The War, Part 4/The Finale
“We faced them six more times after that, and every single time, we either lost someone or almost didn't make it,” Killua explained. “We got two weeks off after that and so we went to visit Alluka and Mito, we were still pretty beat up, so they patched us up and we fell asleep on the sofa,”
Gon nodded. “Once we got back to the Association, we found out that Cheadle and Morel had gotten Kite and his team to help us,”
Killua squeezed Gon's arm, knowing that the loss of Kite still plagued his mate.
“When we got back to the Dark Continent, we took a few weeks to try and come up with some type of plan, but it always failed,” Killua mentioned.
Gon got this bright, proud smile on his lips. “Killua killed the bee ant, since he was the only one immune to her poisons,” he stated, a dreamy look on his face. “It was amazing; Killua is amazing,” he praised.
The teenager's watched as Killua's face turned crimson at the praise, biting his lower lip.
“Killua is the strongest! I'm so proud,” Gon voiced.
Killua whined. “Gon! Y-you can't say stuff like that! It's not-it wasn't even that amazing,” he mumbled.
Izuku sweat dropped as his parents started to argue. Killing someone was something weird for someone else to be proud of, but then again, this was his parents, and they were the embodiment of weird.
“Anyway, I killed the bee ant, and the three times after that were total failures since the snow leopard ant and bear ant were the strongest guards left. In those three times, we managed to lose the entirety of Kite's team,” Killua trailed off, gazing with distant eyes at his lap.
“And we lost Palm and Kite on the same day,” Gon added softly, the grip he had on Killua's thigh tightened painfully, but the omega said nothing.
The room grew quiet for a while as the two adults sorted through their memories.
--
They had gotten split up, which wasn't supposed to happen; it wasn't according to plan, but when did things ever go accordingly? Killua wasn't sure where the others were, but he couldn't focus on that too much.
Instead, he had to focus on dodging every strike the snow leopard was aiming at him. Palm was by his side, fighting with everything she had, as did he. This ant was just too powerful, and after every strike, whether she landed it or not, she grew faster and stronger, her strikes growing deadlier by the second.
The ant landed a powerful hit to his stomach, able to match his incredible speed. He had nearly used up all of his electricity and he paid dearly for it. He had slowed down, it was just as Godspeed was finished and he was not fast enough without it to dodge the powerful kick.
His ribs cracked and broke, blood flying from his mouth as he was sent flying back through trees, crashing painfully into a stone boulder where he slid slowly down to slump onto the ground.
It was extremely painful to breathe, but he forced his lungs to expand and take in air. He wheezed with every breath, gritting his teeth not to let out any pained sounds. Palm had stopped paying attention to their enemy, instead turning around to look at him in worry.
He screamed at her, told her to pay attention and that he was fine. Palm continued to fight, and Killua took this moment to properly catch his breath. He regrets not standing up instantly and helping Palm. If he had, she might still be alive.
Instead, the ant kicked her in the chest; Killua could hear bone cracking and breaking from where he had slumped. Palm was sent flying and the ant turned to him. She focused her aura into her hand, and a ball of pure aura focused there.
It looked a lot like Gon's Ja-Janken, but it was completely black and much more powerful. Was she going to use it on him?! Killua moved to stand, nearly collapsing at the pain he felt, but he bit his lip until it bled and endured the pain; he had to move, he had to get out of there.
“Killua!” Palm shouted his name as the ant shot the nen at him.
Killua feebly raised his arms in front of him, focusing his nen to try and block the attack. Palm appeared before him, arms spread wide as she stood in front of him prospectively.
“Palm, no!” Killua yelled, panicked as he reached out to the woman.
Palm turned to look at him over her shoulder; and smiled. “Take care of Gon, okay?” She spoke her final words.
Killua screamed her name as the nen connected and he was sent flying again from the shockwave, skin burning from the scorching heat the ants attack produced. Killua collapsed underneath a tree feet away, ears ringing and vision swimming as he stared up in disbelief at the blue sky, just breathing.
He laid there for a few minutes, body aching terribly as his lower lip started to tremble and tears fell. If only he'd gotten up sooner, if only he'd trained Godspeed more, then none of this would have happened.
--
Gon was in much the same predicament minutes before. He had been stupid, he had let himself get distracted in the middle of a battle with the bear ant and instead of him paying the price, Kite had.
He was sitting there in the dirt, Kite's lifeless body clutched tightly to his chest as he stared blankly at the ground in front of him. There had been a massive explosion, one so powerful they had felt the shockwaves all the over there and Gon had gotten distracted wondering what it was and who was fighting it.
The bear had taken that time to lunge for him, clawed hand ready to impale him, when Kite jumped in his way and took the deadly hit for him. Gon had caught his mentor before he/she could fall to the ground. The bear had sneered at them as Gon almost instantly started crying.
He barely paid attention as the bear turned and took off running in the direction of the explosion. There was blood pooling underneath his legs, warm and sticky and sickeningly powerful in scent.
“I'm so sorry, Kite, I-I-!” Gon apologized, tears falling freely and splashing on the redhead's cheeks.
“Stop, Gon,” Kite ordered, voice soft and weak.
Gon shook his head. “It should have been me! I shouldn't have let myself get distracted, I-!”
Kite watched as Gon broke down crying, sobbing loudly, body shaking violently with emotion.
“Don't say that,” Kite spoke, eyelids drooping, blood pooling at the corners of his/her mouth and sliding down his/her cheeks. “You...have to take care of Killua...and you have...a baby boy you...need to go back to,”
Gon watched, wide eyed as Kite's eyelids fell shut, body growing limp as he/she exhaled his/her last breath. Gon continued to stare, whimpering softly. He killed Kite. Again. Gon stared at the ground in blank disbelief, unsure what to do now.
How could he do this again? How could he kill Kite a second time?! This time, he wouldn't get another chance, this time, Kite was dead and he/she wasn't coming back. Why? Why did this always happen? Was he cursed to always kill and hurt the people he cared about?!
For about five minutes, Gon continued to stare blankly with tears falling freely as his thoughts continued to spiral. The guilt he felt was overwhelming and would have crushed him were it not for the pained scream that echoed through the forest.
Gon jumped as his head jerked to look in the direction he had heard it coming from. It wasn't too far away, he noted. He stared at the greenery with disinterest; he didn't feel like getting up and going in search of whomever had been screaming.
The forest was mostly silent, the only thing Gon was really paying attention to was his own heartbeat and how much he wished it'd been his that stopped beating instead of Kite's. Gon gazed sadly at a bug that sat on a nearby tree as Kite's final words replayed in his memory.
He had to take care of Killua and go back to his son. Gon's eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat as he realised; Killua. Where was his love?! Gon gently sat Kite's body down, he'd come back for it later.
He sprinted off in the direction he could remember the shockwaves had come from. He didn't know where Killua was and he was worried that it might have been his mate's pained scream he had heard and ignored.
Gon reached a clearing after two minutes of running, though he supposes it wasn't really a clearing so much as it was the aftermath of the explosion from earlier. His eyes instantly landed on the sight of the snow leopard.
Killua was hanging limply from her outstretched hand, her fingers curled with bruising force around Killua's jaw and part of his neck. Rage and crippling fear froze Gon to his spot for a minute as he realised; Killua wasn't moving.
It was the closest to death he had ever seen his mate, his beautiful, pale skin bruised, cut and bloodied, his snow white hair stained red and smeared with dirt, dust and debris. Killua's clothing was ripped, his right sleeve completely gone, the skin of his arms burnt red and blistering.
Everything went blank as Gon blacked out in his rage. The last thing he could remember was his aura reacting to his powerful emotions, the ground cracking beneath his feet as he lunged forward.
The next thing he could remember was Killua's voice and his scent. He blinked and suddenly his eyes connected with Killua's concerned, silvery blue. His mate was sitting on his knees in front of him, right hand clutching his limp left arm, expression worried.
“Gon?” He asked softly, eyes searching golden pools of anger.
Gon's eyes raked over Killua's body, noting with some relief that his mate hadn't received any more wounds.
“Killua,” he replied, voice hoarse and his throat scratching.
Killua's shoulders slumped as he exhaled in relief. “You finally came back to me,” he spoke with relief, “are you okay?” He asked, eyes trailing over him, pausing briefly over the blood on his pants.
Gon thought for a minute, considering the question. What had even happened? “No,” he answered after a few minutes.
Killua frowned, lower lip trembling slightly. “Okay,” he spoke softly, somehow managing to climb onto his feet, though he was clearly in a lot of pain.
At least, it was clear to Gon as he watched every single one of Killua's movements and his expression like a hawk.
“Let's go?” Killua suggested, though he sounded very off.
Gon stared up at him before turning to look back in the direction he had come from earlier. The clearing had gotten bigger, he noted. He needed to go back and get Kite's body, he couldn't leave him/her there.
“Gon?” Killua asked softly, unsure.
Gon shook his head. “No,” he stated firmly, turning back to look up at Killua.
He watched his mate's frown deepen, eyes flittering about. “Why?” He whispered.
Gon realised then that Killua was scared. His eyes shifted around, body extremely tense; he was worried, too. Gon shifted his body to get up and that was when he realised that his right fist was plunged deep into the chest of the ant that had hurt Killua.
His arm was stained with blue blood, her head was crushed, blood, brain and hair the only remnants left. Her chest was mostly crushed, too. What the hell had he done? Gon wanted to ask Killua, but something told him he was either not going to receive an answer or his mate simply didn't know.
Was Killua unconscious when he got here? He remembers his mate not moving and he'd thought for a minute that Killua was dead. Gon had the overwhelming urge to take Killua into his arms and never let go.
Maybe he could ask Knuckle or Knov to come back for Kite's body? It didn't even really matter, it was just a corpse, what mattered now, was Killua and how much the smaller was shaking in pain.
Gon stood up, yanking his hand out of the corpses chest, relieved when nothing happened and she didn't suddenly spring up again like Pitou had. Killua smiled softly at him as Gon approached, falling into his mate's chest as Gon reached him.
The alpha picked his mate up, walking in a random direction, listening to Killua's heartbeat and breathing as his mate passed out in his arms. He found Knov and Shoot a few minutes later, quietly asking if the elder could open a portal for him and if they could possibly retrieve Kite's body.
Gon spent twenty minutes inside Knov's mansion cleaning Killua's wounds, all the while listening to him breathe. It was reassuring and calming to listen to, to know his love was alive.
--
“It took Killua around six weeks to heal from his wounds after that,” Gon stated, frowning at the memory of how hurt his other half had been. “Knuckle, Morel, Shoot and Knov all worked together to kill the bear ant,”
“They were beat up, but they felt a little accomplished at being able to kill at least one of the ants,” Killua spoke with a bit of amusement.
Gon grinned. “Yup! Since Killua killed two ants and the King, they were feeling a little outshone,” he stated proudly.
“You killed the King?” Eijirou asked in surprise.
Killua shrugged. “Yeah, sort of? Gon and I fought him together, I just dealt the last blow,” he explained.
Gon growled suddenly, low and dark. “Bastard tried laying his hands all over Killua again, too,”
The teens turned to look at Killua for confirmation, the omega shrugged again. “He did, but he didn't get very far before Gon attacked him,”
“What happened?” Hitoshi asked softly.
“Well, after the bear ant was killed, we took a few months to take a break and do some intense training. We had trouble against the guards, who knew how much stronger the King would be?” Killua spoke, rubbing his left hand up and down Gon's arm. “Since the King was...obsessed? with me, we built our entire plan around that, and I acted as bait,”
Gon scowled. “I fucking hate that we had to do that,” he expressed.
Izuku bit his lower lip, his father rarely, if ever swore.
Killua smiled softly up at Gon. “I know, sweetie, but it worked out, didn't it?”
Gon sighed as he nodded.
Killua smiled brightly at the teens. “Anyway, so I acted as bait,”
--
Killua walked slowly toward the world tree, hands fitting snugly in his hoodie pockets, trying to seem calm and relaxed; he knew Gon was following close behind. Morel, Knuckle, Shoot and Knov were close by, too.
They were acting as back up, only allowed to step in should an emergency arise, though most of it were up to Gon and Killua, as per their request. The two were best equipped for this fight, since they were the strongest out of the remaining six.
Killua had faith his comrades had his back should something catastrophic happen. He was determined, though, to keep them out of this. He didn't want to lose any more of his friends.
Killua leant against a tree, trying to ensure that it looked as though he were minding his own business. He knew the King would sense him soon and come to him. It was a bit of an uncomfortable thought, but the plan rode on the idea that the King would throw caution to the wind at even the smallest chance that he could reclaim Killua.
It was ten minutes later that the King suddenly appeared before the omega with a wild grin and a crazed look in his eyes. Killua tensed, not having expected the ant to appear so suddenly.
“So you've come back?” The king asked as he snatched Killua's wrist, pressing the omega against the tree, trapping him. “You know, you and your comrades have caused me quite a bit of trouble,” he stated, eyes roaming over Killua's face.
“Really?” Killua asked, sounding sarcastic and uncaring, skin crawling as the ant trailed a finger up the side of his neck.
“Hmn? Curious, my mark hasn't scarred,” the King noted, tracing over the patch of healed skin where he had bitten the other.
Killua had asked Nanika to remove it for him, not caring about any other scar on his body except that one. He didn't want such a heavy burden on his and Gon's relationship, a constant reminder that someone else other than Gon could leave such a mark on Killua.
“No matter, I'll just keep on marking you until it lasts. You're mine now,” the King claimed, leaning forward, mouth agape and poised to bite down on Killua again.
Killua grit his teeth, activating Godspeed and releasing a powerful current of electricity into the King. He watched in satisfaction as the King's body jolted and he screamed. Killua held the current, forcing it to steadily grow stronger as Gon charged up as powerful a Ja-Janken as he could manage.
There was a strong wind that came with the attack charging and Killua knew it would be equally as, if not more powerful than the one Gon had used against Pitou. Gon lunged forward out of his hiding spot, fist stretched forward, complete trust in Killua to move out of the way in time to avoid being hit.
Killua released the King in the last second, not giving the ant enough time to react and dodge. Killua braced as a strong shockwave threatened to throw him off of his feet.
Once the dust and debris settled, Killua noted that one of the King's wings were missing, the other severely damaged, which was what they were aiming for. They weren't naive enough to think that that single attack would be enough to finish the King off.
They were going on the assumption that the King didn't have some insane regenerative ability, which seemed to be true, at least. The Kings stood there, gripping his right arm, body shaking with multiple cuts and bruises littering his skin.
Killua felt immensely satisfied at this, it seemed they weren't quite as far from the King's power as they had originally thought. Killua was determined to finish this quickly with just him and Gon.
The King bristled with rage. “You scum,” he seethed. “You dare lay a hand on me?! And force my beloved into partaking in your schemes?! I will have your head for this, human!”
Gon growled as he stepped in front of Killua possessively. “Killua is not yours, he's mine!”
Killua sighed quietly as the two started to growl at each other. This fight was now not only going to be for the sake of humanity and killing this tyrant, but over possession of the omega; Killua.
“I'm also not an object you can own,” Killua muttered under his breath, but he was either not heard or ignored.
One moment the two were growling at each other, the next, they were lunging at one another, fists flying.
Killua blinked in surprise, watching as Gon fought equally with the King. Gon's rage had always been a potent fuel to his strength, and his rage had been boiling for years now.
Gon tilted his head to the right to avoid a hit, ducking slightly underneath a following punch, pulling his fist back to slam into the King's stomach, but it was caught. Gon growled in frustration, pulling back his other fist to punch the King in his face.
The ant grabbed his fist, attempting to crush the bone in both of Gon's hands as he raises he leg to kick him in the side. Gon managed to raise a leg to block the attack, glaring into the King's wild eyes.
The ant sneered, pulled back his head, and slammed his forehead onto the bridge of Gon's nose. He released the human as he jerked back, blood instantly flowing as Gon groaned in pain. Killua cringed at the sight as Gon cupped both hands over his nose, blood spilling between his fingers; it was no doubt a horrible break.
Gon pulled his hands away; turning to face the King again and received a fist to the mouth, followed by a hit to the side of his face. The King braced with his left leg and slammed his right foot in Gon's stomach.
The alpha spat up blood and spit as he was sent flying, crashing through trees as he went. Killua watched him pass by, blinking as he gazed in that direction in concern, but turned to look at the King.
Killua reactivated Godspeed, glad he had managed to train himself to prolong it's use. The King stood mostly frozen to the spot as took hit after hit from Killua, caught off guard by the omega's speed.
It didn't take long for the ant to see a pattern in Killua's attacks and started to block, but he still received more than half of the hits; Killua was simply too fast for him to block completely. The King still watched as carefully as he could and when he saw an opening, he took it.
Killua blocked punches with his arms, cringing from the force as his arms instantly started to ache and bruise. The King continued to hit Killua until he grabbed Killua by the neck, lifting him into the air before he slammed him down onto the ground. Killua gasped, spit spilling from his mouth as he was pulled up and slammed back down again.
“Is that your mate?” The King asked through gritted teeth, hand squeezing rather tightly over Killua's neck.
The omega gasped, grabbing the offending hand, glaring into the King's eyes as the ant forcefully suppressed his nen.
It was an uncomfortable feeling. Electricity sparked, but grew weaker and weaker until Killua could no longer maintain Godspeed, his nen forced back completely. He groaned softly, barely able to breathe.
“Tell me!” The King demanded, pulling Killua up by the neck and closer to his own face.
Killua opened and closed his mouth as he gasped for breath. “Y-yes,” he replied after a moment.
The King growled, anger growing as he released Killua's neck and fisted his hair instead. Killua's head was forced to the side and slammed into the ground repeatedly. The ground cracked and caved away underneath the force.
“You chose that human scum over me?! I'll kill him and then claim you for myself!” The King swore as he slammed Killua's head into the ground one last time.
The ant climbed to his feet, pulling the omega up by his hair and kneed him in the stomach.
Killua groaned, gasping and then ceasing to breathe entirely as the King repeatedly slammed his knee into his stomach with all his strength. He kneed him one last time, releasing the omega entirely, watching for a moment as the human gasped desperately, clutching his stomach.
The King spun on one leg, the other raised and slamming into the omega's abdomen, smirking at the satisfying sound and crunching feeling of ribs breaking. Killua wasn't sent flying as far back as Gon had, but once he landed on his back, he gasped, shifted onto his side and vomited.
The King watched in satisfaction as the omega emptied his stomach, until he received a drop kick to the back of his head, forcing his face forward and into a raised knee. Gon grabbed the King's hair and slammed his face repeatedly into his knee, not stopping until the King swung his tail and cut a deep line into his forehead.
Blood streamed down his face, but he felt satisfied at the sight if the King's mangled nose. There was no way his nose would ever look like it did before; it almost looked flattened.
“That's it!” The King screamed once he saw blue blood dripping onto the ground below. “I have had enough of you human scum!”
His aura grew agitated and powerful and suddenly Gon's knees gave underneath his weight, his strength leaving his body, his aura being forced to recede completely.
Gon realized, as the King took hold of his neck and started to kick and knee him in the chest and stomach, he would not be able to fight back at all now. He wouldn't be able to use Ja-Janken and when he managed a glance at Killua's crumpled form, he knew his mate would not be able to use Godspeed either.
It was like he had no energy at all, like he was completely unable to move his body; he couldn't even move his hand, he was completely limp. Was this the King's nen ability? If so, was it affecting Killua, too? Shit, what if they didn't make it out of this alive?
Gon grunted as he was kicked in the mouth, falling onto his back. He panted, body aching and muscles twitching, he was exhausted. The King fell on top if him, straddling his waist as he wrapped both of his hands around Gon's throat, squeezing tightly.
Gon gasped, desperately attempting to suck in breath as his airway was forced shut.
“This is the end, scum! I'll enjoy killing you, and once you're dead, I will claim your mate as my own! But don't worry, I swear I'll fuck him to satisfaction every day!” The King swore, a crazed smile on his lips as he started to cackle.
Gon tried to pry his hands off of his neck, but it was futile. His vision started to blur, black spots appearing as his eyelids grew heavy. The King continued to cackle like a madman, until he was cut off.
Gon watched as Killua appeared behind the King, right hand pulled back and claws out. The King grunted and then coughed up blood as he was impaled through the chest. He turned his head to stare in disbelief at Killua, his eyes slowly starting to glare.
He raised his tail, swinging it at Killua's face in blind rage. Killua jerked back, left eye clenching shut as the blade sliced open a line above his left brow. The King groaned as he coughed up blood and Gon felt his nen come back full power.
Just as the King stood up to pursue Killua, Gon sat up, holding his right fist by his side, his left hand hovering over it.
“First comes rock,” he muttered, watching as the King turned to stare at him with wide, slightly confused eyes.
Gon stumbled to his feet, gritting his teeth. “Janken-rock!” His nen covered fist connected with the King's face, slamming the ant down into the ground, causing it to crack and break away.
The King lay there, cheek swollen and nose bleeding, watching as Gon pulled his fist back again, aura surrounding his fist in a bright orange and yellow ball of light; he slammed it into the King's abdomen then.
Gon repeated this action five times, deliberately slamming it into the King’s arms, legs and tail, breaking the limbs to prevent escape. Once Gon was satisfied and exhausted, he clumsily stood up off of the King.
The King watched wide eyed as Killua entered his vision with a crazed smirk on his lips. The King groaned in pain as Killua sat on top of him, slumping heavily down onto his broken legs before scooting up a bit.
“What's the matter, don't you like me sitting here?” Killua asked, wiggling his hips a bit.
The King snarled though it was cut off as Killua slammed his fist into his swollen cheek.
Killua's smirk turned dark as he directed his bloodlust at the King.
“I feel like a little torture before I kill you; it seems fair, right?” He spoke as his nails turned into claws. “I can't take too long, though, we don't want you to recover before I kill you,”
The King let out a pain filled scream as Killua dug the claw of his pointer finger on his right hand into his eye, biting his lower lip in concentration as he scratched his nail around in the ant's eye socket. Killua smiled in sadistic glee as the ant King screamed in agony.
Killua did the same with his other eye, before digging the nails of both his hands into the Kings cheeks, dragging them down over his jaw and down his neck. Killua pulled back, smirking at the sight before he slit the ant's throat.
Both Gon and Killua sat and watched for a while as the King choked on his own blood, unable to raise his hands to put pressure over the wound. Once he started to grow quiet and his twitching slowed, Killua dug his fingers into his chest, pulled out his still beating heart and crushed it in his hand.
The ant King stopped moving then, his aura disappearing entirely, and it was like a weight had been lifted from their shoulders. Gon helped Killua back onto his feet as Knov and the other ran towards them.
Knov took the ant King into one of the rooms of his mansion for studying later. They all shared hugs and tears were shed; their mission was finally complete.
--
“After that, we went back to the Association to give our last report, went to the hospital to get checked up and then we left to come here,” Killua finished, relief washing over him now that the story was complete.
“You came here directly after?” Shoto asked curiously.
Gon nodded. “We didn't even stop by at our apartment, we bought new clothes, changed into them and got onto the first flight over here,”
It was quiet after that, the teen's all sitting there, quietly processing everything they've been told.
Killua turned his head to press his lips against Gon's neck. “ ‘m just glad it's over,” he mumbled against tan skin.
Gon nodded his agreement as he laid his cheek against Killua's head. “Me too,”
It might take them all a while to process this information, but Killua's just glad that they finally shared this with them. Now there was nothing weighing down on them anymore, and they could finally move forward.