I do not own Hunter x Hunter, its world or its characters. Those are the intellectual property of creator Yoshihiro Togashi. This is a work of fanfiction only in appreciation of Mr. Togashi's work. Mar Switzer is my own character.

####

I was sitting on the balcony of my fourth-floor hotel room with a drink in one hand, soaking up the sun. I was bored to tears. I'd been stuck at this beach for a week without finding any interesting work. This wasn't what I signed up for when I became a Hunter!

It seems that I always get lucky when I reach my lowest point. Just as I contemplating playing tour guide to some folks who wanted a licensed Hunter to keep them safe on a relatively tame wilderness trip, my phone rang. The number wasn't one that I knew, but that didn't stop me from answering.

"Mar Switzer."

"Mar, this is Morel Mackernasey," a voice rumbled. I knew the name, of course, though I'd never met the man. "I'm calling to see if you'd join my team on an assignment."

"Tell me more." I slid the glass door to my room open and went straight for my suitcase.

"There's an interesting situation near Melcastle City. A week and a half ago, a Hunter killed four people in the suburbs just outside of Sten Park. The police managed to subdue her. They reported that she seemed out of her mind, so they took her to the local hospital, where she has remained, agitated and unable to speak coherently. Three days later, a park ranger called to report that he had shot and killed a Hunter who was attacking a small party of hikers. A pair of Hunters in the area decided to check things out. They were phoning in regularly for a few days, reporting nothing unusual, and then the Hunters Association lost contact. There's spotty coverage in the forest, so at first everyone just hoped we'd hear from them a little later than usual. About six days after they left, one of them showed up at the park entrance. He killed one of the rangers, but the other one disabled him. This Hunter also was taken to the hospital, and like the first Hunter, he's obviously insane. There's been no sign of his partner.

"I've been asked to take a team into the forest to find and eliminate whatever is affecting the Hunters. No civilians who have recently visited have gone insane, but a family that was camping in the forest has been reported missing. Needless to say, all park entrances have been closed to the public for now.

"We're pretty certain the cause of the insanity isn't environmental. The pair of Hunters who went into the forest most recently wore respirators and brought in their own food and water as a precaution. Our team is going in assuming that we will be up against a powerful Nen user or magical beast. I've chosen to take my disciples, Shoot and Knuckle, and the Chimera Ant, Meleoron - his ability to become indetectable could come in handy. I know of your ability to read auras, and I think we could use that. Will you come?"

"I'm your woman!" I crowed as I finished packing one-handed and snapped my suitcase shut. "When and where do we meet?"

"Take the next flight to Melcastle City. We'll meet at the Hotel Janus."

Hellooo, Adventure! So very nice to see you again.

####

Notes: Mar Switzer is named in honor of some awesome women: astronomer Maria Mitchell, scientist Marie Curie and software engineer Margaret Hamilton all inspired her first name. Switzer is a nod to Kathrine Switzer, the first women to officially enter the Boston Marathon (registering under initials, since women were not allowed to run in the marathon at the time).

I didn't find any known place in the world of Hunter x Hunter that really seemed right for the setting I wanted, so I made up my own. Melcastle City is located in the Begerose Allied Nations. The city and its suburbs have a population of just over a million. To the east of the city is a large, forested park, which is nearly 200,000 square kilometers in size. The unusual flora and fauna in the forest make it a very popular destination for Hunters.