Thanks for the reviews...it's nice knowing people are looking forward to the sequel. I have some nice plans worked out for that already, it's just a matter of writing it all down! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games or any of its characters.

Chapter 25

Three more days had passed in the arena. On the second day, the girl from District 7 had perished. The only remaining tributes were Katniss, Gale, Glimmer, and Cato. Katniss was just waiting for the Gamemakers to make their move to drive the four of them together. She didn't know why they were taking so long. Maybe they were waiting until she was well enough to fight. It would be the final battle and they'd want to make it entertaining for the citizens of Panem.

Katniss had started feeling better. She finally had enough energy to stand up and move around and even her burns had started to heal. A blow to the back would still cause blinding pain, she thought. Gale and her had moved away from the meadow and made their way aimlessly through the forest to hunt and to keep them concealed. That night, the Gamemakers decided to turn down the temperature in the arena to make it the coldest night yet. They huddled together at the trunk of a large tree to try to block the wind.

"We could really use that sleeping bag about now, ey, Catnip." Gale said. He always tried to make light of serious situations.

"Gale, I'm still cold." Katniss said as her shivered in his arms. Unfortunately, Gale and Katniss had only the clothes on their backs. She heard zipper of his jacket start to unzip. She placed her hand over the zipper. "No, Gale, it's all you have."

"Well I can't let you freeze. Here, we'll share it." he compromised as he unzipped it the remainder of the way. He opened the jacket and wrapped it around the sides of her.

"Katniss, you are freezing." he said as he felt her icy limbs wrap around his waist.

"We have to build a fire." she stated.

"That's what they want us to do." he replied.

"We won't make it through the night if we don't." she said.

"There has to be another way we could keep warm." he said, as he tried to think of an alternate.

"We could go for a run." Katniss suggested.

"Katniss, it's almost midnight…I think." Gale said. Without the watch from the other backpack, they had no exact way to tell time.

"You just don't think you can beat me." Katniss teased as she lightly pushed him away and stood up.

"Oh you want to race." he said with a laugh as he stood to meet her. He zipped his jacket and put on the backpack. "Ok, you're on." Gale said as he started to run.

"Hey!" Katniss said as she chased after him. She quickly caught up with him. "Make sure you don't run into any tree trunks."

"I knew I should have never told you that." he said with a smile. Katniss ran ahead of him. She made sure she didn't run too far ahead of him so she wouldn't lose him again. After a mile, he caught up with her again and kissed her on the cheek before he passed her.

"Gale, wait!" she said as she sprinted to catch up with him. He slowed down a little for her. She took his hand and they ran together through the woods. She could see a clearing ahead of them. The moon shone down on the golden horn in the center of the clearing. They were back at the Cornucopia. Katniss and Gale walked until they were inside the horn.

"It's warm in here." Gale said. Katniss could feel the warm air circulating inside the horn, almost as if it was actually heated like the inside of a house.

"I knew that run would pay off." Katniss said as she sat down on the innermost part of the Cornucopia.

"Let's get some sleep, Katniss." Gale said lying down next to her. Katniss laid down on her side and faced him. Their eyes fixed on each other in the dim light of the Cornucopia. Gale wrapped his arm around her lower back and moved closer to her.

"This is it, isn't it Gale?" Katniss said softly.

"Yes it is. We'll talk about it tomorrow." he said before kissing her cheek. He closed his eyes and Katniss did the same. She knew tomorrow was an important day.

Katniss managed to sleep that night without any disruptions. She was thankful the nightmares had stayed away. She needed her rest for this important day. She knew today was the day they would have to face the Careers. Gale was still asleep so she decided to walk to the mouth of the Cornucopia and survey her surroundings. A string of thoughts streamed through her head as she walked around the perimeter of the horn.

'Today I will be brave.' she thought. She realized as she continued her walk that she hadn't really executed what she promised in her interviews. Up to this moment, she couldn't think of any impressive thing she had done to capture the attention of the citizens of Panem. The Girl on Fire had been extinguished somewhere along the way between her interview and where she stood now. No wonder she didn't receive any burn medicine. So far, she had managed to kill a tribute (two if you count Foxface), save her best friend's life, and fall in love. In the eyes of the Capitol citizens, this wasn't enough. She knew they wanted adventure and excitement. They wanted tributes attacking one another. Today she would have her shot.

When Katniss reached the opening of the Cornucopia, Gale was awake. He looked surprising calm considering how much he worried about her in the arena. She saw him smile as she walked up to him.

"What?" she asked as she stood in front of him.

"You look like the old Katniss." he said.

"And how is that?" she asked, unsure of what he meant.

"Fearless." he clarified as he stood in front of her.

"I'm ready." she said with confidence. "What's our plan?"

"What makes you think I have one?"

"Because you always have a plan…for everything."

"I might have thought one up last night." he said.

"Let's hear it then." Katniss said.

"It's not very elaborate or anything. I think we should stay here and wait for the Gamemakers to bring them to us. Then I will take out Cato and you will take out Glimmer."

"You make it sound so easy." Katniss replied.

"It's best not to over think these things."

"Hey Gale, where is my bow?" Katniss asked as she looked around the ground of the Cornucopia.

"I thought you had it." he said. Panic than anger set inside Katniss. He was in charge of transporting everything. How could he have forgotten it? She would not let her emotions show through. She would not yell at him or blame him. She would have to rely on another way to kill Glimmer. She walked to the back wall, which still had some weapons hanging from it.

"Katniss please don't be mad at me."

"I didn't say anything." Katniss said keeping her voice steady.

"You didn't have to." Gale blabbed. It was times like this when Katniss hated how well Gale knew her. He could look past all the layers, right down to the very core of her. She studied the weapons that remained, ignoring the desire to tell him what she was really thinking. Each one ensured that hand to hand combat would be a factor. She quickly passed the spiked mace hanging from the wall. In training, she feared having to use that weapon. Nearby she found some small daggers. She remembered how horrible she had performed at knife throwing station. She couldn't imagine trying to hit a moving target.

"We could go back and get the bow and arrows." Gale said as he walked up next to her.

"No it's fine. I'll use something else." she said grabbing the mace. She took a few swings at the side of the Cornucopia. The metal walls let out a loud gong as she hit them. When she was finished, she retrieved the daggers and attached them to her belt. She sat outside in the field, waiting for the Careers to find them. She lightly touched a spike on the mace. The tip of the spikes were rounded, probably to make the owner of the weapon to put a lot of effort into killing another tribute. Being struck repeatedly with the mace could be enough to make it a lethal weapon.

"I'm sorry." Gale said as he sat down next to her.

"It's ok." Katniss replied.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes." Katniss snapped. A minute later, Gale broke the silence.

"Why aren't you talking to me?"

"I'm figuring out a strategy since I have a weapon I have barely used before."

"But you were good with it. I saw you in training. You hit the moving target every time."

"Yes, but I hate this." she said motioning towards the mace.

"Why is that?"

"Because it's cruel."

"Aren't all weapons?" Gale asked. Katniss rolled her eyes at him. She didn't need him acting smart with her. She stood up and practiced different ways to hold and swing the mace. There was no target to hit, just the air. When she felt like she had a good handle on the weapon, she joined Gale.

"I can see why they gave you an 11." Gale said.

"Why?"

"Because you are the best."

'The best at what?' she thought to herself. She didn't know why but this comment made her angry. 'Anger might be good now.' It could be just what she needed to give her the courage and strength to repeatedly beat someone with the mace. She hoped that the Careers would show up soon. She didn't know how much longer she could wait for them.

About two hours passed before Cato and Glimmer finally came into view. They ran out of the forest as if they were being chased by something. Katniss squinted her eyes as she tried to make out whatever the Gamemakers sent after them. It was too hard to see, whatever it was. As soon as the Careers crossed the launch platforms, a wall of fire blasted up from the ground. It extended around the platforms, creating a ring of flames about 20 feet high. They were trapped. Katniss readied herself by standing up and lifted her weapon. Cato and Glimmer slowly approached. Cato had a sword in his hand while Glimmer had a long, serrated knife (the same kind that Gale was prepared to use in the fight).

Despite this scene in front of her, Katniss felt a little relieved. She was glad she was fighting Glimmer instead of Clove. Clove had always scared her…she seemed so disaffected to the violence and killing, and was very vicious. Katniss wondered how the fight would start. Would there be an exchange of words or would they just attack? Cato and Glimmer stopped ten feet away from them.

"No bow and arrows?" Cato said with a look of satisfaction.

"I didn't want to make it too easy to kill you." Katniss shot back. Cato laughed.

"That's really brave of you…to think that you still have a chance here." he spouted back.

"Remind me, which one of us got the highest training score?" she asked. Katniss wished it were only her and Cato right now. She'd enjoy beating the life out of him at this moment.

"I still think that was a fluke. What could you have possibly done to score an 11? Shooting an arrow into a target isn't enough for that."

"Depends on what the target was, I guess." Katniss replied with a mischievous grin.

"What did you hit?" he asked with fervor.

"Like I would ever tell you." she said with a laugh. She could tell it was bothering him, not knowing what she did during that final training session. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. It was a risky move but she didn't care. She wanted to fight him. "I changed my mind. If you can beat me, I will tell you."

"Katniss." Gale said throwing her a look.

"I can beat him." she said in a low voice.

"What if you die before you can tell me?" Cato questioned.

"I guess you'll have to make sure that I don't die too quickly." Katniss answered. 'This is good.' she thought. He'd have to be careful to hit her in a place where she wouldn't die instantly.

"Katniss, can we have a word." Gale muttered angrily.

"Go ahead. I'll let you say your goodbyes." Cato sputtered. Gale grabbed Katniss' arm and pulled her further out of earshot.

"Are you insane!" Gale snapped at her.

"I want to do this. Ever since the Games started, he was the only person I wanted to eliminate."

"He's stronger than you."

"But I am smarter than him. I saw him in training. I know all his moves. He's so predictable."

"I don't care." Gale said.

"Great comeback, Gale. I'm going to need your help."

"I'll take out Glimmer, then help you."

"No, that's not what is going to happen. I am going to need you to do some acting."

"I don't understand."

"You will in a minute." she said. She knew Cato wouldn't just let Gale sit back and watch. They walked back to meet Cato and Glimmer. "Ok I'm ready now."

"What sort of plan did you two just work out there." Cato said slyly.

"There is no plan."

"How do I know he's not going to join in after we start fighting?"

"Because I told him not to." Katniss said. Cato started laughing once again.

"You think I'm that dull. Why don't we eliminate the competition before we end this." he said. He pulled Glimmer close to him. Her eyes widened and she struggled to break his grip.

"Ok, on the count of three. 1…2…3." Katniss said. Katniss took the mace and hit Gale in the back. Luckily, he saw this coming and managed to play along so she didn't have to hit him hard. He fell to the ground facing away from Cato. Katniss looked up and saw that Cato had stabbed Glimmer right in the heart. Katniss drew out her dagger.

"This is going to hurt." Katniss told Gale through gritted teeth. She cut a line near his collarbone, deep enough to draw blood, to make it appear as if she had slit his throat. Gale let out a quick gasp and then ceased any kind of movement. Katniss walked back towards Cato with the bloody dagger in her hand.

"I didn't think you had it in you." Cato said.

"I am full of surprises, aren't I?" Katniss said grinning. Katniss wondered why the canon hadn't gone off yet...maybe they were waiting until the end of the battle. She was thankful that Cato had not thought about this.

"Looks like it's just the two of us now. I would wish you luck only I wouldn't really mean it."

"I don't need luck. I know I can beat you." she said, assured that she would win. Katniss watched as Cato heaved his sword above his head and charged at her. At the right moment, Katniss spun out of the way and rammed the mace into his back. He fell down but quickly got back up. He turned around and swung his sword at her. She deflected it with the mace. Cato tried again. This time the sword grazed her outer thigh. It hurt, but it wasn't enough to keep her from fighting. She swung the mace in the air a few times, gaining speed. She then hit him right in the stomach. He fell back and laid on the ground. She walked up to him, as he lay immobile. When she stood next to Cato, he grabbed her legs and took her to the ground. Katniss winced as her back hit the earth. Katniss scrambled to get away but he was too quick. Cato pinned her to the ground and threw her mace to the side.

"How did you do it?" he asked her.

"You haven't won yet."

She watched as he raised the sword above his head. He forced it down towards her. Katniss managed to shift to the left to avoid it and drove her elbow into his ribcage. He curled up in pain, allowing for Katniss to be freed. She quickly ran to retrieve the mace and raced back towards him. He attempted to get up when Katniss stuck his back several times. She could hear the pain in his voice as the mace made contact each time. When he tried to get up, she kicked him back to the ground. This time, she aimed the weapon at his ribcage. She could hear a rib or two crack after the second impact. She didn't care though. He deserved this. She hit him a few more times before she straddled his abdomen. He let out a painful gasp as she put her weight on him. She threw the mace to the side and drew the dagger from her belt.

'This is it.' she thought. She looked down at Cato. She couldn't help but noticing how afraid he looked. 'Stop it Katniss. Of course he's afraid. He's going to die.' She still couldn't shake how she felt about this. He didn't look like the fierce warrior that he had been portrayed as during the extent of the Games. He looked like a boy who just wanted to go home. She felt sympathy start to seep in but then her mind went back to the bloodbath at the Cornucopia. He killed Rue. She had to know why.

"Why did you kill her?" Katniss asked forcefully.

"Who?"

"Rue…the little girl from District 11."

"I had to." he said faintly.

"What do you mean you had to? She was completely harmless!" Katniss shouted as her emotions got the best of her.

"She wanted revenge."

"Who did?" a baffled Katniss asked.

"Clove. Her brother was a Peacekeeper in District 11. They killed him one day when they were protesting about something. She told me what she was going to do to that girl and I couldn't let her." he said.

"Peacekeepers don't come from District 2. They are from the Capitol."

"Do any of them look like they are from the Capitol?" he asked her. Katniss thought about this for a few seconds. All the Peacekeepers she had come across looked pretty normal. There were no hints of a Capitol accent in their voices. Maybe he was telling the truth. She thought more about Cato. Who was he? What was he really like? Maybe he was just a product of his environment. The Career districts conditioned their children to think and act a certain way. She wondered what he would be like if he had been raised in another District. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard him gasp through his shallow breaths.

"You can finish me off whenever you're ready." he said. She sat in silence. This was a lot harder than she thought it would be.

"You really want to know how I did it?" she asked him. He nodded his head. She lowered the dagger to his throat just to be safe. Then, she lowered her face toward his ear. She still didn't want anyone else to know how she got that almost perfect score. She whispered to him about how she shot the apple out of the pig's mouth that the Gamekeepers had been standing around. When she sat back up, she saw a smile grow on his face.

"I'm surprised they didn't give you a 12 for that." he said with a smirk.

"Well, nobody's perfect." she said looking off into the distance.

"Katniss, just do it already." he said. Something bothered her about the way he said her name. There was no animosity there. She looked him in the eyes and couldn't bring herself to do it. Not after the new information she learned about him.

"I can close my eyes." he said as he lowered his eyelids. She knew she had to do it soon. Suddenly, she heard two cannons sound. How could he have died? He wasn't even bleeding. She lifted his shirt to find that bright blue and dark purple bruises had already formed on his skin. She did that. He must have bled internally. Or maybe one of his broken ribs punctured his lungs. Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt Gale pull her off of Cato.

"You did it, Katniss!" he said happily. Katniss couldn't move. The shock had set in. "Katniss, what's wrong?" Gale asked her worried.

Katniss tried to say something but her mouth couldn't form the words. She started to think about The Hunger Games…how wrong they were. How they pitted each tribute against each other, making them think they should hate each other. They were all just trying to do their best to survive. And this was all done for entertainment. She heard Gale ask her again what was wrong.

"I'm fine." she said.

"Come on, Katniss, we have to get out of here." he said as he took her hand and helped her off the ground. She looked around and saw the flames had vanished. They ran through the woods as they heard the hovercraft. Katniss didn't know how she managed to even stay on her feet. Everything was a blur. She held onto Gale's hand and let him guide her through the maze of trees. She wondered where he was leading her. Why were they running? She lost her footing and slammed into the ground, jolting Gale back with her.

"Katniss what's wrong with you? Did he do something to you?"

"No. His sword cut me a little."

"Where?" he asked. She showed him her leg. It wasn't a deep cut or anything. Nothing to make her behave like this.

"I can't stay awake." she said.

"You have to." Gale said.

"Gale, what's happening to me?" she asked. She was scared.

"I don't know." he muttered. He took the water bottle out of the pack and flushed her wound with the remaining water. He picked her up and started to run. "Hold on, Katniss." She tried to keep her eyes open but it was a struggle. Sleep seemed so good now. Each time she closed her eyes, it took a little longer to open them. Then, they wouldn't open at all and she felt shroud of tranquility fall upon her.

What did you think of the battle? I was having a little writer's block on what to do for that. I hope you like the way I went with it. There will probably be about 3 more chapters of this story and then, onto the sequel!