Author's Note: This is an idea I had long ago, when I first started reading The Hunger Games and I had created Free-Thinkers. I'm altering the rules in the book so it matches my plan and Invader Zim.
What are Free-Thinkers? They are a group of Irkens who have rebelled against the standard Tallest laws and, the original ones, were exiled to the old Palace. This was back before the Irken Massive was built. Now, Free-Thinkers are a strong organization who worship Almighty Tallest Miyuki, who was the only kind Irken towards them. They consider themselves an entirely different race from Irkens for their lack of PAKs and their hatred of the Tallest.
I have to say this every time, because there is always one dolt-head who can't read or takes his or her bad day out on me via reviews, but please don't flame. This is simply an idea.
Lez is not a lesbian, and when I named her, I originally didn't think about it. I was just piecing random letters together and Lez stuck with the Irken I had made more than any of the others. Just wanted to get that across, since there will be some sickos that will read this and comment on her name.
Invader Zim is not mine. Jig is not mine(he's my best friend's character, technically). Lez and the Free-Thinkers are mine.
===THE FIRE GAMES===
She stared at her reflection for nearly half an hour. It was so sad, how beautiful this dress was and yet it was going to be wasted on a horrible day.
As with every Reaping, terror had filled her the moment she woke this morning. This Reaping more than any other before. She prayed to Miyuki that no one she knew would be picked.
"Lez! It's time to go, sweetie!" her mother called. The blue-eyed Free-Thinker sighed to regain her posture.
"Coming, Mom!" she cried back, her voice cracked, as she stole one last glance at the mirror and left her room. Her parents, Meekoo and Caro, were in the main living area, waiting for their only daughter. Meekoo was in an elegant floor-length red-and-black dress, and Caro wore his best suit. They were much too old to be Reaped, but every Free-Thinker was forced to attend, unless he or she was severely ill, and treat the Fire Games like a celebration.
They left, not saying a word but exchanging worried, nervous glances. As they joined the growing crowd, Lez had to leave her parents' side and merge in with the other females. She looked around for her friends, Emi and Mit, and stood next to them. She searched the male mob, found Yuko, and tried to give him a reassuring smile as he caught sight of her staring at him.
The crowd was surrounding the kiosk in the Council Room, where all the Chairmen gathered for meetings. It was also the jury room, and on Reaping Day, the stage where the eleven tributes were picked and presented to the Tallest.
Highest Chairman Dorr, a tall Irken with greenish-blue eyes, cleared his throat as the remaining Free-Thinkers assumed their places in the mob of green skin and multiple-colored eyes below him.
"Welcome, Free-Thinkers, to the ninety-seventh annual Reaping Day!" he said in the most cheery voice he could muster, which was actually a bit monotone. As Dorr went into the customary summary of Free-Thinker history, Lez looked at her best friends.
Emi was a little younger than Lez, but almost two inches taller than her, with the lightest lavender eyes Lez had ever seen and triangular-twirled antennae. Mit was the youngest Free-Thinker this year to be in the Reaping, as it was her first year. Her bright pink eyes and heart-shaped antennae fit her sweet-as-sugar personality perfectly. Yuko was Mit's brother, a little older than Emi, and he had the most stunning green eyes ever seen on an Irken, as well as extremely pale skin.
Most of them did, because the air was so polluted on Irk that they couldn't go outside for more than half an hour without breaking down into a severe coughing fit. At least, it seemed, the air over them was.
"...And so, we have the Fire Games!" Dorr finished. Lez's head snapped up. She did that every year- blank out during the speech. "Without further ado," Dorr said as two huge glass bowls, one with pink slips and the other with blue, were placed on a pedastal behind him, "we will now choose the eleven tributes!"
Lez's throat tightened as he reached into the bowl with the blue slips, begging Miyuki in her head that Yuko wouldn't be picked. When the last of the six boys were Reaped, all three girls sighed in relief that Yuko wasn't standing on that stage. Dorr plunged his hand into the pink papers, and Lez felt a heaviness in her chest.
The four girls called stood in a line next to the boys, chins up and eyes brimming with tears of fear. Dorr read the name on the last slip. "Mitricia."
Mit froze, her pink eyes wide and her antennae flat. That was her full name. Swallowing her scream of horror back, Lez panted as she watched Mit walk the path between the boys and the girls silently, feeling faint.
When their mother died, Yuko took in Mit and Lez helped raise her as her own, even though they were still just kids. Only Lez was allowed to sing Mit lullabies when she couldn't sleep; only Lez could make her cuts and scrapes feel better with that magical kiss; only Lez was allowed to call her Mitten.
All those memories flooded Lez's head as Mit continued to walk slowly up to the stage. Just as the young Free-Thinker's toe touched the first step, something in Lez's head snapped.
"WAIT!" she screamed. Lez pushed out of the crowd and ran down the pathway. "MIT! WAIT!" Mit turned around, but a couple guards pushed the girl onward. A few others tried to restrain Lez. "No! NO! I VOLUNTEER!" Lez screeched, hysterical.
Even though she couldn't see them, Lez knew her parents' faces were flooded with terror. She didn't care. Lez would give anything to protect Mit, anything...
"I volunteer for tribute!" she announced, calmer, as the guards backed away. She heard many whispering in the background, and because of her intense hearing abilities, Lez made out almost every word said.
"Volunteer?"
"Is she crazy?"
"Nobody volunteers!"
Dorr simple stared at her in shock. The last time a Free-Thinker volunteered was when he was very young. After a moment, it sunk in that this was a very special Free-Thinker. He gave the guards an order to remove Mit from the stage and escort Lez into the line of ten other tributes.
"Ladies and gentleman, our tributes!" Dorr announced, gesturing to the eleven Free-Thinkers. Lez was the only girl who wasn't crying, because she knew that if she did this, Mit would be safe for one more year. She tried to not look at her parents and friends, terrified that the looks on their faces would make her break down.
Each tribute was sent to a seperate room and given one hour to say their goodbyes. All five of Lez's loved ones took their turns. Emi broke down completely and sobbed into Lez's shoulder. Yuko said almost nothing but hugged Lez tightly. Mit wouldn't let go of Lez, thinking that if she held on for life Lez couldn't go.
Caro's goodbye was probably the hardest. He embraced Lez and, like Mit, refused to loosen his grip until Lez asked him to give her room to breathe. "I love you, Lez," he mumbled softly.
"I love you, too, Daddy," Lez sobbed.
Meekoo was the last one to say goodbye. Lez couldn't speak by now, so she just cried into her mother's dress. Meekoo, her own tears streaming down her cheeks, sang to Lez to calm her down.
"Are... Are you mad at me? For volunteering?" Lez asked brokenly after she could catch her breath again.
"Mad? Honey why would I be mad?" Meekoo chuckled grimly. "I would've done the same thing if I were in your place." She pecked her daughter's head.
"Don't let go yet," Lez begged. "I wanna remember this for a long time."
"I know you do, baby." Meekoo reached into her pocket and pulled out a locket. She handed it to Lez. "I've had this since you were a newborn. Keep it. You need it more than me," the older Free-Thinker said. Lez, still in her mother's lap, clicked the silver locket open. Inside, she could see a tiny hologram picture of Meekoo, Caro, and a blue-eyed smeet, all smiling and laughing. Lez closed it and gripped it tightly in a fist.
"Excuse us. The hour's up," a guard said.
"Bye, Momma," Lez sniffled, getting up. "I love you."
"Love you, too, Lez," Meekoo said as she left.
Lez sighed and wiped away her tears. She had to be strong for the cameras. "Are you ready to go?" one guard asked. The Free-Thinker girl looked at the locket in her palm before slipping it around her neck.
"Yes," she said in the strongest, calmest voice she could find. And she stepped out of the room, ready to take on the blood bath she was doomed to be a part of.
===THE FIRE GAMES===
Crappy, I know. Lez is just a softer, kinder, happier version of me. Won't give you too many spoilers, but Lez will be in a romantic relationship by the end of this.
I know this is pretty much a parody of the book, but the next chapter will be different, I swear. Or maybe I shouldn't swear...
Anyway, review, please! I live on it!