Two long hours have passed since the start of the exam. The applicants have traveled over thirty kilometers already. Satotz, the examiner of the first phase, had already begun running faster. The examinees are forced to run at that same pace, however many have fallen by that time. None of them knows how far they must go. It is a monotonous course with no end in sight.

"Hey, wait up kid!" Leorio shouted to a boy with silver hair. "You should show the Hunter Exam some respect!"

"What do you mean?" The silverette asked. "Why are you using a skateboard?! That's cheating!" Leorio shouted once again, enraged. "Why?" The boy asked. "Why...this is an endurance test!" He shouted, this time even louder. "No, it isn't," said Gon. "Wha - Gon, who's side are you on? Eh - " The man searched for a person who would agree with him. "Wendy, help me out here!"

"Gon is right - Satotz-san did say that we only had to follow him."

The silver-haired boy backed up, ignoring Leorio's further complaints and asked, "Hey, how old are you guys?"

"Twelve," they said. They're the same age. "I guess I'll run with you guys." He did a flip on his skateboard, and jogged like everyone else. "Whoa! Cool!" Gon exclaimed. "I'm Gon, and she's Wendy," He beamed, while Wendy smiled. "I'm Killua." He grinned.

Meanwhile, a few feet behind, the rest struggled to keep up. "This is sort of like the 24 Hour-Endurance Race!" Natsu exclaimed, panting. "Aye..."

"But our magic isn't working...!"

"I wonder why...," said Erza. Sweat was dropping off of everybody's forehead. Kurapika was jogging next to the group, wondering what the heck their 'magic' was. He decided to keep quiet, but then curiosity took over. "Could you possibly tell me more about your magic? Where you come from?" The blonde asked. "Well, we come from Fiore in Earthland. Over there, magic is used commonly by almost everyone," Erza explained. Earthland? He thought. "But apparently we're not able to use it right now," Carla said. "You can use magic too?" He asked the two Exceeds. "Yup! We can fly!" Happy exclaimed.

"Natsu is a Fire Dragon Slayer, Gray can use Ice Make Magic, Lucy is a Celestial Spirit Wizard, Wendy is a Sky Dragon Slayer, and Erza can use Requip magic," Carla said. Right now Kurapika was utterly shocked. He had no idea whether to believe them or not. "So...that means Natsu and Wendy can slay dragons?" It was silent for a moment. "Did...might I have said something wrong?" Kurapika asked sheepishly. "No, it's nothing!" Natsu grinned. "So are you a girl or a boy?" He asked.

...Eh?! Kurapika knew he sort of looked like a girl, but asking if he was a girl or a boy was just plain rude.

"I'm a male, thank you very much!" He exclaimed. "Natsu, don't just go asking rude questions to people you just met a few hours ago," said Gray. "Oh yeah?"

"It's pointless in arguing, you flame-brain. Just quit it." Gray growled.

"Droopy eyes."

"Slanty eyes."

"Stop arguing!" Erza shouted. The two teens 'eep'ed, then continued to run. Scary...Kurapika thought.

"We are now approaching the eighty kilometer mark. It is now time to pick up the pace." Satotz said, climbing the stairs as he had did on flat ground, as if they were not even there. Gon, Wendy, and Killua raced each other up the stairs to see who would buy dinner, eager to learn things about each other. "So, why do you guys want to be hunters?" Gon asked. "I don't really want to be a hunter. I just heard the exam was gonna be hard, but this is a breeze! So disappointing...," he mumbled. "What about you, Wendy?"

"Well, I just decided to come with Natsu and the others. It's said that the Hunters License is worth a lot of Jewels," she said. "You guys are like Leorio!" Gon exclaimed. "Oh, the money isn't for us, it's for our client," she explained. "Client?" The two boys asked. "You know, back in the guild, there's a Request Board. You pick a job you like, and contact the person asking for help, or in this case, money."

Gon and Killua stared. "I'm not in a guild." They both said. "Oh...," Wendy giggled. "Anyway, what about you, Gon?"

"Well, my dad is a hunter. So I want to be a hunter, like him," said Gon. "What kind of a hunter is he?" Killua asked. "I don't know," he shrugged. Killua started laughing out loud, and Wendy continued giggling. "What's so funny?"

"That's kinda weird. You want to be a hunter like your dad, but you don't know anything about him?" The silverette asked. "I was raised by my Aunt Mito, so I've only seen my dad in pictures," he explained. "Ah, that clears things up a bit." Wendy said.

"The exit!" Someone shouted. Wendy, Gon, and Killua grinned and sped up. "Y'know, I'm surprised you...guys can keep...up with...me," Killua said in between breaths. "Or maybe it's just that the other people are too slow."

Kurapika, Leorio, and Natsu and the others were way behind. You could say the older ones were a bit, no way slower than the younger ones. What slowed them down even more was their lack of magic. Natsu would have used his fire to boost himself, Happy and Carla would have flown, Gray would use his ice to glide across, Lucy would have asked one of her Celestial Spirits to carry her, and Erza would requip into her bunny costume. And, well, Kurapika and Leorio just had to deal with it.

"GOAL!"

The trio finally made it to the exit. "Haha! I won!" Gon pumped his fist in the air. "No, I did!" Killua beamed. "Or maybe Wendy did...," The boys scratched their heads. "Satotz-san, did you see who finished first?" Gon asked. "I believe you three all crossed simultaneously," Satotz stated.

"Aw..."

"Then I'll buy you guys dinner!" Gon exclaimed. Killua and Wendy stared at Gon then at each other. "Hm..." Gon scratched his head. "Then you guys buy me dinner!"

"I don't get it."

"Hey Satotz-san, is this where the second phase of the exam takes place?" Gon asked. "No, we still have quite a while to go."

Finally, one by one, the other applicants made it to the top. There were less people than there were from the start of the exam. Thirty six had dropped out already. The trio met up with the older group, all of them gasping and panting, sweat all over their faces. They also spotted a shirtless Leorio. "Why are you guys so sweaty?" Killua asked. "I'm not! I didn't break a sweat!" Happy grinned. Killua stood there, staring at Happy. "This is Killua! We met him during an argument with Leorio." Gon introduced his new friend, while Leorio just folded his arms.

"That's because you were riding on Natsu's shoulder...," Lucy rolled her eyes, and wiped the sweat off of her forehead. "Talking cat!" Killua exclaimed, and pointed madly at the blue Exceed. "So is this our destination?" Kurapika asked.

"No, he said we still have quite a while to go," said Wendy. The fog surrounding the applicants started to fade, exposing the vast wetlands.

Satotz explained to the applicants about the Numere Wetlands, also known as Swindlers Swamp. He explained to them about the very cunning, insatiable, bizzare creatures that lived there, deceiving and preying on humans. The remaining applicants had to follow him to phase two again, but they were warned to stay right behind him, or else they would get lost in the labyrinth of a swamp. "If you let them fool you...," he paused. "You're dead." Many applicants gasped, while some, sweat started dripping down the side of their head.

Suddenly the giant door behind them began to close. "Stay very close to me, so you won't be deceived," he said. "Well, how can they fool us when we're expecting it?" Leorio asked. "Aye!" Happy agreed. "Finally, someone agrees with me," the man muttered.

"Don't let him fool you!" A voice shouted. I just said they can't!

The examinees turned toward the sound. They looked to see a man peek his head out from around the building. "He's lying!" He pointed to Satotz, who was still calm and composed, with no sign of any emotion. "He's an imposter! He's not the real examiner, I am,"

"An imposter?" Carla asked. "I knew he was weird! I mean, look at him! He doesn't even have a friggin' mouth!" Natsu exclaimed. "Then who is he?" asked Gray. Fits of shock and worry rang out through the crowd.

"Look at this...," the man pulled out a monkey-like creature that looked just like Satotz. "It looks just like the examiner!" Wendy gasped. "This is the man-faced ape, one of the creatures that dwell in the Numere Wetlands. They love the taste of fresh human flesh."

"If it's still alive, I hope it doesn't eat me," Lucy mumbled.

"They disguise themselves as humans since they have weak, thin, limbs. They trick people into following them into the wetland and team up with other animals to devour them. He intends on trapping every single applicant!" The man shouted.

"He certainly doesn't walk like a human," Erza said, already convinced the man was not the first phase examiner.

Suddenly six cards were sent in opposite directions, to Satotz, and the supposedly real examiner. Satotz caught them all as if it were nothing, but the other man had the cards sent into his chest and forehead. "That settles it. You're the real one."

The examinees all turned to the person who threw the cards. Hisoka. The 'psychopath', as Tonpa introduced him. He shuffled his deck of cards. "Examinees are hunters selected by the committee to perform this duty without pay," he explained. "Any hunter, bearing the title we seek, would have been able to block that attack." Still, everyone had a shocked look on their face. "Creepy clown guy...," Natsu muttered.

"I shall take that as a compliment. However, should you attack me for any reason, I will report you for turning on an examiner. Am I clear?" Satotz asked. "Sure," replied Hisoka with a smirk.

The applicants began running once again, into the swamp, the fog slowly coming back again. With the fog back, many applicants had already lost sight of the examiner or fallen into some sort of trap. Team Natsu and the group of four all had decided to split into groups of threes and twos, so they weren't all a giant blob of teens running together. Gon had become quite fond of Killua and Wendy, so they ran as a trio once again. Kurapika and Leorio decided to run together. Leorio was sort of glad to run with his friend, but Kurapika just wanted to stay away from the rowdy group. Aaand especially Erza. In the meantime, Natsu and Gray were partnered with Erza. Sadly. And then Lucy was left with the two Exceeds, which was perfectly fine for the three of them. However Carla wondered if Wendy would be alright with the spiky haired boy and the silverette. They were all just behind the lead pack, following Satotz through the wetlands. "The fog is getting thicker," Kurapika said. Leorio nodded, both men struggling to keep sight of of the examiner.

"We should move up, Gon, Wendy," Killua said. "Yeah. We shouldn't lose sight of the examiner," said Gon in between pants. "I'm more concerned with increasing the distance between us and Hisoka. Staying too close to him is dangerous," Killua said. The two nodded. "I can smell it in the air."

"Smell?" Wendy asked. "I don't think he smells," Gon said. "Leorio! Kurapika!" He called. "Killua says we should move up,"

"Hey...," Killua started. "Can't you feel the tension in the air?"

"You moron! If I had the strength, I would already be there!" Leorio called back. "We'll be fine! Don't worry about us!" Kurapika put in. "Well, it's good that we at least know they're safe," Wendy said. "Let's go, guys." Killua said.

Natsu, Gray, and Erza stuck right behind the examiner, Satotz. They knew if they strayed from the path, they were done for. Lucy, Happy, and Carla were a few feet behind, but the group in front of them was still in sight. "I still hope Wendy's okay...," Carla said. "Don't worry, she'll be fine!" Lucy assured her. "She's a strong girl."

"But none of us can use our magic! We all should've stuck together...," The white cat murmured. "It's okay, Carla! Gon and Killua will take good care of her!" Happy attempted to cheer his cat-friend up, but failed. "Those two boys?" She shuddered at the thought. Hot-headed Natsu and shirtless Gray were a bad enough influence, arguing every minute of the day. She looked in front to see the two arguing once again, with Erza to stop the two.

"As long as we don't lose the guys ahead of us, we'll be fine," Leorio said. Unexpectedly, heads of the people they were following flew off, their bodies falling down all around them.

The two searched for the animal who had slain them. One man went forward, and suddenly got taken away and eaten by a giant tortoise...with strawberries on its back. "W-what?!" The other people with them had already ran away or eaten. Only Leorio and Kurapika were left. The creatures closed in on them, preparing to eat them.

Natsu, Gray, Erza, and following behind them, Lucy and the two Exceeds paid careful attention to their surroundings. Some examinees had stepped on some sort of mushroom without realizing, making something come out of it. "Don't breathe into it! It's poisonous!" Erza shouted. Immediately Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Happy, and Carla covered their noses. They watched as people grew small mushrooms of the same kind on their bodies.

Still right behind Satotz, the group noticed butterflies dropping pollen everywhere. Some people just stood there, but some were smarter and knew not to breathe it in. Once again they watched people fall lifelessly to the ground.

"I hear people screaming all around us," Gon said. "Just stay on your guard," said Killua. "I hope Leorio-san and Kurapika-san are alright." Wendy murmured. Suddenly they felt something on their feet. "Hm?"

They suddenly fell into a pit. "Uwaaaaaaaaaa!"

A giant frog had swallowed them. The frog got up, and walked away.

That's it for this chapter! I was literally bouncing up and down when I saw that I had two reviews. I mean, just for one chapter, that's pretty good for a newbie! Amirite?

...

Anyway, thanks for reading!