Fifteen hours have passed since the start of the third phase, and the group is getting jumpy. Tonpa has worn on everyone's nerves, and Adella and Ryn's newly revealed prowess has prompted only more questions.

"Press O to open. This again? Fine, everyone!"

The group once again looks at their wrist bands, annoyed with majority rules. And once more, four press O, one pressing X.

Adella looks at Tonpa, snarling. "I swear on all that is holy, if you…"

"Actually Adella," Gon pipes up. "It was my fault. I pressed the wrong one by accident."

The brunette's brows raise, face growing softer as she turns to Gon. "Oh! Well, that's okay. It was an accident after all."

Tonpa protests, not liking that he was about to get torn apart but the kid gets a free pass. "Hey! I…"

"I apologize. But you have been rather unhelpful." She glares at him, and he takes what little he can get.

The room they enter contains two more doors, one for X and one for O.

A speaker beeps. "Please select a path. There are two available paths- the long and difficult path, which the entire group can take, or the short and easy path, which will be limited to only three of you. Incidentally, if you choose the long and difficult path it will require a minimum of 45 hours to complete, while the short and easy path will take you approximately three minutes. Press O to choose the long and difficult path, or press X to choose the short and easy path. If X is selected, two applicants from your group must be chained to the wall with handcuffs before the door will open. Those applicants will be unable to move until the time has expired."

Adella looks around the room filled with weapons. "They want us to fight."

Ryn walks over to the wall, pulling one of the axes down from its casing.

Tonpa holds up his hands. "Wait! We have the time! We can take the long…"

Ryn swings the axe, causing Tonpa to yelp, cowering as it hits the ground. "Well, it looks like Trick Tower is easy to dent."

Adella grins, looking at her friend. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Ryn tosses her the axe, pulling another from the rack. Tonpa looks between them, confused and frightened now they are both armed. "What…"

"Press O."

Killua rolls his eyes. "Just do it, old man. It's impossible to reason with them anyway."

He was right, of course, and five to zero, the long and difficult path opens. Adella immediately rushes in, bringing the axe with her. "Come on Ryn!"

The other woman follows, leaving the three males to peer into the dark hall as both women raise their axes.

"Three."

"Two."

"One!"

They bring the axes down on the wall, causing a large crack to run up the shoddy brickwork. Adella sets her axe down, stepping as far back as she can. "Okay, stay there kids!"

With a short spin to gain momentum, she kicks at the brick, bringing the wall down. "Ta-da! Short and easy path for five, anyone?"

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The slab of wall opens slowly and the group of four look up as the overcom crackles to life. "Gon, Killua, Ryn, Adella, and Tonpa all arrive simultaneously. Time elapsed, 15 hours and 22 minutes."

Ryn nudges Adella, motioning to their right. "They made it before us."

She scowls, unhappy that even with such a short time given their limit, the boys still beat them.

Tonpa immediately abandons the group, happy to escape them, yanking off the wrist band as he does.

The other four follow his example but remain in a group huddle. "Okay, now we have time, Killua, you're a Zoldyck?"

A faint click betrays the interest a certain other applicant has in the conversation. Ryn glances at Hisoka, who has paused in his tower building to listen. The small smirk on his face betrays his amusement.

Killua leans back, stretching slightly. "Yeah, and? You have a problem with that?"

Adella shakes her head. "No, it's just cool. You're so young and already so strong."

"Yeah, well, hate to admit it, but I'm not the best. My old man is pretty good. So is my grandfather." He scowls. "And then there's my brother, Illumi."

Adella can't help the smile that crawls across her face. "Wow, that is a lot of animosity just for a name."

Killua doesn't like how amused she sounds. "Yeah, well, he's the worst! I mean, not at being an assassin, he's really good. I can't beat him." He glances at Ryn. "Ryn probably could. And you; I bet you could take him Adella."

Ryn grins widely, looking far too happy by that news. "Yeah Adella, you can take him."

More loud clicking comes from their right, and Killua glares at the man, annoyed by the pincushion.

While he is distracted, Adella slams her elbow into Ryn's side. "Shut up, please."

Gon interrupts. "What about Hisoka? Could you take him?"

Killua shakes his head. "Not right now. I doubt Adella could either. You seem more close combat, and Hisoka won't let you get that far."

Adella nods, agreeing with his assumption.

Killua looks to Ryn again, appraising her. "You might be able to take on Hisoka. How good are your reflexes?"

As if summoned, a card slices through the air towards the group, only for Ryn to catch it in her hand. It seemed the magician wasn't too happy being discussed. Ryn, however, just smiles, holding up the stolen card. "That answer enough for you?'