A/N: And here it is, right on time! I tried so hard on this chapter but forgive me if it feels as though I've lost my touch. MLeggyLeaf yes she managed to blow up a whole ship. So to keep score, she's killed a whole bunch of people, accidentally killed Xing, and accidentally killed that man in the Fourth Phase. Glad you like my fanfic and I hope you keep reading! TheFlowerWeSawThatDay hello again! I also like slow romances and small moments that are sweet but subtle. Thank you so much for choosing this fanfic, it means a lot to me. When I read your suggestions, they were all reasonable and seemed very doable so expect them soon! Also, thank you for your fan art! I will update my profile soon. TheWriterInMe I'm sorry if I didn't put much emphasis on the bombing incident in this chapter, but it will come soon! I'll make sure to add something when they actually meet the Bomber. And yeah I don't want to make Renée look perfect, because she really isn't. There are times she'll have her alpha moments and times where she's all depressed and unmotivared. And was that a flat joke? How dare you! :) Liak Scanth it's okay to be silent! I love all of you guys who support me and read this fanfic because that alone makes you awesome! I know I sucked at the summary but I don't want to change it anymore because I've been using that for a long time now and it started to match my story. Also, about your suggestion, would it be alright if I put it in as an EXTRA? It could be like AU or something. Kaito 1412 wait no more as the day has arrived! I told you guys I could keep my schedule! :) Thank you so much for choosing to support this fanfic, it means a lot to me. Guest you forget that she used Ren when the explosion happened so she was sort of protected. And since she can use Nen, her healing process takes a shorter time which is convenient as I don't want her to miss out on the fun. They will all hint the Bomber down, all in due time. taran taran your request was heard and here it is! To everyone who loves and reads this fanfic, thank you for your support! On to the chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hunter x Hunter.

CHAPTER 30

Singing.

An eerie tune was in the air and it was almost ethereal.

But she knew what it was.

Who it was.

Renée woke up to blinding white light.

It took her a whole lot of blinking to readjust to the brightness. As soon as she felt normal, her whole body shook with pain.

"Ack!" she cried, cradling herself.

There were no wounds on her body but she felt hot as if she was singed. Then she remembered the explosion.

"You shouldn't be up yet."

Renée turned towards the voice that stopped singing and saw her blonde counterpart, Mehika.

"You've brought me here again. To one of your dreams." she grumbled.

"Don't be so upset. We will meet soon, trust me. I bring you here so we can catch up until then." her sister smiled warmly.

The red-head scoffed, "Don't lie to me. You have the luxury of remembering everything that happened and not once did you try to contact me like this. Until now. There's a reason for that, one that is so dumb-!"

"Remembering how our parents loved and supported us and were taken from us one night is not a luxury. Remembering how helpless I was as you had your memory erased is not a luxury. Remembering how I escaped and lived alone for years without you, my only family, is not a luxury. I know that I did not contact you for so long. And I'm sorry. I was just afraid of doing so and looking at your confused face, not remembering who I am. I am your twin. Trust me when I say it hurts right now talking to you when you have no idea what I mean." Mehika burst, angry tears in her eyes.

Suddenly, Renée felt ashamed.

She always thought how unfair it was that she couldn't remember anything while her sister who did didn't look for her. That she had to be the one to travel everywhere to find someone she doesn't even know.

Now, looking at her other half, even from a dream, she realised that it wasn't just her suffering.

"I'm sorry." she finally said, hugging Mehika.

"That's new." the blonde sniffled. "You've never apologised to me or to anyone else before." she smiled despite the tears.

"I've had a bit of a push." Renée muttered shyly.

Mehika laughed at her embarrassed look.

'Nao' has always been like this, acting all cool and tough when she really is just a big softie inside.

"I must leave soon, little aster." the blonde said sadly.

"I know. Wait, 'little'? I'm the little sister!?" Renée asked, clearly horrified.

Mehika just laughed at her as they both started to fade. "I'll see you soon, Nao."

-In Greed Island-

"How is it that you win every time!?"

"Ssh! I'll tell you the secret but keep your voice down!"

"The secret is that you're a loser." Renée suddenly muttered, surprising the two boys.

"Ren!" they called out hovering over her.

"What the hell happened to you!?" Killua asked angrily.

The red-head sat up on the bench she was lying on, clutching her head.

"How long was I out?"

"A few hours." Gon answered, giving her a bottle of water.

She took it gratefully and drank it in one gulp.

The boys were silent, waiting for her to speak about what happened back at the plaza.

"I was going back to where you guys were when that guy grabbed me. He looked really shaken, couldn't even form words correctly. When he managed to ask me to help him, I looked him over and saw a bomb right at his stomach. I reacted as much as I was able and protected my body with Ren. Too bad about the guy though. I couldn't do anything for him."

"We thought as much. When we found you, there were little to no scratches and burns on your body. There are a few scrapes here and there but nothing too serious." Killua told her, much to her relief.

"That bomber guy, he's dangerous so we have to look out for him. We wouldn't want to have another incident happening." he continued grimly.

"Yeah. But if we do meet him, I'll show him a thing or two." the red-head muttered darkly.

The silver-head glanced at her.

He wouldn't say it, but he's worried about her.

She's changed after her encounter with the Phantom Troupe. She became fiercer, more knowledgeable, and wiser about her moves which is a good thing. But some of the bad also rubbed off on her. Renée threatened the man that attacked them before, now she's bloodthirsty for another offender.

He doesn't know if Gon noticed any of this, but he's too afraid of how he'd react if he told the islander. 'I'd keep it for myself for now. If things go too far, I'll handle Ren myself.'

"We also met up with a group." Gon brought up, turning serious. "They wanted to recruit us so that we're able to work together to monopolise the cards and prevent people like the bomber from winning."

"Monopolise?"

"Yeah. There are people going around and killing newbies. They keep a close watch on the entry point and attack those they think might have potential."

Renée's eyes widened and she turned to Killua. "Then you-!"

"I'm safe. According to them, there are no cards in this game that can kill. The one that was put on me, Trace, is so that the opponent will know of my location." the silver-head explained calmly.

"That bomb was done by a player. They do it in order to maximise the limited number of cards found in the game. The group wants to put a stop to that and monopolise the cards to get out of here as soon as possible. They even offered money, medical assistance, and a release of any spells cast on us as a reward." Gon continued.

"So far I don't see the downside. Why aren't we with them?" the red-head asked.

Her brother's face turned dark and she noticed how his fists clenched. "They wanted to do it by force. They're no different from those that attack rookies. This game... Ging told me to have fun. That's what I want to do. But I'm sorry, I risked you both with my decision."

Though he said that, Gon didn't look apologetic at all.

Actually, it was the complete opposite.

He looked proud of himself for turning away from that group. He felt happy that he didn't have to go through such a moral dilemma where you have to steal for your teammates.

Renée and Killua would never make him do that. And he would never make them do the same for him.

For him, this was the only clique he needed to finish the game.

Renée grinned at him, "Dummy, you don't look sorry at all. Besides, Killua and I are here for you so if you wanna have fun, we're gonna have fun."

"Thanks, Ren." Gon smiled. He really was lucky to have them in his life.

"So what's the plan? Before the explosion, I managed to collect some information. There's a city, called Masadora, where we can learn the magic of this game. I don't know where it is, but hopefully we can find out soon. Also, we can trade cards for money in this game. There are shops that offer higher rewards for specific cards, especially rare ones." the red-head told them.

"Masadora, huh? Yeah we should go there so we aren't left in the dark about this. But for now we have to compete in the rock-paper-scissors tournament, which Gon here hasn't really explained the secret technique yet!" Killua growled.

'So that's what they were talking about.' she thought to herself.

They practiced a few times after the islander revealed the trick and Renée used that time to gather her bearings.

Her hearing is still diminished, she hoped that wasn't permanent, and some of the scratches had become infected because the idiots failed to wrap them up. Luckily she brought alcohol and some adhesive bandages.

"So all that time you were cheating!?" Killua suddenly burst.

"Ssh! Everyone will hear us now! Besides, Ren did it too!" Gon half-whispered, half-yelled.

The red-head glared at her brother for putting her in the spotlight and also because the old man was giving her an accusatory look.

"You knew this whole time and you never told me!?"

"Hey, you were mean to me. I'd rather you lost a hundred times to other dumb people out there than tell you. Besides, I wouldn't miss out on seeing your irritated face."

Saying this got the ex-assassin pissed off more and it made Renée feel better.

"You guys are dirty." he spat.

"Does that mean you're not using the technique?" Gon challenged him.

Killua looked away uncomfortably for a while before muttering, "I will."

The siblings grinned at him. "Thought so."

-Septemeber 15-

The trio ate at the restaurant with the pasta dish challenge once more.

They've actually become a regular for the challenge and the staff has grown accustomed to having them there.

They would eat free food and water, receive Garugaida cards, then sometimes help with cleaning up to earn some money.

As far as they know, they'll need money for what's to come at Masadora. They also plan to use the Garugaida cards for trading for either money, information, or another card.

"Will you all register for the event today?" the cat-server asked.

"I might leave it to them." Renée said, much to the two boys' surprise.

"What will you be doing while we compete?" Gon asked her.

"I'll gather more information and find some shops to trade these Garugaida cards."

"No, you're registering with us." Killua commanded.

"Why!?"

"So we can keep an eye on you! You always, always, always manage to put yourself in the tightest spots possible." he said exasperatedly.

Gon nodded his assent, "Yeah. Something bad always happens to you when you go off on your own."

"Wha-!? That's coincidental!" the red-head exclaimed defensively.

"You tried going swimming in the ocean by yourself back in Whale Island and you almost became fish food." her brother accused, surprising her.

"Funny, it's the same as that time when you went off on your own during the Hunter Exam and you almost got eaten by a snake. I saved you that time, by the way." Killua recalled that time during the Fourth Phase.

"You went through your 'emo' phase when you left us alone after the Hunter Exam, which resulted to you joining the Spiders and I don't need to point out how dangerous that was." Gon added.

"You were hit on by a random drunk dude when you went to Southern Peace alone. I even had to take care of him for you." the silver-head said smugly.

"And just now, you went off exploring by yourself when we were washing dishes. You got involved in a murder and you still have some scratches to prove it!" her brother pointed out.

Each word they spat out stabbed her pride and she felt the sting on her ego. All of what they said were true after all. It's just annoying that they had to bring it all up.

"I think you should join them, just in case y'know." the cat-server told her as he passed by.

"I know, I got it! No one asked you!" she burst, glaring at the blasé server.

"Let's go register then!" Gon grinned wolfishly at her defeat.

Renée grumbled but followed them anyway.

-At the Tournament-

Renée wanted to lose just to spite the boys.

She actually tried to lose.

However, once the referee says "Starting with the rock!", she can't help but observe her opponent's hand and act accordingly.

Meaning she's winning out of habit.

It even came to the point that she faced Gon.

"I'm happy you actually tried to win." he told her, taking a stance.

Guilty, she bit her lip and copied his form. "Yeah. I wanted to have fun with you guys." she lied.

"Starting with the rock!" the referee called out.

Renée knew all she had to do was play paper to let Gon win.

So when their hands dropped, she was horrified to see that he chose to stay in rock instead of the usual.

"Good luck." he stuck his tongue out at her.

The red-head stared at him in disbelief, failing to notice Killua step up the platform.

"Hey dunce, time to play." he called out to her.

Snapping out of her reverie, she turned to him, dumbly muttering a 'huh'.

He laughed, "What? Giving up?"

This got her to focus. 'That cocky bastard. He thinks he can beat me? He can't even beat Gon!'

With renewed vigour, she took her stance.

When the referee called for them to draw, she still did paper out of habit.

'Shit! I forgot to observe his hands!'

"And the winner is..."

The girl hung her head low, disappointed in herself. She got too blinded by her anger towards the silver-head and forgot to do that vital step to defeat him.

'Later, his gloating is all I'll hear.'

"...Renée Godfrei!" the referee announced, proudly holding her hand up as if she'd won a boxing match.

She looked up confused to see Killua's glowering face.

Everyone cheered for her and she could even hear Gon yell and laugh at her victory. She was awarded with The Sword of Truth and she held it up in front of her friends, elation flooding her system.

"Congratulations! Killua would have won if he hadn't switched hands. Switching gave him less reaction time to what Ren did." her brother said as they walked.

"Eh? He switched hands!?" Renée asked incredulously.

"Were you really not paying attention!? Dammit! That means you won by luck! That's so not fair!" the silver-head grit his teeth angrily.

"Hey, I thought I lost 'cause I went with paper out of habit. It's your own fault that you tried to be flashy." she said as-a-matter-of-factly.

"Whatever." Killua shoved his hands in his pockets dismissively.

"Loser." she giggled.

"Blah, blah, blah." the ex-assassin mocked her, still pissed off.

The two started arguing again, and Gon let them. He saw no point in trying to break them apart as they would just fight again after a few minutes.

Suddenly, a man called them from behind. "L-leave the Sword of Truth on the ground and no one will get hurt!" he stuttered nervously.

"Do you mind? We're having an argument here." Renée brushed him off.

The trio continued walking but stopped when he called out again.

Seeing that his binder was out this time, the three called theirs out as well.

The man guffawed, "Stop bluffing, I already know you guys just arrived. There's no way that you have any spell cards or other imposed slot cards! Thief On! Attack Renée and take the Sword of Truth!"

There was a slight delay, ruining the drama, and the spell card in his hand vanished with a 'poof'.

"Eh wha-!? There are no cards in your imposed slots!?"

"You dodo. There're things called 'Free Slots'." the red-head told him, putting emphasis on the 'free slots'.

He looked horrified and dropped down in defeat.

Another man, one that looked like a rat, stepped out of his hiding spot and grinned menacingly at them.

Well, as much as he can anyway.

"To have it in one of your Free Slots is just what I needed! I know you've acquired a lot of other cards these past few days and even a Garugaida would be worth something for me! Pickpocket On! Attack Renée!"

Again, slight delay and a small 'poof' sound.

"Wha-!? There are no cards in you Free Slots either!?"

"Yeah. I distributed it in their binders." she said nonchalantly.

Gritting his teeth, rat-man pulled out another card. "Pickpocket On! Attack Killua!"

A flash of light appeared and another card appeared in the man's hand, but he didn't look too happy about it. "A simple stone!?"

"Yeah we picked up a lot on the way here." the former assassin grinned.

"Pickpocket On!"

"You haven't run out?" Killua asked, genuinely surprised.

"Attack Gon!" rat-man continued paying him no mind. He looked at the card he acquired but his face fell almost immediately,

"Another..stone."

"We did tell you we picked up a lot." Gon said, pitying him.

"Since neither of you fools actually made progress, allow me!" a heavyset man said with a flourish of his arms.

"How many of you guys are there?" Renée muttered, getting irritated.

"Using Sightvision, I already knew that the Sword of Truth was in neither Renée's nor Killua's binders! Furthermore, using Steal, I saw that it is actually in one of Gon's Free Slots. There was just too much garbage around that Pickpocket didn't work! But using Rob, I am sure to get the right one!"

The trio tensed.

"Rob On!"

In a split-second, Gon had already taken his card. "You didn't even see my movements. You should consider training more."

Fatty just looked at him in surprise, unable to say anything even when the islander had returned his spell card.

"Amateur huh? These two are Pro-Hunters. If you keep on relying on spells, you'd have your card taken even before you speak." Killua explained, feeling smug.

"It won't even be effective against us, seeing as we're faster than you. You need to be in a 20 meter radius for the attack to have an effect on the person, right? We could always just run away and there's nothing you could do about it." Renée added, starting to feel sorry for the man who was still in a state of shock.

"Let's go guys. We're burning daylight." the silver-head told his friends.

The trio walked away, but not before Fatty called out to them. "These methods only work on weak people! There're a lot of players stronger than you are here! You better watch your backs you cocky little brats!"

"At least he admitted he's weak." the red-head shrugged which made Gon elbow her.

"What? He won't hear me." she said.

Her brother clicked his tongue at her, annoyed.

"He's right though. If strong opponents appear or at least those with equal footing with us, we'd have a hard time defending ourselves. We still need to have spell cards to at least even the match. As we are now, we wouldn't stand a chance against pro-level players." Killua warned them.

As soon as he said it, a group of people blocked their path, all of them had their binders out and none of them looked weak.

"It's good that you understand your position. What? You thought that those amateurs were the only ones after your card? Oh and don't even think about escaping." one of them subtly threatened, seeing Renée make a move.

Killua glared at her, daring her to move but she already took the hint.

'10 people. We can probably take these guys on if it weren't for those spell cards. If we bother attacking, one of them could have already taken the card.' the girl thought to herself.

"We'll decide which spell card to use on you guys first. A word of advice though, only idiots participate in the tournaments." he continued cockily.

"These guys piss me off!" Gon growled at Killua, seeming to ask for permission to attack.

"Give it up already. They don't look like posers to me."

"I have an idea. Gimme the card." Renée said.

The silver-head narrowed his eyes at her, suspicious of her plan.

"Just trust me." she pleaded.

Sighing, he pulled out his binder and gave her the card.

This also caught the attention of the group that wanted to rob them, making them pause from their decision-making.

"Hey guys, I wanna give you the Sword of Truth." she started, walking up to them.

"What's the catch?" they asked in unison.

She smirked, "Sounds like you've made deals before. I give you this card, meaning you don't have to waste a single one of your spell cards, and you point us to where Masadora is. Win-win."

"How do we know you're not tricking us?" one of the guys in the back asked.

"Geez, I'm a noob. I don't have any spell cards on me. None of us do. Why else do you think I'd bargain with you like this?" she rolled her eyes. "Well? Do you want it or not? It'll transform back into an item soon and I doubt that's convenient." Renée asked again impatiently, waving the card around.

The group hesitated for a moment before hastily taking the card and stuffing it a binder.

"Alright. Past this town is a mountain, head North for 80 kilometres and you'll arrive at a lake. If you go along the lake at about Northwest, you should arrive at the City of Magic." the leader, it seems, told her.

"Oh good. If we hurry, we can arrive there in about a day." the red-head hollered at her friends.

"Psh. That is if you survive your encounter with the bandits and the monsters." one of their members muttered, making the others shush him.

"Bandits?" Killua asked, excited.

"Monsters?" Gon repeated, stars in his eyes.

"Well, that's our cue to leave. Thanks for the info guys, we're going on an adventure!" Renée waved at them before running after her friends.

The leader of the group looked at their backs, hearing them laugh from afar.

'Those kids sure are hopeful. Hope this game doesn't destroy them.' he thought.

The concern for those strangers disappeared as soon as it came, and he beckoned for his team to leave.

END OF 30.

A/N: And done! Sorry to cut it short, and that this chapter was pretty useless progress-wise. I feel like I have lost my knowledge of Hunter x Hunter world and events. So, unfortunately, I'll stop posting anything regarding the story for a short while. I just have to reread and rewatch all of the Hunter x Hunter episodes just so that I can reorient myself with the story. I'll still be posting EXTRAS, just not chapters for the main story. Again, I apologise for this and I hope you guys still follow my fanfic despite the problems. Thank you again, see you next time!