I finished this chapter right after school on Friday. It feels so good to be done with most of my first SYOT. Just one last chapter after this one!

This could be a good time to grab a blanket and curl up by the fire, like a dog. This is my longest chapter ever, at a little over ten thousand words. YES, WE REACHED THE FIVE-DIGITS IN TERMS OF WORDS IN A CHAPTER! Except maybe the fire is not a good idea, because of what you just read. And what will be written about a little of this. Speaking of which, I have done my research on heat stroke. I do my homework for my stories. There should be little or no geographic errors in any of my fics.

Last night (as of when I began writing this chapter), Labyrinth passed both the 100-review mark and the 100,000-word mark. As I type this, it is at 103 reviews, which is also the highest fever I have ever had. I think that's fitting considering how these Games ended.

It is now time to reveal who won. Currently, in my poll for worst death, Aurora has two votes, and nobody else is on the board. I agree. Getting slowly hemmed in by two trash compactor walls over a period of two hours sounds like a pretty horrible way to go.

Enjoy the penultimate chapter of Labyrinth: The 63rd Hunger Games!


Fire. All is fire. It is so unbearably hot that the girl can barely see in front of her. All around her, all is orange and black. She tries to crawl for help, but every movement feels sluggish, as if she is swimming through mud. She feels as though she is literally baking from the inside out. Soon, she will explode, just like a firebomb...

The girl woke up. Through her green eyes, she saw the scene around her.

She was in some kind of hospital room. There were cold compresses on her forehead, arms, legs, and stomach, as well as an IV in her left arm. She tried to sit up, but she was being restrained by a belt a few inches above her body.

One of the nurses, seeing that she was awake, came over from her desk, where she appeared to have been filling out some paperwork.

"Good afternoon, Margaret. Congratulations. You're the winner of the sixty-third Hunger Games".

Margaret was relieved that she had won. Coming out of the black void that she had just been in, she would have been prepared to believe just about anything, including if the nurse told her that she had died, and that this was heaven. And she would also not be surprised to learn that she had just been hell. The last thing she remembered was heat so intense that she had barely been able to see. Then, she'd passed out, sure that she had lost. Now, though...

"You really did it, Miss Malachi. You've won".

Then, Margaret felt the room tip a little bit. They seemed to be back in the hovercraft that had taken them into the arena.

One member of the flight crew came over and said, "Good, she's awake. We're going to be back in the Capitol in a few minutes. How are you feeling, Margaret?"

Margaret tried to speak, but her throat was so dry that it was difficult. Finally, she managed to say, "I feel like I've just been cooking in an oven for a couple hours".

"Well, technically, that is kind of true. You got heat stroke as a result of how hot it was in that last room in the Labyrinth. That's why you have the IV. We're making sure that you're going to be adequately hydrated for your interview with Caesar Flickerman, where you'll formally receive your crown. And then, you'll go back to District 2 as a victor!"

Margaret should have been ecstatic. After all, she had just achieved her dream that she had been striving towards for half of her life. But all she felt was nervousness for her upcoming interview.

"Don't worry, Miss Malachi. You'll be all right in the interview. The audience already loves you!"

"But...why did they have to do it that way? Why couldn't it have just been a one-on-one brawl between me and Vixen?"

The flight crew member said, "Our Assistant Head Gamemaker has a bit of a flair for the dramatic. He was the one who designed the heat tunnel, and the Riddle Tower that ended up being Bryson's downfall. Margaret...can I trust you with this information that I am about to tell you?"

Margaret nodded. After all, she was feeling pretty feverish right now, and she thought that she might not have remembered this.

"This is top secret. If your lips loosen, then you can be in big trouble. Are you sure you can handle this information?" the man said in a very curt tone of voice.

"Yes" Margaret said. "I mean, look at me right now. There's no way I'll be able to disclose the information to anyone back in the districts, at least not right now. And, it's not like I intend to. So, tell me".

"Well", the flight crew member said, "the arena was considered too boring by the Capitol audience, because you couldn't really keep track of where the tributes were, and when they were closer together or farther apart. Because of this, Johan Bainbridge is going to die seven months from now. In an accident". Based on the glint in his eye, Margaret could tell that he would only make it look like an accident.

"Who's going to take over?" Margaret asked, not knowing if she should have.

"Well, that's an easy question" the flight crew member said. "He's right here with us".

Margaret looked up. A tall, skinny boy probably a year or two younger than her strode into the room. He had light brown hair and turquoise blue eyes. He looked right at the victor, with a look of awe.

"Congrats, Margaret. I'm the hacker known as SnowLucario. I'm actually the new Head Gamemaker as well. My name is Glacier Jackalburg. Right now, I'm only the Assistant Head Gamemaker. And old Johan is still going to work on the next arena. He'll have no idea that his life is only going to last until a little after your Victory Tour".

He laughed, and Margaret could see the cruelty in his eyes. This was one person whose bad side she did not want to get on.


After landing back in the Capitol, Margaret's bed was wheeled out and taken to the underground hospital of the Training Center. The nurses walked alongside her. Margaret would stay in the hospital until she was deemed healthy enough to face the nation. She was relatively uninjured, but the heat stroke was the biggest problem.

Margaret stayed two nights in the hospital, spending most of them in and out of a feverish doze. It wasn't as though she hadn't had nightmares before the Games, but now they were far worse. It wasn't just what she had been through, but the heat stroke was definitely doing that to her. She heard the doctors saying that her temperature had hit 108 at one point, and that she should be grateful to be alive.

No shit, Sherlock, she thought. Of course she should be grateful to still be alive. She'd just been in the Hunger Games, so why wouldn't she be?

Oftentimes, Margaret would be woken by nurses coming to change the bag on her IV, or the relentless nightmares. She was now covered in a cold sweat, but she knew that it was a sign that she was getting better. The sooner she got better, the sooner she could return home to District 2, where she belonged. It wasn't as though she couldn't have been treated adequately there.

But that was just how things went, she reminded herself.

On these occasions, Margaret would try to cheer herself up by thinking about what she would do with her winnings. Of course, she'd get to move into the Victor's Village, for one. She'd get to be with Lyme, Mason, and Marcus, as well as the other ten living District 2 victors. And she'd get to mentor incoming tributes, to try to keep the tradition going. She'd taken back the crown from District 1. Surely, that was something to be proud of.


The day finally came. The doctors took out Margaret's IV line, and she was taken away to be styled for her televised interview with Caesar Flickerman. It seemed like two lifetimes ago since she had sat in front of him, but in reality it had only been two weeks.

"How would you like her hair?" a member of her team, Willow Goldine, asked the others.

"I think it should be styled back in a ponytail, like Rihanna's" another member said.

In the end, Margaret was dressed up like a fire muttation, since she had outlasted Vixen in the increasingly intense heat. She wished that she didn't have to be reminded of that, but it was just what her prep team thought would be best. And she had no choice but to agree with them, because she knew that they could easily delay the time before she was on a train back home.

She looked at herself in the mirror. Even though her costume brought back unpleasant memories, she could not deny that it was pretty amazing. She looked very sexy in the fiery red-orange dress she had been adorned in. The people of the Capitol would love her!

Finally, it was time for her to walk over to a plate. Once again, it brought back unwanted memories of when she had first risen into the arena. This plate, instead of leading down into that hellish Labyrinth, took her upwards, away from the basement and up onto the stage.

Caesar Flickerman strode towards her. His blue hair was tied back in a man bun, as always, and he looked as young as ever. Margaret looked for a place to sit, but realized that there was none.

"Oh, sorry, Miss Malachi, you must be exhausted. Chair, please?"

Two Avoxes pushed in the victor's throne. This year, it was tall and skinny, made out of emerald green iron, the same color as Margaret's eyes. It did not look very comfortable, but Margaret knew better than to argue with them. Even though it was her night, she wasn't keen on making the audience hate her. She might have been a free spirit, but she always preferred being liked to being hated. That was just common sense, she thought.

"I'll give you three options, Margaret. Would you prefer to hold the interview before the recap, during it, or after?"

Margaret thought this for a few seconds. "Can we have you ask me a few questions first, and then we'll get to the movie?"

"Sure, Miss Malachi. After all, it is your night. You've earned it; you've survived a Bloodbath, a feast, a dysfunctional Career alliance, and a heatstroke. You've definitely earned that!"

Margaret sat down in her green throne. It really did bring out the color of her eyes. However, now was not the time to focus on that. It was now time to begin the interview.

Caesar began by asking her about her health situation. "How are you feeling healthwise, Margaret?"

"I'm doing all right, Caesar. Although these lights are hurting my eyes. Like, way more than you would think. Would you please turn them down a bit?"

"Oh, of course. Anything for our victor!" He gave an order to the Avox nearby, who dimmed the lights slightly. "Is that better?"

"Yes, it is" Margaret said.

"I have been told", Caesar said, "that the doctors have recommended that you limit your exposure to the sun for the next several weeks. How do you feel about that? Do you wish that you could go outside more?"

"You know, I kind of do, Caesar. I have always loved going out for walks, or sunbathing, in the summer back at home in District 2. But you're right, I know that they have my best interests at heart. It really sucks that I'll miss the last few weeks of the summer, but I now hope, and believe, that I will have many more summers to come".

"So you appreciate your life more now that you are a victor?" Caesar asked.

"Oh, there's no question about it" she said. "Every sight of blue, white, black...it's incredible. Anything, anything other than orange. That's now my least favorite color!" she laughed.

So did the audience. They loved the victor's little quip about her new least favorite color being orange. Of course, they all knew why that was.

"Granted, I haven't that much chance to do anything ever since I've won. I've been in the hospital, as you all know".

"Yeah, we know. Margaret, how do you think your family are reacting to your winning, right now?"

"Well, obviously they're very proud of me. I think that they're even more glad for the money. I'm supported for life with my victor's stipend. But, beyond all that, beyond everything else that I've done in the arena, and in the Capitol before the arena, I'm still Margaret Malachi. I'm still the girl who tried to volunteer last year. I'm still the girl who loves the outdoors. I'm still...free-spirited. And soon, I'll be free. Free from all of this".

Margaret expected that the Capitol might get mad at her for those last five words. But, nothing seemed to happen. Instead, Caesar launched into the next question.

"Do you think we should start the recap now?" he asked her.

Margaret sat back in her chair. "Bring the popcorn", she said, "I'm ready".


It was tradition that the victor watched a three-hour movie that was a recap of the Hunger Games. It was edited to focus on the victor and any of his or her allies, as well as any particular enemies. It had a very clear winner's edit, but that was okay, since everyone would know, in the future, that Margaret Malachi had been the winner of the 63rd Hunger Games.

Very frequently, the victor either pumped their fists in the air while watching, cheering on themselves, or just sat back in their chair, looking stunned that they had just fought through and survived all of that.

The movie started with the reapings. It showed Margaret walking proudly onto the stage, having volunteered for the Hunger Games before the name of the female tribute could be called out. At the time, she hadn't known what she would be getting into. The film showed all of the reapings, but especially hers.

It then showed a montage of some training moments, and then the scores being announced. Margaret's ten shone as green on the screen, while everyone else's shone as gray, giving an extra focus on the victor.

"I was definitely very happy with the score I got in training" she said. "Ten is about as high I could get without getting an extra target on my back. That was what gave me the best chances at winning. It put the odds in my favor".

The audience clapped more, until Caesar shouted, "Quiet, guys! You're drowning out the movie!"

The movie continued to show the interviews. It showed one question apiece for each of the other twenty-three tributes, but because Margaret was the victor, her interview was shown in full.

In her Hebrew outfit, she was looking just as beautiful as always. Caesar had just asked her how she thought her family would feel about her. And, as part of her response, she was saying:

"My parents have both been helping me train for the Games since I was nine years old. Thanks to them, I'm feeling good about my odds of winning the Games. Mom, Dad, if you can hear me, and I know you can, thank you".

It sounded like something she would have said, but she wasn't used to this being her. It was like it had been some stuntwoman playing her role in a movie, when, in reality, it had been her all along in the Hunger Games. She had done all of this, and survived longer than anyone else.

Margaret was then shown in the Bloodbath, missing her first chance to grab her katana and ninja stars, but then going back in at the right moment.

"That was some seriously impressive timing!" Caesar said excitedly. "It takes some serious skills to know exactly when it's safe to run in and when it isn't!"

"I know" Margaret said. "But, honestly, at that moment, you're just so hyped up on adrenaline that you don't really care. It doesn't matter that you might die. You just want to run in. And your mind is calculating everything, making all of those decisions so quickly".

Caesar Flickerman nodded. After that, they both looked back at the screen.

For most of the rest of the Games, Margaret's edit took a back seat to the more notable members of the Career pack. She was shown during brief segments, cleaning Horatio's wrench wounds. Of course, her district partner would later be weakened by that same wrench...

Her district partner...

The feast brought along a certain level of embarrassment for Margaret. Everything had been going perfectly. The Careers had taken a lot of food from the table, and it was looking like all of them were going to get away. And then, Margaret lobbed the bowl of fruit salad. She had been intending to hit Leo Nale, but it had gone a little of course and instead struck Hades Blackett in the head, knocking him out. Immediately, she had felt a certain level of shame, but had still continued fighting, trying to cram as much food as possible into her backpack.

This would be part of what led to Hades's downfall later. But Margaret had not been present for the event, so she had to wait for it to be shown. Which probably wouldn't be for too long, since the tributes really went down quickly in this arena.

Margaret had managed to avoid making any more serious blunders during the feast. Even when Eli Trout was impaled through the brain with Aurora Baylor's knife, she managed not to let her face turn red. She hated that color almost as much as she hated orange, now.

The film then showed her being with the rest of the Careers as they mourned Eli.

The following day, Elegance was killed by way of being bitten by a venomous snake. That girl had been brave to face her fears alone. Even now, Margaret felt somewhat guilty for not allowing her into the Career pack. However, since she had gotten that low a score in training, there was really no way that she could have convinced Horatio or Hades, or even Eli or Anna, of that. And she hadn't wanted to ruin her relationship with the other Careers.

Even so, it felt bad to see Elegance die in the way that she had been most afraid of ever since she had signed her life away to the Hunger Games. Of course, Margaret had as well. But the difference was, she had gotten hers back.

On the fourth night, Margaret had been paranoid about the Careers deciding that it was time to turn on each other. She even voiced this to Caesar.

"I was so worried that there was going to be a disbandment of the Careers soon, and that it wouldn't be peaceful. After all, it was the final ten. And, since I had concussed Hades, I would probably be the first target. So, that's why I left".

"I daresay that was a wise move, Miss Malachi" Caesar said. People were calling her that a lot lately, Margaret realized. It had taken her two days, through IVs and cold sweats and nightmares, to realize that they must have liked the alliteration. Maybe they had even called her that before she had won, but it no longer mattered. What mattered was the screen before her.

Margaret left in the early hours of the morning. Later, Anna woke up Horatio, whom she told all about the events that had occurred. Horatio didn't seem too worried. Margaret had known just how insufferably arrogant and cocky the District 1 boy was, and she was looking forward to seeing how he had died.

Horatio had suddenly attacked Anna. After a short battle, he triumphed over the girl from District 4. Then, he took advantage of the fact that Hades was defenseless and killed his semiconscious former ally. That brought the tribute count from ten down to eight, and that meant that it was time for the interviews. At least, where the interviews would normally have been. The interviews had just been shown at the final ten this year, although Margaret couldn't imagine why. Maybe it had to do with Glacier Jackalburg.

Now, they were at the final eight. Margaret was now a loner, as Conker met his end by drunkenly ambling into a pit with a bed of spikes at the bottom. Although Margaret knew that she was perfectly safe where she was right now, she couldn't help but grimace when she saw the blood fly everywhere. That was a pretty awful death.

But worse was yet to come.

Leo was betrayed by Vair. That alliance of three had continued all the way until the final seven, which Margaret figured was usually the tipping point. No one wanted their own ally's blood on their hands, except Horatio didn't seem to have thought twice about slaughtering Anna and Hades.

Bryson's death was probably the most ridiculous. Dying of an infected leg wound inflicted by a piranha, he had limped into a mysterious tower, where he had solved a series of puzzles. The editors of the film made it clear that that tower had been put there by Jackalburg. He'd gotten through all eight of the mind games, and then stumbled back to the top, looking as though he might pass out at any moment, which Margaret could now kind of relate to.

What she couldn't relate to was seeing Bryson engulfed in a rainbow-colored light and collapse to his knees as if he was praying. That was new.

The following morning was the sixth and final day of the Games. It started out with Horatio, who had been enjoying breakfast, so convinced that he was going to win. Imagine his surprise when the Minotaur ended up next to him, and it was clear that the monster was hungry.

What followed next was one of the most hilarious things Margaret had ever seen. At least, it would have been if she had had the ability to see anything that had occurred in the Hunger Games as funny.

Horatio Jewel had wet his pants. The editing made this very clear. Then, he tried to fight the Minotaur, but it was clear that he was only managing to make it angry. The monster picked him up and devoured him. But Horatio wasn't giving up too easily. Due to the GoPro technology included in the tracker that had been injected into all of their arms, it was clear that he had been fighting until the very end. By the time the Minotaur exploded, the only thing left was a pair of boxer shorts soaked in blood and urine, both of which had come from Horatio.

"That's one horrible way to go out" Margaret said, chuckling a little.

"You said it, Miss Malachi!" Caesar exclaimed.

But the next death was more horrible still. Aurora Baylor had been running down a lava tunnel not dissimilar to right before the final battle. She fled into a pair of double doors, believing that she would be safe. Instead, she read a chilling light blue Post-it note on a lab table. Then, the furniture disappeared from the room and the walls began to close in on her.

Whatever else Margaret could have said about the District 9 girl (she'd never gotten to know her very well), she went out bravely. She said good-bye to her family and allowed herself to get crushed by the walls. The editing made it clear that her death had taken approximately two hours. Margaret had thought she had it bad, but two hours of slowly getting crushed to death...man, that would be claustrophobic as fuck.

And then there was Vair, and him getting crushed by the avalanche of rocks...suffice it to say that Margaret only needed to see that death once.

The final battle with Vixen came, and, after tumbling down that hole, they were both caught by a net. Then, they were both hanging on to keep themselves above the lava. And then, even that scaffolding disappeared.

And then it was just struggling to survive the heat. Both girls vomited up everything that had been in their stomachs. Eventually, both Vixen and Margaret were lying unconscious on the trampoline floor. One cannon sounded, and the hovercraft came.

Two young men rappelled into the hole to pick up Margaret and place her on a stretcher. And that was that.

Margaret tried to crack a quick joke. "How many times did you have to prick me to get an IV started?" she asked no one in particular.

One of the doctors spoke loudly, "Thirty-eight!"

Every single person laughed, even Margaret. But then, the recap was over.

Caesar took Margaret's hand and lifted it in his own. "Ladies and gentlemen, let's give it up for Margaret Malachi...victor of the sixty-third annual HUUUUNNNNGGGGER GAMES!"

The crowd cheered.


Margaret did not remember very much about the rest of the night. Normally, the audience all ended up in a horde to ask questions of the newly crowned victor, but, owing to the fact that Margaret was still recovering, they had decided to only allow one hundred questions. Capitolites wishing to ask something of Margaret had to pick a number from a stand.

One man, who had picked the number 101, had a temper tantrum over it and ended up having to be dragged away by a pair of security personnel.

Margaret was relieved for this. She wasn't physically, or mentally, prepared to stand there for hours, just answering random peoples' questions. Even so, she was exhausted by the time the hundred questions were over.

At which time it must have been well past midnight, security finally came in to get the people off of Margaret. Then, she caught a train back home to District 2.

Margaret slept most of the way, in spite of all of the night's excitement. She only woke up when they were pulling into the central station of District 2.


Margaret sniffed the air. It could only be an hour or two from sunrise, but it was still cold up here in the mountains. And that felt good on her body. She caught a taxi that had been waiting for her at the station.

Of course, the driver asked her, "What are you doing? Where are you going at this ungodly hour?". But Margaret only had to show her face to the cabbie, and that answered both of those questions.

Finally, finally, Margaret got home. Her parents were still sleeping, but then, they must have stayed up late watching her interview with Caesar Flickerman, so it was excusable.

Margaret didn't even want to brush her teeth. They had filled in all of her cavities in the Capitol.

All she did was pick out her favorite pair of pajamas, collapse into her bed, and crash immediately.


Afterwards, Margaret continued her normal way of life in District 2. Whenever she went outside during the daylight hours, she wore a shawl to protect her face from the sun. However, that was only going to be temporary. Also temporary was their living in a middle-class villa.

For Margaret now had all of the money she could ask for. Not only that, but three days after returning home, the paperwork had been completed and Margaret and her parents moved into a luxurious home in the Victor's Village. Compared to the rest of Panem, District 2 citizens lived in relative luxury, but nothing was like what greeted Margaret's eyes when she first stepped into the house.

When she took her shawl off, she was fully able to look around the entrance hall. There was a chandelier there, and there was of course hot and cold running water. The living room looked like a good place to have a party. And, upstairs, Margaret knew that she could decorate her bedroom in any color she wanted. Except, of course, orange.

She knew she would enjoy her new home.


Over the next few weeks, Margaret was disappointed that she couldn't go outside as much as she used to. And she often found herself bored out of her mind. Since she had already won the Hunger Games, there was no longer training to think about. Training had essentially been Margaret's life before the Games, but now that was taken off of her. And there was a big, gaping hole left in its place.

Her prep team came over once a week to help her with her talent, which was what she would do now that she no longer would have to go to school or work in any of her district's industries. At first, she was very disappointed that she would no longer be working for anything. Then, a thought came to her, and it voiced itself. She had been thinking that it would be too expensive. But then, she reminded herself that it no longer mattered, that everything could be paid for. The bills no longer had to be worried about. And with that, she knew that she could voice her idea.

"I want to go to college" she told her prep team.

It wasn't as though she hadn't thought this thing through. It was what had kept her from screaming whenever she woke up from her nightmares about the arena. She was able to have fantasies about her future, which she had won by killing other children. Technically, she hadn't really directly killed anyone, although she had assisted in several deaths. She had mostly let the blood fall on the hands of Horatio, Hades, and Anna.

Now that she was safe again, she knew that that had been her strategy all along. Yes, the Gamemakers controlled the game, but the audience also had a major role. You wanted them to like you as much as possible, and you didn't want to kill any other children unless it became absolutely necessary. You wanted to keep their sympathy on your side, so that the Gamemakers wouldn't want to kill you.

And it was important to have a likable victor, because if the Hunger Games were not to the satisfaction of the Capitol's people, then that would be a big problem. The Head Gamemaker could be executed. And that thought brought something back from Margaret's mind. She'd been practically delirious when she had been made aware of this, but somehow it had been stored in a metaphorical mental safe. Until she was well enough to remember it.

Johan Bainbridge is going to die.

She wasn't going to tell anyone. She was going to keep that card in her hand, at least for now. She wanted to play her cards right with the second chance she had been given. Now that she was back at home, she realized just how foolish she had been to throw her life away like that, and how lucky it was that she had gotten it back. Twenty-three other adolescents had had to die so that she could live. She had to make the most of the opportunity, and live life to the fullest. And that was exactly what she intended to do.


Margaret's prep team had at first not been too happy with Margaret's suggestion. After all, now that she was a victor, she had no need to work for money, and it wasn't as though a college degree would get her anywhere. But then, Margaret said, "That could be what I'm known for. Some victors are known for being stylish. Some are known for being flirtatious. I'll be known as the studious one".

After that, they finally relented. It was Margaret's hard-won life, after all, and she could do what she wanted with it. If she wanted to work towards a useless college degree, just to keep her mind occupied, so be it.

And so Margaret walked out of her house one morning in early September, still wearing her shawl, to the community college. She had decided to study mathematics, and often stayed up late at night studying. She was glad for this, because she found that when she had been busy with work or whatever else, she had had fewer nightmares, as well as less waking terrors. That was what kept her going.

Despite everything that had happened to her, she felt very good about the way things were going. She was a Hunger Games victor. She had made it back home, and secured plenty of retirement funds for her parents. She'd made her district proud of her. She'd gotten into college.

She had given up her life. But she had gotten it back.

If you want a fully happy ending, you might want to stop reading now.

Because good things didn't last forever. Margaret would soon find that out.


October brought with it the crisp coolness of early fall. Margaret had finally been deemed fully recovered from her heat stroke, and she was given the green light to go on as many walks as she wanted. She relished this new freedom, one that she had never had even when she was training. She'd walk onto the bluffs overlooking her old villa, which was still being kept well-maintained. If Margaret died with one or both of her parents still alive, then they would have to return to that villa. But Margaret didn't plan on dropping dead anytime soon. Not when she still had so much more to enjoy in this life.

She was working her way back to the Victor's Village of District 2, walking through the marketplace, when she came across a fruit stand. Normally, this would be getting towards the time that the hype was starting to die down a little bit. But, now that Margaret had finally stopped wearing her shawl, she was more recognizable than ever. People gawked at her as she bought two bags of apples. She was planning on going back home and baking a pie later. That would be a great thing to do, to herald the start of true fall.

She wasn't counting on the private jet that was landing on the landing pad of the Victor's Village.

Who is it? she thought. But she had a very good idea of who it was. Who else would be visiting her now, nearly two months after her victory?

Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw the short, white-haired man with a rose above his breast step off of the plane. The faint smell of blood followed him around wherever he went, Margaret noticed.

"Oh, here she is now!" President Coriolanus Snow said.

Margaret was highly nervous in the presence of the most powerful man in the nation, but she told herself that she had no right to be, since she had not caused any trouble for the Capitol, right?

Right?

"Good afternoon, Margaret. Would you mind going into your house? I've come to have a little chat with you" Snow said. Margaret knew that this man was not going to wait for her to bake the pie. He wanted to talk now, judging by his tone of voice.

"That's fine, President Snow. Please, come inside", she said, as they strode up her front lawn into her mansion.

Margaret opened the door for him, but he said, "Ladies first". So he held open the door for her, Margaret thinking the whole time, There is no way in hell that I would date this man. Of course, he's forty-five years older than me.

Hopefully, this conversation would go well.


Before going into the study to have her talk with Snow, she went to go deposit the apples in her refrigerator. Then, she went back to speak with the president.

"So, Margaret, I would like to congratulate you on winning the Games. That is a pretty good way to do it. For your sheer endurance in the face of fiery heat, you will be remembered as one of my top ten victors, perhaps even top five. How do you feel about that?"

"I definitely am proud of myself, for that simple fact alone" she said.

"That's good. And none of your family are in any danger, either. Although, there is one thing that I would like you to do for me. Just one thing..."

"What is it?" Margaret asked, having a sinking feeling that it was going to be nothing good.

Snow explained what happened to the desirable victors. They were sold as prostitutes to the highest bidders in the Capitol. Margaret knew that that would be an awful fate for her to face. She couldn't do it. She declined as politely as she could.

"Oh, but I did say that none of your family are in any danger. But that could change, if you refuse to do what I ask of you".

Margaret felt hot hatred for this man bubbling up in her throat. She wanted to cry, but nothing came out. She was too good for that. She also felt that she was too good to be a slut.

But there was just no way she could say no now. Not when the lives of her parents were at stake.

"I'll do it" she said.

"Excellent" President Snow said, in a voice highly reminiscent of Mr. Burns. "You will start soon after your Victory Tour. For now, just enjoy your winnings, and your college life". From the tone of voice Snow said those last two words in, Margaret could tell that he wasn't a big fan of her choice of talent, but even the president wasn't going to kill her for that. At least, she hoped not. But being a prostitute could really get in the way of her studies.

She didn't imagine that people would pay too much for a person who would spend most of their time studying.

"I will also be a mentor for incoming District 2 tributes" Margaret said. "I want to get on a streak here".

"Good luck, Miss Malachi. I will always remember you for the way you won" Snow said.

After that, the president left the Malachi house and went back over to the small landing pad, and he flew away on his private jet. Then, Margaret went back to her room and silently sobbed for ten long minutes. Then, she reminded herself that she couldn't cease functioning just because of what Snow was going to make her do.

Wordlessly, she got out the cookbook that her father had purchased a week prior and fingered to the instructions for apple pie. She carefully followed them. And, one hour later, it was ready.

She called her parents into the kitchen to enjoy Margaret's creation. The hot, baked cinnamon apples were heaven on her taste buds.

One thing was for certain: she definitely preferred District 2 in the fall as compared to the oven of a room in the Labyrinth. But things could be much, much worse.

And they would get much, much worse in the months to come.


Margaret was trying to keep up with her studies, even though it was not going to be relevant, since she didn't really need a job. She switched majors several times, because she just didn't know what she wanted to do with her life. She had always been dead set on entering the Hunger Games. Either she'd be supported for life, or she'd be dead. But she hadn't put much thought as to what she would do after she won.

She spent some time pondering that, telling herself that she would choose the job she enjoyed the most, not the most lucrative one. She spent some time walking around and improving on her domesticity. And she spent some time simply lying on the grass, thanking God, or whatever higher power might have been up there, for giving her her life back, when she had been so foolish as to risk it just for the Games.

Unfortunately, that was all put to an end when it came time for the Victory Tour. Margaret had been dreading this, not only because of the fact that her prostitution would begin shortly afterwards, but also because of the unpleasant memories it brought back up for her.

One day in January, she bundled up against the cold (she'd been allowed to keep the shawl even after being determined to no longer need it, but she did not wear it), and headed to the train station. She was too free-spirited to have her parents come see her off.

Margaret got on the train and immediately ogled at everything that was there. She was going to live a life of luxury, and she loved that. But it would be intermixed with a great deal of sorrow as well.


The way the Victory Tour worked was that it started in District 12 and visited the other districts in reverse numerical order, skipping the victor's district unless it was 1, and saving it for last. Since Margaret was from District 2, District 1 would come directly after District 3 this year. Luckily, she wasn't too worried about the first district she was going to visit.

In District 12, she definitely had a fairly boring time. It wasn't as though there weren't any real festivities to speak of, because there were. Margaret delivered her speech, while looking on at the grieving families of Ash and Madi. They were very different. Ash's parents were clearly from the Seam, because they were so grimy that there was simply no alternative explanation. On the other hand, Bryson Quarry (not to be confused with the recently deceased Bryson Holstein of District 10), looked to be very wealthy for District 12. He was the district's treasurer, Margaret had been told.

She gave her speech, but neither of the families seemed very angry at her. Even though Margaret had been a part of the alliance that had eliminated both of their children, she hadn't directly delivered any of the kills. They just looked more sad than anything.

Margaret then headed south for District 11. There, it was more of the same. Nobody showed up for Em. Wheat's large family, on the other hand, was looking very distraught without Wheat there to help support him, either financially or emotionally. Even so, she was far too happy to get out of the district, although the celebratory banquet held in her honor was definitely a lot better than that in 12.

District 10 was not a difficult one to face, at least by Margaret's standards. Neither Bryson or Cam had been killed by any of the Careers. Cam's lame father, mother, and the Whey toddlers all looked heartbroken. Bryson's brothers, Winston and Garrett, as well as his parents, Jed and Sage, appeared even more so. It wasn't all bad, though. In District 10, Margaret got to eat the first hamburger that she had ever had, as a taste of the local cuisine. She definitely appreciated it, as she had always wanted to travel the world.

In District 9, Margaret had to face only Aurora's family. Ted had no one to speak of, and none of his gang friends would show up. Obviously, since they wouldn't want to be associated with Black Shade. The Baylor parents were flat-out sobbing. Clearly, they had been counting on their daughter to win. This made Margaret feel very guilty. She might not have killed Aurora, but she had still stolen the victor's crown from her. Whether she had actually been involved in her death or not.

District 8 brought back some unwanted memories. Miri's family seemed relatively happy for Margaret, and then she realized that it was because she had outlasted Vixen, who had been the one to kill Miri Ellara. As for the Armanis...they didn't look too glad. Velvet was sobbing, and Margaret remembered, painfully, running down that tunnel with rocks cascading behind them. It definitely wasn't a good feeling to have that brought back up. As she was leaving the square for her banquet, Vair's younger sister actually said, "I thought he was a faster runner than you!"

District 7 was next. As Margaret had had nothing to do with Conker at all, Berry didn't look too angry, just resentful at the fact that the Capitol had had to steal her boyfriend away from her. Isabella's family, on the other hand, looked pissed at her. But, of course, that was only to be expected; Margaret's alliance had been responsible for her death in the Bloodbath.

When Margaret got back into her bed on the train, she let out a deep breath of relief.

It was half over.


A long time later, they reached District 6. This was no doubt the worst district for Margaret to face. Of course, Vixen had been so close to winning the 63rd Hunger Games. It had all come down to who had lasted longer in that dreadful heat. But that was just how things went, and Margaret wished that the families could have accepted it. As for Apollo, they looked pissed that the Careers had killed their son, but, once again, that was just how the cookie crumbled. Casey, Apollo's twin sister, had a very high level of hurt in her eyes.

Nobody had come for Vixen, and Margaret had been told that Vixen's only friend, Jack, had been killed during the Hunger Games for treasonous speech. Margaret felt that Vixen was lucky for not having found out until she had gotten to the afterlife, if there even was one. She didn't allow herself to feel too guilty about this. She had done all of that just to live, and she knew that Jack would have been able to understand. At least, she hoped.

District 5 was next. Like a lot of the other tributes, Savanna and Ira had not been killed by Margaret herself, but by the other Careers. Even so, the looks of contempt that Savanna's mother and sister gave her were unmistakable. They looked doubly distraught because, Margaret had been told, Savanna's father, Korker, had died a few weeks after she had won the Hunger Games due to injuries he had sustained in a street fight.

Margaret was glad that Eli had died with more blood on his hands than her. Ira had been killed by the District 4 boy, sliced in two by his machete. But she tried to put that mental image out of her mind. There was still a lot more left to go.

In District 4, Margaret was apprehensive about facing Anna's family, but Finn Hardy didn't show. Instead, a very sad family of Trouts were there, as well as his girlfriend, Melanie, and his best friend, Dillan. All four of them looked very angry, not just at Eli for volunteering, but also at the Capitol for killing them. Luckily, though, their fury was not directed at Margaret. Eli had, in fact, been a member of the Career alliance, and Margaret added a footnote to her speech about him. Hopefully, she said, if there was a heaven, there would be a position for inventing some things. The Trouts didn't laugh, not like she had expected them to.

That was probably the easiest district for Margaret to face. She even got to visit the ocean during it, and, even though it was too cold to swim, she loved to dip her toes in the surf. Maybe someday, she would get to go out on the water. Money was no longer a concern, after all.

After District 4 came District 3. Siliconia's sisters and parents stared right into Margaret's soul. They were very mad at her for being a member of the alliance that had killed their daughter. It might have been Anna rather than Margaret who had killed the twelve-year-old girl, but that didn't seem to matter to them.

As for Ericka Nale, she still looked pissed although the Careers had literally had nothing to do with her son's death. Instead, it had been Vair to kill Leo. But, as said above, that did not matter to the grease-splattered woman, who was having a very hard time getting by without the help of her son. But at least the Bradleys wouldn't have to take as many tesserae anymore.

Because Margaret was from District 2, it was skipped on the tour. It was a very short trip from District 3 down to District 1; in fact, they were both visited on the same day, an exhausting one for her. But she kept telling herself, You can do this, Margaret. You've been through much tougher situations than this. You've literally survived two hours in a 200-degree room! You can survive the looks of the people of District 1.

Horatio's family was beyond pissed off. Horatio had been fairly close to winning the Games, just four deaths away. Horatio's parents and sister, Silvera, looked hard at Margaret. As for Elegance's family...they looked absolutely livid. Elegance had been a Career, but she wasn't welcome in their alliance. Margaret even incorporated that into her speech.

Margaret was eager to go to the Capitol and forget all about what had just happened in the luxury items district. But as she reached the train station, looking out at the vineyards, someone grabbed her and held her against the barrier.

"What the-"

She stared into the eyes of Janet Jingles, the previous victor.

"Aren't you-"

"Yes, I am" Janet said. "I was best friends with Elegance Elysia, before she volunteered. And you kicked her out of the Career pack!"

"Look, she was the weak link!" Margaret said. "She got a six! She passed out during training!"

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah, when Elegance was in her private session in front of the Gamemakers, she pricked her finger with the mace and fainted. She was really scared of blood, wasn't she?"

Janet's hard gray-green eyes stared angrily at her. "And you left her to die alone...she was deathly afraid of snakes, you know".

"She was?"

"Yeah. When I was fourteen, I got bitten by a venomous snake during an army crawl. Ever since then, that was her worst fear. And you left her to face that alone!"

"Look, the Gamemakers don't like loners! She was too boring for the audience! You know that yourself, right? You're also a victor!"

Janet was younger than Margaret, and she was a more recent victor. If they ended up in a fight, Margaret would most likely win. Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that.

Just then, a group of Peacekeepers came by and tore Janet off of Margaret. They then handcuffed her, saying, "You are not to harm a person on the Victory Tour!"

Margaret hopped onto the train and eagerly waved good-bye to District 1.


There was one last dinner in the Capitol that Margaret attended. None of these people seemed to bear any grudge against her; in fact, they positively adored their most recent victor. But as Margaret looked into the cheering crowds, she knew that she would be back very soon, and she would not enjoy that visit. That would be when she started selling herself to those people. The thought made her feel sick to her stomach.

After an elegant dinner of foie gras, Margaret found herself in the bathroom, throwing it all up. She just couldn't handle that fact that she would have to become a hooker. Even so, she managed to stagger back onto the train for her final visit.

Margaret arrived back at District 2 at around two in the morning. She was given a room at the train station's hotel for the next several hours. Then, in the morning, facing the snowy peaks of the Rocky Mountains, she faced the people of her homeland.

"People of District 2, I was born and raised here. I attended the Career academy just down the street. I feel that you people have really allowed me to grow as an individual, as well as in the Hunger Games. I didn't get to know Hades very well, but I don't regret ditching the Career alliance, because I do not know if, had I done that, I would be standing here right now. But I'll tell you this: I very much regret hitting him in the head with that giant brass bowl of fruit salad".

The crowd laughed at that, minus Hades's family. Hector and Sarah Blackett were still present, but his ex-girlfriend, Sophie, whom he would never know had broken up with him posthumously, was not present. She had clearly caught on to the fact that he was abusive, and left him. Good. Margaret had not completely meant it when she had said that about Hades. But she had had to say that, because that was simply just the way things worked in Panem.

After that, she stepped off of the stage and headed home.


And that's a wrap! There will be one more chapter about how Johan Bainbridge died, but, after that, Labyrinth: The 63rd Hunger Games by SnowLucario is officially in the books! I still need 17 tributes for Lorax, so I would really love those! I also intend to draw a map of the arena, which I will put on DeviantArt once it is finished. It might be before this chapter is up!

Anyway, here are the final rankings:

1st: Margaret (ThomasHungerGamesFan)

2nd: Vixen (calebbeers21)

3rd: Vair (Declan42)

4th: Aurora (beauthg03)

5th: Horatio (calebbeers21)

6th: Bryson (beauthg03)

7th: Leo (Me)

8th: Conker (Me)

9th: Hades (calebbeers21)

10th: Anna (calebbeers21)

11th: Elegance (WhyNotWriteFanfiction)

12th: Siliconia (Me)

13th: Eli (Thorn5502)

14th: Wheat (AnimeAngst)

15th: Cam (Embarrassed Elf)

16th: Ted (calebbeers21)

17th: Isabella (Me)

18th: Em (Juud108)

19th: Ash (calebbeers21)

20th: Madi (Thorn5502)

21st: Miri (Medicine Cat Of The Opera)

22nd: Ira (divergentdinosaur)

23rd: Apollo (ThomasHungerGamesFan)

24th: Savanna (Shine4EverMore)

Also, the last four obituaries...

Horatio: The instant I saw this guy, I knew that he wasn't going to win. Not only that, but I would give him the most painful, gruesome, and humiliating death that I could think of. I told the creator this; after all, he gave me six tributes! Caleb was okay with it and said that even he hated Horatio. It was very fun writing about how arrogant he was, and especially the time he was on his own at the beginning of Chapter 26. From the very beginning, I knew I was going to begin a chapter towards the end with the sentence, "Horatio figured he was invincible". His death was originally going to be far worse, but I figured that him pissing himself was bad enough. He's the guy you love to hate, and I'm glad he stuck around as long as he did. Even so, he was doomed from the start. Even he didn't get the worst death, though. That honor goes to...

Aurora: I actually received her while I was at camp, from a letter from my mother (who managed all the submissions while I was out of town). I enjoyed working on her background of wanting to be a biological engineer in order to feed the people of her district. That would definitely gain some sympathy from the Capitol audiences. Given that, maybe it's better that she didn't win. Even so, I very much loved writing her into the story, and I gained a lot of praise from Beau (whom I've become pretty good friends with). He's definitely a cool guy, and I'd recommend checking him out. But, anyway, her death was also a great scene to write. That sure sounds like a terrible way to go out! And next year, Dax is going to join her! Unless he wins, of course.

Vair: As I type this, Declan has yet to read, or at least, review, the actual Games part. He has a busy life outside of fanfiction, which I can completely understand. When he does read, though, I think he'll like the way I wrote Vair. Vair doesn't really have a "corruption" story. If you read Hoprocker's Hunger Games, one of her own characters goes batshit crazy on a killing rampage due to a parasitic infection in his brain that turns him into something he isn't. Vair Armani was just driven that way by paranoia, brought by being in an alliance of three at the final seven. I did like his character (with his interesting educational background), and I hope Declan does as well, when he gets around to reading this.

Vixen: Another interesting character. I don't have too much to say about her right now, though. I really did enjoy her, though. She was the consummate survivor, who never killed anybody. In the end, that heat just got to her. I think that she will be surprised to find Jack with her, whatever there is after you die. They'll definitely have a lot to talk about her.

Margaret: Congratulations, Margaret Malachi as well as Thomas for submitting her! In the end, I thought that she would make a good first victor. Careers don't win SYOTs very often, but I wanted to have one win this time, since things aren't all sunshine and rainbows in Panem (or in real life, either). I also enjoyed writing what happened after she won, and will continue to have parts for her in Lorax. Part of the reason I had her win was because I am very close to a Margaret in real life, although we don't call her that. I'm sorry that she has to sell herself to people in the Capitol, but that's just what happens when you win the Hunger Games, as well as being as attractive as she is.

Throughout the whole of this story, I knew Margaret was going to win, ever since the middle of the reapings. I shifted the boot list around a lot, but the final five was always solid, because I had a specific mental image of how it was going to go. During the Games, I tried to give Margaret a quiet edit, and I let the blood mainly fall on the hands of Horatio, Hades, and Eli. She wasn't a major character until she ran away at the final ten. In this chapter, though, she sure got her time to shine!

All right. Like I said, please read, rate and review. I hope that you have enjoyed this story, and continue to enjoy me for a long time to come.

Sincerely,

SnowLucario