face, Valentine slowly nodded and looked back towards the scene, feeling as Killua's arms gently tightened around her, pulling her closer to him.

'Kite, you're safe..',Gon said out loud and spread out his arms, preparing to hug the man as he slowly stepped closer, a small smile spreading across his lips,'Everything's going to be okay now'

Once he stepped a certain distance from the man, Kite eye immediately looked down at Gon and he punched the boy, the force pushing him back a bit.

Blood slowly fell down the side of the green haired boy's face and dropped to the ground, causing eyes of gold to narrow as her muscles tensed up, her body beginning to shake.

Noticing the blood and Valentine's reaction, the silverette's arms immediately tightened around the girl and he hid his face in the junction of where her shoulder and neck met, closing his eyes as he gently moved his hand up and down her arm in a calming motion.

Hearing a soft humming coming from a bit further away, the blonde's eyes brightened from their darkened color and her gaze softened as she glanced at her brother, water beginning to coat the line of her eyes.

That song, it was..

Noticing how her brother glanced toward her, Valentine shakily smiled in thanks and heard as the humming slowly came to a stop as Jaxon nodded towards her, before the both of them looked towards the scene once more.

As Gon was relentlessly punched over and over again, Valentine looked away from the scene, hiding her face in Killua's shoulder as the silverette held her closer, a frown on his face as he watched the scene.

Blood continuously fell to the ground and Valentine squeezed her eyes shut as the dripping of the drops hitting the floor echoed throughout her ears, her body shaking as she dug her sharp nails into the palm of her hand, trying desperately to hold back that part of her.

'Well, are you going to let this continue? Gon can't defend himself with Nen either, right?'

'It'll be fine, Gon is bound to notice. In fact, he might have figured it out already, if we're lucky'

Studying the scene before them, Knov placed his finger on his mouth and squinted his eyes in thought.

'Perhaps, he's suppressing his reflexes to dodge or block, allowing himself to be hit. That much is painfully obvious'

A few more strikes painfully bashed against the boy's cheeks and blood flew from his lips, before Gon ducked down, successfully dodging Kite's strike.

Surging forward, the green-haired boy wrapped his arms around the man's waist and Kite immediately froze, his teeth clenching.

'I'm so sorry, you're only like this, because of us. You go ahead and get some rest, you can leave everything to us'

Unclenching his jaw, Kite seemed to freeze up and anyone who doesn't have Nen would've thought he had calmed down, but it was quite the opposite.

As a large clown-like puppet appeared above Kite; seeming to control his every move, Valentine's eyes widened and her breath hitched as a harsh shiver ran throughout her body.

This aura was oddly familiar to her, but why?

'Level two. Gon can't see that thing, but it activates whenever someone touches Kite',Knuckle explained,'You're gonna need some seriously advanced fighting skills to defeat him now. My ability sealed Kites Nen, but that thing right there is all the Nen ability of whoever's controlling him. Be careful, if you touch him again, he'll attack you relentlessly'

The dark aura continuously washed over Valentine's body and goosebumps littered her skin as she shivered, thinking back to that day as she finally realized who's Nen this was.

It belonged to that cat-like Ant who had attacked Kite when they all split up.

'What do I do? How am I going to stop him?'

'We were forced to wound him badly, unfortunately. I'm sorry, we had no other choice',Shoot apologized,'If you keep away, he won't attack'

Eyes of chocolate watered as Gon clenched his teeth, before that sadness quickly turned to rage and his fists tightened as the veins popped through the skin.

'Kite.. just hold on a little longer'

Clenching his fists together, Gon kept his head down and turned around, walking towards the exit, a shadow casting over his face.

'I'll fix you, I promise'

Stopping in front of Killua and Valentine, Gon's face contorted in rage, causing the girl's eyes to soften in concern.

'Killua, Valentine..I promise, I'll take them on myself'

Opening the door, Gon walked through it and the whole room watched him go, frowns on their faces.

Staring at the two in front of him, Knuckle knew that there was something different about them and looking towards Valentine, he could almost see the darkness that was seeping out of her body in waves.

'Killua..',Knuckle spoke up and grabbed the boy's attention as he looked towards him,'I could tell that something was different. What did you four do? You changed so much in such a short time'

Looking back towards the door that Gon had gone through, Killua frowned and sighed through his nose, a forlorn look in his eyes.

'We didn't do anything. They're the ones who changed us'

༺♥༻

It was finally the day Gon would be getting his Nen back and Knov had finally agreed to let the five join them on the journey to East Gorteau.

Sitting in their seats, Gon, Valentine, Killua and Jaxon were all playing cards while Zeus tried to eat the peanut that kept rolling away from him.

Watching as Gon reached for one of her cards, Valentine raised an eyebrow and a small smirk formed on her face once she noticed what card he had grabbed.

The face of the joker stared back at him, causing a small smile to form on the boy's face as a gentle laugh left his sister figure and he chuckled gently as well.

Staring between the two with soft looks on their faces, Jaxon and Killua chuckled slightly, slowly shaking their heads at the two.

༺♥༻

Stopping at a restaurant once they had arrived at the border of East Gorteau, the group were eating quite a large portion of foods as the news played in the background letting them know what was happening.

"The question that's on everyone's mind is what these sudden changes in East Gorteau could possibly mean. Diego has personally invited all of the citizens in the country to the capital city, Peijing, to celebrate the nation's founding in just ten days"

Taking a bite of chicken, Valentine gently chewed what was in her mouth and held her chopsticks towards Zeus, offering him the piece she had picked up from the plate.

Chirping in glee, the hawk gently took the food and threw into the air slightly, snapping his beak shut as he swallowed what was in his mouth, a pleased churr leaving him.

With a small smile on her face, Valentine swallowed what was in her mouth and picked up another piece, offering it to the sky colored hawk once more.

"Yes that's right, there have been occasions in the past during which all citizens were invited to participate, but I can honestly say that we've never seen anything on this scale, where practically every citizen; from infants to the infirm, have been summoned for a celebration spanning three whole days. I believe it's rather safe to assume that this time around, the goal must be different'

'What do you believe the goal might be?'

Glancing towards the television out of the corner of her eye, Valentine's eyes narrowed and her chewing began to slow down as she listened closely.

'I can't say. But if he announced his successor and abdication simultaneously, it would send a very powerful message. Still, I find it hard to imagine that Diego would voluntarily relinquish his power. There may be another matter this is meant to draw attention from, a distraction if you will'

'Whatever it is, in ten short days, the whole world will be watching'

Placing down his drink, Morel began to speak up and caught everyone's attention, all eyes turning towards him.

'Colt has a theory. He believes that the celebration will be used to sort the population'

'We don't know what they'll do to those found to have awakened Nen, but ninety-nine percent of the humans that are there now will most certainly die'

Pursing her lips together, Valentine's grip on her chopsticks tightened and she gently put them down, clenching her left hand tightly.

'But we cannot let that happen. We have ten days'

'The old man, what's he up to right now?',Killua asked the man.

Picking up her glass of water, Valentine looked towards Knov and began to wonder what the chairman was up to as well.

'He sent me a text a little while ago saying he's already infiltrated East Gorteau. I haven't heard a word from him since then'

'So.. do you think he's been taken out?'

Freezing in her drinking, Valentine's eyes widened as she swallowed down the water in her mouth and she looked towards Killua, a shocked look on her face.

If the Chairman had been taken out, then they surely had little to no chance of beating the ants that were apart of the King's guard.

'Before he left, he told us that if we don't hear from him today, we're to assume the worst has happened'

Just as those words were spoken, Knov's phone rang and be picked it up, glancing at the screen.

'Speak of the devil, it's the Chairman'

Wondering if the man had a sixth sense and knew that they were talking about him, a small drop of sweat glided down the side of Valentine's face and she blinked slowly, shock filling her veins.

'That old man's got some satellites for ears',Morel stated.

'I'd say',Jaxon agreed and leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest,'We were just talking about the guy and he suddenly messages back'

Throwing the phone towards Morel, a smile formed on Knov's face and he looked around the table, gazing at everyone.

'Including the fact that you're all here and the fact that Morel is trashing him'

Reading the message on the phone, Valentine felt sweat fall down her face and she blinked in shock, her face scrunching up slightly.

'That old man scares the crap out of me'

༺♥༻

Later on that same night, they all stood in front of the clock tower and Gon was finally getting his Nen back.

Staring down at his hands, the boy watched as his aura suddenly surrounded his body and he perked up, a small smile spreading across his face as a sigh of relief left his lips.

Staring at the boy for a moment, Morel began to move away from the group and Valentine looked towards the tall man, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

'Gon.. sorry, but I'm not convinced we should keep you around',Morel apologized and removed his tie, beginning to unbutton his shirt,'Show me your resolve; pretend I'm the enemy who did all that to Kite. If your attack isn't powerful enough, I'll call for a replacement Hunter'

Eyes widening slightly, Valentine looked up at Killua and watched as he looked down at her, frowns on their faces.

If Gon saw Morel as the enemy who did that to Kite, they were both worried the boy would snap and kill the man.

A frown was on Knuckle's face as he watched the scene unfold and a small sigh left his lips as he slowly shook his head.

His master could be such a headache sometimes.

'Gon, don't hold back',Knuckle told the boy and glanced in his direction,'Show him your Jajanken'

Clenching his fists together, Gon's face darkened and he looked at the ground, his eyebrows furrowing slightly.

'A real attack?'

Fully taking his shirt off, Morel threw it to the side and nodded, his left hand clenched tightly.

'Yes, damn it!',The man exclaimed,'Give me everything you've got or you're off the team'

'Got it..'

As Gon stepped forward, Morel took in a deep breath and flexed his muscles slightly as his Ren spiked brilliantly, causing Valentine's eyes to widen in awe; but only for a moment.

Coming to a stop, eyes of the earth slowly fluttered close as everything that had happened to Kite flashed in Gon's head and as soon as he opened them, his eyes were as dark as the night sky.

The look on his face caused Morel to lightly gasp in shock as sweat fell down his face and his eyes widened behind his sunglasses.

The scene caused Valentine to frown and she looked up at Killua, noticing the look on his face once he looked down at her.

The aura around Gon's hand spiked immensely and glowed brilliantly, cracks forming in the ground below him from the pressure of his growing attack, the light almost blinding the group.

'Show me rock!'

The wind harshly blew and the trees whipped around as Gon's aura began to grow harsher and harsher, the boy's breath shaking in anger as he stared at Morel; clearly envisioning him as the Chimera Ant that had killed Kite.

However; before Gon could potentially kill the man, Killua walked towards the boy and gently placed his hand on his friends shoulder.

'Gon.. that's enough',The silverette told his friend to snap him out of his murderous state of mind and turned his eyes towards Morel,'Am I right, old man?'

With sweat profusely falling down his body, Morel tried to hold back his shiver of fear and looked towards the silver-haired boy, almost at a loss of words as his mouth gaped open.

'Uh.. yeah'

'Ohh.. Killua, thanks a lot!'

Snapping out of his murderous state, Gon's eyes brightened once more and he nervously jittered in place, putting his hands together as he bowed for forgiveness.

'Sorry, Mr. Morel',The boy apologized,'I really was just about to kill you'

Gasping slightly, a small chuckle left the man and it stood turned into full blown laughter, slowly shaking his head, sweat coating his skin.

'You got me real good there, kid',Morel stated,'And you've got just about the right amount of crazy in you too. Okay, we'll split up now. Go and fulfill your mission by any means necessary. Gon, Valentine and Killua will take Neferpitou, as requested. Knuckle, Jaxon and Shoot will take Menthuyoupi. Knov and I will take Shaiapouf. Best of luck out there'

Noticing that his name was nowhere on the list, Zeus deflated in despair and a low churr of disappointment left his beak as Valentine pouted with him, slowly reaching up to rub his head.

But finally, the preparations for the battle had finally been made and the victory would officially be decided in ten days time.

༺♥༻