Sjin let his partner, Minty, the more agile and spritely of the two, run on ahead, weaving in between the trees as she prepared to warn her partner of any incoming threat, be it mob or man.

As he strolled through the forest, relaxed despite keeping a hand on his sword, he thought about the competition. He'd killed Nilesy, but was Nilesy really a threat? Perhaps he should have used that time of disorientation to take out someone who was likely to become a threat, or at least someone who he had issues with – and there were plenty of them; Rythian and Lalna immediately sprang to mind. In fact, the more Sjin thought about it, the more his smile faded. He should have taken the advantage while he had it. By killing Nilesy, what had he really proven? By killing Rythian, what could he have proved? That he was a serious threat, unstoppable, going for champion? Most likely.

Now Sjin began wishing he had killed someone else – he'd had no real reason to go for Nilesy above any other tribute, he had no real problem with the poolboy, no real reason to slaughter him where he stood…

Sjin stopped and scolded himself. This was the Survival Games; 'kill or be killed', Ridge reminded them constantly. You didn't need a reason, you didn't need logic, you didn't need a conscious – in fact, those qualities had no place in a Survival Games champion. He'd killed Nilesy because he was the closest, and because Sjin was blinded by the thrill of the attack, the adrenaline from murder. That was what Ridge wanted to see. You didn't kill the ones you had a grudge against – you killed anyone and everyone.

The rustling of leaves and a cry that sounded like Minty's interrupted Sjin. As he rushed towards the source of the noise, he nearly fell headfirst into a pit, heading deep down into an abandoned mineshaft. He managed to swing his weight backwards before he went toppling over, stabbing his sword into the ground behind him to stop him from falling. As he stood back from the perilous edge – a lesson he'd learnt from previous Games was that standing on a high ledge was an invitation to send you flying off it – he saw the bright blonde hair of Minty far below him, and her golden helmet was somewhat of a blinding beacon in the sunlight. She caught sight of him and waved, clambering down from some thick vines which had obviously broken her fall. Sjin waved back and yelled down to her; "Are you okay? That's a pretty big hole."

"Yeah, I'm okay – there's vines. But there's a ton of mobs down here."

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Sjin said, tucking his sword into his belt and leaping boldly down into the depths, catching the vines as he neared the bottom. Peeping about after his partner, he saw that the ground was lined with…

"Train tracks? Oh, we've found a train station!"

"And a lot of mobs." Minty reminded him, pointing down the tunnel. In the darkness, shrouded in shadow, spiders began scuttling towards them, with skeletons stalking close behind. Sjin watched, transfixed for a moment, before he realized he should be dealing with them, as he had the only sword. He hacked and slashed while Minty swung her fists at them boldly. Though it didn't provide him with the same thrills as killing a tribute would, Sjin happily hacked and slashed through the bugs and bones, his skin continuously being splattered with blood. He giggled wildly as the monsters kept on piling out of the darkness, his giggles turning quickly into a maniacal laugh. When the monsters finally stopped, he continued to laugh, lowering his sword.

Minty stared uncomfortably at him, clutching her left arm, which was wet with scarlet. "I'm on like, one heart." She said, in an attempt to catch Sjin's attention. His laughter trailed off as he brushed spider's guts off his sword.

"Who needs hearts?" he said thoughtfully, "We could take out every one of those jokers, Minty. This sword's nearly worn out but I could destroy everybody in the Games – Xephos, Honeydew, Rythian, Lalna – oh, they're gonna die…" Sjin began to laugh again. "I'm gonna kill them all, I'm gonna win this thing…"

The ping of a bow and the splat of flesh made him stop.

He looked at Minty. She thudded against the ground, her blue eyes clouded and distant as blood seeped from the arrow that had pierced her chest, staining her faded green dress before forming a pool of blood on the stony floor. As she collapsed to the ground and slumped lifelessly to the floor, the thump echoing around the tunnel, Sjin sliced the skeleton to pieces with ease, before hurriedly plonking down torches. Then he stopped and stood there for a moment, in the silence, simply staring at his girlfriend's corpse.

"Minty…no…" was all he could say, his eyes fixated on her body, still beautiful even in permanent stillness. "No...I...I will...avenge you...I shall avenge you..."

A warm hand was suddenly on his shoulder. "Such a pity." A voice as sickly as honey said.

Ridgedog.

He clicked his fingers and Minty evaporated into smoke, leaving behind only a golden helmet, a steak and a stack of sandstone. Sjin did not move.

"What's up with you?" Ridgedog suddenly broke the silence, nudging Sjin playfully. "From what you were saying a minute ago, it sounded like you didn't need her anyway."

"Need and want are two very different things, Ridge." Sjin said, kneeling down and collecting the steak and stone.

"Oh, yes. If you wanted to win the Games, you would have needed to kill her anyway, wouldn't you? The skelly did you a favour, really, didn't he? Now, you don't have anything standing in your way, do you? Nothing to lose."

"That's what you wanted to see, isn't it? You want to see us all turn out like this. It's all worked out in your favor."

Ridgedog smiled sweetly. "It always does."

Sjin picked up the golden helmet and placed it on his head. He stood up and faced Ridgedog. "I'll do what you want, Ridge. I'll play your games; I'll be your pawn. I'll win this thing, but I'll do it to avenge Minty, not to satisfy you."

Ridgedog took out his megaphone and tutted at Sjin. "Noble words, Sjin. But they all say things like that. You'll regain your senses soon enough. If you win, it'll be on my terms." He began drifting down the tunnel, and his message, though broadcast underground, boomed around the arena for all to hear; "Minty was slain by Skeleton."

Sjin gritted his teeth in determination and stalked off down the tunnel. "On your terms my arse." He muttered, unaware that Ridgedog heard everything when it suited him, and even gave a mocking reply from the other end of the tunnel.

"I said if you win."