Sooner or Later
A/N - Hey guys. Happy Easter. I'm thinking that 10 chapters aren't enough to finish the story. So I think one or two more should do it. Anyway, conclusion of the fight this chapter. Enjoy, and please let me know what you think! I'm not the best at writing action scenes, so we'll see.
Round 10
Feitan and Shalnark considered Hisoka as he stalked them, eyes alight with battle lust. He had always been a vicious and formidable fighter, and what was left of the Spiders would have to come up with a sound strategy quickly if they had any hope of defeating him.
Hisoka wasn't the Champion of Heaven's Arena for nothing.
Their opponent didn't give them time to think, however. Before either of them could so much as look at one another, the grinning man rushed forward. Machi almost lost sight of him; he moved so quickly.
The Spiders were able to spring out of the way just in time, as Hisoka struck with so much force, it cracked the pavement, leaving a sizable depression and dislodged slabs of cracked concrete in his wake.
Feitan drew his sword and went on the offensive. Hisoka hurled Kortopi's head at the man, but he easily dodged it.
Shalnark did not, however, and ended up thrown back against the wall from the impact. He rested against it, Kortopi's cranium clutched in his hands. Momentarily struck by the slack jaw and empty look in his former friend's faded eyes, he threw the remains away in horror.
The blonde boy gained his feet and waited for an opening. They could defeat Hisoka. All they had to do was work together.
A game of cat and mouse was underway. Feitan moved quickly, but Hisoka was faster, slashing him across his cheek, leg, and shoulder with his card blades. The pursuit began to frustrate the shorter man, and he started to lose his temper.
Shalnark prepared one of his antennas. He'd throw it into Hisoka, assume control of him, and finish this fight. He'd be helpless under the influence of Black Voice. Feitan was getting pissed, and if he donned his Pain Packer armor, he would have the potential to destroy this whole place and bring it down on them all.
Nobody wanted that. Moreover, he'd have liked to think Hisoka wasn't worthy or difficult enough of an opponent to warrant the use of such an extreme attack.
All Shalnark needed was the right opportunity. So he watched. And waited. As he followed the two fighters' movements, his eyes settled on his former friend turned hostage. She was focused on the action.
His gaze narrowed. Or maybe…
Machi couldn't take her eyes off of the combatants. Hisoka seemed miles ahead of Feitan,which seemed odd. She'd seen the man's skills, and was shocked anyone could keep up with him let alone exceed his speed. Was there anything Hisoka couldn't do?
To think she'd ever thought she could have killed Hisoka when one of the strongest in the Troupe was struggling this hard.
As she watched him score yet another cut on Feitan, Machi hoped like hell that her former comrade wouldn't be pushed into armoring himself and using that ability. They would all be dead if he did, especially her, being unable to escape her bonds. He hadn't yet, so maybe they had a chance.
It was hard not to feel something upon seeing Hisoka arrive. Even knowing her friends…well, former friends, were dead couldn't stop the emotions from gripping her, even if they died by Hisoka's hand.
It still hadn't completely sunk in that they were gone.
All Machi could think of, as she watched Feitan repeatedly attack Hisoka, was that she wanted out of her restraints. Now. What would she do once she achieved that? She didn't know. Flee? Perhaps. Or maybe assist. Assist who? She honestly wasn't sure.
The Troupe had turned against her, after she had, admittedly, betrayed them first.
Hisoka was their sworn enemy. But if she were no longer a member of the Troupe, was he still her enemy? All Machi could do was watch, utterly divided on where she should place her loyalties.
Most of the Troupe was gone. Was it even worth it to try and redeem herself with them?
Hisoka erupted with laughter as Feitan continued to fail at striking him. There was no way he could catch him, not with the way he was moving. As the young man was growing angrier, his movements had begun to get sloppy. He was also losing blood from the many cuts he'd sustained.
Hisoka had used Bungee Gum to discreetly stick cards to strategic points along the hideout's walls as he traversed the lair in his evasion of Feitan.
He had located Machi, bound to a chair, her eye nearly swollen shut, her fingertips an angry, inflamed red. So they had been torturing her. Hisoka glared as Feitan made another attempt to strike him. As the Troupe's torturer, he was most likely the one who had carried it out.
And he would die for it.
The jokester evaded his opponent once again. As the other man followed, muttering in that weird language of his, Hisoka activated his ability, creating a pink, web-like structure that ensnared Feitan.
How ironic, Hisoka thought, watching the man struggle. A Spider caught in a web.
Seeing the trap work so well was unexpected. Hisoka had fully believed Feitan would see through his technique and avoid it. Landing on the floor below, Hisoka examined his victim, pondering on his condition. Perhaps Feitan's anger had made him stupid.
Oh well. To kill him sooner rather than later was to his advantage. The less Spiders, the better for him and Machi. Hisoka prepared one of his card blades and cautiously made his way up to where Feitan struggled in his bindings.
Just before he could strike, he found himself bound and pulled back to the ground. He turned his head and saw that Machi, her eyes dull and unfocused, had secured his arms to his torso using her nen threads.
She pulled the threads tight, and blood began to ooze from cuts where the nen met his flesh. He knew this wasn't her. She was being controlled. Hisoka calmed himself as he watched Shalnark approach Feitan to free him.
Hisoka's mind worked quickly. His arms were restrained, but his hands were not. He had an idea. Extending his aura, he projected it to the nape of Machi's neck. It snaked upward and got closer to the antenna that held her captive.
If I could just…there. Hisoka snagged the protuberance. With a jerk of his finger, he yanked the device from Machi's neck. She gasped, her eyes clearing as she blinked rapidly and oriented herself.
"Welcome back, Little Machi," Hisoka purred, rubbing his head back against her like a contented cat. "As much as I would love to savor the tantalizing experience of bondage with you, it'll have to wait. I have some…friends to finish playing with. If you would be so kind as to free me."
"Oh!" Machi started before releasing her technique. As soon as the threads disappeared, Hisoka beaded in on his opponents.
Shalnark was nearly done ridding his friend of the sticky, pink aura. Feitan was muttering and fidgeting as he tried to stay patient. He was eager to get back in the fight. "Faster!" he finally snapped.
"Almost got it," Shalnark responded. But he wouldn't complete his task.
Feitan sensed movement and attempted to warn Shalnark, but his words died as blood sprayed across his face. Shalnark was still, his eyes steady on Feitan as he felt the warmth of his life's blood flowing down his chest.
Hisoka had landed three of his card blades with expert aim, two in his back, and one clean through the side of his neck. No…Shalnark thought, picturing the face of his lost comrades as his strength began to leave him.
He fell from his position by Feitan, his body landing with a sickening thud.
Hisoka grinned down at the dying blonde boy.
I can't die like this, Shalnark despaired, reaching for his spare antenna. Maybe he could use Autopilot. Maybe, just one last ti–
The device fell uselessly from slackened fingers. And as Shalnark's vision began to fade, the last things he saw were the cold, lifeless eyes in the severed head of his friend, Phinks. Too late.
Feitan could not take his eyes off of the last of his comrades, his only family, lying still on the floor, his body encased in an ever-growing halo of blood, in what was once their safe space. They'd had so many get togethers here, so many good times with one another.
And now it was all over. Everything. Chrollo was gone. The Phantom Troupe was no more. Feitan saw their faces in his mind, one by one. All dead. He was alone. All alone. It was over, and they were unable to avenge their leader, the one who had brought them all together when the world had rejected them. They had failed!
They should have killed Hisoka. It might have happened, he thought, his eyes shifting to the last location of his would-be victim. Finding the chair empty, he searched until he found Machi, standing next to her accomplice as they watched Shalnark die.
Feitan raged. If it hadn't been for her. He felt his anger ignite. She's the reason they're all dead!
Feitan made a final decision. What life was there without the Troupe? How was he to move forward, now that they were all gone? He couldn't. He wouldn't.
That was it. The seemingly last chance for victory for the Phantom Troupe had slipped through their fingers. But maybe it hadn't.
Hisoka and Machi winced as Feitan conjured his Pain Packer armor. He remained stuck in Bungee Gum, but both of them knew it wouldn't be enough to hold him, not with what he was undoubtedly about to do.
His aura began to transmute into a small ball of fire that rapidly began to grow, its heat already stifling. Feitan snarled as he felt his bonds burning away. He could still exact vengeance, even if he too were killed alongside his enemy.
Hopefully, his technique would eliminate that traitor whore as well.
Hisoka had already known what was next when Feitan's armor made an appearance. He quickly grabbed Machi, moving faster than he ever had before, rushing them both outside and away from the building as it started to crumble.
Machi squirmed in his arms. "I can run!" she complained. Hisoka ignored her. She'd been tortured and controlled. Her strength was compromised. He wouldn't take that chance.
As he retreated, they heard the building collapsing in on itself. The heat had melted the metal supports and concrete that held up a structure that was already precarious. The hideout was nothing more than rubble now.
Dashing atop a nearby building, Hisoka gently set Machi down. They observed the debris and waited for Feitan to emerge. They were not fooled when he didn't.
"If he's not dead, he will never stop," Machi asserted. "We'll need to check the wreckage.
"We?" Hisoka questioned. "What do you mean, 'we?'" He turned quizzical golden eyes on her.
She blanched at his glare. What could she say to that? He was right to feel angry after she'd done what she had. He would be well within his rights to leave her here and never show himself to her again. Or even send her to join the rest of the Troupe.
"He'll kill us both, if he can," she insisted, desperate. "I am just as much his enemy as you are now."
Hisoka tilted his head at her. This woman had betrayed him, fought him, fought her feelings for him, withheld them. And, now that her life was in danger alongside his, she wanted to team up with him? It would serve her right if he left her high and dry on this building to face whatever fate would find her.
But he wouldn't. Even with her betrayal, he couldn't just leave Machi. He felt too much for her, demonstrated by the fact he hadn't killed her at the first opportunity, especially after her betrayal.
He felt more for her than he thought he would, and he didn't want her to die, certainly not because of him.
Despite everything, he could understand the position she was in and the immense pressure she'd been under as a Troupe Member to complete her mission.
He remembered the feeling from his time with them. Even being there under pretense meant he'd had to put in an effort to contribute or face scrutiny and suspicion.
Machi waited with baited breath. Would he leave her? If he did, she was as good as dead. She may as well throw herself from this building, head first. Anything would be better than letting Feitan get his hands on her again.
She shivered as she remembered the creative ways he had attempted to extract information from her. She couldn't go through that. N0t again.
Hisoka let Machi stress just a little bit before finally answering her. "You're lucky I like you," he quipped, smirking.
Machi felt her shoulders relax somewhat. She hadn't known what she would do if Hisoka had left her. She was no match for Feitan. He was just too fast, too skilled, and his nen was too formidable.
Having Hisoka by her side would definitely even the odds. She smiled at him.
"We will still be talking about what happened and where that leaves us," he added soberly.
Machi could only nod, her smile fading. This didn't surprise her. It was a talk that needed to be had. It was only right to.
Hisoka took her hand, examining her missing fingernails. His mouth formed a grim line as he saw the raw, red tips, tender to the touch. He searched her face, noting her swollen, darkening eye. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine," Machi asserted. She tried to ignore how pleasing Hisoka's gentle touch was, his fingers sliding over the side of her face like a butterfly's kiss. "He didn't do much else to me."
She looked over her own hand and fingers. Aside from that, and a few bruises, she was relatively fine. "He'd only just gotten started with the physical stuff by the time you got there."
She noted that it didn't even hurt that much as she flexed her fingers. Whether that was from her own resilience, or from Hisoka's presence, she didn't know.
He nodded, satisfied for the moment. "Come on, then." He jumped from the building, Machi not long behind. They needed to investigate the ruins of the hideout and ensure Feitan's demise.
Hopefully he was dead, and they could move on from this horrible ordeal.
Back at the wreckage, the two separated, covering more ground in their search. Hisoka utilized his Gyo, searching for any sign of Feitan's aura as he looked for his physical remains.
He cast a sidelong glance at Machi. She was searching diligently enough. But could he still trust her? She had outright betrayed him, leading her comrades to his location with every intention of capturing and/or killing him. He considered her with a frown on his normally casual features.
Was staying with her worth the danger? Now that her closest friends were gone, what would be her next move? Would she seek more vengeance? He had killed all of them, after all. Where did that leave the two of them and this…situation they were in together?
Relegating those thoughts for later, he continued searching. They were busy for nearly 45 minutes, overturning slabs of concrete, moving steel girders, and tossing burnt, wooden planks.
Machi walked under an archway that had remained standing after the collapse. She didn't see anything of note, so she turned back to continue her search. Just as she did so, she caught sight of movement.
Feitan, his scalp bleeding, his armor tattered and dirty, had appeared behind Hisoka. His arm was drawn back, sword in hand, positioning himself to stab Hisoka from behind. His intended victim seemed unaware of the danger.
Machi screamed as Feitan drove his weapon forward. "Watch out–"
The movement was rapid. Hisoka's arm swung downward as he turned, the movement little more than a pale crescent.
One instant, Feitan's arm was there. The next, it was gone, falling uselessly to the rubble, his hand still clutching the blade. Hisoka had amputated his sword arm just below the elbow.
Feitan's pained scream was piercing. Before he could recover enough to decide his next move, Hisoka grabbed the sword from limp fingers and ran it through Feitan's chest.
His eyes wide, the impaled man stared at Hisoka in disbelief, his body frozen. Machi crept closer as she saw Hisoka grab Feitan by the bottom half of his face. He leaned forward, closer to the Spider's ear as his mouth began moving.
The horrified expression that crossed Feitan's face was one Machi had never thought to see nor would ever forget. Whatever Hisoka had whispered to him, it had terrified her former comrade. He was petrified.
Hisoka raised his head, smiling at his victim with all the malice he felt after seeing the injuries he had inflicted upon Machi. As he glowered down at the dying man, he made a decision.
He turned his head slightly toward Machi. "Come here."
She walked up and took her place at Hisoka's side. He never took his eyes off of Feitan. "You should have the pleasure of the killing blow," he declared with an ominous grin.
Machi searched Feitan's face. He had swiveled his gaze to see her. He glared. "This must make you feel good," he growled. His voice was raspy, growing weaker but still dripping with malice. Blood drizzled from his mouth. "Go ahead," he said. "Complete your betrayal, whore."
He spat a gob of blood and saliva at her, landing on her dirty uwagi. She briefly let her eyes survey the disgusting new stain.
"Do it," Hisoka urged, feeling his anger rise. "Finish it."
Transmuting her aura, Machi produced her signature threads. She quickly appeared behind her victim and wrapped them tightly about Feitan's neck. His face had gone flat, relaxed, accepting of his fate.
With a great pull, the threads whispered through the Spider's neck like a hand through soap suds, severing his head from his body. Machi turned away, not wanting to see him fall.
Despite everything, she held mixed feelings. She hadn't felt particularly close to Feitan, but he had been a part of the Troupe, her adopted family, for many years. She was sad to see him die.
But Feitan had to go. Machi knew this. He was too powerful, and there was no coming back from what she and Hisoka had done. Feitan would have hunted her the rest of her days, constantly dogging her steps, until she finally became tired and surrendered gladly to her fate.
At that moment, Machi felt utterly alone. All of them were gone. All those years, together. And now, nothing but dust and the ruins of their hideout. What would she do?
She was considering what the next step would be when she felt Hisoka's heated presence close at her back. She didn't turn around, afraid of what she might see. He'd killed everyone else. Was she next?
"Well," her lover murmured close to Machi's ear, running his nose softly up her neck. Her heart began to pound as the heat of his breath caressed her skin. "Now that that's done, what am I going to do with you, Little Machi?"
I promise there will be sexy times next chapter. :)