Chapter 9: The Palace A section in a book called The Blood Games Story - Written by Patrick Roseforge.

The 9th Hunger Games

Last year was alright, and my popularity was rising once more. I'm trying my best to spin my redemption by making sure to punish the Numbers as best as I can. But I can do better than ducks (at least the Capitol had a laugh at that). No, across the ocean, there's a city. A mostly well-kept city that by some miracle has a large palace-monastery. A rare structure that survived the Dark Days and into the modern one. I immediately wanted it to be my next arena, and I bribed the Latino tribe so I can borrow it for a month. They thankfully agreed.

Oh, right, there are people outside of Panem. But none as advanced as our nation is. Wonder how big of a revelation that is to others here? Whatever, not my fault.

Now, on to the tributes. Let's start with main competitor. The District that's making a small career based around the Hunger Games. Here comes Leviathan from Four! Small-time criminal, bodyguard and big-time player. Everyone's likely guess to win, but we all know it takes more than skill to win it all.

Along with Leviathan, the only other volunteer is Ira from 7. Ira's reason states she is looking for some 'fun' before something she get's married. A strange thing to say, and many believed she implied she wanted to get away from a forced betrothal. Her district partner, Laddie from 7, is a Peacekeeper rookie, which means he has trained, but he does appear naive as he said he doesn't want to kill.

District 9 has a noticeable pair of tributes. Cardin Mace is a tough looking looking man with some experience in fighting while Martha Rose has once been put on trial for murder, but got off as 'innocent' which is something many in Panem doubt.

There are weaker yet still some tributes worth mentioning. Hungry Cowbell, a brave butcher boy from 10, he also has a particularly laughable name. Yima from District 8 is a particularly sneaky girl with knowledge of poisons. Rodna from District 5, a young child who's a good actor. Albert from District 12, he's an older and generally more strong from his times in the mines along with a no-nonsense attitude. Slyvester from 5 made a small (pathetic) escape on the train, but came back crying when he realized he can't jump from a train without breaking a bone.

Three alliances were formed. Firstly, Zora, a seemingly confident tribute from District 3 who teamed up with Neo and Raquel from District 6. The second alliance, one made of younger and kinder tributes consisting of Sam from 3, Chet from 11, Hungry from 10, Hilda from 4, and Edmund from 1. Lastly, there is a third alliance filled with stronger tributes which has Ira from 7, Cardin from 9, Rory from 10, and Albert from 12 in it.

District 1: Edmund Rune, 15, (4) and Marina Tag, 18, (5)

District 2: Abdul Nasira, 17, (6) and Shefra Tibby, 17, (6)

District 3: Sam Baldwin, 12, (5) and Zora Nowak, 18, (8)

District 4: Leviathan Ayers, 20, (11) and Hilda Gervas, 14, (3)

District 5: Slyvester Ratbear, 12, (1) and Rodna Che, 13, (6)

District 6: Neo Helosi, 16, (5) and Raquel Esposito, 15, (4)

District 7: Laddie Hardwood, 17, (7) and Ira Modestine, 19, (8)

District 8: Angel Dino, 18, (3) and Yima Slytherin, 14, (7)

District 9: Cardin Mace, 19, (8) and Martha Rose, 20, (10)

District 10: Hungry Cowbell, 16, (6) and Rory Schoe, 17, (8)

District 11: Chet Emerens, 13, (3) and Zemfira Zephyr, 18, (4)

District 12: Albert Nonameski, 20, (9) and Clara Donovan, 15, (6)

President Alex's Bet: Hungry Cowbell. Alex liked the name and thought it sounded funny.

Head Gamemaker's Patrick's Bet: Laddie Hardwood. The kid has spirit as well as some competence from his peacekeeper training.

-THE GAMES-

All the tributes spawn in the center of Mafra's palace-monastery, which was a church. In all honesty, the Mafra palace is beautiful in its aesthetics. Far too wonderful to put into words. However, one must at least mention its blueprint as it is an imposing building. At each end of the facade stands a square tower with a bulbous dome. The church, built in white marble, is located in the center of the main facade, symmetrically flanked on both sides by the royal palace. A church inside a palace built by for royalty. There are smaller rooms in the back where the friary is, a place where holy men used to sleep.

Whatever renovations were needed were cheap, thank goodness. These builders done well.

The tributes were all placed in the church, right under the copula. All of them weren't standing on platforms, but rather a tight linear circle. We only left one weapon in the church, all other tributes are going to have to search elsewhere.

The circle they were standing in was thin and the tributes were closer to one another than it should be. Angel from 8 was rather close to Leviathan, which scared the boy so much he stepped out of the circle before the timer ended, making Angel's tracker-bomb explode.

Angel Dino, District 8 Male: 24th Place, Killed by stepping out of line. (Before) Bloodbath.

With his head exploding, some tributes gasped. Leviathan from 4 now has blood on him, but he doesn't even flinch at this. Soon, the real fight starts.

5... 4... 3.. 2... 1...

Leviathan, the only one who's trained for this occasion, was easily the quickest one and managed to get the sword in that was placed on the altar. Behind was the hopeful Clara from 12, who believed she was quick enough to get it. This proved to be her undoing as Leviathan used the sword to slice her neck.

Clara Donovan, District 12 Female: 23rd Place, Killed by Leviathan. Bloodbath.

Pretty much most of the tributes decided on leaving when they see nothing they could grab in the church, and left immediately. Frankly, all the tributes were scared of Leviathan and didn't want to be near him. Lots of pushing and punching happened on the way to the entrances. Many got off with nothing more than bruises. The five entrances being: the inescapable outside in the back of the church, two entrances to hallways on the sides, and two ladders up to bell towers.

One tribute, Sam from 2, got knocked out when he got punched in the face by Laddie from 7. Sam was soon found out by Levianthan who only had to put his sword down to kill this downed tribute.

Sam Baldwin, District 3 Male: 22nd Place, Killed by Leviathan. Bloodbath.

In any case, Laddie managed to be the only tribute to escape in one of the two bell-towers. The other bell-tower had Slyvester from 5 (who ran the quickest). They closed the hatch in order not to let other tributes in.

The powerful alliance consisting of Ira, Cardin, Rory, and Albert see a barrier surrounding this palace, with strangely-dressed people outside to see them and pointing at the group. They also see a town right outside this arena. The inhabitants of Mafra are aware of what's happening and have been told the concept of sponsorship. We even placed holo-visions in their old ruined streets.

The staring was strange, and the tributes didn't know what to do. Rory shouted at them (and don't understand her as they speak Portugese), but the Portugese people threw her a dagger (The barrier always people and objects to enter from outside, not inside).They were surprised by this.

Then Levianthan came out outside as well.

None in this alliance wished to fight him without weapons (Which is why they left the church) so they shouted to the Portugese for help. Cardin got himself a mace and Albert also got himself a kitchen knife. Ira got nothing. Once they got their weapons, Leviathan charged at them. Yes, the barrier is more for show than it is electric this time around, but if the tributes leave past the barrier, they're aware the tracker's on them will kill them.

Rory was the closest and managed to dodge Levianthan fearsome strike, and managed to scratch him with the dagger. Overall, charging in first wasn't the smartest move as he got Cardin and Albert on his six. Cardin attacked his mace, getting Levianthan in the shoulder. Albert also got a hit in, stabbing him in the torso.

Leviathan then struggled through the pain, and decided to repay Albert with his own attack. Slashing Albert right into his thorax, leaving the boy from District Twelve died and bleeding.

Albert Nonameski, District 12 Male: 21st Place, Killed by Leviathan. Bloodbath (we are still counting this as bloodbath?).

Cardin, shocked by the death of his ally, left him unguarded from Leviathan's quick attack. Cardin has been given a stab from the vicious tribute, but it was non-lethal as it only got his shoulder. Leviathan was then going to have another problem as Ira has been given a sword of her own from the Mafra inhabits.

Rory makes another go at Levianthan, stabbing the career once more. Leviathan would have been killed by rushing Ira had something not have happened.

Soon enough, Laddie from 7 from his bell tower was watching this exchange. In his bell tower, he finds a crossbow and a limited amount of arrows. Laddie soon shot the crossbow and saved Levianthan's life for some reason as his arrow managed to get her piece through her arm. Ira screamed, and let go of her weapon.

Leviathan, knowing that he shouldn't push his luck further, runs away. Cardin and Rory tried to get to him, but Laddie shot a crossbow bolt at them, which stopped them as they understood Laddie was protecting him.

Entering the church, Leviathan easily found some bandages and painkillers hidden within the alter. He then hides in the back rooms for the time-being. Meanwhile, Ira was yelling greatly from pain and trying to get rid of the arrow only furthered the pain. Rory, making a decision that she was weak, simply killed her as she inserted her dagger to Ira's windpipe.

Ira Modestine, District 7 Female: 20th Place, Killed by Rory. Bloodbath.

Once more, Cardin was shocked by his teammate's death and Rory asks him if he's doing well. He immediately tells her he's fine (which is untrue as the wound he has given him major discomfort). Lucky for him, the Portugese inhabitants gave Cardin the much-needed cloth and medicine. They soon went inside the palace hallways.

Other tributes decided to go through the massive side-entrances, where they find hallways that had large doors with almost all of them having statues or exquisite furniture next to these marble doors.

Pretty much all the tributes decided to ignore one another as they escaped through different hallways. One tribute, Hilda from 4, decided to take a spear (one twice as big as she is) from a decorative knight statue. She looked hilarious as she struggled from pulling it out. Many tributes passed her, and they had deadpan or pitying looks on their faces when they did.

None of Hilda's teammates stopped for her as they ran all the way down to the kitchen. Chet, Edmund and Hungry are pretty exhausted. The door to the kitchen has a medieval lock to it, so they're now safe. Hungry did notice that Hilda isn't with them, and told everyone this. The other two didn't want to leave. They were saddened by the death by Sam as well.

Most tributes went to the second floor where all the royal rooms were. Zora, Neo, and Raquel were going room to room, finding nothing but beds and pictures for most them. Raquel, however, found a room with a mirror and make-up and told the other two to stay here. They did.

It was a rather boring start, pretty much every tribute were avoiding each other as they went to patrol all these rooms. Hell, Zemfira from 11 and Rodna from 5 just idly chatted with one another in one room, before wishing each other luck.

One boy, Abdul from 2 went to the small hedge garden that the palace is constructed around. Unfortunately, he had the sights of Laddie. Laddie aimed and fired his arrow, but missed. Abdul went back inside for safety. Sylvester saw this, and continued hiding in the other bell-tower. He hoped Laddie didn't see him.

Only one other death came on Day 1. Hilda was simply wandering around the hallways, and was disappointed to see few knight statues that didn't have weapons on them. Soon, as she turned around at the corner of the hallway. She made a shocked gasp as something stabbed her in the torso. That someone was Martha from 9, who stabbed Hilda with a sharp candlestick. Martha had a sick grin on her.

Hilda Gervas, District 4 Female: 19th Place, Killed by Martha. Day 1.

Rory and Cardin stopped when they heard the cannon, but continued talking about who's going to take the first shift. They were in the one of the royal bedrooms, and Rory decided to go sleep first. Cardin, meanwhile, is still perturbed by her murder of Ira. He observes the doors and keeps an eye on Rory. Rory was blissfully sleeping.

Day 2 went underway.

Abdul and Shefra meet in the hallway, and they decided to team up.

In the massive library, there is a large bronze globe at the center of it. Many of the books however are old and dusty at this point. If any of the tributes are observant enough, however, they would notice that some books are stand out in its bright color.

Yima from 7, who watching her every side, entered the library. Yima didn't look too impressed with it, possibly from being a thief. She was scoping for anything valuable, but hid as she heard someone enter. She hid behind a bookcase.

The girl from Two, Marina entered the library. She looked a lot happier to be around books and started to see if any books are readable (she would be disappointed by it being old and unreadable). Yima continued hiding and sneaking past Marina. However, a third tribute entered. It was Martha. The girl saw Marina, who was startled to see her. Martha then threw a candlestick at Marina, but it fell short and hit a bookcase.

This got Marina to be serious. She grabbed the candlestick and prepared to attacked Martha. Martha, who at this point all of Panem is sure managed to get away with murder due to a bad judge, rushed to Marina. Martha got hit in the head from Marina as she swung. Marina the proceeded to stab Martha in the stomach with her own weapon. Martha the murderer has been killed by the unexpected booklover.

Martha Rose, District 10 Female: 18th Place Killed by Marina. Day 2.

In any case, Marina didn't stick too long after that. Yima the bystander stayed in the library however. She noticed a bright book and opened it. The book mentioned that hidden under the friary is a magic pearl necklace which makes men not able to attack the wearer. Yima decided to take this risk.

Meanwhile, the young male tribute alliance: Edmund, Chet, and Hungry decided to cook. The kitchen they occupied had the ingredients, but it was up to them to cook something. Chet was something of a small chef, so he told everyone how to make good soup and desert. They made the food.

Sadly for them, the career Leviathan decided to hunt despite his injuries. He didn't have luck at the start, but soon he smelled food. He found the kitchen and decided to break the down the locked door. The kitchen was open to him. Hungry told his friends to leave without him. Edmund listened to Hungry without a second thought (some friend) and left. Chet, on the other hand, stayed. Like a true friend.

Yeah, it went about as expected. They were two kids with small knives, but Leviathan was trained career despite his injuries. Hungry had his stomach swiped by Leviathan's sword instantly while Chet got his arm swiped. Leviathan was about to kill Chet, but Hungry still had some fight in him and pushed Leviathan down to the ground and told Chet "Thank you, but run!". This time, Chet was running.

Hungry could not hold him as Leviathan pushed him away and killed him as his sword touches Hungry's heart and other upper-body muscles.

Hungry Cowbell, District 10 Male: 17th Place, Killed by Leviathan. Day 2.

Leviathan didn't find Chet. The small boy, thankfully, has a small towel to cover his wounded arm so his blood won't leave a trail.

Zora, Neo and Raquel were just walking by. They tried going outside, but an arrow from Laddie made them decide it wasn't worth it. Sylvester, meanwhile, was having a good enough time in the other bell tower with its food.

Rodna from 5 found marbles. She was playing marbles by herself and was sad. She might have cried a little.

Late at night, the Moth mutt was released. Notes: Yes, I made a giant moth because the palace was in a town called Mofra. I thought it was funny. The Moth eventually goes flying during the night and goes flaps its wings in the hallway. Let's say that Abdul, who was keeping watch for Shefra, soon screamed out and was taken away by the Moth to its hive and eaten.

Abdul Nasira, District 2 Male: 16th Place, Killed by Moth mutt. Day 2.

Shefra is a very heavy sleeper, and didn't hear Abdul. When she woke up in the morning she didn't see Abdul and called out to him, not getting any reply back.

Yima, trying to get this 'magically' pearl necklace, used this cover in the night to not get shot by Laddie in his bell-tower. She sneaked all the way to the friary. At this friary, where crosses were everything in all the small rooms there. Yima eventually found that necklace and wore it. She also found bread and sleep there for the night.

Day 3 came an hour later.

Raquel, Neo, and Zora got lucky so far. They traveled the long hallways, kept finding all snacks and didn't find any trouble. The three tributes are still going strong, happily talking to one another. Raquel talked about her dream as a dresser. Neo said he doesn't know what he wants in life. Zora talked about how she loved biology.

Laddie, after a couple of days, is just bored staying in this one tower. Thankfully for him, he found out that Slyvester was in the other tower. Slyvester, the idiotic child, kept taking peaks from out of the fence. Laddie aims his crossbow carefully and hopes that it finally gets someone. It did. Slyvester took another peak, a fatal mistake that ended with one of Laddie's arrows stuck in his head.

Slyvester Ratbear, District 6 Male: 15th Place, Killed by Laddie. Day 3.

That wasn't the only thing Laddie did that day. He eventually decided to leave the tower after that and entered the church. The current inhabitant was Leviathan, the big nasty career. He has a sword and a nasty glare when he heard Laddie come down. Laddie yelled to give it a rest and offered an unexpected alliance.

After a tense staredown, Leviathan agreed to it reluctantly. He probably wants someone to help him out after what happened the first day. Laddie and Levianthan, an unexpected alliance of hunters. Nay, careers.

The lucky Yima, walking down the hallways without much care had someone attempting to kill her. Edmund from 1 attempted to throw a pan at her, but faltered due to the pearl necklace she was wearing. He looked fatigued at bringing up the pan, and couldn't do it. Yima saw this and smugly proceeded away.

The unlucky Shefra, after yelling out for Abdul, which was not the smartest move as that got attention from others. Namely, Leviathan and Laddie just started thier first patrol together and managed to find her. Shefra attempted to run away, but Leviathan catches up to her and slashed her back fatally and brutally.

Shefra Tibby, District 2 Female: 14th Place, Killed by Leviathan. Day 3.

Rory and Cardin found themselves trapped in the basement, it left the two of them in a hurdle since Cardin is becoming increasingly paranoid of Rory. Eventually, Rory noticed his wariness and openly confessed that she has a crush on him. Cardin didn't quite know how to process this, and said he'll get it back. He did say that killing Ira was too far. Rory agreed, looking ashamed of herself.

Panem, in any case, was eating this new romantic dilemma up. It's pretty clear Cardin was now more embarrassed than nervous around her, and he's fine with her for the moment. Cardin says to Rory that he'll talk about his feelings about this later.

Marina came back to the library, despite her nervousness from last time. To read a book. Once more, another tribute entered as she was in this facility. Rodna from 5 came around, and spotted Marina. The naïve girl waved at Marina. The older girl waved back nervously for obvious reasons. Marina soon got used to Rodna as they chatted. The little girl seems to some charisma on her. They talked about hobbies and books. Rodna left afterwards as they weren't allies, but Marina looked happier from her visit.

Soon came Chet, a poor little boy, came to the conclusion that he's kinda screwed now that he's alone. He's been crying and He's been hiding in rooms. So far, that's been working for him. In the hallways Chet was wary of walking in, he found his district partner Zemfira. She saw that Chet was downcast and hoped to cheer him up, but in the end, Chet asked Zemfira to leave him alone. She sighed, but did as asked.

Day 3 went by, more quickly than as most tributes were just avoiding the others. The Moth soon came out, looking for its next victim. The moth mutt found Neo, Raquel and Zora after going through the door. Zora was sleeping, but Neo and Raquel were awake with small knives on them. The two tributes were caught by surprise and didn't have enough time to attack it as the moth mutt took Neo away. Neo screamed for help, and Raquel threw her knife. That only scratched the Moth.

Zora woke up, but it was already too late for Neo at this point. The moth flew back to its nest and ate. Raquel and Zora were left in sorrow as they lost a valued ally.

Neo Helosi, District 6 Male: 13th Place, Killed by moth mutt. Day 3.

With Neo's scream and Abdul's scream the day before, the tributes are realizing that night is not going to safe anymore.

Day 4 started, and it had Rodna deciding on making a plan. A simple plan of recruiting people. Rodna and Zemfira were already on a friendly basis, and they saw each other in the hallways often. Now, Rodna decided to have a proper alliance. Zemfira wasn't into the idea, but Rodna convinced her that there's a scary mutt at night and it's best to watch each other's back. Zemfira agrees on this, and accepts after the prodding of the earnest Rodna. What Zemfire didn't like next was that Rodna also wanted to have someone else on board.

In one royal room, Chet was having a nightmare. He cried out 'Hungry' when he woke up. Clearly, he's taken the death of his friend badly. Chet went to the hallway Soon enough, his other 'friend' Edmund found Chet and waved. Chet didn't wave back. In fact, he seemed to glare at him.

"What's up?" Edmund asks.

Chet glares at him.

Edmund frowns. "Look, I'm sorry I left okay. But what was I going to do against that big guy."

"Not leave," Chet answers.

The boy from 11 got his knife and stabbed Edmund someplace in the chest, which made Edmund scream in shock. The boy from 1 then got his pan to whack Chet in the head, making him fall. The knife on Edmund didn't hit any vital signs, but it still hurt badly. Also, he was bleeding. Edmund then proceeded to kick Chet again and again, making the boy groan in pain.

Edmund cried out that this isn't fair and left Chet heavily bruised, but still alive. Chet soon got up and walked the opposite direction.

Zora and Raquel were wandering the hallways, with small knives that can be found in some drawers. The two were quiet after the death of Neo. Chet was close by and he just looked like he gave up when they saw him. Zora and Raquel looked at one another, and talked quickly. They see the wounded Chet and decided to help him, to his surprise.

On Edmund's side of things, he didn't get any help from nice tributes. Instead, he ran into Leviathan and Laddie in the distance. Unlucky for him, they also saw him. He tried to run, but Laddie already aimed his crossbow and shot Edmund in the back. Edmund tries to crawl away, but Laddie descended upon him and snapped his neck.

Edmund Rune, District 1 Male: 12th Place, Killed by Laddie. Day 4.

Leviathan and Laddie are professional in their dynamic alliance. The two don't seem fond of each other, but their alliance has merit. They don't really talk to each other, and they seem to like it that way.

The two deadliest tributes soon found themselves seeing Yima and she didn't seem scared one bit. Not with the pearl necklace on her which makes men weak around her. Laddie tried to aim, but he found that he couldn't pull the trigger. Leviathan also couldn't strike her, not matter how much he wanted to. The two felt tired just looking at her. Yima smiled.

Yima puts a hand on each of their cheeks, grinning. "Take care of me, okay."

Somehow, Yima is now part of the career alliance. Or maybe, she's somehow taken the two psychologically controlled hostages. The pearl has strange effects on men, and while the two said to tell her to buzz off, they couldn't get rid of her. Yima has two bodyguard's while Leviathan and Laddie are now stuck with an annoying girl.

Cardin and Rory walk and talk. They decided to go outside at walked down the small steps of the aisle to see it there's any there outside the barrier like in Day 1. There wasn't, unfortunately. Cardin and Rory's relationship has improved, but Cardin is still not up to having any romance on his end for multiple reasons. Most likely because they were in a death game. A fair reason, but Rory was left disappointed.

In the library, there was Marina who kept trying to read these old books as best as she could in their current state. Then Rodna and Zemfira came strolling in there with Rodna waving non-threateningly. Rodna convinced Marina of being in an alliance for safety easily enough. Perhaps Marina just wanted to be around others after 4 days by herself. Marina and Zemfira appear to be nervous of each other, but Rodna is a good glue to keep the two together.

With this, four alliances are unexcitingly made with no solo tributes in the area.

Unfortunately, soon enough one alliance had to meet up with the other.

The two 'lovebirds' Cardin and Rory were going to finally search for someone to hunt, and it wasn't until a minute later they went to a royal bedroom where Zora, Raquel and Chet are. Soon after Chet was helped by the two, he got a sponsor for healing cream. It helped a lot. Only Chet was currently going through the healing and still isn't in his best shape.

Cardin noticed this and ran headlong to the trio with his target being Chet. The boy, who was helped by kind tributes, was then killed by one of those mean ones. Cardin killed Chet with one hit of his mace. Poor boy, losing his alliance just to die in another one.

Chet Emerens, District 11 Male: 11th Place, Killed by Cardin. Day 4.

Raquel was crying, having her hand to her mouth. Zora threw a chair at Rory when she was coming at her. Rory got hit pretty badly by it, having been put to the ground with cuts all over her face.

Cardin soon came to his ally's defense, and ended up facing a Zora who appears to have some experience with scraps as she dodges his sword and punches right in the gut.

Raquel made her own move. She glowered at the downed girl and went to her. Rory saw Raquel and soon couldn't manage to move quickly enough to avoid Raquel's stabbing her throat. Raquel and Rory looked surprised that there was a knife stuck in there. Rory attempts to take it out. Only the red liquid was flowing quickly, and all she did was fell facedown.

Rory Schoe, District 10 Female: 10th Place, Killed by Raquel. Day 4.

Cardin sees his ally die in shock. He goes to successfully tripping Zora by kicking a broken piece of chair at her and went to Rory's corpse. Cardin soon went to turn her around to see her face, but it's clear there's no saving her. Cardin started finding tears in his eyes. He didn't continue to fight. He sorta just stopped then and there.

Raquel looked at him nervously, expecting a fight. Cardin didn't. Zora stood up and got ready to attack. The two looked at their still enemy, wondering when he'll make his move. He's just staring at his ally, however. He just wiped the tears from his eyes.

All he said was this, "Want to make an alliance?"

The two were startled and found him instantly insane. Zora and Raquel had little reason to trust him. Plus the recent fighting. Was he serious? Cardin said that he's sorry, but he claims that this is the Hunger Games. "Listen, there's still Leviathan and Laddie out there. You guys really want to deal with them without me? Or that monster at comes during the night?"

It was such a thing to consider, and the two said that he needs to take the next room over for them to talk.

Raquel argued that Cardin might be genuine while Zora thinks this is insane and spontaneous. Eventually Zora stopped and decided that Cardin can join them.

Once there were four alliances. Now, that four turned into three.

Everyone got weapons from their sponsors. Everyone. All nine tributes after putting on an interesting Hunger Games on that day.

Cardin is wary Raquel and Zora. Those two are wary of Cardin. Cardin was in the next room. Perhaps this alliance wouldn't have lasted a day unless the Moth appeared.

Deep into the night, The moth mutt made its way to this new fragile alliance and fly through the open window. Zora had her eyes open in case Cardin wanted to try something fishy. The Moth has bit Zora's arms before she can get her new sword up, and managed to put it's weird bug legs around her. Raquel, thankfully, woke up in time and threw a knife at it's eye. That did real damage to it, but it used its wings to push Raquel away. The wounded eyes, however, made it easier for Zora to struggle.

Soon enough, Cardin heard the commotion and came in with his mace. That mace made its way to the moth mutt, and letting go of Zora. This got the moth wounded. The giant moth couldn't leave as Cardin kept hitting it. Raquel and Zora soon joined in the harming of the man-eating bug monster. After a minute of beating it in place, they managed to kill it.

Day 5 started right after that.

Marina, Zemfira, and Ronda were talking to each other and talked about how all three of them got spears from their sponsors. They are a lot more confident after this. As well as they should be. While these three were out there, camping in the library, the door opened.

They stilled, and out came Yima, Laddie, and Leviathan. The three now see them, and those three tributes were out to kill. Laddie, being the quick killer that he is, aimed his crossbow and managed to get Marina in the torso.

Unlikely for Laddie, Marina was still alive despite the arrow. But she was in pain. She aimed her spear and threw it at Laddie out of vindictive spite. And that worked. The spear got a lucky headshot on Laddie, killing the annoying archer in an instant.

Laddie Hardwood, District 7 Male: 9th Place, Killed by Marina. Day 5.

No one really cared about the trainee peacekeeper's death. Leviathan is just out for the kill and went straight for them. This wasn't a smart choice for him as Rodna and Zemfira had the advantage of long-reaching spears which managed to puncture gashes on him.

With Leviathan wounded, Yima made her own move with her knife. She went to kill Zemfira. Yima managed to be light on her feet as she dodged Zemfira's spear. She took a risk and leaped, she stab Zemfira right in the heart to her surprise. The girl from 11 went right down. Marina looked grieved by her death. Rodna's busy.

Zemfira Zephyr, District 11 Female: 8th Place, Killed by Yima. Day 5.

Leviathan tries to fight back bravely despite his wounded and managed to cut Rodna's face. The girl has zero experience fighting and stumbled fighting the scary career. The girl from 6, in the end, screamed and used her weapon to strike down Leviathan with all her strength.

This was enough to kill the large boy. Rodna wild attack had her spear go into his mouth and right outside the back of his head. It was a ugly thing to see. Leviathan's blood and some of his teeth scattered.

Leviathan Ayers, District 4 Male: 7th Place, Killed by Rodna. Day 5.

Yima, seeing Rodna being sickened by the sight of Leviathan's ruined face, went to attack her next. Yima almost managed to kill the shocked tribute, but was stopped was she tackled by Marina.

Shame on Yima for forgetting Marina, she knows what she's capable of. Despite the arrow on her, Marina pushed though the pain and struggled against Yima's body. Marina went to unlock the knife from Yima's hands and went to stab Yima. The girl from 8 couldn't fight back against Marina's relentlessness and was killed by her own knife being taken in and out of her.

Yima Slytherin, District 8 Female: 6th Place, Killed by Marina. Day 5.

While usually there's a Final Eight, the fight that took place brought it down to Final Five: Marina Tag from 1, Zora Nowak from 3, Rodna Che from 5, Raquel Esposito from 6, and Cardin Mace from 8.

In this fight, the career alliance has all perished. Only Marina and Rodna remain, but it would appear that Rodna is shell-shocked by the carnage around her. Marina went out to her, and attempted to hug her only to hiss in pain. The arrow she has on her pains her and makes her fall to the ground as she attempted to stand up. This wakes up Rodna who went to her.

Marina took out the arrow off, but that doesn't stop the bleeding nor the fact that she still feels the arrowhead on her. She said to the comforting Rodna she needs a plan now since she's all alone. The two workshops this and there's not much that can be decided. Marina says she'll die real soon, seeing that the wound would burden her in the next fight. Rodna says she'll be fine, but Marina replied she shouldn't lie about this.

After some moments of thought, Marina looked around the library and made a plan. The truth was, Marina had less of a chance of survival and decided something that Rodna didn't agree with at first, but Marina said to do it. She made a plan which will help Rodna survive.

Cardin, Raquel, and Zora knew they were three of the Final Five, but they weren't comfortable even offing each other just yet. Cardin had just begun to be comfortable around Zora and Raquel. The three decided not to, and took their word for it. The three appeared to be friends.

But I decided that make that friendship short as possible.

A voice in the sky was heard in this old Portugese mansion. Church. Whatever. "Everyone meets in the library for the Finale. I repeat, everyone is meeting in the library or get's their heads blown off."

The three listened, looking at one another sadly. Still, they knew that there were two other tributes. They can deal with them first.

Once the three entered the library, they see all the previously dead tributes. The only one they see breathing is Marina, who was currently just laying on the floor with her back on the bookcase. She was wounded, placing her hands on her bleeding waist.

Cardin, Zora, and Raquel were going to her, seeing the wounded tribute as a small threat. Which was the plan. Cardin and Zora were now getting closer to her, looking her in both pity and relief as they didn't have to fight anyone.

"Now!" Marina called, tackling Zora to the ground. The three were taken by surprise, but then the bookcase behind them was being punished by Rodna. The small girl eventually used her own slam to cause the bookcase to fall on them. Only Zora and Marina were killed by the bookcase, but Cardin has his legs trapped by it and has gotten it broken. Raquel wasn't as close as her other allies.

Marina Tag, District 1 Female: 5th Place, Killed by Rodna. Day 5/Finale.

Zora Novak, District 3 Female: 4th Place, Killed by Rodna. Day 5/Finale.

Raquel was shocked by this unexpected and somewhat silly trap. Seriously, how tough were those bookstands?

The girl from 6 then took the advantage she was given and went to the unbalanced Raquel with deadly intent. Rodna speared Raquel in the face, reaching all the way to her face. The brutality from Rodna in this day I'm sure, shocked everyone. Including Rodna herself. But she did what she had to do.

Raquel Esposito, District 6 Female: 3rd Place, Killed by Rodna. Day 5/Finale.

After taking her spear out of Raquel with a gush of blood spraying out, the small girl went to the downed Cardin, who realized how fucked he was with his broken legs. The deadly Rodna didn't want to waste any time and killed Cardin with haste.

Cardin couldn't run, and when he tried to wave his mace, it wasn't as effective as he would have hoped as Rodna dodged him. Rodna replied by aiming her spear and getting his waving arm. That arm only got wounded and saved Cardin some extra seconds till Rodna finished him with her final blow to the heart. Cardin's death was painful, but it was quick as it can be.

Rodna looked at the bookcase with two tributes under it. She whispered, "Thanks Marina."

And so, unexpected Victor won. She who was forgettable from the start, but finished it with a strong alliance on her side and five kills to her name. Not to mention, the youngest Victor to date. Very few people expected her to survive.

Cardin Mace, District 9 Male: 2nd Place, Killed by Rodna. Day 5/Finale.

Rodna Che, District 6 Female: 1st Place, Victor of the 9th Hunger Games.

-THE AFTERMATH FILE-

9th HG:
Name: Rodna Che(F)
District: 5(#1)
Age: 13

Bio: A young little girl who has some passing hobbies in acting. Rodna has been a helper around District Five theaters to make coin to pitch in with her struggling parents who work in factories. She only ever played a main role in the theater once, it was called "Mary in Wonderland". She has no siblings or other relatives, but she's known to make a vast amount of friends around her school and work due to her passion and outgoing nature.

Victory Tour: For District One and District Eleven, she was popular and had great speeches to make. Mostly thanked Zemfira and Marina for her survival and promised to help their families out, getting along with Victors Fjord and Gunther. In other districts, they were mostly indifferent other than District Four. The residents of Four were hostile (silent glares and cursing) since they had great hope for Leviathan to win.

After the HG: Rodna didn't have a lot of energy after her victory and was diagnosed as depressed from winning (from losing her friends and killing so many people). As a mentor, she was uncomfortable to work with at the start as she mainly didn't want to think of the Hunger Games and pretended it didn't exist. Around the 15th HG, however, she woke to reality and decided she was tired of seeing her tributes die. Her main advice was to have strong alliances and then realized that having a career program would benefit District Five. She had help from Arabella and District Five became a career district officially during the 16th Hunger Games.

On a more personal note, the youngest Victor eventually grew up. She became an honestly mediocre actor (in my opinion), but was popular in many circles. Being a Victor makes her something of a celebrity, and she's been in magazines that showcase her dating life which report her dating many men and women in her life. She only married once to a model named Glister Maloret, but that didn't last long as it ended in divorce due to Glister cheating on Rodna. After that debacle, Rodna declared she was a bachelorette for life and remains so.

-THE VICTOR LIST-

1st HG: Fjord Nightbreeze (1#, District 1)
2nd HG: Arabella Tamon (1#, District 4)
3rd HG: Rosa Weaver (1#, District 8)
4th HG: Gunther Bryan (1#, District 11)
5th HG: Holly Coleman (1#, District 7)
6th HG: Paula Beltramo (1#, District 2)
7th HG: Finn Kevera (#2, District 4)
8th HG: Xavier Belansky (#1, District 3)
9th HG: Rodna Che (#1, District 5)

A/N: Thanks to Gomex for sending Hungry Cowbell to me. Anyway, I would like to tell readers that this Hunger Games story is just a fun hobby to me. It used to be about me and brother passing ideas but my brother Patrick went to college so now I'm just doing this alone. But that's fine tho, I can still apply stuff here you know.

Anything, the whole Quartet Twist is coming up. Every 5 years a new gimmick, and the 10th Hunger Games is going to be horror fest against rebel kids. So if anyone has a rebel tribute they want to submit, they can if they feel like it. Have a nice day everyone. It'll be awhile till it happens, but it'll happen I'm sure.

OH YEAH, this arena is based around that time Patrick and I went on vacation to Portugal. It was a neat little place. I didn't do it any justice when writing it, but look up Mafra Palace on google if anyone is interested.