So as I was going through and transferring the fic, it turns out that I actually have 42 chapters, and not 41. I mean, unless you don't count the epilogue as a chapter, than my original number was accurate, however! I would still like to correct that, since it technically counts as a chapter on the site.

It was starting to get really late, and Machi was getting more and more anxious as time went by. Pakunoda had convinced her to stay at the base before they all went running back to Kurapika. She had also said that he could handle the situation himself, but Machi called crap on that. It's not like she had a hunch that he'd lose; no, nothing as drastic as that, she was just worried for his wellbeing was all. She had promised to come back, so she needed to at least try to keep up her end right? Just as Machi was about to say she was leaving, the door to the base opened, Kurapika walking in unharmed. Instantly she was next to him, eyes questioning.

"Boss!" the rest of Troupe said in exclamation, seeming to have a delayed response at the arrival of the young blonde. Kurapika looked up and smiled at all of them, seeming to have a calming effect.

"I'm back." he replied needlessly, as Kortopi came up next to him and gave him a hug around his waist.

"Boss, what… what happened to the enemy? Who was he?" Machi asked, following him as he made his way to the spot he had been previously sitting at.

"His name is Chrollo Lucilfer, and I left him at the abandoned building." he answered simply, causing Machi to stop in her tracks and the rest of the troupe to either stand up or stare at him in shock; some both.

"Boss!"

"Isn't that a bit reckless?"

"What if he followed you here?"

"You let him live?"

Kurapika raised his hand, silence following as soon as he did so. He looked at the troupe members, seeming to contemplate how to tell them his news.

"As you all are aware, we took down the Nostrade and Mammon families back when they had instigated the Kurta massacre." he reminded everyone, trying to gauge their reactions carefully to the information he was explaining. "We had done research on both families in order to know who to specifically kill: we wanted no survivors. So how did a person bearing the last name Lucilfer and claiming to be the son of Abaddon Mammon come after us even though we had eliminated all known targets?" He let his eyes sweep the room, letting the question hang in the air before he continued. "Well, that's exactly the thing: he wasn't supposed to be known. Chrollo Lucilfer isn't actually apart of the Mammon family, but rather a pawn."

"A pawn?" Bonolenov echoed, giving Kurapika an odd look. "That doesn't make any sense." he continued, but now more mumbling to himself than anyone around him.

"Wait, so you're saying that this kid wasn't really the old man's kid? Then who was he?" Phinks asked, sitting down to think.

"He was taken from Meteor City for a project Abaddon Mammon had started known as Plan 28DVH. Basically it was to claim children from our home and to use them as bridges to well known underground families." Kurapika said, his lips forming into a frown at the thought.

"So you're saying that he was one of us?" Machi spoke up once again, trying to recall if she had seen the man in black before, or if she had known anyone named Chrollo. Nothing was coming up yet.

"Yes, essentially he could be counted as one of us." the blonde said, crossing his arms as he said so. "But the reason I say this is because that reason is why he wasn't listed as a family member when we went researching the Mammon family. We didn't go looking for him to make sure he was dead be cause we didn't know he existed, making him the sole survivor of the massacre and thus giving him reason of revenge."

Everyone went quiet at his revelation, and Machi shifted uncomfortably. The news didn't seem very surprising to her, but then again, it was hard to surprise her. Her "hunches" usually took the surprise out of everything. She looked over at the spot where Uvogin was resting, the large man having passed out upon his arrival to the base. Shalnark, Nobunaga, and Pakunoda were around him, still busy with patching him up. She returned her attention to Kurapika when he started speaking again.

"He isn't a threat as of right now. It will take him some time to recover from the news that his revenge mission has all been for naught." he said, smirking at the memory of his enemy's confusion. "Whether he is to become a threat again or not remains unknown."

Machi eyes widened and she felt her stomach twist, the center of her being seeming to shift to the right just a bit. Her mind became fuzzy as she felt herself dissociate before she felt herself lower back into her body, a single thought crossing her mind: he wants to recruit Chrollo into the Phantom Troupe. She clenched her hands slightly at the hunch. Why would he want to recruit him? What purpose would it serve? To get rid of the threat? Wait, wouldn't that just bring the threat to them? Maybe he was doing it to better keep an eye on the enemy? Machi shook her head. There was no use in questioning herself, she needed the answer from Kurapika himself.

"Boss." Machi said, getting everyone's attention as she addressed their leader. "You're thinking of recruiting him, aren't you?"

Now all eyes were on Kurapika, the young Kurta having smile on his face that he couldn't hold back.

"Perhaps. He's interesting, and certainly has the potential to be one of the strongest people in the troupe." the blonde mused, amusement clear in his voice. "In addition, you might say I was oddly attracted to him."

"What?" Shalnark voiced all of their thoughts at their leader's last comment. "B- Kurapika, aren't you a little too young to be thinking about something like that?"

The Phantom Troupe leader blinked at him before raising an eyebrow up at him bemused.

"Shal, I'm about to turn eighteen. And besides, I said I'm attracted to him, not in love with him. After what he did to Uvogin, I'm simply curious as to what else he has in store, and therefor drawn by the mystery that surrounds him."

Machi could feel the whole room give a sigh of relief, but couldn't tell whether or not that the sigh was spurred from the fact that Kurapika had denied being romantically inclined to the enemy (or anyone in general,) or that he was just simply being a nosy child. For herself she had done it for both reasons, though she would've preferred that their young leader would take into consideration what might happen to the spider if he went through with his actions.

After that, Kurapika dismissed them to do as they wished, resulting in everyone either going to their respective rooms that they found or sleeping where they sat. Nobunaga and Shalnark opted with staying next to Uvogin just in case he woke up while the rest of them were asleep, though Machi doubted he would. With a sigh she took out her phone, noticing how late it had already gotten. Midnight on one of their first days here and they had already run into trouble. She wouldn't put it past anyone if they couldn't fall asleep with this knowledge. To know that their leader was willingly embracing the danger they had encountered was unsettling, but she knew better than to doubt him. Too many times had they ended up with allies because he had gone out of the way to make sure they came to him, but this challenge was certainly tougher than all of those previously. She closed her eyes and prayed to whatever deity was listening that everything would be alright. Nothing could get worse than this, right?