The Speed Hunter Chapter 6, a hunter x hunter fanfic

Ryozha eased around the corner of the darkened alleyway. -I don't believe this... we didn't even make it all the way back to Constantis before those Knight-Guardian wannabes nearly grabbed us. As it was, they WOULD have, if Gon hadn't smacked that one guy in the face so hard he went through a wall...-

There was a slight noise in the alley, and he jumped, whirling, staff in hand before his seventh sense pinpointed the source as an alley cat.

-Grr... I hate being out here alone, but however they're following us, they seem to be focussing on me. So I'm the best one to lead them on a wild goose chase. Speaking of which...- He blurred down the alleyway, sprinting straight up the wall of the buildings at the end, and raced a third of the way across the city on the rooftops.

-Hopefully that'll keep them busy for a few minutes. I hope Gon and Killua are okay scouting out a clear path to the airport. We've GOT to get out of here.- He peered over the edge of the rooftop, all six senses extended to their limits. On the street below, a small car rocketed up, and three Knight-Guardians piled out.

-Holy..! I can sense the auras from their weapons alone from HERE! HOW ARE THEY TRACKING ME?-

Another car screeched up in the street behind the building that he was on, and Ryozha cursed, briefly but with considerable feeling. The world slowed, and his eyes darted back and forth, judging angles, calculating velocities, and abruptly, he moved.

Trailing sheets of ghostly friction flame, he hurled himself across the rooftops like a meteor, shrieking down the street at nearly three thousand miles an hour. As he raced, his seventh sense flared a warning, and he dove, half-jumping, half-flying in a very nearly flat arc. A hail of arrows passed over his head, glowing white-hot with compression heating and leaving a roaring wake of thunder and fire.

Ryozha, his eyes wide with shock, regained his feet on the next rooftop and put his head down, accelerating grimly. -I'd better hope that they don't have too many guys who can do that,- he thought, his mouth a thin, worried line, -or this is gonna be a real short chase.-

Passing across the city in less than 20 seconds, he paused for a fraction of a second at the city borders, then kept going, racing across country. Seven minutes later, he was on the other side of the country, four hundred miles away.

He paused in a thriving coastal city to catch his breath. Glancing around at the gleaming steel towers and palm trees, he hesitated... -Place looks kinda familiar... ah, of course. This is Antalya- Turkania's greatest tourist trap. Nice place, though.- His head whipped around at the sound of screeching tires and slamming doors.

He froze, momentarily stunned, as the same two nondescript cars came to a halt in front of and behind him, and the same seven Knight-Guardians piled out of them. Something inside him snapped. -... That's IT!-

Shifting back to speed awareness, he raced forwards, ignoring the Knight-Guardians' grabs for him, rendered clumsy by slow-motion. Tearing the gas caps off the two cars in quick succession, he tossed a spark of friction fire into each.

Then, as an afterthought, he took the Archer-Guardian's bow away and beat him over the head with it a few times until it broke (head or bow, he wasn't fussy), then sprinted away as the two cars went up in twinned fireballs. -Hopefully that will keep them busy for a while.- he thought angrily.

As Ryozha raced back across the country to Constantis, Gon edged cautiously around a corner. The twisting alleyways of Constantis were both a blessing and a curse, as it made it easy for both hunter and hunted to hide in ambush or slip away. -This is crazy.- he thought, -Every time I think I've lost them, I see them again, even when I just run for it!-

Approaching the airport from the other side, Killua was finding much the same thing. -This is impossible...- he thought, -there's no WAY they can be tracking me. Even the Genei Ryodan lost me when I moved like this..! Gotta keep moving...-

On the outskirts of Constantis, Ryozha paused for a minute, scanning the area. -Good... that seems to have slowed them down a little, or at least they're not popping out of the woodwork all-but-instantaneously any more.- He pulled out his phone and conference-called Gon and Killua.

Once they told him what was going on, he stopped and thought for a long while. "Do you guys think you can keep clear of them for another twenty minutes or so? I have a plan." Ryozha told them.

"Sure." Gon told him, at the same time Killua said "No problem- they don't seem to know exactly where we are, even if they can find the general area too easily for me to be comfortable."

"Great." Ryozha said. "I'll see you in twenty."

Nineteen minutes later, Ryozha was racing full speed towards where Gon had said he would meet him. -Gyeesh... Amazing how long it takes to find a hardware store when you don't read the local language... Aha... here they are.-

Stretching his Speed Awareness, Ryozha pushed himself harder, passing amongst the Knight-Guardians like a hyperactive bolt of lightning. Eighteen rolls of Nen-reinforced duct tape later, the Knight-Guardians were hopelessly tangled to each other, nearby lampposts, and, in one case, to a moving truck.

"Okay! That won't hold them for long- Gon, go arrange a flight to Whale Island." Gon nodded, and Ryozha ran for Killua's position. -Good thing I learned a little about imbuing my Nen to stuff from Mr. Fettham.- Ryozha thought in passing.

Once Killua's pursuers were similarily disposed of, Ryozha and Killua ran for the airport. "Gon should already have us a flight." Ryozha said.

"Good... I hope that it's soon." Killua responded.

"No guarantees, mate- I told him to get the first connection through to Whale Island."

"What? Why?"

"Seemed simplest- and if we actually wait for it, we may convince them that that's where we're actually going."

They rounded the final corner and headed into the airport terminal, hurrying but no longer sprinting at superhuman speeds. A quick call to Gon's cellphone had them heading to Gate 17, and the airport lounge there.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Ryozha..." Killua told him.

Ryozha shook his head. "I'm not sure. But so far they seem to be putting a higher importance on secrecy than catching us." he half-shrugged. "If they keep going the same way, we should be able to get airborne without too much trouble, and be fine until we get where we're going."

After a long, nervous wait, during which the Knight-Guardians completely and utterly failed to storm the airport lounge and take them hostage, the three boys were airborne and headed to Whale Island via Zaban.

Three days later, Ryozha was half out of his mind with boredom, and close to driving Killua and Gon completely out of theirs.

He rolled over in bed and drummed his heels on the wall of the small cabin he shared with Gon and Killua both. "Remind me again why I wanted to get on this flying Banana boat?" he complained.

"You SAID..." Killua growled, "that this was a chance to get a rest from being chased everywhere. You SAID that we might even get a bit of a jump on the Knight-Guardians as far as our next destination goes. You SAID that they seemed to have a hard time tracking us when we're airborne, which is why they had an agent aboard the flight to Pyotokia rather than just popping out wherever we were. You SAID that the Knight-Guardians probably wouldn't attack us on an Airship, since they value secrecy." by this point Killua was half-shouting.

"But what you DIDN'T say," Killua said, shouting for real, now, "is that you would COMPLAIN for the ENTIRE TRIP!"

Ryozha flinched back. "Sorry... it's just... well, I know I've said it already, but I'm used to moving on my own, and I could have been there and back nine times already." He sighed. "I'm still worried about Oz, y'know. The office couldn't or wouldn't tell me where she was, and said that no one had seen her since the night we went to the Fortress of the Forgotten Crusade. Oh well... I guess there's not much we can do from here. At least we've got some time to figure out where we're going next."

Gon looked at him oddly. "Why haven't we done that yet, anyways?"

Killua glanced from one to the other. "Because he hasn't stopped whining for the last two days, and it's kept you and me from concentrating?" he suggested.

Ryozha glared at Killua. "Anyways, why don't we take care of it now?"

Gon and Killua both nodded emphatically. "ANYTHING to shut you up for a while..." Killua muttered.

Once Ryozha had his laptop open and all three were focussed on matching the maps, all their bickering was quickly forgotten. The ring was passed back and forth rapidly as they scanned hundreds of maps.

After about ten minutes of intense concentration, Ryozha leaned back and stretched. Then he grinned mischeviously. "I have an idea to make this more fun AND speed things up a little."

"Oh, no." Killua said, waving his finger. "No bets. You have WAY too big an advantage in speed."

"So you don't think you can do it, huh?" Ryozha smirked.

Killua froze. "I..." he started to say, but Gon interrupted.

"What were you thinking of, Ryozha?" he asked.

"May as well keep it small... how about, whoever matches five maps first, the other two have to buy their snacks until the end of this hunt?"

Killua smiled cynically. "Okay, but... if you claim you made the matches, but you're wrong, you have to buy snacks for both the other two." Gon grinned broadly, and Ryozha answered his grin. "You're on!" they both said.

A few minutes later, they were sitting in the airship's on-board cybercafe. Killua and Gon each claimed a computer, and Ryozha hooked his laptop into the network.

"Okay," Gon called, "Three.. two... one... GO!"

The cyber-lounge was filled with the stacatto sound of high-speed typing far into the night. Or at least, it would have been, had Ryozha not yelled out less than ten minutes later "Got it!"

Killua glanced at Gon. "TOLD you." he said, looking put out.

Gon ignored him and hurried over to where Ryozha was sitting.

The ring flickered, and Ryozha held it in front of the screen so that the map that appeared overlapped the one that the computer was displaying.

"So where's that?" Gon asked.

"Allixen, believe it or not," Ryozha told him, "you know, where that Wolf guy was from."

Gon and Killua nodded, and Ryozha switched maps in the ring.

"Huh?" Killua said, then nodded, "Oh, right- that's the map that Gon and I can't get to work. Now that I see it again, I bet I can guess... That's those three weird doors in York Shin, isn't it?" he asked.

Ryozha nodded, bringing up the map on the computer as well. Then he switched maps again, but stopped when it had fully formed. He frowned. "This isn't the map that I meant to bring up..." he said, starting to switch, then paused. "Hang on!" he said excitedly. "I think I finally recognized that map... I THOUGHT it looked familiar." He flickered through a few dozen more screens on his laptop. After a second or two, he brought up a map of his own.

"This is my travel journal," he told Gon and Killua, "and this is a little town I stopped through when I was tracking the Black Lotus Gang. I was following some Mafia connections, but quit when they didn't point to the Gang. It's a little place in Guardania called Cervit."

"Uhm... so?" Killua wanted to know.

"I know!" Gon exclaimed, "You think that that's where the Knight-Guardian's Fortress is!"

Ryozha nodded. "One thing I remember about Cervit is that I was really disappointed that I couldn't visit the huge old castle atop the peak there. I did some checking later, just 'cos I was curious, and I found out that the local council of Cervit has adamantly refused to let anybody study the castle, even under extreme pressure from the national government of Guardania. They claimed the mountain was badly unstable, even though there hasn't even been so much as a rockslide for seventy years."

"It sounds like they're hiding something, all right." Killua agreed.

"So do we head for Guardania, then?"

"We're probably going to end up there in any case," Ryozha agreed, "but there's one other thing you should know. Remember those dark-suited guys that tried to kidnap Ping Lee?" Gon and Killua nodded. "They were agents for the country of Bederusse, which has a major interest in whether or not I find the treasure. Thing is- up until about fifteen years ago, Guardania was claimed by Bederusse. So they're very likely to take notice if I turn up there."

Killua shrugged. "We'll deal with that when it comes." Gon nodded, and Ryozha smiled faintly.

"Sounds good to me." he said.

Over the next few days the three Hunters refined their plan, going over every possibility they could think of. Finally, the night before they were due to land in Zaban, they were all sitting in their small cabin.

Ryozha was staring at his bank book in some shock- "I can't believe you ate this much worth of snacks in just three days, Killua..." he mumbled.

Killua gave him a catlike smile, and said "You should have thought of that before you claimed to have all of them when you made a mistake on the last one." Ryozha made a face at him, and Killua's smile faded. "Anyways, Let's go over the basic plan again." Gon nodded seriously, and Ryozha groaned, but put his bank book away and sat down.

Ryozha flipped open his laptop. "Okay... it took a bit of searching, but here's the basic layout of the Zaban airport." he moved the cursor, highlighting one of the gates and one of the airline desks.

"Here's where we're gonna get off this airship, and this is the desk that we need to go to to get tickets to Massechou. It's the capital of Bederusse, which is both good and bad- good, because it should hopefully distract them for a while as to where we're really going, and bad, because it makes it easy for them to know our route. Unfortunately, it's the only major destination that has a natural layover in Guardania, so we don't have a lot of choice."

Gon nodded. "Right." he said. "So... let's see. When we get off, you're going to go to the Whale Island terminal and wait. I'll get the tickets to Massechou, and Killua will go order tickets back to York Shin, and then we'll all get onto the helicopter that Ryozha chartered to Whale Island and fly around until the final boarding call for the flight to Massechou."

Killua nodded. "If the Knight Guardians show up, we'll use the emergency phonerings we used for sneaking into Boss Myoji's mansion, and fight them if we have to, but we've got to get onto the airship for Massechou." He said. Gon grinned. "Operation: Vanishing Hunters sounds like it's ready to go!"

Ryozha grimaced at the name but didn't comment, then shrugged, grinned and high-fived both Gon and Killua. "All right..." he said, "all we've gotta do now is... sigh... wait." Gon and Killua started to laugh, and he groaned.

As Gon, Killua and Ryozha's airship plodded its slow way through the night, the Enforcer found himself once more kneeling before the Lord Captain of the Knight-Guardians.

"You cal… Yes, my lord?" the Enforcer said.

"Ah, Ethan." the Lord Captain said. "Do you have any… successes… to report regarding the matter of the Speed Hunter?"

The Enforcer said nothing for a long moment, looking at the floor to hide his fury. "My lord, you know I do not." he said finally.

"Yes. You chose your tools unwisely, Ethan. I must confess… I am somewhat disappointed." the Lord Captain told him. -Although, I must say, I am glad in a way that he did not confront the boy- it means that there is still a chance to capture him alive while I decide what to do.- he thought privately. He frowned pensively. "You may go, Ethan. Have the Monitor inform me when he can track the child again."

"As you command, Lord Captain." the Enforcer bowed and went out.

He sat in troubled silence for a short time, then stirred as the slender form of a young woman emerged from the shadows of the draperies behind him. "Ah, Angelica darling. I trust your perceptions more than my own... is Ethan..?" he didn't finish the question.

She shook her head, deep, sea-green eyes troubled in the shadow of long lashes. "No, Lord Commander." she told him. "He is becoming steadily more unstable- I feared he would attack you on the spot."

The Lord Commander chuckled softly and ruffled her golden curls. "Spare me that Lord Commander nonsense, especially when we're alone. I am still your grandfather, Angelica, even though you may be a grown-up-healer now."

She blushed, and he made a face at her. "And none of that wilting flower act, either. There's steel in your spine girl, and I know that better than anyone. In fact, I think you may be able to succeed where the Enforcer failed. I have the beginnings of a plan; let me think, and I will tell you what we need to do..." His voice trailed off, and, after a time, his granddaughter left him to think.

A lazy wind drifted across the chilly tarmac of the Zaban airport, faintly jostling the airship as it floated in for a gentle touchdown. Before the door was even completely open, the three young Hunters were already halfway to the terminal, splitting apart like a precision drill team when they hit the doors.

Back in the Aerie fortress, an ancient alarm system rang a special tone, and Nen-lights flared in the appropriate rooms. The Enforcer was in the Monitor's room within seconds -Almost like he'd been lurking outside...- the Monitor thought, a little disgruntled.

Wisely not giving any hint of that, he said "The Speed Hunter is back on the scope. The Emission team has already been alerted, and is warming up- they should be ready in a few minutes. I left it to you to decide what sort of strikeforce will go."

"Good." said the Enforcer shortly, and vanished back out the door. -Friggin' loon...- the Monitor thought to himself.

In the airport, Ryozha, Gon and Killua had flashed their Hunter cards to bypass the security checkpoints, then raced for their assigned spots. Ryozha got to the Whale Island helipad first (unsurprisingly), and the pilot soon had the whirlybird warming up. Seconds later, Killua was fuming in the line for Southern Peace Airlines, and a minute after that, on the far side of the terminal, Gon was getting tickets for Massechou at the SlavAir desk.

In the Aerie Fortress, the Enforcer had rousted his chosen men out of bed. Grumbling (very quietly) and rubbing their eyes, one or two yawned ostentatiously, then shut up when the Enforcer glared at them.

"All right." he snapped. "The Speed Hunter is on the ground again. This is to be a surgical strike- move in, grab the boy and his companions, and return. Do not bother engaging any others, no matter what the provocation. Emission team, are you ready?"

The three who were standing on the corners of the large, slightly raised triangle in the flooring nodded. "Five minutes until the portal initialization is fully stabilized, Chief Enforcer." the lead Emission user reported.

"Excellent. He will not escape me this time." the Enforcer said.

In the airport, Ryozha was pacing nervously while Gon perched on one of the lounge chairs and watched, unperturbed. Then Gon cocked his head and turned to stare hard at the doors of a nearby washroom. "Something... strange... is going on over there." he said.

Ryozha stopped pacing and turned to stare as well. "Yeah..." he said after a moment, "there's some kind of crazy Nen-buildup happening. I think we'd better call Killua and..."

Killua came jogging up. "I HATE lines." was his only comment.

"You and me both, but never mind that now." Ryozha said, grabbing his arm and dragging him towards the door. "Let's get on that chopper and get out of here." Killua sort of shrugged and let himself be dragged.

The Knight-Guardians trickled out of the bathroom in groups of two and three, keeping to the shadows and using "In", being largely ignored by passers by and the airport personnel. The Monitor gestured towards the helipad, and the dozen Knight Guardians moved out, swiftly and with martial precision.

Once outside, the Enforcer looked questioningly to the Monitor, who shook his head and shrugged. "They're airborne again." he said.

The Enforcer frowned and glanced around. "They can't have gotten far." he said. "They must be in one of those..." he trailed off, sizing up the handful of aircraft that had just taken off.

Aboard the chopper as it rose smoothly to altitude, Ryozha scanned the tarmac with anxious eyes. Gon was eagerly watching the pilot, taking in her every motion, and Killua appeared to have dozed off.

As the other Knight-Guardians watched with varying degrees of consternation, the Enforcer unlimbered his Morningstar. One of the bolder ones ventured to say "Sir... are you sure..?" before being cut off by a glare from the Enforcer. He spun the Morningstar once or twice, then let fly, the spiked ball blurring up and outwards, the chain stretching to impossible lengths.

Aboard the chopper, the pilot shouted and fought for control as the machine suddenly shot forwards and dropped like a stone at the same time. Once he had regained control and checked that his passengers were all right, she muttered something about windshear and set the machine to climbing back to his assigned altitude.

Gon and Killua looked questioningly- and in Killua's case, a little irritatedly- he had actually bounced off the ceiling when the chopper dropped- at Ryozha, who simply waved towards the dwindling airport and then pointed to his own Gyo-glowing eyes.

"The Knight-Guardians?" Gon yelled over the racket of the rotors.

Ryozha nodded. Seeing no more incoming attacks, he relaxed a little. -Guess we're out of range for the moment.- he thought. He smiled tightly through his stress as he registered what it was pounding out of his earphones. -Ha... thing seems to be in a bit of a U2 mood today... "Elevation", heh.-

Back on the ground, the Enforcer cursed virulently, but calmed a little when the Monitor informed him that he knew where the helicopter was going. -Can't believe that I actually had to send one of the men to go gather that information.- the Monitor thought, -Ethan is seriously losing it- he should have done that before he even tried to knock it out of the sky.- The handful of Knight-Guardians meandered back into the bathroom with careful nonchalance, reappearing back in the transport triangle at the Aerie Fortress.

"How long?" the Enforcer barked to the Emission team. "We can have you on the island in about four minutes, Chief Enforcer." the head of the Emission team informed him. "Good." the Enforcer said. Turning to his men, he said "We wait.", and then turned his back to them, holding the 'at ease' position.

Aboard the helicopter, Ryozha had finally managed to persuade the pilot to fly only about two hours towards Whale Island and then return, to catch the flight to Massechou.

On Whale Island, the Knight-Guardians ringed the helipad, patiently waiting for the helicopter, which was scheduled to arrive at any moment. "He will NOT escape me this time." the Enforcer declared, "This I VOW. This I shall DO!"

The Monitor swallowed. He tapped the Enforcer on the shoulder and said "Sir... I would not be so hasty in making such a vow. He is on the ground again... back in Zaban."

The Enforcer stared at him in shocked disbelief for a long moment, then began to swear, cursing the airlines, helicopters, the Emission team, the Monitor, then moving on to the Speed Hunter, cursing him, his 'cowardice', his cunning, his ancestry... when he had reached seven generations back and was starting to work his way back forwards, the Monitor, a little awed by his sheer creativity, decided it was time to intervene.

A few minutes later, he had managed to calm the Enforcer and they were back in the Aerie Fortress, awaiting the Emission team's reset. As the transportation triangle warmed back up again, the Monitor suddenly slumped. "It's no use, sir. They're off the grid again."

A moments later, Angelica raced up at the head of her triage team. She was met at the door by the Enforcer, his Morningstar in his hand and bloody to the hilt. He caught Angelica by the arm and leered down at her. "Why waste your time repairing those incompetent fools, Sister Angelica, when you could have... me?" he said, his tongue sliding over his lips.

Angelica yanked her arm out of his grip. "You know the nature of my abilities, Ethan." she said. "I cannot refuse aid to those in need of it, or it will cost me my life. Now get out of my way!"

"Very well, Sister Angelica." the Enforcer said with a small, deranged smile. "You may go... for now." Angelica ignored him and plunged through the doorway, her hands already glowing gently with healing Nen.

Aboard the SlavAir airship, Gon, Killua and Ryozha high-fived one another.

"Yes!" Killua said. "I can't believe that it worked so well!"

Ryozha shook his head. "Me neither, if I'm honest." he said. "Heh... those Knight-Guardian wannabes are probably about ready to have a stroke by now." Gon grinned, and the three of them were soon clustered around Ryozha's laptop for some gaming.

In a bunker beneath the central square of Massechou, a mid-ranking technician had just made the discovery that would eventually cost him his career.

"Sir!" he called, bringing over the Watch Officer. "According to our tracking programs, both the Speed Hunter and the Gem Huntress who are seeking the Grand Treasure of the Ophirate are due to be in Guardania in a matter of days... the town of Cervit, to be exact."

"How long?" the Watch Officer demanded.

"Not very... both are on flights that have a layover there, bound for here, in Massechou."

The Watch Officer nodded. "The Grand Treasure of the Ophirate cannot be here, or we would have found it long ago. Most likely the connection is a blind. In any case, forward your findings to the analysts- Central Intelligence will have to decide what to do with this."

"As you command, sir."

The voyage to Cervit passed uneventfully aboard the airship. On the final night before their arrival in Guardania, Gon called the other two over to his section of their small cabin. "I have an idea," he said. "You know how they always find us as soon as we hit the ground? Well... since 'In' didn't work, why don't we go in using Zetsu?"

Ryozha frowned. "I don't like the idea," he said finally, "since it would leave us defenseless if we were surprised. But I have to admit I don't have a better one." He glanced at Killua. "How about you, Killua? Anything?"

Killua shook his head. "I think Gon's idea is the best one we're going to get for now, until we get a better idea of the enemy's capabilities."

"All right then," Gon said, "it's settled." Ryozha looked like he wanted to argue some more, but shrugged and nodded.

The airship the three boy Hunters were on bumped to a halt at the airport of Cervit, and Gon, Killua and Ryozha disembarked to breathe the air of the high mountain meadows.

"Okay..." Ryozha said, gesturing towards the ancient castle that loomed high over the town. "If our guess is correct, that's the Aerie Fortress." He paused. "But I'm not so sure it's a good idea to just go charging off and breaking into it."

Gon shook his head. "You're right," he said, "we need to look around the town a little bit first- there might be something we need to know."

They ambled casually into the aerodrome, fidgeting through the line, only to find they had to show their Hunter cards anyways, because Ryozha, who was supposed to have done so, had forgotten to get tourist visas. -Bah... that was stupid.- Ryozha grumbled to himself. -Oh well... if we've caught anybody's attention, they'll know in a couple of hours that we didn't get onto that flight anyways.-

A few hours later found them in a small tour group, viewing the snowy... er, 'wonders' of Cervit. Finally, as the afternoon dragged on, the loud, obnoxious tourists from the Southern Peace that all three boys had been trying desperately to ignore suddenly had their undivided attention.

"What about that there castle-y thing?" the plump older man demanded. "I want t'get some good pictures, and that's the most interesting thing in this little dump so far."

The guide spluttered a bit, and Killua smoothly interjected "Why doesn't the tour go up there, anyways? It certainly looks like it would attract tourists."

The guide shook his head. "It is unsafe- the mountain is not very stable, and the castle has been abandoned for hundreds of years."

"Don't you know anything about it?" Gon asked, sounding genuinely disappointed -And for that matter, he probably is...- Ryozha thought, -He's one of the most genuine guys I've ever met. His heart's on his sleeve... and it's amazing how well it works for him.-

The guide shook his head again. "I'm afraid not," he said, "Most of our older records were destroyed or taken when Bederusse took over this country, eighty years ago. Even the folk legends are of little use... some nonsense about it being built by mountain spirits or something. Not even a hint as to who the true builders were."

-I'm impressed,- Killua thought, -either this guy's been fed the same line he just fed us, or he's one of the smoothest liars I've seen.-

After the tour, they convened in Gon's hotel room. "Well... I don't think we learned a lot from that tour..." Gon said.

"Right... except that either the tour guides are amazingly fluent liars, or they're being lied to themselves by some fluent liars." Killua added.

"Dunno how useful that is," Ryozha said gloomily, "but I guess we're going to have to work with what we've got. I didn't find much at the library, or online... just a few reports of the deaths of some people who went poking around up in that part of the mountains, and a lot of stupid legends that are so badly distorted they don't even make sense."

Gon shrugged. "I don't think most of the people here know much of anything. There's probably a few who do, but I didn't find them."

Killua shook his head. "I didn't find anyone either- they all seem weirdly reluctant to talk about the castle."

They were interrupted by a soft knock at the door. Gon hopped up and down a few times, trying to see through the peephole, then gave up and opened the door a crack. A girl not much older than them stood hesitantly in the doorway. Ryozha looked at her, then put one of his earphones up to his ear. -Huh... Thing's started up on it's own again... and it's U2 again- "Angel of Harlem". Seems appropriate for her, somehow.-

After a moment, she spoke. "Excuse me..." she said, "Are you the Hunters that are seeking the Grand Treasure?"

Gon, Killua and Ryozha looked at one another. Whatever they had been expecting, this wasn't exactly it.

"Uhm..." Ryozha began.

"Oh no, it's all right..." the girl said. "My Grandfather wants to speak with you, and sent me to ask if you would come."

"Okaaaay... so who is your grandfather?" Killua asked.

"Why... the Lord Captain of the Knight-Guardians, of course!" the girl said, as if it was self-evident.

After a moment, Ryozha became aware that his jaw was hanging open, and closed his mouth. "Uhm... if he wants to TALK to us, why does he keep trying to have us killed?" Killua wanted to know.

"What!?" the girl exclaimed. "No, no! They had orders not to harm you, to capture you only."

"Oh." Killua said flatly, radiating skepticism.

"Please!" the girl said, "At least consider it- it's very important!"

"Uhm... okay." Gon said. "What's your name, anyways?"

She blinked. "I didn't tell you yet?" she asked. When they shook their heads, she blushed. "Oh... my name is Angelica... Sister Angelica. I'm a healer."

Gon smiled at her, and she relaxed a little. Seeing that she wasn't going anyplace, Ryozha said, "Well... we don't have any better leads right now. I vote we trust her and go. I can get us out if need be- my Kinetic Battery ability is fully charged now."

Gon nodded. "I think we should trust her too. She seems nice." Killua frowned, but nodded his assent.

Sister Angelica led them out of the hotel, into the waning evening light as a light dusting of snow fell over the Alpine village. She moved quickly, passing through the streets like a fleeting vision. Soon, the three Hunters had to release their Zetsu and use Nen to keep up.

They were nearing the edge of town when the sound of rotors froze them in their tracks. Seconds later, the -CRUMP!- of an explosion punctuated the evening stillness, followed by the rumbling of the shockwave. The young foursome turned, their eyes darting around, trying to spot the source of the sound. They didn't have to look for long.

As they watched, a quartet of bulbous attack helicopters flew overhead, peeling off and re-forming for another attack run. In the village proper, the sudden bitter chattering of machinegun fire shattered the silence, followed by the wail of an air raid siren.

"It's a commando raid!" Killua called over the noise.

The siren cut off abruptly, and the noise was replaced by a steady rumbling. "Tanks?" Ryozha yelled over the noise. "This isn't a raid... it's a war!" He looked at Sister Angelica. "Sorry, Sis. But it looks like my presence here has prompted something that needs to be brought under control." He glanced at his partners. "Coming?" he asked.

Gon and Killua nodded. "Mm-hm!" Gon said. They charged down the hillside into the darkening streets, flaring bright with Nen.

Sister Angelica stared after them for a long moment, looking slightly stunned.

Finally, she mumbled "Sis..?" with a faint, bemused smile on her face. The smile vanished instantly when another explosion sounded from the village, intermingled with a scream.

Suddenly looking deadly serious, she straightened, flared with Nen, and whispered "Angel of Mercy!". Her aura quivered, flowing to her shoulders, and became a pair of enormous, feathery wings. She soared into the twilight, swooping down on the town to save those she could.

Down in the town, the three boys surveyed the situation from the rooftop. "There's enough of them that we should probably stay close." Gon said. "These guys are soldiers, and they might have fought Nen users before." Killua and Ryozha nodded. Gon made to jump off, but Ryozha stopped him.

"What are they shooting at, anyways? I didn't think there was a military base near here... I didn't even think this town had a militia." Gon and Killua shrugged.

"No idea." Killua said, then paused, pointing. "Look over there!"

In the street, a small cluster of Bederusse soldiers had taken up positions behind what cover there was available, firing at a small-ish A-frame house. From out of the house came the flat -CRACK- of a rifle, and a small shower of grenades. The surviving soldiers scattered, then regrouped with martial precision, one now carrying a bazooka. One fiery explosion later, and the rifle fire from the house was stilled.

"Looks like the townspeople aren't exactly helpless..." Ryozha commented, "but they're still way overmatched. Where should we start?"

Gon glanced around, then pointed. "There!" he said, "Let's stop those tanks."

Ryozha looked at him. "Uhm... tanks? Ooooooookay then..." He half-shrugged and hopped off the rooftop, following the others.

A minute or two later, Ryozha was dusting off his hands. -Well... that was easier than I thought it would be...- he thought to himself. He and Killua had cleared away the tank's escort of infantry, and Gon had smashed off it's anti-personnel machinegun. With that accomplished, Killua sent a few jolts of electricity through it to ruin the radio and scare out the crew. Ryozha knocked them over the head when they popped out, and Gon finished things off by pounding on the barrel of the main gun until it snapped off.

After they'd 'killed' two more tanks that way and knocked out a couple of squads of soldiers, Ryozha motioned for a halt. "There should be one more tank in this group, far as I know- most countries deploy them in platoons of four. Do you guys think you can handle things for a few minutes without me?"

"Sure, I guess so." Gon said, "But why?"

"I'm gonna go topside and see if I can't put a lid on those gunships- they're starting to bug me."

With that statement, Ryozha blurred down the street, accelerating crazily. -Glad I absorbed plenty of kinetic energy during our downtime.- he thought. Flipping his momentum ninety degrees, he shot up the side of the tallest building he could find (-five stories... sigh-), launching himself high into the air, aiming for one of the low-flying helicopters.

He latched on to one of the landing struts and grinned. -Kinda sad how easy it is for me to take out a helicopter.- he thought. Concentrating briefly, he simply sucked the kinetic energy out of the chopper, stalling the engine and stilling the rotors.

It dropped like a stone as the pilots frantically tried to restart it, then bailed out. Just before the helicopter hit the street, Ryozha yanked the kinetic energy out of it again, dropping it as gently as a falling leaf. Then he hopped up on top and, with a powerful burst of kinetic energy, ripped the main rotor off. -Perfection.- he thought, charging down the street to find the next helicopter.

While Ryozha was heli-hunting, Gon and Killua were facing bigger problems at ground level. They had disposed of the last tank easily enough, but had run across a large group of commandoes on the way. Pinned by enemy fire, they were trapped in a building that was in the process of distintegrating.

Gon ducked as a bullet whistled past. "Should we call Ryozha?" he yelled over the steady hammer of automatic fire.

Killua shook his head vehemently. "NO! We can handle this!"

"How? We can't go out the front door, and the back part of the house has already fallen down!"

"Wait... these houses are pretty close together, aren't they?" Killua asked.

"Close?" Gon yelled, "That's one of the things that I said was weirdest about this place, remember? All the houses are stuck together..."

Killua grinned suddenly. "Remember how we got away from Nobunaga, that Ryodan guy with the sword?"

Gon grinned back. "Let's go! Although let's go the same direction this time."

After waiting for a lull in the fire, they charged across the debris-littered floor, ducking into the next room, then smashing through the wall that separated the two buildings.

There was a brief pause in the steady thunder of machinegun fire, then it traced across the face of the buildings, tracking them.

"They must have heat sensors!" yelled Killua.

"Come on, we've got to keep moving!" Gon yelled back. They sprinted through the building, smashing through the dividing wall again, then repeated, getting three or four buildings away.

"Okay..." Gon said. "We should be far enough away that they're going to have to reposition. Let's get onto the roof while we have the chance, so we'll have the high ground." Killua nodded, and they ran up the stairs.

In the air, Ryozha had taken a break from helicopter-splashing to survey the situation below. Clinging to the strut of the last remaining helicopter (and smiling faintly because he could 'hear' the pilots arguing about what was killing the other choppers with his seventh sense), he watched the town pass beneath him.

The faint smile vanished abruptly when he saw Sister Angelica standing between a group of townspeople and a large squad of soldiers. Almost unconsciously, he pumped kinetic energy into the helicopter and angled it towards them, ignoring the startled protests of the pilots as control of their machine was wrenched away from them.

Two minutes earlier

Sister Angelica landed in front of a small group of townspeople. "Non combatants follow me!" she said. "We are grouping those who cannot fight to evacuate." A handful of people separated off, and she led them to a much larger group.

"All right!" she called to the new arrivals. "Before we move out, are there any wounded among you?" A few called out, and she moved among them, healing here and there. "There. We're ready to go- we're headed for Annas, down on the lowlands. We should be able to reach it before daylight."

The sleepy townsfolk moved into a ragged line behind her, mothers carrying those too young to walk, small children supporting the very old, and all grumbling faintly.

They hadn't gone a hundred feet before a lone soldier stepped out from one of the side streets, blocking the way.

"Stand aside, puppet." Sister Angelica snapped.

The soldier didn't respond, simply gesturing and bringing dozens of troops pouring out of the surrounding streets. "Perhaps once we've shot a few hostages these fools will lay down their arms. We want nothing in this village. We were merely going to use it as a convenient staging grounds for our siege on the castle above!"

The soldiers levelled their rifles and aimed, ignoring Sister Angelica, who strode out to interpose herself between the soldiers and the non-combatants. They hesitated, though, at the sound of an angry shout from above.

Ryozha dropped the assault helicopter right on top of the mob of soldiers, vaulting off and containing the shockwave of the explosion on Sister Angelica's side by absorbing its kinetic energy.

Before the dazed commander had time to so much as shake his head, Ryozha was in his face. Grabbing the commander by his lapels, Ryozha dragged him partially upright, so they were nose to nose. "Hi!" he said brightly. "I caught that bit about shooting non-combatants. And I... am... not... impressed." he finished, his voice trailing off in a growl.

Dropping the commander, Ryozha blurred into the center of the stunned soldiers and let off a monstrous pulse of kinetic power, blasting them aside like dead leaves. When the last of the soldiers had bounced to a halt and none of them got up again, Ryozha dusted off his hands and turned to Sister Angelica.

He stopped when he noticed that her expression was one of transfixed horror. He spun around and froze briefly. A full platoon of soldiers, backed up by a pair of armoured personnel carriers and a lance of tanks was approaching rapidly. His face blanched. -I'm close to my limit for control already! Sorry, Bisuke...- he thought, and slipped his headphones on with one hand while hitting the fast-call button for Gon and Killua's phones, sending out the emergency code, with the other.

A short distance away, Gon and Killua glanced at one another, then raced towards where they'd seen the last helicopter go down. They had managed to lose their pursuers in Cervit's forest of chimneys, then doubled back and ambushed them, scattering and stunning them all with their impossible speed.

Meanwhile, Ryozha was unlimbering his jointed staff as he faced down the soldiers. Strauss's "The Hero's Battlefield" roared at 1000x speed out of his earphones, and he grimaced faintly. -Now THERE's a promising sign...- he thought unhappily. Full speed awareness came almost disconcertingly quickly, and he launched himself forwards, charging the soldiers.

Gon and Killua raced down the street towards the sound of erratic gunfire.

"That's weird..." Killua said.

"What?" Gon asked.

"These guys are soldiers- highly trained commando types. But that shooting sounds almost random, like what you'd get if you gave a bunch of people off the street guns."

They crested a small rise to a scene of chaos. One tank was flipped completely over and had landed on another; both were burning. The left tread had been torn off one of the APCs, and was tethering the other two tanks together, welded onto their sides. And amidst the soldiers, a shimmering streak of red-and-gold Nen-fire burned, dancing amongst them, as devastating and untouchable as a lightning strike... for a time.

Even as they watched, though, Ryozha faltered, his control slipped... and then he went down under an avalanche of soldier's boots and rifle butts.

"Quick!" Gon yelled, sprinting down the hill with fantastic speed, "While they're still too close to use their guns!" Killua was right behind him, and the two charged the soldiers much as Ryozha had moments earlier.

Gon and Killua peeled off, Gon going left, Killua going right and leaping high in the air. Gon charged through the soldiers, knocking them aside with simple Nen-force, and Killua let out an unearthly howl, loosing dozens of lightning bolts at once, scattering soldiers left and right, and blowing out every electrical device in one of the tanks.

Gon, meanwhile, bashed a hole in the side of the suriviving APC and pitched all the soldiers out. Then he hopped onto the roof and shattered its anti-personnel turret. By the time he got back down, Killua had landed next to where Ryozha had fallen, and the knot of soldiers around him were gently crumpling in unison.

Killua yanked Ryozha to his feet, and Gon landed next to them. They formed a tight group, back-to-back and studied the remaining soldiers, Ryozha barely on his feet.

"They're still disorganized!" Killua said.

"Get them!" Gon called, and they split up, faster than the eye could follow.

Moments later, the soldiers were disarmed and most of them were unconscious. Ryozha, Gon and Killua regrouped in the centre of what was left of the street and high-fived one another.

"All right!" Ryozha yelled, having recovered a little.

"Don't get too happy..." Killua cautioned him. "These guys want the treasure, and they want it bad- it's going to take more than losing one small group of soldiers to turn them back." Ryozha calmed down as if ice-water had been dumped on him, and he and Gon nodded seriously.

All three turned when Sister Angelica prodded Ryozha sharply in the back. "Why?" she demanded.

"Er... What?" Ryozha stuttered.

"Why are you risking your lives to combat these fools?" she demanded.

All three boys blinked, a little taken aback. "Uhm... is there any reason we SHOULDN'T be?" Ryozha finally asked.

Sister Angelica stared at him for a long moment, or possibly past him, at the retreating forms of the evacuating villagers, then turned abruptly. Gesturing imperiously, she barked "Follow me." She led them up the mountainside in silence, obviously lost in thought.

Eventually, they reached a small clearing in the thin pine forest that blanketed the hillside.

"Here." Sister Angelica announced shortly.

Ryozha glanced around. He raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Gon also looked around briefly, then moved unerringly towards a small patch of grass that, as far as Ryozha could tell, was exactly the same as all the other patches of grass around. He poked at it briefly, then looked questioningly at Sister Angelica.

She smiled faintly, looking a little impressed, and reached out with her Nen. There was a soft rumbling, and the nondescript patch of grass became the opening of a tunnel leading into the mountainside.

She gestured the three boys inside. "Walk softly." she commanded. "There are those amongst the Guardians who would consider treason for me to have even spoken to you, much less shown you this passageway."

Gon, Killua and Ryozha all glanced at one another, then switched to 'In', fading around the edges and becoming nondescript parts of the background. Sister Angelica nodded, satisfied. "Very good." she said, "This way."

They passed through the musty corridors in silence, the air still and ancient. -Well... I'm totally lost...- Ryozha thought idly. -And my GPS locator is useless this far underground... sigh. Be nice to have a better direction sense.-

After nearly two hours of walking (during which she'd one-handedly snagged Ryozha by the collar multiple times to keep him from zooming off ahead), Sister Angelica abruptly turned to an apparently blank section of wall. She stroked it with her Nen, and, with a faint grating noise, the wall slid open to reveal an opulently appointed study. An old man who bore a passing resemblance to Angelica sat in an ornate almost-throne, shuffling papers tiredly.

He glanced up and brightened noticeably when he saw who it was. "Angelica, my dear. I see that you have succeeded."

She bowed. "Grandfather." she said simply.

He motioned towards the door. "If you would be so good as to ward the door- we don't want any uninvited guests."

Sister Angelica obediently moved over to the door, then placed her hands on it and began glowing gently with Nen. After a moment, the door began to glow as well.

That accomplished, the old man turned to the three boys and studied them for a long moment. After a while, he commented "So... you three are the Hunters that have given my men so much trouble? Amazing. Such skill, and so young..."

He shook himself slightly, coming back to the present. "I suppose I should introduce myself." he said. "I am Lochaber Antiquares, Lord Captain of the Knight-Guardians."

Ryozha blinked. "Lochaber?" he blurted.

The Lord Captain grimaced slightly, whether in irritation or amusement, it was hard to tell. "My mother had somewhat of a melodramatic flair when it came to names, and an unfortunate fondness for historical romances, which resulted in my rather... unique... name. Perhaps you should simply call me 'Grandpa Loch', as most of our younger trainees do."

Ryozha, Gon and Killua all glanced at one another, but said nothing. "Okay, Grandpa Loch." Gon said. "So why did you want to talk to us?"

"Straight to business, are we?" the Lord Captain said with a faint smile. "Very well; I will do you the same courtesy. Perhaps it is just as well... our time may well be limited." He leaned forward with a very serious look on his face. "The matter before us is simple, Hunters. What, exactly, do you intend to do with the Grand Treasure of the Ophirate when you find it? Think closely, for your very lives may ride on your answer."

Killua started to say something, but Ryozha waved him off. "No point, Killua. You want to know what we plan? Very well." He paused to collect his thoughts, then began to tell the Lord Captain about Dr. Schrenk's plan, the World Money Council's involvement, and also about Boss Myoji's skimming of the Treasure- apparently, Dr. Schrenk was a woman with a good deal of forethought; she'd actually given Ryozha a Powerpoint presentation for exactly this sort of occasion.

"... so you see, Grandpa Loch, that's the plan. I don't know a lot about economics and that kind of stuff, but it looks to me like it has a good chance of working." Ryozha finished, closing his laptop and putting it away.

Lord Captain Antiquares sat in silence for an interminable moment, his fingers steepled, then nodded decisively. "The fact that someone has been selling the Treasure to outsiders for ages is grave news indeed, but maybe less important, now..."

He hesitated again, then said "Into the passage again, young ones, and without a sound. You should be able to hear what goes on inside this room from there without being observed yourselves, until I call for you." The three young Hunters nodded in return, and filed quietly into the passage, which rumbled shut.

"Now, Angelica, my dear- go and rouse the privy council, quickly and quietly. If Ethan's cadre gets ahold of this, we could be looking at a bloodbath, both within and without these walls."

"Yes, Grandfather."

Angelica's footsteps receded, and Killua turned to the other two. "Walk very, very carefully." he whispered. "One misstep here, either saying, or doing, the wrong thing, and it will probably be the last mistake we ever make."

Gon nodded without commenting, and Ryozha whispered drily in the darkness "Yeah... I'm getting that impression."

A few minutes later, the sound of shuffling footsteps and sleepy grumbling could be heard.

"Well, Lochaber? What is the meaning of this? There is a battle down in the village- the Bederusseans, if I read the markings on their war machines aright. We would be wise to attend to that before other matters."

"Peacefully, old friend, peacefully. The matter I convened us for is of more importance than even our possible discovery."

There was an excited babble at this announcement, until finally someone managed to shout down the others.

"WHAT?! What could possibly be more important than our being exposed to the outside world?"

"The decision on the final disposal of the treasure. We have carried this burden for a very long time, brothers. I believe that it is time for us to pass that burden to others, not for protection and hoarding, but for good use."

Another, larger uproar succeeded this comment, but eventually order was restored. The Lord Captain began to briefly explain Dr. Schrenk's plan. As he spoke, Gon began to glance around nervously. "Something's not right." he whispered.

Ryozha jerked his head around, scanning the area with all seven senses. "Something's com..." he started.

Before he could finish the sentence, all three were wrenched off their feet by a surge of malevlolent Nen and blasted through the thin stone of the false wall.

They scrambled to their feet, staring around. The Enforcer strode through the newly-formed hole in the wall, flanked by several other young Knight-Guardians. "Spies!" he declared dramatically.

"Hold, Ethan." the Lord Captain snapped. "These boys are here under my auspices, and my protection." he ended, letting it dangle in the air between them. The council members stared on in stunned amazement, shock warring with suspicion in their faces.

"Then I declare you to be as weak as the children you shelter, and unfit to lead!" roared the Enforcer, his awful Morningstar in his hand as he lunged for the Lord Captain. The other councilors rose from their seats in protest, but the Enforcer's small squad was on them, weapons in hand, forcing them down again.

The Enforcer and the Lord Captain circled one another warily, the Lord Captain's giant broadsword appearing in his hand. Then, with impossible speed, they closed, weapons glittering with unfettered Nen-power.

Broadsword clashed with Morningstar, Nen-fire flaring too bright to look at directly. They clashed back and forth, weapons weaving a shining web of death around them, as even the Enforcer's hench-Guardians stared in awe, weapons hanging slack in their hands, forgotten.

Then, the Lord Captain misjudged a swing and stumbled slightly. The Enforcer pounced, blurring across the space between them and shattering the old man's spine with a single blow. The Lord Captain folded with a sigh, sinking to the ground in a rapidly collecting pool of blood.

"Your powers are weak, old man." the Enforcer boasted. "Once, you were the master, and I the student. But here, in this place, and this time, I am become the master!" He brought his Morningstar around again, smashing the helpless Lord Captain's skull.

Gon, Ryozha and Killua, meanwhile slowly sat up, fighting to shake off the aftereffects of being blasted through a wall, then, when they realized what was happening, scrambled to their feet and leapt forwards.

Before they could do anything, the Lord Captain, amazingly managed to raise his head long enough to croak "Fly, you fools! If he catches you, I have died for naught!"

The three turned for the door, then Ryozha turned back. "Go!" he whispered hoarsely. "I'll keep them busy." Gon looked concerned, and Killua said "Uhm..."

Ryozha gave them a half-grin. "Like they're gonna catch me." he said with a cocky wink, sliding his headphones on.

Gon and Killua blitzed out of the room, running as fast as they could move. Ryozha scanned the room, most of whose occupants seemed dazed by the speed of the terrible events. "Flight of the Bumblebee" whirled out of his headphones, cranked up as fast as his Nen-enhanced player could manage.

Ryozha appeared in front of one of the Enforcer's lackeys without any apparent intervening motion. "Tag!" he said brightly, "You're it!". He cracked the goon over the back of the head with his staff, the jointed staff curving around him, then disappeared again.

Angelica was already at her grandfather's side, her awesome healing-Nen roaring through her hands into him as she fought through tears to try and save him.

After a few moments, he reached up and touched her face. "Thank you, my dear, but... I am afraid it is too late. I go to join your parents... my love... will stay with you... always... Just as... theirs... does." His final breath escaped as a sigh, and his hand dropped to his side.

Angelica dropped back on her haunches, her head falling back as her mouth opened in a soundless shriek that slowly gathered power, until she was screaming her lungs raw.

The Enforcer came up beside her, ignoring the chaos behind him, and caressed her. "Now that the old fool is dead, I can finally have you by my side, as is right!" he leered. Angelica whipped around, gaining her feet in the same motion, so that she seemed to tower over the smaller Enforcer. Her eyes blazed, and her aura whipped around her, stirring the dust in the chamber into whirling eddies.

What she would have done next was not to be known, though, since Ryozha chose that moment to do his level best to insert his staff into the Enforcer's nasal cavity. The Enforcer let out a sound that was half-roar and half-scream, and lunged at Ryozha. Ryozha nearly screamed himself when the head of the morningstar whistled past his head, moving so fast that the wind-cut alone felt like it was going to tear him in half.

He dodged a few times, just long enough to say "That... would be my exit cue." And with that, he was gone.

The Enforcer dragged one of his men to his feet and slapped some sense into him. "Up, you idiots! Get up!" he yelled. His men slowly staggered to their feet, and he led most of them out, racing after the three Hunters.

Unfortunately for the handful of guards he left behind, the council members had also regained their wits by this point, and made short work of them.

"Now, Sister Angelica- run and sound the alarm that Ethan is trying a coup." Chamberlain Rowan told her, returning his giant halberd to it's normal hanging place on the wall. "We have much to deliberate here- the council must apply all of it's wisdom to this question."

Angelica stared at him in disbelief for a long moment, then stamped over and got right in his face. "You... you... you..." she spluttered, then gained a little control of herself. "The castle is falling apart, the Enforcer is attempting to seize control of the Knight Guardians by force, my Grandfather is DEAD, and you want to hold a DISCUSSION?" she demanded shrilly. "You're nothing but a pack of doddering old fools, who would do nothing but talk as the world was destroyed around them!" she yelled. "Much as you love talk, now is the time to act!"

Chamberlain Rowan patiently endured her shouting, then said "Yes, child. The alarm?"

Sister Angelica stared at him for a long moment, then whirled on her heel, storming out of the room, rising slightly off the floor once she cleared the doors and hurtling down the hallway on giant Nen-wings.

Ryozha had caught up with Gon and Killua easily enough (after getting lost three or four times), and they ran through the fortress together, Ryozha darting ahead to scout and returning to guide them as best he could.

"This place is a maze!" he finally snapped. "This whole stupid mountain must be honeycombed with tunnels!"

"Doesn't matter." Killua said shortly. "If we stop, we're caught and probably dead." They kept running, ignoring the alarm that began to howl.

At one corridor junction, they leapt into a side room as a coterie of Knight-Guardians pounded past. "What's going on?" one of the Guardians yelled over the noise. "Are we going out against that force of soldiers?"

"No!" one of his companions yelled back. "That's the alarm for internal trouble!"

"Great..." muttered Ryozha, as they slipped out of the room and continued searching for a way out, "now the whole place is alerted."

They passed through yet another arched doorway, and without warning, they were somewhere else. They staggered slightly, and when the disorientation cleared, they saw they were in a large galleried room, standing right in front of the Enforcer himself.

The Enforcer gave them a brief grimace that may have been meant to be a grin, and whispered "Do you like the hatsu of the Aerie's builder? The Nen-key to connect any doorway in this fortress to any room in this fortress is a secret that's been handed down from Chief Enforcer to Chief Enforcer for many generations." Then he turned towards the galleries, ignoring them for the moment.

"My brothers!" he called to the assembled Knight-Guardians "Lord Captain Antiquares has betrayed us to the outsiders, and proven that he is unfit to lead. My first act as your new leader will be to execute these spies!" He turned back to the three boys, hefting his fearsome Morningstar, but hesitated when another voice was heard.

"He killed my Grandfather before my eyes!" Sister Angelica's voice rang out. "He has been working with outsiders for years... he fears them not, he just wants power!"

The Enforcer made a small motion, and two of his men moved to intercept Angelica. She shook them off and took to the air, fleeing the room as several of the Enforcer's archers fired after her.

The room erupted in excited babbling, cut off by the thunder of shattering stone as the Enforcer brought his Morningstar into play. There was another rolling crash of thunder, almost as if an echo of the Enforcer's blow, and the castle shook, debris raining from the ceiling.

Gon, Killua and Ryozha moved as a unit ("Dies Irae", from Verdi's Requiem Mass, thundered from Ryozha's headphones), dodging the Enforcer's strikes and counterattacking, Ryozha blurring in low, Gon going for his ribs, and Killua leaping high to release a lightning bolt. The Enforcer knocked Killua out of the air with a single force-blast of pure Nen, grabbed Gon and crushed him tight, and ignored Ryozha, who simply bounced off of him.

A messenger raced in, briefly distracting everyone, as he shouted "The Bederusseans have started to bombard the castle! We are being hit with mortar fire and missiles!" A handful of Knight-Guardians turned and raced from the room, but the Enforcer maintained his grip on Gon, intent on continuing the battle.

Finally throwing a half-choked Gon aside, he whirled his Morningstar around, barely missing Ryozha. Ryozha relaxed slightly as he dashed out of range, then gaped in horror as the chain extended, clipping his shoulder as he was desperately trying to dodge and sending him sprawling. He was saved by Killua slashing at the Enforcer, and raced in again, trying for a battering-ram charge, kinetic Nen roaring around him as he prepared a monstrous pulse of kinetic power.

The Enforcer was knocked flying by Ryozha's charge, flipping in midair to land skidding on his feet. His Morningstar flashed out as the castle shook again, and Killua tried to tangle the chain with his yoyos. They flickered straight through the chain, throwing Killua off balance, and the Enforcer pounced, his free hand grabbing Killua by the throat and throwing him headfirst into the stones of the floor. Gon, who had recovered by this point, leapt back into the fray, only to be batted to the ground by the Morningstar, which had curved impossibly on it's ever-stretching chain, smashing Gon senseless.

Staggering to his feet, Killua leapt again, only to be knocked aside as if he wasn't there by the Enforcer. Ryozha charged in, and was blasted off his feet by one of the Enforcer's force blasts, then pinned to one of the gallery walls. The last thing he saw was the head of the Enforcer's Morningstar.

Killua, his eyes going cold and black, lunged again, hands crackling with fearsome power. The Enforcer's Morningstar intercepted him, lightning grounding harmlessly as the Enforcer's forceblasts pinned him to the ground, then the Enforcer's boot slammed into his chin, and the world winked out.

The Enforcer turned to the galleries to be met with total silence other than the distant thunder of the bombardment. "And now, my brothers, we move ag..." "Hold!" a voice interrupted, anonymous in the crowd. "Is it true that you killed Grandp... the Lord Captain?"

The Enforcer shrugged. "What of it?" he asked negligently. "He was weak and unfit, and deserved to die." At this declaration, heated arguments broke out in the stands, quickly erupting into violence as sides were chosen. The Enforcer ignored it, gesturing to one of his men to take the three Hunters out.

Moments later, Sister Angelica circled down out of the shadows of the rafters where she had been hiding. She swore, very briefly, and thought I have to find those boys, or my Grandfather's final wish will never be carried out... Slipping into Zetsu and ignoring the fighting, she flew out rapidly.

Soaring down corridor after corridor, ignoring the continued fighting, she searched, using senses carefully attuned by countless search-and-rescue missions and drills. Passing one particular hallway, she paused. -Funny... that doesn't FEEL like a Knight-Guardian aura...-

Aloud, she said "You in the hallway... come out!"

A young girl in a fluffy, frilly red dress stepped out, wringing her hands slightly. "Uh... I'm sorry..." she said, "I was playing in the caves, and I got los... t..."

Sister Angelica was glaring at her. "I know all the village children, and none of them would willingly play in the caves that lead here."

Bisuke straightened up, shrugging. "Should have known that wouldn't work. You seemed to be searching for something, earlier..?" she said questioningly.

Sister Angelica looked at her flatly. "You are a Hunter also, aren't you?" she said, more as a statement than a question.

Bisuke nodded. "I THOUGHT I sensed some of my students pass by here not long ago, although it was nothing but a faint trace." Bisuke said. "Something happened to them, didn't it?"

Sister Angelica nodded. "I think they went this way..." Bisuke said, and with that, their wordless alliance was sealed, and she led Sister Angelica off down one of the many passageways of the Aerie.

Ryozha and Killua awoke chained to the wall. Gon lay in the middle of the small stone room, not yet conscious, his hands bound with the same type of chains that held Ryozha and Killua to the wall.

All three had been stripped to their boxers. Killua and Ryozha glanced at one another, but before they had even had a chance to test the massive chains, the door crashed open and the Enforcer stepped through.

He was waving off one of the pages, snapping "Not now, boy. My sport awaits."

Slamming the stone portal shut, he approached Gon, who by this time was stirring a little and moaning faintly. The Enforcer grabbed him and held him at arm's length, slapped him awake, then dropped him.

Gon sat up, and smiled at the Enforcer briefly. "I guess there's no point in asking you why we're here, huh?" he asked.

The Enforcer smashed him across the face with his Morningstar, sending him skidding across the floor.

Gon sat up and spat blood, but said nothing. "I ask the questions here, Hunterling. Who have you told of this place?" the Enforcer demanded.

Gon set his mouth stubbornly and didn't answer.

"What were the clues that led you here?" the Enforcer snapped, smashing Gon across the face again, knocking him flying.

Gon tumbled against the wall, then jumped up, angry. "Kou!" he shouted, swinging a foot blazing with Nen-fire at the Enforcer.

The Enforcer simply crushed him to the wall, pinning him with the sheer force of his Nen. He kicked him in the knee, eliciting a sharp crunch of breaking bone.

"You WILL answer my questions, Hunterling." he said. He struck him again, knocking Gon sprawling.

The beating continued endlessly, each minute an eternity, as Ryozha watched in furious helplessness. The faint creak of metal under terrible stress made him glance to his right. Killua was braced straight out against the wall, tearing at the chains with every ounce of his impossible strength, his eyes cold and bleak as the seventh circle of Hell.

Ryozha shuddered, then his attention snapped back to the Enforcer when Gon let slip a small noise of pain, which seemed to bother him more than being beaten. Ryozha lunged against the chains, blind with rage... only to jerk up short and sag back, helpless.

Much later, Gon lay on the floor in a small puddle of blood, the Enforcer still beating him mercilessly. The creaking from Killua's chains had become a steady wail of tortured metal as the ten-centimetre thick links were subjected to unfathomable stresses.

Over the noise, Ryozha heard Gon make a faint noise, a semiconscious whimpering. Ryozha snapped. He gave an inarticulate growl, a low, feral snarl that tore from his throat as he passed from impotent rage to wrath, cold as frozen crystal. His Nen flared, and the temperature in the small room dropped sharply as he drew in every erg of kinetic energy he could drag from the stone, the chains... the very air of the cell.

He hung in a silent hurricane of Nen, his manacles becoming colder... colder still, until they were burning his exposed flesh. Ignorant of this, or maybe simply ignoring it, the Enforcer continued to batter Gon's barely conscious form, like a vicious cat with a mouse that was long since dead.

Abruptly, the brittle, frozen manacles shattered, tearing Ryozha's half-frozen flesh. He felt nothing, his entire being focussed on the beast before him. He didn't even let himself fall, lunging from the wall in a flat arc, hurling himself forward with all the power at his command.

By the time he was half-way across the cell, he had gone supersonic, and by the time he hit the Enforcer, he was moving at Trans-sonic speeds, smashing his foe through five feet of stone, shattering his own collarbone and snapping at least of his own three ribs.

The Enforcer went sprawling into the room beyond. A heartbeat later, Killua had ripped loose from his half-frozen chains and was in hot pursuit. He raced across the cell, lightning crackling at his fingertips, leaving a trail of blood droplets from his torn wrists.

Ryozha moved in a trance of speed, the world dragging past in agonizing slow motion. The Enforcer brought his terrible morningstar to bear, only to have it run and melt like wax as Ryozha touched it, his Nen roaring through it. Molten metal splattered across Ryozha, blistering his skin and setting his hair and shorts on fire, but he ignored it... no... didn't even notice it.

The Enforcer screamed as molten metal washed over his hand, running down his arm. The scream became a keen as his shocked nervous system was shattered by a bolt of lightning, blasting straight through him, leaving a charred, smoking wound in his chest.

Not satisfied, Ryozha kicked him again, slamming him back the way he had come. The Enforcer plowed to a halt in a heap of rubble, then strained, scrambling to his feet... too late. Killua was on top of him, his hand a terrible blade glittering with lightning, slicing deeply into his enemy's charring flesh, again and again.

Then abruptly, Ryozha was on top of him again, hammering him relentlessly, his feet blurs as he kicked and stomped the Enforcer. He felt something snap in his right leg, and a wash of pain hit faintly, beneath the anger. Killua had already sagged back- the Enforcer was out of the fight; Ryozha was just wasting his energy... or maybe just doing some venting, the other boy wasn't sure.

Ryozha slowly stopped kicking as his energy gave out. He swayed on his feet briefly, then fainted, exhausted, his Nen flickering and dying, as his life force fluttered weakly.

Bisuke and Sister Angelica found them there some time later, a battered Killua standing exhausted watch over Ryozha and Gon's unconscious, broken forms.

Sister Angelica made a soft noise of sympathetic pain and rushed to the boys, her formidable healing Nen already gathering in her hands.

Bisuke watched for a moment, then went to check on the Enforcer where he lay beneath a mound of rubble. She checked his pulse, then glanced up warily as another explosion shook the Aerie, jarring dust loose from the roof and loosing a trickle of rubble.

The Knight-Guardian healer sat back, rubbing her eyes tiredly. Gon and Ryozha were still unconscious, but their breathing was easier, Ryozha's burns- both frost and fire- had faded, and Gon's wounds had closed. Killua's torn wrists were partially healed also.

"I have done what I can for them here," Angelica said, "but they will need further attention once I have access to my medicines as well."

She moved to heal the Enforcer as well, but Bisuke waved her off. "He's already dead." she said, "and if we don't get out of here, we're going to be buried alive."

Sister Angelica made as if to protest, then aquiesced as the fortress shook again, the ceiling above them creaking and groaning alarmingly.

She and Bisuke gathered up Gon and Ryozha, and Bisuke grabbed a protesting Killua by the hand. "Argue later!" she snapped, pulling him to his feet and half-carrying, half-dragging him down the hallway as the ceiling fell in.

Killua stared around groggily. "Er... is it just me, or has the shaking stopped?" he asked.

"Not now, Killu... a..." Bisuke started to snap, then paused. "You're right..." she said slowly. "What's..." Before she could finish the sentence, an old Knight-Guardian appeared.

Bisuke glanced across at Killua, who had gone limp in her grasp. She looked questioningly at Sister Angelica, who shook her head.

"He's fine," she whispered, "it's just a side effect of my healing abilities."

Bisuke nodded, then suddenly bulked out, letting Killua slide to the ground as she prepared to charge the old Knight-Guardian.

The old man, however, held up a hand. "Don't, Gem Huntress. I am not here to capture you, but rather bring you a message. Angelica, child. The council may be made up of 'doddering old fools who would do nothing but talk as the world was destroyed around them', but we do occasionally come to a decision."

Angelica blushed furiously, but didn't respond. "We have decided to follow your grandfather's last wishes, and, with the help of these Hunters, we will be able to. Follow me."

Bisuke and Angelica followed him, carrying Gon, Killua and Ryozha.

"Sir…" Angelica began, "What about the shelling?"

The old councilor shrugged. "We may prefer talk to action, but we have not forgotten ALL the old ways- the Barrier Shield Team assembled, and the castle is now protected."

Angelica blushed again, and muttered "You're never going to let me forget that outburst, are you?" The old councilor smiled but refrained from comment.

They quickly reached the half-destroyed council-chamber.

At the door, Angelica paused and said "The fighting has been contained, then?"

The aged council member nodded. "Once those who sided with Ethan but were not part of his inner cadre found out that he cared more for his own pleasures than leading them in battle, they lost heart, and many surrendered. Without that broad base of support, Ethan's core followers were quickly overwhelmed and subdued."

Sister Angelica nodded, and she stopped in the council chamber to speak briefly to the surviving council members (and apologize, much to their amusement). Then she hurried off to the medical wing of the Aerie, Bisuke in tow, to treat the three boy Hunters.

Ryozha awoke to an overwhelming impression of 'white'.

Once he managed to focus a bit more, he mumbled "Great... another hospital bed." He spotted Bisuke, who had just gotten up from Gon's bedside and was coming over to his.

She sat, and Ryozha slurred "Deja vu, eh?"

She laughed at him a bit, then turned in surprise when she heard Killua say "I guess this means our side won, huh?"

Whatever she would have said was cut off by Sister Angelica storming in and pushing Killua, gently but VERY firmly, back to a lying position.

"DON'T try to sit up yet." she said. "At least, not until I've had a chance to che...ck..." she trailed off and literally jumped across the room to force Gon to lie down again.

"I SAID, DON'T TRY TO SIT UP YET!" she yelled.

Ryozha laughed faintly. "Still feelin' kinda muzzy," he mumbled, "but not too bad. That lady must be somekinda super-healer..." He trailed off and drifted off to sleep again.

When he awoke the second time, he felt completely refreshed, and sat up immediately, then winced, waiting for Sister Angelica to shove him back down. When she didn't appear, he hopped out of bed, and, finding his clothes neatly arranged (not to mention washed and mended) by the bed, got dressed.

Gon came in a few minutes later, and Ryozha grinned at him.

"It all worked out, huh?" he asked. Gon nodded, grinning back, and Killua emerged from his alcove, also fully dressed.

Sister Angelica came in just then, and Ryozha zipped up to her. She started faintly, but smiled at him.

"So, what'sthedealany... ways..." Ryozha blurted, slowing down a bit as he trailed off.

Sister Angelica stared at him for a moment, then a light dawned, and she said "Well... the council used the information in your laptop to contact Dr. Schrenk, and representatives from the World Money Council along with Dr. Schrenk herself, are on their way here."

Ryozha nodded. "Er... what about Bisuke?" Gon asked.

"Who cares about the old hag..?" Killua muttered, but nevertheless listened carefully when Sister Angelica started to talk again.

"Well... since she helped a great deal with the cleanup, and she found her way here as well, the Council decided to honour the agreement she made with her original employer, and gave her any five named or name-worthy stones from the hoard, along with her weight in gemstones. Honestly, it doesn't make a lot of difference to the overall treasure... I've only seen it a few times, but it's THAT big. She left a few days ago, claiming another hunt had started up, and that she had to go."

"Uhm..." Ryozha said, and Killua abruptly looked a LOT more interested.

Sister Angelica started to laugh, and said "Ha ha ha... oh, don't worry about your share, Speed Hunter, or that of your partners. Oh... heh... no, it's all right. The council eventually decided, after I told them what you told Grandpa about Boss Myoji, that your share would be what Boss Myoji and the Enforcer had stolen from us."

Ryozha, Gon and Killua looked at one another, concerned, but Sister Angelica just smiled. "Don't worry," she said, "they also decided to send a cadre of Knight-Guardians to claim it for you... Boss Myoji is now in the hands of the authorities of the Southern Peace." Ryozha breathed a faint sigh of relief, and Gon and Killua started to laugh.

"What about the soldiers?" Killua asked.

"Well... Bederusse kept them here as long as they could without provoking a war, even after it became obvious their bombardment wasn't doing anything, but Guardania complained, then threatened, and eventually the Bederusseans had to withdraw. They've been gone almost a week now."

The three boys stayed at the castle for a few more days, relaxing and recovering, exploring the ancient catacombs (although they stopped after Knight-Guardians had to be dispatched to find them for the third time after Ryozha had gotten them really lost) and playing on Ryozha's laptop.

On the twelth day after their battle with the Enforcer, Dr. Schrenk and the experts from the World Money Council arrived. "Congratulations, Speed Hunter." she told Ryozha, "You have achieved the impossible."

"Heh... thanks," he told her, "but there's no way I could have done this one alone- meet my partners, Gon Freeccs and Killua Zaoldyeck."

Dr. Schrenk nodded to them gravely, saying "Then the world owes you all a debt of gratitude, Hunters. You may not see the results for many years, but rest assured, there WILL be results, results that will change the world." Gon beamed with pride, and even Killua looked pleased.

Ryozha gave her a self-assured look, and said "If you've got any more fun hunts like this, let me know... this was a blast!"

Dr.Karina Schrenk made an exasperated noise and cuffed him upside the head, saying "Cocky brat.", then grinning at him. "I'll be sure to." she told him.

By the fourteenth day, all three of them had been thrown out of the treasure rooms twice, Ryozha for juggling three hundred and eighty-two gems, coins and gold bars, then stacking treasure so fast that he nearly buried one of the workers, Killua for lifting and moving a pallet with twelve tons of treasure on it and accidentally blocking the door, then electrifying a pile of gold as a prank, and Gon for persistently 'swimming' in the treasure.

The evening of the fourteenth day found them standing on the battlements of the Aerie Fortress, watching the sun set.

"Well... I guess this is it." Ryozha told them. "My Grandfather called- I'm needed back at his School."

Gon, for some reason, looked relieved. "Oh, good." he said.

Ryozha blinked. "What..?" he asked, sounding a bit hurt.

"Oh! No, it's not like that!" Gon protested. "Killua and I got called back to York Shin- our friend Kaito has a hunt for us there, and I was worried that we'd be leaving you alone."

Ryozha stared at him for a while, then started to laugh. "Man, I'm gonna miss you guys!" he said. "Anyways, before we get all mushy, I'll see you in York Shin in a few months, once they've got the treasure there converted to cash- we're all multi-billionaires now, you know that?"

Killua got a cat-like look on his face, and Gon smacked him upside the head.

Ryozha laughed again, called "See you in York Shin!" and left them to their companionable bickering, sprinting straight down the fortress wall and into the gathering gloom, racing for home.

In the shadows of the abandoned, half-destroyed cells, a shattered form stirred, Nen-fire flickering faintly around it. It began to crawl, clanking each time the remains of the right arm hit the floor. -The fires of my hatred sustain me... I will survive, and I will be AVENGED!-

THE END...?

(AUTHOR'S NOTE: As many of you have doubtless noticed by now, that's not THE END..?, as there's a sequel in progress, although it's on hold for a little while while I re-work this one to make it a bit more legible (okay, a LOT more legible), try futilely to fix the grammar, edit plot holes, and fix various and sundry other problems.)