CHAPTER 20

Rook [Corvus frugilegus]

A type of bird related to the crow; it resides primarily in North and Central Europe. In captivity, when confronted with problems, Rooks have been documented as one of several species capable of using tools. Rooks are as clever at making and using simple tools with their beaks as chimpanzees are with their hands.

Rooke stopped dead in her tracks, as she came to a horrifying realisation. She had stopped using her Hatsu back then, when she undid the barriers on Phinks and Nobunaga! And that meant that she couldn't use her Hatsu now! How was she to face Hystia?!

Shit. Rooke's face drained of blood. Okay, Rooke Genius, think! THINK! What can I do now?

She had used her Hatsu for about forty minutes; and that meant that she wouldn't be able to use it again for another eighty minutes. That translated to an hour and twenty minutes; it was too long. Rooke'll probably have to face Hystia before that time is up, and her chances of survival were slim; in fact, they were close to zero.

Rooke squatted down into a fetal position, and tried her best to concentrate. There had to be something Hystia was weak at; there had to be something Rooke could use against Hystia!

She began thinking of all the attacks Hystia had thrown her way, trying to find one thing in common. No fighting style is perfect. There had to be some flaw in Hystia's attack pattern, that Rooke could use to her advantage.

Nails dug into flesh as Rooke struggled to find a loophole. Hystia's ability allowed her to manipulate blood, and to manipulate regeneration. Regeneration. Blood. What's the thing they have in common?!

Rooke realised that she was overly-tensed, and inhaled deeply, relaxing her muscles. She unclenched her fists, and examined the cuts. She was bleeding.

Then it hit Rooke. The thing both abilities have in common was that it heavily relied on blood! And it wasn't anyone's blood, it was Hystia's. On the day of the accident the spikes shot up Rooke's leg after Hystia's blood tore through her shins! And just now, Hystia had greeted her with a blood whip from Hystia's blood. Also, if she thought about it logically, regenerating tissue needed a blood supply - it was also what tumors needed to grow in size. Tissue growth needed blood. And if Rooke got rid of Hystia's blood, then Hystia would have nothing left to fight with!

But how was Rooke going to get rid of Hystia's blood? The amount of blood in an adult's body is about 5.5 litres. How should Rooke get rid of such a large volume of blood so quickly such that Hystia would be unable to use it? Rooke would have to get rid of at least 5 litres to keep Hystia down, given that she was no ordinary human, after all.

Damn it, if only Mil was here.

Rooke's eyes flashed. Mil! Chemicals! Posions! Rooke didn't have to get rid of the blood, she just had to make it unusable! If there was anything that got in the way of a body's metabolic processes and protoplasm synthesis, it was toxins! And there were many things in this research laboratory that could poison blood!

Rooke jumped up, sprinting to the Toxins lab. It wasn't far off from where the troupe was, but it was far enough for her to move unnoticed by Hystia. Rooke swiftly ransacked the drawers and scanned files, until she saw what she wanted.

It was a bottle filled with liquid, labelled Echis - Saw-scaled viper.

"Feitan! Get a grip!" Shalnark exclaimed, as he dodged the shorter man's attacks. But it was a futile effort to bring the man's consciousness back - Feitan wasn't listening. He just kept slashing his sword, getting faster and quicker.

The troupe's situation was bad - now there were two constantly regenerating aggressors they had to subdue, one of which was their comrade. And though the troupe often claimed that they 'didn't give a damn' if the other died, that was not the case. The troupe members were humans, too - they had feelings, and they didn't particularly like the prospect of personally cutting down a friend. Thus, they were trying their personal best to restrain Feitan, while they still believed it was possible to bring him back to normal.

Meanwhile, Hystia was personally battling Chrollo, Franklin and Shizuku. Franklin fired long-range bullets, Shizuku sucked up Hystia's blood whenever she could and Chrollo was fighting with his Indoor Fish and Ben's knife. It was a long and tedious process, and Hystia showed no signs of weakening.

Suddenly, Hystia took an unexpected turn - she zipped past Chrollo, straight towards the Zoldyck child, who was too focussed on Feitan to notice. Hystia's claws sharpened, and she fully intended to rip the child's head off.

Swip. In the next second, Rooke had a firm hold on Hystia's wrist - stopping Hystia in her tracks - and jammed a needle into the redhead's arm, injecting a volume of yellowish liquid into the limb. However, Hystia quickly jumped back before Rooke could empty all the contents into her arm, and threw the syringe away.

Hystia was furious. "You dare poison me?!" Hystia screeched madly, eyes burning with hate. "Well, think again!"

With that, the crazed woman tore off the affected limb without hesitation, and threw it aside. "It isn't so easy, darling!" Hystia cackled and lunged for Rooke, new limb forming already.

Rooke jumped away, and grit her teeth. She should've known it wasn't this easy. Honestly, what the hell was she thinking? She should've injected it into a vital area!

Hystia kept lunging for Rooke, aiming every one of her attacks at the bartender. "Why are you running? Face me! Use your powers, like you did last time! I'll show you who's far more superior!"

Rooke was paying no mind to her words - she was trying her best to concentrate on not getting hit. She couldn't deploy nen now; she was defenceless. One hit by Hystia and even she'd be dead meat.

Damn it, she should've brought the all-cure. Rooke had seen Feitan's state and immediately knew he was being manipulated; if only someone could contact Kortopi and get him to bring some of the pills - if the pills stopped Hystia's control over Phinks and Nobunaga, surely it could stop Feitan from being manipulated, too. But it was next to impossible - most of the troupe members were busy facing off either Hystia or Feitan.

Should she risk it and shout to Kortopi?

Well, what's the worst that could happen?

Rooke drew in a deep breath, and shouted as loud as she could. "KORTOPI! BRING THE SILVER BAG WITH THE PILLS HERE! NOW! HURRY!"

Hystia's eyes widened, as she realised what Rooke was doing; but Rooke swerved around, and threw two of her three syringes straight at her. Hystia managed to dodge them - and Chrollo adeptly caught them. He shot Rooke a glance, before resuming his attack on Hystia.

"Chrollo!" Rooke shouted while running. "Viper poison! Clots blood! Hystia's weak against poisons! Aim for vitals!"

Vital areas? Chrollo thought. That's easier said than done. Though, not impossible... With that, he squirted some poison onto his blade, and started chasing after Hystia again.

Rooke was still being chased incredibly; even when she was frantically changing directions every few metres it was rather difficult to gain more distance between herself and Hystia.

But suddenly, Hystia stopped abruptly, and the rest of the troupe did, too. It was a few seconds later that Rooke realised why they stopped.

Hystia had Feitan next to her, using him as a shield in front of Chrollo. She's getting desperate, huh? Rooke thought.

"Rooke!" The madwoman cried. "I have your friend! And my blood flows in him!"

That's obvious, Rooke thought. Why would she-

Then Rooke realised. A grim image of spikes running up Rooke's legs surfaced in her mind again. Hystia was intending to do the Feitan what she did to her ten years ago. Rooke's blood froze.

Hystia, who had been observing Rooke's facial emotions, smirked. "I can and will kill him in the most grotesque manner, and you won't be able to do a thing to stop me. But, if you stop moving, maybe I'll spare your friend's life. Pretty nice deal, a life for a life!"

Rooke glared at the redhead. "I -"

"Hush, Rooke!" Hystia spat. "I'm sure moving your lips count as movement, too. Don't want me to accidentally mush his guts now, do you?" She patted Feitan's head.

Rooke's muscles were tense, and she realised this. Slowly she breathed in and out deep breaths, relaxing every muscle she could. Rooke calmed down, and tried to think of a plan. She had only one syringe left with her; it was her last shot.

Last shot, eh? Rooke wanted to laugh at herself for thinking of puns only when she's in dire situations as this. It wasn't the time to be cracking jokes, but she suddenly felt weirdly relaxed. She felt like one of those guys on T.V. who laughed when they were deep sh*t, while screaming that they're going to die. It was weird, but she somehow felt... enlightened? Calm? Happy? It was the adrenaline, wasn't it?

Blood was surging through her veins, and for some odd reason, Rooke felt as if she could do anything. It was irrational, she knew it, and she somehow felt that she really was going to die. But she wasn't afraid anymore- thinking rationally, what could she lose? In the heat of battle, Rooke was having a realisation.

She didn't really have anyone left to live for, anyway. The troupe? They were nice people, Rooke guessed. She wasn't sure. But her use to them will probably wear off when they return to the known world; after that she'd be as good as dead. Mil was dead, Joa was dead, Colt was dead. She was as good as dead to her parents. Pfft. How hilarious. Why had she been running from death before? No one needed her back here, anyway!

Rooke had shut up, and Hystia smiled. "That's more like it. Now stay still, while he cuts you down. You'll finally know how it feels like to get stabbed by a friend!"

Friend? What's that? Rooke thought. No. Friends don't matter - what matters now is the mission. What was it again? To ensure the troupe's safety?

If that was the case, then the troupe's lives take priority over her own, right? Their lives were worth more, too. They still had their comrades, who would be sad if they died. They had people who cared for each other - that was why they went out of their way to get the Obscure Keys, no? It was for their Chrollo.

Unlike herself. Rooke was a little envious, but that didn't matter anymore, did it? She was going to die soon, and no one would shed a tear for her. Hmph. No one really did value her, anyway.

Feitan leaped forward, sword thrust towards Rooke.

They say that in the few seconds before you die, you will see moments of your life passing by, and this was somewhat true for Rooke - she didn't see things - she still saw Feitan's cruel blade nearing her throat - but she heard voices.

"The troupe can be your family!"

Kalluto. Rooke was reminded of the black-haired child. That's strange. Why was she thinking of him at this time?

"Don't you want to have friends?"

...Yes, I do, Rooke thought sadly. But of what use are friends in this situation?

"We trust you as much as we trust Danchou."

That sounded familiar. It was... Kortopi, wasn't it? Rooke mused. I'm sure that was to make me feel better... Make me feel better...

Pfft. Kortopi cared for me? Rooke felt... happy, and amused. That felt nice, being cared for. But that... how useful could it be now?

"Do you trust Danchou?"

In that moment, Rooke realised that Feitan's blade had stopped short of her neck. She snapped back to reality, and she marvelled at the sight. In the fraction of a second it took Feitan to leap towards her, Hystia had let down her guard, and the troupe had shown incredible efficiency; Machi had tied up Feitan in her nen threads, Shalnark had stuck his antenna into Hystia's spine, and Chrollo had stabbed the redhead multiple times.

Hystia couldn't scream. She was in pain, but she couldn't move. Shalnark made sure of that.

Hystia's eyes made quick, random movements - evidence that she was trying hard to resist Shalnark's manipulation - but it was not working. Rooke heaved a sigh of relief, figuring it would take Hystia long, long time before she could free herself from Shalnark's antenna, from personal experience. Seriously, that sh*t was dangerous!

Though, to be sure Hystia will be incapacitated, Rooke slipped out her last syringe, and walked towards Hystia.

The redhead struggled against her binds. It was the first time Hystia truly felt the threat of death, and she was afraid. Very afraid. But fortunately for her, and unfortunately for the troupe, thay didn't know something crucial about the Vector Experiment's human subjects. In the first year of the human subjects' residencies, their junk DNA will be cross-matched with various species of the Dark Continent - like Rooke's was matched with the Altered Crow, Hystia's was matched with the Pitch-winged Bat. Normally, this did not affect typical activities, but when the subject is under extreme stress the junk DNA will cause anomalies in appearance as well as increased nen output; and Hystia was feeling very aggravated and stressed now.

Hair started sprouting on her skin, and Hystia suddenly let out a guttural cry, like a dying animal. Instantly a huge amount of energy swelled up in the room, surrounding her; after a while it left her entirely and moved to Feitan, snapping Machi's threads.

"Get back!" Machi yelled, instinct guiding her reflexes. The troupe heeded her words, and true enough, a second later Feitan had transmuted his protective suit, the one from his fight with Zazan. His eyes were still blank, as he started to collect nen in his palms.

"Everyone! Run!" Shalnark shouted, and and instinctively the troupe scattered throughout the building. But Feitan was giving them a run for their money - he started following them; following Chrollo, to be exact. And because of this, some of the troupe members had changed direction and were in fact trying to lure Feitan away from their beloved leader.

Rooke had heard of his abilities before, from Kalluto - and based on that information, she guessed Feitan was intending on transmuting a fu*king bloody sun and killing them all. If he truly was intending on doing that, the entire troupe would die. This blasted building was too small for the bloody sun - all of them would be roasted to charcoal. This Establishment never had a good history with cooking humans, after all.

Rooke knew of a way to stop him; but she would have to use her Hatsu. Only twenty minutes had passed since she stopped using it, she was left with one bloody hour. There wasn't enough time! If she used it now, she might lose her life!

Rooke hesitated. There was something she could do now, to save the troupe from a miserable end. But was she able to do it? She would probably lose her life in the process. It was funny how a few moments ago, she'd accepted her death, and now, she was intimidated by the prospect again.

Rooke's heart nagged at her. In the end, whatever she did, it wouldn't matter, would it? She'd be dead by the end of the day. But if she used her Hatsu, or dragged Feitan out of the facility away from them, there'd only be two fatalities.

"We trust you as much as we trust Danchou."

Alright, fu*k it, she was done. Kortopi's earlier encouragement helped Rooke make up her mind.

Quickly, Rooke swerved, and grabbed hold of Feitan, hugging him; and with that, she ran in the opposite direction of Chrollo - to the entrance/exit of the Establishment.

Uh-oh, someone call the hearse! Anyway, if you guys were wondering what the 'hint' I was talking about in the previous A/N was, it was Chrollo's Lovely Ghostwriter prediction for Rooke (third paragraph to be exact lol). Something about the sun written there eh? Muahahahaha.

Anyway, thank you guys for the support! Thank you for reviewing and PM-ing me, these messages really encourage me to write more haha. It really can be quite addictive, you know! :D Though, the next chapter will be released next Wednesday, on Christmas' Eve (Here we celebrate it on the 25th) because I'm a lazy person who has yet to buy presents. Dammit.

Oh, and I've put Rooke's profile on my profile (Damn, that sounds weird) and it'll stay there till I find somewhere else I can plop it to. So if you want to find out more about her, you know where to go :) (I have an image, but I have no bloody idea where to put it dammit. Any suggestions?)

Do continue reviewing/PM-ing me! It makes my day! :D

And since I was lazy and didn't post any OMAKE in the last chapter, there'll be two for this chapter! Though, remember, these OMAKES can be slightly OOC. Lazy writer is a lazy writer OTL

Last reminder: The following events happened on the troupe's journey on Hyperion!

2) Bathroom scale

Rooke was in the toilet, staring at the number on the thing on the floor.

The bathroom scale read 56.4 kg.

Rooke's heart sunk. She had gained weight! Was she not exercising enough?

You see, for a teenage girl like Rooke, her weight secretly matters. Sure, she may not seem like the type to fret over numbers on weighing scales, but in reality, it matters. There will always be this voice nagging at your guilty conscience on how one should take care of one's body properly, and this is particularly the case for Rooke.

Of course, everyone knew that in battle, one had to be fast; and less weight and mass would give one the advantage of being faster - especially when turning around corners. Inertia, they called it.

Less mass... Rooke thought. Maybe that's why Feitan's so fast. If he's that short, he must weigh less... Is it because of his height, too?

Rooke's thinking process could be charted as such:

1. Feitan } short } less surface area exposed to air } less air resistance } faster

2. Feitan } short } less mass } less inertia } can change directions faster

By now, Rooke was quite tempted to laugh. Perhaps that's why Feitan's so fast - because he was the shortest adult she'd ever seen. She had doubts on Kortopi though, she didn't know whether he was a kid or an adult. Kortopi's height suggested that he was a kid, but Feitan's height provided evidence that adults can be miserably short too.

Pfft. Rooke chuckled. Feitan was never going to hear about this.

3) Feitan sees Rooke's poorly-done workbook

On the ship, the Phantom Troupe had assigned themselves a duty roster to cook meals and clean up - and now, Rooke was in the kitchen with Machi and Phinks, preparing dinner for the troupe.

Feitan, having personally confirmed this, was planning on sneaking into Rooke's room. He was bored - Shalnark had taken back his Joystation Portable, Phinks was stuck with dinner duty and Feitan had finished looking through his art book multiple times already. Not that it wasn't interesting anymore, but Feitan was currently curious about something else.

Yesterday Shalnark had mentioned that Rooke bought some Chinese books to read. Rooke? Chinese? Feitan couldn't picture Rooke speaking Chinese fluently. In other words, he was suspicious. Rooke was new to the Phantom Troupe, after all, and he didn't trust her fully. Not yet. Was Rooke planning to use Chinese to disadvantage him? She had better not.

All in all, Feitan was curious and suspicious about Rooke, and thus to gain more information on her, he had decided to see for himself Rooke's taste in Chinese books. From there he would be able to judge Rooke's competency in the language, and decide whether or not to deem her as a sizeable threat.

After he was completely sure he wasn't followed, he slipped into her room. As expected of Rooke, her room was neat - and Feitan quickly found a suspicious brown bag hiding under the bed. He took a book out, took a glance at the cover, and laughed.

It was a goddamn workbook. An eight-year-old's Chinese workbook.

All his guarded suspicions of Rooke disappeared, but there was something that prompted him to flip open the page - it was pure, genuine curiosity.

Flip.

Feitan's eyes scanned the first three pages - the only pages that were completed - and he broke into hysterical laughter.

"Pfft! Three right out of ten..." Feitan chuckled, as he put the book back into its plastic bag, and slipped it back under the bed. "Can't believe it, ha ha."

Then he had an idea. He had suspected the Rooke was planning to use Chinese to her advantage earlier on, but now that suspicion gave him an idea - an idea for mischief.

A few minutes later Feitan slipped out of Rooke's room, grinning underneath his mask, with evidence of Rooke's horrible Chinese competency stored in his phone.