♪
Narrator: 30 minutes after the extermination team
launched their offensive,
even as the fierce battle unfolded inside,
an immense number of citizens
who had been hypnotized by pouf’s wing scales
were still lined up beyond the walls
waiting patiently for the sorting process
that would turn them into soldier ants.
Meanwhile, a creature much like the ones
they would soon become began to stir.
( Door creaking )
♪
( Singing in Japanese )
( Electricity crackling )
Killua: Okay, i’m all charged up.
♪
( Nen whooshing )
Someone’s watching me, and...
I think it’s someone I know.
No one’s there?
( Gasps )
( Footsteps pattering )
Narrator: Her appearance hadn’t totally changed,
but clearly palm was no longer the same person,
and that rattled killua’s nerves.
Killua: She’s been captured by the royal guard
and transformed.
If gon sees what’s happened to palm,
he’s not gonna be able to handle it.
There’s no room left inside of his heart,
not for something as awful as this.
I don’t know how far the transformation’s gone,
but if her psyche’s been altered, too...
Gon could totally lose it.
I have to find out right here and now.
We still have a chance. Palm approached me herself.
♪
Hey, palm?
( Thinking ) Palm must have sensed my presence
before I was able to sense hers,
and if that’s the case...
She used that power she told us about.
( Palm chuckles )
Once I used my ability, it was really quite simple.
Killua: I thought she could use
some kind of divination to locate people,
but it’s probably closer to clairvoyance.
From her position,
palm shouldn’t have been able to see me.
That can only mean she must have been watching me
by some other method.
And if palm had changed sides,
she definitely would have backed off.
Clairvoyance is most effective from a distance,
and if she is an enemy,
she shouldn’t remember me anymore.
She approached me, so she must remember me...
Remember us.
Palm: You are...
Killua, right?
( Killua gasps )
I knew it.
She does remember!
Palm: Where’s gon? ( Sighs )
Once he sees what I have become,
do you think that he’s going to hate me?
( Killua sighs )
Gon doesn’t judge people by their appearances.
Also, you’re assuming he liked you in the first place.
Palm: You always act like such a spiteful little brat,
now, don’t you?
Well, no matter.
I have nothing to gain from your pity.
In fact, it wouldn’t be helpful to anyone at all.
So tell me where gon is.
Killua: Gon is with pitou at the moment.
I’m sure he’s--
♪
Why can she see me, but she can’t see gon?
Palm: Is something wrong?
( Killua gasps )
So was it just by chance you found me?
Palm: Huh? What are you talking about?
You were the one who just walked around the corner and found me.
Killua: You’re wrong. I sensed you.
I felt you watching me,
and that’s the reason I came this way...
But i’m sure you noticed me first.
Why are you lying?
Palm: You are such a little pest.
Where is gon?
Killua: Answer me first, and maybe i’ll tell you.
Is it possible that I only noticed palm watching me
when she actually laid eyes on me?
Does that mean she saw me once, then left
before I had the chance to sense her presence?
Then she used clairvoyance to watch me follow her
and turned around
so it’d look like she was coming my direction?
Palm: One last time.
Where can I find gon?
Killua: I’m not telling you.
You’re an enemy, aren’t you?
( Palm groans )
♪
( Killua gasps )
Palm: It seems i’ve made a mistake.
There are better ways to use my abilities.
Instead of bottling up my rage...
It would have been better to yield to it completely!
Killua: Damn. She’s dangerous.
Palm: Better to let everything out,
don’t you think?
A perfect example of that would be
my desire to kill you!
♪
Killua: Huh?
( Palm laughs )
Well? What are you gonna do now?
Will you stay silent?
Give up and talk?
( Heels clattering )
Or will you just die?
Which is it?
( Palm laughing )
( Blows striking )
Narrator: Palm’s ability, black widow,
turns her hair into a weapon
that changes shape according to her emotions.
Although powerful, its function is entirely defensive.
However, what made black widow frightening
was that it allowed her
to rely on her armor of hair for protection
while at the same time focusing all of her energy on offense.
( Killua groans )
Gon: Whoa! Hey! Miss palm, please,
you’ve gotta stop using your hatsu!
Killua: Palm is originally an enhancer.
The difference it makes when your ability
is a perfect match is incredible.
I blocked the attack, but I still took damage.
If the fight drags on, i’m totally done for,
but even so, I can’t run away.
I can tell that gon’s mind is already at its limit.
And while he sits there waiting for pitou,
he’s barely holding himself together.
( Palm squeals )
Killua: I can’t let them meet.
There still might be a shred of palm’s heart in there...
And if there is...
It’s not gonna help.
Palm!
Why the hell are you looking for gon?
If you have a good reason, i’ll tell you where he is!
Palm: Huh? Why are you asking now?
There’s no reason, actually. I just want to see him.
He’s probably nearby.
Don’t worry. I’ll find him myself.
Just as soon as i’ve killed you, that is!
Killua: Sorry!
I panicked earlier, and I called you the enemy.
You might look different,
but you’re still palm, aren’t you?
( Palm gasps )
Killua: Gon is suffering right now.
Someone he deeply respects was ruthlessly altered.
That person had his soul taken away,
and right now, gon is facing off
against the person who’s responsible.
If he sees you now,
looking so different than you did before...
( Gasps )
Gon is gonna totally snap.
So when you see him...
Make sure you call him by his name first.
Say, "gon."
That’s it. That’s my condition.
Let him know you’re okay.
Before we entered the palace,
gon was really worried about you.
He told me that himself.
So, please, give him some peace of mind.
♪
Narrator: He was just buying time.
He had no intention of letting them meet,
at least, not at first.
( Killua crying )
Please, if you can...
Put his mind at ease.
Please, only you...
Can do that now, palm.
No one else...
Can reach him.
It’s all up to you now.
I just...
I can’t help him anymore!
( Wailing )
Narrator: As soon as those words had escaped killua’s lips,
the dam within him suddenly burst.
( Killua wailing )
( Shaiapouf gasps )
Look. He’s defenseless.
So new strategy, kill him now, number one.
♪
Narrator: Earlier, when palm had infiltrated the palace
and made her way to the exit
knov had placed near the stairway, pitou’s en,
which had been lying dormant, suddenly switched on.
Surrounded by the brutally evil aura,
she felt as though she would soon be crushed to dust,
and, in an instant,
came to the very same conclusion that knov had.
Then as she watched pouf slowly and silently descend the stairs,
she made her decision.
( Thump )
She tried to take her own life
so as to look like a victim who could not bear bizeff’s abuse,
but pitou prevented that from happening.
As one cannot help but shiver in the cold,
no one could blame palm for reflexively using her own aura
to protect herself from pitou’s,
which she did the moment she felt exposed to it.
The royal guard was interested in her aura,
and, after receiving approval from the king,
who agreed to forego a meal,
pitou and pouf made her experimental soldier number one.
Those who remembered their pasts
had shown stronger mental fortitude than the others.
This phenomenon was most noticeable
in ants who possessed nen abilities.
It was becoming clear that memories of the past
had a tendency to both assist and deter the soldiers’ growth.
Instances that caused the most interference
were generally tied to memories leading to emotional reactions.
Knowing this, the two royal guards concluded
that they should use pitou’s Dr. Blythe
to destroy the connection
between palm’s memories and her emotions.
The experiments on cheetu and leol
confirmed that those who retained more of their memories
emerged from their cocoons much sooner than their counterparts.
To quickly conquer humanity,
the best course of action
would be to leave soldiers with their memories
while maintaining strict control over them.
As it happened, palm was the perfect Guinea pig.
The success of the experiment
would signify the end of the human race.
Shaiapouf: Okay, now get going, number one!
Beat that kid to death, and make it painful!
Palm: Shut up.
Shaiapouf: What?
( Killua gasps )
Palm: My name is palm,
palm Siberia.
( Shaiapouf gasps )
Palm: Don’t call me "number one"!
♪
I will never...
Become a tool for ants...
Not even if it kills me.
( Killua gasps )
Palm: Thank you, killua.
I owe it all to you.
It’s like there was a wall inside my head.
My emotions were separate from my body,
and there was nothing I could do.
It was like that ever since I woke up.
But then someone removed that wall.
It was you, killua.
Don’t ever think that you’re powerless.
( Killua gasps )
Palm: If it means helping gon,
i’m ready to do anything in my power.
But please don’t forget,
out of all the people gon needs in his life,
he needs you the most.
( Killua gasping )
( Shaiapouf groans )
Menthuthuyoupi: What is it?
Shaiapouf: Total failure,
and that’s all there is to it.
Menthuthuyoupi: Huh?
Shaiapouf: Slow and steady wins the race.
Seems soldiers have no need of memories
or senseless emotions,
which also means I am no longer in need of pitou’s power.
If it’s soldiers I require, I can create them on my own.
♪
In fact, that will make it that much easier
to build a new kingdom fit for the king and myself.
( Singing in Japanese )