He did not know where he was, but it was cold and dark, and smelled of milk. He felt as though he were floating, and when he reached out his hand to grasp at the air around him, he found that what ran through his fingers was actually a thick black glue, which he had also been encased in. The goo slowly pulled him down, sinking further into the dark abyss that seemed to stretch on until the end of time. The glue did not let up, a thick and sticky substance comparable to tar. Forever on a slow descent to whatever awaited him, he found himself looking around, searching for anything other than the dark walls surrounding him, which he now identified as bricks, as his fingers reached out to brush some.

A strange sound echoed through the walls of the tunnel, a piercing scream laced with pain, while a sweet and gentle melody played beneath it, effectively blocking out the yell as it grew in volume, the intense rhythm filling the tunnel and traveling upwards to continue the soft music. Only increasing in power as he grew closer to the source of the calming music, Gon felt his muscles laxen, any effort he had put into breaking free of the restricting substance at a standstill, his thoughts only on the gentle lullaby which seemingly attempted to lure him into slumber. The unnerving tune induced a sick feeling into the otherwise innocent harmony. Like a chorus of sirens slowly bringing him closer to disillusion, Gon felt his strength seep away, as if being sucked out of him by the forceful cold of the black sludge.

Ridden with drowsiness, the brown haired boy finally felt himself lapse into unwakefulness… only to be instantly jerked awake by a strong pair of arms on his shoulders.

"Gon…. Gon!" his eyes instantaneously widened, taking immediate note of the blood running down the side of his best friends face, the deep worry placed in their blue iris' and the frown that resided on his face as he stared straights back at Gon's own honey – coloured orbs.

There was something else in Killua's eyes, another emotion… fright. He was absolutely terrified. Absently noting the blood of the silver haired boys hands dampening the clothing on his shoulders as he continued to hold him, he focused on the face of his friend, sweating bullets and completely shaken.

"He- he's here!" His brain struggled to register the words his friend had spoken, his voice coming through to him as though he were speaking to him under water. His words were gargled and twisted – utter nonsense, foreign. He continued to speak, noticing that his friend hadn't been able to grasp his words but forging on ahead anyway.

"We'll both die!" his grasp tightening on Gon's shoulders, he attempted to lift him, lift him up and away from the goo he was apparently still stuck inside. The blue eyed boy had a huge gash on his head, previously hidden by his hair but brought into light by the blood which had begun to turn the silver hair red. With cuts and wounds decorating his legs and torso, clearly visible through the slashes in his clothing and the liquid staining the surrounding areas, he mustered up all his remaining strength to pull his friend free from the sludge that was restricting his movement. With his body finally free, Killua heaved Gon onto his already taxed back, activating god speed in spite of his energy deprived body.

With his nen reserves all but exhausted, it wasn't long before the silver haired boy promptly collapsed, god speed fading away instantaneously, dropping the cargo he held as he fell to the ground from exhaustion.

"I'm sorry Gon…" tears filled those sapphire eyes as he choked back a sob. "I wasn't able to protect you…"

A humanoid shadow hopped down from a nearby building, nothing but a blur as they came to stand behind Killua, grasping his bloody and deformed legs and dragging him away, leaving a red smudge from where Killua once lay.

The scene faded away into unparalleled darkness. (A/N how is this a birthday fic?)

When Gon awoke, he was surrounded in a fluffy comforter, the welcomed warmth of the thick blanket giving a safe and content feeling, much unlike the dream he had previously found himself in. In spite of the fear – inducing situation his dream –self had been placed in, he found that he was perfectly fine, not sweating and without an increased heart rate. Thinking nothing of it, he reluctantly pulled back the sheets from his bed and hopped up, ready to start the new day. A sliver of sun peeked out from behind the tattered curtain, shining through the thin cloth and lighting up the whole room. It was almost noon, he would guess, and his stomach rumbled in reply, as though stating that yes, they had skipped lunch.

Ignoring the increasing growl of his hunger, he pulled back the almost transparent curtain from the window so that he may look upon the view outside. The view that met his eye was a familiar one, one covered with the downslope of a hill leading into a deep green forest off tall trees and colourful critters. Home.

Disoriented at this new revelation, the brown haired boy retreated from the window, recoiling at the scream of "Gon!" – Coming from down below him, calling out to him through the window. Taking perch at the wooden frame once more, he was able to catch a glimpse of orangish – brown hair pulled up in a bun, hands cupped around a petite mouth set in a minor frown, eyebrows twitching slightly in obvious irritation. Then the scene shifted, and he was sitting at the kitchen table with an untouched bowl of salad in front of him, as well as a pitcher of freshly squeezed orange juice. Mito stood wearing a red apron by the sink, furiously scrubbing at a spot of mold which refused to come off from a considerably rusted pan.

Shifting his view away from his aunt, he instead looked ahead of him, to the man he sat in front of him, shoving the food from a tray straight into his mouth, all the while somehow singing. "Down the hatch you go ~ !" lifting the tray to his mouth so that he was practically drinking the food, he was able to quickly finish off what was left of the chicken legs which Mito had cooked. Hey he ate my chicken! Gon realised with a start, but was cut off when the man finally lowered the tray, wiping the grease off his mouth with the back of a sleeve, granting him a clear view of his face for the first time. And what a scruffy man he was. He wore an almost turban-like material around his head, from which several strands of thick greasy – much like the chicken he had just finished off – hair broke free, a rather shady top and pants (nothing particularly weird about them, but he made them weird) , rough prickles aligned his cheeks, and his face was set in a forever idotic expression which seemed to ask "Eh?". The last bit was what really clued Gon in. GING!

"Listen son," that confirmed his suspicious. The scruffy man, now identified as his father, stood up from his chair, and leaned across the table, grabbing Gon by the shoulders and possibly letting lice fall into the food and onto Gon as well. His expression was firm and his darkened honey eyes so much like Gon's own seemed to see into his soul. "I know you're scared of them, but this is necessary." This left Gon puzzled. He was scared? Scared of what? What was necessary?

Still muddled by his father's quizzing words, Gon was definitely not expecting to be jolted out of his chair by a loud bang, and the raining of rainbow coloured confetti was definitely a surprise also.

But the biggest surprise lay in wait, holding onto the edge of his seat as he leaned in back so that he was looking directly into Gon's honey coloured orbs, his own yellow ones piercing and cold.

"Ohayo Gon ~"

And Gon screamed.

Jumping up from his chair with so much force it sent the wooden item tumbling into the clown's chest and knocking him over, he bolted out of the house and down the hill, away from Hisoka and into the forest. The clown did not give up though. Making a quick recovery, he dashed after Gon, his expression one of pure delight while Ging just snacked on a fresh tray of whatever the hell it was that Mito had whipped up. "You must embrace your fear! And overcome it!" He called, his hat lopsided and chicken bones lodged between his teeth. And how did Gon even know that when he was well into the forest and covered by bright red tailed squirrels. Oh crap now they were dementors. Kicking one hard in the chest, he tried desperately to run away from them, internally debating which was worse – Hisoka, or dementors? After thinking it over for a while, he came to the conclusion that cloaked monsters that sucked the happiness out of your soul and left you an empty husk of a man was much worse than being subject to a pedo clown raging with blood lust. So he ran towards said pedo clown hoping that he would get rid of his burden for him. Unfortunately Hisoka and the dementors formed some kind of pack and they were off chasing him again. What could he do now? He had good stamina and knew the area well, but on the other hand he was severely outnumbered as well as out powered but each individual. There was no way he could win in a fight against a single one of them, much less all of them. His last hope was Killua! But… where was the silver haired boy who always stood by his side? Casting his gaze in opposing directions, Gon searched for a clue of where the boy could possibly have gone. He had been by his side until now… hadn't he? He had, right? And that's when Gon remembered – Killua… his best friend… had been dragged away by that weird shadow monster with the glowing red eyes…. The image of his friend sprawled and bloody appeared vivid in his mind, it seemed so real… where was he?

Where was he?

Where was he?

JUMP SCARE!

The shadow monster had suddenly sprung up into his face, limbs a tangles mess and long black hair contrasting with white porcelain skin. Not quite the "shadow" he had thought him be. Hands stained with blood and holding the edge of a razor shape pin to the tip of Gon's eye, his voice was low and animalistic as he muttered one hate-filled word.

"die."

And then all he could see was red liquid pooling on the floor through his blurred vision and the black and white dots before blacking out.

When he woke up, he was hopelessly cold. Rolling to his side in the queen size bed, he raised a hand to the spot his silver haired friend usually occupied, only to find it empty and devoid of warmth. He was up and about. Was he really awake this time though?

Rising from bed and trudging to the bathroom as he groggily rubbed his eyes, Gon was surprised to find no lapse in time, no sudden weird creepy monsters, and no eerie music beginning to play. He truly was awake then. He brushed his teeth, before making his way to the kitchen of their temporary abode. They would be leaving in two or three days, depending on the weather – it had been fairly rainy the past couple of days, and their next location was up a rocky mountainside. A slippery mountain would not be a fun mountain, even for them.

A day when Killua was not there when he woke up was a sad day.

He looked through every room – the bedroom (where he woke up), the bathroom, (he had brushed his teeth), the kitchen, (people need to eat breakfast) and had even gone outside in the pounding rain and even slight hail to see if for whatever reason, his blue eyed friend had decided to take a jog in the pouring weather. (He had to pass the lounge room to get to the kitchen and had also checked for him behind the curtains as well as underneath the purple beanbag situated in front of the tiny tele (a necessity, according to Killua)

In conclusion, his - friend was nowhere to be found. And it really wasn't like him. Reflecting on past experiences, Gon could only ever recall two other times after meeting Killua when he hadn't awoke in the same room as him, and those only included the time during the chimera ant fiasco and the time he woke up from being immobilized in the hospitable. They had spent every day together since, and there was no clear reason for him to be gone now.

Looking over to the calendar which hung by a magnet to the fridge, (Killua's idea, not his – he never really bothered keeping track of time) and for the first time in over a month, he took note of the date. 5/5.

He was alone on his birthday.

A/N I had actually intended to make this really happy and have Killua and Kurapika (and Leorio…) celebrate his birthday with him. The original plan went like this: Gon is reunited with Ging, and is really happy, while Killua stands idly and awkwardly by. When Gon tried to introduce Ging to Killua, he realises Killua isn't there and wakes up. Then he feels the bed and realised Killua really isn't there. I can't remember if there was anything else there. The only thing that kept to the plan was the introduction of Ging, and the disappearance of Killua as well as the bed – thing. Other than that, everything went to the dogs. I hope you found it somewhat interesting, even if you mostly skipped through (It's a sin, but I do it to!) Even if you didn't like it, I had fun writing it, so it wasn't completely in vain ^^ Please review! I'd love to know why or why not you didn't take interest in this fic. Thank you, and wish Gon a happy birthday! It got really crazy there though didn't it? O.o Not sure if you could tell, but I kind of leaned a bit too much into Killua there. Unedited, 5/5/2016 – YES! Just finished this 10:20pm, still got it out on time!