A/N: I don't own anything but the concept. I hope that everyone enjoys this new chapter. Thanks to everyone for waiting patiently on this chapter. I hope that it is what you have been waiting for. I want to say a big thank you for everyone that has read this story. Now onto the start of part 3!
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Part 3
Ashes, they covered everything. They covered Angel Grove; they covered her life up to this point. She closed her eyes and pictured the buildings that used to stand here and almost cried. Zedd had done this to her district and he wanted to do this to her life. He wanted to destroy her any way he could.
Walking forward, she made her way to her old house. It was still standing but then again it was at the edge of town instead of in it. They hadn't been able to afford anything closer to town and now she was thankful for it. It would have been too much to lose this house along with everything else. Her new house in victory village was still standing as well because it was on the other side of town along the edge. Stepping into her house that she had shared with her mother and sister up until last year made her pause for a moment. Everything was as they had left it when they moved. Soot clung to the walls declaring the history of the town, of its mining past.
She used to scrub those walls after her father had died to try to erase the reason for her father's death. It hadn't helped though because the soot was still there along with ashes now from the bombing. Seeing the ashes mix in with the soot made her angry. How could Zedd destroy an entire district just because she wouldn't die in his games? He had to be stopped somehow because if not, he would destroy Tommy and the nation.
"Nothing has changed." A voice said from behind her. "Soot's still there." The voice said matter-of-factly.
Sighing Kim nodded before looking back at Jason. "You know that you were supposed to stand watch." She said reminding him of his only job here. Jason had pretty much jumped on the plane not taking no for an answer. He told her that he wasn't leaving her to deal with this alone and she was glad that he had taken over. She wouldn't be able to deal with this alone and he knew that.
"No, I'm supposed to watch over you. Are you sure that you okay?" He asked walking over to her. Jason knew that coming back here would be hard on Kimberly; he just didn't know how hard it would be on him.
"No." She answered softly. "No, I'm not but I needed to see this to believe." She said walking over to the mantle. She ran her hand across the edge and felt the smooth wood that had been blackened due to years of use. She remembered hanging stockings here every year for Christmas before her father had died.
"You didn't need to see this; you know what Zedd is capable of." Jason stated as she sighed.
"There is something about seeing it first-hand that drills that fact home. In the Capitol and during the Games, I never saw anything direct from Zedd. He was very good at hiding his evil doings but this, this he can't hide." She stated as she looked over the room again.
"No, he can't hide that another district is destroyed. If he keeps this up then he will be out of districts to bomb." He said grabbing her right hand. "Kimberly, we will destroy him." He said as he squeezed her hand.
"Yes we will." She said squeezing his hand back before releasing it. "Come on, I can't stay here any longer." She said walking past him out the door. Jason followed her and knew that they needed to make one more stop before they left. Her mother had requested him to bring back some of her things since she hadn't got to grab anything before they escaped.
Kim walked through the town and tried not to think of each building and house that had been there or all the people that had died. Jason had gotten a lot of people out but not all. Some people refused to listen to Jason and stayed here only to die minutes later. Jason had just barely gotten everyone through the fence when the first bombs dropped. He had told her that some of the people were nervous about slipping through the fence which had her shaking her head.
She had been slipping through the fence for years now so she couldn't see why some of them had been that nervous but Jason explained that those people were not as strong as she was. They had never gone against the Capitol and hunted in the woods, volunteered for a loved one, honored a dead tribute, or defied the rules of the game to save another tribute. They probably never would either but then again they didn't have too because she had.
The war was coming it was only a matter of when and where it would happen. She was tired of reacting to whatever happened. It was time to act first.
"Hey, we need to stop by your house. I have to pick some things up for your mother." Jason stated bringing her out of her thoughts.
"We were just at my house." Kim said looking at him weirdly. There wasn't anything there for her mother to want or need.
"Your new house." He reminded her gently.
Kim sighed. "I still don't think of it as my house all the time, sorry. What does my mother need?" She asked as they walked toward the opposite edge of town.
"Her medicine bag and some jars full of herbs, she said that it would help in the hospital. They have limited access to herbs and homemade remedies." He explained as she nodded. "How are you holding up?" He asked.
"Okay, I guess. I mean it's hard but I'm trying not to think of all the people dead because of me." She said as Jason turned to her and grabbed her shoulders.
"They are not dead because of you; they are dead because they didn't believe that the Capitol would attack them. You had nothing to do with that." He said. "Trust me; you are the reason that no one has to enter those Games again." He whispered pulling her into his arms. "You are a hope to those people underground at Eltar."
Kim nodded before pulling back to look up at him. "Thank you." She whispered. "Let's go get my mom's stuff and get back. I want to start planning on how to get Tommy back." She said as he nodded and fell into step beside her.
They made their way quickly to her house. He went into the kitchen and gathered what her mother requested while Kimberly made her way upstairs to her bedroom. She wanted to grab a few things that she thought she would never see again.
Just inside the door, she was overwhelmed by the scent of roses. There were no rose bushes anywhere around. Looking around the room, she noticed a small pink vase on her dressing table. She had never had a vase let alone a pink vase. It was the flower in the vase that stopped her blood cold. It was a white rose just like the ones that President Zedd wore on his lapel. Taking a deep breath, her vision became blurry and she thought that she would pass out.
The scent of roses always clung to President Zedd since he always wore one but she knew the reason why. It was to cover the blood smell on his breath. She had always heard that he wore roses to cover up bad breath but it was more than just a case of bad breath. She wasn't sure where the blood smell came from but it had turned her stomach along with the smell of roses now.
Walking over to the vase, she barely controlled the urge to throw the vase against the wall. She controlled it though because she wasn't sure how the vase and the rose had gotten here but she knew that it was a sign for her. Zedd was telling her that he still had control over her life. Well no more, turning she grabbed her clothes and got out of there. Zedd was not controlling her anymore. She grabbed a bag from the hall closet and threw her clothes in it. She also grabbed the sketch book that Alpha had given her and stuffed it into the bag before going to the kitchen to check on Jason.
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Trini hung her head as the guard left the room. Her entire body hurt after two hours of the pounding it took. New bruises would form over the olds ones in a few hours. Every day the beatings got worse but she refused to tell them what she knew. Zedd couldn't know that Eltar still existed until the time was right. He had to be so surprised that he wouldn't have time to think of a counter-attack.
She took several deep breaths and started trying to ease the soreness out as she heard a scream rip down the hall. Zedd must have thought it was time to torture Tommy now. She really wished that he wouldn't because Tommy didn't know anything. He had to know that so there must be another reason that he was torturing Tommy like this. Rolling her neck, the answer came to her in a blinding flash.
Kimberly. He was torturing Tommy because of Kimberly. Tommy was Kimberly's only weakness that he could touch or get his hands on. Kim's family and friends were pretty much out of his reach since someone would know that he had gotten them. Zedd also couldn't be sure of Kim's affections for them like he could with Tommy. Kimberly had proven time and again that she loved Tommy and that she would do anything to keep him safe.
During the first Games, Kim had defied the Capitol with the berries to save Tommy. On the Victory Tour, Kimberly and Tommy had gotten engaged and showed that their love during the first Games was real. Trini had always thought that Tommy loved Kimberly more than Kimberly loved Tommy but her opinion changed once she entered the arena with them. Kimberly had protected Tommy from everyone including himself.
Trini also knew that Kimberly had shown Zedd just how much she loved Tommy even if she didn't know it herself. Closing her eyes, she tried to push Tommy's screams out of her head. She had to get a plan together to get them out and who else was here with them. She had tried to see everyone when she had been captured but someone had hit the side of her head with their fist causing her to black out. When she woke up, she was in this cell and hadn't been moved since.
Everything was coming back to her from that night but in slow motion. She remembered tackling Kimberly and digging the tracker out of her arm then chasing after another tribute. She hadn't been close to Kimberly that she knew of but she was thrown back when Kimberly destroyed the arena. Hovercrafts appeared then bearing the Capitol's seal. She had been grabbed then knocked out. Whatever had happened between her being knocked out and waking up, she didn't know but she would find out. It would help her plan an escape route for her and whoever else the Capitol had grabbed. She knew two people that the Capitol hadn't gotten and they were Rocky and Kimberly.
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"Are you ready to go?" Kim asked as Jason turned away from the medicine cabinet to look at her.
"Uh yea but you look like you've seen a ghost." He said walking over to her. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I just want to get out of here." She said looking away from him to the bag he had sitting on the table. "Is that all my mother needed?" She asked stepping around him to grab the bag.
"Yea as far as I know." He replied. "Here, let me take that." He said taking the bag away from her. "Come on the hovercraft is waiting." He said as she nodded. They made their way outside and over to the open field where they would board the hovercraft.
Once they were on board, Jason really looked at Kimberly. Something had happened back at the house but he knew Kimberly well and she wouldn't tell him until she was ready so he didn't push. He would keep an eye on her though just in case he needed to step in. He noticed a book in her lap that she had taken out of her bag.
"What's that?" He asked taking it from her to look at it.
"It's my hobby." She replied looking at the book as he flipped through the sketches.
"Hobby? Kim, drawing is not your hobby." He said looking up at her.
She smiled before replying. "Remember I needed a hobby after winning the games?" She asked as he nodded. "Well Alpha made this for me for my hobby." She said as he looked back at the drawings.
"These are really good." He said as she nodded. "Did you look at all of them?" He asked pausing on a page.
"Not really, I just showed it to people. Alpha was good though." She said as he turned the page so that she could see it.
"What's this? I never saw you in this outfit." He said as she looked at the page.
"Oh that is beautiful and it's pink." She said taking the book away from him to trace the picture with her fingers. The outfit was a jumpsuit and entirely pink or well most of it was pink. There were white diamonds on the upper chest area. The one in the center had an image of a golden crane that looked just like her pin. There was also a skirt attached that had a small white line as the edge. The pink extended down her legs but was interrupted by the boots. The boots were white with pink diamonds at the top of them. They looked like the ones that she had worn in the games except white instead of black.
"Of course it's pink, the man knows you well." He said as Kim nodded. She looked the picture over and noticed Alpha had written something for her.
"Firebird, I'm still betting on you." Kim read as a tear slid down her cheek. She heard Alpha's voice in her head telling her that.
"What does that mean?" Jason whispered noticing the tear.
"Before I entered the first games, Alpha told me that he wasn't allowed to bet but if he could that he would bet on me. He told me before I entered the tube for the second games that he was still betting on me." She whispered wiping away the tears that were falling. "I just hope that he didn't suffer for his belief in me."
"Suffer? What do you mean?" He asked not understanding.
"After I entered the tube to rise up into the arena, guards came in and beat him. I couldn't do anything but stand there and watch. I thought that I would pass out from lack of oxygen until they finally dragged him off and raised me up." She answered. "I just wish that it wasn't because of me that he was beaten. He deserved better than that." She whispered as Jason sighed. He reached for one of her tiny hands and wrapped it in his trying to offer any comfort that he could.
She fell asleep seconds later which was okay with Jason. Kim needed all the rest she could get since she was barely out of the hospital. The moment her mom cleared her, Kim demanded to go see Angel Grove. Everyone had advised against it except for Zordon and Rocky. They said that it would help her get a grasp of what they were against. Jason hadn't told her not to come because he knew that he would be going with her no matter what.
The hovercraft finally landed in the woods just beyond district 13. They would have to exit then hurry to the access tunnel before anyone spotted them. Zordon had explained that the Capitol kept tabs on the entire area to see if anyone was trying to rebuild it. Of course the Capitol had no way of knowing that district 13 had been rebuilt only this time underground.
The doors opened as Jason stood up. He grabbed her mom's bag and her bag before scooping Kim up into his arms. Exiting the hovercraft, he quickly made his way to the access tunnel with Kim sleeping in his arms.
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"Okay so we should start planning on which district to go after first." Dulcea stated as everyone sat down around the table. Zordon and Deca were seated on either side of her with Billy and Rocky on either side of them. There weren't many people in this meeting since it was to be kept under wraps for the moment.
"Well district 11 is pretty much free of the Capitol now after their latest rebellion." Rocky stated as Zordon nodded.
"I think we should work our way in that way we can gain the necessary numbers we need to defeat the Capitol." Billy stated as everyone thought about what he had said.
"The problem I see with that is that if we go backwards then the next district will be waiting for us." Jason said stepping into the room. "We should only hit certain districts, maybe the ones that are specific to providing the Capitol with whatever it needs." He finished as he took the open seat beside Billy.
"Well that would make more sense than hitting every district. It would also save us man power and less risk of being discovered." Zordon stated as everyone nodded.
"So what district should we hit first?" Dulcea asked looking around the table.
"I think that we should ask President Rita before we make suggestions. She will want to know of any plan that we may come up with." Deca said as Dulcea nodded. Zordon sat there before turning to Jason.
"How is Kimberly?" He asked as everyone shifted their focus to him.
"Well she's asleep but I think that she is going to be okay considering what she has been through in the past month." He replied as Zordon nodded.
"She should have taken a little more time before journeying there but at least that trip is over." Dulcea stated standing up. "I will go and see when President Rita can meet with us. I also want Kimberly at the next meeting if she is up to it." She said as everyone nodded.
Jason sighed and rubbed his forehead. He knew that Kimberly need more time before they made their next move but he knew that they really couldn't wait.
"You might want to see this. It aired while you were gone with Kimberly." Zordon stated as he flipped on the screen across from them. They had a live broadcast from the Capitol just like all the other districts.
"Does it involve Kimberly?" He asked as Zordon nodded. "Okay play it." Jason leaned back in his chair and watched as President Zedd appeared on screen looking like he was in mourning.
"As I'm sure you all know, the Games are officially over for this year. We have no winner since the actions of Kimberly Hart have destroyed the arena. With the explosion of the arena, several tributes have been killed including fan favorites; Rocky DeSantos, William Cranston, and Kimberly herself. We will hold a public mourning for those tributes on Friday. Work in all the districts will stop for the day." He said as Jason shook his head. How could Zedd just lie to the people like that?
"In other news, all travel to district 12 is to be suspended due to the recent explosion of the mine. It is unclear how the explosion happened but we do know that most have died due to it." President Zedd stated before the feed cut off.
"A mine explosion?" Jason questioned looking over at Zordon. The others just sat there since they had already seen it.
"Well he had to explain why there are ruins now in Angel Grove and there has been a mine explosion before." Zordon reminded Jason.
"Yea I know there has since mine and Kimberly's fathers were in the last one. I just can't believe that people are buying this." Jason stated standing up. "When are you going to tell Kimberly?" He asked trying to focus on the fact that the nation thought she was dead.
"I want to give her a day or so to process what she has seen." Zordon said standing up along with everyone else.
"Okay, I want to be there when you do tell her." He said leaving the room.
"Well I don't know about you guys but I am hungry. I didn't think that this meeting would last this long." Rocky said breaking the tension. Everyone smiled and left to go in search of food.
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Kim opened her eyes slowly to see that she was back in the hospital room. It hadn't been a nightmare. She was in Eltar and Tommy was still captured by the Capital. Rolling over, she saw someone sitting in the chair next to her bed.
"Kira?" She asked as she focused in on her little sister.
"Kimberly, you're awake." Kira stated as she closed the book she had been reading.
"If you call this awake, I guess so." She said finding a smile. "What are you doing here?" She asked sitting up in bed a little more.
"Momma wanted me to check and make sure that you were alright after your journey to Angel Grove." She replied standing up and walking over to Kim's bed. Kim moved her legs as Kira sat down on the bed next to her. "She is not happy that you left either." Kira mentioned as Kim sighed.
"I guess not." Kim muttered knowing that her mother wasn't happy with her most days but she didn't care all that much.
"Was it horrible?" Kira whispered as Kim looked back at her sister. It was then that she noticed the change in her baby sister. Kira wasn't the innocent that she had been last year. She was only a year older but it seemed like Kira was older than her now.
"Horrible doesn't describe it." Kim answered truthfully still looking at her sister.
"What's wrong?" Kira asked patting her clothes and hair trying to see if that was why Kim was looking closely at her.
"Nothing, it's just that you have grown up. I guess I have been wrapped up in my own life that I didn't notice." Kim replied. "My time in the Games changed you as well as me."
"I guess so." Kira said taking Kim's hand in hers. Kimberly remembered doing the same thing to Kira the morning of Kira's reaping. Was that only a year ago? It didn't feel like it. "I do have one question for you that I have wanted to ask you since last year." Kira whispered.
"Okay, go ahead." Kim said wondering what her sister could possibly want to know.
"Why did you volunteer for me?" She asked. "Did you think that I wouldn't survive?" She asked.
"No I didn't but that wasn't my first thought either. I didn't think about that until after I had volunteered." Kim replied remembering that day very clearly.
"Then why?" Kira asked as Kim took a breath. She wondered when Kira would ask this question.
"I had taken care of you, your entire life and I couldn't let you enter that arena. You are my baby sister and I wanted to take care of you one last time." She answered as Kira nodded.
"What if I had been called again this year, what would you have done?" She asked not breaking eye contact with Kimberly.
"I would have volunteered again." Kim stated without a second thought.
"So you would have volunteered for me until you couldn't?" She asked.
"If I was still alive, yes I would. I never want you to enter that arena and see what I saw." Kim replied as Kira just looked at her.
"I did see what you saw, it was on TV." Kira reminded her big sister.
"No you see only want they want you to see. There are some sights that I can never erase along with what you hear. Trust me, I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy except for President Zedd since he continues the Games." Kim stated as Kira nodded.
"I'm sorry for being chosen." She whispered as Kim gathered her in her arms.
"It's not your fault, Kira." Kim said pulling back to look her sister in the eye. "You had no control over that just as I had no control over volunteering for you. It was our destinies." She said as Kira nodded and wiped away a tear.
"Thank you for volunteering for me." Kira whispered as Kim nodded.
"How has momma been?" Kim asked changing the subject. She didn't want to think about being back in the Games for the moment. It would have been heart-breaking if she hadn't have volunteered for Kira and she didn't even want to think about Kira in that arena ever again.
"Good, but busy, it seems like no one here knows home remedies to anything. They want to know all that she knows and for her to show them." Kira said releasing Kim's hand. She knew that talking the Games was not the best for her sister after everything that had happened. "I have been helping a lot since I know some of what momma knows." She stated.
"You two were always the healers in the family." Kim admitted as Tommy's words came back to her from the first Games.
"I've seen you take care of people too. I think you know more than you think you do." Kira stated as the door to Kim's room opened.
"Oh you're awake." Rocky said stepping inside. Kim noticed that he was wearing a red t-shirt and jeans. She hadn't seen him in normal clothes this entire time. It was a little weird but she got a sense that it was a sign of the changes that were coming.
"Yea, just catching up with my sister." Kim said smiling at him. At this moment, Rocky and Jason were the stable people that she could lean on. Rocky had proven that she could trust him because he had saved Tommy in the Games. "I'm not sure if you have met but Kira this is Rocky and Rocky this is my little sister Kira." Kim stated as Kira and Rocky shook hands.
"You're the reason that Kimberly joined the Games." Rocky said with a smile before releasing Kira's hand. Kim could tell that Kira didn't know how to act around Rocky. Rocky was the closest thing to a celebrity that Kira had ever met.
"You could say that." Kira muttered looking back at her sister. She didn't want to bring that touchy subject back up with Kimberly today if ever.
"Well how was the trip down memory lane? Has Zedd destroyed all your memories?" Rocky asked as he took the seat next to Kim's bed.
"I better get back to momma and see what she needs help with." Kira stated sensing that Rocky wanted to talk to her sister alone. It was just easier to leave than to be told to leave later or hear something that she would rather she didn't hear.
"Okay, tell momma that I am awake if she wants to stop by." Kim said as Kira nodded and left the room.
"The Games would have killed her." Rocky stated quietly as Kim looked over at him and sighed. She knew in her heart that Kira would have died in the arena and she was happy that she did volunteer even though they were in total chaos now. She had saved her sister and that's all that mattered at the moment.
"Yes they would have and as for my trip not everything is destroyed. I think he wanted to leave my old house and the one that I moved into after winning the Games as a sign to me." She stated as he nodded.
"I can see him doing that." Rocky agreed. "I'm sorry that all of this has happened. It wasn't supposed to be like this." He said getting serious.
"In a way I'm not but with him having Tommy I am." She said. "I chose to fire that arrow into the force field." She said with a shrug. "I have gone over it in my mind several times and I know that I would have done the same thing even knowing what I know now." She stated pulling her knees up to her chest.
"I would too." Rocky shared. "Tommy's not the only one that he has."
"I know that he has Trini and a few of the other tributes." She said.
"He also has my girlfriend." He stated shocking Kimberly.
"Your girlfriend?" She asked as he nodded. "You had a girlfriend? I thought that you were the playboy of the Capitol."
"Yes I have a girlfriend, her name is Aisha. As for the playboy thing, that was my image to make Zedd think that he controlled me." He stated as she nodded. "I don't like being controlled."
"Me either." Kim whispered.
"So what are we going to do about that?" He asked firing her up.
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The next day Kimberly was seated between Rocky and Jason in the Command Center waiting for President Rita. Dulcea, Zordon, Billy, and a few others were getting ready to outline their plan when the President of Eltar walked in.
"I would like to thank everyone for meeting today. Now let's get started." She said as Kim stared at her. The President of Eltar was Rita as in Rita Repulsa who was the President before Zedd. How was this even possible? How old was this woman?
"Okay we have come up with a plan to start with a random district and show that we are here." Deca stated.
"We also thought that it would be a good idea not to hit every district since Zedd would expect that and try to stop us." Dulcea said as Rita nodded.
"So where do we start first?" Rita asked as Kim looked around the room. What was all this talk about attacking districts?
"We start with getting Tommy and the others back." Kim stated drawing everyone's attention.
"No that cannot be our first step; we have to discover where they are before we even try to go after them. Drawing Zedd's attention away with the attacks on the districts will give us time to find Tommy and the others." Rita said calmly as Kim shook her head no.
"No, I want him back." Kim stated while standing up. She looked at everyone in the room before running out of the room. She didn't want to hear anymore.
"I'll go after her." Jason said standing up as Zordon placed a hand on his arm.
"Don't, I will." He said as Jason looked at him before nodding. "Please continue; I will get the details later." He said before walked out of the room in search of Kimberly.
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"President Zedd, the public is not happy." Mondo stated as he walked into Zedd observation room.
"If it is about the mourning on Friday, I will not answer any more questions on that." He said swinging around to face Mondo.
"It is about the ceremony but not what you think." He said. "They want to see the bodies. Some do not believe that Kimberly and Rocky are dead."
"We cannot provide them a body since we don't have them. Tell those who do not believe that the bodies were so badly burned that we are not showing them." Zedd stated as Mondo nodded. "Also I want to know where Kimberly is." He said.
"And if she is alive?" Mondo asked.
"Bring her to me, I want her dead." He stated as Mondo nodded and left Zedd alone again.
Zedd looked at the monitors and saw that Tommy was waking up. He was being very difficult to break and he was running out of options. Zedd didn't want to kill him but if it can down to it then he would.
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Zordon turned another corner and found Kimberly sitting in the floor of the hallway. He sighed and eased down beside her.
"Kimberly, are you alright?" He asked placing a hand on her arm.
Sighing she looked over at him. "No, I'm not. First no one wants to go after Tommy and I just learned that the President of Eltar used to be the President before Zedd. How is that even possible?" She asked.
"Well when she was named President, she started taking this drug that was to prolong her life. It also protects her from poisoning which apparently everyone tries to do to the President. When Zedd overtook the position he banished her and bombed district 13 since that's where he banished her to. She regrouped everyone and started work underground. She wanted to strike back at Zedd." He replied as Kim nodded.
"It still doesn't answer why we can't get Tommy first." She said.
"We do have to find out where Zedd is keeping him but the main problem at the moment is to show the nation that you are alive." He stated.
"What? I am alive." She said as he stood up. She stood up as well.
"Yes, I can see you very well but Zedd released an announcement saying that you were dead along with Rocky and Billy. You were killed in the arena after you fired the arrow." He informed her.
"What? How could he tell people that? He knows that I am alive." She protested.
"Well he doesn't know for sure but I would say that he knows. I mean he has to know that we have you since he didn't find a body." He stated as she nodded. "Anyway we are going to show him that you are alive but we will also show the nation." He said.
"How am I going to do that?" She asked.
"You are going to be leading the attack on whatever district Rita decides." He said as she stared at him. She was going to lead the attack, how?
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Okay so what did everyone think? Please let me know. Its not a lot of action but I want to get everyone settled and recap what happened. The next chapter should be out next and don't forget to let me know what you thought.