"All games must come to an end."
~ The Puppetmaster's End ~
"It didn't cross my mind twice. Ever since Fraux was elected as the president, I just knew something was brewing."
I stare into his sea-blue eyes. He runs his fingers through his golden-brown hair and takes a sip of his coffee.
"You doing okay without her?" I sort of nod, sort of shake my head. I pick up my cup and begin to drink my coffee to think about my answer for a moment. "I'm fine," I spit out. "I just wish-"
"You wish you could have saved her?"
"Yes.
He sighs. "You did what you had to do. Letting him commit suicide wasn't an option. He died in your hands."
"And so did Eden. She died in my hands too. And she died in Fraux's hands."
"And how so?"
"Because his death meant she had to die too."
Gloss grins. "I suppose you could say her blood is in my hands then."
Puzzled, I look up and I'm face to face with him again. Snake-green eyes. Wrinkled skin caused from excessive amounts of plastic surgery. The same marshmallow-like lips.
"I killed Eden, and deep within your heart you know it. You can't stop it, Mr. Lynn. Just let the thought break free."
"The only thing that is going to break free is me from you! In fact, I've already broken free from your strings!" I bite.
"Indeed. But that doesn't mean I can't chase after you," he whispers. "Your family, dead. Eden, her death in my hands. Your silly soldier friends, all gone because of my inventions in the Capitol. Who else will you turn to now?"
I don't try and let him defeat me again. I look him straight in the eyes, my hands rested on the edge of the table.
"I've got Ole."
"Ole?" he says, confused in tone, soon letting out a small chuckle afterwards. "And guess what? I've got his tongue!"
"Ever hear of the phrase 'cat got his tongue'?" I ask. "Well in this case, the snake has got his tongue."
"Very polite, Mr. Lynn. But what will you say to this?" he asks. "I've got the bombs that your precious little family couldn't escape. And what about Leith and Araxie? Poor little souls. It's a shame they couldn't run quick enough."
"Well I've got the spear that killed you!" I snap.
"I just knew you would fall for that.." he whispers.
"Now give me an answer to this: name one action you've taken that hasn't hurt your loved ones around you."
I grin and lead forward towards him. "You'll see very soon."
He huffs. "I look forward to seeing your only success 'very soon.' Goodbye Mr. Lynn."
"Dathan!"
I snap out of it and I look back at Gloss.
"And so you were saying what?" asks Gloss. I try to think back, but my mind is blank. All I can remember was my discussion with him.
"I don't remember," I say. "I better get going."
"I think so too. I'm certain that Prompa will have a wonderful time dressing you up," he says, winking afterwards. I nod.
"See you later tonight," I say.
"You too."
I step outside his office and close the doors shut behind me. "Ready to get dressed up?!" asks Prompa. I barely open my mouth before he grabs my arm and spins me down the steps.
Months have passed since this mansion was destroyed. Ole was ordered to see a therapist by Gloss and he has been opening up about his time in the Capitol. It's still hard to get all the details out of him, especially with the whole tongue situation, but he's making progress at least.
Johanna spent a few months back in District 7 after leading the District 7 rebels back to their homeland, but I hear that she is back here in the Capitol for the event tonight.
For me, I've been spending time in the Lynn apartments, the new name of the Tribute Center where anyone can now live. And of course, the apartments are now named after me. Prompa brought the idea up and bugged Gloss so much that he decided to go ahead with it.
The best news of all however is that there are no more U-Districts. Instead, the Districts and U-Districts have now combined, the underground places that used to be the U-Districts are now places for homeless people to stay for free.
But I still feel dazzled by all that has happened. I walk down the stairs to Gloss' mansion with Prompa and out the doors opened by two Peacekeepers where a small, black car with darkened black-out windows sits in front of me.
We walk out into the cold, frosty air that nibbles at my red hands. I pull my hat from out of my jacket pocket and put it on over my head, pulling the zip on my jacket up as far as it can go after.
A man steps outside the driver's door and opens up the door to the backseat. I thank him and hop inside.
"I am going clothes shopping! I will be back at the apartment in about two hours sharp!" Prompa squeals before the Peacekeepers open the gigantic gates, letting him out before us.
"Champagne?" he offers me a drink, but I decline.
And the craziest part of this all is that I have just turned eighteen, hence the reason I was offered alcohol and why I'm allowed to live on my own. Thick sheets of snow lay outside on the pathways as we drive through the busy streets. Winter is almost ending. Little did I know this time last year that I would be spending the following year being shifted around in dark cars to important meetings and discussions.
"Settled in well?" the man asks me, patting his neon blue hair that's tied into a ponytail.
"It's been a bouncy ride, but I think I'm settling in just okay," I reply. He smiles. "You should be proud of yourself. You earned this."
I'm about to reply with something snarky, but I decide not to. Yes, I earned my future life in the Capitol filled with luxury by killing people in the Games. Yes, I earned myself a life alone without my family or my friends by defying the government. Yes, I earned my free glasses of champagne in my ride back to my apartment by killing Eden. Yes, I earned it all.
I prop my elbow up on the window and stare out at the thick, snowy clouds. It's almost like a storm is approaching. Large balls of snow float down from the sky in between the towering skyscrapers shooting up even higher than the clouds. The Capitol in winter. It's a beautiful place. Not even the history of what caused that certain crack in that wall or what caused builders to re-build that destroyed monument in St. Yurin's Square can take away its beauty.
The car comes to a halt and I'm tosses forward, luckily my seat belt holds my back fiercly.
"Idiots crossing the road without going to the traffic lights!" the driver yells. He quickly winds down the window to his left and scream out to two familiar faces. "Go to the traffic lights next time! I almost ran you two over!"
"Sorry!" a woman squeals, pushing a certain boy wearing a fluffy, blue hat and gloves in a wheelchair around. "I'll be more careful!"
The boy and I make eye contact and he grins at me, soon followed by a wink.
Ole and Layla, her being Ole's person assistant. Ole has been learning sign language ever since the day after Gloss was elected to be the president, and Layla was committed to helping Ole out with every-day chores. I often hear her squeaky voice asking Ole questions a few doors down from my apartment. Ole turned nineteen during the war apparently so he is allowed to have his own apartment, just like me.
The thing is though, I never bothered learning sign language to communicate with Ole better, but I was given a sheet of paper filled with all the symbols to stick in on the wall in my bedroom from Layla. She has ordered me to not make Ole speak by writing answers in his notepad as it makes him backtrack in learning the language, but I secretly do it anyway when I visit him.
Both of them head on down the pathway and our car picks up speed again. We spend at least ten minutes in traffic before we reach the side entrance to the Tribute Avenue. I hop out and I thank the driver before he speeds off down the road.
I head through the small alley into the expansive Tribute Avenue and look at the barriers being set up by volunteers before heading towards the entrance to the apartments. Inside the lobby, the woman at the desk greets me.
"Ready for tonight?" she asks. I nod and smile. "Good. I'll be watching from the stands."
I don't know how to reply, so I just nod again and continue to smile before entering the elevator. I shoot up through the air and step out onto the top floor when the doors slide open.
I unlock the door to my room with the key I was given by Prompa and I step inside the warm, toasty apartment. Of course they'd have the heaters running for me so I'd feel like I was in a volcano by the time I got back.
I take off my hat and my jacket and toss them over one of the dinner table chairs before I slump down onto one of the couches. I snatch the television remote and power the screen up, an image of Swallow Sheek wearing winter gear interviewing citizens pops up.
"Are you excited for tonight?" she asks, pulling her scarf further around her neck.
"Of course I am! We get to see the-" I quickly power off the television before I hear the words come from another person's lips. Listening to the same words over and over again will bring back the memories, and I can't possibly start to freak out before the ceremony starts in just a few hours.
I stare at the wall with my mind blank for what seems like minutes, but then I hear a loud bang behind me. I quickly spin my head and watch as Prompa falls through the doorway with a single bag in his hand.
"I got a call. They need you now to start getting you dressed and ready!"
Within minutes, I'm standing outside in the snow waiting for our car to appear. It shows up sooner or later with the same driver as the last time driving.
"In a rush? For what?" he asks.
"The darn people organizing this want us to be ready hours before, apparently!" Prompa shouts. "Who do they think we are?! Puppets?!"
Puppets.
Like puppets dangling from strings.
"Ladies first!" she squeals. She hops across the stage in her extremely tall high heels, over to the female bowl. Her short purple wig falls off onto the stage without her noticing. She dips her hand into the bowl and pulls out a slip of paper. "Who shall it be?". My eyes roam around to try and find Araxie, but I fail.
Flinka pulls out her reading glasses and places them on. She slowly unfolds the paper. "Araxie Dunvail."
My mind instantly blanks. I stare at Leith in shock, and I grab onto his shoulder to keep myself balanced. Ready to collapse. Ready to give up. In so much shock that I almost don't hear what follows after.
"I volunteer as tribute!".
I prop my head up, looking up over the tall boys and I see the girl with her shiny black hair in a pony tail walk up onto the stage. All I can think about is that this girl just saved my girlfriend, but she's also crazy enough to risk her life.
"Dathan! Come on!" shouts Prompa in my face. My mind snaps out of it and I hop through the door into the backseats of the car. The drive takes less than two minutes: just a journey straight ahead on the road to the building where the tributes used to prepare for the parade, and where the tributes rode out on their chariots.
"Dathan, did you go over your lines?" asks Prompa. I don't know what to say, so I just nod. But of course, those lines are probably stuffed in a trash can right now. In fact, I don't even remember recieving them.
The car pulls up onto the sidewalk and we hop out.
"Au revoir, sir!" squeals Prompa to the driver just before shutting the door.
He walks me through the sliding doors into a lobby of some sorts filled with hundreds of people ready for the ceremony. Immediately, heads spin and look at me before cheering citizens sprint over toward me. I jump back, frightened and watch as Peacekeeper charge forward and push people back.
"Up to the desk!" Prompa exclaims.
We go up to the desk where a woman greets us and brings us through a doorway behind the counter.
Inside is a gigantic, open room filled with people swarming around and a large tunnel that leads to the Tribute Avenue, always used for the chariots.
"Heads held high and smiles wide please!" pipes Flinka, patting Eden and I on the shoulders before she scurries away. "I will see you on the other side... Quite literally! I will see you on the other side of the Tribute Avenue tonight when you get to your rooms in the Tribute Center!"
"Don't mind her. She's a nut," Finnick whispers, glancing back at Flinka who trotts away, her high heels sending echoes through the open air.
"Just do what you think will please the crowd. This is the night you both get to shine," he continues, smiling.
"This is where the real Games begin."
He walks away just after an alert rings through the room, telling us to stand in our chariots.
"You know that you don't have to act so tough," I say to Eden.
"I don't act tough," she explains. "I just am tough."
"No, no you're not. I know you're soft on the inside."
"Okay, if that's what you think, go ahead and think it," she replies.
I let out a quiet giggle, laughing at her determination. The Capitol anthem begins to ring and I see the District 1 tributes riding out through the tunnel up ahead. Within seconds, our horses begin to pace forward. I tilt my head back, ready for the lights and I put on a brave smile.
"Did you hear all of what I had to say?!" Prompa asks. I glance around confused, wondering where Eden just went.
"Dathan, what is wrong?" he asks. I shake my head. "Nothing."
"Well did you hear everything that I had to say?!"
I nod. "Yes." A second lie within five minutes.
Prompa escorts me through a small door all the way to the right of the open space, and when we enter I meet eyes with racks of clothes and a small dressing room.
"You're going to be wearing something very special to everyones' hearts.." he says, shuffling through the racks to find my outfit.
"Here it is!"
He unhooks it and holds it up to me, showcasing it in all its glory. My armor I wore in battle. The same one gear that reflected bullets to kill both Crimette and Flinka.
He shoves the clothes into my hands and pushes me into the small dressing room, pulling the certains behind me. I get suited up and step outside, Prompa squealing in delight.
"It's... it's just so... beautiful!"
He applies makeup to my face lightly, and I'm pretty happy with the shade he gave me. My skin just looks a little darker, but nothing too harsh. Minutes later, we step outside into the gigantic, open space again where a woman runs towards me.
"Well well, Dathan Lynn," says Johanna. "Long time no see!"
We both hug and she smiles, parting her hair to the side.
"I'll be watching from the stands with Ole. You're going to do great," she continues.
"Well I better get into a queue outside. I just dropped by to say hello. See you later!"
Prompa and I step forward towards the tunnel leading out into the Tribute Avenue for what feels like hours, but when hundreds upon hundreds of people begin to fill the open space behind me, I know that we're getting close to showtime.
I hear Swallow Sheek's voice booming into a microphone outside and I hear her introduce me.
"Go out, Dathan! Do yourself proud!" pipes Prompa.
"Send them in," says Finnick. "What?" I ask. I turn around to see him clipping some sort of device to his jacket. It's almost like a mini speaker of some sort.
"What's that?" asks Eden. "Shush!" he replies. "The broadcast is live and I can see the riots on screen," I hear a voice muffle from the little device. "The other U-Districts are also confirming this."
"Who's that?" I ask. But it's too late. The train doors slide open and I see the District 4 citizens attack the Peacekeepers.
Sunlight comes creeping in.
Illuminates our skin.
We watched the day go by.
Stories of all we did.
They made me think of you.
They made me think of you.
My heart begins racing as I pass through the tunnel, and I eventually make it through into the Tribute Avenue. Thousands upon thousands of people cheer in the crowds while two lines of drummers stand on either side of the Avenue, belting at large drums while massive bowls of fire stand beside them.
I quickly glance back and watch as the hundreds of people back in the preperation area begin to follow me out through the tunnel. Within seconds, they spread out like a wave, following closely behind me.
"Don't stop fighting. Don't stop defying. Do whatever it takes to weaken the Capitol!" Eden shouts. "One hundred years of twenty three innocent children being murdered has crossed the line! Now, we must fight back!"
Her voice starts cracking, and when I turn to look at her, I see tears streaming down her face. "Fraux killed our families when he bombed our houses, now we must take actions into our own hands! No matter how many times they kill our children, no matter how much they bomb us, and now matter how much they execute us, we must fight back!" she screams.
"We all have one enemy! He corrupts everyone and everything! He kills children for fun! He turns us against each other! But he must and will fall!"
She takes a step back and buries her face into her hands. Then I walk up to the front of the stage. "And here's my own personal message to President Fraux," I begin.
"You may think you can control us, and you may think that we're just mere puppets, but all games must come to an end! It may have taken us one hundredth years, but we are soon going to change Panem for the better. We are going to find you, kill you and there will be no strings on us anymore!"
Under a trillion stars,
We danced on top of cars.
Took pictures of the stage,
So far from where we are.
They made me think of you.
They made me think of you.
I take in a deep breath and continue to march forward, the drums continuing to belt and echo throughout the Tribute Avenue, the people behind me still following and the crowds roaring loudly.
I look straight ahead and watch as projections come to life on the side of buildings, all featuring different angels of one thing: the arena. The arena used for the Games. The same cardboard clouds still hang, the same dull, leafless trees still stand and the same beanstalk still remains crossing the entire arena, flat out and crushing everything underneath it.
I continue onwards and I begin to approach the end. And that's when I see the small stand fit with a microphone, and fit with the big, red button.
"Your time is up. This is where it all ends," Eden says continuing to step towards him.
"Yes," Fraux says.
"My time as the Puppetmaster is over. You have been freed from your strings. But no matter what, there will be no strings on me."
I know what he's doing, and I'm not going to give him the chance to do it. Justice must be served, and it will be served. He's not going to get the easy way out or the way he wants out. He will die in our hands.
Immediately, I grab my spear from my sheath and throw it through the air. Just as he tries to leap from the edge of his balcony, my spear enters his chest. His eyes widen. Blood seeping through his white shirt. He stares at me and yanks the spear out from his chest, dropping it to the ground just before his body tilts backwards off the ledge. Dead.
But my mind goes blank during those seconds.
As the spear flew through the air when I threw it, bullets sprayed out as always.
And one entered Eden's forehead.
I'm in a foreign state.
My thoughts they slip away.
My words are leaving me.
They caught an aeroplane.
Because I thought of you.
Just from the thought of you.
I finally reach the podium and I try to stop my mind from blanking. The people following just behind me stop moving just a few feet behind.
"After one hundred years of bloodshed and death," I begin to speak into the microphone, "we have finally taken what is rightfully ours."
"No longer do we have to fight to death for the amusement of sick, vile humans," I continue. "No longer do we have to live an unequal life. Because today is the end of it all. Today, we free ourselves of everything got to do with the Games. Today, The Hunger Games will end forever!"
The crowds screams as loud as they can as a countdown from ten begins to flash across the projections of the arena.
"Ten, nine, eight..." the crowds begin to chant.
I look up and watch as the drummers pick up wooden sticks behind their drums, pointing the tips into the gigantic bowls of fire and setting the sticks alight.
"Seven, six, five, four..."
Oh lights go down.
In the moment we're lost and found.
I just want to be by your side.
If these wings could fly...
"Three, two one..."
I slam my hand down onto the button and look up at the projections.
Oh damn these walls.
In the moment we're ten feet tall.
And how you told me after it all
We'd remember tonight
For the rest of our lives
The entire area blasts into millions of pieces: the forcefield, the trees, the ground, even the beanstalk.
The cameras cut to outside the arena in the middle of nowhere where the gigantic dome sits in a field filled with tall grass. The outer-shell explodes, ash and rubble scattering into the air with clouds of smoke blowing off into the snowy skies.
Oh lights go down.
In the moment we're lost and found.
I just want to be by your side.
If these wings could fly...
The drummers lift their flaming sticks high into the air and blow out air, sending the flames into tiny fireflies, drifting off away. Tiny ripples glowing up the sky as snow falls all around.
Oh damn these walls.
In the moment we're ten feet tall.
And how you told me after it all
We'd remember tonight
For the rest of our lives
Everyone stares up in silence, watching as the arena blows up into pieces and while flickering flames ignite the sky. Hundreds of tiny dots shining a path upwards and upwards.
All I can think about is Eden in this moment. It's not until she entered the Games did she realize how nasty they were. She would have wanted this if she was here right now. She would have wanted the entire arena gone. And I'm happy that I could deliver that.
"Well done," I hear a voice say from behind. I spin and I'm face to face with Gloss.
"You've done yourself proud. You have changed Panem forever."
Changed Panem forever.
For Hirk. Loffia. Kit. Fry. Xanva. Keeka. Boniqua. Ole. Johanna. Finnick. Araxie. Leith. My family.
I've changed Panem for them.
And I've changed Panem for Eden.
I.. I don't know what to say.. It's over. No more Dathan. No more Eden. No more nothing. The Puppetmaster series has come to an end...
But seriously, it's over. What do I do now?! I... I just... ;_;
Before I get emotional, let me start of with the basics: if you liked this oneshot, please drop a review if... if you're stable and... not sad enough to :( Please favorite and follow this story if you liked it and stay tuned for the next chapter... Oh wait. I forgot... No more chapters. It's over. Done. FOREVER :(
If you haven't noticed, this was a bit of a songfic too. Those lyrics near the end were from the song 'Wings' by Birdy. Go look it up on youtube and think about this story. It makes it even more sadder.
So, with that out of the way... Let's talk about all three of these stories... Here comes the speech...
I remember reading SYOTs on this website before deciding to write any stories because I was always interested in them. But what saddened me was seeing so many interesting SYOTs be set up but not finished. Most people quit writing during the Reapings because they're so tough. My inspiration for The Puppetmaster's Game came from me wanting to write an SYOT that would be finished and that people would be please with. After a week or two of thinking of plotlines and the arena, I decided to make it themed around puppets and *drum roll* a Puppetmaster! (Oh yes that's in the title of the story! I am just so clever!)
When I first started writing the story, I had NO intention of making a whole war featuring the victors. In fact, I was just going to do a regular Hunger Games with a sequel about the 101th Hunger Games. But then a certain little Tribute Form was sent to me with a minor detail that made my brain explode...
I would like to thank SeungriPanda98 with his form for Ole, because he gave me a little recommendation of what to put in the story: during the Reaping, Ole's mother would be shot by a Peacekeeper.
Immediately my brain started running in circles. I thought of a REBELLION to write about. And the cause of this rebellion would be Ole's mother being shot, setting up the rest of the story. Fraux only came into mind once I thought of the rebellion so I started dropping lots of hints about this rebellion. Example: Fraux murdering one of the Gamemakers who questioned Fraux for being able to revive Dathan but not President Snow. One thing I find funny is that to this day, nobody in Panem knows who murdered that Gamemaker apart from the readers xD
And so the rebellion was being ignited, but I needed one final push to make it happen. Peacekeepers shooting Ole's mother was a great way to start it, but it wasn't a big way to make it shoot forward. Then came the beanstalk idea...
I used the beanstalk to make the districts think that Dathan and Eden did that purposely to escape, making the districts continue to push on with the riots. And then the rebellion finally took place in The Puppetmaster's Strings!
The thing that made the rebellion finally click was Fraux hanging all the rebels from a hovercraft at the end of chapter one and when Fraux bombed the Victors' Village.
And then we had the U-Districts to show off! Strings was definitely much harder than Game to write simply because it was a fully fleshed war. I introduced lots of new settings, ideas and characters that took more time to create.
I remember by the time we finally got to the Capitol with the war, I thought of the idea to let either Eden or Dathan take the chop... Further into the war, I finally had the final five chapters thought of along with Eden's death. I decided to kill off Eden simply because Eden was always there for Dathan more than Dathan was there for Eden, so it would really make for an emotional death especially when Dathan 'could have saved her.'
Eden always tried to protect Dathan more than he did to her, so it's kind of sad when she eventually dies!
My favorite chapters and easiest chapters to write were definitely all 3 parts of Untied, especially Untied Part 3. They were the chapters with a lot of action and suspense, and I pushed every little detail out of my brain into my laptop to write them. The best part of Untied however were 3 things: the pods!
Know where those blades came from in Untied Part 1? Know where the black goo wave came from in Untied Part 2? Know where the LIZARDS came from in untied Part 3?! Yes, all from Mockingjay! Untied was basically the part of this story that I wanted to be a huge flashback to Mockingjay.
Having Finnick eaten by the lizards and blown up by the jawt was so ironic that I just HAD to do it! xD
Sure, killing Finnick was super sad because one of the characters' main goals was to get Finnick back, so having him for a few minutes before he dies was super sad! :P
I remember when the Mockingjay Part 2 teaser came out, seeing Katniss walk up the Tribute Avenue with everyone following behind her was so beautiful, so I just had to add that into Untied Part 1 and this oneshot, The Puppetmaster's End. If you don't know what I'm talking about, just search on youtube for the Mockingjay Part 2 teaser or official trailer. The scene is in both.
So anway... that wraps it up... I don't know what to do anymore. It's OVER. Usually when I write my other stories on this account, I'm always like "Oh! I better not forget about writing a new chapter for The Puppetmaster's Strings!" ...but that will never happen again.
These three stories have a special place in my heart and they are the most proudest I have ever been about any of my stories.
I would like to thank SeungriPanda98, Vhagor, ThatDamnScottishGuy, Kkfanatic22, Heroboy2004, Queen Of Colours, We're All Okay, witches always return, DaughterofApollo7, Alecxias and gorillaface345 for all submitting tributes in The Puppetmaster's Game! I had a great time killing them ;D
I would like to thank everyone who has read and reviewed The Puppetmaster's Game, The Puppetmaster's Strings and to whoever reviews this one ;)
And of course... A SPECIAL NOTE TO A SPECIAL READER!
Thank you to... ASGARDIANGRIZZLY for reading and reviewing EVERY single chapter in The Puppetmaster series and for leaving such long, detailed and lovely reviews since the 8th of February when all this madness started!
R.I.P The Puppetmaster Series
.2015 - .2015
I cannot believe this is the final time I will post a chapter in this series. Oh my god, this is literally the final time I sign off too.. OMG I CAN'T!
Here we go... ;_;
Thank you all SO MUCH FOR READING, *gigantic, massive, enormous breath* BYEEEEEEEEE :'D
