"No, we can't leave yet."

Everyone turned towards the voice of the interruption. It was someone they never expected.

Kurapika was standing there in deep thought, looking a little bit guilty. Everyone was surprised. What happened?

Kurapika sighed. "Sorry, that came out wrong. But... there's something I found out..."

"What do you know about the whereabouts of the Scarlet Eyes?" Kurapika asked, holding the Dowsing Chain out in front of Machi in a threatening manner.

Machi sighed. "Whether you know or not doesn't matter to me, so I might as well tell you."

She looked up. "One pair of the Scarlet Eyes are right here in this world."

Kurapika's didn't think he heard right. "What!?"

Machi nodded. "Years ago, after the invasion of your clan..." She spoke carefully, knowing that was the worst trigger point for the person in front of her. "Our Leader sold most of the Scarlet Eyes, to where, I don't know, so don't bother asking. However, he gave some pairs to certain members, as a reward. We were allowed to try to sell them ourselves or use them however we wanted."

"I was given one of the Scarlet Eyes pairs and I brought them here when I learnt about this special power this guild possesses. I gave the Scarlet Eyes to this guild, as proof of my allegiance."

Kurapika clenched his fist. "So you're saying..."

Machi nodded again. "Yes. One of your clan's eyes are in the main base of the SIA guild. If you want to find them, that's where you need to go. Now, if you're done, let's go our separate ways now. I refuse to help my enemy more than this."

Everyone listened silently to Kurapika's explanation.

"I'll... give more details about the Scarlet Eyes afterwards." Kurapika said, knowing by now that everyone deserved an explanation. "But... they're something very important to me. Knowing that they're in possession of this guild, in this world..."

"I can't leave. Not yet."

Kurapika looked at Gon, Killua, and Leorio. "I'm sorry. I won't keep you three here. You can go ahead. I'll come back after I finish what I need to do here."

There was silence. Then Leorio started laughing.

"Honestly Kurapika, it's just like you to try to do everything yourself. Are you TRYING to get rid of us?"

"What? No I-" Kurapika began to explain, but Leorio cut him off.

"Anyways, long story short, I'm staying. Can't let you do everything yourself, can I?" Leorio looked at Gon and Killua. "And I'm pretty sure these two also agree."

"I'll stay too." Gon and Killua both said at the same time. They looked at each other and then smiled, they were obviously thinking the same thing.

Gon looked at Erza. "Just because we've defeated the members in this base, it doesn't mean we've defeated SIA, right?"

Erza shook her head. "This is the junior base. To truly defeat SIA, we need to invade the main base. That was the next step of actions once you guys left."

"Then it's settled then." Killua said. "I didn't feel good leaving anyway without the entire job being done and now, we have a reason."

"Right, we want to help you guys finish everything." Gon said. He looked at Natsu. "Is that okay?"

Natsu grinned. "Of course! We wouldn't have finished this operation without you guys!"

"It's fine with me." Erza said. "We've made a good team so far." Gray nodded in agreement.

Gon finally looked at Kurapika. "Please let us help you get back your people's eyes Kurapika. We're your friends, we'll always stick around."

"You guys..." Kurapika began. He then smiled. He had expected this all this time.

I have good friends, he thought. And with that thought, the world slipped into darkness.

"Well, you guys sticking around longer is certainly a surprise." Mirajane said, as she gave Gon, Killua, and Leorio their food. Leorio was busy studying the medical books that they had picked up on the way back, with Gray's money.

"It was a surprise for us too." Gon said. "Who knew a pair of Kurapika's clan's eyes would be in this world?"

"Speaking of that..." Mirajane began. "I understand what happened to Wendy, but what happened to your friend?"

"Long use of the Scarlet Eyes takes a physical toll on his body." Leorio explained. "But it isn't as bad this time as it was in an incident back in our world. He should be fine." Mirajane had heard the simplified version of what the Scarlet Eyes were about.

"What about Wendy?" Killua asked, unable to keep in his curiosity. "Will she be okay?"

"The healer she probably told you about, Porlyusica, is here." Mirajane said. "So I'm sure she'll be fine. But I wouldn't go asking Porlyusica yet. She likes to be alone." With that, Mirajane walked away.

"Geez, what does that mean?" Killua said, slumping his head on the table. "And this guild hall is crazy again. They seem to recover quickly."

"Then let's go practice." Gon said, quickly finishing of his meal. "Race you to the back!"

"Hey! Wait!" The two boys went running off.

"Well, it seems like the wizards aren't the only people here who recover quickly." Leorio chuckled.

In the middle of a beautiful forest, with the sun shining down, is a young boy wearing a dark red tabard. He's very small for his age and his short brown hair shows his entire face. His eyes cannot see well, yet they are filled with hope and excitement. The sun seems to shine a spotlight on him, for he is important to someone. He holds his hand out, beckoning his other friend, so the two boys can have another day of adventure, in the only home they know.

It's dark and it's raining, trying to wash away the blood that was shed in this area. Among a field of gravestones, lies one small gravestone, stained with blood. It's dark and muddy, for the light of hope and adventure has been extinguished, left with a dark and dreary future for the one who has survived and is forced to face this reality.

When the future will be bright again is now unknown.

Kurapika eyes opened with a start. He quickly sat up in the bed he had been lying down on, and put his hand to his head to quell the headache that followed. It had just been a dream.

No, not a dream. It was his past showing itself up again, in the worst way possible.

"So you're awake now."

Kurapika looked around the room. There was an older women with pink hair tied up with a bun, wearing a red cloak, standing near the bed. Kurapika noticed that on the other side of the room, the girl, Wendy, was still not awake.

"Who are you?" Kurapika asked.

"I'm a healer who, on occasion, helps out in this guild." the women said. She didn't look very happy. "Usually, it's worse after a mission, but this time, it was fairly easy to find an antidote for young Wendy, and you only had a mild fever."

Kurapika felt his head again. He didn't have a temperature now, and he could deal with a small headache. He slipped on his blue tabard and got out of the bed.

"Wait!" The women called out. "You just woke up, you need to rest!"

"I'm fine." Kurapika said, opening the door of the infirmary. "Thank you."

"Kurapika!" Gon called out, seeing him walk out of the infirmary. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah." Kurapika said. "The effects of Emperor Time were significantly less this time." He looked outside. It was now evening. Their invasion had ended around noon, so he had only been out for a few hours.

At seeing Porlyusica, Lucy called out. "Is Wendy okay!?"

Porlyusica nodded. "Thank to her cleverness, I was able to make an antidote. She's sleeping it off right now but she will be okay."

Killua's ears perked up and then he inwardly sighed in relief.

"That's good news, right Killua?" Gon said.

Taken by surprise, Killua quickly answered. "Oh, um... yeah. That's great."

Slowly, Wendy opened her eyes. As she expected, she was in the infirmary. She felt a little groggy, but she didn't feel anymore pain.

"Finally!" she heard Lucy say. She gripped Wendy's hand. "We were so worried!"

"Lucy!" Wendy said. She nervously chuckled. "I'm sorry for worrying everybody."

"Well, that will be the last time you do something so reckless, child." Carla said. But her no nonsense tone didn't disguise the fact that she had also been extremely worried.

"Listen to your friends, Wendy. I hope I don't need to treat you again." Porlyusica said.

"Ms. Grandina- I mean, Ms, Porlyusica, thank you!" Wendy quickly said. She had still not quite broken her old habit.

Porlyusica looked towards the infirmary door. "Why are you just standing there, boy? I said that Wendy could have visitors, if that's what you're here for!"

Wendy smiled as Killua slowly walked into the room.

"So you're okay. That's great!" Killua said.

"Thank you." Wendy said.

That surprised Killua. "What for?"

"For trusting me." Wendy said. "You listened to me. You trusted my plan."

"For the record, that was not a good plan." Killua said.

"Better than yours." Wendy joked.

Killua couldn't help but smile. "Okay, that's true. I should be the one thanking you but... you know the rules."

"Of course." Wendy said. "I take back my previous thank you."

At the end, all the two friends could do was laugh. Even through shocking events, they both knew they only had each other to thank. But, of course, they wouldn't say it out loud.

The guild hall was back to its usual chaos. Everyone was partying for an invasion gone well and, to celebrate the longer stay of their new members.

"We can all have break tonight." Erza said. "The next stage is the main base. We need to be extra prepared for that. But tonight, let's celebrate!"

"Yeah!" everyone said.

"You know, it's weird." Gon said. "At first, this place seemed noisy and crazy. But now, it just seems exciting."

"I guess you get used to it." Killua said. "Being here isn't that bad anymore."

Kurapika stayed silent. Soon, they would perform another invasion. But this time, he had actual stakes in it. He couldn't let anything get in the way of his goal.

Gon noticed his silence. "Kurapika, we're going to get your family's eyes back. And we'll defeat the SIA. Killing two birds with one stone!"

Kurapika smiled. It was a rather positive outlook, but it helped. "I know. Thanks."

Natsu came in and put his arm around Gon's shoulders. "And let's celebrate this kid learning fire magic! Welcome to the club, Gon!"

"Aye sir!" Happy said.

"Don't overwhelm him, Natsu." Erza said. But Gon looked pretty happy.

In fact, they all were. The Hunters now looked at the guild with new eyes. Ignoring the fighting, the guild now seemed so... together. It was like everyone belonged. They really all were like a family. It had been hard to believe at first, but it was true. The emblems they possessed now meant so much more.

Before, the Hunters had been forced into this world. Now, they were choosing it.

And it was a choice they would never regret.

Wow... three parts are done. I remember starting this story, having this all in my head, and now it's all written down for everyone to see. It feels amazing. I know there are some people who picked this story up when it only had like four chapters, and I applaud the dedication, especially when I would have gaps between updates (Thank you for putting up with that!). I thank everyone who stayed with this story. I hope everyone has liked it so far and is excited for what's to come. You guys are all amazing.

That being said, I'm going to be taking a break for a few weeks to figure out the future story so I'm fully prepared when I start to write again. Again, thank you readers and I'll try to come back as soon as I can!

Until next time,

-Heavens Wheel

(Just a cool fan art I found. Enjoy!)