Killua sprinted backwards through the palace, supporting half of the giant chest. Gon held up the other side and ran forwards following Killua's lead. The sun was setting outside, and the assassin was filled with a feeling of dread. The second they had seen the carvings in the cavern wall, it had all made sense.

But we have to be sure! And in order to do so we need that damned final key from Camilla!

The palace was uncharictaristically silent, and Killua didn't like that. If the dark expression on Gon's face was any indication, he didn't like it either. The two of them burst into the throne room, and froze immediately.

"Stop right there!" Camilla screamed at them, holding a glass key high above her head, about to shatter it against the marble floors.

Stupid fucking Isolde. She followed us into the tunnels! We didn't notice until we were reading the walls, she gasped and we found her location. I can't believe we didn't sense her! We should have considered that they were incorrectly concealing their presence in order to have a cover for later on! Damn it! I shouldn't have had my guard down! As soon as we saw her she ran off to Camilla, and we weren't able to stop her because we had to carry this damned chest!

We can't be sure what all Isolde was able to tell Camilla… or if they fully grasp the situation.

But one thing is for certain: we need that key, and letting her break it is not an option.

We HAVE to open this chest.

Killua and Gon slowly lowered the chest to the ground, and then stood with their hands in the air. "There," Killua said through gritted teeth. "Now let's just calm down-"

"-Shut up!" Camilla roared.

Killua sensed a prickle in Gon's aura, he didn't like Camilla talking to him that way.

"The two of you were trouble from the start!" Camilla screamed, spittle flying from her mouth. The unhinged High Priestess suddenly shuddered a sigh, dragged her hands through her wild blonde hair, and calmed down like the drop of a hat. "But it doesn't matter. Without the two of you, I never would have discovered what this trinket is." She held the glass key up to the light of the setting sun.

"Hand it over," Gon growled.

Camilla looked down her nose at the hybrid, "Quiet, hybrid scum. I do not want to hear words from your dirty-blooded mouth."

Killua snarled, "Don't talk to Gon that way!"

"Finally, someone civilized I can talk to," Camilla spat in Gon's direction. "Valkyrie Prince, know that I mean you no harm. Just give me the chest and all will be well."

"Like hell we will!" Killua screamed at her, he was pissed. How dare she talk to Gon that way! "You're outmatched here, give us the gods damned key!"

The Neko-Woman held it up and out between two of her fingers, letting it slip slightly. She was threatening to drop it. "Oh? And what if I do this?"

Gon took a step forward, a dark aura pouring off of him and into the throne room. Killua ignored the prickle up his spine in reaction to it and stopped the aggressive boy's advance with a palm to his chest. "You won't," Killua said darkly. "You know it is necessary."

Camilla's mouth turned down at the sides. "Smart boy."

"Give us the key," Killua said, releasing the dam on his Valkyrie aura and forcing the full thrust of it onto the High Priestess. "Dominance" it screamed, "obey" it commanded. Camilla just ignored it.

"Never," she said with a snarl. "Especially not to some hybrid or his whore."

Killua processed the implications using sheer willpower alone. A crack formed in that wall in his mind, and the pain was nothing compared to the rage he felt. It was not rage for Camilla's insult to him, but to her insult to Gon.

The silver haired boy ignored the High Priestess' jab at their relationship, and extended his claws. He didn't say a word, simply let his actions speak for him. He walked forward in an irregular pattern, creating a set of after images. He hated using his assassin's training, but this bitch was asking for it.

The look of confusion and fear crossing Camilla's face brough Killua a pure Dragonite joy.

She was frozen on the spot, unsure of what she was looking at. It was nothing to step forward unnoticed from the army of doubles. It was even less to rip the key from her hands and shove her in Gon's direction to be tied up.

The woman shrieked and spat slurs Gon's way as his skin touched hers. Each offensive phrase grated Killua's ears, yet Gon just tied her up as if she wasn't saying a word. The hybrid tossed the Neko-Woman aside once he was finished, and joined Killua beside the chest.

The darkness in Gon's eyes was uncanny.

"Gon… you okay?" Killua asked. Being called those awful things… he couldn't imagine.

"It's fine," Gon said in an unnervingly apathetic tone. "I'm used to it." This answer brought Killua physical pain to hear, and he wanted nothing more than to rip Camilla to shreds. Slowly and painfully. However, they had to keep her alive. Oito's orders.

The silver haired assassin simply wrapped his tail loosely around Gon's waist, just to let him know he was there. It was a tender touch, one that made his heart ache and stomach flip. Pain radiated from the crack in the mental barrier, but pain was nothing more than a passing breeze for Killua.

The two boys shared a glance, and Killua was glad to see a hint of light returning to Gon's eyes at his touch. They nodded, and Killua shoved the glass key into the lock, and twisted.

He opened the chest….

And there it was.

The three humanoids collectively gasped.

The inscriptions on the wall had been telling the truth.

This was-

"The Serpent King," Camilla breathed. "It's-It's true."

Killua glared at her.

It was the Serpent King, but Killua could just tell from her tone that she did not fully understand what was going on here. Or just how dangerous this damned egg was.

And that's exactly what it was.

An iridescent blue egg.

Nestled in a chest of solid gold and sheathed in a nest of royal purple silk.

This was the egg of the Serpent King, the final serpent's spawn.

The inscriptions on the walls of the cavern were left there by Domonique herself. She explained that the final serpent is actually the Serpent Queen, and that this is her egg. During the battle eight years ago, Domonique and her closest troops snuck into the serpent's lair to burn it down but found this egg. The second she touched it she knew.

She brought the egg back, knowing exactly what to do to defeat the serpents one and for all, but was intercepted by the Serpent Queen. They fought, and Domonique lost. That is how she died. However, she had to make sure that this egg was never destroyed and the Serpent Queen never killed, so her last words were to leave the "final serpent" alive, and she left it to her remaining Warriors to hide the egg and execute the necessary steps to defeat the serpents.

For the scope of the situation is this: the only two serpents left are the Serpent King and Serpent Queen, the two strongest of all. It is absolutely critical that the King never hatch, for he is near undefeatable. But he will hatch under three circumstances: the Queen regains possession of him and hatches him, the egg is destroyed, or the Queen herself is killed.

That's why we can't kill the final serpent, and why we can't let Camilla get her claws on that egg.

Because without a doubt she will-

"Don't just stand there!" Camilla shrieked, thrashing against her bindings like a wild animal. "Kill it! And the serpents will be defeated!"

"No, fucking woman! That's exactly what we CAN'T do!" Killua snapped at her.

A wild light was in Camilla's eyes, she was without a doubt insane. "But it is the way! When we destroy that devilish egg, the Serpent King will die! And with the loss of her one and only child, the Serpent Queen will fall as well! For in the end we are all the same! I KNOW BETTER THAN ANY THE PAIN OF A MOTHER LOSING HER CHILD! THAT CREATURE WILL SURELY BE SLAIN!" The blonde psycho dissolved into maniacal laughter, drool spilling over her lips and chin, eyes bulging like egg yolks. Her tail was puffed out three times its usual size, and trashed around her in a rabid pattern of motion. Tears streamed down her face and her lips bled from where she had bitten through them.

"That's not-" Gon started.

"No," Killua interrupted gently. Tightening his tail around Gon's waist to stop him from consulting her. He ignored the way Gon's ripped midsection made his stomach flip. "She won't listen. She's insane, she truly believes that herself and the Serpent Queen are one in the same. She does not understand that the Serpent Queen is nothing more than a monster, and she will not listen to any logical reasoning no matter how hard we try."

Gon nodded, and backed down.

"GiVe mE tHe EgG," Camilla cackled.

Killua shuddered, her outburst was truly disturbing. He nodded at Gon, and the other boy shut the box, though did not lock it. "What should we do now?" the hybrid asked.

"We need to inform-"

At the worst moment, the worst possible moment.

The tell tale shriek of the Serpent Queen shuddered through the Village, shaking the crystalline chandeliers above the boys' heads.

"God damnit, mother fucker! Seriously?! Now?!" Killua snarled. "Gon!"

"Yeah, I know, come on!" The hybrid turned towards the window.

"Wait!" Killua exclaimed as he grabbed his shoulder to stop him. "We can't just leave her here! Especially not with the Serpent King right there!"

Gon's eyes, dark and serious, scanned the room. The both of them flinched as a series of feminine screams assaulted their ears. With each passing second, more Neko-Girls were shoved into greater and greater danger. They needed to get out there and drive the Serpent Queen off now. If she caught even the slightest whiff of her egg, she would go ballistic and destroy the remaining village to get to it. "She'll be fine," Gon finally said. "I tied her with sailors knots, and the palace is deserted. Isolde will be too focused on making sure we fight correctly to do anything. Besides, it'll only take a second to drive her off."

Killua nodded, trusting Gon's judgment. "Alright, let's go."

The two boys then took off for the window, and leapt through it. Glass rained down as they fell to the rooftops, riding on a frantic momentum. The two of them sprinted towards the Serpent Queen, nothing more than flashes of black and white. Killua pumped Valkyrie strength into his veins, and he knew Gon was doing the same.

The two boys arrived at the square within two minutes - a new record. They leapt from the rooftops on the outer edge, and flung themselves through the air at the enormous Serpent Queen. Neko-Girls cheered beneath them as soon as the two Champions arrived.

Killua extended his claws and snarled, he was more than ready to blow off some steam. Gon was clearly in the same boat. He was cloaked in a dark aura, with his horns growing slightly longer as he pumped his veins with the biochemical.

Killua thrashed his tail, and crashed into the Serpent Queen's maw. He dug in his claws and spiraled over and down her neck in a fountain of hot green blood and scales, leaving a deep spiraling gouge in his wake. She screeched in rage and pain, and Gon cranked back for a powerful punch. Killua felt the air pressure pop as Gon connected with her face, and the entire Serpent was knocked back a couple of feet.

The Valkyrie fell back to the ground once he lost his momentum, and bunched his legs to leap back up at her face. Gon was currently assaulting her with a quick series of powerful punches in midair as the two of them fell backwards.

They were about to drive her back once again, but then everything went to hell.

"HEAR ME, FOUL CREATURE!"

Killua froze as he heard Camilla's voice.

No fucking way-

Gon, Killua, and the Serpent Queen all snapped their heads in the direction of the High Priestess in unison. She was standing at the opposite side of the town square, haloed by a crowd of Neko-Girls. She held the Serpent King's egg high over her head.

Killua shuddered as intense waves of animalistic aura exploded from the Serpent Queen.

He changed his stance, preparing for his next move and what would inevitably come.

Camilla bared her teeth at the Serpent Queen, and leaned her arms back, about to smash the egg against the mosaic tiles. "OBSERVE AS I RIP YOU OF YOUR LIVELIHOOD!" she shrieked, and then flung her arms forward.

Several things happened all in a split second:

The Serpent Queen charged Camilla, maw wide and furious. Rithe with intent to kill.

Gon was struck by her writing body, and flung into the remainder of the outer wall like a rag doll.

The hybrid recovered quickly, and he and Killua leapt into motion at the exact same time.

When Camilla met the deadly gaze of the Serpent charging her way, she froze. And stopped just before dropping the egg.

Killua and Gon took flying leaps, frantic to make it to Camilla and the egg before the creature did.

The Serpent Queen was a mere two feet away from Camilla and her spawn, when the two boys swooped in at the nick of time and took her out. Gon punched through the right side of her head, and Killua stabbed with a claw-hand through the left. They each flew out the other side, sloshing through brain matter and gore as they popped her massive head like a grape.

The great reptilian corpse crashed to the ground, and slid forward into a nearby building, flattening it to rubble. The falling body just barely missed Camilla, Gon and Killua had saved her.

But that proved meaningless.

For the exact moment in which the two boys brutally slaughtered the Serpent Queen, and the Serpent King's egg cracked violently.

Gon and Killua touched down - drenched in Serpent blood -and turned back to Camilla just in time to see it.

A bolt of lightning struck the egg from the heavens, and the most enormous creature Killua had ever seen suddenly grew into existence. It was like a balloon being blown up, suddenly the Serpent King was there and he just grew and grew.

Camilla had exploded like a pinata when the egg hatched, and veiled in the High Priestess' blood, the Serpent King turned his head in Gon and Killua's direction.

The Valkyrie was frozen on the spot, those eyes. They were death.

Killua reacted on humanoid instinct, and fell into a battle stance while releasing a potent cloud of Valkyrie aura. Gon did the same, and the clouds of their bloodlust mingled together to create a motif of a skull.

Death, it said, combating the Serpent King's threat.

But even though he was an incredibly powerful mythical beast, the Serpent King was nothing more than a monster. And the cloud of aura went unnoticed by him. He knew he was stronger, and that was painfully obvious. He was half the size of the palace, and ten times the size of the Serpent Queen. He could flatten the entire Village in a matter of minutes.

This would be a formidable fight, for the first time in his eighteen years Killua was going to have to fight for his life. His head snapped in Gon's direction, fear pummeling him in the gut. However, rather than finding terror on his friend's face, he found an expression of glee.

That damn look.

Killua shivered, and a wave of pleasant discomfort shot through him.

His heart picked up speed, he always makes me feel that way when I see him like that.

He's so dangerous, so unpredictable.

He's untamable.

He's incredible.

Killua swallowed his fear, reasured by Gon's presence.

He lowered his stance, and prepared for a fight.

A single second had passed since Camilla had arrived in the town square.

Suddenly, the presence of several aura-riddled bodies were picked up by Killua's senses. He snapped his eyes around him, and what he saw brought a grin to his face. It was Circe! And Kerrin! And a shit ton of other Neko-Girls! And they were all armed to the teeth!

"We are here to provide you assistance!" Circe yelled in his direction.

"We are the Warriors!" Kerrin declared.

"Some of us are self trained! Like hell we would sit back all those years and let Camilla destroy our village!" yelled another - Nerezza!

Gon released a guttural laugh that sent a shock of heat down Killua's spine. "Glad to have you!"

"Come! We shall lead it to the destroyed half of the village! We will keep the damage to a minimum!" Kerrin ordered.

Gon and Killua nodded to each other, and then leapt at the Serpent King. He charged them head on. But while he was large, he was slow. Still, the two boys barely managed to dodge his fangs. But they accomplished their goal: they landed respective blows to his face. The creature roared, in rage more than pain, and when the two boys and their newly acquired army of Neko-Warriors took off for the forbidden zone, he followed without hesitation.

They thundered through the village. The serpent left a trail of destruction in his wake, but that was better than him destroying the entire village as they fought. The crowd arrived at the destroyed half of the village, and the majority of them just barely scattered out of the way before the Serpent King crashed through the enormous wall. He shattered five Neko-Warriors in his jaw, and just like that they were gone.

The feline women did not give pause, for the second he fully dragged his entire eel-like body into the forbidden zone, they assaulted him with blows. Neko-women rained down over him, scraping and scratching at his scales.

They were nothing more like flies to him.

With each thrash of his body, he took out Warrior after Warrior.

And the two Champions did not just sit by and watch.

Gon and Killua leapt and attacked in a furious dance with death. In and out they ducked, hit after hit they landed. They were knocked back several times, but got back up with each blow. As a Valkyrie and powerful hybrid, the two boys were the peak of humanoid physical ability.

However, it was like using a miniscule water gun against a raging inferno. Their attacks hardly carried any effect, while each of the King's slaughtered Warrior after Warrior. It was painfully obvious: this was a losing battle. However, for the sake of the Village and the innocent lives within it, they had to keep this beast preoccupied; and in order to do that they could not let up no matter what, not until the bitter end.

The fight had only lasted a mere ten minutes.

Gon was already feeling the effects of intense combat. Sweat was pouring off of him, and he had shed several layers of Neko-Clothing. His biochemical pumped through his veins, and his horns had grown to twice their normal size. That's gonna hurt in the morning, was Gon's passing thought.

Killua, himself, and the army of Neko-Warriors had fallen into a precarious rhythm in fighting the Serpent King. It was not easy to hold up, and the second any one of them slipped up the creature would take his opening and massacre them all.

Gon was getting concerned, the Warriors were dropping like flies.

Each time another feline woman was cut down Gon fell into a deeper state of darkness. He hated seeing lives ripped away like that, especially lives of people close to him. He needed to rip this creature to shreds, and fast.

Rage pumped through him, but so did another feeling.

That phantom feeling, that sick pleasure.

The rush of adrenaline, and that feeling he always got when he was fighting like mad.

The feeling he was chasing.

So he couldn't help that his bared fangs held the ghost of a grin. He couldn't help but enjoy this fight. He knew that he would likely die, but something inside him just wasn't concerned about that. He knew that Killua was trained not to fear death, but him?

Honestly, the thought of dying in mortal combat excited him.

These were the thoughts racing through Gon's mind as he fought at top speed.

However, his rhythm (along with his train of thought) was completely destroyed when the King predicted Gon's move and thrashed at him. The hybrid was slammed with the force of a double decker bus, and flung backwards through the air, somersaulting in every direction. His sense of balance was completely shattered, and his ears were ringing. He slammed into the huge wall separating the forbidden zone from the rest of the village.

His impact crater was ten feet in diameter, and Gon groaned as blood trickled down his face and neck. If his bone density wasn't so abnormally high, he would have died on impact. He waited for his spinning vision to stabilize, and then started detaching himself from the wall and the splatter of his own blood.

He winced as he sat up, that's definitely a broken rib. Probably two or three, actually.

Gon's brow furrowed as he pumped more biochemical into his body, the pain was sharp, but it did its job. His bones fused back together, and as did his bleeding scalp. He wasn't familiar with the science of it, but his biochemical could heal him along with make him stronger… healing just tended to hurt a whole lot more.

But he had to pay for the power somehow, or at least that's how Gon saw it.

Finally recovered from the violent blow, Gon braced his legs and prepared to leap back into the battle- the battle! Oh no! He had been thrown out of it, that had no doubt broken the rhythm!

Fear, hot and potent, flooded Gon's veins.

His feelings of pleasure and excitement were replaced by dread and mortal terror.

This battle could turn around at the drop of a hat, and though it was fun fighting while knowing that, once it had turned all the fun was gone. There was only death left over.

Killua-

Was the first thought on Gon's mind as he leapt back towards the fray.

Crap, I fell further back than I realized!

He was a quarter mile away from the fight.

The realization of just how lucky he had been to survive that blow chilled him to the bone.

He covered the distance in leaps and bounds, biochemical seeping into his veins at an exponential rate. His horns grew thicker, and his teeth were now jagged and razor sharp. He could feel his muscles starting to actually grow, and his ankles felt a little strange.

But that wasn't important, that was just what his body did whenever he used the chemical too much at once.

What was important was what lay before him when he arrived.

The battle was over.

Or at least, it was about to be.

The remaining Warriors and Killua were stumbling backwards as the Serpent King looped through the air, building up the momentum to go in for the kill! Gon's eyes widened and emotion wracked his body like an earthquake, Killua was about to be-

The Serpent King charged.

"KILLUA!" Gon screamed as he jumped forward, leaving a crater in his wake.

Instinct and emotion took over, and Gon was half on autopilot.

Neurotoxin, thick, and hot, bubbled up from the skin in the glands on his neck.

He twisted around, flipping through the air in a pencil roll, before swiping his hand across his neck to gather the thick liquid and punching. He punched the air, and the force of it caused a sonic boom. A splattering of neurotoxin slung towards the Serpent King at lightning speed, and rained across his enormous head.

The effect was instantaneous.

The King shuddered, jerking as if in a seizure, before completely freezing up. He crashed to the ground, and Killua was able to just barely jump out of the way with Circe and a couple of the others in tow.

Gon gasped in relief, and then turned his attention to himself. He was currently hurtling towards the ground at terminal velocity. I jumped really high-

The hybrid braced for impact, and landed in a crouch, creating yet another crater.

Gon watched in horror as the Serpent King began to twitch. I was able to paralyze him completely! But not for long!

His emotions took a violent turn as he saw Killua sling himself through the air like a top, claw-hands extended out in front of him. He used this chance to pierce right through the creature's eye, and he tunneled all the way through his head and out the other side, just like with the Serpent Queen.

In a halo of thick blood and cranial fluid, the Valkyrie burst out and gracefully landed back down, only to turn on his heel immediately to assess his work. Pleased with his kill, the Dragonite Prince raised his chin and looked down his nose at the corpse, before licking a tongue full of the Serpent King's blood from his hand in a spiteful symbol of all-out-victory. He swallowed it down, and finality fizzled in the air.

Gon grinned, Killua was incredible.

All of them - the surviving Warriors and the two Champions - stood frozen in time, minds catching up with what had just happened. That had been the fastest yet longest ten minutes of Gon's entire life! He was sure the others were thinking the same thing.

Kerrin was the first to break out of the stupor, "W-We are victorious!" she cried out, voice thick with emotion. The Warriors erupted into messy cheers and sobs. Gon grinned, and looked over at Killua, who was looking at him.

He smiled wider, just for Killua, before an intense wave of pain and exhaustion crashed over him and he passed out.

Killua's heart fluttered as Gon met his gaze and smiled wider just for him. Then he passed out! Killua was at Gon's side in a flash, and caught him just in time. He stumbled under Gon's weight for a second, but balanced out with relative ease.

The silver haired boy smiled down at his unconscious friend, a gaze soft as flower petals on his blood splattered face. His chest was so warm, Gon.

He had saved all of them.

Killua had been sure that he had been killed by that blow from earlier, he had been in a state of panic and unable to compensate for Gon's loss in the rhythm. That next couple of minutes had been a blur of chaos and confusion, and most prominently… one of the most intense feelings of dread and pain Killua had ever felt.

His heart still ached from it.

I thought he died… and I…

When Gon appeared again, Killua had gone weak in the knees, and would have fallen had Circe not held him up. Then the Serpent King charged, and the Dragonite Prince had stared death in the face.

But Gon had saved him.

Had saved all of them.

But it was my name that he screamed out like a battle cry.

It was me that he intended to save…

The thought made Killua's insides turn to mush.

He was so indescribably happy and relieved and scared and sad all at the same time.

But the blood drenched mercenary was certain of one thing: Gon was alive and in his arms, and that filled Killua with so much emotion that he didn't notice the pain in his head because of it.

Acting on pure impulse, Killua shut his eyes and leaned forward.

He rested his forehead against Gon's, and just sat there for a moment.

Tears pricked at his eyes, and he barely managed to hold them back.

Pain pulsated through him, stemming at the barrier in his mind, but Killua ignored it.

Gon.

Gon is what matters right now.

Once he had calmed down, Killua leaned back and gazed down at the horned boy's relaxed face. His sapphire eyes were half lidded, and the bubbly feeling suddenly doubled in size. What is this feeling…

He pushed against the barrier.

I-I think it's-

"Killua," Circe murmured.

The Valkyrie recoiled from his thoughts as he lost concentration.

"Hey," he said.

"We-We did it!" Circe grinned, tears lining her eyes.

He bared his teeth in a grin, "Hell yeah, we did!"

The dark skinned Neko-Girl held her hands up to her chest, as if whatever resided there was too much to contain. She laughed the most light hearted and pure laugh Killua had ever heard from her. His eyes widened.

For the first time… she seems truly happy.

Killua's smile softened, and he stood up. He shifted Gon in his arms so he carried him bridal style… then changed his mind and lifted him up onto his back and looped the other boy's arms around his neck. Killua gripped Gon's legs as he held the heavier boy up, feeling all warm inside with the knowledge that he held Gon so close.

The Valkyrie glanced around the battlefield.

They had lost many lives, but the Serpent King's corpse was the greatest trophy Killua had ever seen. They had done it! They had defeated the serpents! Camilla had even died in the battle. These Neko-Girls were finally free, and Gon and Killua could finally get back on the road to Yorknew City.


AN: When I wrote this final fight scene with the Serpent King, I really wanted to give it a Hunter x Hunter vibe. So I thought of all those complicated Nen fights and now much Togashi loves *conditions.* (i swear to god, the amount of times I heard the word "conditions" while watching HxH) Then I created some complicated mess with the serpent, and set up a veryyyy specific way for them to actually beat it, along with a bunch of ways to do it wrong. I was tryin my best to match Hunter x Hunter's whole fight/confrontation style of writing. I hope I succeeded!