Daniel and Killua learn how dangerous Annex is, and what Killua truly feared the most, was already happing.

A\N: Due to covid ruining my holiday plans (we went into lockdown), I'll post another chapter.

They walked carefully through the streets; eyes peeled for anything out of the unordinary. It was so strange being in a bustling city after having spent so long in a school.

There were going to be a few things that needed to change about their lives, mainly, they'll need to make sure they aren't being followed, at all, times.

The second thing they need to worry about is establishing a way to earn funds. They had their get out of jail free card, the Hunter's Licence, but everything else they couldn't pay off with the card, they needed to cover for themselves.

For a long time, they willingly used Vastorie's funds to pay for their way through school. But after what he did to them, there's no way they'll touch that money. Hell, Daniel even turned down Vastorie's assistance to send them off on a mini-adventure.

They instead opted to go where Eifion sent them.

Whether that was a mistake, they rather live with the consequences, than trust Daniel's father.

They still had time to kill before their flight, it wasn't a first-class ticket, but hopefully, they'll have the room to themselves. They sat down at a café, Killua passing Daniel the slip of paper Eifion had given to them, "I kinda… bumped into Eifion, during my conversation with Isaac… the guy watching us."

"Oh…" Daniel silent hummed as he flipped the paper open, "Annex Symus… whose he?"

"He's going to help us, well, Alluka drop off the grid… apparently."

Alluka's head perked up, "Why me?"

Killua frowned as he crossed his arms, "Milluki… that's why. Victor unfortunately isn't our only concern. We also have our family to deal with… The last thing we need is our father learning about Victor, so hopefully, he can help stop our family from tracking our movements."

"That'll be good…" Smiled at his partner, "At least we can protect Alluka from one side."

"That's not all…" The boy sighed as he rests his hands against his hips, "When talking to Isaac… I learned it was him that tried to drug you."

"Oh…"

"I also… may have threatened him."

Daniel raised an eyebrow at his partner, "In what way?"

"I made him piss his pants…"

Daniel snorted, only to have Alluka jab him in response, "You shouldn't laugh, that was mean what my brother did."

"More like… extreme, I showed the side of me… that you witnessed, the cold-hearted killer side of me. I… I snapped when he told me his goal was to target you. I- I-"

Daniel held his partner's hand, "It's okay…"

"It's NOT OKAY…" Killua accidentally yelled, drawing the attention of other patrons. He felt embarrassed for doing so, but Daniel squeezed his hand. His partner was asking if he was okay without words, he was comforting him. His partner was more concerned about him, than what he said to Isaac. He managed to offer a weak smile, "I'm sorry for hiding this from you… but this whole situation was getting to me too."

Killua allowed his defences to fall, "I'm worried… about you… about Alluka… about what my family or Victor may try to do to us. It killed me seeing you so broken the closer we got to us being kicked out. I tired… tried to be this pinnacle of strength for you that-"

"I'm sorry…" As Daniel blurted out, his partner closed his mouth, listening to what he had to say, "For putting you in that position. I never intended for you to be strong for the both of us. I lost sight of that… of your feelings, they are equally, if I'm being honest… they should be more important than my own feelings." His partner was about to object, but he stopped him "Our feelings over this situation should matter to the both of us. I'll try to be better, to be stronger, not just for myself… but for Alluka… for you as well… I'll try to keep that promise. I can't guarantee I'll be able to take Victor on or run with Alluka if you told me to… But I'll try to do it for you."

Killua hid his eyes behind his bangs. His partner wanted to improve, not just because he was breaking down… It's because he wanted to be better, for him, "We have our own, strengths…"

"You have more compared to me though…"

Killua playful shoved his partner, "Idiot… this isn't a competition."

Daniel brought a hand to his partner's side, "I'm sorry for forcing you to be strong for the two of us though… honestly."

"It's alright… the tension was high, it's just… Isaac and Eifion made me reach my breaking point."

"So… what did you do to scare Isaac…?"

"I threatened him…" The boy looked down, sullen from the memory of the time, "I showed my claws, by anger… my hatred… I…" He looked into his partner's eyes, smiling weakly at him, "I hated how he thought he could replace you."

Daniel's eyes widened, usually, it was him that hated others for thinking they could replace Killua, but now… Killua was also in the same position, "He thought he could replace me?"

"Emotionally… and physically… I dropped ideas, and he agreed to it… as if, it would make me happy. I was disgusted at him."

"Disgusted…?" Daniel hummed in response, his question more rhetorical, than expecting an answer. Was this because of their connection, or was this honestly one of Killua's feelings? Only time could tell now…

"Yeah… I told him he could never replace you because his feelings were more of a… puppy love than genuine feelings. He was in love with the version of me I was presenting, then who I was behind closed doors…"

"To be fair… You have gone through a huge development… changes that would surprise anyone."

"I'm sure Gon, Kurapika or Leorio would say the same… considering they saw me, you know." He made a plucking motion with his hand, "parted a man and his heart."

"Yeah…" Daniel awkwardly smiled, "you did do that. I've had huge changes too, though…"

"From what…" Killua offered his partner a childish smirk, "Crying one-hundred per cent of the time, to ninety?"

Daniel jabbed his partner, "That's not fair…" Shaking his head with a smirk, he offered a real answer, "No… I went from being unable to beat someone like Yannick, to standing up to my own, sister… to defend you. I would've never said half the things I said to her that day… I would've never been able to defend you, in front of her. Had I not experienced everything I went through with you and Gon, I would've taken Vastorie's advice… I would've gone to the Federation of Ochima… to speak with Marwin Ratzenberger… even if I didn't want to."

Killua reached out to touch Daniel's hand, "I'm glad you didn't take him up on that offer. I think Mikkel is the best option for us now. In hand-to-hand combat, I'll always be better at you," His partner may have pouted, but he wasn't finished yet, "but in weapon combat, your far superior to me. Now, are we at an equal level… I don't know. I might beat you; you might beat me… we've never squared off properly against each other. But what I do know… is you're lacking in the right equipment."

Killua pulled his hand back, drumming his fingers along the table, "Have you thought about what you wanted? Or do you just want to recreate Wolfbane?"

Daniel thought about it, thinking deeply about what he wanted to do. Recreating an exact replica of it might be impossible, at least… right now, "I like Wolfbane… I really do, but I would make slight adjustments. Not just because Vastorie had a say in its creation. I believe I've learned more about myself, about how I specifically fight. It's great at long range… but at shorter distances, it doesn't suit me. I need more of a…"

The boy rolled his wrist, trying to think of the best possibility for him, "Something like a halberd, or a spear… maybe a quarterstaff… A much stronger inner lining, something an Enhancer couldn't punch through like it's made of wet tissues. I want it to have some kind, of hand-guard. But at the same time… I'd also want a long-distance style weapon. Like a whip… even the Kusari-Gama…" He had so many choices to pick from, but nothing really in cement.

Killua mulled over his partner's ideas "What about a combination weapon. Wolfbane was, after all, designed to be a combination of several weapons…"

"But I'd want it to be interchangeable."

Killua offered an idea, "How about a quarterstaff, Kusari-Gama with a hand-guard, and a sword."

Daniel raised a finger, shaking it at Killua, "Or… Or… a hand-axe that can double as a piece to make a halberd."

Killua waved the idea off, "a hand-axe that can be split into two. You're a dual wielder after all."

"No… not exactly." Daniel smiled widely, "But I like where you're headed. I wouldn't want to be carrying too much on me, especially if they're going to be heavy. Stick with the three weapons. A chain whip, like what Wolfbane was, but the interlinking parts are more like razors, something to stop them from trying to yank it from me. The guard should, in theory, help to give me a better grip."

He hummed about the quarterstaff, but he had no ideas about it for the moment, "I have no ideas about the quarterstaff, but I'd want there to be a clipping feature, a place where I could hook something like the hand axe. But, for the hand axe… I'm not sure if I want it to be a hand axe entirely. I have a general idea of what I'd want it to be. Something sharp, like a sickle, but a blade more like sword… even a katana so to speak. I want it to be able to puncture or slice through guards."

"You sound like you're trying to do damage with these weapons." Killua thought out loud.

Daniel nodded his head, "Yeah… it does. But what I'm trying to aim for is the three-style system. Pierce, blunt and slash. They each have strengths against the other."

"Oh…" Killua smacked his fist in his hand, "Gon's system. Rock, paper, scissors… you want each weapon to align for a different scenario."

"Exactly…"

"Since you know what you want for the whip, I'd say that's a good start. The other two, it sounds like you have an idea… but nothing in cement."

"Yeah…" Daniel found himself smiling at the ideas. He has a start, but then a loud slurp painfully reminded the two of who else was with them.

Killua gave his sister an apologetic, awkward smile, "Sorry about that…"

"It's fine… I had no idea what you were talking about half the time." The two fell over in response, feeling defeated from over discussing a topic that left poor Alluka out of the loop. Next time, they'll discuss these sorts of details when they're alone.

"~"

They managed to get lucky, not many people on their flight. From what Killua could tell, there were no watchful eyes on their room, but he wasn't going to lay down on the job. But since they had time and privacy… maybe they could deal with the other pressing situation.

Mainly… the issue with Zoldyck's ever-watchful eyes.

Daniel took a deep breath, dialling the number of the one who could hopefully protect Alluka. It took a few dials, but eventually, someone picked up.

"Who exactly is talking to me…?" The man paused for a moment, "Actually before you say who you are, you better not be an idiot trying to find my location. The last guy to try that is a few hundred million down. Plus, I don't want to recover data either… I can do it, but it's such a boring, and tedious task…"

Killua quirk an eyebrow, "We're… not trying to tap your phone. Eifion gave us your number…"

"Ah… that explains the unknown number I don't recognise. He's the deacon of a school, right? He was referred to me via another client I deal with."

"Right…" Daniel sighed, "I bet I'm the son of that client."

The man chuckled in response, "It's going to take a lot more than that, to pry that information from me."

"My name's Daniel Darkscryer."

"Huh… I wasn't expecting that. Who's the other guy…?" He casually spoke as entered the boy's details into his database of contacts.

"I'm Killua… Killua Zoldyck."

"Heh… next you'll be telling your boyfriends or something." He made the offhanded comment as more of a joke, but the deafening silence told him otherwise, "You can't be serious…"

"We're serious…" Daniel spoke calmly, wondering if he's met that side of Vastorie. Actually… as much as it would be the best way to prove he was the son of Vastorie, he promised himself he'll never act like his father, at least that aspect of him "I would make a joke similar to his kind of humour… but I'm not like him in that aspect."

The man hummed at the excuse, but Daniel was willing to stick to his ideals, "But that doesn't mean I won't prove it… I love Killua, not just as a boyfriend, but in my eyes… as a soulmate. He completes me… and I hope to complete him."

Killua's face turned bright red, unable to believe Daniel willing to say that much to a stranger without thinking of the consequences.

Daniel turned to his partner, "I love him…"

Annex rolled his eyes, "You didn't have to give a speech, but going by your tone, I can genuinely tell, that this isn't a joke to you."

The man eventually sighs, "So apparently, my next client is infatuated with someone who could rip his heart out."

"I take offence to that…" Daniel retorted, coming to the defence of his partner, "He's nothing like his family."

"Oh, no doubt…" He searched the database, finding that Vastorie has two children. Daniel and Zaikaria, "Yup… checks out. Vastorie does have a son. So, to what do I owe the pleasure, of serving the son of Vastorie…?"

"We want to hire your services…"

"I'm not cheap… I can tell you that much. But since you're his son, you might offer a deal I'd gladly take on for free. So, what you need?" He smiled gleefully.

Killua spoke up, "I want my sister to be untraceable."

"That's it…?" The man sighed in defeat, "that's so~ boring. Give me something to work with. Something… enticing!"

Sighing at the news, Killua enticed the deal "How about you'll be pissing off my family." He went onto explain their situation, making sure to hide his sister ability, "And that's why I want her to… fall off the radar. Is it at all possible?"

The man gave a few nods to no one, in particular, each nod making his lips curl upward, "So what you're saying is… by doing this, I can piss off your entire family? To make matters even better, I run the risk of bumping heads into your brother, who is also a hacker…" He tapped his chin a few times before offering one final nod, "I'll do it! Hopefully, your brother can offer a challenge. I just need your sister's number…"

Killua gave his sister's number to the man, unsure what he was expecting. But if Eifion said they should trust him, he was willing to bet his sister's safety on the man being able to protect him.

"And…" Annex typed in a few commands, listing the number under one of his special databases connected to his warning system. With all the links made, he double-checked the data one final time before smiling, "done."

"Wait what?" Killua asked in confusion, now looking at his sister's phone for any changes. There were no clear ones, at least to his naked eye. When he tried to observe the phone with Gyo, he received nothing at all, "What exactly did you do?"

The man sighed in frustration, "It'll just boggle your mind, just know that she's safe now from your family… for the time being."

"I… I don't understand… how is she safe? Nothing has fundamentally changed."

"First, of all… What I did was basic hacking. There is no Nen involved here. However, I'll explain it just once… I've blacklisted your sister's number. If anyone tries to ping her GPS, to find her current location, my server will be pinged. From there, I'll take over. Provided your brother isn't a professional, I should be able to defend that information. However, if he is a professional, I can't guarantee I'll be able to protect her, from the rest of your family. If he does get frustrated and come after me, I'll make sure he's no longer a threat."

The moment he finished his statement, his server got pinged, "Speaking of which, someone… is already tracking her." He sat up straight, pulling the chair in as he typed away at the keyboard, trying to pull up the person's information, "Cheeky demon…" He typed away faster.

"Wait, what's happening."

"Blacklisting only works if they're not already tracking the phone. Just give me a second, and I'll disconnect his connection."

"Wait, he already knows we left the school… are we in any immediate dan-"

"Done." He ran few layers of protection over the connection. As he double-checked his systems for anything that may have snuck in during the attack, he spoke "Your sister is now off the grid… properly this time."

"~"

Milluki spat his drink out when he saw 'lost connection' pop up on his screen. He typed away at his keyboard, trying to reconnect. A box with a password appeared, "What that…" He brute-forced his way through the lock, cracking the password, only to find another lock in his way, "You want to play this game…"

He slammed his drink on the table, this time pulling out his second keyboard to hit the latest protection Alluka had been given. He's not going to lose this, not when his mama demanded he keeps an eye on his little brothers.

He began cracking the second code as he worked to destroy whoever was trying to block him off.

"~"

Annex's eyes widened, surprised that the person was already on their way to cracking the third code, "He's good…" The man cracked his knuckle before bringing his hands back to the keyboard, "But I'm better… Stay on the phone Killua, I'm about to humiliate your brother's skills. I'll explain everything as I go… So, right now your brother is brute-forcing his way through your sister's connection while working on a way to shut me out. He's smart, I'll give him that… but if he was even smarter…"

He tapped a key, dragging a file over to the data stream before continuing to type away, "He'd have brute-forced his way through Alluka's connection before trying to shut me out from her side. Also, if he's smart… he'll add a layer of viruses I'd be forced to trip in order to regain that connection. But…"

Hitting 'enter', he cheered loudly, "Whoo… suck shit and die, bitch! You got owned!"

Killua was only more confused at the situation, "What exactly happened?"

"Ah, right… so I gave him a little present for trying to break into my computer."

"~"

Milluki tapped his keys, nothing going through. He slammed his fist on the keyboard, a few keys cracking in the process. He growled in an annoyance, forcing his computer to reboot before taking another sip from his drink.

"Fucken bastard locked up my computer… I'll show him."

When the computer restarted, there was nothing on his screen. He choked on his drink, searching his directories for anything remaining. The computer had been wiped clean as though it had been reformatted to its default.

But that shouldn't have been possible… who was he dealing with?

He thought he lost everything, until, he found a folder he didn't remember creating.

Opening it yielded all his files, but there was one huge problem… everything was now encrypted.

His frustration grew, fists repeatedly slamming onto his keyboard, "YOU FUCKEN PIECE OF SHIT! I'm going to kill you…" Typing away, he got to work on cracking the code.

"~"

Annex smiled at his work, savouring the frustration that guy was going through right now. He could only imagine how angry he's going to get, once he realises every single file on his computer is encrypted with a random key… a key that changes every time a file is unlocked, "Basically, I encrypted every single file on his computer with a randomly generating key. Once he opens a single file, it's going to switch. It follows a pattern, but by the time he realises the pattern, he'd have wasted way too much time. It's going to be a long~ while before he gets back everything."

"How long…?"

Annex hummed, "I'd say about a month…" He had so~ much porn.

Killua let out a breath of relief, "Isn't there something better you can do for us."

"Sure, but this time… It's going to cost you. I can do what I did for Daniel's father. I can create a phone that's impossible to hack, for you." He rubbed his fingers together, "Well, you can hack it… it's just not recommended. Else, your brother will suffer a fate far worse than what he's dealing with now…"

"Which is…?"

"Everything attached to the system will be deleted. Files, games… videos… you name it, it'll be cleared as though he never had it to begin with. You also won't be able to be tracked. You just slot in your sim card, and bam, free WIFI, messaging, calls, you name it, these phones are equipped to deal with it. Also, you'll still have good coverage in areas that have shitty reception. These bad boys are designed to be the best phones out there. The only one able to track these phones will be technically me, or any other Nen hackers who are savvy with technology. Considering how quickly your brother went down… he has no chance of hacking these phones."

"How much would one cost… and how much time would it take to make one?"

"A week… and they start at one-hundred million Jenny."

Killua winced, "We don't have that kind of money."

"It's okay, I can just put it on Vastorie's tab. He'll cover it…"

"I…" Daniel nudged Killua, letting him know to shake his head at the offer. Vastorie wouldn't agree, to having his account milked dry for them. Plus, he didn't want to touch the money of a man who threw them to the curb.

"We'll be fine without it."

"Suit yourself…" He took his controller back in his hand, returning to the game he was originally playing, "Anything else I can help you with?"

"Actually… yeah… Can you tell us where a man named Victor tempest is hiding?"

"Sure… He's in the Republic of Pakunoda, in a café eating…" He leaned over, "crackers and drinking a triple black expresso."

The two stared dumbly at the phone, "What…?"

"You… didn't know?"

"Know what?"

Annex looked worried at his phone. Did he accidentally let loose a secret, that should've never been a secret to begin with, "Vastorie is tracking him? We know his exact location at…" he fell silent, taking in the boy's silence, "He can't hide. We have eyes on him at all times."

"Sorry, I need to go." Killua hung up, Annex looking at his phone in confusion. He shrugged off the situation, returning to his game.

"~"

Daniel was hyperventilating, breaking down from the news. This whole time, Vastorie knew where Victor was hiding… he put them in a situation where they would be kicked out of the school… Yet, never once did the man think to tell them, even the teachers for that matter Victor wouldn't be waiting around the next corner to attack them.

He had lied to everyone… He made them believe they should fear Victor, yet, the man had a way of tracking him at all, times…

This was a soul-crushing event for him because of two cold hard truths…

That Vastorie was protecting them…

Also, that man didn't care if he was being judged for how he ran things, because in the end… he believed he was doing the right thing.

Killua once more found himself being forced to hold his boyfriend in his arms, cradling the weeping figure. They now realised they were safe for the time being, that until Victor learned to disappear into the shadows, they'll never have to worry about him getting too close because Vastorie knew where his father was… where he always was.

Shifting his hands, he drew them to Daniel's chin, getting the boy to look at him "This means we're safe for the time being…"

"BUT WHY CAN'T HE SAY THESE THINGS…? Why does he keep needing to hide everything from us?" He paused, defeated from the possibility, "… from me?"

Killua shook his head, "I don't know… he has a reason. But that doesn't mean we should pay for it… or even trust whatever information he throws at us. If he's willing to lie, to protect us… who knows what other reasons he would make up, just to hide the truth from us."

"You're…" Daniel looked down at the floor, wondering what other secrets the man was hiding from them. He was hiding that he was protecting them. For what purpose would he lie to them? To make them scared to traverse the world…? To make them antsy, to the point, that even the slightest feeling of prickling sensation on the back of the next would make them run for their lives…?

He couldn't see the man's point…

Killua tilted his partner's head in his direction, "You know how you told Vastorie you're going to keep making mistakes?"

"Yeah…" Killua pulled out his phone, smiling sinisterly as he showed Annex's number, "We'll make another mistake!"

It took him far too long to process his boyfriend's idea. Killua was right, Vastorie was insanely rich… that not even three-hundred million Jenny will leave him scared of becoming broke. He's already pissed ten million into Wolfbane. Also, not only does Vastorie have one of these phones… but he was sure Eifion and Nathaniel, would also have one of them too.

Who knows how many others also have the same phone? So, making that deal shouldn't be much of a problem, in theory… to his father. Knowing his habits, he could make it back in an afternoon… probably.

Shifting into a smile, he agreed, "Let's rob Vastorie blind. If he wants to keep secrets, we will too."

Killua hit the dial button, waiting for the man to pick up. With a sinister smile, he made the deal "We thought about it… Yeah, we would, like to get those phones… three of them… in fact. My family will have no qualms about tracking Daniel or myself to find where we are… and the benefits outweigh the cons. So, how can we get our hands on them?"

"Sure, when I'm done, I send them as a secret delivery to your current location. Hopefully, that'll sound fine to you?"

"How will you know our exact location?"

"I have my ways…"

"Alright…" Killua was worried about being tracked, but because he was doing this for the three of them, and Eifion mentioned this is a man that could be trusted… it should be fine in the long run "we'll be waiting."

"Wait…" Daniel stopped the man and Killua from hanging up. There was one thing he wanted to know, "What is your connection to my father… how exactly did you meet?"

The man thought it over, before making a deal he couldn't resist, "How about I make a deal instead…" A cruel smile spread across his lips, "Do what Vastorie did. If you can find me… meet me in person, I'll be willing to depart that information. Otherwise, this wouldn't be as much of a fun exchange… Sorry, but I like a little bit of challenge in my life. So, if you can find me, it means I'm getting rusty… and I wouldn't want that."

The man hung up, returning to his original task.

"~"

The boys looked at each other, both thinking the same thing… it was going to be difficult. He could track Victor's movements with ease. Provided he's not one to move, he'll know they're coming from a mile away.

To make matters worse, they couldn't locate his whereabouts via GPS, or networking habits.

He'll be elusive…

A shadow lingering in the darkness… where no one, but the best could find him.

"~"

Vastorie looked at his latest invoice in confusion. Calling the person, he took a second glance at the bill more so out of curiosity, than worried about flushing that much down the drain, "Hey, can you explain to me why I was just charged an exorbitant fee?"

"I'm making phones like yours for Daniel, his partner and the kid's sister, that's why…"

"Oh…"

"Wait, you didn't know about this? I assumed you would. You seem to know when stuff is going down."

"No… No… it's fine. Go ahead, make it for them. But remember to keep me posted about Victor, let me know if he's within the same continent as them."

"Will do…" The man hung up.

Vastorie smirked, "Cheeky kids… I'll let you get away with that one. Next time, I won't be so forgiving." He returned to his task, finding himself smiling from the situation. He deserved that backstab.