Marzio rocked back and forth on his heels. He had been upgraded to a better gladiator outfit. His reward for being the last of the eliminated was a fancy, metal suit. A large chest plate with a hammer and anvil engraved onto the surface. A helmet that protected the sides of his face and nose, the only part exposed was his brown eyes. He was still wearing a skirt, the red fabric blowing against the air conditioning that flowed through the hovercraft.

He sat at the far end of the hovercraft, his eyes still cast to the ground. He intertwined his fingers together, dragging his unclipped nails against his skin as he tried to block out the images of his friends dying. Janae most of all. She was not the strongest Warrior but she was stronger than him. He played dirty and that was the reason he was there and not Janae. He didn't even kill her, a mutt did. That was no life a victor.

It doesn't matter how you won, only that you are here now and there are only eleven people that stand between you and victory. Marzio thought these words to himself as the craft entered the Arena. He could tell it had by the slight turbulence and change in humidity. The outfit that was originally too cold now left him thankful. Although, he would have preferred boots to sandals.

"Mr. Ottone?" A Peacekeeper said, clearing his throat. Part of Marzio wanted to defy him, to refuse to enter the Arena but he knew the only person he was showing up would have been himself. They would have just shot him in the kneecap and said it was an injury he already had. So, with a hint of hatred, Marzio pushed himself to his feet and shuffled over to the door of the craft.

As the craft shook, landing in the Arena, the Peacekeeper passed Marzio a large circular shield with the same symbol that was on his chest yet this one said Vulcan in large, shimmering letters. Marzio turned to the Peacekeeper.

"What is Vulcan?"

"Son of Vulcan," the Peacekeeper replied bluntly. "You're a gladiator now, you are now a son of Vulcan." Marzio didn't question the man behind the helmet any further, turning back to the door with a sigh. Then the Peacekeeper passed him something else.

It was a large leather bag, much like a satchel but with a looser design. Marzio gently took the bag from him and slung it over his shoulder. He didn't want to make contact with anyone else, let alone the people who were throwing him back out into the Arena. He deserved to be the victor, not thrust back into battle.

As the Hovercraft's door open, Marzio allowed two Peacekeepers to lead him out into the humid world.

The temperature was not that different from the Gladiator Arena yet it had a calmer feel to it. Like he was in the land of the Gods. Above him, fireflies circled against the starry, night sky. The moon offered enough light so nothing was in darkness yet the bright, silver glow lacked the warm feeling of the sun.

He found himself in a circular section, judging by the podiums, the starting point. There was no cornucopia in sight, only the rough markings of a battle plan etched in the sand. There was only one exit, free form any disturbance which told him no Warrior had made their way down that passage.

As he looked at the hedges that circled him, he saw millions of eyes, belonging to different animals. Some from mice, some from a bore, there was even black ram that silently watched him. Yet, they made no move to attack.

Marzio expected them to rush at him the moment the craft vanished but as the craft flew off, the creatures turned and left the boy in peace.

Once he was sure they were gone, he pulled the backpack off his shoulder and started to hunt through. Just as he reached his hand in, something, gold in color leaped from the pack and onto the ground by Marzio's feet.

The dark haired boy jumped back as he looked at the object. It was a crane, a small, ten-inch crane. Yet, it was made up cogs and metal. Its eyes were small blue flames and its beak was read with heat. It looked up at Marzio, a small puff of smoke breaking free from his beak.

Marzio looked back in the bag, all that was left were packets of food and water, enough to last him a month if he spread it out.

The boy looked over to the crane. "Are you my weapon?" he asked in a shaky voice. The bird didn't reply, leaping into the air, it's paper thin wings guiding it over to Marzio's shoulder. The robotic bird stood proudly for a moment before turning its head towards the exit, it's beak pointing towards it.

When Marzio looked, he was startled to see the most beautiful donkey stood in the way, a leather saddle on it's back. Marzio wasn't sure he wanted a ride around the Arena. He just wanted to go home.

Evelyn was in a bad way. Her breathing was slow and her skin burned despite her shivering.

Damon pulled his hand away and frowned, his gut dropping slightly. He had known Evelyn all of his childhood, she was the only one who treated him with all around kindness despite her skill. She didn't deserve to go down in such a way. Killed by a mutt.

"Psst," a voice called. Damon whipped his head around to see Shelly gesturing at him from around the hedge. He glanced back at Evelyn but the girl could hardly keep her eyes open. It was unlikely she was even aware of what was going on.

With a grunt, Damon pushed himself to his feet and jogged over to Shelly, someone he had begun to distrust since the Games had started. She was never one for honor, she would see no wrong in killing two allies to further herself. However, for now, she needed allies, at least until the final eight anyway.

As Damon came closer, her face became expressionless. "We need to kill Evelyn," she said bluntly.

Damon narrowed his eyes at the girl. "Why-"

"Because she is a threat. It isn't like she is going to win in this state. I give her forty-eight hours of life. And then she will be in pain." Damon looked back at his childhood friend with sadness.

"How should we do it-" Damon was interrupted when a high pitch beeping sound echoed through the area. The object that floated down was a small canister but it still cast a large shadow on the ground.

As it landed at Evelyn's feet, Ryken's voice cut through the sounds of distant crickets.

"Warriors. As a reward for their loyalty, the person who made the first kill in this Arena has been gifted with something they desire. But don't threat. Over the next hour, other Warriors will receive a gift from their Godly Sponsor. What you get depends on how well you have impressed them. Good Luck and may the odds be ever in your favor."

As Ryken finished, Damon ran over to Evelyn's side, detaching the canister from the parashoot and opening it up. Inside was an array of packets, by the smell, containing food, water, and some personal gifts. The thing that caught his eye was a set of syringes labeled "Sepsis." Damon assumed it was a medicine, they would have no reason to send her something that made her ill.

As Damon started to ready a needle, he looked over his shoulder at Shelly, her face twisted in envy. "My loyalty, for now, lies with Evelyn."

Shelly just grunted in response.

Vulcan is Hephaestus' Roman counterpart. Marzio's Godly Sponsor was Hephaestus but now he is a gladiator, it is Vulcan. Hephaestus was noted of riding a donkey.

Right, so this is the gist. Instead of sending the Warriors sponsor gift after sponsor gift, they decided to do Godly sponsor. Each Warrior will get a package.

In these packages are the following. Food (the Warriors favorite), water, something they really want (could be a blanket, medicine or a prefered weapon) and something personal to them as a token.

Evelyn's submitter cannot send her desired gift, that was the sepsis medicine. But they can send the rest. Marzio's submitter, his desired gift was the stork but you can send him his other bits.

If a characters submitter is not around, I will just give them the very base stuff.

All of this is because, after the 24 hours of trying to find the exit, they used up everything in their packs. The Gamemakers don't want a lot of them dying from dehydration SO they are re-stocking them.

I look forward to seeing what you send them!