A/N: Here's another one. Good luck to me to find a nice ending. Send me reviews.


After having their breakfast with Myra and their mentors, casually having a talk about strategy and survival, and who should and should not be in their alliance. All of course, the other Career Districts are all included in that subject. Those from District 2 and 4. Keeping that close alliance and, if possible, not letting other threats in. Although, they could use those other scared and pathetic looking tributes, little gullible bastards, to do some of their jobs for them. The more powerful and controlling they appear like, the more sponsors they'll get. The odds are always high for those coming from the Career districts, so they won't have much of a problem with supplies. The train arrives in the station after a few minutes and a crowd is formed. Numerous people in different lavish appearances welcome them with a loud applause. Myra calls for both of them with their mentors following behind. Looks like the other tributes have arrived, from the height of their position on the train, Marvel could see out back where some tributes were gathered. They looked like those who come from the nearest districts to the Capitol. Glimmer waves to the Capitol people gathered around them. As they walk through the crowd, Myra leads them to the training center where they would stay for their days in the Capitol.

The training center was a tall skyscraper in the center of The Capitol. This is where the tributes for each games continue their journey for training and preparation before going in. They were one floor up so the elevator ride was short. District 1 was where the things of luxury of The Capitol came from, and their floor was truly luxurious, matching their district forte. Although, this was far more luxurious than anything District 1 could make for their own. Furry carpets, velvet couches, polished metal sculptures, wonderful furniture, they do commend the Capitol people for having wonderful taste in design. They've been sent to have their day as they wished and tomorrow would be when the real things start. The tributes of the farther districts are yet to arrive and they have to be complete to begin. The rest of the day passes normally, each of them taking care of their own businesses. Dinner went smoothly, all of them meeting Myra at the table on time, the tributes even earlier than their mentors. They continue to talk about history, possible outcomes, strategies, and other game matters.

Although, the only thing that wasn't really normal, in some manner, that happened throughout their day was Marvel stealing short glances at Glimmer. Whenever he gets the chance, either he's a few feet far during their joyful walk around some places of the Capitol, while talking to her, or just being in the same room. He would sneak a peek at her, admiring her wit and her way of presenting herself to other people. She hasn't shown a sorry face or any sign of fear ever since they boarded the train. Well, she might have, while she was alone or if the others weren't looking. Even with Marvel's instances of looking, he didn't see her frown that day. Even before they said their goodnights and seized the day. This was truly one determined and happy girl.


They were awoken early, up to have breakfast, and sent to meet their prep team after. Both of them were sent to separate compartments in one of the training center's floors along with the other tributes. They are to be groomed into prettiness and perfection before they officially present themselves to every person in the Capitol, including of course, the very own President Snow himself in the tribute parade.

Such processes as waxing, plucking out your eyebrows, trimming your hair, heck, even giving a shower has to be done by your own prep team. As painful as it is for a guy, Marvel has to get himself waxed. Man, that hurts more than those sparring sessions at the Academy. You could feel the burn on your skin and it stays for a while. That's just for one rip. Think about getting your hairy legs waxed and you're a tall guy with long legs, the unluckiness. Even getting your nails cut and properly done is important, they even give you some skin treatment to make it look precious and well taken care of. All of the scars and bruises, those are all covered. Even Glimmer, who was already beautiful and almost perfect as she is, appeared and looked even better. She looked like a precious gem from one of the best jewel mines of their District. So delicate yet so amazing and mesmerizing. Her golden locks were put into big curls that flowed down her back. Her blue eyes stood out even more. After getting done, they are sent to their stylists to get themselves prepared for both makeup and wardrobe.

Marvel wore this pink and purple suit, they had gems on his coat. He wore a long cape that fell from his shoulders down to his foot. He appeared to look like some of those what they called 'princes' in those stories from old folklore, back in the old civilization It had little diamonds sewn at the outlines and it was made of silk. His stylist, Phia, led him out to a big room where the chariots were. He saw some tributes from the other districts. It was obvious from what they wore the symbolism of what their districts represent. District 4 clearly shows its fishing quality. The girl having a crown like that of an undersea queen, the boy held a golden trident, it was taller than him even. Their outfits flowed like water and had the shade of blue like the sapphire, clearly representing the sea. District 2 continues to surprise people with how they are presented in the tribute parade, each year, they are put into different varieties and styles of costumes but shows the meaning of their district. This year, they were Roman warriors, almost god-like. The boy, with his big and stud figure, could clearly pull of this thing while the girl, despite her petiteness, showed immense posture and looked even like a goddess in her warrior and gown like outfit. Another pair of tributes catch his eye, District 12, the past years weren't really great for them during the tribute parade. Obviously showing the obvious coal dust in their nakedness, being a coal mining district, but they were fully clothed this year. They were groomed very well and they both wore full on black suits. Marvel wonders what would they pull off this year.

After a few moments of observing, Glimmer is finally brought into the room by Vens, her stylist. Unlike the short glances he stole, he looked at her full on. Well, more like stared at her. She was beautiful. Almost like how Cashmere looked during her games, such beauty and stance. Her posture was impeccable and she looked great in her outfit. Her blue eyes popped out even more with the simple yet sparkly makeup she had. She wore the same pink and purple outfit but was a long gown. It was tight on the upper part of her body but opened into a nice skirt from waist down. She had a furry cardigan that wasn't closed so it showed off the cleavage of her dress. Marvel kept his eyes off that, he wasn't like that, he brought his eyes up to her head. She wore a big headdress full of feathers like those showgirls he has seen once on television. He brought his eyes back down to her face, she gave a sweet smile at him knowing that he was staring her down from head to toe. He shook himself awake and grabbed her hand to lead her onto the carriage. Their mentors and stylists gave them small reminders like smile and wave to the Capitol, to keep themselves standing straight and looking classy but ready to fight. They were first in line so they finally fixed themselves to get ready for the gates to open. The other tributes get set on their carriages as well and trumpets start to sound, the anthem of Panem plays and they are pulled out into the open.

The massive crowd of Capitol people meet them with cheers and rounds of applause. Just like the instructions given to them, they give smiles and waves at the crowd. The banners hanging from the panels on the sides of their walkway showed them. There was also a big screen high behind the bleachers. It showed the line of tributes coming out from that big gate. It started on them and then switched to the Roman warriors of District 2, continuing down the line, the crowd went even wilder after a while. Wanting to know why, they looked at the banners and the screen, the tributes of District 12, they were on fire! As in, they were literally on fire. Their suits were set ablaze. It couldn't be possible, how could they not burn while their clothes are already on fire? What could have their stylists come up with. The boy grabs his co-tribute's hand and puts them up in the air. As they held their hands, the crowd roars even louder. Clearly, these kids from one of the poorest districts had just stolen the show. He showed nothing of being pissed, but Glimmer surely wasn't happy about someone else stealing her spotlight. Alright, this was the first time Marvel has seen her without that smile, it looked more like an evil smirk on her face, like she had something evil planned for them. Glimmer wasn't the only one, those District 2 tributes looked beyond pissed about it. As much as he didn't want to admit it, those guys were scary, Marvel was glad he was on their side.

All the carriages are brought to a halt in the circle, President Snow standing on a podium way high above them. They had to look up just to see him, but his voice is well broadcasted around the area. He gives his usual opening speech about welcoming the tributes into the games, admiring their courage and sacrifice for this bloodbath. He reminds them of Panem's history, a much briefer one than those being told during the reapings. The uprising, the fall of District 13, the introduction of the games as a reminder and so on and so forth that any of these tributes around him, including Marvel himself, couldn't care less about. Around him showed different faces, there were some showing fear, some of determination, some of sorrow, some of regret, some of confidence, some of homesickness, some of brutality and thirst for blood, yet some showed some unreadable expressions too. The speech was over, the are to be taken back inside and get some rest to prepare for the next day. Official training is finally about to start.


They wore black jumpsuits with red linings, their District number placed on their back below the neckline and on their left sleeve as well. They are introduced to different types of sections, some for offense and some for survival. Those sections containing usual weapons used at the Academy are immediately taken first by those from the Career districts, this was their forte anyway. Four of them take their own stations, Districts 1 and 2, District 4 didn't seem like it this year. Their tributes looked like they had no chance, the boy was like 12 years old and was really small, he wouldn't stand a chance against them. The girl was petite as well, she was Clove's size, but nothing about her caught their attention. It was like they felt the same since both of District 4's tributes showed no interest or made no move into entering the alliance with the other Careers. Cato, District 2's male tribute, takes his place in the section with swords, showing off his skills while slicing the heads of the dummies, seeming like the sword he held didn't even weigh a thing. Clove, District 2's female tribute, showed her skills with those throwing knives, showing impeccable agility and hand-eye coordination. That girl could hit someone in the eye even though she wasn't looking or even if she was more than 30 meters away. Glimmer held her place with the bows and arrows, hitting the bull's eye or nearly everytime she took her shot. While Marvel had his stand with the spears and javelins, throwing it at a certain far distance. They show themselves off to intimidate competition, or to simply just scare the shit out of the other terrified tributes. Some tributes fail at even just crossing the rope or climbing a net and fall down on their butt to the ground. Ruthless as the other Careers are, Marvel had to play along. He laughed at the ridiculousness of others. He laughed along with the others when they focused on that boy from District 12, when he fell from that obstacle, his district partner went straight to his side.

The four of them stayed keen to observing him, what would he do, they already stole the spotlight at the tribute parade, they wanted to make sure those tributes were really worth the bother. But just after a few seconds, the boy went on to grab a big metallic ball, probably weighing more than he does and tossed it through the room. It hit a rack of spears, the spears were bent and out of shape. Spears were made of thick metal, they wouldn't bend that easy even after getting hit by something that weighed very much. That ball was thrown with much strength for that to have happened. It was a shocker, it really showed on the girls' faces. Well, that convinced them.

Training continued for a few more hours before they were sent to take their lunch. All the Careers sat at their own table. The other tributes kept giving them glances and chatting with each other. This was normal, being those tributes who always intimated the others. They had the usual talk, what they should do, what they needed to get as soon as the timer goes off and the tributes go rushing for all those supplies, kill as many as you can, be heartless, and be the best. That's what they talked about. Cato appeared as the leader of the pack, having come from a family of victors, he would know more about all of this. Marvel wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, he knew stuff and let's face it, he had the compassion, but he wasn't the smartest. Potential tributes that could join their pack was also part of the conversation.

"So far, that boy from 11 looks pretty good for us," Glimmer added. They gave a look at the table where the boy from 11, which Marvel heard whose name was Thresh, sat with his district partner. A little curly haired girl who was about twice smaller than his size.

"If we could convince him, that would be great," Marvel answered.

"Anyone else?" Glimmer asked.

"That boy from 12 could do-" Marvel said before Cato interrupted.

"-hold on. You seriously want him in?" he questioned, holding his hand up with an annoyed face.

"Who knows," Marvel retorts.

"We'll see. After training, the individual sessions, and the interview. We can decide then," Clove finally spoke after sitting silently through the whole conversation.


Training hours came to an end, all tributes were brought back to their respective dorms to freshen up and take their rest for more training the next day. Myra reminded both Glimmer and Marvel to prepare for supper before they can decide to go to bed. That night, the Capitol airs the recap of the reapings and the tribute parade. They also air portions, the board of odds. The board shows how the Capitol people think what the odds of each tribute have from winning. As usual, the Careers lead the board. Cato, so far, has the greatest odds in his favor. Followed by Clove, then Marvel, then Glimmer. But the surprise is, even those from the outlining districts like 11 or 12 almost have the same number of odds like them. The numbers change from time to time, the odds increase.

Marvel decides to go ahead and clean himself up while Glimmer decides to stay and continue watching whatever's on air, sitting on the couch and staring at the hologram on the wall. Ceasar Flickerman goes on and on with praising this batch of tributes. Considering that surprises fill the year. District 12 had its first volunteer. That girl from 12 volunteered for a little blonde girl, mentioning at the end that it was her sister. Oddly enough, District 2 lacked volunteers on the girls' part. Clove's name was reaped and no one bothered to replace her. Lucky enough for her, she got the spotlight to herself. District 4 picked poor tributes for this year, it was a big surprise that no volunteers came up. It was usually one of those Districts included in the Career Pack, but the rest of the Capitol people agreed with them, they weren't worthy Careers this year.

Just after around twenty minutes more, Myra arrived and called all of them for supper. They had the usual talk, still boring enough though. But, just to add more variety of words to the platter, Myra throws in a few personal questions.

"So, Glimmer, your last name seems familiar enough," Myra asks after dipping her spoon in a small bow of mashed potato and pouring some gravy over it.

"Oh, yeah. My sister, Kelly Mainstreen, won the 69th Hunger Games a few years back," she said proudly after taking a sip from her drink. It was filled with cold blue liquid, it had that sour taste but still contained some sweetness. They called it 'Blue Lemonade'.

"Oh, no wonder. You share a big resemblance with her," Myra tells gleefully.

"I know, and I'm here to follow her footsteps. I wanna be just like her," like a little girl, Glimmer says it with excitement.

Marvel still stays silent. He continues eating and cutting his steak. Not bothering to join the conversation unless he's already the one being questioned. Out of nowhere, Gloss brings him up.

"How about you, Marvel, got any family at home?" with that deep husky voice, Gloss asks.

"My father and twin siblings, still young," he mentions without looking at anyone. Still picking on his food.

Gloss had nothing more after that. There was a brief silence again before Cashmere butt in herself.

"So, you guys knew each other? Before the reaping?" Cashmere asks. There already seemed like an obvious answer for that question. Typical tributes didn't really know each other before reapings.

"Yeah," Glimmer mentions in between bites, "He knew my sister," she adds.

The conversation goes on about how Marvel got in connection with Kelly and Glimmer Mainstreen. But he left out the part about the cabin in the woods. They were from a Career District, but despite that, they were still under the reign of the Capitol. And mentioning about breaking the law by crossing the border, might give them a chance of losing a lot. Before Glimmer could even talk about it, Marvel kept signaling her to keep quiet about that matter. That was their secret to keep. It was too dangerous to blurt out, even to their mentors.

Supper was over, all of them were sent to bed, the lights were out but Glimmer would sneak out to keep watching. She was bored and wanted to look for something to do. She couldn't just roam around Panem, so maybe she can settle with watching. They were airing scenes from previous games, even her sister's. Kelly Mainstreen was battling it out with her own district partner. They may have come from the same place, but it's time to battle for yourself at the moment. They had a winter setting, survival was even harder in the cold. It was harder to run with her thick coat and boots. The snow was kind of deep and the boy was still sprinting towards her. She held a good distance but didn't want to take any risks by slowing her pace. She had no weapons in hand, so running was her best choice. The boy had a sword, he could throw it anytime but that would be hard without having a good aim. Thinking of what her best move could be, she ran towards a body of frozen water and slid on top. It was a frozen solid and big, not knowing how much farther she could go, she just wished the boy would make a huge mistake. Still not bothering to take a risk, she continued to cross the frozen body of ice, trying her best to keep the speed of her movement. The boy had set foot on the ice as well but she still kept moving. He was catching up, but before reaching the middle, he slipped and dropped the sword. It gave a loud thud on the ice, which made them freeze. But after a few seconds, they realized that the fallen sword wasn't enough to crack the ice. So the boy grabbed the sword again and continued to follow her. It was a wild and long chase on the ice, considering it was really hard to get across that without having proper blades to make you glide through it. She was almost at the edge, reaching back to step on snow. There was something in sight, it caught her eye. If she would get to it in time, this would be her luckiest day yet. In her view, she spotted a spear lying on top of the snow, it had blood on it so it was probably used. The blood had dried and frozen on the blade, but it was still good enough to cut or to break. She already had the idea of what she would do when she reaches it. Good for her and out of luck and determination, she got it just in time. The boy was still in the middle of the ice when she picked up the spear, held it up and took a few steps into the ice surface. With all her might, she plunged it hard down into the ice and quickly made her way back to the snow. With the force put into it, the ice cracked quickly and broke apart. The boy fell down into the icy water and his sword with him. He struggled to keep surfaced, panicking and gasping for air. With the very cold weather, it would just take a matter of minutes before he freezes to death. But Kelly didn't bother to stay and watch, there still wasn't assurance that the boy wouldn't get out of the water and go after her, so she continued her pace into the small forest behind the lake. After a few minutes, the cannon went off and Claudius Templesmith announced her victory.

Glimmer couldn't do anything but put a proud smile on her face. Proud to have a sister like Kelly and proud to be following her footsteps. She could be as lucky as her sister or be more clever. Whichever goes better, as long as she takes home the crown. She wasn't going to continue to hide in her sister's shadow anymore.


Marvel stayed in his room after cleaning up. Dressing himself I comfortable clothes, a blue shirt and some trousers seemed well enough to sleep in. Although, he still wasn't feeling the sense of sleeping yet, so he decides to take a look around outside. He walks out to see Glimmer sitting on the couch, watching what looks to be some old set of games. Ceasar was talking in the background while the scenes aired. He tried to walk as quiet as possible, just to not startle her. Although, he did make his way to her. He put his hand on her shoulder and it gave her a reason to jump.

"What the-" Glimmer almost screams.

"Ssssshhhhh, keep it down," Marvel says and gestures for her to keep her voice down, "sorry to startle you." He did startle her after all. Laughing at his failed attempt, he brought his hands up in the air in defeat.

They both took a seat again to keep watching. The scenes changed again. These games were set in an abandoned town surrounded by wildlife. Three tributes were left, a girl and two boys, were running away from what seemed to be like genetically altered creatures. They were unlike anything else that Glimmer or Marvel has ever seen, even from other years of games, these creatures weren't there. They looked like black eagles, only they were three times bigger. There were two of them visible. All of the tributes went there separate ways, but with the creatures being air borne, they had a big advantage of picking anyone up from their view. One boy, looking at around the age of 15, was running through tress, pushing away the big leaves that blocked his way, and eventually went out into the open. That was the mistake he made, because the mutt went down and picked him up. He was struggling to let the mutt drop him but was brought to a very far height. The mutt was soaring through the air and eventually dropped the boy into one of the wooden houses in the part of town. They showed a close up of the boy, he was laying on the floor, his body in an awkward position. Broken bones were obvious and glass was all over the place. His fingers were still twitching, but blood came gushing from under his head. His eyes were wide open but more blood came flowing. The cannon went off after a few seconds. The scene was brought back to the chase after the final two tributes. The mutt was still soaring in the sky, the two tributes weren't far apart and were running in the same direction. Both came out into the open, but the girl tripped and fell face front. The boy came rushing through the open and quickly bolted back into the trees. The mutt came down fast to land on the girl's back, it pecked her back, her hair, and the back of her head. She turned herself around to try to push the mutt off and get back to her feet, but she was too late after another mutt came down. It was a brutal scene. They pecked her face, even though she tried to cover it with her arms. The mutts were still too powerful. They ripped her clothes and pecked through her stomach. Blood was everywhere, they even pecked her eye. They started clawing on her as well which gave her even more deep wounds. All she could do was scream out of agony. The mutts continued gnawing her, until the cannon finally blows. The scene switched to the running boy, once he heard the cannon, he came to an abrupt stop. The announcement was made, it was the 56th Hunger Games. The boy came from District 5.

Marvel still had his eyes set on the screen, unknowingly, he felt something fall on his shoulder. Glimmer had fallen asleep and was leaning against him. He tried to shift his position but didn't want to bother or wake her in the process, so he just adjusted himself a little to give her a comfortable position, he reached for the remote to turn off the hologram screen. Darkness now filled the room aside from the city lights coming from outside the window. Her blonde hair covered her face, so he tucked her hair and put it behind her shoulder, but still a few strands fell to her eyes.

He gave a smile, looking at sleeping Glimmer. So peaceful and quiet. Her blue eyes weren't visible, they were hidden under those closed lids. But he could still remember the radiance and beauty of it. He tucked the remaining strands of hair behind her ear. She shifted a little but didn't wake. The image he was seeing wasn't anything you usually see. A beautiful girl leaning on your shoulders as they slept, someone you cared about. Marvel chuckled and kept a small grin on his face at the idea. He carefully moved and pressed a soft and light kiss on her forehead. He smiled when she smiled at his gesture. It was coincidental, maybe she was dreaming, or did she really feel the emotion behind it? Marvel enjoyed the moment he was in. He wanted it to last. So he closed his eyes as well and drifted off to sleep.


Glimmer's eyes fluttered open, she was surprised to have awoken not being in her room. She must have fallen asleep on the couch while watching. It was still dark, still more time to get back to her room and sleep there. She looked beside her to see Marvel asleep as well. Could she have fallen asleep leaning on him? Yeah, well, their mentors can't know that. They might think differently and have the idea of Glimmer and Marvel being a couple. So, Glimmer didn't hesitate to go back to her room and go back to sleep there. Leaving Marvel still asleep on the couch and no one by his side when he wakes up.

Glimmer closed the door to her room and walked over to her bed to tuck herself in. She checked the time, it was 3 in the morning, still a few more hours before breakfast. She thought of something before going back to sleep, she felt something when her eyes were closed and it made her smile. She felt something light touch her forehead, it meant something. It wasn't just anything, there was something odd yet a feeling of happiness that flowed through her body. Was she dreaming or did it really happen? There was no clear image of it. It was all dark and filled with unsureness. She wasn't aware of who or what it was. She touched her forehead for some seconds and smiled again. And she also went back to sleep as well.


It was Day 2 for training, and again, tributes arrive and assemble early before their scheduled hour. The careers still go for the offense stations rather than those focusing on survival and living. On this day, tributes are obligated for a gauntlet match against the sparring mates. This is also the day they look for potential allies, after observing the tributes around them on their first session, they now have ideas on who to get for the games. During this session, one of them make rounds. Mostly, Cato does the talking rounds. Marvel just observes gives little looks, he isn't the negotiating type, he leaves that to Cato or Glimmer. Throughout the day, he saw Cato talk to Thresh, the boy from 11, only. Before training was over, Marvel approached Cato, wanting to know what went on with other possible alliances. He jogged over to the bench where Cato sat, tying his loose laces.

"Hey, what happened?" Marvel asked, still catching a little bit of his breath from jogging across the room.

"What do you mean 'what happened'?" Cato returned with a question, not looking up, still tying his shoes.

"I mean with the negotiating stuff, any luck?" Marvel explained.

"Nothing happened, no luck, got that?" Cato blurted, seemingly hotheaded.

"Whoa, man. I just wanted to know," Marvel replied, holding his hands up in front of him to cover himself from any possible assault Cato could give.

Cato just gave him a mean and threatening look then walked away after being done with his shoes. Marvel took a seat on the bench himself. He didn't have the leadership skills. There was no way he was going to interrupt with anything Cato is planning. They're in an alliance now, but when it comes down to them, Cato's gonna make sure they're all dead. No one would want to mess with someone like Cato. He can deal with him later in the games, for now, he was just another one who would follow Cato's tail. It would guarantee his survival longer. A few seconds later, Glimmer takes sight of this and approaches him.

"Hey, what's with the face?" she asks.

"Nothing," he replies, "Hey, what do you think happened with the negotiation?" he asked the same question.

"I'm not really sure. Heard that Thresh turned the offer down, which was unusual. So far, he's the only one Cato talked to," she answered, hands set on her hips and tucking some loose hair behind her ear.

"Uh-huh, how about you, had any luck?" he asks.

"Nah, didn't bother. I'll let Cato do the talking. Just let him be, we'll see after the training scores for the private sessions. We might have some allies during the games, who knows, we could see their potential then." She manages a smile. "Now, come on," she pulls him up from being seated on the bench, "let's continue to show off," and they share a laugh.


A/N: I'll leave it there. Review please.