Deep in the heart of the universe, a dark god lay dying. His evil energies leaked out from his cosmic mass, causing nightmares and corrupting youths across countless worlds. He knew that within the span of a few years, he would be dead entirely. He had no friends, no allies to call in his time of need. On the edge of a black hole, there was no chance of escaping. He was so far from any screams of agony, violence or bloodshed that may have warmed his spirit. But then, perhaps that was the answer. Even in death he possessed powers beyond most creatures' imaginations. He had a plan.

Alertness was one of Holly Short's specialties. Other ones included martial arts, sharpshooting, flight and piloting, infiltration, and elf yoga, but alertness had saved her life on more than one occasion. Situational awareness and observation were imbedded deep in her subconscious from years of hard work in the Lower Elements Police Recon division, which often meant she noticed little changes from the norm in insignificant things. Usually it was just annoying. But even deep in her sleep, she had noticed something was amiss. It was quiet.

The neighbor gnome was not watching the morning news. The teapot's buzzer had not indicated that her chamomile-and-fungus tea was ready from when she set it the night before. In fact, the air smelled a little different. The sheets were a little too soft. I am no longer in my apartment, she thought. Someone's kidnapped me.

Holly made sure not to jump, or open her eyes suddenly, as any watchful guard posted over her would surely notice. She had to instead observe her environment more stealthily. She slowly opened her human eye (which she had become fond of opening first; it certainly served as an excellent discussion piece) until she could discern that there was no guard on her left side, which she was currently lying on. The room was a dull grey, and seemed to be constructed entirely of metal. On the left of the bed was a nightstand, about the same size and shape as the one she had in her apartment. In fact, the entire room seemed to have the same layout of her apartment. This is no ordinary kidnapping.

Taking a chance, Holly bolted upright in her bed. There were no guards, or visible cameras. Straight across from her bed was a closet- just like her apartment. Even the bed was the same size as hers, though it was recreated in the same shade of drab grey as the metal the rest of the room was made of.

"By my great-grandfather's bottom," she cursed. "What kind of trick is this?"

Abandoning the idea of a hostile kidnapping, she opened the closet to reveal it was filled with copies of her LEP uniform. Unlike the rest of the room, the uniforms did not seem to be so color-deficient. To the left of the closet the room split- behind the closet was the bath, but across from the bath was a small courtyard. This was most certainly not in Holly's apartment. She tiptoed into the "courtyard", if it could even be called that. It was a room about two or three feet higher than the rest of the apartment. In the ceiling was what looked like a skylight, but no real sky was visible beyond- just white light. Below the skylight grew an oak tree, with the proportions of one a few hundred years old, but the size of an eight-year-old sapling. The odd tree sat in a gap in the metal floor filled with what looked like potting soil.

Nothing about this place seems right. Or even natural, Holly concluded. The tree's function, however, was obvious. An old tree like that was necessary for Holly to replenish her magic. Whoever brought her here wanted her to be using her magic, and with great frequency.

Holly's deep contemplation was cut short by a voice from seemingly nowhere.

"Miss Short, please report to the Common Hall in twenty minutes."

Holly spun in place, attempting to identify a source, but there were no signs even of concealed loudspeakers.

I have a feeling I had better listen to them.

Holly grabbed a uniform out of the closet, and dove into the shower, every second watching the water to make sure it was not suddenly acid, or lava. It never was. Everything in the bath was set up as it was in her apartment, which was simultaneously disconcerting and quite convenient. After getting out of the shower and slipping on her uniform, she approached what would be the front door of her apartment. A slow turn of the handle revealed that it was unlocked.

I bet whatever is out there isn't the Lower Elements at all.

The elf swung open the door and was nearly knocked to the ground by a hulking man in olive-green power armor, advanced beyond any human system that Holly knew of.

"D'arvit. I hate it when I'm right."

The hallway- as grey and metal as everything else, it seemed- was filled with brutish-looking characters. Huge human men carrying far too many weapons, lithe ninjas and martial artists, magical creatures bursting with elemental energy, and beings clearly not of the earth Holly knew. They were all headed down the hallway, turning right at a corner at the end.

Holly waited for an opening and briskly stepped into the flow of intimidating-looking characters. Her height made it a little difficult to see where she was going, but in a few moments the crowd began to part around her, and she found herself in a massive room. It was cold, grey metal- as per usual, but with a high vaulted ceiling. Utilitarian-looking tables and chairs were built into the floor, and already the warriors were beginning to congregate around them. It was certainly a spectacle to see them squabble over seats while discussing their various accomplishments on the field of battle.

Out of the corner of her eye, Holly saw a table without wild gesticulations or explosive onomatopoeia. It was filled with human teenagers, who were discussing something quietly. Holly decided to investigate. She called forth the magic that ran through her veins and began the shield. Her body began to vibrate back and forth so rapidly that she became invisible to the naked eye. Thus cloaked, she crept toward the teenagers to listen to their discussion.

The kids didn't seem quite as intimidating as the adult fighters. They all seemed like fairly reasonable children for the most part; none of them donned huge battle armor or were wielding demonic swords. There were three boys and three girls. They were shooting ideas back and forth about how they had arrived at this place- a conversation Holly eagerly wanted some additional perspective on.

"I think it was magic," said a boy wearing a red turtleneck and thick glasses. His hair was jet-black in contrast with his bright green eyes. He was mainland British, for sure. "Magic is the only thing that could explain the uniformity of this place, or how our rooms seem to be individually tailored to us."

"Don't you try and go on about your magic again, Harry," said one of the girls. She was easily the most intimidating-looking of the lot, wearing many tattoos and piercings. Her hair was blonde but had since been highlighted with black. She wore ripped jeans of the sort that were popular with humans- at least, whenever and wherever Holly was familiar with. "I think this is a simulation. An advanced computer program, messing with our brains."

That accent. Holly knew she had heard it before. Chicagoan.

"But I thought you were some all-powerful Divergent or something, or am I mistaken?" called the boy wearing a crisp blue military uniform. His hair was less organized, a curly brown mess. He leaned back in his chair nonchalantly, keenly listening to the discussion without giving the impression he was. "You claim you can modify a simulation that interfaces with the mind directly. Prove to us that it is one."

The girl looked down at the table, closed her eyes, and breathed deeply. She opened them again. "Aw, crap."

"Relax, Tris. Just because the table didn't become a fruitcake, doesn't mean it's not a simulation. It may just work on a frequency different than what you're used to, or it may not be interfacing with our brains directly."

The girl nodded, but quickly did a double-take. "Wait, Amuro. How did you know I was thinking of a fruitcake?"

"Lucky guess?" he chuckled. Changing the subject, he addressed the other boy. "What's your opinion, Shinji?"

Shinji was resting his head on his folded arms on the table. He wore a simple white button-up shirt, and black slacks. The other children's getups at least partially indicated their origins- Amuro clearly served in the military at some point, Tris might be a gang member or street fighter. Harry went to a boarding school that taught some sort of awareness of magic. Shinji was clearly a Japanese schoolboy, but what fighting skills that would grant him were unclear.

"Well, I don't think it has to be either magic or technology. There are some things out there you just can't explain. Like aliens."

This caused Tris, Harry and Amuro to burst out laughing.

"Aliens? Really?" howled Amuro.

"Next thing you'll tell me is that Sasquatch is real," said Tris.

"But he is real," said Harry.

Coming down from their giggle fit, Amuro questioned the next child.

"Okay, you're Mikasa, right? What do you think?"

Mikasa was a slight, but athletically built girl with short, black hair. She wore a different uniform, one with a short khaki jacket emblazoned with a large coat of arms. Underneath was some sort of white shirt and white pants, all covered in myriad belts and straps. What they were for, Holly could only guess. She also wore a red scarf around her neck, which served to cover the bottom half of her face.

She did not respond to Amuro, but merely gave him a stern, cold look.

Amuro prepared to ask the last girl for her thoughts when he realized she was busy crying. Her head was cradled in her hands.

"Um, are you all right?" asked Amuro.

"Don't you see?" said the girl feebly between sobs. "It never ends! Here it is again, after all I did, all those lives! All for nothing!"

The girl wore a brown leather jacket and pants, clearly home-sewn. Her brown hair was delicately braided and hung over her right shoulder.

"What never ends?" asked Amuro carefully.

"The Games," replied the crying girl. "I… we… got rid of them! But then this! And I'm just a kid again, and this place…" she broke off to continue sobbing.

Holly knew that the time for subtlety had ended. She un-shielded and rushed to the girl's side. The other kids jumped up, caught unaware by the sudden appearance of the elf.

"What the hell is that thing?" questioned Tris.

"An alien," replied Holly sardonically, crouching next to the girl. "Hey," she said softly. "It'll be okay."

"I always thought aliens would look a little different," said Amuro.

"Less like a house-elf," commented Harry.

The crying girl stopped crying for a moment. "Who… what are you?"

Holly took a step back to address the whole table.

"I'm Captain Holly Short of the Lower Elements Police Recon division. I am an elf-"

"So could you make me a sandwich?" said Harry.

"No," said Holly.

"House-elves are better," Harry concluded.

Holly shook her head and continued. "And according to my regulations, you're all under arrest."

"You can't do that!" cried Shinji.

"Gods. You kids wouldn't know sarcasm if it hit you in the face."

"Does that mean you will make me a sandwich?" asked Harry.

Holly sighed and turned back to the crying girl. "Okay, you know me. Now what's your name?"

"I'm Katniss. Katniss Everdeen," she said quietly.

"Nice to meet you, Katniss." Holly extended her hand and the girl took it, shaking it carefully, like it was something delicate. To be fair, Holly's hands were almost half the size of hers.

"Ahem."

The voice came from the back of the massive room, where the warriors directed their attention. A kingly figure sat atop a throne, which rose high above the floor. Holly was fairly certain it was not there before. The man wore bright yellow robes and donned a crown, but Holly was unable to make out his features. Perhaps it's the distance.

"Welcome, one and all, to the Nexus. I am the Master of Games," said the man in yellow.

"I knew it," hissed Katniss, who began to weep again.

"I have gathered you here from many universes and dimensions. You are the most fearsome warriors from your worlds. You are here to engage in the Grand Combat, a contest of my own invention. It will be a test of your strength, speed, skill, and intelligence."

"How will you test that?" whispered Katniss.

The Master of Games stood at his throne and looked towards the girl, instantly picking her out in the crowd of thousands.

"Excuse me?"

"How will you test that?" she said, louder.

"With battles to the death."

Katniss threw herself on the ground, wailing. Holly stooped beside her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sure you'll make it out fine."

Holly rose and found herself face-to-face with the Master of Games. Shockingly, his face really was blurry-looking.

"The overall winner of the Grand Combat," he continued, without acknowledging his sudden movement, "will be given the ability to recreate their universe as they see fit."

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

His face gave the impression that he looked at Katniss, then at Holly.

"You two will be our first combatants. Everyone is dismissed. The battle will begin in forty-five minutes."

The warriors throughout the room murmured softly and began to head down the hallway toward the rooms they had come from. The Master of Games seemed to have vanished, and soon all that remained in the room was the circle of teenagers and Holly. Katniss still lay on the floor in front of them, but she was quiet now. Perhaps thinking things over, perhaps worn out from all of her crying. Perhaps unconscious from stress. The kids looked at Holly accusingly.

"Hey!" she shouted. "I don't want to do this any more than you do!" They didn't seem to change their opinion on the situation. Holly shrugged and turned back, heading for her room. When she arrived at the hallway, she got her first clear glance down the hallway. The doors on either side seemed to go on forever- but at the end of the hallway, there was another door.

The door didn't seem unusual- at least, it looked like the other doors. But Holly couldn't stop looking at it. She took a step toward it. Then another. Then another. When she finally pried her eyes off of it, she realized that she was at the end of the hallway- the door was right in front of her.

This just keeps getting weirder.

She looked around to make sure no one was watching, but the hallway was empty. She turned the door's handle, opened it a crack, and slipped inside.

The room was totally dark. Holly knew that fairies often had better night vision, due to them being used to low light underground, but she still could not make out her hand in front of her face. A gentle breeze flowed through the room.

"Uh… Hello?" Holly called.

There was a deep sound in response, something that sounded like an underwater explosion, violent but muffled. Holly stepped backward to find the door, only it seemed to have disappeared. The sound got louder, and the breeze began to pick up. Soon other sounds began to join in, inhuman screams, animals roaring. Thunder rolling and the screech of sharpened steel on steel. The volume continued to rise. Holly fell onto her hands, only to feel them sink into some sort of liquid. She tried to back out but instead fell in, tumbling through some black abyss. The sounds continued to assault her, and she began to notice a pattern to the noise. It would start and stop, change in pitch and tone.

It was a voice.

"HOLLY SHORT. DO YOU KNOW WHY YOU ARE HERE?"

Holly began to open her mouth to respond, but she realized that whatever she was floating in would end up flooding in and drowning her. She remained silent.

"ANSWER ME."

Holly spoke, and felt the words bubble out of her throat.

"No!"

"BECAUSE YOU NEED TO KNOW."

The voice was so terrible it made Holly want to throw up. It was loud enough that her ears were bleeding, the magic that attempted to heal them getting lost in the abyss.

"THE LORD OF RIDDLES WATCHES. HE DREAMS AS WELL, DREAMS OF LIFE. YOUR CONFLICT WILL FEED HIM."

Holly was having trouble making sense of anything, but the circumstances were certainly not helping.

"HATE IS WHAT HE HUNGERS FOR. STARVE HIM."

"Who… are you?"

"I AM THE HUNTER IN THE DEEP. THE BLACK ON THE DREAMS OF THE WORLD. YOU CANNOT KNOW ME, BUT YOU CAN KNOW MY POWER."

Suddenly, Holly was in the sick bay of a fairy submarine, her dying mother in her arms. The old elf turned to Holly, blood pouring from her nose, and from her mouth as she opened it. She began to say something.

"Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!"

Holly awoke in the grey metal room. She heard the alien words echo off the walls. It wasn't my mother speaking. She was lying on the bed, and as she rose to hold her aching head, the more pleasant voice from earlier addressed her.

"The battle begins in five minutes, Miss Short. Open your door to the prep room when you are ready."

The elf stumbled off the bed and opened the door, which now revealed a smaller white room. It took Holly a few moments to register that the hallway was no longer there.

Oh. I get it.

The room seemed blank- a small table in the center was its only furnishing. On it sat a LEPrecon standard helmet, her Neutrino 3000 blaster, and a set of mechanical wings. She locked her blaster in its holster, swung the wings over her shoulder, and clasped the helmet under her chin.

"Now what?" she questioned, figuring the powers that be were listening.

On the other side of the table, the wall slid open to reveal a lush jungle. Wind moved the leaves on the trees, and birds chirped in the distance. It seemed real enough.

I'm ready to fight. But am I ready to kill? Especially someone who hasn't given me any reason to?

Holly stepped into the jungle, the doors sliding closed behind her. She reached back, finding nothing but air- the rooms she had walked through had disappeared.

Funky.

She began to walk through the jungle, which was beginning to seem less and less realistic. For example, the floor of the jungle was quite level. There even seemed to be a gap in the trees for quite some distance that led straight ahead from where Holly had started. Walking was nice, but flying was faster. Holly fired up her mechanical wings and shot up through a break in the dense canopy. As she hovered above the trees, she noticed another unusual feature of the jungle. There seemed to be a single, large circular clearing in the center, which was clearly where Holly and Katniss were supposed to fight.

With my wings, I'll make it there first.

Holly revved up the wings and flew towards the clearing. She hovered above the space for a moment, using her helmet's sensors to scan for any signs of Katniss.

Nothing on the motion tracker. Nothing on the thermal. I've beaten her here.

Holly powered down the wings and executed a clean three-point landing. She drew her Neutrino and knelt down to wait. Wind rustled the leaves softly. It was calm.

If only I could avoid this somehow. That poor girl doesn't stand a chance.

Holly felt something softly push against her back. Suddenly, warnings appeared all over her helmet's visor.

Critical wing failure? How?

Holly reached back to check them and found something stuck in the left wing oscillator. She pulled it out and held it in front of her to investigate.

An arrow?

Holly caught a glimpse of movement in front of her, and instinctively looked up. She was suddenly knocked onto her back. Shattered plastic from her helmet's visor rained down on her from the sky. Blood began to trickle into the vision of her right eye. She reached for her face and found another arrow lodged in the helmet- it had punctured only far enough to knick her eyelid, but any further would have taken the eye. Holly tore the arrow out and tossed the broken helmet aside, readying her Neutrino.

"D'Arvit!" she cursed, searching frantically for a target. A whistling sound closed in on her left- Holly ducked backward and saw the arrow fly past in front of her.

"What is this, the Stone Age?"

She rose and charged in the direction of the last arrow, towards the trees flanking the clearing on her left. Holly arrived at one of the larger trees and placed her back against it to prevent an ambush. Her eyes scanned for a trace of the girl among the trees, but she saw nothing. Suddenly, movement above her- the girl had leapt from the top of the tree. She rolled and was quickly on her feet, charging at the elf. Katniss let out a feral scream and pulled her left arm back to strike.

Holly dodged her left fist, but her right hand was clenched around a heavy-duty knife, which ripped a deep gash through the elf's cheek. Holly ducked to the left and swept her leg under the girl, who toppled. Holly raised a hand to her cheek and magic crackled out, sealing the wound.

Katniss got up, this time sliding her bow into her hand. "What are you?"

"I told you," said Holly. "An alien."

The girl threw a jab with her bow, which Holly dodged around again. For a moment, Holly caught a glimpse of Katniss' frenzied eyes. A quick double-thumb strike to the human's temples stunned her for just long enough for Holly to pull away to a better fighting stance. Holly unleashed a multitude of punches on the girl's side, and began to close in for another set of strikes when a heavy boot connected with her stomach. Holly reeled backward.

Katniss began to advance toward the shaken elf slowly, clutching her side. "Can't… lose," she growled. Holly shook herself out of her stupor and wound up for a punch, releasing her small fist with inhuman velocity. Shockingly, it landed in Katniss' palm. Holly felt a little fear as the human's hands closed over her fist and arm. With a grunt, Katniss hurled the lightweight elf over her shoulder, sending her sprawling in the grass.

She didn't look that strong. How is she this good of a fighter?

Holly saw the glint of sharpened steel cut through the air and rolled to the side in time to watch the knife dig deep into the earth, and not her head. Katniss' hand clamped down on Holly's neck, the girl pinning the elf with her body. She raised a fist to strike.

"Hold still. I want to finish this quickly." Katniss hissed, tears welling in her eyes.

"Don't we both?" Holly replied, her hand finding its way to the holstered Neutrino.

"You don't understand," she began to sob. "I've done this before. The Hunger Games. They were gone. Now it's the same thing, different name, different people. I have to win. I have to fix it again."

"Is that so?" said Holly, who whipped her Neutrino's barrel squarely into the middle of Katniss' forehead. A low-power shot flung the girl backwards, reeling and half-stunned. Holly rose and kicked her in the ribs, knocking her back down. The elf leveled her Neutrino at the fallen girl, raising its setting to full power.

"I… I can't lose now…" croaked the girl. "Not when so many have died. It was supposed to be over." Holly held her finger over the trigger. I can't do it. I can't just kill anyone, especially not someone so helpless. She lowered her blaster.

"Well done, Miss Short. Now, execute your opponent." It was the Master of Games' voice, calling from the sky.

Holly turned from the fallen Katniss. "I'm pretty sure we're mutually opposed to the idea," she said, tossing aside her Neutrino. Katniss slipped her quiver off and dropped her bow.

"You… won't…" she stammered.

"No. You were afraid, and I don't blame you. That was clearly the big man's goal. I don't believe he has our best interests in mind."

"You know, I have the feeling we're going to get along," said the girl.

Holly was going to respond when she felt her feet begin to sink. She looked down and saw them begin to disappear into the ground.

"What in Frond's name?" she gasped as the ground rose to her hips. Katniss was sinking as well.

Holly attempted to escape, but her feet seemed locked in place. She tried to hold herself up with her hands, but they slipped under as well. Soon the ground was at her chest, then her neck, then her nose, then nothing.

Holly opened her eyes. She and Katniss stood side-by-side in the main hall. The other warriors were gathered around them. The teenagers were there too- and their expressions seemed a little more welcoming. The Master of Games, on the other hand, did not appear to be pleased. He stormed off of his throne and stopped before the two, seething with rage.

"What part of 'Battle to the Death' don't you understand?"

"We understand all of it," hissed Katniss. "But we're not going to do it."

Holly offered a suggestion. "Perhaps you could change the parameters. Maybe we could play a game of crunchball."

"Preposterous. You must fight."

"How about no one dies, then?" asked Amuro from the crowd. "I've talked to quite a few of your prestigious combatants. A lot of them died before coming here- and I'm one of them," This got quite a few looks from the crowd and certainly stirred up more murmuring. "And I don't think we'd like to go through it again."

There was a generally agreeable mumbling from the multitude of fighters. The Master of Games looked a little flustered.

"For now, all combatants will be dismissed to their rooms. There will be a ten-hour recess in the competition while I attend to..." He gave a poisonous glance toward Holly and Katniss. "… complications."

That can't be good, thought Holly as she began to slink back toward her room. Though pretty much everything I've encountered so far can't really be defined as 'good'. Especially that thing in the dark room.

She arrived at her door and stumbled through to collapse on her bed. She had a lot to think about. And as she found out, a lot to dream about…