'Someone's... here?'

"Maybe it's another traveler..." you suggest reluctantly.

Killua shakes his head stiffly. "Trust me. It's not."

His eyes widen in shock. He instinctively reached for Alluka, making sure she's safe. "No way..." he mumbles.

You stay silent, unsure of what to do or say.

Suddenly, Killua grabs your wrist, pulling you towards him.

'W-what?!'

"Listen, we're running away, so grab on to me. Got that, Alluka, (Y/N)?" Killua says sternly, not making eye contact with any of you. Suddenly, you see sparks of electricity surrounding the three of you, as you felt a slight tingle all throughout your body. Killua's hair spikes up, and his eyes reflect an electric blue color.

'What in the world is happening?!'

Before the three of you take off, a nonchalant voice, masking its sinister undertone, calls out.

"Kil~"

As soon as Killua heard this, he froze in his tracks. You hear him take in a shaky breath. Looking up at him, you see a bead of cold sweat roll down from his forehead.

You look behind you towards the source of the voice. In the distance, you see a very tall young man whose skin was as pale as Killua's. He had very long jet-black hair, and emotionless, empty black eyes. He wore green pants and a green top, with yellow pins sticking out of it.

The man slowly walks toward you. "Did you really think I would give up on it? That you would be able to run from me?" He continues to say in his nonchalant tone as if these kinds of things were perfectly normal to him.

Instinctively, you shrink away in fear and into Killua's arms, as you felt enormous pressure, like needles pricking your skin. Killua holds you tighter.

'Illumi... Impossible... How can he be here? Unless he was able to track down where we were going... No, that's not it... I made sure everything we did cannot be traced!' Killua said to himself.

Slowly, a crowd of people begins to surround the three of you. Each of them had unnatural movements and a needle sticking out of their heads. You look at them in shock, before a distinctive crease formed in between your brows. Pure anger graced your normally cheerful features.

'Crap, he's got his Needlemen! Do I use Godspeed right now to get them away from here as fast as I can?' Killua ponders, scanning his surroundings.

'No, it would be too risky to manage that and keep both Alluka and (Y/N) safe,' he thought as he held Alluka closer to him.

"How did you find us?" Killua warily asked the man called Illumi, gritting his teeth at him. "Let me get to the point," Illumi says, ignoring Killua's question completely. "I'm the one who can use Nanika's power effectively and safely, for the Zoldyck family," he says, stopping a good distance in front of the three of you. He extends a hand towards Killua. "Come back home with me, Kil, Alluka. With you at his side, Kil, I can guarantee Alluka's freedom at least."

'Nanika? Zoldyck family?' You continued frowning, feeling completely out of place. You look towards Alluka, who was looking at the man curiously, yet cautiously.

"Didn't we have this conversation already?! I'm never giving Alluka to you, she's not an object!" Killua claps back.

'I have no choice,' Killua thought. 'I'll have to summon--'

"I thought you would say that." Illumi shrugs, maintaining his nonchalant tone of voice. He gestures to the people with needles sticking out of their heads. Killua's eyes widen at this.

"Attack."

As soon as the command left his lips, The Needlemen surged towards the three of you.

'What the hell?!' You thought.

In a panic, you let go of Killua, just as he deactivated his electrical abilities. "(Y/N)!" Killua calls, attempting to reach for you.

"Keep Alluka safe! I can manage on my own!" You call back, dodging a few of the Needlemen's sloppy attacks, yet some of them were still able to give you minor injuries due to their sheer numbers. You ignore them, looking around for the black-haired man. 'Where the hell is that sick guy who brainwashed all these people?!' You thought. Once you spotted him, you felt your simmering blood begin to boil.

"YOU!"

You ran as fast as you can toward the man, all the while clutching your injuries and dodging more of their predictable and mediocre attacks.

Killua stared at you in horror. "YOU IDIOT! STOP!" He screams at you while fending off attacks and keeping Alluka safe.

Ignoring him, you continue running towards him, but before you can get close enough, you felt that enormous, needle-like pressure from before. It forced you to your knees due to its tremendous strength. You wince, trying all you can to get back up, but to no avail.

The Needlemen used this opportunity to deal you a painful injury to your shoulder. You flinched in pain as blood seeped from the wound, yet you were unable to defend yourself unless you put more distance between you and the man.

The black-haired man, Illumi, seemed to notice you. He walked closer to you until he was in front of you. You trembled in fear at his presence, yet you are still unable to move a muscle.

'Just...who in the world is this guy...?' you struggled to even think.

_ _ _

Meanwhile, Killua struggled to fend off every attack while managing to keep Alluka safe.

'Dammit. I could easily activate my claws and kill each of them, but that'll be difficult to manage while keeping Alluka safe, not to mention it's very graphic for her. If one of them attacked her while I was killing the others off, it could be fatal. I have to buy enough time for me to summon Nanika!'

"Dammit, (Y/N). If Illumi lays a finger on you I swear I--"

Before Killua could finish that statement, all the attacks from the Needlemen suddenly stopped. Killua secures Alluka by his side before looking at the direction Illumi is in.

To his horror, he sees Illumi carrying you, as he walks towards Killua and Alluka. Your eyes were wide with fear, yet you couldn't raise even a finger against him.

"During an inner mission, family members are off-limits," he casually states. Before holding a needle against the side of your neck.

"Family, that is," he says, in a sickly ominous tone.

Killua's eyes widen. "You bastard..." he says, taking a step forward.

"Don't move," he says, pressing the needle into your neck. Small droplets of blood start to flow from it. "If you do. I'll kill her. The only way to ensure her safety is to surrender with Alluka now. Only I should be able to use her power."

'Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!'

You gaze at Killua determinedly, as hard as it is. 'Don't do it, Killua. Don't do it,' you try to relay the message.

Killua just stands there for a long while with his head down, sweating profusely. Suddenly, one of the Needlemen deals a massive blow to Alluka's stomach. You and Killua watch in horror as she coughs up blood, face scrunched up in pain, before falling to the ground.

"ALLUKA!" Killua screams, catching her before she touched the ground. Thankfully, Alluka remained conscious, though she began having difficulty breathing. "O-Onii-chan..." she mumbles, looking up at Killua's panic-stricken face.

'I shouldn't have let my guard down... dammit all!'

"Oh oops, you were taking too long thinking, Kil. At least she's conscious, don't you think?" Illumi says, the smallest smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "But this should make your choice easier, no?"

'Is this his sick attempt at a joke?!' You thought angrily, the fear slowly fading away from you. Without thinking, you screamed at the top of your lungs.

"KILLUA, SNAP OUT OF IT! DON'T FALL FOR HIS MIND GAMES!!"

As soon as he heard that, Killua's eyes began to clear, before they began giving off the most murderous, and deadly look.

"Oh, you can talk now? Just a second ago you were trembling in fear." Illumi says, pushing the needle further into your neck. You bite your lip, attempting to stop yourself from screaming.

Slowly, you sense a very strong bloodlust coming from Killua. It seemed to have caught Illumi off-guard for a second, as his grip on you ever so slightly loosened. Loud, and clear, you hear Killua speak. A deep, resentful, and deadly tone etched into it.

"Alluka, can you call Nanika for me?"