Awake but unconscious.

Aware but delusional.

In control but powerless.

An indescribable and horrendous sensation best described Violet's experience of feeling everything and nothing. Marcy's Nen crawled like painful cockroaches through her mind, and only mental screams could be bellowed in response to the sensations. The cold black and blue Hatsu latched onto every corner of her mind like gargoyle talons.

"Fuck! The bitch has a strong attack on her. God. It's going to take me a week to heal," Fujinn complained, releasing Violet while Marcy kept an iron grip on the back of her skull. Violet's trance never relented, keeping her lost in a haze. She could register everything around her, but the memories faded instantly.

"So, Zanko. Why all this trouble? What do you want me to make her do?" Marcy asked.

"Have her write a note for Hisoka. Make sure it's in her own words. We don't want him to suspect anything," Zanko instructed. "Let him know she had a good time but has to move on now. Tell him if he wants her to come and find her and until next time."

"Won't that make him chase her? You sure we want that?" Fujinn questioned. "Why not just buy her, like you said?"

"We cannot be certain that man actually will sell her." Zanko cast his gaze towards the television as Kokko described how Hisoka tossed Gon around by his cheek, likely with Bungee Gum. He looked to Fujinn again. "This would be what she would do when leaving, too. It's more natural, and he won't suspect our involvement. The others have placed a fake trail. He'll look left while we bury her so deep no one will find her again."

"Yeah, but—"

"No. We lost enough time with the demons going haywire. That was such a failure. We cannot suffer any more delays." Zanko sighed and crossed his arms. "We have those fighters, but some are only children. It's best not to give up our livestock if we can avoid it." He paused before continuing, "We have our prize back. The client is ready to collect her right away. Let's avoid any more resource losses."

Marcy pushed a wave of control into Violet's mind, instructing her movements to the end table where the establishment left a notepad and pen in every competitor's room. "Write to Hisoka, Violet. Let him know you're leaving. Short and sweet, but your words," Marcy commanded.

Zanko turned to Fujinn. "See that all the evidence is cleared."

"You busted the door coming in. There's no way I can clean that up," complained Fujinn. 

Marcy sighed and turned to look at Zanko, casting an exasperated expression, which he received with a knowing look. Violet's haze erased it shortly after witnessing the scene. 

"We'll hope he assumes Violet escaped through the front door. It was wrapped in his Nen, after all," Zanko responded. "Do what you can with the rest." 

Another push of harsh Nen from Marcy caused Violet to set the paper down and start writing Hisoka's farewell note. Emotions simmered into a rage beneath the surface, boiling and rising in defiance of the forced act. It wasn't how she wanted to leave him. Something cracked within her entire soul. It was small and miserable but awakened a dark and frightening flame. The same electric power that drove her during the one-hundred-and-fiftieth-floor fight exploded. The release proved short but strong enough to free a part of her mind. Clarity returned on several facts. She had to meet the hunter in Yorknew. She had to get home!

Confusion reigned despite the newfound freedom gifted by the dark, raging power below the surface. Marcy's supremacy over her mind was difficult to undo in one sitting. The pen waved across the paper while she preoccupied herself, trying to grow the territory of free will created moments ago.

"I hope you didn't kill Gon! It's been fun!" As she continued to write and read aloud in a dull, monotone voice, her emotions strengthened her Nen. A small pulse of her aura invaded Marcy's Nen. The scribbling paused.

"Keep writing, Violet. Finish the note," Marcy barked. 

Violet kept her body relaxed. Dizziness and uncertainty continued, but her full awareness returned. She could push Marcy's Nen out. However, it would only lead back to the same situation unless she planned with precision. Perfection in timing and stealth was essential if she wanted a permanent escape.

The note they forced her to craft would be plan B. She changed her penmanship, drawing sharp, jagged lines with broad curves similar to the scar on her back. It was slight, but she hoped Hisoka would notice. For good measure, she included a code only he could pick up with a single glance.

"Thanks for everything you've taught me, Magic Man. I've got bigger and brighter places to explore now! If you need me, you'll just have to catch me, if you can! ~ Violet ♠♠♠"

Reliance on others could prove fatal, but she hoped he would catch the hints all the same. He likely would take that deal if they could trade him several fighters. It was a risk Violet didn't want to take.

"We're done here, Zanko. Let's hurry; it looks like the monster's fight is almost over," Marcy called.

"Bring her to me. I'll drain her energy, then Fujinn can carry her out via the balcony, so we attract less prying eyes."

Marcy walked them toward the open balcony where Fujinn and Zanko waited to finish off any chance of escape. As Zanko reached for Violet, she exploded her Nen, disintegrating Marcy's out of her mind. Marcy gasped and stood for a second too long. Using Ko to enhance her strength, Violet grabbed Marcy by the arm and swung her into Zanko before either could avoid it. They flew back before tumbling to the ground in a tangled heap around one another.

Violet raced for Hisoka's front door.

Pressure built and pickled her skin before the physical strike connected. She turned to meet the attack head-on. Fujinn's wind aimed at her position. She couldn't pull water from the air fast enough for defence. She was defenceless as the Hatsu struck, driving her into the wall opposite the balcony that separated the kitchen from the living room. The TV cracked and flew away from the wall, dangling by the cords holding it to the power outlet. The wind attack forced a dangerous swing on the monitor while pinning Violet's movements before the bite of the spreading portion of the attack would hit. The hallway leading to the front door was to her right, yet it was miles away as the force of the wind rose. She knew she was about to be shredded.

No. NO! Stop!

Aura exploded from Violet's shielding hands like a cold serpent spreading venom in all directions. The wind stopped, and she risked a shy look through her guard position. The air current blasted at Fujinn instead. It sent him flying backwards onto the balcony and over the guard rail. Blood burst from several deep lacerations. His left arm was nearly severed as he hung in mid-air. He dropped back to earth with his spilling blood as gravity summoned all of him.

A seasoned pro at escaping the apartment prison, she bolted for the hallway and freedom. Rushing past the entryway, she snatched her shoes on her way through the splintered door that still hung on the hinges. Kokko's voice echoed down the hallway, growing fainter the further Violet ran from the apartment, "Throughout the entire match, it seems that Gon has been at an unfair disadvantage from the arbitration!"

Violet whizzed past the elevators and burst through the stairwell door without losing pace. Scaling over the railings that lined the spiral structure, she skipped whole sections of stairs. This sped her escape but plagued her with exhaustion as her poor stamina screamed warnings. Between pushing Marcy's attack out of her mind and the counter move subjected upon Fujinn, her life force teetered at her limits at an alarming rate. She activated Zetsu on floor two-hundred and thirty to hide her presence and hasten the recovery of aura, but she couldn't stop.

Unable to continue jumping past sections of stairs, she began racing through them several steps at a time. Once she reached floor two hundred and twenty-one, she exploded into the lobby. Sweat tickled across her back as she surveyed a few fighters before spotting one that could aid her plight. 

They had spoken a few times, and he had been cordial and friendly, although she couldn't recall his name. His black hair was clean-cut and gelled out of his face. His diamond jaw spread as he spoke with a smile to the middle-aged staff member in a purple work uniform. His red tee fit loose and ruffled as he turned away from the conversation and gave a small stretch while the employee excused himself. 

Steadying her breath and wiping her face, she crossed the lobby, approaching the target, not entirely sure of how to make use of him. A shield or distraction would be fine, but the question was, which?  Marcy and Zanko's auras honed into her living floor rapidly, hastening her movements. They may not have known her exact position with her Zetsu in action, but they were too close for comfort. She didn't have time to plan out anything in detail.

The fighter's black jeans fit at ankle height, leading into brown flat shoes. Just as he turned to walk down the dimly lit hallway, she tapped his shoulder from behind. The five-foot-eight fighter turned and raised an eyebrow as he looked down on her, then gave a kind smile that reached his dark brown eyes.

"Hello, Violet! I haven't seen you since your fight with Hisoka." He stepped into her comfortable space as he always did when they would casually chat. He smiled, beaming more than he would for any other fighter on the floor. "That was epic! Well done. I mean, I know you lost, but not too many can even hit Hisoka." He frowned and raised a single eyebrow. "Why are you using Zetsu?"

Usually, he would be with a troupe of other men. They were cordial and she didn't mind his friends as much as him. There wasn't anything particularly nasty about him, but he stared for too long, stood too close, and gave her goosebumps. Although she would decline most of his offers for coffee or joining the group to watch fights or socialise, that wouldn't be the case today, as she needed his help. 

Violet smiled and prayed that her assessment of his attraction wasn't false. "I'm hoping to keep a low profile on this experiment, is all..." But she could use him as a distraction or shield. She pushed him lightly down the small side hallway off the main floor alcove intended for quiet seating for fighters to socialise. He followed her light physical signal without any pushback.

"Is something—"

Violet wrapped her arms around him and locked lips with the man holding her Zetsu the entire time. He didn't disappoint, actively surrounding her body with his and kissing back. The energy he showed in returning her affections did startle her for a moment. It was horrible as his tongue went inside her mouth and out again at a rate that was nothing less than frustrating. An internal shudder was all she allowed herself. Anything outward would cue him that she was using his interest in her in less than fair ways.

It was a worry that she dropped quickly the longer they participated in the make-out activities. He tightened his hands on her waist and pushed deeper into the intimacy. Although she began inexperienced with kissing, she learned from Hisoka and employed it all. Once she was sure he was engrossed in their impromptu make-out, she spun them so his body would shield her against the far wall.

The fighter played along and pinned her, which she hated and worked hard to avoid with evasive manoeuvres. She tried to imagine he was Hisoka, and it wasn't wholly successful but was satisfactory for the time. As she kept the heated activities going, he started moaning. It became uncomfortable for her as the make out teetered on the edge of inappropriate for a public space. 

More concerned with Zanko and Marcy's positions based on the feeling of their enraged Ren aura, she turned her focus to their locations. They landed on her floor and split. Zanko went further down the stairs, and Marcy arrived in the floor lobby, only a stone's throw from where the fighter created a shield for Violet.

At that moment, her decoy became brazen, allowing his hands to roam, exploring around places she never permitted entry. It was poor manners enough in the culture to kiss as they did in public, but had moved to a clear-cut taboo behaviour when his hands roamed as they did. It was more than a passionate make-out. She struggled with whether to tolerate the behaviour, but the alternative of being cornered by Marcy frightened her more. Dark memories of Jason danced not far from the centre stage of her mind's eye. The whole situation was reaching the edge of overwhelming. 

I need Hisoka's help. I wish he was here. A shot of cold snaked through her mind, and a shiver spread ice down her spine. No! He'll sell me. I have to get out alone. 

When the fighter's grunting and moaning roughened and became primal, along with a gentle thrust, her skin crawled, and she stiffened. Thankfully, he never noticed. It would be hard to blame him, given her misleading actions. But kissing didn't mean touching below clothing, at least to her. 

Marcy appeared only twenty paces from their position, making it dangerous to create a scene. Marcy spent a few seconds in the lobby before moving down the hallway past where Violet entertained the perverted stranger in a darker corner. 

Precious moments passed after Marcy had raced on. Violet remained nervous to move, planning her next escape attempt based on where they were situated. But then she lost sensation of Zanko's presence. 

Fuck, he's using Zetsu, too, now. I have to get out of here. The matter of cat and mouse games became far too dangerous when she couldn't sense the predators. 

When her current partner's hands went to the bottom of her skirt and hiked it up to grab her upper thigh, she couldn't hold back. Breaking away, she cried, "That's too much!"

"Oh, come on, we've been exchanging heated interactions for months. You must have wanted this for so long," he said before smiling with a smitten look, but there wasn't a hostility to intention to it the way there had been with Jason. "Can you blame me? This dress looks stunning on you. But you always look amazing."

He's just a love-sick fool... Grabbing his forearms to remove them from her body wasn't enough. He misread the signal again and squeezed her thigh once more, not attempting to remove it from below her skirt. 

"Asshole!" she screamed before slapping him across the cheek. Hot rage took over before she could stop herself, the stress of the situation finally breaking her composure. She punched him hard enough to send him flying through the armchair in the seating area. He knocked the chair and the end table beside it onto its side. "When did I give permission for that, you pervert."

Bolting towards the elevator, Violet pounded the key for the ground floor, forcing the door to shut and moving the elevator into motion. The wait for the descent proved painful, excruciatingly so. She maintained solid Zetsu as if her life depended on it, as she was confident it did.

Thank you so much, Hisoka! I'd be dead if you hadn't made me practice my Zetsu so much. Guilt plagued her as she realised she was alive because of his help but was leaving without a word and only a fake note to alert him. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me for leaving this way!

The elevator opened to the ground floor, and she blasted into the human sea, weaving through the crowds at top speed out of Heaven's Arena. Frantically, she hailed a taxi and, after a single miss, was able to get one to allow her entry into the back of the cab.

"Where to Miss?"

"Can you take me to the airship port a town over?" she asked the driver with haste.

"Hm. Yeah sure. It will be expensive, though?" he questioned with concern.

"It's fine. I can pay a deposit now." She provided a large amount of her emergency cash to the driver.

The driver nodded and geared the car up, pulling into the flowing traffic of the busy street. She ducked down as they passed Zanko and Marcy, both leaving the front of the building in a rage. The stress and tension were rich on their faces as they yelled at each other.

This isn't how I wanted to leave. I need to disappear like I never have before.

Sorrow and guilt played a vicious game with her heart as she thought of Hisoka returning to an empty apartment filled with nothing but isolation. But it wasn't enough to stop the panic and confusion, which drove her to disappear into a world she hardly understood.

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A/N: What did you think, everyone? How will Violet get out of this mess? 

Don't forget to vote and comment if you like it!