Hi everyone. This random plot bunny just popped into my head. Ever since watching Hunger Games, I've always wanted there to be a crossover. I was thinking of Katniss in Middle Earth, but then I thought heck, with an original character, I would have more freedom. I also messed with the hunger games universe a little.

Anyway, here's the opening.


Chapter 1: There's a glitch in the universe

Scarlet never wanted to be a career. Despite her father's success as a career in the 65th Hunger Games, she never saw the point of running around and killing people for glory. Neither did she see the point in placing herself in danger for no good reason. She was from a wealthy district! There were perks to that! And part of those perks was having idiotic reckless violent people happily volunteer so that normal folk like her did have to.

That wasn't to say that Scarlet didn't know how to fight. With a vicious Career father who had no sons, Scarlet was brought up to be the son he never had. But just because she knew how to hunt, camp, identify local flora and fauna and kill didn't mean she wanted to. She was not a coward. She simply valued her own life more and was disgusted by the cruelty of the games. There was so much more she could do with her life rather than needlessly throwing it away.

Unfortunately for Scarlet, this year, the odds were not in her favour. Despite living in a district which should have had plenty of careers who should have happily volunteered, her name was drawn. Her father had refused the thought of her being replaced by a volunteer. It would bring disgrace upon the house and his legacy he had said. And so, that was how Ariel Scarlet Winters, better known as Scarlet or Scar, ended up being shipped to the capital.

To make matters worse, as though the fact that she was a tribute was not bad enough, her co-tribute was Ethan Hansen. Like her, Ethan Hansen was a trained career. The rising star of the latest batch of Careers, Ethan Hansen was effectively labelled the Prince Charming of her district. However, in Scarlet's most honest and inner opinion, he could go jump a lake for all she cared. 'Prince' Hansen was tall, blonde, well built, physically fit and completely narcissistic and more importantly, a 'ladies' man'. Looking at his smile, Scarlet could almost puke her lunch out. Thankfully, 'Prince' Hansen never had a reason to pay any attention to her. Not to her the unkempt girl who raged and grunted when forced to gut hunted game under her father's watchful eye. No, no. Not when there were plenty of pretty flouncy sweet young things who threw themselves at him hoping to marry him and take possession of his fortune when he inevitably got himself killed one day. Scarlet allowed herself to acknowledge that it was an unkind thought but she was still convinced that it was true.

Nevertheless, that was history. She was already in the spectator dome on stage with her fellow tributes. Apparently the designers of the Hunger Games had new technology they wanted to test this year. On the stage before the tributes were circular platforms. It was supposed to be a teleportation device. It was also supposed to up the entertainment value for the spectators. The tributes were to step onto the circular platforms where they would then be teleported to where the old tube platforms used to be; all equidistant from the Cornucopia. This allowed the spectators to watch every moment and emotion of the tributes; from before entering the arena to the end of the Games.

The teleportation platforms had another function. It would help teleport gifts from sponsors straight to the tributes. This increased the interactive factor for the sponsors who could personally place their gifts on the platform and watch it immediately arrive before their chosen tribute.

The hum of the roaring crowd lessened.

It was almost time.

Stepping onto the platform, Scarlet cast a final glance at the crowd. She would live. She didn't like the fact that she had no choice in being a tribute. She didn't like the fact that she had to work with 'Prince' Ethan Hansen. But all of that no longer mattered. She was trained for this; more so than most of the other tributes. She would fight and she would live.

Scarlet tied to keep calm as her eyes darted back and forth. All the tributes' platforms had started to light a bright green and some had already begun to flicker and become sketchy images. Meeting Ethan's eyes, Scarlet nodded. She knew the plan. They were to race for the supplies and kill any other non-career tributes in the ensuring bloodbath.

Scarlet then looked down at her disappearing hands as she felt herself become more and more insubstantial. Looking past her hands, Scarlet suddenly noticed a flashing red light segment on the outer ring of her teleportation platform. She looked at the platform of the other tributes and realised all of them had fully green lit platforms. Something was wrong! Spinning quickly to face the organisers, her wide eyes were the last anyone saw before the flashing red segment stopped flashing and the increasing beeping sound turned shrill.

Scarlet was gone. So were the rest of the tributes. However, when the crowd turned their eyes onto the screen onstage, the tributes had arrived on their respective platform. Scarlet had not.


Somewhere in Middle Earth

Scarlet flickered back into existence and upon becoming substantial; immediately crouched down on reflex before assessing her surroundings. She was in a forest. That much, she was sure. However, where this forest was, she had no idea. She wondered if the Game-maker had suddenly changed the rules at the last moment. Perhaps they had decided to scratch the bloodbath and instead of placing all tributes at the same starting point, to put them randomly around the arena.

It made no sense to her though. The bloodbath was a spectator favourite. Why would the Game-maker have gotten rid of it? Unless they intended to drag out the games by ensuring more tributes lived to battle each other thereby dragging out the public entertainment value of the Games?

None of it made sense to her; yet there was no time for her to think more. If she was still in the arena like she thought she was, she was still under threat of danger. She had to find the Cornucopia, and Hansen, and fast.


And so there is it. A REALLY short opening to a plot bunny that would not escape my head till it flowed onto my keyboard. Not too sure how far I will go with this. I'm also unsure of how much of a link I will keep with the Hunger Games universe.

So yes, a few things you may have noticed.

Yes, Scarlet is a trained career tribute. I could have made her more a Katniss, no training yet skilled character, but I wanted her to be trained. No, I am not trying to make her a Mary-sue. I really am not. Even though she's trained, she will be flawed and she will have legitimate problems that will not easily be solved simply because she is trained. Besides, the trained careers in the Hunger Games all failed and died anyway. Training helps, but it does not guarantee anything.

You may also have noticed that Scarlet still thinks she's in the Arena. Yes. That is on purpose. I don't want her to have the time to deny she is in Middle Earth. She thinks she is where she should be. No time to whine. Some fics have really whiney characters who cannot handle the shock of their arrival. I don't like whiney characters and thus I gave my character no reason to whine... yet.

Finally, I think that there will be little to no romance in this fic. Simply because the main male characters of ME are all old men and Tributes are at MAX 18 years old. If there is romance between any of them then there

Anyway, like I said earlier. This is just a plot bunny. Let me know what you guys think.

Omake: Other ways our tribute made it to Middle Earth

Stepping into the tube, Scarlet cast a final glance at the crowd. She would live. She didn't like the fact that she had no choice in being a tribute. She didn't like the fact that she had to work with 'Prince' Ethan Hansen. But all of that no longer mattered. She was trained for this; more so than most of the other tributes. She would fight and she would live.

She kept calm as the tube doors shut and begun to rise.

When she emerged, Scarlet squinted her eyes a little from the change in lighting and quickly took stock of her surroundings.

She was on a pedestal. In the centre of a very strange ring of men. All of whom were staring at her in shock. There was an old man with a beard, a really short man, a child, and a few other men, some scruffy looking and some not. Suddenly aware of a slight weight upon her head, Scarlet reached up and pulled the strange object from her hair.

It was a ring. And it was calling to her, promising her all the power in the world.

Looking up from the ring to the men who had collectively gasped and to those who had even drawn weapons when she held the ring in her hand, Scarlet could only make one comment.

'There's been a glitch in the universe.'