*sighs* I'm just gonna write a new chapter, so this is gonna count as my A/N.

Lloyd: Yep! Thanks to WhiteColor, she gets to do the ice bucket challenge. *cracks knuckles and advances with rope* HAHAHAHAHA!

Lloyd... What are you doing...? *starts backing away* Lloyd... *runs into a wall* KAI HELP ME!

Half an hour later...

*I awake and realize I'm tied to a chair* LLOYD LET ME GO! *starts struggling*

Lloyd: No. Not until you do the ice bucket challenge.

But I get cold really easily... And I'm not even wearing a swimsuit...

Kai: Yeah... we didn't exactly want to mess with that...

*blushes* I didn't mean- um... Now this is awkward...

Lloyd: If we let you change into a swimsuit, will you do the challenge?

Uhh... sure...

Back out back...

Jay: Okay, Zane and I are filming... Kai's got the towel... Cole's gonna do... something, and Lloyd's got the bucket! Elaine, are you ready?

*groans* I guess so...

Lloyd: Heh hehe heh... *he and Cole dumps ice water on my head*

COLE I DON'T LIKE YOU ALREADY! *shrieks*

Cole: Oh crap. *runs*

Kai: Elaine, calm down. *grabs me*

Lloyd: Elaine, it's fine. *gives me a towel and we go back inside the bounty*

Kai: ... Elaine doesn't own Ninjago. And remember, if you want your characters to survive, keep reviewing. If you stop reviewing for a while, your character will die. Just a warning.

District 4

Mina 'Private' Tiare's POV

I began to zone out on Pythor giving his stupid speech. Blah, blah, blah. I really didn't care. This was actually a great chance to try out some stuff...

I have been training for a day like this since the day I knew what death was. My father and I put food on my family's table. I had been trained since I was young to kill the innocent while keeping my own innocence. No, I am not an assassin. Unless you count killing animals, but I can't help that. Not if that's what it takes for us to survive.

But I've never seen an animal killed. I could never look as the bullet, knife, or arrow pierced flesh, bone, or muscle. Of course I saw the aftermath, but it's not quite the same. I can't stand seeing the life being drained from their eyes. I can only see the evidence of what I did.

The speech is over, and I'm led back to where the Serpentine lived. Another guy and I are led to a suite.

He walks slightly in front of me, following the girl leading us to our suite. The girl leading us has bright blue hair, and practically skips her way down the hallway.

"Here us go!" She stops in front of a door with a four on it. "Enjoy!" She cheers as she opens the door for us. We solemnly enter, and I feel sick. How would she think this is good?! The door of our suite closes behind us, and he turns around to flop down on a couch. Everything is elegantly designed, in light hues of green and blue.

I sit down in a comfy armchair, and the silky cushions feel wonderful on my exhausted limbs. "Hi. I'm Mina. What's your name?" I ask the boy, and he looks up at me.

His emerald eyes lighten slightly. "Oh, I'm Cole Hence. I'm one of the ninja that saved Ninjago." he holds out a hand, and I shake it, feeling accomplished. I made a friend!

For the next half an hour we make small talk, and someone opened the door. "Hello?" It was a female, and she sounded young.

"We're in here!" I call out, and a teenager- about 19- steps in. She's got brown hair pulled into a braid, and looks fairly shy.

"Hi. I'm going to be your mentor for the Ninja Trials. My name is Cecelia." Cecelia holds out a tanned hand, which Cole shakes. "Please note that there aren't many of us here that are completely willing to do this- any of this. And I definitely don't want to be a part of this. But," she shrugs, "it's the only way to keep my family safe. Now, follow me."

Her pink heels click their way out of the room. Cole and I share a glance before getting up and following her.

Cecelia leads us to a kitchen, which might be bigger than the living room. And that's not even including the dining room.

There's a giant fridge, a ton of counter space, a big stove, and a dishwasher. Not to mention a sink and an abundance of drawers and cabinets. Then there's a long table covered in food.

"Whoa..." I whisper. I don't think I've ever seen so much food in one place...

I grab an apple, and head into he dining room.

Cecelia grins. "Now... Let's discuss strategy."

District 12

Michelle Jordan's POV

I laugh as Jay makes another corny joke with our mentor, Emma. Her blonde hair swishes every time she laughs. And Jay's eyes sparkle whenever another joke is coming on.

"Hey!" I finally get tired of their constant joking around. "Sorry, but I think that if we're going to be forced to fight for our lives, I want to have knowledge on how to, you know, fight."

Emma sighs. "Sorry Jay, the girl's right. I was hired to, you know, actually teach you things. Well, not that he needs it." She looks at Jay pointedly.

He leans back in his chair, a smirk flitting across his face. "Ahh, good point. The high and mighty Jay Walker is a master at fighting to the death. But, of course," he gives me a charming smile that I can't help but laugh at, "but alas, poor Michelle is but a poor uneducated student."

I roll my eyes. He was so immature sometimes...

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Please, can we just get on with this already?!" I finally snapped, and felt bad when I saw Jay's face.

"Yeah... Just ignore me... Go on please, Emma." He looks down, and Emma continues.

"Well, I've heard rumors of what the arena will look like. It might be based on the four seasons: a blooming meadow for spring, a warm beach for summer, a cool forest for autumn, and a wintry wasteland for winter.

"Another theory is that it's almost like an anthill. A multitude of tunnels, almost like an underground maze. There may be something above ground, but no one knows for sure.

"And finally, it will be based off of the four seasons: A mountain for air, an ocean and beach for water, a volcano for fire, and a series of underground caves for earth.

"Of course, these are all just theories. There might be another, unknown and dangerous. But whatever the case, we know the theories, which means that we can train for those. So you should train in conditioning most of all: Conditioning your body for different circumstances; whether it be speed, building up resistance to cold, whatever. But Michelle," Emma gave me a long look, "you have to find a weapon you can use comfortably. It would be most beneficial if you got a bigger weapon, like a sword or a mace, and then looked at smaller weapons, like a dagger or a war fan. Bigger weapons will help you with real competition. Daggers and things like that are something you stuff in your boot to give you an advantage in hand-to-hand combat. It would also do you some good to build up dome muscle and endurance, as well as learning different plants and survival skills."

"How long will we have to train for this?" I asked. That seemed like a lot to cover, and I don't know how long we have to learn this stuff.

Emma sat back, trying to come up with a number. "I believe it's three. Then you have half a day, and you show the head Serpentine what you learned after lunch. Then it's interview day, and then the Ninja Trials. There might be an extra day in between, but it's not long. You are doing the chariots tomorrow, as well as meet your stylist."

I stare at her, bewildered. "How are we supposed to learn useful stuff in three and a half days?! That's crazy." I stomp off, and look for a bedroom that looks like it would be mine. I finally reach one, and it looks nice.

It's a series of reds, oranges, and yellows, giving the impression of fire. There's a king-sized bed, a deep red, and a bookshelf and small table. It all looks so elegant, and I go over to the closet.

The closet is huge, and stuffed with nice clothes. The floor is mostly covered in shoes, and a small portion of the closet is pants. There are some nice blouses, some skirts, and a ton of dresses.

Now, I am definitely not a girly girl. But I have to admit, this is pretty nice.

Then the bathroom. There's a sink, with very little makeup. I guess the 'stylist' will be getting me dressed and everything. There's the toilet, and a bathtub with a bunch of knobs and buttons. Then there's the shower, with a bunch of buttons and a screen.

Finally, there's a few strange contraptions off to the side. I guess I'll have to figure out what those do later...

I strip, glad to be rid of my soiled clothes. After sitting in a cage for days with no way of showering, you start to smell.

I step into the shower and close the curtain, puzzling over the buttons. I push a few, and that turns on warm water, and the screen brightens.

"Welcome, Michelle." An automated voice comes out. I stare at it for a moment. How strange...

"Would you like cold water or warm water?"

I assume I'm supposed to answer... "Warm, please."

Of course, I feel ridiculous once I do. But the spray stays warm, and the screen asks another question.

"What shampoo do you wish to use?" A list pops up on the screen, and I push one marked 'vanilla.'

This goes on for about an hour, as I puzzle over the different buttons and questions. I finally get out, dripping water on the floor. I grab a red towel, and wrap it around myself. Time to figure out those contraptions...

I put my hand on one of them, and it dries my hair, leaving me to run a brush through it. I do so, and finish drying off.

I've never felt so clean in my life. I smell of vanilla, and I walk towards the closet, grab a pair of pants, a blouse, and undergarments.

Then, once I'm dressed, I plop down on the bed, and burrow under the covers. Now, I'll finally be able to sleep...

District 6

Jennifer 'Jen' Neon

After showering, I put on a blouse and blue jeans. I flop down on the bed, and grab a book off the bookshelf.

My room is actually quite boring. Yeah, it is fairly exquisite. But when your room is completely black and purple, you get bored pretty quickly. And then there's the bookshelf. It's completely covered in Ninjago hits... The Choice... Under the Never Moon... Ruby... and a lot more.

Of course, I had explored some. Now I was just fairly bored. You see, I was usually serious. I got really into what our mentor, Lucas, was instructing us to do. He told us to find a few weapons we're good at, and learn about poisons. If we were on the ground, cornered, it would come in really handy to have a bottle of poison to throw at your foe.

Yeah, that probably was true. But the guy was so straight-faced and serious the whole time. He acted like this was the most important thing you'd ever learn in your entire lifetime. That's probably not true. But that's the way he made it seem.

I'd rather find a weapon and then learn something truly useful, like healing or making a fire. Not that poison wouldn't be useful, but I don't think we'd even have a chance to learn about it.

Then I hear a slight knocking on my door. I put my book, How to Call a Mockinjay, on the table beside my bed, and went to open the door.

My district partner, Blossom, is out there. She's only fourteen, and I feel so much older and so inclined to protect her.

"Hey." I smile at her, and she grins back.

"Hey. I decided that, while I'm being forced to do this, I might as well make the best of it and be remembered by someone before I die." She walks in and flops down on my bed.

I sit down beside her. Her choppy brown hair is braided in two braids, and hangs just past her shoulders. She's got big green eyes, and tan skin. She seems so innocent, but she did mention she knew how to fight.

"So. What's your favorite... color?" Blossom asks me.

"Uhh, I'm gonna have to go with... purple. Definitely purple. What about you?"

"Probably a light blue. What are you reading?" She notices my book on the table.

"Oh, it's called How to Call a Mockingjay. I have my started reading it yet, though." I hand her the novel, which she admires before putting it back on the table.

I sigh, and pull my knees up to my chest. "You know, if we didn't have to do this, I'd like to believe we would've all come together to meet each other and become friends. Well, maybe not all of us, but at least the two of us."

Blossom nods thoughtfully. "Yeah. I guess that's one bright side to this."

I raise an eyebrow. "So, you're saying there's more than one bright side to this?"

Blossom gave me a knowing smirk. "Why, of course there is! 'And of course, the food is to die for!'" She mimics our mentor, right down to the snobby voice and 'I am better than thou' attitude.

We share a knowing look before exploding into laughter. I think we're gonna get along well.

District 2

Sabrina 'Bri' Abigail Knightly

I slip into the elevator, glad to be away from my absolutely horrible district partner. He's so rude! He rolled his eyes at whatever out mentor said, and walked out when our poor mentor tried to teach us something.

Our mentor, Bailey, looked so sad! So I sat patiently and listened to everything she said. When she finally dismissed me, I felt more educated. So, of course, I went and took a shower in my weird bathroom.

And then I decided to explore. Which is why I'm now in the elevator. I am sick of my stupid district partner, and I heard that there was a rooftop garden.

I push the button labeled 'roof', and the glass elevator shoots upward. It's built pretty much on the side of the building, so you can look out and see the city.

The elevator dings as it reaches the roof, and I step out and gasp. It's a huge garden, with a cobblestone pathway.

As I begin following the pathway, I run into a girl. We topple over, and she immediately scrambles up, grabs my hand, and pulls me up.

"Oh, I am so sorry!" She cries, and looks down at the floor, shy. "Umm... Are you here for the other tribute?"

I blink, confused. "What other tribute?"

"Oh, some guy. By the way... My name is Alexandra." Then she disappears, her straight brown hair swishing behind a tree.

"Now... Who's that other tribute?" I murmur, practically skipping along the cobblestone pathway.

After a while, I find what must be the center of the rooftop garden. There are four pathways leading to it, and four benches surrounding a crystal fountain. There's a boy with black hair sitting on one of the benches. He looks familiar...

Then I realize who it is. "Cole?" I gasp, and he turns to me.

He stands up, and practically tackles me in a hug. "Wow... Sabrina, I can't believe it! I thought I wouldn't see you again after I left the Martha Oppenheimer!"

I giggle, and he steps back, confused. "Obviously, since we went to the Marty Oppenheimer, not the Martha Oppenheimer."

Cole chuckles and looks down bashfully, rubbing a hand against the back of his neck. "Yeah... I guess so... My best memories there usually involved you, as well a couple of my other friends. But in all, I wasn't really fond of that place."

We sat down together on one of the benches, and sat in silence.

The black ninja looked down at me, and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. I instinctively lean my head up against his broad chest. "I missed you, Cole."

"So did I, Sabrina."

District 9

Jodie Morgans

Apart from the fact that one of us is most likely going to die, so it's almost useless to become friends with him, I really like my district partner. He reminds me of my friend, Michelle.

I think they would really like each other. I mean, they're both hotheaded and rash, and neither of them are ugly in any way.

The two of us have been talking about our pasts in the living room. Well, mainly his, because his is far more entertaining than mine. I mean, he's a ninja! Sure, I know some fighting stuff, but he's been training for much longer. And he grew up around weapons!

But in all, I really like him. He's a cool guy, and I feel lucky to have him as my district partner. Of course, I had always adored Jay, but whatever...

"Wait. I haven't heard much about you. But remember... I'm not a patient person!" Kai teases, and waits for me to respond.

"Well... I'm just a normal girl. It's not like I've been training to be a ninja or anything. I've been best friends with a girl named Michelle for a long time, and she's kinda like you. I'm the calmer one, and sometimes have to get her out of trouble. But we've always stuck together." I finish, hoping that's enough. I don't particularly like talking about myself...

Kai nods thoughtfully. "Huh. How long have you and this 'Michelle' been friends?"

"Hmm..." I wrinkle my nose, trying to find a number. "I don't know, as long as I remember."

Kai nodded. "Yeah... That's cool. I don't think there's anything you don't already know about me. I mean, after I became a ninja I became an open book, for the most part. Cole kept most of his mysteriousness, and Zane just had so many... different qualities."

I giggle a bit. "Yeah... But Jay was always my favorite. No offense." I add quickly.

He smiles. "None taken. So... do you want to form an alliance with Michelle and Jay?"

What he's saying slowly sinks in. "Of course! ... But what about the other ninja?"

"Well..." He sighs, "we'd be a huge target if there was a giant group of well-trained ninja running around. Think about it. There's twelve people left: You and a friend, and then a bunch of ninja and their friends. That's not completely fair. I'm certain the others realized that, too, and will form their own elite group. There might be one more in our group, but five is plenty."

Sadly, I nod, and feel sorry for those we can't help. "I realize what you're saying. There are those that will jump-start the game, and the Serpentine will push those that need pushed."

"Exactly." Kai gives an affirmative nod.

Interviewer's POV

Ember Hall

After pacing the room for twenty minutes, I collapse in my chair, clicking my manicured nails against the arm rests.

I was chosen to interview all of the tributes for the Hunger Games.

That means I try and find out what angle they're playing, and play up that angle, making them look good. But some of them don't really need help, like the ninja, for instance. After saving Ninjago many, many times, it goes without saying that they're pretty popular.

But then there are those that do need the extra help. I have files on every single tribute, and it explains their background, personality, and a few other key facts. Some I dread having to talk to, like the guy from district 2. He's scary and rude, and will need all the help I can attempt to give him, no matter how badly I don't want to give it to him.

The intercom in my room buzzes. "Ember, come downstairs for the introductory revealing of the tributes."

"Alright, Kendra, I'll be right down." I respond, and force the tall purple heels back on my feet. I've got a show to put on.

Oh. My. Gosh. After a week of real typing (yes, it took that long), I finally finished this approximately 3,500 word chapter. Longest. Chapter. EVER.

And now I want some chocolate. So thanks everyone for reviewing, and NinjaMelissa, you must do the ice bucket challenge (if you haven't already). Have fun! And please, please, PLEASE vote on the poll on my profile!