The Chimera Ant tightened his grip on Lizzy, causing her to gasp and wince in pain. I clenched my teeth and activated my aura to prepare to fight him one last time. The ant sent us a wide, devilish grin as he enjoyed torturing my sister in his arm.

But when I was about to attack, I heard the boy next to me gasp, and I turned my head to see him in terror, much to my dismay. I scowled and turned back to the Chimera Ant, who was laughing maniacally at him.

"Now that's more like it! I love that terrified expression! Oh, yeah! Now I feel like killing you!"

"Dammit, Killua." I muttered, knowing that he would act the same way when he was fighting Shoot. I couldn't let him run away. We both needed to save Lizzy first before we could return to Gon. It was our only chance to fight him and beat him.

"I'm gonna crush you into a bloody pulp! And you and you, too!" He pointed at me and Killua before looking at Lizzy. He moved closer to us, clenching his fist and focused his aura in it.

"Don't worry, Lizzy. I'll kill that bastard and save you!" I asserted, conjuring my rings to use in battle.

Killua yelled at the top of his lungs, and all of a sudden, I dodged the ant's attack while he landed a solid hit on the boy, sending him flying across the field. I landed beside the ant and widened my eyes at the sight before me.

"Killua!" I shouted.

The ant laughed again before focusing on me. "You brat shall pay for trying to incinerate me! Take this!"

He drew back his fist and attempted to punch me, but I managed to dodge in time. However, his speed was incredibly fast, and he landed a punch on my face, sending me flying as well.

"Oh, yeah! I'm loving it!" He yelled and continued laughing, all while trying to crush Lizzy slowly.

"G-guys..." She croaked, and I slowly got up, holding the bruise.

"I'm not telling you this again. Let go of my sister or else..." I paused, glaring at the powerful ant. "You go to hell."

The ant scoffed. "You're the one who's going to hell, brat!"

"Shut up!" I charged at him, and he only kicked me in the gut, sending me crashing into a tree. I grunted in pain as he walked closer to me.

"You seem fun to play around with. Let's see if you can have this!" The ant kicked my side, sending me crashing into another tree. He rushed to my side and prepared to attack me again.

"And this!" He kicked me again, sending me flying. I landed on the ground, bearing the extreme pain from my injuries.

"And this!" He kicked me one more time, laughing maniacally as I flew across the field and landed next to Killua, who was shaking in his shoes from watching him kick me around like a ragdoll.

"Lynn..." He muttered under his breath.

I strained to get back up as the ant walked closer to the two of us. Lizzy had tears in her eyes as she witnessed the beating.

I...need...to save her! I...can't...lose!

It was nighttime, and the ant continued to beat us up relentlessly while Lizzy was still in his grip.

Killua and I were sent flying after the ant kicked both of us. He moved closer as we struggled to stand up.

"Look how scared you are! Well? Get up and move!" He raised his leg and stomped on Killua, laughing maniacally. "You can't, huh? 'Cause you're too scared to do anything!"

I shuddered and watched helplessly as he stomped him many times, with Lizzy crying more.

"No...Killua." I groaned in pain, and I heard him cough.

"Damn. I feel incredible! Should I kill him now or keep beating him up until I say it's time to kill him? I don't really know!"

The ant kicked him hard, sending him flying a couple of feet. Ignoring the agonizing pain everywhere, I stood up and held my arm out to use my ability.

"S-Scorching–"

The ant kicked me again, stopping me from using my fire ring. I tumbled on the ground and landed near Killua, wincing and straining to get back up.

He continued attacking us, punching us and kicking us around, dealing severe damage to both of us. He laughed as we struggled to keep up with his movements.

Man, he was as strong as the murderer himself. With immense strength of his physical attacks, he could fight us effortlessly and outsmart us with his incredible speed.

I got kicked back again, this time with great power causing my body to hurt very much. I let out pained sounds and struggled to stand up again.

D-dammit. H-he's too powerful! I...can't lose now! I have...to save...my sister! And protect Gon. Because he...he is...

"My best friend!" I heard Killua yell out, finishing my thoughts. "You're...my best friend. All of you are my best friends!"

Killua...

"Stop that right now." The ant softly muttered, drooling eerily. "Don't look at me like that. I can't hold it anymore. I'm gonna do it. I gotta..."

I carefully stood up, bearing the pain everywhere. I saw the silver-haired boy crying and heard him mutter things. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he clutched his head with one hand.

"Don't listen to him, Killua. Don't listen to what he's telling you." I told him, realizing why he was afraid earlier.

"Shut up!" He yelled, fighting whoever was controlling his mind.

I clenched my teeth and fought back the tears I was about to cry. I didn't want him to be under his brother's influence any longer. I couldn't stand seeing him like this. He had to fight, to protect the people he loved, and to become stronger. Running away wouldn't make a difference in battle. It would only make oneself cowardly and weak.

"Do you hear me? You have to get over it! Whatever he's telling you is wrong, and you know that! Don't let him take control of your actions, especially if you're fighting someone more powerful than you are! If you do, then you'll never be able to protect anyone from any kind of danger! Please...don't listen to him!" I pleaded him, my voice filled with distress.

He gasped, trying to take in my words. He stopped shaking for a second before clutching his head again.

"I'll leave the head, and I'll just eat the rest!" The ant prepared to attack him, dashing towards him very fast.

I tensed up and charged at him to try to defend Killua from his attack, only for me to get punched out of the way and sent crashing into a tree. I grunted and winced in pain while Lizzy screamed as the ant was about to land one final hit on Killua.

"No!" I rasped and winced again at the agonizing pain.

Killua yelled and stabbed his own forehead using his sharp nails, shocking me greatly. He disappeared from sight, confusing the ant. My eyes scanned my surroundings until I found him behind the ant. I heard him chuckle, and I was confused of what was amusing.

"Huh?" I grunted, still trying to bear the pain in my back and everywhere else.

"Damn. He got me good." He said, smiling to himself. He turned to the ant and pointed at his head. "He planted this inside my brain."

"What?" I said, and then he threw something at me so that I could see what it was.

A thin needle. That was what was controlling his every move. Man, Illumi really was a son of a bitch.

"What are you saying? Are you nuts? Also, how were you able to dodge that?" The ant asked, clearly impressed.

The boy sighed. "I feel so much better. Like I'm finally awake again. Actually, I feel like I'm free."

You did it, Killua. Now you can fight anyone who's stronger than you are. I feel so happy for you.

I stood up carefully, enduring the pain everywhere as I walked to where Killua was. I gave him a smile full of innocence and warmth, and he returned it to me. We then turned to the Chimera Ant holding Lizzy in one of his arms, Killua's expression becoming smug and creepy and mine becoming confident.

"Go and tell all the other ants. If they even come close, they're all gonna end up dead." Killua warned him, noticing the terrified expression on his face.

"But first you must let go of my sister. Because if you don't..." I held up my pointer finger with my fire ring around it. "I'll have to incinerate you to ashes."

"Lynn..." I heard Lizzy whisper softly, and the ant began to sweat nervously. Then he became really angry.

"Why you—!" He started charging toward us, but Killua quickly decapitated him in just a single move.

"That so?" The boy replied, sounding emotionless.

Lizzy freed herself from the headless ant's grip and ran over to me. She wrapped her arms around me and started crying, me taken aback for a moment.

"It's gonna be alright. I'm fine. Killua and I will protect you and Gon no matter what. As long as both of you stay by our side." I reassured her and wrapped one arm around her. Then, I pointed at the headless body and activated my fire ring, creating and emitting a small fireball. The fireball landed on the body and began burning it without the fire spreading to the grass below. That was a neat tweak I had in mind when coming up with my ability. The fire would only spread around the target and nowhere else, making this ability safe to use whenever I fought an enemy in any place.

As the fire burned the body, Killua crushed the head, splattering blue liquid around. My sister and I parted and went to the silver-haired boy.

"Are you girls alright?" He asked, and we nodded. "Come on. We have to get back to Gon as soon as possible."

"Right." I replied, and we all took off to return to the marsh to continue keeping an eye on Gon.

When we got there, we didn't see either one of them. Their stuff was still there though.

"They're gone." Killua said, and Lizzy began to panic.

"What? Where could they possibly have gone?" She asked.

"I don't sense any more soldier ants nearby, so we should hurry back to the hotel. It's getting late, and we can't leave Gon with Palm any longer." I suggested, and we all started to run back to the hotel, feeling worried about the poor boy.

We eventually arrived, and when we opened the door to the room, both Gon and Palm were there. Palm was holding a knife in her hand, glaring down at Gon as he was writing something on a piece of paper. There were lots of papers around them, all of which had the same things written down.

"Oh no." Lizzy whimpered, feeling her ominous aura.

Palm faced us with her demonic eyes, making Lizzy gulp nervously.

"What are you doing?" Killua asked in anger.

"I'm punishing him. Punishing him for hurting my feelings!" She retorted.

"Don't fool around. You're the one who's being unreasonable!"

"Stay out of it! That's none of your business!"

"Right back at ya, stupid! Why don't you just leave?"

She gasped at his demand, and we stared at her in confusion.

"Why are the two of you injured?" She asked, pointing at Killua and I.

"We were training. Got a problem with that?" Killua replied.

"Then I'll injure you both some more!" She charged at us with the knife and swung it around, and Killua and I dodged the attack in time.

"Palm!" Gon cried.

Lizzy looked at the spiky-haired boy and then at Palm. "What did he do to hurt your feelings? Please tell me."

Her aura grew way more ominous than before. "He told me that he wants to keep training so that he can get stronger. All I wanted was time to spend with him, and he couldn't give it to me! How upsetting! And you know what else he told me?"

I tensed up as she turned around to face my orange-haired sister, still holding the knife in her hand. Her eyes became blood red.

"Even though he and I went out together, he still has some kind of feelings left for you. Those are the same feelings I felt when I was with him! He loves you more than I love him! That really pisses me off, and I can't let myself be burdened by your romantic involvement with him! I must end you here and now, and YOU'LL NEVER GET TO BE WITH HIM EVER AGAIN!!" She yelled in her loudest voice, raising her arm to strike her with the knife.

"AHHHHHH!!" Lizzy screamed and began to run away from her, dodging her attack. Palm started chasing her around the room, scattering the papers on the floor with their feet. She swung the knife many times at her while she tried her best to avoid getting stabbed or slashed.

"Palm!" Gon cried again. "Please stop!"

The woman ignored him and continued swinging the knife around, the room becoming a mess of papers. One of the candles was blown out by the wind generated by their motion. When she got close to Lizzy, she raised up the knife to finish her off. I gasped and panicked.

Suddenly, Killua pushed her out of the way in time with his incredible speed. He turned his head to Palm, giving her an icy glare as he held Lizzy protectively.

"Trying to kill an innocent girl who didn't do anything wrong. Seriously, how stupid can you be?" He spoke firmly.

Palm breathed heavily in anger, gripping her knife tightly. Then, she lost it. She began screaming and chasing us around the room, and we got out of the hotel and started running away from her.

"Brats! Come back here so I can kill you all!" Palm shouted as she tried to catch up to the four of us.

I held Lizzy's hand as we tried to lose her in the middle of town. Killua carried Gon under his arm, taking him away from her.

"Oh, yeah? Catch us if you can, idiot!" Killua shouted back at her.

"Stop right there, you..." Her voice trailed off as we ran farther away from her.

"It seems like we're losing her." I pointed out, looking behind me.

"You've gotta stop, Killua. Running away will only make her angrier." Gon told him.

"Huh? But if we ditch her, we won't see her again!" He replied.

"Yeah! She is the creepiest, most freakish woman I've ever met, and I'm not gonna be the one to die by her menacing behavior!" Lizzy complained.

"B-but—" Gon tried to argue, but Killua interrupted him.

"Look, we have to call Knuckle and tell him that we've gotta figure out where we can meet with him and Kite." He stated.

"Sorry, but I'm going back."

"Really? You wanna die? 'Cause that's what's gonna happen if you do! If you think she's not that powerful, you're gonna get stabbed in the back!"

The spiky-haired boy laughed. "No. She would never do that."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Lizzy questioned his statement.

"You saw her trying to attack us, and you think she won't do any harm to you? Man, you are so naive!" I scowled.

We ran and ran for a few minutes until we had reached a hotel by the station, called the Tri-Orb Hotel. We stood in front of the hotel talking about our plans to meet up with Knuckle and the rest of the Extermination Team. Then, Killua began calling Knuckle and told him everything we'd talked about and agreed to meet up with him somewhere the day after tomorrow.

We went to a restaurant to eat something. We discussed what happened with Gon and Palm while at their date and did not tell Gon that Killua, Lizzy, and I were stalking him. I enjoyed my tea and cake while listening to them talk.

"Oh, Gon. You left me in tears thinking that you love that freakish woman more than me. I just...I just..." Lizzy began to tremble, holding on to her cup of fruit punch.

"N-no! I-I didn't mean to make you cry! I just wanted her to be happy after I broke the promise!" Gon waved his hands in defense, smiling weakly.

"And you agreed to go out with her?! Did you have any idea how I would feel if you were to just leave me for her?! Look at you! You're 12 years old, and so am I! How old is that freakish woman?! Like—over 20! That isn't a very logical thing for someone our age to do! You should be ashamed of yourself!" She gave him a look of discontentment, and she took a sip of her fruit punch.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? And please don't call Palm a freakish woman. She would be totally mad if you said that in front of her." He said, showing some guilt on his face.

"She is a freakish woman! I almost got killed because of her! Do you think you would like it if she was behind my tail armed with a kitchen knife ready to take me out while you were just standing there watching? You have no idea how she could just be so murderous almost all the time! And she wanted to be the one spending time with you, so she swore to get rid of me to get what she wanted. I was terrified when I was around her. I hated the ominous feeling, and I hated how she acts. I hated her, Gon! That's how I truly feel about her!" She yelled, her eyes filled with tears.

"Come on. She isn't that scary to me. She would never kill me or you if one of us made her angry. She's just having trouble with herself, that's all." The boy tried to reassure her, but she shook her head rapidly.

"So what? That doesn't mean she will forget everything that happened with you and her on your little date! You dumped her because you wanted more time to train and get stronger so that you can rescue Kite and get him back to normal, and that you still love me even after I shed tears thinking that you don't anymore. You are so complicated, you know?"

He sweatdropped. "Uh..."

The waitress came and placed a plate with a slice of strawberry cake on the table.

"Here you go." She said, and Lizzy beamed at the delicious dessert.

"Thanks!" She exclaimed and started digging in as she left.

"Mmm! So good! I would eat a lot of these!" She chirped and continued eating her cake.

I heard Gon chuckle at her lively expression as she enjoyed the sugary treat.

"I'm done!" She exclaimed after finishing her cake. "I want another one!"

"Oh, please. You're gonna end up being round as a whole planet if you keep eating tons of sweets." Killua mocked her.

"What did you say?!" She exclaimed, pouting at him and taking offense.

Gon suddenly laughed, and she looked at him like he was nuts.

"What's so funny?" She asked.

"Oh, nothing. Just seeing your face makes me happy. I like it when you pout like that. It makes you pretty cute." He said, making her blush.

"Stop it. You're embarassing me." She muttered, and the rest of us laughed with joy and amusement. Seeing my sister happy was enough to make me happy.

We sat down on the side of a small garden, and I watched as Gon, Killua, and Lizzy opened their boxes of chocolate robots. I didn't want one, so they got the treats.

Killua took out a silver-colored robot and frowned. "Oh, man. This one again? That's three."

"Aw, man. I didn't get it either." Lizzy pouted as she took out another silver-colored robot.

Gon took out a gold robot, shocking the two.

"The secret one!" Killua exclaimed.

"What?" She cried and stared at his robot.

"Hm? Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yeah! It's worth a lot. Sell it online, and you'll strike it rich!" The ex-assassin told him.

Gon glanced at the robot before handing it to Killua. "No. I think you can have it."

"Nah. I'll pass." He refused and ate a chocolate ball.

"Hmm..." He turned to Lizzy and offered it to her. "You take it."

"Really?" She gasped and took the gold robot from his hand, gaping at it. "Wow! Thanks so much, Gon!"

The spiky-haired boy giggled as she beamed with happiness. She stood up and looked at Killua, who showed no interest in the special robot.

"Haha!" She sneered and stuck her tongue at him.

"Tch." He stood up and took some steps forward before turning back to us. "You guys wanna hit the gym?"

"Sure!" Gon nodded.

"Okay!" Lizzy replied.

"Yeah." I added.