Gon, Kurapika and Leorio made it to the underground Hunter Exam tunnel from the elevator of the restaurant further up, starting at the first phase. They looked upon the many, maaaaaany other applicants there.
Gon was excited, yet nervous, his eyes big and filled with wonder and curiosity of the exam.
Kurapika's eyes scouted the room quietly, observing the difference in the atmosphere down there compared to just before. Everyone looked serious, judgement and determination written all over their faces.
Leorio felt the same as Kurapika, except that he still refused to let any doubt slip into his mind. He was going to pass the exam, and no one was gonna tell him different.
"Wooooow, there's a lot of people here." Gon said as he looked around.
"You guys bring the number up to 405." An overweight man voiced from a pipe a few feet over the ground, "Hi, I'm Tonpa. I'm number 16 this year." He greeted, jumping down next to the trio.
"This year?" Kurapika questioned.
"Good too meetcha." Tonpa said as he put his hand out to shake Gon's, the boy smiled at him.
"I'm Gon." He told the man, shaking his hand, "And these are my friends; Kurapika,"
"Hey there." Tonpa now shook the blonde boy's hand.
"and Leorio." Gon finished.
"How ya doin'?" Tonpa wanted to shake the tall teen's hand as well, but Leorio just waved from a distance. Tonpa laughed.
"You guys are rookies, aren't ya?" He asked them.
"How can you tell?" Gon wondered.
"Erh, I just know. This is my 35th time at the exam." Tonpa explained, Gon's face lifted with fascination.
"35th time?!" He quoted, amazed.
"Yeah, I guess that makes me an exam veteran. If you have any questions, I'm the guy to ask." Tonpa told them.
"Okay, thanks!" Gon said.
"Uh, 35 times? What's up with that?" Leorio asked, shock showing on his face.
The doors of the elevator then opened again, revealing two young figures stepping out and looking around.
They were dressed in white clothing and wore brown shoes, one was a girl with short and wild orange hair, another was a boy with longer and darker hair going down across his left eye.
Tonpa hadn't seen these two before either, they must've been rookies, too.
They both accepted their batches, the boy strapping on number 406, and the girl number 407.
The girl was smiling, her big green eyes wandering all over the tunnel in awe and examination of the place and the people.
The boy kept his head rather neutral-directed, his right eye sliding calmly around their surroundings. He seemed to be observing and studying everything more.
"Who are those two?" Gon questioned aloud.
"I don't know, but they've just increased the number to 407. And seeing their similarity in clothes and behavior, I don't think they're planning to split up or go against each other." Kurapika voiced, "I expected that we'd be the last applicants to join, but considering that only the three of us came here from the boat out of all the people who aimed to take this exam, those kids must be tougher than they look." He thought to himself.
"They're so young... how long do they think they're gonna last?!" Leorio thought as sweat dripped from his face.
"Two more? Well, I guess that makes 4 new applicants this year being that young. Haven't been that many in a while." Tonpa thought as he watched the two kids. Compared to how natural both of their demeanors seemed, one was completely the opposite of the other, personality-wise. They might be interesting to challenge, number 16 figured.
The girl with the ginger antennae noticed all of the 4 people staring at them, looking at them with the same big eyes and question on her face. "Huh?" She hummed.
The black-haired boy stopped next to his partner as she looked back at the group, glancing at them with his right eye as well.
Tonpa changed his attitude and waved nicely at them from afar.
Meanwhile, Gon, Kurapika and Leorio didn't change their curious looks towards them.
Gon's eyes were the most innocent of the group, staying round with just pure interest.
Soon enough, the white dressed boy looked away again and resumed walking, the girl holding her gaze a little longer, before following suit.
"You think they're siblings, maybe?" Leorio voiced when they walked further off.
"Could be, but whether they are or not, I don't think we should underestimate them." Kurapika responded, a quite serious look in his eyes.
"Why do you say that? They didn't look like any danger to me." Gon said.
"Yes, it's true that they didn't show any harmful intent. However, they did look like they'd be prepared for an exam like this. Possibly, even cut out for it. I'm just saying, we should be careful around them." Kurapika explained, although, he figured that wasn't all there was to it, "But then, why did the girl seem so curious when she noticed us? The boy appeared to only give us a glance because she looked, not because he himself was interested. He was probably there to just go through with the tests, and not pay much mind to the others. It looked like the girl was more open-minded." Kurapika thought.
"Well, it looks like there's gonna be a lot more intense competitors this year than previous ones." Tonpa then spoke up, "Check it out." He said as he thumbed backwards.
The trio looked in the direction he was pointing, seeing two men and another boy further ahead.
"Just between you and me, I'm actually a ninja. Yeah, that's right." One of the men said to the other.
The boy, away from the men's conversation, quickly reacted to himself being looked at, and turned his face to Gon, Kurapika and Leorio.
"The training is pretty brutal, but I do it every day morning until night." The ninja continued, ignorant to the group looking their direction.
Gon, once again, looked at the other boy with innocent interest.
The other boy, carrying the number 99 on his purple t-shirt, held the gaze for a moment, but just huffed.
Soon later, Hisoka was introduced and explained to the trio by Tonpa, letting them know how dangerous he was.
Meanwhile the white clothed kids, Emma and Ray, didn't need an explanation to know that the turquoise-haired man was dangerous.
Emma wasn't paying much attention to him specifically, but Ray watched him closely from their distance.
Already just from his brief interaction with someone who'd bumped into him, Ray could tell that Hisoka was dangerous for many reasons.
His formal attitude, his joker looks, his control of his cards.
Not to mention his confidence and no signs of fear.
He was probably someone who would be taking this exam just to see how the other competitors crumbled around him, as he just kept standing.
But he wasn't desperate for that outcome, he striked a little fear into those around him when he could tell that no one else would likely come there afterwards, and then not do any more until he was challenged.
As a professional casino-player kind of type.
Ray even figured that he could tell he was being watched right now, and could probably also pinpoint who was watching him.
Therefore, Ray didn't change his gaze, continuing to watch him.
There was no point in stopping just because he knew, in fact, it was smarter to not do that.
So, Ray had first decided that he could take his eyes away a few seconds later, moving them to the other applicants.
Other than Hisoka, every person there had definitely signed up for a reason, they all wore the same determined expressions.
Well, except for that 99 kid with his skateboard under his arm.
He seemed pretty bored.
Ray figured it was better not to look at him for long, though.
He wasn't quite sure what to expect from him, but those eyes told him that even though he was a kid that looked bored out of his mind, he didn't sign up for nothing.
It was very likely not a good idea to get on his bad side on the first glance.
His eye then briefly went back to the trio and Tonpa.
Tonpa was barely even worth acknowledging for all Ray could see, he was an obvious and pathetic phony.
The kid in green seemed a lot like Emma, just plainly innocent.
The blonde guy seemed more dignified.
And the tall one, probably in his 40's, was definitely not dignified. And he'd brought a briefcase and wore a business suit to the exam, so he couldn't have been very intelligent either.
Otherwise, no one else were as much worth the short time to pay a lot of attention to.
Or, Emma seemed just a little freaked out by that clicking needle guy.
Honestly, Ray was, too. But he didn't let it show.
He occasionally patted her shoulder for reassurance, and she smiled back at him, grateful that he was with her to do that, "Thanks, Ray." Emma said to her older brother.
Ray hummed in response, showing acknowledgement to her words, but kept his eyes around the place.
Then, a loud bell rang from above in the center of everyone.
It caused everybody to look up, seeing who was most likely the examiner.
The person pulled a string to turn the device off and spoke up, "As of this moment, the exam is closed to any further applicants." He announced.
The examiner floated down from the ceiling, landing peacefully in the middle of the crowd on his feet, "I would like to officially welcome everyone here to the Hunter Exam." He spoke.
Looking around, no one said a word.
"Alright! Finally, it's gonna get started!" Except for when Gon started talking again.
Kurapika's face soon matched the other competitors', turning serious.
Leorio tugged on his tie, "Oh man, I can't believe I'm actually getting nervous." He said to himself.
"Please, come with me." The examiner told the applicants, starting to walk ahead, "Let me take a moment to remind you all that the Hunter Exam is extremely demanding."
Number 99, Killua, watched half of the body of an applicant twitching as he was stuck inside the wall in a seemingly magical manner.
"If you're unprepared, or unlucky, you may well be severely injured. Or even killed." The examiner added.
The white-haired boy coldly walked away from the guy in the wall screaming for help, following the examiner.
"If you are alright with accepting those risks, then you may continue following me." The higher man said.
Kurapika, Leorio, Gon and Tonpa began walking along behind the examiner.
Ray wasn't moving, but instead looking at Emma.
She turned to him and nodded confidently.
Soon, they both walked with the crowd.
Killua looked back, seeing that Gon had decided to follow.
"Very well. The number of applicants is 406." The examiner declared, "At least for now." He added sinisterly.
Emma gasped under her breath.
"Don't worry, he's just testing us." Ray clarified in a low tone to her.
The boy looked around. This was a one-way tunnel, leading forward to only a black void as far ahead as Ray could see. If this was about endurance, Emma would have no problem with it. And Ray could adapt to keep up for nearly as long as her.
Leorio looked around in the big crowd of people, "I guess I should've expected it, but no one backed out yet. I'd hoped there might be a few." He voiced.
Eventually, the trio began noticing that those around them were walking a little faster than before.
"Hey, what's...?" Gon wondered.
"Figured it out, huh?" Tonpa said.
"Hey, he's picking up the pace!" Kurapika announced, starting to a slow run, the others doing the same.
The examiner easily walked faster, quickly moving farther away from a walking crowd.
Everyone now began running.
"So, this is how it's starting this year." Tonpa said, making Gon and Leorio look back at him in question, "The first phase of the exam has just begun." He concluded.
So, Ray's suspicions were right. This was the first phase.
"Sorry for the delay, but allow me to introduce myself. I'm Satotz, examiner for the first phase." The examiner then spoke again from up front, "I am also the one who's leading you to the site for the second phase."
The applicants gasped.
"Some of you may have already realized it, keeping up with me 'till we reach the second phase, is in fact the first phase." Satotz clarified, everyone still speeding up to follow him.
As Satotz was still walking with a running pace, everyone behind him were running fast to stay on his tail.
"How long do you think we've been running?" Gon asked his group.
"It's been about 30 minutes so far." Tonpa answered.
"What a weird test." Gon said.
"Actually, it's designed to assess our physical endurance, and more." Kurapika corrected.
"Ah, you noticed that, too, huh?" Tonpa asked him.
"Noticed what?" Gon questioned.
"We have to keep running, and running. But we don't know how far or how long. It causes a lot of mental physique, too. Just gotta keep goin'. This is a phycological test as much as it is a physical one." Tonpa explained, already sounding a bit out of breath.
"Aha!" Gon said in understanding.
"Hmph, that's fine by me. I can keep up with that guy all the way." Leorio said.
"Hey! Uh, Tonpa." Gon called up, "Since this is your 35th try at this, you must know a lot of these other guys by now." He guessed.
"Kinda." Tonpa answered.
"Tell me about them. I bet they all must be really interesting." Gon said with confidence.
"Alright, where should I start?" Tonpa asked himself.
A few minutes passed with him informing the group about the different people that he'd seen at the exam before.
"Wow, they all sound so great." Gon voiced with a tad of envy.
"Don't worry about it. All that matters, is that you pass." Leorio told Gon reassuringly.
"Really? In this exam, skill or experience doesn't even matter?" Emma thought curiously. Sure, this was definitely different from the daily exams they had at the House, but Norman was the smartest kid of them all and he raced right through them with full scores every time.
Emma chuckled a bit under her breath.
"What is it?" Ray asked from next to her.
"Huh? Oh... I was just thinking about how this'd probably be the first exam Norman would've failed. He would've been completely out of breath by now, I bet." She laughed a little.
Ray blinked at the sudden mention of Norman, surprised that Emma could talk so humorously about him.
She missed him, and so did Ray.
But, he was glad that she voiced fond thoughts of him, "Yeah, you're probably right." Ray responded with a little smile, Norman didn't have the immune system, nor the stamina, to run for 2 minutes, he would've long collapsed on the floor by this time. But, he soon turned his face back to normal and focused on the running.
Suddenly, Killua could be seen and heard skating through the crowd of exhausted competitors, his hands in his pockets.
"Wow, that's cool!" Gon exclaimed in amazement when he saw him.
"Hey, you! Kid on the skateboard! That's not fair, you're cheating!" Leorio called the kid up front, making him look back at the tall person with a bit of offense.
"Hey, what's your name? How old are you?" Gon asked the white-haired kid.
"So, what makes you think I'm cheating?" Killua asked Leorio, going by Gon's questions.
"Well, duh! It's an endurance test!" The glass-wearing teen said.
"Not exactly. The examiner said to follow him, but he didn't say how." Gon corrected Leorio.
Killua held his gaze on Gon again.
"Gon? Who's your friend, me or him?" Leorio asked the black-haired kid at his correction.
"They're friends..." The skater-kid said to himself curiously.
"Quit yelling, you're only wasting energy. And it's annoying. We're allowed to bring whatever we want to the exam." Kurapika then chimed in.
"He's so obnoxious!" Leorio thought to himself in frustration.
"Are they seriously questioning this? If we weren't allowed to use our possessions during the phases, they would've been taken away from us." Ray thought to himself, watching the group.
"You're new here, arencha? Well, if you wanna ask me any questions, I'd be more than happy to-" Tonpa was cut off once he saw Killua's rejecting expression, the boy facing forward again soon.
He then skated a little slower, positioning himself next to where Gon was running.
Gon looked at him and smiled, "What's up?" He asked.
"You asked what my name was?" Killua simply started.
"Yeah! Well, you don't have to tell me if you don't feel like it. I'm Gon, and I'm 12." Gon told him.
"Huh... 12 years old...?" Killua thoughtfully voiced.
Suddenly, he grabbed his skateboard and jumped off of it, running next to the group.
"Hey, you're not using that anymore?" Gon questioned.
"Mister? How old are you?" Killua asked Leorio.
"Mister?! I'm not all that much older than you guys, I'll have you know!" Leorio told Killua.
"No way!" Gon and Tonpa exclaimed in surprise, Leorio was only a teen?
"Ugh, not you too, Gon! Just for that, I won't talk to you ever again!" Number 403 said with a childish tone.
Kurapika grimaced in a dumbfounded way, "Unbelievable!" He voiced.
"You don't say." Ray thought with the same feeling.
Emma had been watching them the whole time as well, "I think they all look pretty fun." She thought to herself.
Ever since Emma started showing some exhaust from the marathon, Ray'd advised her to watch whoever seemed the most casual about running this much, yet still humane so she wouldn't be trying to copy Satotz. That'd only make her more nervous, therefore, losing stamina faster.
Emma had then chosen to watch Kurapika.
He seemed motivated by an important cause, similar to hers and Ray's.
She figured that he wouldn't mind being looked at that much either, at least, that's what it appeared like.
It was even possible that he still hadn't noticed her gaze.
Some time later, only very few of all the applicants were to be seen up front.
By now, Killua had run slightly ahead of the group.
"I wonder who he is! It looks like he's about the same age as me." Gon said.
"Huh, I couldn't care less! Seems like just another annoying kid to me!" Leorio voiced.
"His eyes, they're kinda scary." Tonpa pointed out.
"You think so?" Gon questioned confused, that's not really what he thought about them.
Meanwhile, Emma was getting worried about Ray.
They'd been going for probably more than an hour, Emma was surprised at herself for making it this far.
Ray must've been exhausted, without letting her know.
He was sweating, like nearly everyone else was.
But he was determined about this, Emma knew that.
But... how much of this could he take?
Even though he was much more tolerant than Norman, he was still below Emma.
He must've been tired.
Emma briefly looked back at the group of 5 now, they showed more tiredness, but they were entertaining each other by talking.
Maybe that's what kept them so active and cheery.
Perhaps they should try to join them?
Gon looked back as he sensed eyes on them, locking eyes with Emma once again.
"Hey, how old are you guys?" Gon asked them both with interest.
"We're 12." Emma answered.
Killua looked back again, now at the Grace Field kids. They were 12, too?
Ray then shifted his gaze to eye him back.
"Really? I am, too!" Gon told them with a smile.
Killua thought the 406 kid seemed a bit interesting. He'd noticed him before, but didn't pay much attention to him till now.
Ray also studied number 99 a bit. He was more kid-like than he'd expected, but there was still that alarming feeling about him.
"Wait, who are you two?" Leorio asked the white clothed children.
"I'm Emma." Emma said, smiling.
"I'm Ray." Ray told the group, turning to look at them instead.
"I'm Gon. And this is Kurapika, Leorio and Tonpa." Gon introduced, even though Emma and Ray had both picked up on that.
Emma waved happily at them, "Hi, it's nice to meet all of you!" She said.
"Nice to meet you, too, Emma! And Ray!" Gon responded.
The white-haired boy still hadn't said his name, though.
Ray wondered why he was so secretive about it.
Even more reason to be careful around him.
"Emma and Ray, huh? And both 12 as well..." Killua thought to himself.
"You kids don't look like you've been here before. Well, if you have anything to ask, you can come to me." Tonpa spoke up politely.
"Okay. Thank you, Mister!" Emma responded, "Hmm, let me see... Oh! I've got one! What kind of person is Satotz? He's terribly fast, even when he's just walking." Emma said with a nervous laugh.
Tonpa gulped and looked at the examiner, "I have no idea. The examiners change every year, so I wouldn't know much about the new ones." He explained.
"Oh, I see." Emma responded, her tone a little less optimistic than before.
"Good move, Emma. Pretend that we haven't heard anything they've talked about, so we can get some useful info from that guy. All the times that idiot's been here will pay off for us..." Ray thought to himself with satisfaction.
Kurapika stared a bit at the two kids.
They both had a number code on their necks, and matching ear bandages.
What had they gone through exactly, and where did they come from?
Killua still watched from up front, he was wondering when either Emma, Ray or Leorio we're gonna collapse.
The ginger had the best odds of continuing out of the three it seemed, but one of them had to drop soon.
They soon all approached another tunnel.
"Another tunnel..." Kurapika noted out loud.
"Looks like everybody's heading left, but what happens if we go right? Maybe it's a shortcut. You think we should try it?" Leorio asked the group, plus now Emma and Ray.
Suddenly, Gon smelled something.
"What is that? I smell something sweet, and it's actually coming from that tunnel." He said with a smile.
"You're right, I wonder what it is." Tonpa said.
Ray looked at Tonpa, and glanced around at the others before facing forward again.
"There's another tunnel, it's been about 3 hours. I wonder how much longer we can keep running." Kurapika said.
"Huh, there's that sweet smell again. From the right tunnel." Gon voiced.
"Yeah, I smell it, too." Emma said.
Ray was pretty impressed with Gon, he had an attentive sense of smell. He picked up on it a second before Ray did.
"Mhm, it smells like some kind of sap to me." Tonpa told them, noticing Leorio behind him.
Leorio was heavily sweating and struggling to keep up.
"You alright?" Gon asked him, concerned.
Leorio just breathed heavily.
"This is insane. How long have I been running? Why isn't anyone dropping out? Maybe I've taken this too lightly. No, it's... it's not the exam. It's the other applicants. I had no idea they were gonna be this tough. They're obviously the best of the best. I am seriously outclassed." Leorio thought to himself.
"Ugh, who am I kidding? Only a select few have what it takes. For an ordinary guy like me, this is nothing more than a pipe dream." He said aloud.
Leorio soon stopped for a moment, before kneeling down on the floor, trying to catch his breath.
The other group members had stopped a little ways up front when Leorio fell.
"Leorio!" Gon yelled!
"Hey." Killua spoke up then, making the others turn to look at him.
"What do you think you're doing?" He asked.
"Wha...?" Gon said in disbelief.
"He's finished, so just leave him behind." Killua advised.
"Come on, you don't know that! Besides, I can't just leave him. He's my friend!" Gon said.
"Your friend?" Killua asked surprised.
"U-huh, that's what I said!" Gon insisted.
"I'm not giving up! I came here to become a Hunter, and that's what I'm gonna do!" Leorio shouted, starting to run again!
"Hey, take it easy! You need a break!" Tonpa told him.
"Shut up! If you're... just gonna stand around here... I'll leave you... in my... dust..." Leorio tried, but soon slowly fell back down to the floor, still breathing sharply, "Argh, great! Now my legs won't move..." he voiced.
Killua couldn't help but keep his eyes on the man, he was determined to keep going, even though he knew he was destined to fail.
"So, you're not just in it for the money?" Kurapika asked.
"No, it's all about money... there's no other reason..." Leorio insisted.
"We do not have time to argue about this! What do you think we should do now, Tonpa?" Gon asked.
"Hmm... wait a sec. That smell!" Tonpa brought up.
"Huh?" They all said simultaneously.
"Do you remember? There was a sweet smell coming from that tunnel. Hey, I think it might help you recuperate!" Tonpa explained.
"What was that...?" Leorio asked, still out of breath.
"I thought I recognized the smell, I'm pretty sure it's the sap of the healing seeder tree." Tonpa continued.
"Healing seeder?" Both Gon and Emma asked at the same time.
"Yeah. The sap is often used by Hunters who become exhausted in the forest. All you have to do is smell the aroma for a while, and you can recover enough strength to keep on going." Tonpa explained, having Leorio's arm draped over his shoulder, being about to head to the tree.
"Wait a minute! It could be a trap!" Kurapika said.
"Maybe, that is possible. But we can't just leave him behind, now can we? That's just a chance we're gonna have to take!" Tonpa told them.
"Yes, but..." Kurapika was about to argue.
"I'm king of the flunkies, and do you know why I failed the exam 34 times? I'm a sucker for anyone who needs my help." Tonpa said, looking at Leorio.
"That's the worst excuse I've ever heard." Ray thought to himself, Tonpa was without a doubt lying.
Killua noticed Ray's unchanging cold expression towards Tonpa.
"Ray, what do you think?" Killua suddenly asked.
"Hmm?" Ray looked back at the skater-kid, the rest of the group following suit.
Why would Killua ask Ray about that?
"You look like a fair decision maker. Maybe you have a clue of what to do, something we've missed." Killua guessed, "This kid looks intelligent, he's probably not falling for it." He thought further in his mind.
Emma looked surprised at Killua, he acknowledged Ray's cleverness?
That was unexpected, he'd barely been talking at all this whole time.
Ray didn't show it, but he couldn't help but be almost just as surprised.
He knew Killua'd been watching, but he hadn't expected him to just ask him straight up.
Ray looked the other way, in the direction the smell came from.
He wanted to know more about everything, going towards the sap tree wouldn't be a waste of time if they got more information, and possibly made it back to the finish line. They probably had a timer.
The others watched Ray curiously, especially Gon.
He thought that if the other black-haired boy was smart enough to make a better decision, they should go with that.
"Ray?" Emma asked from next to him, she wanted to help these guys out.
She hoped she could get him to do the same, he might only focus on the task at hand, like usual.
"Well, me and Emma will go to the tree too, the rest of you can run ahead if you want. If there's a healing sap somewhere, and you could get even more injured during this exam, I'd want to get it for future purposes as well." Ray explained, default-faced still.
He figured the intelligent ones of the group, number 99 and Kurapika most likely, would see through his lie and know he had something a little smarter in mind.
Gon gasped in surprise at Ray's thinking.
"That's a good idea! I hadn't thought about that..." Gon admitted, thoughtfully.
Killua looked at Ray in a subtle way of asking if he was sure about this, but Ray returned the gaze as if telling Killua that he was.
Emma figured Ray didn't exactly mean what he said, he wasn't this trusting of foreign things.
Still though, she nodded at his plan, "Yeah, we'll go back and help Leorio!" Emma said optimistically.
"Heh, sounds like a plan." Tonpa spoke up.
"Tonpa?" Gon voiced.
"It's okay. Once Leorio recovers, we'll catch up to you. I promise." Tonpa told them all, as if going off to fight for his country suddenly.
"I'm sorry, Tonpa. Gon, Kurapika, don't worry about me. Go for it!" Leorio encouraged the others.
"Leorio, I can't-" Gon was trying to say.
"Didn't you hear what I said? Get moving!" Leorio insisted.
Gon looked sadly up at the exhausted teen.
"Don't you worry, I'll take good care of him. It's not for nothing I've done this 34 times, I've learned how to avoid all the usual traps and stuff. Now you should be going." Tonpa told Gon, Kurapika and Killua.
Killua stood for a moment and watched before going, he was sure this was a trap, he knew that tree all too well.
And it seemed like Ray had something in mind for this, even though he was, admittedly, good at hiding it.
He probably didn't even know what exactly the sap was, but he'd picked up on that Tonpa was lying, apart from everyone else.
But, Killua couldn't help but wonder some things.
Like, why were number 406 and 407 helping them? What was in it for them?
No... why were they all helping each other?
They were... friends? Was it just such a simple reason as that?
Gon and Emma seemed ready to just help anyone in need, even though they'd just met them.
They were odd, and stupid.
Gon suddenly whipped his fishing rod, grabbing onto Leorio's suitcase further back, and swung it back to himself.
Killua was shocked at Gon's unique skill, he barely even used time to aim, yet he caught it so precisely!
"Alright. Thanks, for helping him." Gon said to Tonpa, Emma and Ray, handing the briefcase to Tonpa.
Tonpa nodded, heading in the direction of the tree with Leorio, Ray and Emma following him.
"Don't worry, we'll get as much of that sap as possible to make him better!" Emma told Gon as she walked away.
Ray discreetly eyed Kurapika, hoping to let him know that him and Emma weren't up to anything stupid. That they could trust them.
Gon looked at Leorio with worry, while Kurapika caught onto Ray's gaze, although he wasn't entirely sure what he had in mind.
The group of 4 walked away, into the darker void.
Emma looked up at Ray when they were far enough away from the other 3.
"Ray." She started, making him look at her, "Where do you think Tonpa's really leading Leorio? And, why did you decide for us to follow them?" Emma asked Ray.
"Because we need solid proof of why Tonpa's doing what he's doing, and to get more info about what kind of things could come next in the phases." Ray told her, a serious expression on his face suddenly as he faced forward, watching Tonpa.
"Then, what about Leorio? I really do wanna help him. If Tonpa's leading him into a trap while he's so exhausted, then we can't leave him behind." Emma insisted determinedly.
Ray knew he wouldn't be able to talk her out of this, so he figured that they might as well.
Plus, it'd be essential for them to keep their word to not make potential enemies with those they'd acquainted.
They kept walking, soon hearing some more weak and heavy breathing on their path, seeing another guy who was sweating like crazy on the floor.
Even though she felt bad for him, Emma couldn't help but be grateful that it wasn't Norman she'd see like that during this phase.
"This is as far as you got, huh? Well, maybe now you understand what us flunkies have to go through. Come with me, I'll help ya." Tonpa offered the worn out applicant.
Soon, Tonpa was supporting both Leorio and the other competitor with his arms, Emma and Ray still following as they went into the other tunnel.
"What are you doing? Are you coming or not?" Killua meanwhile asked Gon and Kurapika.
They'd been standing there ever since the others left, the skater thought they should get going.
"Oh yeah, sorry to keep you waiting. You can go ahead." Gon told Killua with a polite smile.
"You mean you're not gonna keep going?" Killua asked.
"Nah, not unless it's with Leorio. And the others." Gon responded.
"You have to be kidding..." Killua thought to himself.
"Kurapika, I'm gonna see how they're doing. Tonpa told us they'd be okay, but I'm still worried." Gon told Kurapika.
"I'll come with you, we can always catch up to the group later on." Kurapika said, though looked in the other direction suspiciously, "Plus, I think something isn't quite right about what Tonpa said." He added.
"Huh?" Gon voiced, questionably.
"Ray eyed me briefly as they left, he must've thought something was off and wanted us to know about it." Kurapika guessed, "Emma might've known, too."
Killua doubted that, Emma hadn't suspected a thing.
"Then we have to go!" Gon insisted, looking back at Killua, "Alright, we'll be back. And if you want, maybe you can tell me your name. Because I still don't know what it is." He told the white-haired kid, "Okay, see ya later!"
Both Gon and Kurapika then went off to find the others, leaving Killua standing in the same spot.
"Hey, Tonpa. I have a question." Ray decided to speak up then.
"Sure, fire away." Tonpa said as he looked back at Ray.
Ray looked sternly at the man.
"Why are you taking this exam?" The boy asked.
Tonpa had been asked that question plenty of times before, and Ray figured as much, and yet, the man still got a little nervous.
Why was he getting nervous?
Ray was just some kid, right?
"You'd think you would know the stakes from having failed so many times for the same reason." Ray spoke again, still looking Tonpa dead in the eye, "Besides, for 'a sucker for anyone who needs your help', you sure are taking your time carrying two people," Ray narrowed his eyes ever the slightest, "and walking slowly."
Emma blinked as she watched them both.
Ray was right, he didn't seem eager to help nearly as many applicants that were tired as he'd phrased. He was lying.
Tonpa was getting more nervous, this kid had figured him out?
So easily explaining his behavior concluding that he was lying...?
The more Tonpa thought about it, the more nerve wrecked he became.
Leorio slightly moved his head to look back at the other kids, they were helping him out?
The adult laughed nervously.
"You were never here to win in the first place, were you?" Emma asked curiously, catching Tonpa, and even Ray, a little off guard, "You're here to enjoy sabotaging us, every single one of us that you can act like a bigger person to. That's what you've done for 34 years, during the exams."
Tonpa was speechless.
"How the hell has she...?" Tonpa wondered in his mind, he had no idea that she'd been paying enough attention to figure it out!
Or else, it was the boy's reasoning that made her realize at the last second.
Either way, they'd both just exposed him entirely.
Who were these kids?
"Wait, what?" Leorio spoke up, looking in an offended manner up at Tonpa.
"I, uh..." Tonpa couldn't find the right words.
"So, then," Ray started, walking closer to Tonpa, "we're gonna take Leorio back to the others, and you'll be answering another question."
Tonpa flinched backwards from Ray a little as he came closer, "Uh, h-hold on, now. I might not've made a satisfactory first impression on you by the looks of things, but there's no need to get rash." He tried to say.
"Emma!" Ray called, kicking Tonpa's leg to make him trip and lose his hold of Leorio and the other guy.
Tonpa grunted in pain as he went down on one knee, and Ray grabbed Leorio while Emma grabbed the second applicant.
"Maybe a little excessive, Ray..." Emma thought in all honesty.
"Argh, those bastards... the boy went straight for me!" Tonpa thought as he clenched his eyes shut from the agony in his shin.
"You okay?" Emma attentively asked the guy she'd caught, placing him against a wall to sit.
The guy didn't respond, he just breathed weakly.
Ray put Leorio down against the other wall, "I knew that guy was trouble, I didn't trust him for a second..." Leorio stated, annoyed, "Hey, what the hell?!" He shouted to Tonpa.
"They're still losing time. Interrogating me won't get them anywhere, they'll still have to make it back to the others before time runs out. I won't tell 'em anything, don't think-!" Tonpa thought to himself.
"I'll ask my question now." Ray stated, standing in front of Tonpa suddenly.
Tonpa exclaimed in surprise as his head whipped up at Ray, the kid staring him down neutrally.
"What were you leading us towards?" Ray asked.
Tonpa gasped, debating whether he should come up with an excuse or not.
Ray put a foot on the man's shoulder.
"I'll push you back if you don't answer." Ray threatened in a still default manner, "See that?" He pointed up at the ceiling.
Tonpa's gaze hesitatingly followed Ray's finger, seeing a branch covered in golden liquid almost just above him.
He gasped.
"That's the sweet sap we've been smelling, right? I wonder what it does." Ray stated his ironic intent, looking back down at Tonpa, "Care to tell?"
"No, he wouldn't! If he pushes me back, even just a little, the sap will drip down on me!" Tonpa thought with panic.
Was he insane?!
Even if Ray didn't know what it was, would he still test it on another competitor?
Was that worth losing in the first phase to him?!
Ray's brow furrowed a little more, his foot pressing on Tonpa's shoulder lightly.
"Wait, okay! I'll tell you!" Tonpa yelled in cooperation, "The sap's scent doesn't heal, but creates dilutions for whoever smells it! Their worst fears! That's what it does!"
Ray's eyes widened ever the slightest, "Their worst fears?" He tested aloud, his brow furrowing again at Tonpa, "Are you serious?! Is this worth getting-?!" Ray stopped, quickly looking back at Emma.
A sap drop was about to drop down on her face!
"Emma! Get away!" Ray shouted to her as he took his foot off of Tonpa and tried to run to get her out of the way, but Tonpa grabbed his arm.
Emma looked up as she just now noticed the sap over her head, about to hit her skin!
Leorio suddenly cut in and pulled Emma up and away from the drop, the golden liquid landing on the floor instead.
Emma looked up behind her, seeing Leorio doing his best not to pant as he stood up now.
He... saved her.
Ray saw this, a surprised look on his face.
He soon grunted though, as he attempted pulling his arm back from Tonpa, "Let go of me, dammit!"
"Sorry, not gonna happen." Tonpa responded, a mischievous smirk on his face now.
Ray grunted again, frustrated, "Hold your breath, Emma!" He yelled.
Emma did so, but was restrained from running to Ray by Leorio.
Tonpa's grin widened, "You know what other name I've been given overtime?" He asked, "Tonpa the Rookie-Crusher!"
They knew that already, "You idiot! You'll be affected too by leading us in here!" Ray told him, irritated.
"Not if I do this!" Tonpa pulled Ray back and ran in the direction of the exit, the boy landing roughly on the floor.
Emma attempted to run and help Ray back up, but Leorio still held her back.
Emma looked angrily up at him, "Let me go! We have to get Ray!" She thought at Leorio.
"We can't get affected! The aroma will get into our minds if we don't go soon!" Leorio thought back at Emma, not loosening his grip of her arms.
Ray groaned with pain as he sat up and put a hand on his head, soon opening his eyes.
But when he did, they widened with sudden quiet panic.
Ray's vision had changed, into... something else.
Something... frightening.
Tonpa smiled back as he saw Ray getting scared, from the entrance to the former tunnel.
"Who gets eliminated next? Let's see." He voiced.
Meanwhile, everyone currently close to Satotz, we're still running, while the examiner was still walking.
They were all getting really tired, some were occasionally slowing their pace and, eventually, admitting defeat.
The ninja from before though, he was still fine.
According to him, this was nothing harder than his daily training.
Gon and Kurapika were still running in the other direction, to get to the others.
Suddenly, they spotted Tonpa further ahead, lying on the floor.
Gon gasped, hurrying to his side!
"Tonpa! What's wrong?" The kid asked, concerned.
Tonpa pretended to be frightened, looking up at Gon, "Oh, it's you! Hurry, they need your help!" He said, pointing into the other tunnel.
Kurapika was suspicious of this, since Ray had given him a warning glance when leaving.
"What happened back there?!" Kurapika asked.
"It was a trap, worst I've seen. Hurry." Tonpa said, still pretending to be terrified.
Gon and Kurapika gasped, both for separate reasons, but looked at each other before running into the tunnel.
Gon was worried for Leorio, Emma and Ray, while Kurapika'd realized that the narrow-pupiled kid was right.
They both disappeared into the void, and Tonpa casually stood up and brushed himself off.
He snickered, starting to run back to the rest of the applicants.
The other guy that Tonpa had carried into the trap, was sweating even more now that the dilution was getting to him, too.
"PLEASE, STOP! I'm not gonna drop out, you hear me?! Stop saying that!" He shouted, his eyes showing veins as, on the outside, it looked like insanity had gotten to him.
Emma's eyes softened at the poor drugged applicant, but looked back at Ray as she still struggled to get to him from Leorio's grip.
Ray stood still, but his eyebrows twitched as he'd begun sweating a bit, staring out into the air with wide eyes.
"Keep calm, this is hallucination. Emma and the others are still around here. If they inhale the aroma, they'll also start seeing things and get lost! They won't be able to get out!" Ray thought to himself, still staring.
"Emma. Get out of here. Leave me and run with the others to the next phase. You can't lose, you hear me?" Ray said neutrally, even though he yelled it out in his vision.
"The visions are getting to Ray, we have to help him!" Emma insisted.
"Don't even think about it. You go to the others, then I'll help him." Leorio said.
"Uh?" Emma looked up at him questionably.
"I've studied to become a doctor, if there's anyone who has a shot at healing Ray, it's me." He explained, pulling Emma further back towards the exit, "And, you guys saved me just before. Now I'm gonna save you two." He added.
"Leorio..." Emma said, not knowing what exactly to tell him.
"Go find the others, like he said! We'll catch up!" Leorio promised, running over to Ray.
"But, Leorio!" Emma shouted.
"Go!" The teen insisted.
Emma hesitated, but eventually built up a determined face, running back the same path as they'd taken to get in there.
She wouldn't let Ray get sacrificed, he'd already attempted that kind of thing before.
It wasn't gonna happen, not on her watch!
"Hey, kid! You hear me? It's Leorio! You're sick, but I'm gonna get you outta here and cure you, you understand? Just hang in there, alright?" Leorio yelled as he kneeled down in front of Ray, trying to shake him by his shoulders to snap the kid out of it, "Emma's out, just like you asked! She's gone back to the others, and is on her way to the next phase!"
/
Meanwhile, Ray didn't hear anything from the outside.
He was as if living in another dimension.
What was before Ray's diluted eyes... was Grace Field House.
He stood on the field outside, petrified.
"Ray."A voice suddenly called.
Ray stiffened.
It was a clear and gentle feminine voice, which he recognized instantly.
Isabella.
The woman stood tall behind Ray, putting her soft hands on his shoulders, making him flinch and gasp.
"You're back home, at last." His mother spoke close to his ear, his right one, realizing it wasn't plastered anymore.
His ear was just like it used to be, with the tracker inside again.
Ray ripped his shoulders away from Isabella, grunting in defense.
"Who are you?!" Ray yelled.
/
"Who are you?" Ray asked while staring.
"I just told you! It's me, Leorio!" Leorio shouted, still kneeled down in front of him.
"Crap! This is bad! His dilution is so extreme that he can't even hear me! How do I get him out of this?" He thought, frustrated.
"Leorio." He suddenly heard someone call.
"Huh?" Leorio froze.
After a few seconds, the tall guy hesitatingly turned around to see someone in the corner, wearing a bright red shirt and beige-like pants.
"You have to help me, Leorio." The voice said.
"Huh, Pietro?" Leorio questioned, as the dilution had gotten into his mind.
:
"You were late for your shipment, Ray. They were dissatisfied." Isabella told Ray, but then smiled down at her son, "But, your brain is still sharp and intact, right?"
Ray's brows frowned, the boy shuddered and soon backed away.
He could've sworn this was a deception, but if that was correct, then how could he have felt his mother's touch on his shoulders?
What was this?
"Sleep well, my child." The caretaker said, draping a blanket over Ray as he was suddenly in his bed inside the orphanage.
Ray's breathing grew heavier, his eyes flying intensely around his old bedroom.
He saw his siblings sleeping in the other beds, and images of demons flickering across the room along with the shadows.
Their monstrous moans and screeching along with the sound of their long, drooling tongues were mixed with the nostalgic ticking of the clocks in the House's halls.
Several clocks shifted to demon eyes occasionally, seeing their dangling claws scanning the sleeping children to choose who should be harvested next.
"NO!!!!" Ray screamed in his dilution, even though it was barely heard in the real world.
/
Emma occasionally looked back at Ray and Leorio as she ran, worried.
They'd split up, the smell had probably reached Leorio now, too!
This decided it, she had to-
Emma then heard gasping from the direction she ran.
"Emma!" Kurapika exclaimed, stopping in front of the girl, Gon stopping next to him.
"What's wrong?" Gon asked with concern at Emma's state.
Emma was so happy to see them, so happy they were coming to rescue them!
"Kurapika, Gon! Thank goodness!" Emma said as quiet whimper entered her tone, "It's Ray! The sap is making him see things, and I think Leorio's infected, too!" She explained.
Gon's eyes widened, "That was the trap, and they both fell into it?!"
"Let's go, we've gotta find them!" Kurapika announced determinedly.
"Yeah!" Gon agreed immediately.
"Over there, we need to hurry!" Emma told them, running back into the tunnel with the others.
/
Ray felt the demons' claws wrap around his body, he whimpered and struggled to get out of their grip!
The boy heard as his beating heart grew louder, slowly morphing to sound like a ticking clock.
The quicker his heart beat, the quicker the ticking pace.
He also heard the deafening melody that'd been hummed to him since before he was born, his mother's tone all over it.
"You will be redeemed this way, my son. Give up and do your part of the deal." Isabella told Ray, looking down on him with dead eyes.
The kid soon realized that the demon fingers had turned into dark green flower stems, that had caged his body and kept it motionless.
Ray's mother's humming became less distant and more fueled by his fear as this happened, his ticking heart getting faster.
White flowers then sprouted from his feet, and then Ray realized.
Soon, only his head wasn't covered in vines.
He'd turned into a Vida flower himself! The one all of his siblings had been pierced with!!
Now, instead of demon hands, Isabella was the one holding the flower. The one Ray'd turned into.
His head stuck out from the bottom, seeing the body of his next victim.
Ray gasped.
Now, he could only hear his own whimpers and his fierce heartbeat, the ticking having gone away.
Norman.
He stood in front of him, in a huge and bright figure.
The blue-eyed boy was smiling.
Ray's face twitched and his breathing was staggered.
"N... N-Norman." Ray whimpered, his pupils were unable to stay still as he stared at his deceased friend, merely from pure trauma.
"I'm sorry." Ray thought to himself, "I'm... so sorry!!!!"
Norman chuckled softly.
"It's okay, Ray. You don't have to protect me anymore." He told Ray with a kind tone, spreading out his arms slowly.
Ray was at the brink of shedding tears.
What was he talking about?
It was no way near okay for Ray to let Norman die.
It was as if Norman'd told him that ever since Isabella broke Emma's leg.
But... it wasn't okay.
He knew it wasn't!!!
How could Norman say otherwise?!?!?!
Ray was now being moved closer to Norman, his chest.
"No... No. Stop! NO!!!" Ray roughly tried ripping his arms and legs out of the stems, intensely!!
But to no avail, he kept getting closer.
He couldn't prevent it.
Ray screamed as he was piercing Norman's heart!
/
Meanwhile, at another part of the tunnel.
"Leorio! Ray! Can you hear me?! It's Gon! Leorio!! Ray!!" Gon yelled, his voice echoing through the tunnel.
Emma and Kurapika were running beside him, holding their breaths.
Emma had strongly advised them both to not inhale the air when they went through the tunnel, but Gon had been calling Ray and Leorio's names ever since they ran in.
Both the orange-haired girl and Kurapika were worried, it had to take affect on him soon.
But, most of all, Emma was worried about Ray.
He was probably the worst possible person to see his biggest fear, Emma knew that.
Out of all the kids at the House who knew about the truth, Ray had been suffering from it the most.
She couldn't imagine what sights were being illustrated around him.
Emma then felt a hand on her shoulder, Kurapika's.
He looked down at her with determined eyes, nodding at her, as a way of encouraging and reassuring her.
Emma looked back up at him, growing a little smile on her face.
Before long, she nodded back at him, determination that matched his, and then faced forward again as Gon kept shouting the two's names.
Tonpa panted as he ran to catch up with the rest of the competitors, being very far behind.
A small form could be seen and heard skating towards him.
Killua.
Tonpa stopped, seeing the casual look on his face.
Number 99 stopped before him, staring at his face for a bit.
Tonpa was sweating just a bit in nervousness.
"You seem nervous about something." Killua naturally told him.
"Uh, who? Me? No, I'm not." Number 16 dismissed quickly.
Killua kept looking at his face, "Yes, you are. You led them to a trap." He called Tonpa out, bluntly.
"What? How can you say that?" The adult asked, pretending to be an innocent guy once again.
"Hmm..." Killua subtly formed a bit of a smiling expression now, making himself begin to look rather menacing, "There's something I think you should know."
Killua started rolling his skateboard closer to Tonpa, making him back away a little.
"What is this?" Tonpa thought to himself, scared, "This kid has the same casual threatening switch as that Ray one."
"Those who betray others, seal their own fate. Because eventually, they will also be killed by an act of betrayal. I'm not lying. If you want, I can prove it to you, anytime." Killua made a slight movement towards Tonpa, making him flinch and back away more.
"Like right now." He added, still grinning.
"They're basically the same person. Except, this one is more willing to directly kill me!" Tonpa thought, smiling in an awkward and fearful manner.
He nervously chuckled too, slowly walking around Killua, the boy following him with his body-direction.
Tonpa yelped as his back hit the wall, staying there until Killua huffed and moved his gaze forward again, skating along.
Tonpa sighed in relief when the kid was far enough away, but then huffed himself, "Dumb kid." He voiced, running back to catch up with the original group.
Gon, Emma and Kurapika soon reached Leorio, seeing him on the floor with his legs to his chest, mumbling to himself.
All of their eyes widened when they spotted him ahead.
"Leorio!" Gon called, running up next to him with the other two, "Are you alright?"
Leorio stared at the ground, his eyes showing veins like the other affected applicant's.
Killua then skated into the scene, hitting Leorio in the face with a powerful kick of his foot!
All three stared at this, Leorio fell roughly to the floor with a grunt.
The man in the suit slowly and surely pushed himself up with his arms, his eyes being back to normal.
Leorio looked up and saw the skater kid standing in front of him.
"Leorio?" Gon ran back up next to Leorio in concern, Kurapika and Emma doing the same behind him.
Leorio straightened himself up, looking up at Gon and Kurapika, "Gon? Kurapika?" He questioned, a bit tiredly.
Leorio then noticed Emma with them, "Emma?! What are you doing?! You were supposed to keep up with the bigger group, not bring the others in here!" He shouted.
"Oh, good. You're back to normal now." Gon said in relief, looking around soon later, "Where's Ray?"
Emma was wondering just that, she hoped he wasn't far away.
"You can breathe now, you know." Killua informed both Emma and Kurapika, but looked at Emma as he'd noticed her worry.
Emma looked at Killua in surprise, why would he think they could do that without getting visions?
Soon enough, Emma exhaled. Her lungs needed to get the air out.
Kurapika did the same, only more calmly.
"There is no healing seeder tree." Killua then told them all.
"Huh?" Gon, Kurapika and Leorio let out simultaneously.
"The sap comes from the Tree of Hallucination, it's been used by assassins for a long time. It makes its victims re-experience the worst events of their lives, and eventually drives them insane." Killua explained.
"How'd you know that?" Gon asked Killua.
Emma gasped, "That means..." She was right, Ray must've been seeing the demons, Mom, or something related.
Or maybe, he was going through the night where Norman got shipped out...
That'd be... horrifying...
"Yeah, your friend's most likely experiencing something like that in here." Killua looked back at Emma.
She was worried for him, to an extreme extent.
The girl must've had an idea of what Ray was experiencing, and it seemed like it was a very dreadful event.
"So, that means Tonpa must've..." Kurapika started, he knew he must've had something to do with all of this. It had been in the back of his head since he left with the others.
Killua was about to answer, but before he could...
"Right, he lied to us. He set Leorio up to fail, me and Ray, too." Emma spoke up.
Gon's eyebrows lifted in surprise.
Killua kept his focus on Emma, he was surprised as well.
She knew, too?
This whole time that he'd thought she had no clue, unbelievable...
Maybe she was more clever than Killua gave her credit for.
"We should go!" Gon spoke up with determination.
"I agree." Kurapika said, helping Leorio up on his feet.
"Sure, okay. I think I know a way we can save her one-eyed buddy, and catch up with the group again, in a single move." Killua announced, a smile on his face.
The others waited for Killua to explain himself, Emma now focusing more on him, too.
"A game's no fun unless you take some risks." He added, but didn't explain himself just yet.
"I'm glad we met up again, are you gonna tell me your name now?" Gon asked the white-haired boy.
He hesitated, but eventually turned around to face them all again.
"Killua." The kid said, politely.
"'Killua'?" Gon tested, Killua nodded, "Okay, Killua, tell us your idea." Gon continued.
Killua reached for something in his back pocket, pulling it out for the others to see.
"It's a bomb. Small, but effective." He informed the four.
"That's a bomb?" Gon questioned, curiously.
Emma's eyes then widened in realization, "So, that's why you said we could breathe. You're gonna-"
Killua smiled, he barely had to explain himself with her, "Let's blow up this wall, and all the disgusting sap covering it." He said, determinedly.
Gon, Leorio and Kurapika gasped, he was gonna blow up the walls?!
"You just carry bombs around?!" Leorio asked.
Killua threw up the bomb and caught it again, implying that he was gonna do like he said and that he could handle them.
Emma became hopeful.
Thanks to Killua, his knowledge about the tree and his bombs, they'd get to Ray and knock him out of his hallucinations!
And get back to the other applicants!
This was indeed convenient!
In the other tunnel, Tonpa was running up to the original group of competitors, stepping on those who'd fallen to the floor and pulling some back.
"Move it! Get out of my way!" He yelled as he sabotaged the others, "Heh, what a buncha losers."
Killua threw the bomb at the wall casually, "Okay, here it goes!" He warned the others.
They all quickly covered their faces and ears with their arms, as the bomb exploded.
As smoke and fire filled the hole in the wall, Gon peeked out at Emma.
"See? Everything's okay! This way, we'll get Ray out of the hallucinations in no time!" Gon told her confidently, "There's no need to worry!"
Emma peeked back at him, her round eyes blinking as she didn't know what to respond with.
She was glad that Gon wanted to reassure her, Emma had been very worried about Ray.
Leorio also peeked down at the two, at their little interaction.
He'd seen it when Ray got drugged, he was visually in a zombie-like state.
And then Leorio got sick, too.
He experienced what the sap did to his mind, and the fact that Tonpa had told them that it was based off of their worst fears, probably spiced up their visions more.
Even so though, Ray informed Emma of what to do, instructing her to run to the others without him. Even though he was infected.
That hadn't crossed Leorio's mind once during his own hallucinations.
Honestly, that kid seemed incredible compared to him.
Leorio felt guilt of not getting him out of here, if he'd kept holding his breath, at least for him to carry Ray outside of this tunnel, he could've brought him back to Emma, so she hadn't had to be so afraid.
Leorio suddenly looked forward, determined.
"Let's go!" The teen encouraged, running into the smoking hole!
The others looked at Leorio in question, Emma soon turning it into a small smile, following.
The others then followed suit.
All five jumped through the explosion, soon seeing the other side, finding Ray standing there.
"There he is!" Emma shouted, knocking into him as she landed, the others landing around them.
The explosion had caught Ray off guard, but slowly also snapped him back to reality. At least, what he hoped was reality.
"E-E..." Ray stuttered, but fell on the ground too fast to begin the sentence.
When Kurapika landed, he looked back as he saw the smoke fade away slowly, "It worked! Not the easiest way to travel, but it is fast." He voiced with a smile, "I guess there's no turning back now."
"Uh...?" Ray groaned, using his arms to carefully get himself to sit up.
Those visions hadn't made him think clearly for the last few minutes, he was still a bit shook.
But the knock on his head from Emma created just a little more attention at the moment.
Ray blinked his eyes open, his head rising when he saw Emma running at him!
"Ray!" She exclaimed, kneeling down in front of him with a hand on his shoulder.
"Emma?" Ray questioned, keeping his eyes on her before looking around, "Why are you... why are all of you-?!" He was about to get irritated, but stopped himself when he saw Emma's concerned face.
"You're alright, back to your normal self." She voiced, smiling at Ray with swelled eyes, hugging him! "I'm so glad!"
"Uh!" Ray exclaimed when Emma went for a hug, stiffening as he watched her.
Emma was here, safe, glad, with the ones they'd met.
Within long, Ray pulled her into himself, hugging her back, "Did you get affected?" He asked Emma.
"No, Leorio went to help you. But that made him sick, so I went to get Gon and Kurapika. And then Killua came and snapped Leorio out of his dilutions, telling us about the sap and led us to you!" Emma explained.
Ray opened his eyes then, looking at Emma questionably, "'Killua'?" He asked.
Killua raised his hand in response, making Ray notice him.
Ray looked over at the white-haired kid, and Killua gave him a little smile.
He hadn't expected Tonpa to actually make Ray inhale the sap, but he respected how he'd made sure that almost no one else got affected.
"So, his name's Killua." Ray noted in his mind.
He didn't change his expression at first, but soon returned the smile back to Killua.
He seemed more willing to help them all now.
Ray focused back on Emma, "So, Leorio's the only one else who had dilutions?" He asked her, "How did the rest of you not get affected?"
"We held our breath." Kurapika simply replied.
"Well, I didn't. But I was fine, I didn't feel a thing!" Gon spoke.
"What?! You didn't see anything?!" Both Ray and Killua asked simultaneously, questionably looking at each other briefly afterwards.
"Uh-uh!" Gon responded while shaking his head, the same cheery look on his face.
"I guess Gon's too innocent for the sap to work on him." Leorio said with a smile, "He doesn't have any problems yet."
"We shouldn't waste time by sitting here chatting, we should get going." Emma spoke, standing up and Ray following suit.
"Yeah." He agreed.
"So, ready for the next round?" Killua asked, holding up three other bombs in his hand.
"He caused the explosion?!" Ray thought to himself, but didn't show a difference on his face.
Killua threw them, and everyone turned around and covered their ears, Ray keeping an arm over Emma.
Soon enough, a huge explosion came from the opposite tunnel of which the rest of the competition was, all of them covering their faces.
Killua jumped out with his skateboard, then Gon, Kurapika, Leorio, Emma and Ray lastly.
The other applicants were coughing from all the smoke, looking shocked.
"What exactly is going on here?" Satotz asked with a serious sounding tone.
"Uuuuuhhh..." Gon said hesitatingly, putting a hand on the back of his head, laughing nervously, "I'm sorry, but we had to break through the wall." Gon told him.
"I never said you couldn't destroy the walls." Satotz stated.
Ray looked a little surprised at the examiner, "So, that's the kind of rules they go by here..." He thought to himself.
"But, tell me; how is it that you survived after wandering down the Tunnel of Hallucination? I'm quite impressed." Satotz voiced, thoughtfully.
"I can't believe it... where'd they get the rookies from this year, anyway?" Tonpa asked to himself, though flinching as his eyes landed on two particular people.
Leorio and Ray eyed the man, their brows frowning.
Both of their looks promised him that he was gonna pay for messing with them, and Tonpa believed it.
At least, he believed Ray's eyes.
Although, Leorio wouldn't leave it at that.
He walked over to Tonpa and grabbed him by the collar.
"How dare you?! I've got a score to settle with you!" Leorio told him, angrily.
"Stop it, Leorio!" Gon ordered him.
"No way! Doesn't this guy just piss you off?!" Leorio self-defended.
"The test always has obstacles to overcome." Kurapika reasoned.
"He's right, and it's stupid to take it all out on somebody from the first one." Ray added, "There's a bigger thing to focus on, remember?"
"Right, winning. I know." Leorio thought to himself. The teen grunted in frustration, but let go of Tonpa.
Tonpa chuckled in nervous relief.
Emma formed a determined smile of her face, "We can do this! We have a team now, allies! Friends!" Emma thought confidently to herself, Ray noticed and glanced at her with a little smile of his own, "We'll keep you safe in this world, everyone! We'll become Hunters, and stop anyone from trying to capture us again! And then, we'll come back for you, Phil!"
To be continued...
