Killua winced as he was thrown to the ground. Illumi had flown himself and Hisoka out of the city and deep into the forest bordering its western side. They were holed up in a run down cabin, illuminated by the light of a stone fireplace.
The magician was perched on a ripped up couch, legs crossed like a proud feline. Illumi was still smiling, humming to himself as he tied Killua to a chair, gagging him even though he was still completely paralyzed.
"Those poor wings of yours," Illumi cooed. "We'll have to see to it that we have them unsealed. Can't have our Crown Prince with clipped wings, now can we?"
Killua inwardly recoiled at that phrase. Clipped wings.
He thought of Alluka… trapped all by herself in that damned house.
At least… he'd get to see her again. Though, he didn't deserve it. Even though she'd encouraged his leaving her, that didn't mean it had been the right thing to do. That didn't change the fact that the second Killua had experienced freedom… he had forgotten all about her.
That was so incredibly selfish.
Alluka, and now Gon.
Killua was a horrible person.
"Now then! Time to clean you up!" Illumi practically squealed, drawing out a needle. "I think it will be easier, if I reinforce the operation with a physical barrier. Don't you think, Hisoka?"
"A little spilt blood never hurt anyone~" the magician cooed, shuffling his cards. He had a certain glint in his eye, though Killua was far too depressed and Illumi far too pleased with himself to notice.
Illumi polished the needle with his breath, black eyes reflecting its sickening yellow surface. Killua averted his gaze. Just the sight of the thing made his skin crawl. But still, he deserved this. It didn't matter if he was being chained down once again. He belonged in the house of Valkyries, locked up like the doll that he was. A puppet for his deranged family. He'd proven that he didn't deserve a life of his own…
But even so.
The thought of never seeing Gon again… brought a tear to his eye.
"Don't cry, now. It's disgraceful," Illumi complained, mouth pulling down in disgust. "Not to worry, though. I'll remove any influence from that dirty-blooded freak. You'll be good as new, Kill. Your Big Brother will save you."
Illumi turned Killua's chin up with a finger, holding the nightmare inducing needle right before his eye. "Shall we get started?"
Killua squeezed his eyes shut tight, bracing himself for the pain.
…
Gon crashed through the forest, desperately clawing through the trees. He had this horrible feeling, this pressing dread. What was Illumi gonna do with Killua? There's only one reason why he'd immediately leave, it was to drag Killua back to Kukuroo Mountain.
What if he was already resetting Killua's brain?
What if Gon got there… and it was too late?
The hybrid gritted his teeth. He thought of Killua. A mischievous little jerk with a blinding smile and that adorable little blush he got whenever Gon complimented him… Gon remembered when they had first met, when the cocky looking guy behind the bar had jumped to his defense. He remembered those precious weeks spent traveling for the mountains… and he remembered the way his heart had soared when Killua had shown up behind him, declaring that he'd changed his mind. That he wanted to travel with Gon.
A fire roared in Gon's chest. It always had, ever since the moment he'd laid eyes on Killua. Ever since that first night they'd slept by the fire. Ever since Killua had left the Neko-Village with him, and slept curled up in a single sleeping bag in the snow. He remembered racing through the plains of grass outside Yorknew City, and he remembered that first car ride, gawking at the sunset over the bridge, squished up next to Killua. He remembered their first battles, the pride raging in his heart when Killua took his first win. He remembered learning Sorcery at Killua's side, never understanding a damn thing that was going on, but Killua always leaning in to whisper a simpler explanation in his ear.
He remembered walking up and down the beach… transfixed with the way the wind played with those silvery locks. Wondering what it would feel like if Gon brushed his fingers through them for himself. He remembered Killua's smile, and the way he'd slap him upside the head. Calling him an idiot but hanging off his shoulders all the same. He remembered all those fond little looks. All the times he'd turn around to find Killua already looking back at him…
How had he never known?
How had he never realized just how much Killua meant to him?
How could Gon have been so stupid? Why did he ever think he could just push Killua away? Hurt him like this? Drive him into the awaiting claws of his sadistic brother?!
Gon was an idiot.
A complete total idiot.
One thing was for sure, he didn't deserve Killua one bit.
But he'd hold onto him forever. Apparently he'd needed to have Killua ripped away to realize just how much he meant. Killua didn't deserve that. Killua didn't deserve Gon's ignorance, his refusal to budge. But Gon would fix it. Damn it, he'd fix it if he died trying.
Killua would not be destroyed this way. He would not be dragged back to that mountain, sucked up into the recesses of his own mind and molded into an emotionless husk.
Gon couldn't let that light disappear.
As he sprinted through the trees, following the wispy scent of Hisoka's perfume, it was as if he could see a light in his mind's eye. A light, flitting off in the distance. A light that was going to be extinguished. Gon saw Killua's rare grin in his mind… and he knew that he wouldn't be able to live on if he didn't see that grin at least one more time. That incredible sunrise across Killua's moonlight face.
Lately he'd been thinking about how he'd lost Kite… he'd been comparing Killua to that horrible creature that had ripped him away. But that wasn't true. Killua wasn't like that to Gon, Killua was like Kite to Gon… a fleeting glimpse of a better life.
But…
Killua meant so much more.
Gon couldn't keep letting his past mistakes hold him down. He couldn't keep obsessing over a man that was long dead… no matter how much responsibility he held in that death. It was about time… he finally grew the fuck up.
Gon steeled himself, and released the dam on his biochemical.
He stopped his feeble attempts to control it, and let it rage.
He gasped as the musk of an old and rusted cabin tickled his nose.
Gon burst forward in an explosion of physical aura. It burned like fire, swirling in amber and gold just like his eyes.
Gon sailed through the trees, shooting directly for the cabin.
The cabin where Illumi and Hisoka held Killua hostage.
Gon snarled, feeling the transformation building as his biochemical revved up in his bloodstream. It was only a matter of time.
But Gon was ready for it.
He crashed through the side of the cabin, shooting through it like a projectile rocket. In an explosion of wood and flaming tongues of raging amber aura, Gon razed the cabin to the ground in one fell swoop.
On the way through, time seemed to still.
Gon sailed through, busting through the wall.
There was Killua, bound to a chair and gagged. The stench of poison rising off of him.
Illumi knelt before him, a needle drawn and ready. Just about to be stabbed directly into Killua's eye.
Hisoka leaned casually against the wall, a wild grin creeping onto his face.
Gon glared at Hisoka.
Damn clown. He'd been a part of this all along. He'd led Gon here on purpose, wanting to have some "fun."
Gon stepped down, propelling himself even faster. He'd busted in so quickly that Illumi hadn't even noticed, but when he slammed his foot down, every single panel of wood shattered simultaneously, his aura slamming into the structure and bursting into a raging inferno of vengeful fire.
Illumi's eyes snapped to Gon.
They were dark. Empty.
He had long silky hair, and an enormous pair of wings folded against his back.
His tail was just like Killua's, and his skin was just as pale.
But one thing was for certain.
This man was nothing like Killua.
Gon immediately hated him.
He shot by faster than a passing bullet, scooping Killua into his arms. The force of his body shattered the chair on impact, and the ropes and gag were immediately incinerated when they passed through the burning cloud of Gon's aura.
Gon came out the other side of the cabin, and sailed 100 meters down the hill on the other side before planting his feet and stopping. He turned around, just in time to see the cabin violently combust into an enormous pit of fire.
Good.
That damned place was burnt to the fucking ground.
His aura licked at the grass around it, seeping it's life energy and drying it out. The blades turned gray, and deflated like popped balloons. Gon's aura fed off the destruction, and the biochemical stirred gleefully in his veins. Gon felt his body begin to expand, and his aura thickened by the second.
He sensed a horrifying aura coming from the inferno on the hill.
Illumi.
Gon growled low in his throat. Killua wouldn't be taken away without a fight.
Gon glanced down at the boy in his arms. Wide sapphire eyes gawked back at him. His body was completely slack, that usually swishing tail hanging limp.
Gon bit back tears.
How the fuck could he have let this happen.
"Killua?" He gently set him down, propping him up against a tree. "I'll be right back."
Gon straightened and turned on his heel. The moment his back turned to Killua, his aura flared. His skin turned from reddish tan to an inky black, dark as a starless night. His horns shot out from his skull, curling into themselves and thickening like the roots of a massive tree. His ears elongated, grew pointed at the tip. He grew taller, taller even than Hisoka. His shoulders broadened, and his muscles rippled as they grew. His bones cracked and reformed, his ankles bending out of shape, and changing. His legs warped, his knees bending in the other direction and warping like the hind legs of a canine. The hells of his feet extended, forming another joint, legs meant for running on all fours. His boots were ripped apart as his feet morphed into claws, and his spine bent, hunching him over.
The biochemical didn't hurt, it warmed his veins.
It was pleasant.
This was how the power was supposed to be used. Not in moderation, but all at once.
Gon had sworn off ever using it at full strength after what happened with Kite… but it was about time he moved past that. Keeping that failure close to his heart was like surrendering, like losing a battle with himself.
If he was on a mission to solve the mystery of his blood…
Then the least he could do was accept the power that it held.
Gon reached the top of the hill, and before the inferno stood Illumi and Hisoka. Both braced and ready for battle. The Valkyrie had several pins drawn, and was hunched over. He wasn't messing around. Gon had threatened him, and now he had to pay. Illumi flicked his tail behind him, air hissing with every pass. Hisoka just stood with a hip stuck out, shuffling his cards.
"You. What are you," Illumi growled.
"Even if I knew I wouldn't tell you," Gon barked back, teeth elongated into a maw of fangs, incisors protruding from his mouth. The biochemical continued revving up, and Gon's pitch skin cracked all over, covering him in shatter marks of molten amber, matching his eyes. The speckles on his face glowed the same color, illuminating his face like pools of molten lava. His aura was not thick and black, the occasional tongue of wild gold lacing through. It pulled at his hair, rising up off of him and ruffling what remained of his clothes.
"Not many humanoids possess a second form. Mostly demons, but you're not a demon," Illumi thought out loud. "Usually only shifting creatures do, like Shadow Creepers or Yin Yang Cryptids. But when some single form humanoids inbreed, the resulting hybrid attains a second form. Usually when the blood doesn't mix well, as compensation for the incompatibility of the two gene pools. Hybrids are freaks of nature for a reason. For all we know, you have a mixture of a million different species within you. The possibilities are truly endless, though the sheer power of your second form wipes many candidates clean off the table."
Gon growled, flexing his hands where his fingers had grown off into claws. The neurotoxin bubbled from the glands on his neck, clear and invisible from the distance Illumi was standing. Power rippled in his body. This was truly his most powerful form. It was about time he tested it on one of the Superior Species.
"I have two guesses as to what you are," Illumi gloated. "Depending on how you behave in battle, I will be able to accurately discern the contents of your blood. You appear to be human, but that may just be a cover. A default, if you will. We all descend from humans, and in particularly mismatched blends of species, sometimes certain traits will jump to the original setting, even though no human blood is present. Genealogy in hybrids is quite interesting, isn't it?"
Gon's expression wavered.
No… he was human.
Ging was Mito's cousin! Ging was half human… The rest was up in the air, but he definitely was! There was now way Ging wasn't related to Mito at all… No. Gon wasn't completely adopted… He was one fourth human! That he knew for sure! He knew what he was, even if it was only 25%! It couldn't be possible that this one tiny bit of reassurance he had was a lie… he wouldn't believe it!"
"Oh, Illumi, cut it out, would you, dear?" Hisoka cooed. "You're confusing him! If he's distracted then the battle will be no fun at all, you wouldn't want that, would you?"
"Fine," the Valkyrie sighed. "I suppose telling him won't do either of us any good. It would be unbefitting of my stature if I helped him solve the puzzle anyway."
Gon shook himself. He needed to stop overthinking things! Illumi was trying to get him out of whack, that was all there was to it!
"Enough chatter. You are an interesting specimen, but that does not change the gravity of the situation. Give Killua back," Illumi ordered, finally getting serious. The Valkyrie and the hybrid began circling each other. Hisoka was giggling in ecstasy off to the side, pants already tented.
"No!" Gon barked. "He doesn't belong to you!"
"I believe you're mistaken," Illumi frowned. "He does belong to us. He is our Crown Prince. He has no place being dragged through the mud by the likes of you. You have no place in Zoldyck business. It would be in your best interest to back off."
Gon snarled. "Killua isn't just a possession! He's his own person with his own thoughts and feelings! He decided he doesn't wanna live with you anymore, and you have no right stepping in and refusing to respect his boundaries!"
Illumi snarled right back. "Preach all you want. But you don't make it out of this fight alive. If you want Killua, you'll have to go through his Big Brother. A tainted one such as yourself stands no chance against my purity."
Gon activated his Ren, and his shield erupted to life. The Magic was a glowing yellow orange, and it pulsed with a sickening power. The hybrid darted forward, swinging his fist directly for Illumi's head. The Valkyrie dodged with ease, flipping over Gon's head and flinging a handful of needles into his back.
They shattered against his shield, and Gon was moving in an instant. He flung himself at Illumi again, clawed feet leaving large indentations in the ground. Gon had forgotten how strong he was in this form, it was always a shock.
And it always made him feel so powerful.
He danced back and forth with Illumi. The Valkyrie dodged every attack, but was unable to land anything through Gon's Ren. Gon hadn't landed anything, but he quickly had Illumi on the move. Now that he was on the hunt, the biochemical's power increased exponentially. His aura raged and thickened, and the force behind his blows became more powerful.
Illumi's Ren was the only thing protecting him from the onslaught of Gon's neurotoxin, which was so potent that it ate holes in the ground wherever it fell.
With a snarl, Gon finally landed a blow. He feinted with his left fist, and then kicked upward with his right leg. Illumi fumbled in failing to compensate for Gon's warped anatomy. Illumi dodged a second too late, and Gon's clawed foot connected with his chin in a sickening crack. Illumi was slung backwards, but landed on his feet.
Hisoka applauded in the background.
"Fine," Illumi said emptily, expanding his wings. He shot into the air, and Gon was quickly put on the defensive. Fighting an aerial opponent was really fucking difficult. Illumi landed air strike after air strike, and Gon's shield shuddered with the force of each blow.
Gon hadn't been able to puncture Illumi's Ren.
That might serve an issue.
As a Dragonite Valkyrie, his raw Magical Energy was naturally stronger than Gon's, who was just a hybrid.
Illumi dropped down in front of Gon, and elbowed him clean in the nose. He then kicked Gon directly in his knee, and swiped with his tail for Gon's gut. He didn't let up, continuing a sudden flurry of attacks, faster than ever before and impossible to follow.
Gon grunted as he took every blow, managing to block some but just not fast enough to block all of them. Gon was really freaking good with hand to hand, but he was nothing compared to Illumi. A professional Dragonite assassin.
The hybrid quickly began to get frustrated.
This was so fucking unfair!
Illumi was way out of his league!
He was only fucking alive at this point because of his Ren, and even then it was closer and closer to failing every fucking second!
Gon growled low in his throat, a burning rage starting to set aflame in his belly. Damn it! He wasn't strong enough! Even in his most powerful form, he was nothing when pinned up against Illumi!
But this couldn't stand! He had to defeat Illumi to save Killua!
He had to do this, to prove to Killua that he still cared!
That he didn't want this…
That he regretted his actions, and wanted to go back more than anything…
Illumi kicked him across the clearing on the top of the hill. Gon hit the ground hard.
I can't lose this!
Gon slicked his hand with neurotoxin, and jumped right for Illumi, aiming to palm his face– But the Valkyrie slapped his hand away with a single effortless chop. He then took a spinning kick, and socked Gon right in the stomach before he could even think to react.
I have to beat this asshole!
Illumi was behind him in an instant, chopping him so hard in the back of the neck that Gon gagged and hurled up his lunch.
Damn it! I have to save Killua!
Illumi ducked under him, punching him hard, directly in the stomach. Gon gagged again as he was slung into the air, coughing up a mouthful of blood. No, his Ren was starting to weaken and warp under the force of Illumi's attacks!
Shit, I have to win this but he's–
Gon was slapped from mid air by Illumi's tail.
–so much higher–
Illumi landed down directly on top of Gon, stomping into his chest. Gon coughed up more blood, and the ground cracked and cratered around him.
–ranked than me!
Illumi picked Gon up by his throat, and held him high above his head. Even as tall as he was now, Gon's feet were still drawn inches above the ground. Illumi adjusted his wings. "Look at you. Even with all this power at your disposal, you're still a worm crawling beneath my feet."
Gon choked as Illumi squeezed, strangling him. He gagged, mouth starting to foam, he kicked his feet but it was no use. Illumi grinned as Gon suffocated before him.
This isn't–
How this was supposed to go–
Gon's consciousness began to fade, he started to drift away.
Removing his hand from the wheel.
In a spurt of desperation, Gon's body flailed in an attempt to save itself. Like how the stomach regurgitated foam to combat choking, or how the immune system fought back against a deadly virus. A power, lying dormant within Gon's unknown mixture of blood, jerked itself awake. A power buzzed to life within him, and Gon gurgled as he was engulfed in an excruciating pain.
Illumi's eyes widened as a pattern of markings glowed to life on Gon's forehead, and he made to drop the hybrid. But before his brain could deliver the signal to release his fingers, Gon's aura changed, releasing a horrible new sensation, one that burned, stabbed into Illumi's very mind!
He gasped, and stumbled backwards.
Gon crumpled to the ground, screaming in agony as he squeezed his midsection. Hisoka watched on in utter shock. Illumi was unable to move. This aura– He couldn't fight against it– What–
This could only mean one thing–
Gon's mind was on fire, what the hell was going on! He couldn't think! It was like the first time he'd ever activated his biochemical–
"I can feel you, are you ready?"
Gon gasped as a woman's voice murmured directly into his brain.
"Join me."
Gon's screams were enough to make even Illumi recoil with secondhand pain.
Light exploded from Gon's midsection, and his skin cracked and bled as a stinger wiggled its way out from his spine, right above his pelvis. It was long and thin, no more than a half a foot long, but it was connected to a bulbous poison sack, like the barb of a scorpion, a marking in the shape of a heart adorning it. Gon wailed as a tail ripped its way out of his body; it was beaded, a true scorpion's tail, and it shot out from Gon in a burst of blood and torn muscle.
Gon lay crumpled on the ground, shaking as after waves of the pain washed over him.
He was barely conscious of what had just happened, but all he could think was: Fuck. Now I understand why they say it hurts so bad to seal and unseal a tail.
Illumi ground his teeth.
Gods fucking dammit.
There was no fucking way that this random assed hybrid off the streets of Yorknew - or wherever the fuck he'd come from - was the son of the–
The pain faded away, and Gon stumbled to his feet. He felt… different. No… he knew what it was. He could feel it in his blood. Whatever he'd just done–
He turned to look at Illumi, and the Valkyrie recoiled, the glowing pattern on his forehead burning against his eyelids even when he blinked.
Gon struggled to gain his balance, the giant thing hanging off his back felt weird. He looked back at it, on the verge of an existential crisis when he discovered that there was a new set of nerves to command.
He flicked it, and its power gave him chills. It was pitch black, just like his second form's skin, and the heart on the barb glowed like his eyes. The heart was a little… weird. But Gon wasn't complaining. Whatever this was… wherever the fuck this had come from, he could feel it.
It moved him up the hierarchy.
It gave him the strength to outrank Illumi.
Illumi took a step back.
That tail.
That damned tail.
He'd seen the exact one before, he knew what the fuck it meant.
Everyone who didn't live under a damned rock knew that trait!
Illumi took another step back. Fuck. He detested this sensation. There was one thing Valkyries hated more than a disgustingly low ranked humanoid. And that was a superior ranked humanoid.
It was the pressing of an undeniable superior aura. It didn't matter how much one trained, but no one could resist this aura. Not unless one struck a deal with a Demon, that was the only feasible cheat.
"Hisoka," Illumi snarled. "We're leaving."
The magician just moaned. "Oh really, so soon? Can't we stay a little while longer? Look at him! He's fully ripened."
Gon snapped his head in Hisoka's direction. The magician approached him, activating his Ren shield. Gon thrashed his newfound aura in Hisoka's direction, but the magician wasn't affected at all.
Illumi watched on with distaste.
Fucking Hisoka.
The Valkyrie snarled, and forced himself to step forward. It was painful, and his every instinct was screaming at him to run. But he didn't fucking care. He was a Zoldyck. And Zoldycks never backed down.
The two males circled Gon, who watched them with his eyes.
This new power was strage. Gon wanted to test it out.
He jumped on Illumi first.
The Valkyrie gasped, already struggling enough as it was to move, he was helpless when Gon charged him. The hybrid socked him square in the jaw, sending him pinwheeling down the hill and crashing through several trees.
He wouldn't be getting up any time soon.
Gon turned to face Hisoka.
"That was so cruel of you," the magician pouted. "He'd clearly already lost, no need to rub it in, you know that'll hurt his feelings~"
"I could care less about his damned feelings," Gon snarled, stalking towards Hisoka.
The magician threw his head back and laughed. "Really? Are we truly fighting? Right here? Right now? I thought we'd at least have a little more time to talk~"
"You're on Illumi's side. You set me and Killua up. You tried to hurt Killua."
"The only one who truly hurt Killua was you, Gon dear."
Gon stiffened, anger spiking.
He focused the aura in his fist.
Oh, he was gonna fucking kill his ass.
"Are you really going to attack me like this?" Hisoka chuckled. "After all I've done for you? How many times were you on the verge of ending it all? How many times did I step in and dangle some meat before you like the starving dog that you are?"
"As if I fucking care," Gon snarled, then he was on Hisoka in a split second. He punched him savagely across the face, and then spun around. Striking him with his new tail. Hisoka blocked the blow from the tail with his arm, preventing any broken ribs. He was slung several feet away from the force of the blow, face now serious.
Troublesome, the magician thought to himself. He is an incredible specimen indeed, but there is no fighting one who possesses the mark of the Unseelie Queen. I will certainly die. He is just Partial, but that doesn't prevent him from tapping into this power. The only way to have a fun fight with him would be when he's not enraged to the point of tapping into Her strength.
I have to say. Of all the species he could have been made up of, this is not what I expected!
It– It really gets me so excited!
But no.
I still have too much to do in this life to go out here.
With a wicked grin, Hisoka activated his Hatsu.
Bungee Gum!
The strand connecting him to Illumi constricted, pulling Hisoka away in a flash. Hisoka was at Illumi's side in a split second, Gon unable to follow the speed of his motion. The Valkyrie was battered and bleeding, with several broken bones and a branch impaled clean through his chest.
"That's no fun~" Hisoka purred, slipping out a new vial of blood and crushing it in his palm.
"Just hurry up and make yourself useful," Illumi snapped, still very much pissed off.
Hisoka hummed as he worked, pulling the branch out of the Valkyrie's chest. He patched him up with what little Healing Magic he possessed, and covered up the big things with Texture Surprise. Once Illumi was stable enough for them to make their escape, Hisoka pulled him to his feet.
"Come on, we're leaving," Illumi snapped, marching off in the direction of Yorknew.
"What about Killua?~" Hisoka cooed.
"He won this one."
"Who, Gon?~"
"Stop playing dumb, you know what happened. I know you aren't blind. You ran off for the exact same reason I did. You don't mess with an Unseelie. Even a half blooded one. He holds the mark of the Queen. We stand no chance when he activates that power. I'll have to retrieve Kill another time… and I'll have to devise a plan to work around that damned blood of his."
"Any guess as to the percentage?" Hisoka purred.
"That depends entirely on who the father was," Illumi grumbled. "If he held a substantial amount of human blood, then Her blood could have been suppressed. But if held a substantial amount of submissive blood - like that of an alien - then Her blood would have overwritten a vast amount of it. He could hold anywhere from 15-85%."
"Do you think it's 50% or more?" Hisoka giggled.
"...It better not be."
"You just don't want to have to accept him as royalty~"
"Oh stop talking. Those Unseelies are a menace to us all. They're dirty blooded by nature, there's a reason I prefer the Seelie. But in any case, I can't believe Kill hasn't figured it out yet. It's so painfully obvious."
"Now that I know, I can't believe I didn't see it earlier! How incredibly silly of me~"
"No matter. We'd best get out of here. I still have to report the results of the mission to Mother and Father… unfortunately the thing will live another day thanks to Kill. Truly unfortunate."
"May I accompany you? I'd just love to see the house of Dragonite Valkyries~"
"Absolutely not."
The two males slipped off into the night, wondering how long it would take Gon to figure it out.
AN: so, Gon is the son of the Unseelie Queen. THAT makes him part Fae :3 But HE doesn't know that, cause he's a freakin idiot. also, Killua just so happens to HATE the Fae. 'member all that inner monologue ranting he was doing over Rohan? lol.
