Chapter Text
A final gift, huh? Gon Freecss looked down at the pocket watch he had been given to by his late best friend, Killua Zoldyck. It had been decades since Gon had seen him, but he always kept the clock close to him. As he trudged through the damp wasteland of the Dark Continent, he started to reminisce.
Forty-two years. That was how long Gon had been living in this hellscape. When he had originally left the known world with the small army of seasoned hunters, they thought they knew what they were getting into. After all, in a land where the Chimera Ants were only labeled as a B-rank threat, it was only natural that the land that produced such monstrosities would be nothing short of hell.
How naive we were, A mirthless smile formed on Gon’s lips. He remembered why they fled the known world. Beyond Netero and Tserriednich Hui Guo Rou had practically taken over the world. The hunters fought valiantly, but it was for naught. When Beyond assassinated Cheadle Yorkshire during the 14th Hunter Elections, Gon knew things were going to go to shit. It was when one of his best friends, Leorio Paradinight, and his father, Ging Freecss were murdered in front of him that Gon knew the world was doomed. Not only did Gon lose two of the people he cherished the most, but the ever-dwindling fire of rebellion was snuffed out with the deaths of its two leaders.
There were around eight thousand hunters that joined Gon on his journey to the Dark Continent. Notable hunters like Kurapika Kurta and Morel Mackernasey gave the hunters a lot of morale. But the high spirits didn’t last forever. The first thing that the group encountered was a nest of Chimera Ants. Due to the odd effects and sheer power that rested in the flora and fauna of the Dark Continent, these Chimera Ants were many times stronger than the ones that the hunters were familiar with. It was only thanks to the Music Hunter Melody that they were able to escape. She sacrificed her own life to play the Sonata of Darkness, mutilating and killing the king along with herself.
The group had spent fifteen years wandering aimlessly in the west half of the Dark Continent. Many people died for pointless causes. Little did they know, they had circled around from the west side to the east side.
The east side of the Dark Continent was not only far more dangerous than the west, but it was home to a faction of creatures. A faction led by none other than Gon’s distant ancestor, Don Freecss. The group had no idea until Morel was assassinated by one of their members.
From there, it wasn’t even a war. It was a straight up massacre. Out of the two thousand hunters that made it to the east side, there were only about a hundred by the time they found Don’s lair. Kurapika and Hisoka had died in the invasion of Don’s lair, putting their differences aside for one last push. By the time they confronted the man himself, it was only Gon and Killua.
The battle was intense. It went on for two months, or at least that’s how long Gon could surmise it went. It felt like an eternity. An ancient force of untold power built on a mound of corpses fighting against two friends who had gone through hell’s fury together. Neither side gave in… at least until Killua died.
It should have been me, Gon’s fist slammed on the tree he was sitting next to. The base of the tree where Gon hit completely shattered, causing the 500 meter monstrosity to fall over. The ground shook, but Gon didn’t care. Despite his expressionless face, his heart was filled with grief and anger. Gon had to watch as the hideous demon he called his ancestor crushed the heart of his best friend. It was at that moment Gon had snapped.
Gon thought he had awakened all of his abilities, but something within awoke. Abilities of those who had believed in him… those who had laid their lives down for him… they all came rushing to him. With Gon’s new ability, “Heart of One,” the battle had started anew. Heart of One granted Gon the ability to utilize the abilities of those who had a deep respect for him. Since the entire group of hunters had dubbed him the leader, he had the power of over eight thousand people at his beck and call.
Even with these powers, however, Don was still a nigh unbeatable foe. His ability, “God of the Hunt,” let him use the abilities of those he had killed. While Gon had the abilities of thousands, there was no telling how many abilities Don had.
Despite these odds, however, Gon still won. With his dying breath, Don announced his own respect for Gon. He described Gon as “a man who killed a god.” As Don breathed his last, his ability had assimilated with Gon.
Despite his victory and his new abilities, Gon felt hollow. It was too late for him to realize how dependent he had been on Killua, both as a comrade and a friend. Without Killua, or anyone for that matter, Gon felt empty. He spent the next thirty years aimlessly wandering throughout the continent, doing what he needed to do to survive. He eventually ran into Beyond when the fool decided to try and explore the continent for himself. Gon had stood over him as he lay starving and broken. Gon felt no remorse as he beheaded the pathetic man. While Isaac had the ability of the Buddha, Beyond was Asura.
It was here that Gon sat, looking up at a large gate. He knew the gates that led to his old life and how big they were, but the ones he sat before dwarfed those. Gon felt like an ant just looking at their sheer size.
There’s no way to go but forward, Gon thought as he stood up. No matter how much he reminisced or how much he wished for his friends to return, there was no going back. Perhaps these gates could lead him to the new life he desired… a new family.
Gon grabbed his backpack, a special bag that could fit more items the stronger the wielder’s aura was. He had many things with him, but there were two things he used the most.
The first thing he used was his blood rod. Although his original rod was something he cherished, he had given it to Ging when he reawakened his aura nodes at age fourteen. The blood rod used the user’s blood to do two things. It could use the blood to extend the line farther, or it could create a red mist that attracts all beasts to the lure’s location.
The second thing was Gon’s Nen scanner. He could use it to learn about any Nen user within a certain radius. It was a useful tool that would completely overturn the power dynamics in Gon’s old world, but here, it was a necessity if you wanted to survive. This particular model was special to Gon, as Kurapika had given it to him for his 21st birthday. There were likely more advanced models he could find in one of the very few settlements of sentient creatures, but Gon refused to let this one go.
As he approached a ray of light cut his path. Gon averted his eyes to shield them from the light, and when he turned back, he could only describe the person standing before him as an actual angel.
“Greetings, young one,” The angel spoke. Despite him being around Gon’s size, his voice boomed, causing the trees to rustle. “I am Hadraniel, the gatekeeper of Paradiso. You have toiled hard to reach here, but rejoice, lost lamb, for your journey is over.”
“Paradiso?” Gon echoed. His deep voice was intimidating to a normal human, but it paled in comparison to the angel’s. “There is no such place as paradise.”
“Most doubt my words,” Hadraniel replied. Was that pity in his voice? He dared pity Gon? After all he’s seen? Being cynical warranted pity? “However, Paradiso does exist. And to enter, you only have to make one, simple choice.”
“Tell me,” Gon said simply. If he had the chance to get out of this hell, then he would do whatever it takes.
“You may enter with no conflict, but I shall bring one of every plant and animal from the Dark Continent with you,” Hadraniel then brandished a lance, “or you can fight me.”
Gon clenched his fist. Despite the hell he had gone through, he still had his human empathy. Just one creature from the Dark Continent almost wiped humanity off the map. This “Paradiso” wouldn’t last a day.
“Is this some kind of sick joke?” Gon asked. His obscenely long hair started to rise from the ground as Gon unleashed his aura. It was an attempt at intimidation, and it completely failed.
“It is not a joke,” Hadraniel replied. “Make your choice.”
“I accept your challenge,” Gon didn’t even hesitate.
“Your choice has been made,” Hadraniel started to rise. The lance he held shone with a bright light as the angel’s own aura flared.
“First comes rock…” Gon muttered. The ground beneath his feet shattered.
“Rock…” Gon’s fist glowed.
“Paper…” The angel readied to pierce humanity’s last survivor.
“Rock.”
Gon’s world went black.
The second Gon opened his eyes, he started to panic. His familiar coat of Nen was strangely gone. He closed his eyes and tried to activate it, but nothing happened.
What the hell? Gon thought to himself as he looked around. He was in his old room. Back in the known world. Gon hadn’t seen this place in forty years, when Beyond burned it to the ground and killed Mito right in front of him.
He then looked at his hands. He almost screamed. Why the hell were his hands small? He frantically looked around the room again before seeing something. Killua’s clock was sitting on his nightstand, along with a note under it. Gon grabbed the note with his tiny hands and opened it.
Gon,
If you’re reading this, then you’ve died. I can’t believe your dumb ass got yourself killed after this long. Anyways, this clock is something I found on the Dark Continent. If what the peddler said was correct, it should take you back in time when you die. I found out how to set it and set it to about a week before you were supposed to leave for the Hunter Exams. I figured you would want some time with the obaasan before you got back into the thick of things.
I was allowed to bring three items as well, so I registered your backpack, your blood rod, and your scanner. I always knew you wouldn’t be able to let go of that thing. They should be with you right now.
Right, before I get too sidetracked. There’s one problem with the clock. Your Nen should be reset to the point it was at that point, which is pretty much nothing at this point. That shouldn’t be a problem for you, though. Just remember what Menchi-nee taught us.
If I had a last request, it would be for you to live your life. Don’t let someone like me drag you down. Whether or not you want to take down Beyond is up to you. I just want you to be happy. I was already content with my life. My only regret was not meeting you sooner. So go on. Please, live for me.
—Killua Zoldyck
Tears stained the paper as Gon finished reading the letter. Even after everything, Killua still saw himself as a burden. He saw himself as someone that dragged Gon down, even though he was the best friend that Gon could ask for.
Gon silently wept for his friend. He had a second chance at life. He knew Killua had more corpses in the closet than Gon did. Gon knew that Killua would probably benefit more from the clock, but he decided to give it to Gon.
“Thank you, Killua,” Gon smiled and wiped his tears. Killua wouldn’t want him to spend his second chance crying. He put the note down and grabbed his scanner. Gon took a deep breath and extended his middle finger and index finger before stabbing himself in the shoulder. Menchi had taught Gon and Killua how to manually open aura nodes. And once one aura node was open, the aura that cycled through his body would open the others.
Gon let out a hiss of pain as the unnatural method strained his body. It wasn’t anything he wasn’t used to, but the young body’s pain receptors were still much more sensitive than the ones he had as a hardened veteran of the Dark Continent.
Gon then grabbed his scanner. His aura was miniscule compared to what he had in the Dark Continent, but for someone who had just awakened their Nen, he was practically a monster. With the small amount of aura, Gon was easily able to control it, channeling the energy into the scanner. Its screen flared to life. It almost looked like a smartphone with several apps. Gon tapped on the scanner function.
Scanner range: 20 m
Identified sentient life forms:
Gon Freecss (Human)
Mito Freecss (Human)
Just when Gon promised himself not to cry, tears welled up in his eyes once more. Mito was alive! The scanner never picked up anything dead, so it could only mean one thing. Gon then shook his head.
Stay focused! Gon thought to himself as he tapped his name and read his profile.
Name: Gon Freecss
Age: 11 (56)
Height: 154 cm (5’0 feet)
Weight: 49 kg (108 lbs)
Birthday: May 15th
Nen Type: Specialist
Hatsu: Future Past
Description: Future Past is the Nen ability granted to those who have successfully managed to travel to the past from the future. Users can obtain the abilities they had in their future, but cannot learn any abilities they have not learned from their old life. Though that may be the case, users can surpass their future selves with enough training.
Abilities: Lightning
Gon flopped back down on his bed and turned the scanner off. In most circumstances the ability would be terrible. The future changes people, thus their Nen should change as well. Not to mention the fact that most Nen practitioners rarely had enough abilities to make this particular Hatsu worthwhile.
Gon was a special case, however. He had encountered, befriended, and murdered many different kinds of people. He had killed several Nen Beasts in the Dark Continent since obtaining “God of the Hunt,” so there was no telling how many abilities he could obtain.
Still, it’s a bit ironic, Gon thought to himself. For his first ability to be Killlua’s. He honestly expected to get his own ability first. Still, Lightning was a very useful ability, one Gon had many times in his past. He was already intimately familiar with the ability.
As Gon was about to stand up, he heard a knock on the door.
“Gon? Are you awake?” Gon could hear Mito’s voice from the other side of the door. Gon took a deep breath and put on his best smile. He couldn’t act depressed in front of Mito. She doesn’t deserve that.
Gon swung the door open and pulled Mito into a hug faster than she could react. He didn’t want her seeing his tears.
“Oh!” Mito yelped in surprise as she was pulled into the bone-crushing hug. Gon felt her arms wrap around him and all of his tension faded away. He felt like everything was right in the world once more.
“Good morning, Mito!” Gon said with a wide smile as he pulled away.
“Good morning to you too, Gon,” Mito smiled down at the young boy. “I know you caught the Master of the Swamp, but the ship leaves in a week. I hope you’re okay with that.”
“Un!” Gon nodded. He had to reach back in his memory to pick up his old mannerisms, but it was one of the brighter times in his life, so it wasn’t hard.
“That’s good to hear,” Mito breathed a sigh of relief. Gon could vaguely remember throwing a temper tantrum when Mito asked him this the first time. “I’ll make some breakfast for you, okay?”
“‘Kay!” Gon chipped, someone mimicking Nanika. Mito nodded before turning and walking off. Gon then made his way back to his bed and laid back down.
“Paradiso, huh?” Gon muttered as he turned to look out at the window, showing the beautiful view of Whale Island. It wasn’t much, but…
“As far as I’m concerned, my Paradise is right here.”