The Fandom Games – The Hunger Games
"Every time we think it's over, it comes back," Katniss sat in her chair, hunched over, holding onto her youngest child, Rye, her cheek pressed against his soft blonde hair. The small boy looked at his mother.
"Why are you crying?"
Katniss pulled him closer. "Mommy loves you, alright? Never forget that. So does Daddy, and you always have Willow. You will be okay, we're always here."
Peeta came into the room, holding their daughter's hand. Her blue eyes swam with tears as she ran to her mother. Throwing small, slender arms around her Katniss' neck, Willow Mellark sobbed, heartbreak in every shuddery breath. Katniss looked with alarm at Peeta, squeezing the small child, only seven years in age but with more weight on her shoulders than most adults in the district.
"What happened?" Katniss asked the little girl, who just sobbed more in response. Katniss stared intently at her husband. "What happened?" she asked him, her voice growing increasingly urgent.
"The kids at school, they were saying horrible things about us that is not true," Peeta stroked his daughter's dark hair as she calmed herself down.
"What horrible things?" Katniss asked, a sudden and familiar fire running through her veins.
"They were saying," Willow said between gasps for air, "that you and Daddy were going to die and me and Rye won't have parents and we'll have to go live with Grandma."
Katniss felt ice fill her stomach. What her child said in fear and denial could well and truly happen, there was no doubt that one of them would die this time. But she couldn't tell Willow this. "We will win, I promise you that we will," she survived the Capitol three times, she could survive a fourth.
Except this time, it isn't the Capitol sending you out there. The voice in her brain was the exact replica of Gale's. She felt sick. "Go play with your brother, he's learning how to read". Willow did as she was told, her mother's words stopping her tears.
"What are we going to do, Peeta?" Katniss started to cry, but Peeta lifted her up into her arms and held her tight.
"We win."
The next morning Katniss woke up in an empty bed. She heard the sound of her family laughing as they cooked breakfast. She smiled. It was like an ordinary morning, but it'd be an unordinary day.
Climbing out of bed and pulling on her robe, Katniss examined her bare body in the mirror. Scars covered her torso, crossing over her breasts and stomach. Her legs were the worst, the puckered flesh forming a criss-cross pattern down her legs. These were the scars she could ignore. The scars she couldn't would haunt her forever. Losing her father was only the beginning of her tragic life filled with loss. After her father, she lost the only person she trusted in the arena, aside from Peeta. Then Mags and Wiress, who died to protect her, to protect everything she symbolised. It didn't end there, leading to the loss of her closest allies, Cinna and Finnick. Ending finally with the one that changed her life forever: Prim.
Peeta had suggested they named Willow 'Primrose' instead, to honour her sister, but Katniss had refused, knowing that just looking at her young daughter would conjure up images of her long-dead little sister, and she'd know that all she did to protect her from the harshness of the Games ended with Prim dying to help her instead.
Shrugging off memories of her old life before the games, Katniss covered her body with the robes and went into the kitchen. Peeta was cooking omelettes, and Willow was sat on the counter top, helping him. "Good morning!" Katniss' voice was full of false enthusiasm. Rye ran out of nowhere and grabbed her legs, a movement that once caused her to jump away and scream, fearing her life was in danger. Now she only tensed her muscles briefly, just enough time for her heart rate to settle. "Good morning, little man," she cried, lifting her son into the air and hugging him tight.
"Is grandma coming over today?" Willow asked, just as there was a sharp rap against the door. Katniss urged Peeta to answer it as she ran to their room to quickly throw on clothes.
"Is it too early to start drinkin'?" a familiar voice travelled throughout the house.
"Some might think so, but we don't," Peeta laughed in response. Katniss pulled a shirt down over her head as she rushed down the hall to hug Haymitch.
"Haymitch, we're just having breakfast, you want some?"
"Nah, I'll just have a drink, if that's alright?" Haymitch removed his coat and hung it up on the door, pulling out a small metal flask.
"You know us," Katniss smiled, walking back to the kitchen, "we don't judge old friends. Hey kids, look who's here." The children responded with a simultaneous "Haymitch!"
"Damn, your kids look more and more like you guys every day," Haymitch had already knocked back a small glass of what looked like whiskey. "How old are you again?"
"I'm five and Willow's seven" Rye asked, holding up his fingers to represent the numbers.
"Five? That is old!" Haymitch grinned at the small boy who laughed in response. Katniss and Peeta smiled. Haymitch had a new family now there were the children, too. The couple had feared Haymitch wouldn't take well to the children, but the happiest they saw Haymitch was when he was talking to Willow and Rye.
"They're making the final years of my life that little bit more bearable," they recalled him saying drunkenly one night. You could tell from the way his face lit up when he saw them. "I always wanted kids, but after the Capitol took everyone I loved, I wasn't going to allow myself to let anyone else close, let alone bring children into a world where the Capitol had something to do with how long they survived."
Katniss and Peeta never brought it up again, not knowing if the now 63 year old drunk would remember what he said that night. But they knew he meant it.
"Hey, kids," Haymitch stretched in his seat, "could you go play outside? Me and your Mom and Dad have some stuff to talk about."
Rye ran out, screaming excitedly. Willow stared at her mother, her face uneasy. Katniss just smiled at her daughter as she sent her a reassuring nod. Hesitantly, the girl followed her brother. Katniss watched them through the window as they played.
"We gotta talk plans," their old mentor was back, no longer just their friend Haymitch.
"Shoot," Katniss sat down opposite him, and Peeta sat at her side. He reached his hand out and took his wife's carefully. She squeezed his in response.
"Well, I received word from Effie that she is doing the Reaping. And before you ask, she doesn't know who the head Gamemaker is. No one does, he's a slippery son of a bitch. Doesn't like to be known by the many people who want his head at the moment."
"We'll meet him, right? Eventually, we'll have to. He has to be present for the scorings."
"You'd think so, but he is avoiding it at all costs."
"Then he knows one of the tributes from the other districts?"
"Possibly, either that or he's a coward."
Katniss watched the two men go back and forth, barely paying attention. She didn't care who the Gamemaker was; she didn't care if they were friend or foe. She was just sick of all that she had been put through over the years.
"Oh, and another thing," Haymitch's words caught the attention of her wandering mind. "They're bringing back the dead."
There was silence.
"What do you mean?" Katniss asked, but she already knew what he meant.
"Those we have lost, they have been brought back," she felt Peeta's eyes on her and his grip on her hand tighten, but she didn't drop Haymitch's gaze. "I don't know who will be back, or how long for, but I have heard some bets going down: Finnick, Rue, Cinna-"
"Prim?" Katniss cut to the chase. Haymitch finally dropped his eyes to the ground.
"Yeah, but her odds are much lower, so don't get your hopes up."
"I don't care how high her odds were, she could come back, right?" Katniss felt an excitement stir in her stomach, like she could throw up.
"Yes."
Peeta knew he was returning. He had prepared himself for it. What he would say, how he would act, how Katniss would act; he'd prepared himself for it all.
What he hadn't prepared for was him turning up on their doorstep.
"Hey catnip."
The sharp sound of a slap echoed the halls of the house.
"What the fuck are you doing here, Gale?!" Katniss screamed. Peeta ran out into the hall, as fast as he could run with his prosthetic leg, and saw his wife violently hitting the man that could have possibly caused her little sister's death.
"If – you'd just – stop hitting me – for a second I – could tell you!" He had his hands up covering his head and neck. Peeta grabbed Katniss, pulling her arms behind her back. Peeta nodded at Gale, greeting him. "Thanks. Your Mom told me to come here. She said that we all needed to sort this out, before things got out of hand. You knew I was coming back, I sent a letter."
"I burned it." Every word Katniss said contained venom. Peeta felt a sense of relief that there was no love remaining between her and Gale.
"Before you read it?"
"As soon as I realised it was from you." Katniss shrugged out of Peeta's grasp. "Wait, you've been talking to my mother?"
"Only since the Games were announced. Did Haymitch tell you about the twist in the tale?" Gale's eyes went stony.
"That I could see my sister again? Say goodbye? Yeah, he mentioned it."
"It's not just your sister, Katniss," Gale took a step inside the house. "Snow is coming back. He is the definite."
"Snow isn't in control this time. He's been long dead. He is no threat to us."
"He's helping the head Gamemaker out, he is a definite threat."
"I've survived him before."
"Barely. The first time you nearly killed yourselves, the second time we had to intervene, and that almost cost you Peeta's life."
Katniss chewed the inside of her cheek; she stepped aside and let Gale in. He went into the living room and stopped in his tracks. Sitting on the couch were the children.
"Jesus, catnip, she's so much like you," Gale dropped the bag he brought with him and walked over to the young girl who just stared at him, confused. He crouched in front of her, bringing himself down to her height."What's your name?"
"Willow," she responded.
"Willow Everdeen. Cute."
"Mellark, actually," Peeta smiled curtly. Gale laughed and nodded.
"Yeah, right, I forgot," he held out his hand towards the little girl. "Nice to meet you, Willow Mellark." Willow gingerly shook Gale's hand.
"I'm Rye!" Rye smiled and yelled, grabbing Gale's other hand, causing him to laugh more.
"Nice to meet you too, Rye! I'm Gale. I'm an old friend of your Mommy and Daddy."
"That's a bit of an overstatement" Katniss murmured. She looked at the clock on the wall. 12:05. Her mum would be here any moment. "Do you want a drink, Gale?"
"I guess I could go for one." He stood back up and walked past them, heading for the kitchen. "By the way, congratulations on getting married and having kids. I'm happy for you guys."
Mrs. Everdeen arrived at 12:30. Katniss hugged her mother, seeing her for the first time in 22 years. After talking for a moment at the door, Mrs. Everdeen came inside.
"Where are they?" she asked.
"In the living room, first door on the right," Katniss let her mother go first. She walked timidly around the corner, and upon seeing her grandchildren in person for the first time, she wept. Katniss wrapped and arm around her mother as she cried. "Willow, Rye, come say hi to your grandma."
Silently, the children stood up and walked towards their sobbing grandmother and wrapped their arms around her waist. Mrs. Everdeen cried harder and held the children closer. Katniss felt her own eyes fill with tears.
"I am so happy I have finally got to see you both," Mrs. Everdeen whispered when she finally stopped crying. She kissed the tops of their heads.
"Are you still okay for staying in District 12 if things don't go to plan?" Katniss asked her mother, who smiled and nodded in response. This was the first time since her father died that Katniss had seen her mother so happy.
At 2pm, Katniss, Peeta, Gale and Haymitch found themselves in the rebuilt area of the Hall of Justice. A lot of the District had remained derelict after the bombing, but the Hall of Justice was rebuilt fairly quickly. There were a selection of different people in a semi-circle surrounding the cordoned off sections where the male and female tributes would be picked from their separate groups. Peacekeepers stood between the crowd and the tributes.
Katniss looked at the centre; there was only Johanna Mason in the female section, and no males in the male section. It made her sad, but the idea of seeing Johanna made her feel uneasy. She was always a question mark when it came to their friendship. However she pushed past it and, after giving Peeta a small kiss, joined Johanna in the female side.
"Katniss, it's not good to see you," Johanna greeted her with a sad but sincere smile. "I should have gotten in touch long ago, but there's nothing that can be done about it now."
"Its fine, we were never too close anyway," Katniss returned the heartfelt smile.
"Congratulations to you and Peeta, I didn't think you'd make it."
"Me neither," Katniss nodded. "Johanna, don't volunteer for me, ok? I need to do this for me."
"I wasn't planning on it," Johanna laughed. Katniss noticed that she had grown out of the short, spiky hair style that she had last time they saw each other, and now had her hair long, going down her back. It looked unclean, and Katniss could smell dried sweat on the hydrophobic woman. "Yeah, I'm still afraid of water. If Finnick was here, he wouldn't stop teasing me about it."
"He might be here soon."
"What?"
Katniss was about to answer when the sound of Effie's high-pitched Capitol accent rang out. "Welcome, welcome, to the first Fandom Games."
Effie looked as glamorous as ever. Age had not decreased her general upkeep. She sported a straight platinum blonde and black striped wig, with a golden, glimmering dress. Her heels were about nine inches tall. Katniss could hear an edginess to her old escort's voice, and she knew Effie didn't like returning to the place where the destruction of her world began.
"Before we begin, I would like to call out the names of more possible tributes that will be joining you shortly: Finnick Odair." Katniss felt Johanna stiffen at her side. "Rue, and Primrose Everdeen."
Out of the crowd, three people stepped forward, all dressed in black. Katniss wanted to scream, but she couldn't.
There stood, alive and looking exactly the same as just before they died, were Finnick, Rue, and Prim.
She heard her mother run long before she made contact with her youngest daughter. All she could hear then were repeated cries of her sister's name. Katniss knew she couldn't run or she'd be apprehended, but waited instead, feeling tears run down her cheeks. She heard more sobbing as she saw Annie Cresta and her and Finnick's son grab the young man. Their son, also named Finnick by his grieving mother, was now only two years younger than his father. Katniss watched as Finnick and Annie embraced, watched as the once broken Annie finally looked whole.
Rue was first by her side. Katniss looked at the small girl, and felt a wave of warmth wash over her.
"You won for me," was all Rue said, before she hugged the person that was with her as she died.
"Of course, I had to. Everything I did was because of you, Rue." Katniss smiled at the girl. She felt a hand on her arm, and she didn't even need to turn to see her little sister.
"Oh, Prim!" she sobbed, pulling her into the hug. Rue let go to allow the sisters to stay together. Katniss held Prim as tight as she could, remembering her smell, feeling her breathe in her arms. Katniss opened her eyes and caught Gale's glance. He was crying as well. In that moment, she forgave him, and no longer cared. She had her sister back, and was incredibly happy.
"Oh, this is getting me all choked up!" Effie's voice sounded shriller than ever as it was stifled by tears. "But we must continue. The rules of the Resurrected are thus: as a reward to those who are going into the arena, the dead have returned. Though the dead can be sent into the arena and killed, those brought back are here to stay. That means Finnick gets to see his son grow up, Prim can be a best friend to her nieces and nephews, and Rue can return to District 11 where her family remain. They are fully human. They have heart beats, memories and emotions. They are not Mutts."
This made Katniss hold onto her sister tighter. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you, I'm so sorry."
"its okay, Katniss," she felt her sister smile. "It was quick, I hardly felt any pain."
"Now, let's pick our tributes. Ladies first: Katniss Mellark," Effie choked on the name. Katniss didn't care anymore, she could go into the arena and die, and the children would still have family there for them. Head held high, Katniss walked up to the stage and took her place beside Effie. She caught Finnick's eye, and he smiled at her. Peeta just went pale.
"Congratulations Katniss," Effie sounded like she could have thrown up. Now she was up close, Effie looked withered and frail. "Now, for the boys: Peeta Mellark."
Peeta slowly began his assent, and she heard her children scream out as both her parents took to the stage.
"Our tributes for the first annual –"
"Wait!" Gale cried out. "I volunteer."
Peeta's blood began to boil, and he knew that Gale wanted to recreate the love that Katniss and Peeta began in the 74th Hunger Games. But he climbed down off the stage and returned to the crowds were he held his children, who sobbed as their mother took Effie's hand.
"Our tributes for the first annual Fandom Games: Katniss Mellark and Gale Hawthorn."