The elf collapsed, perhaps more from shock than injury. Katniss had already begun to advance toward Twilight, and had left the knife wedged in her once-friend. As she bled, Holly felt at the wound, and surprisingly began to chuckle. With some effort, the small, bleeding figure rose from the ground.

"I can't believe it. She missed." Holly pulled the knife out from her blood stained LEP uniform. She ran her fingers across the injury again, and confirmed that the knife had been slowed enough by the light armor to have glanced off of the ribs, cutting only the skin. Blue-green magic flowed from her fingertips and healed the cut in seconds. Holly slipped the knife in her pocket. Katniss had almost entirely crossed the clearing, and was headed for Twilight Sparkle, who was cowering under a defensive-spell dome.

Holly called after the girl. "Hey sure-shot! You want to try and kill me again? I think you may have messed up the first time!"

Katniss turned from the unicorn and faced Holly. Katniss did not reply to the taunt. She instead snapped the ring's chain from around her neck, slipped on the band, and vanished. D'Arvit. Holly thought. The ring doesn't just drive you insane, but it turns you invisible? What kind of idiot would come up with that? An invisible, but very real fist connected with Holly's chin and sent her spinning into the grass. The elf rolled to the left and jumped to her feet, only to feel another blow sink into her stomach and send her reeling. She spun onto her back and saw the blue sky through the dark veil of the burning forest. Wait, that's it!

Holly pulled herself away by her hands and feet, scrambling from a crawl into a sprint toward the trees. "Twilight! Follow me!"

A basic part of LEP training was being able to identify shielded opponents without detection gear. By leading a foe into thick crowds, mud, or even rain, you could easily see the impact they made on their surroundings- people shoved aside, footprints, even a thin outline suspended in midair. The burning forest- which Holly had begun to suspect was Katniss' doing- provided low-hanging smoke and floating embers, both of which would swirl around her pursuer.

Holly dove to the base of a large tree and held her breath. Twilight skidded to a halt next to her. "What now?" the inquisitive unicorn asked, following the question with a violent cough.

"Don't breathe," Holly hissed, and watched the smoke. Nothing yet. She looked up and saw a burning branch hanging above her. The branch forked into two strong-looking arms. Holly nudged the unicorn who was now straining against taking breaths and pointed up at the branch. Twilight gave a nod of understanding.

The smoke shifted a little at the corner of Holly's vision, and the silhouette of the girl appeared just to her left. An ethereal-looking arm, wreathed in smoke and sparks, wound up for a punch. Holly sidestepped and dodged the strike, realizing that the lack of air was draining Katniss' judgment. The elf grabbed the outstretched arm, and used a fairy martial-arts technique for disabling foes quickly. A well-placed strike later, and the girl's arm bones shattered. Katniss let out a shriek of pain, sucking in the smoke-clogged air. Stunned by pain and difficulty breathing, she staggered for just a moment.

"NOW, TWILIGHT!" At Holly's command, the unicorn's magic sent the forked branch flying through the air, and into the ground- pinning Katniss beneath it. Holly rushed to her fallen friend and felt down her invisible arms to her also-invisible hands, thrashing and screaming and coughing. Holly found what she was looking for- a cool spot of metal along her writhing right fingers. The elf attempted to hold the hand still, but it was clear Katniss wouldn't relinquish the ring so easily. Holly knelt on the ground and placed a firm foot on the hand. The girl yelped in agony.

"Sorry, Katniss, but it's about to get worse. It's for your own good though," the elf said as she drew the knife Katniss had so kindly donated. Holly could imagine the girl's crazed eyes locking onto the knife and realizing what was coming. Holly drove the knife past the knuckle and severed the finger, Katniss and her blood becoming instantly visible. Her eyes were closed, clearly having gone into shock. Holly knew that this stage of the plan was even more urgent. Twilight galloped up next to the impromptu surgeon, and magically removed the branch from the ground. Holly attempted to throw Katniss' limp body over the pony, but had a little trouble overcoming her size disadvantage. Twilight magically hefted the girl onto her back- not an easy task, considering Katniss was twice her size- and the three left the forest as quickly as they could.

***

Katniss opened her eyes, squinting against the setting sun that peeked through the trees. It was a few seconds before the dull ache in her hand progressed to throbbing pain. She lifted it to her eye level to see the damage and unwittingly released a whole new level of agony from her broken arm. The quick glimpse she got confirmed that her severed finger was back, most probably the work of fairy magic. She would have smiled, but there was not a bit of positive energy left in her body. She grimaced, unable to scream.

The small and unusual horse from earlier sauntered into view. "Up and moving already? Holly wasn't kidding. You are a trooper." Katniss gave the purple pony a dazed look. "Oh, perhaps I should introduce myself formally. I'm Twilight Sparkle, but you can call me Twilight." A purple hoof was extended in greeting. Slowly and deliberately, Katniss raise her left hand to shake, but the sight of her good hand flooded her with images of her rampage.

Panic. Fear. They can't see their foe. I am death itself, invisible and inescapable. The big man with the machine gun goes first, then the little man with the overalls and bad accent. Kenshiro tries to defend himself, but even fists as fast as his can't hit what he can't see. The boy from the first day, the wizard, doesn't put up much of a fight. Then the one they called Chief. He could see. Maybe radar, or something. That didn't stop me shoving an arrow through his helmet. The armor started sparking after that. That's probably how the fire started, but I didn't care, did I?

Katniss let her hand drop. I knew I did those things. I remember doing them. And I wanted to do them. The unicorn saw the despair on her face. "Oh, I know you are probably concerned about what happened. But it wasn't under your control, there wasn't anything you could do." Katniss wanted to shake her head, wanted to raise her voice and say Yes, yes it was. There was something not right deep inside me and I'm afraid it is still there. But she could not, and so she sat, leaned against a log in the deep of an artificial forest, mute.

Soft, small footsteps told Katniss that Holly had arrived. She heard the elf come to a stop just behind the log she leaned against, but she couldn't see her. Twilight looked up at the elf.

"Done with that ritual? She woke up while you were gone."

"Yes. Maybe it means she'll appreciate the healing more," replied Holly, who placed her hands on Katniss' back.

"Now, this will feel odd, but it should take care of your arm."

The blue-green sparks fizzled into Katniss' field of view and jumped toward her broken appendage. Each little dot of the potent magic homed in on the arm, sunk under the skin, and buzzed like a hive of bees as the pain began to fade away. Katniss slowly raised her arm, testing the joints. In the span of seconds, agony had turned into mild soreness. Fairy magic was powerful stuff.

Katniss leaned forward, tumbling off of the log she had been sitting against. Catching herself with her good arm, she turned to thank Holly.

"That was pretty…" she paused. It was there. Around her neck. Its thin chain melted back into one piece. The ring twinkled softly. Invitingly.

"…impressive…" the girl croaked quietly, and began to reach for the band. She was halted by the log, and proceeded to tumble onto the ground. Twilight rushed to her aid, and Holly made sure to move the ring somewhere less conspicuous.

"Are you all right?" asked Twilight, magically suspending her arm and examining it for injury. Katniss stared at her hand blankly.

Did I really just try to take it again? After all that?

"No. I… I'm not all right. I can't stay around you guys with that… precious… thing! I'm a liability!"

Holly tried to comfort her, which was beginning to seem like a more common activity than actually fighting in this tournament. "Katniss, calm down. You're disoriented and confused. You need more rest. We'll work out what-"

"No! You don't get it. That thing… I… need it. And if I stick around you guys, I'm going to end up doing whatever it takes to get it. I have to protect you from me. I have to get away." And with that, she stood, and charged headlong into the woods.

Holly drew her Neutrino and clicked it into its lowest setting, taking aim at her retreating friend. Twilight's hoof pulled her weapon down.

"Hey, what gives? We need to talk this over with her."

The unicorn shook her head. "No. Can't you see? This has to be part of the Master's plans. According to my research, the One Ring effects people in varying degrees. Those with more power to carry out its will are corrupted more quickly and to a greater extent. The Master of Games must have known this, and planned this challenge specifically so Katniss would turn on us, and eventually, we would turn on her."

Holly took a brief moment to absorb the knowledge. She nodded in understanding. "Okay, I get it. Now, I've charmed myself to be immune to possession, so I can only imagine what the ring could do to me, but… seriously? It instantly made Katniss a maniac? What kind of power does she really have?"

"You know her better than I do, Holly."

"You're right. And I'd say she's about to get herself into deep trouble."