Hey guys, this is my first official Fanfiction ever so I would love reviews to know what you think! This is based off of the 2011 version of Hunter X Hunter. 'Also, I will dedicate a song for each chapter! Please critic anything you find because I would love to improve this story as much as possible. Thank you!:)

Disclaimer: I do not own the anime Hunter X Hunter

Chapter One: Crash X And X Brat

"Ugh! I'm soooo bored!" I announced before sitting down in the dirt.

The First Phase of the Hunter Exam just had to be held in a dark underground tunnel. The other applicants started to swerve around me to keep following after the first phase examiner. Some even gave smug glances while the rest just looked puzzled or didn't care. I'll just catch up in a minute.

"Trix, what are you doing?" Two black Converse appeared in front of me as I stared at the ground.

I looked up to find Solo. His silver eyes stared down at me in amusement as his dark purple ponytail fell over his shoulder. I thought of it funny that his hair was actually longer than mine, but I knew better than to tease him about it.

"I'm bored," I mumbled, "And you seem to have a knack for finding me when I stop looking for you."

"Well, we need to keep moving," Solo lent down his hand, and I took it, "Okay."

"But I thought this exam would be hard. We run like this all the time," I put my hands behind my head as we started following after the examiner like the other applicants.

Then, an idea popped into my head, and Solo glanced at me suspiciously out of the corner of his eye.

"Don't say it. Just don't say it," he warned, closing his eyes and turning his head the other way.

"Oh, come on! Let's race!" I jumped in front of him to jog backwards. "Or do you think you will lose?" I asked with a smirk.

I imagined a vein appearing on his forehead since it wouldn't be visible by the dark red bandana covering his forehead.

"Whoever wins has to give the other a piggy back ride," the deal made Solo look at me with raised eyebrows. Well, this deal is sealed.

"You're on," he winked before immediately sprinting off.

At first, I paused in surprise, but then picked up speed to catch up, "Hey! Not fair!"

He managed to start with a few feet between us, but I was gaining. I managed to pass Solo as he almost ran over a slowing applicant. I turned to look back at him as I kept running and stuck out my tongue. Suddenly, I crashed into someone and, with a blur of white and blue, both of us fell to the ground.

"Ah! My bad!" I rolled off of the person underneath me and stood up.

Solo slowed down next to me as the person I ran over sat up. It was a boy who looked about my age. Strangely, he had white, fluffy hair and sapphire blue eyes and wore a royal blue turtleneck that brought out his eyes, a white v-neck short-sleeve, gray shorts that stopped right below his knees and white and funky purple colored sneakers. The badge #99 was on the left side of his shirt. He glared up at me with a yellow skateboard with a red arrow down the middle lying next to him. My first impression of him was… a brat. He was a total brat.

Boy POV

Standing in front of me was a girl with short brown hair that brushed her shoulders and bright yellow eyes. A white shirt with a zipper up the front had pockets on either side connected to a buttoned matching white hood pulled over her head with a red, gray, and black plaid jacket over that, and wore the badge #212 on her jacket. She also had on dark gray cargo capris with black closed-toe strapped sandles and a black and silver backpack. My first impression of her was… annoying.

Then, another guy that looked the same age walked up beside the girl. A dark red bandana was tied around his head, his bangs also fell over the bandana, that brought out his already noticeable eyes. They were silver. When he turned his head, I saw that his dark purple hair was tied in a ponytail. What's even more weird, is it doesn't make him look like a girl. He wore a black t-shirt with white cross/wing tattoo designs, a white long-sleeve underneath, dark jeans, and black Converse. He wore the badge #213 on his shirt as well. This guy seems okay.

Trix POV

"You okay, Trix?" Solo put a hand on my shoulder, and I nodded.

"Killua! Are you alright?" I turned back to the kid with the blue eyes, expecting him to still be on the ground, but he was already standing with the skateboard wedged between his arm and side and hands in his pockets. Another boy who also looked the same age as me now stood beside Killua with concern in his big, hazel eyes. His black spiky hair had dark green tips and his tan skin showed that he was outside a lot. He had on a green jacket with orange trim, matching green shorts that stopped mid-thigh, and green boots but in darker shades. The badge #405 was on the left side of his jacket. He carried a yellow and brown backpack with triangle patterned straps and carried a gray fishing pole by leaning it against his shoulder. Wait, a fishing pole!? Well, there was also a suitcase hanging around the pole but the fact of there being a fishing pole was just weird. But he seems like a nice kid.

"Yeah, Gon," Killua closed his eyes with a slight frown.

"Hey, how old are you? I'm twelve!" Gon suddenly had a grin on his face with eagerness evident in his voice as he turned to me and Solo.

"Uh, I am, but Solo here is thirteen," I gestured to Solo and noticed that he was slightly taller than the two.

"Really? Cool! Hey, wanna run with us?" Gon hopped in the air in an attempt to control his excitement. He's also very hyper.

I looked to Solo, and he looked from me to Gon and Killua before saying, "Okay, let's go."

Then, I looked up behind them to see the longest flight of stairs I had ever seen in my whole life. It was impossible to tell where they ended or even if they did end.

"Seriously!? What's with the stairs?" I glared up at the stairs as they drew nearer with each stride.

"Well, this is the Hunter Exam," I turned to Killua with the same glare.

"I know that!" I knew it. He's a brat.

"You can ride on my back. I owe you anyway," Solo gave a small smile.

"You do? Okay then!"

Solo gave me a piggy back ride up the stairs while he talked with Gon and Killua, and I started to pull his dark purple hair out of its ponytail.

"What are you doing?" By the sound of Solo's voice, I could tell how his expression looked: irritated and bored, but I knew he didn't mean it. He likes when I play with his hair but won't admit it.

"Well, I thought of braiding it…" I had to bite my lip to stifle a laugh.

"I will drop you," he warned with his voice getting deeper. Uh oh.

"I'm kidding! I'll put it back in a ponytail," my hands quickly fixed his hair like they had so many times before since he sucks at doing a tight ponytail.

That's how we lose so many rubber bands.

"Wanna race to see who finishes first?" Killua's voice brought me back to the present.

"Sure," both Gon and Solo agreed.

"Wait! Let me down! I wanna race!"I wriggled around until Solo let me down, and I hit the ground running.

Luckily, I remembered we were on stairs just in time.

"You're gonna lose," Killua muttered with a knowing look.

"No, I won't!" I started taking two steps at a time and pulled ahead.

"Yes, you will," Solo smirked at me, but the thing is, he was in front of me jogging up the steps backwards. Show off.

"How about the slowest has to buy dinner?" Gon offered as he and Killua got in line with us.

"You're on!" we all agreed, smiling.

"Ready…" Gon began.

"Set…" Killua said, and the rest of us turned our eyes to the front.

"Go!" Solo and I yelled as everyone pushed off.

We were all now taking two steps at a time, but no one was gaining or falling behind. Soon, we caught up with a couple of guys that Gon and Killua seemed to know. One was a blonde teen with dark gray eyes wearing a white training suit and periwinkle blue flats; carrying a tan satchel strapped across his shoulder. He wore the badge #404. And, to be honest, he didn't look that bad either. The other was an old-looking guy, but he wasn't built like an old man. More like a young guy, but he just can't be. His hair was styled in a black spiked crew cut and his dark brown eyes were framed in teashade sunglasses. Somehow, his badge, #403, was stuck to his chest. He had a green tie around his neck but didn't have a shirt on, and also wore dark blue pants with a matching dark blue blazer jacket tied around his waist, black shoes. What an awful look on his face.

"See you at the goal, Kurapika," Gon said to the blonde.

"Catch you later, old-timer," Killua said to the, well, old-timer.

"I'm not old! I'm a teenager just like you guys!" He yelled at Killua with a vein on his forehead. Uh, what!?

"Huh? No way!" Killua exclaimed in shock.

Let me just say, everyone's faces were priceless!

Later on…

"I'm impressed that you can keep up with me," Killua observed after a while.

We had passed Leorio and Kurapika soon after Leorio's little outburst. It was still pretty unbelievable. Now, we were still running up the steps and tied in our race.

"Really?" Gon scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"I don't know why. This is too easy," I sighed.

"Kind of boring actually," Solo added with a blink of his silver eyes.

"Or maybe it's just that everyone else is too slow," Killua looked bored himself.

"I guess that we can agree that this Hunter Exam is going to be a breeze, then," for the first time, he actually looked like a nice person with a smile on his face.

"Hey, why do you want to become a Hunter?" Gon looked from Killua to me to Solo.

"So we wouldn't have to work to get money anymore, and it makes it easier to get access to things," I spoke for both me and Solo.

"I'm not really interested in becoming a Hunter," Killua admitted.

"Then, why are you here?" I mumbled, but it seemed like he heard me.

"Because I heard that the exam was supposed to be really hard, so not like you'll make it, Trix," Killua spoke louder to make sure that I heard. I'll show you! I paused mid-stride to sweep my leg under his in an attempt to trip him, but the brat easily dodged the attack by slightly jumping higher. Grrrrrr…

"Ha! Miss." Killua grinned at me with a smug expression. Oh, I'll get you later.

In that instant, I saw Killua sweep his leg aiming to trip me. I immediately put more power into my left foot and flipped forward to land on my hands. As my hands touched the step, I pushed off to land on my feet ten steps up. I turned around to see Solo, Gon, and Killua stopped in their tracks, staring at me.

"Show off! But better than last time I'll admit," Solo grinned after looking at me skeptically.

"Not like you're not a show off, jogging backwards up the steps like that," I pointed out.

"Touché."

"That was amazing, Trix! I didn't think you could something like that!" Gon's eyes shone as he threw his arms up in the air.

"Nah, that was nothing," I shrugged my shoulders. That was the least of what I can do.

Killua POV

How did she dodge that? And even had the time to think of showing off?

To a normal person, that move would have been a blur, but she dodged it easily. And, somehow, the white hood stayed in place over her head. This girl is definitely different.

"Oh, hey guys, guess what?" Trix's voice brought me out of my thoughts.

"What?" Gon, Solo, and I said at once.

"You're all gonna loooose!" She started laughing while running up the steps even faster than before. Not on my watch…

Trix POV

Soon, light appeared at the, most likely, end of the stairs, and the boys were still behind me. I put on even more speed and pulled ahead of the other applicants to follow right behind the First Phase examiner, Satotz-san. Haha! No one can touch me now! I took a flying leap as I neared the last step, then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Solo appear on my right and Killua and Gon on my left. They caught up with me!

Satotz POV

Now, let's see how many have made it this far…

"Goal!"

I stopped at the top of the stairs and turned my head to see four children jump past me to touch the ground at the same time; one girl and three boys. The girl had a mixture of surprise and excitement shining in her eyes as a big smile spread across her face. The three boys all had the same wide grins with excitement shining in their eyes as well. Their laughter continued as they hopped a few more feet to lose momentum.

"Yay! I win." A boy with spiky black hair pumped his fist in the air.

"What are you talking about?" The girl with yellow eyes and another boy with white hair said at the same time.

They glared at each other as it seemed they both thought the other was copying them.

"You copied me," the boy stated.

"Did not! You're just mad because I was faster," she declared, crossing her arms.

"No, I was faster," the last boy with a dark purple ponytail and a dark red bandana cut in.

"Nu uh!" the girl and white-haired boy spoke at the same time again.

"Will you stop that? You're doing it on purpose," the girl turned back to him in irritation.

"I already said I didn't!" the boy started getting irritated as well with a vein appearing on his forehead.

"Hey! Who was faster?" the boy with spiky hair turned to me which caused the others to quiet down and look toward me as well.

"I believe that you all crossed the finish line simultaneously," I told him.

"Oh…" he muttered before turning back to his friends.

"Then, I guess no one buys dinner," the boy with the ponytail looked disappointed as he put his arms behind his head.

"I guess so," the girl didn't seem to mind it very much.

"Hey! Satotz-san, is this where the Second Phase of the exam takes place?" the spiky-haired boy asked.

"No, we all still have quite a way to go," I answered.

"Jeez, this is some marathon," the ponytail boy commented.

Amazing. These kids made it this far even though so many full-grown adults have already dropped out. I wonder if they will pass this phase?

Solo POV

Many of the other applicants now began to flow out of the tunnel in either groups or individuals. I glanced around to find that we were now in a swamp with a thick fog bordering the clearing that the applicants currently occupied. I sat down beside Trix at the opening of the tunnel while she sat beside Gon followed by Killua on his other side. Trix took off the backpack and set it down in front of her. I should carry it the rest of the way. The sound of heavy panting alerted me that someone was pausing at the top of the stairs. It was Leorio looking all half-dead. He claimed he was nineteen, but, right now, he didn't look it. Then, Kurapika joined us at the finish line between me and Leorio.

"Hey, Kurapika!" Gon greeted and Kurapika waved.

"Is this our destination?" he asked, taking in his surroundings.

"No, it isn't."

"I see."

"Ah, the fog is fading!" Trix stood up eagerly.

"Really?" Gon stood up beside her and a big smile was the result was the fog faded to show the surrounding swamp more clearly.

"The Numere Wetlands, also known as Swindlers Swamp. We must cross these wetlands to reach Phase Two of the exam. This place is home to many bizarre animals, many of them cunning, insatiable creatures who deceive humans and prey upon them. Be very careful," I searched through the crowd to find Satotz-san was the one that was speaking.

Satotz-san was tall with light purple hair that curled outward at the ends which made his black curled moustache look out-of-place. It also seemed Satotz-san didn't have a mouth. He wore a dark purple tuxedo, a ripped-off strange kind of pink tie, a white button-up shirt, and grayish-purple shoes.

"If you let them fool you, you're dead," Satotz-san stated as he pointed his finger in the air matter-of-factly.

This guy is serious. Most of the applicants were probably now scared stiff, but it was obvious that the new group Trix and I had joined were not. These guys were serious too. This exam might be fun after all.

Trix POV

Suddenly, a high-pitched noise screeched right above my head, and I looked to see a metal wall lowering to cut off the tunnel. I stepped to the side a few paces while the others immediately rolled or stepped out-of-the-way. Then, a guy tripped on the last steps just as he was about to pass under the door.

He screamed, "Wait for me!" while reaching out his hand but the door closed right in front of him. Sheesh, they aren't leaving any options for anybody are they?

"These wetland creatures will use every trick in the book to fool their prey," Satotz-san continued and turned his back to all of us with his arms crossed.

"Good thing you're the best at pulling tricks, huh, Trix?" Solo teased lightly, and I smiled, "You know it."

Solo was actually the one who gave me the nickname, Trix, in the first place. I was always the one who pulled pranks and tricks on the kids and innocent bystanders when we were younger. Actually, I still do.

"Ah, so Trix isn't your real name?" Gon looked at me curiously along with Killua. They have very sharp hearing. I need to keep that in mind.

"Yeah, it's not."

"Then- " Gon got cut off as Satotz-san began to speak again.

Thank you, Satotz-san. I really don't want them to know my real name.

"Stay very close to me so you won't be deceived," he warned us about to step off.

"Heh! What a joke. How can they fool us when we're expecting it?" Leorio had his eyebrows furrowed and sweat running down his face.

"Watch him be the first one fooled," Solo whispered, which made me giggle and he smiled as he stood up straight again.

He had to lean down since he was taller than me by half a foot. Solo might be quiet sometimes, but that doesn't mean he's not funny.

"Don't let them fool you!" a voice shouted from the right edge of the crowd.

"I just said that they can't," Leorio grumbled, but paused as someone stepped out from the side of the tunnel wall.

A man with wounds and dirt covering his clothes and arms appeared from the corner of the wall, "D-don't fall for it…"

The guy pointed at the examiner and yelled, "He's lying to you!"

Satotz-san looked at the accuser as if he were stupid or something and said nothing. Man, that's how I feel. Who's going to believe that?

"He's an imposter! He isn't the examiner. I'm the real examiner!" the guy insisted while frantically searching the eyes of the nearest applicants.

"An imposter!? What's going on?" Leorio exclaimed, obviously forgetting what he said just moments ago.

"See, he is fooled," Solo chuckled at Leorio's confused face.

"Look at this…" the guy dragged something out from behind the wall of the tunnel.

It was very ugly, a brown monkey with a face similar to Satotz-san's! [I'm not saying Satotz-san is ugly or anything]. Its long, pink tongue lolled out of its mouth as if it was dead, but the thing wasn't. I could smell it.

"He looks just like Satotz-san!" Gon exclaimed with wide eyes while Killua just looked at the scene with a bored look on his face.

"Hey, Solo, it's not dead," I whispered to him quiet enough that the others wouldn't hear.

The thing was too close and too creepy for my liking, but it would mean suicide if it tried something. Better to be safe than sorry.

"It's a Man-Faced Ape, one of the creatures that dwell in the Numere Wetlands," the guy explained as he dragged the 'thing' on the ground by its arm.

"A Man-Faced Ape?" Leorio repeated with a hopelessly confused expression that definitely didn't help his complexion.

"Man-Faced Apes love the taste of fresh human flesh. However, their limbs are long and thin, so they're quite weak. That's why they disguise themselves as humans. They trick humans into following them into these wetlands where they team up with other animals to kill and devour them. He intends to trap every single applicant!" the guy tried his best to convince every applicant, pointing his finger at Satotz-san yet again.

It appeared that what the guy was trying to accomplish was working. The applicants were turning against Satotz-san, but there were a few that were still on his side; including me. Well, not like he needs any back-up since he's already a Hunter. Then, out of nowhere, three cards jabbed the accuser/so-called examiner right in the forehead and chest. Joker cards.

"Huh?" Someone uttered.

It sounded like Leorio, but I wasn't going to turn to find out. The victim fell to the ground already dead. His was face frozen in a state of shock. Satotz-san stood at the other side of the crowd holding three other cards between his fingers. Who did that?

"I see. I see. That settles it," a creepy looking clown stood in the middle of the crowd shuffling a deck of cards.

Everyone looked at the clown in shock. His wavy red hair stuck out straight from his face. There was a maroon star painted under his right eye and a spring green teardrop under his left. He wore a pale blue half shirt with card symbols on the front and back, a pastel pink shirt underneath the first one, matching pale blue pants, a yellow cloth wrapped around his waist, pastel pink bracelets and socks, and dark blue elf-pointed shoes. The badge #44 was pinned on the left side of his chest over his heart.

"You're the real one," the clown opened his beady, yellow eyes to glare at the examiner.

Satotz-san stood still, measuring him up, and then tossed the cards to the side. A few applicants were pretty slow and couldn't fathom what had just taken place, like Leorio.

"Examiners are Hunters selected by the committee to perform this duty without pay. Any Hunter, bearing the title we seek, would have been able to block that attack," the clown continued to speak as if he killed somebody every day. He actually might.

The bloodlust in his eyes made chills roll down my spine, but I tried my best to act like he didn't bother me. Good thing it's not just me.

"I shall take that as a compliment. However, should you attack me again, for any reason, I will report you for turning on an examiner. And you will be immediately disqualified. Are we clear?" Satotz-san narrowed his eyes at the clown.

"Sure," he didn't seem to care either way, but the dangerous feeling still lingered.

The screeching of birds erupted to where the guy now lay dead on the ground. I turned to see birds surrounding the body. A lump suddenly appeared in my throat. This place is ruthless.

"Nature can be really brutal to watch…" Leorio trailed off as we continued to watch the scene a second longer.

"So he was a Man-Faced Ape as well," Kurapika stated the obvious.

"No kidding," I muttered, suddenly eager to get a move on.

"He was attempting to confuse the applicants to lure some of them away," Satotz-san explained while making his way through the crowd.

"We can't relax our guard," Killua didn't seem as bored anymore but wasn't excited either.

"Yeah," Gon and Solo agreed with him as I reached down by my feet for the backpack, but another hand beat me to it.

"I'll carry it this stretch," Solo muttered already slinging it over his shoulder.

Before I had a chance to argue, Satotz-san kept talking, catching my attention, "You will be encountering such deception on a regular basis. I believe that a number of you were fooled into suspecting my identity?"

Satotz-san paused to glance at the carcass being pecked by birds.

"Do you understand? If you lose sight of me in the Numere Wetlands fog, you will never reach the exam's Second Phase. Do bear that in mind," he faced us once again.

Everyone was silent.

"Then let us be on our way. Please follow me," the examiner turned around and began his long stride into the fog.

Since we were in the back, we had to pause before continuing to follow him.

"Tsk, another marathon," Leorio complained as we all ran in line.

"And we're running through marsh this time. Running on wet ground requires more energy," Kurapika observed but wasn't worried.

I wasn't worried about keeping up. That was no problem. The problem was what we'd run into in this marsh. Fog surrounded us on all sides, so it was impossible to see anything lurking about. I guess we'll just have to stay alert at all times like Killua said.

Song/ Let's Get It Started by The Black Eyed Peas