"Kurapika!" Leorio shouted, as their friend leapt out of the car and after the Phantom Troupe. Gon, Kurapika, Valeria, and Leorio piled into a car while Killua and Melody followed after the Phantom Troupe. Reporting on details and stalking the Troupe, they noticed that the Spiders started running towards the hotel. Impulsively, Kurapika leapt out of the car. Valeria sighed and leaned against the side of the car, watching the rain drip. "Rainy days are meant for you to laze around at home. Not some crazy criminal hunting."
She then watched Gon unbuckle his seat belt, grabbed her arm, and leapt out of the car to her surprise. "Gon? Wait, what-" She stumbled over her words as she nearly tripped and fell onto her butt when he pulled her along for the chase. She stopped in her tracks after Gon released her arm to pick up a phone call. The boy glanced back briefly but she waved her hand and watched him run away. She picked up her phone and responded while picking her nose. "Yo, Killua."
"Yo, gorilla! Where are you guys? What is Kurapika fucking doing?" She clicked her tongue in frustration and sighed. "I don't know. But for now, neither Gon and Kurapika are stopping. Considering how Kurapika is wildly swinging his bloodlust around him I don't think we should follow them." She listened for Killua's response before he proposed a plan. Valeria shut her phone with annoyance and chased after them, catching up to them. She stopped, when the Troupe noticed them and leapt up, throwing herself behind one of the potted hedges in front of a store. She used her Nen to slightly thicken and grow the branches out to cover more of her silhouette and carefully watched Gon's expression. Killua's plan replayed in her mind as she waited for the right moment. When Gon seemed to understand and calm down, stepping out, she carefully climbed out from the hedges with her hands up.
"Tsk, not again." Valeria scowled purposefully and watched Killua step out. "I told you last time, let's not do this again. "
"It's you three again." Machi stepped forward. "What do you want? The mafia who put a reward on us are gone."
"Haah you fucking serious?" Valeria furrowed her eyebrows further. Good thing that she threw tantrums often back in her hometown, she knew how to act like a brat. The two kids followed her example and Killua looked confused. Machi sighed and on Chrollo's orders, she tied them up. They all headed to Beitacle Hotel silently through the rain. As they entered the lobby, they stood against the pillar and heard a familiar voice.
"Hey! Do you realize what time it is? Idiot! It's Hotel Beitacle! How many times do I have to repeat myself!" Leorio glanced up, his eyes meeting the pleasantly surprised Killua and Gon, and a slightly amused but dumbfounded Valeria. "What the hell are you looking at huh? Do you all think this is some show? Damn, my future's dark because of the failures working with me. Listen, I'll close my eyes this one time. One more mistake and you'll get it good. Listen carefully. Seven on the dot. You'd best be at the hotel then!"
A message. Valeria was able to deduce that much and cracked her joints, and loosened her muscles. Paku, Nobunaga and Kortopi walked into the lobby, with the second one mentioned chuckling at the sight of the familiar trio. "Hahaha! Got yourselves caught again? I get it...you changed your minds and decided to join us right?"
"Yeh right, we came for the money." Valeria grimaced and Killua added on: "We didn't know that the reward for you guys was rescinded." Nobunaga laughed. "So you got caught stalking us again. But this must be fate at work. Well, let's be friends."
"No way. I don't even want to look at your face." Killua turned away and shut his eyes. Gon agreed and turned the other way. Valeria tilted her head up and shut her eyes. All she has to do is break the pink haired woman's arms and lessen the risk of them getting kidnapped. Unfortunately, they still had one minute left and Pakunoda was trying to read their memories. As Killua and Gon dragged on the time and Pakunoda, fortunately, humoured them with an explanation and though she got to check their memories, the time was up.
Valeria turned immediately and grabbed Machi's arms, shattering them while Killua and Gon, broke her arms and sent her flying just nearly stopping before the entrance, Valeria ducked and pulled herself out of the strings. Nobunaga leapt forward and grabbed Gon, in which Valeria reacted, using her Nen. The plants in the lobby area shot forward and aimed for Nobunaga's neck. The man released Gon and sliced the plants that had entered the radius of his sword, which to his surprise grew back immediately along with plants that emerged underground and held him down. Valeria immediately leapt up and delivered a swift kick, knocking him out as he collapsed against the wall of the hotel. Shizuku snuck behind her and attempted to throw a chop to the back of her neck but the female gorilla only grabbed her by the arm and threw her against Kortopi. Valeria rubbed the back of her neck as she leapt back, sore from the attack but surprisingly, the Nen strings looped themselves around her. Surprised but also realizing that she couldn't break out of them, she signalled the two boys and they scowled. The two exchanged looks and nodded in agreement, escaping right before the Nen strings could reach them. Unfortunately, the strings had already looped themselves around Pakunoda as well and dragged her back to the group.
The lights flickered back on and Valeria sighed, sitting down on the ground. The Troupe members circled around her before noticing a knife with a message attached was embedded into the pillar. Nobunaga tugged the knife out and read it, before flipping it over and showing it to Pakunoda. The woman began to sweat, panic arisen in her eyes. Nobunaga turned to Valeria and grinned. "You drew the short end, missy. Getting kidnapped again."
Valeria scoffed and shrugged her shoulders. "I think having one person kidnapped is much better than three. Though I'm impressed that you can still move your fingers to produce Nen strings." Machi had long released the strings, as her arms could no longer move and she focused more on healing herself. Valeria also didn't stupidly put up another fight with the lights on and with six members of the Troupe surrounding her. Shortly, the remaining members of the Spiders arrived and they all began to discuss their plans. When the phone from Phinks rang, he picked it up and to Valeria's amazement, tried to lie to Kurapika right away. "About that second rule, with no harm allowed to the hostage, she put up a fight earlier so we had to break some bones."
Kurapika hung up immediately after saying that it was not a possible exchange. Phinks called back and apologized before being evidently upset in having to hand the phone over to Pakunoda. As Pakunoda headed upstairs so the call would be far away from the rest of the spiders, Phinks and Feitan glowered at Valeria menacingly, obvious that they wanted to kill her. Valeria only stared back with her dead fish eyes and scoffed. "What? Never seen a girl as pretty as me? I know."
The two immediately became even more pissed off while Nobunaga laughed.
"Get real, kid." Phinks turned away with disgust. Feitan kneeled down and pulled out a bunch of knives. "Let's just torture and kill her now." Nobunaga immediately stepped in. "Didn't you hear? The boss is going to get killed."
The two didn't say anything but also didn't lower their weapons. Pakunoda then called Nobunaga up and he started talking to Kurapika. The two then came downstairs with grim faces. "I'm going to meet the chain user. Don't follow me." Valeria watched Pakunoda leave and then the spiders started to bicker once again.
"Let's just kill this bitch and go. We cannot risk half of the spiders over the boss, he wouldn't want that."
"But I don't want the boss to die now."
"At this rate, we're going to fall for the chain user's schemes!"
Valeria listened to them back and forth, her face slowly morphed to a bored and somewhat dumbfounded expression. Feitan then threw a knife towards her direction, shutting everyone up, and slightly trimming her hair as she had tilted her head slightly. "What's with that stupid expression? If you have something to say, say it. Who knows it might be your last words."
"Feitan!" Nobunaga growled.
"No. I was just thinking that y'all are messy. Without your leader you guys are going to end up with two spiders. Two headed? No, two separate." Valeria began before starting grumbling to herself.
"Are you saying that because you want to die? Or you want to trick us?" Phinks scowled.
"Hm. The prior choice is tempting. But no, I said what was on my mind. I mean look at you guys, bickering nonstop since your leader isn't here." Valeria shrugged, she stood up. "So like, are we heading to your base or what?"
"This-"
"Stop it. Let's just wait for what happens. She's still valuable as a hostage." Machi sighed, mending only one of her arms. The group glowered at one another before they headed to home base.
Valeria found herself chained to a rock and listened to all of them argue again and again and again. Even Feitan's and Phink's continuous remarks to kill her had no effect, not that it had much in the first place. However, Feitan's previous remarks about torture unsettled her slightly. But now, it was all bark and no bite to her. Nobunaga seemed to like her, for the better or worse and Machi and Shizuku were both on "his side." To be perfectly honest, death did scare her before but as her current self, she didn't mind it as much. She wasn't dying as one of the clan's mindless warriors but as something she chose for herself. Although it was a pity she wouldn't be able to choke and rip off Shion's head. Wait. Why not just turn that into her request before she gets killed? Wreak havoc upon the Lavines?
Just as she was thinking about putting a request to her executioners, Pakunoda returned and pointed at her. "I'm taking the hostage with me, by myself, in exchange for the boss."
Valeria rolled her eyes back up at the ceiling, anticipating another internal conflict among the spiders. She was correct. They bickered, they threatened, and they all looked like cats with their fur straightened upwards. All except Pakunoda. The woman remained silent, but she also held a strong opinion to do as Kurapika had said. Valeria listened to Phinks and Feitan complain for the millionth time about just killing her off and following Pakunoda to the "chain user". It was almost amusing that they even accused the woman of being controlled, without understanding her motives. It wasn't amusing because of that. It was amusing because Valeria who was raised by a clan who had no care for such feeble emotions and attachments would understand better. She didn't choose to say anything though. Contrary to what Gon would have done or felt, she didn't care. Might be better if they just tear their own limbs off. She got up, let herself out of the chains, and followed Pakunoda when the group reached a consensus.
The pair wandered silently to the airport. "Can I ask you something?" Valeria picked her nose, breaking the awkwardness.
"What?"
"Why did someone like you who desperately wants to save a comrade join an organization that seems to lack the very idea of empathy?"
"...Who knows." Pakunoda paused briefly before answering. Valeria crossed her arms, not pleased with the answer but also too lazy to drag a proper answer for her. In fact, she was too disturbed and occupied by a familiar, pedophilic clown. She felt more dread and disgust than she did back in that den of spiders, when he pretended not to know her.
"What's this clown doing here?"