A/N: Hey guys! WOW! I can't believe I got such a response on this story, especially with it being a cross-over and everything. Thanks for your reviews, favorites, and alerts! To thank you, I will respond to every review on this chapter in the next one when I post it, so feel free to ask anything about the story, or about me (within reason, of course :P) So now, without further ado, here's chapter 2!
Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC and the Hunger Games belongs to Suzanne Collins. Regretfully, I am neither, or else I'd be stinking rich and not have to be in university right now!
"Panem? What's Panem? They're all speaking with American accents." Amy asked as the Doctor led them back to the TARDIS.
"That's because, in your time, this was America." The Doctor explained, "In the 24th century, about 150 years ago, natural disasters flooded great portions of North America. In the chaos that ensued, governments fell and Panem was created, a central Capitol with 13 outlying districts. Now, 74 years ago, the districts rebelled against the Capitol and were utterly defeated, the thirteenth blown off the map. As a punishment for the rebellion, each District has to send a teenage girl and boy to a fight to the death. That's why I didn't want to bring you here. It's no place for us." He said, as he sat down in one of jump seats around the main console.
"But isn't it?" Amy said, "I mean, if you're here now, you can stop it. You can stop all the kids dying."
"It's not that simple, Amy. This is one I can't fix." The Doctor explained. "Some things can be changed, and others are so important, so big, that you can't. They're called fixed points. Alter one of those, and time will disintegrate. For some reason, the Hunger Games, specifically this one, are fixed."
"Then why did the TARDIS bring us here, then?" Amy asked. The Doctor scratched his head.
"Honestly, Amy, I have no idea." The Doctor said. Just then a monitor popped up with what seemed like a page from a futuristic History book.
"I think maybe she's trying to give you a clue…" Amy said, pointing to the monitor. The Doctor popped up from his seat to read it.
"Of course!" The Doctor said, "Katniss Everdeen!" Amy got up and looked at the monitor. The story was written in Gallifreyan, so she couldn't read it, but she saw a picture of a poster of the same brown-haired, steely-eyed young woman she saw up on that stage, dressed in a costume reminiscent of some sort of bird, with her bow drawn. The background was on fire, and the caption read "Fire is Catching!" She looked just slightly older than when Amy saw her.
"So she wins, then?" Amy said.
"She wins, along with the other boy from this district, District 12, Peeta Mellark."
"Wait, how can there be two winners if it's a fight to the death?" Amy said.
"I assume we'll find out. I think what the TARDIS wants us to do is make sure she stays safe." The Doctor said.
"Why? What makes her so important?" Amy said.
"Look at the poster. It's propaganda. In just over a year's time, there'll be another rebellion, only this time, it's the Districts that'll win. And she leads it."
"So what we're going to do is help her so that can she can do that, yeah?" Amy asked. The Doctor nodded. "So how are we going to do that?"
"Well, we start by talking to her, of course." The Doctor replied.
"Wasn't she already carted off by those soldiers?"
"Peacekeepers, Amy. They're called Peacekeepers. And no, they just took her into the Justice Building. It's customary for the Tributes to take visitors for a short while before heading off to the Capitol. So, I say we go and talk to her." The Doctor said, walking out of the TARDIS with Amy hot on his heels.
Katniss sat in the secluded room, staring out the window. Her emotions were failing her. She had felt so much in the past hour or so that she had grown numb. Maybe it was for the best. It was bad enough going into a arena where she would have to kill people without putting emotions in the mix. Gale had just made an appearance, and he had promised not to let her family starve, and she trusted him completely. So why was she still so scared? She almost jumped when she heard the Peacekeeper open the door once more.
"Three minutes." The Peacekeeper said. Katniss thought it over in her mind. Who else would want to see her? The only people who truly knew her had already seen her. Even Madge Undersee, the mayor's daughter, had come to see her. She watched as a man in an odd outfit with a bowtie and a girl with the reddest hair she had ever seen come through the door. The Peacekeeper closed the door behind them and they were alone.
"Who are you?" Katniss asked.
"I'm the Doctor, and this is my friend Amy." The Doctor said, "We're here to help."
"I'm Katniss. You're from the Capitol, aren't you?" Katniss asked.
"No, we're not from the Capitol. Why do you ask?" The Doctor said.
"Your accents. Her hair, your clothes."
"Hey, I'll have you know this is natural, thank you." Amy quipped.
"And his clothes?" Katniss asked.
"Bow ties are cool." The Doctor said.
"They're really not, you know." Amy said.
"So, if you're not from the Capitol, where are you from?"
"Great Britain." The Doctor told her.
"Great Britain?" Katniss asked.
"Well, I'm from Britain, he's a bit more complicated." Amy explained. She noted Katniss's bewildered expression, "Wait, you don't know about Britain?" Amy asked. Katniss shook her head. "Doctor, why does she not know about Britain? Does Britain not exist anymore or something?"
"Of course it still exists." He said aloud, but then he whispered in Amy's ear, "Totalitarian government, remember? Completely self-contained. Think North Korea in your time, but on a much larger scale. They wouldn't teach about any other parts of the world. The government wouldn't want the Districts to get ideas." Amy nodded, understanding his analogy.
"What do you mean 'still exists'?" Katniss asked, "If you're from there, then shouldn't you know? It's not like centuries have passed or something."
"For us, they have." Amy said.
"What do you mean by that? Do people in Britain live hundreds of years longer than here in Panem? Are you like, 900 years old?" Katniss asked. Amy had to hold back a laugh.
"It's complicated to explain, but we're time travelers." The Doctor explained.
"Then why are you here?" Katniss asked, "If I could time travel, I wouldn't waste it on a girl who would be dead within the week."
"I wouldn't sell yourself short. I hear you're pretty good with a bow." Amy said.
"I know you're trying to be kind, but I truly have no shot. I'm not coming back to District 12. I just have to prepare myself." Katniss said. A Peacekeeper came and took both the Doctor and Amy by the shoulder.
"Your time is up." He said.
"On that note, it was an honor, Katniss Everdeen." The Doctor said, "And like Amy said, I wouldn't sell yourself short. You could end up winning this thing." He added as the Peacekeeper led them out of the room. Katniss was left there stunned. Who were these strange people? And why did they care about a girl who was essentially one of the walking dead? But the Doctor was right. She was handy with a bow. Perhaps… No. She needed to prepare herself for the worst. Of course she would try to stay in the game as long as she could, but if she prepared for the worst, it lost a bit of its sting.
A/N: So, did you like it? If you have ideas for the story, don't hesitate to tell me! I might use them, and of course I'll give credit where credit is due. And remember, I'm responding to all reviews for this chapter, so don't be shy!