Hello everyone, it is Paradigm of Writing here with a new chapter in Capitol's Strike- #25: Paranoia. Now, this won't mean it's exactly driven to meaning by it's title- but it is going to be about mistrust and all of these other horrible things. We'll have some action go down today, considering this is the last chapter before the finale. *exhales slowly* We are getting to the very end of this story, very quickly. I'm happy to see it finished trust me I am. It's been a long journey, but let's see us get through this chapter and the finale chapter before closing it off. You'll all be emotionally wrecked by the time Chapter 27 is posted sometime next week. Just try and hold it together, for I know I won't be able too. Okay, so last chapter... it had some stuff going for it that's interesting to know. Ammadeus and Jerald were instructed by the populace to intervene one last time to choose the final six. Their options were to cause the Cornucopia to come alive, flood the jungle, or cause the ruined city and mountain sections to crumble in. Jerald chose the third option. Mako and Jake secretly broke off with the Lone Hunters, but decided to stick around for foolery. Diamond and Opal got caught in the collapsing ruined city, and Opal slit her neck with a knife as her severe case of claustrophobia kicked in, for the arena was getting smaller. *cracks knuckles* Okay, this chapter has a lot going for it, and we'll be saying goodbye to some people... and I truly hope you love it!

President Ammadeus Snow P.O.V

Ammadeus drummed his fingers against the railing, staring at the six numbers splayed out on the 3D projection of the arena. The grand mountain was no longer standing, the feature missing from the overlaying view. The ruined city was also now demolished due to Jerald's intervention, which wasn't even considered intervention because Jerald didn't even want to perform the action. The citizens of the Capitol got bored, the games needed some excitement. "How does killing get boring?" the president of Panem thought. He wanted to ask that question yesterday, and the fact that he didn't angered him more. It would've made his populace squirm, for that meant they'd finally be forced to face their barbarity.

Six tributes were left. Only six... and there used to be 24. At first, especially during training, Ammadeus saw the games as a perfect punishment for the parents and children that fought in the rebellion. That type of send-off, being forced to fight in an arena with 23 other innocent people your age and then having to kill all of them to escape... it was quite the unnerving situation. Ammadeus saw it as the right way to respond to the war that devastated so much of a beautiful nation. You should never bite the hand that feeds you, unless you want to be slapped back with just as much ferocity, if not with even more brutality than what you were given to begin with.

That plan backfired on him.

He soon began to see how the games had an affect on his closest comrade, and how the strongest, vilest man he knew was breaking down day after day. Jerald, before the tributes arrived in the Capitol, to say the least, was very cocky on how much enjoyment he was going to get out of watching the children die. Now, he couldn't even bear to look at the screen without bursting into tears, vomiting, getting up and leaving, or doing all three. Ammadeus soon softened his own heart when he saw Pablo send the sword shard into his neck. The boy's choice to end his life was not an accident, or forced by another tribute. Pablo Woed from District 5 killed himself because the arena pressured him into doing it. He realized he had no chance of escaping it without losing his life. He simply did the inevitable before someone beat him to it.

All Ammadeus could do was watch, and even with the final six still trying to live, the only option he had was to watch. You'd think that being the president of the section in Panem that put the rules that would act as the guidelines for the Hunger Games, he'd have the largest hand in power in making executive actions; Jerald would then have the second-in-command position to make decisions if Ammadeus wasn't present. However, that wasn't the case. Two political figures against millions and millions of people who made the Hunger Games act as their meals, their entertainment, their relaxation, and their life... how could you even compete with that?

Jerald came into the control room, a heavy stack of papers in his hands. He went past Ammadeus, the president watching his Head Gamemaker sit back in the chair that faced the screens. Jerald slammed the papers against the counter and sighed, running his hands through his hair before spinning around to face Ammadeus.

"I hate my job." he groaned, putting his face in his hands.

"Tell me about it." Ammadeus mumbled, standing up straighter.

Jerald spun in the chair to face the screens again, this time grabbing the stack of papers. "The head of Social Relations in sector five gave me this stack of papers on my bedside this morning. This pile is just papers on the biological information of our tributes. It has their entire life story in here, the entirety of their young lives. For some of them only being sixteen, they sure have done quite a lot if their '16 Year-Old section' is twelve pages long."

"What was Corious wanting you to do with the tribute's biological information anyways?" Ammadeus questioned.

"He told me it had to do with what the citizens want to happen when we get a victor," Jerald answered, flipping through the biography of Nydia. "It has something to do with an interview of some sorts, to see how they're feeling after the games have finally finished. In case we decide to ask about their life, we get to know all the answers so it won't be a surprise on stage."

"Sounds harmless."

"Not so fast," the Head Gamemaker cut in, overriding his superior. "The tribute or tributes are supposed to watch the entire recap of their Hunger Games, so they then can be asked questions, in case an event we wanted to talk about was not seen by their own eyes. One of the examples I can think of would have to be Rose's death at the hands of that mechanical tiger. No one left saw her die, and obviously wouldn't even know how she died at that."

"That's sick," Ammadeus commented, disgust dripping off his words. "It's almost as if we are forcing them to relive the arena for a second time. They honestly expect the tribute to even be stable?"

"Depends." Jerald mused.

"Ridiculous." Ammadeus said, rolling his eyes.

Jerald spun around, his face lightening up. "I almost forgot! You are scheduled for another interview at around four this afternoon with all the citizens of the Capitol. The way Corious was describing it... this meeting is more so a conference than anything else. You'd make a few statements, and then the room would be open for questions about the Hunger Games. If anything exciting happens while you're gone, it's my job to catch you up on a few things. With there only being six tributes, I just pray that the Lone Hunters can convince Diamond to join them, and then we'll have six victors instead of anything less. I can't stand any more death."

"I don't think either one of us can stand any more death to be honest," the president chuckled. "It's all subjective anyways. Our opinions on these games just so happen to be different from everyone else's."

"Oh, and one last thing," Jerald remembered, spinning around in the chair and standing up. He walked over to the railing, and handed Ammadeus a paper. "Since you kind of killed Haddison after interview night, that spot has been left vacant. This courageous young man, named Caelan Escorath would like to fill in that spot since no one is there to fulfill it. I certainly don't want to do that job, and I don't think you want to either, so I said that you'd be glad to talk to him about it. He plans on talking to you about two days from now. Clearly our citizens think this will happen forever if we are filling in another person to be interviewer. Yippee. Another year of this atrocious stuff."

Ammadeus stared at the headshot of Caelan, the picture stamped on the front page. The president lifted up another page, seeing that this was more than just a job application, but some sort of essay. "He didn't have to exactly give me his entire portfolio and all this other excess crap."

"I don't think it matters with how much Mr. Escorath gave you," Jerald said sharply from his chair. "This man really wants this job, and the only thing I want with whoever fills in that position is that they aren't dead when that night is over."

Ammadeus took a step back. "When did you get so bossy?"

Jerald turned around and gave a sneaky smile. "When you decided to let me."

Ammadeus grinned back, getting the joke. "Funny you are Mr. Donnor," he laughed. Ammadeus closed Caelan's portfolio. "I guess I'll get cracking on this, and then head out to the interview. Have fun reading those biographies!"

"Your sarcasm does not help." the Head Gamemaker grumbled.

Ammadeus just laughed, and then shut the door to his suite.

Ryder Cole: District 3 Male P.O.V

"I vote for just going out into the jungle and finding her." Mako said, raising his hand and voice over the loud commotion.

"What's gonna happen if we split up, and she manages to kill one of us while we are looking for her?" Cranston shot back, leaning against the Cornucopia.

More yelling overrode the next few sentences spoken. I groaned, and let the axe in my hands fall to the ground. For the past hour and a half, our alliance was debating on whether to hunt Diamond down, wait till she came to us and then kill her, or try and have her join the Lone Hunters. Any of three scenarios would cause the games to end, and the third option was non-violent. Personally, if we went with option one or two, I would not want to be the one to end her life, for I don't think I could manage to deliver a finishing blow. My weaknesses succumb to someone else's determination.

Our group has been constantly bickering since Nydia presented the three situations. Jake and Mako preferred the violent approach; kill her when she wasn't looking. Cranston and I took the idea of just waiting for her and then to see what would happen after that. Nydia was by herself on the fact to just take her into the alliance and none of us having to die in it's aftermath.

I personally believe Mako was against me because Cranston was agreeing with me, and Mako couldn't stand him in the slightest, so any input the male from eight made was going to be null and void in his mind. Truthfully, all this arguing was giving me a headache. It was getting us nowhere, and it left us completely exposed. After hearing the mountain and ruined city sink into the ground, and then witnessing Opal's face shine across the sky, we decided that the jungle would be next. Packing up our stuff, we moved for like the fifth time and decided to camp out in the Cornucopia. The only tribute left was Diamond, and it was a one versus five matchup which didn't look well in the girl from two's favor.

I honestly wish Nydia didn't bring up the question to begin with, because now we were just wasting time and allowing Diamond to do whatever the hell she wanted. For all I know, an entire metal fortress could suddenly be somewhere in that mass of green vines. Diamond may of had the opportunity to build it, and now all she had to do was wait for us to pass by. Not fun.

Then it led to another problem with the idea of starvation. The longer it took us to find Diamond, the more we would need to eat. Food seemed to be scarce for the past couple of days as it is, and since we are nearing the end of the games... that source to stay alive could be getting smaller and more minute with every passing second.

I kicked the Cornucopia with my heel, generating a reverberating noise. It silence the four of my allies who were squabbling their freaking hearts up. Mako scowled. "What do you want Cole?"

I brushed off the insult. "This arguing is clearly getting us nowhere. How about we do something more simple, and just send two tributes out into the arena to find her. Three of us would wait here while the other two scouted for Diamond. If they hunted at the same time as searching, it'd be an even better deal since we're running low on food, and it'll soon be gone with all five of us eating. The two of us scouting can run into Diamond and try for all three actions and see where it gets us. For the three of us sitting here at the Cornucopia, just do the same thing. This way, we won't be beating our heads open on trying to find her. Something will be bound to happen, should the Gamemaker's do something to draw us together, or if us running into her is a fatalistic event."

My words sunk into the group. Jake rubbed his chin, then looked at me. He shrugged. "Not a bad idea. All five of us are pretty good fighters, and whatever combination we make is still stronger than just her lonesome self. I say we try it. Let's try this for three days, and if nothing happens, we'll go back to fighting over what the hell to do," he said. Jake smiled at me. "I like the way you think Ryder."

Nydia nodded. "That doesn't sound bad."

"Well, now the question is... who wants to go?" Cranston asked, his voice barely rising above a mumble.

"I volunteer to go out and find her. I've already traveled throughout this arena once. I know where I'm going, even with the arena change." Jake said, before a single one of us could put our two cents in.

"I'll go with you." Mako added quickly, standing.

Jake shook his head no, and then flashed an icy glare at the boy from 12. "I'd much rather prefer to pick someone with a ranged weapon."

"But, Mako has a sp-" Nydia started to say.

"No," Jake cut her off. "I want to bring Cranston with me. He's quite efficient with that bow, and it has more than one use. If someone throws an axe or spear and it misses the target, well that's the one shot you just wasted. You'd have to retrieve the weapon and try again. By that point, I bet Diamond would've noticed something amiss, and would either flee or investigate. If we are going to kill Diamond, we do it as stealthy as possible. Deal?"

Mako groaned. "Deal, but-"

"No buts." Jake interjected.

I shrugged. "Sure. Even though it was my idea..."

Cranston grinned, and stood up. He shouldered his quiver, and grasped his bow in his right hand. "Thanks for picking me Jake. I've got a personal score to settle with Diamond. When those wolves jumped the Careers a couple of days ago, she and Opal booked it from the scene. Velvet just might still be alive should the two of them have stayed with us to fight off their attackers like we did. In essence, Diamond has some part in Velvet's death, and it would please me to no end if I killed her because of it. Opal's already dead. Can't take my vengeance out on someone who isn't here, now can I?"

Jake grinned, and slugged him in the arm. "Finally growing some skin aren't you Cranston? I like it!"

"Be back by seven, please," Nydia said, standing up to Jake's level. "It gets dark around then, and it'd make me feel much more comfortable if the two of you were back by then so you wouldn't have to hunt in the dark. It'd be for the best."

Cranston nodded. "Of course," he agreed. Then, turning to Jake, "You ready? I'd like to find her before it gets dark like Nydia said. Perhaps I'd just shoot her without even thinking about negotiations. The time for that is far from over anyways."

Jake swung his sword back into his sheath, and strapped the sheath over his shoulder. "Cranston and I will be back in about a couple of hours. We'll make sure to hunt as well, while we're at it. See you three later."

The two of them then walked off, vanishing into the jungle. One minute I saw their bodies, the next- a mass of emerald vines and branches shrouded them from view. I sighed, and collapsed against the side of the Cornucopia, Nydia and Mako bringing up boxes to sit on as we stared out into the encasing circle of greenery. If Diamond was to burst through in front of us, we'd here it.

"Still can't believe he chose Cranston over me." Mako said in disbelief, picking some dirt off his shoes.

"It angers you?" Nydia asked, looking at her boyfriend with confusion.

"It's a long story." I said, saving Mako the trouble of explaining himself. The way we felt about Cranston was between Mako, Jake, and I. Nydia didn't need to bother herself with our feelings since she trusted everyone.

"Trust me, you wouldn't want to concern yourself with our troubles," Mako added. "Our bothers can only be dealt by us. I wouldn't want to bring you into it."

Nydia frowned. "Um... okay?"

I rubbed my chin, thinking about what to say. "What are you two gonna do when you get out of here?"

Nydia and Mako shared a glance. "I guess the thought has never crossed our minds," Mako whispered softly. "I mean, I will still be dating her and I'll return to my family. What I'm actually going to do when we win? I have no clue. I can't possibly imagine my life becoming what it used to be, for this place changes people tremendously. What are you going to do?"

"Apologize to Ellen's family." I mumbled.

"Why?" Nydia asked, concern peeking through her voice. The only good thing about her was that she portrayed the role of Mother Goose, and if something was troubling us, she got on the case.

"Well, she was my district partner... and I didn't save her. In a flash, Jake had entered his sword through her chest. Ellen didn't have any way to recover from a wound like that, and she died within seconds of that gong ringing out. Even though she and I were not eye-to-eye on anything, I felt like I had a responsibility to take care of her. Just like Nydia is your girlfriend, Ellen was my district partner. Partner is in the term, meaning you have to work with that person to keep them alive. I didn't keep my side of the bargain. I feel like I let her down, and all of District 3 along with it."

Mako patted my back comfortingly. "Nah, don't say that Cole. Your district is probably very proud of you. Here you are in the final six, which is quite an achievement! You played with the Careers, turning their strong alliance into a bunch of puppets, and you were the master. One of the greatest things about you is that you haven't killed anyone to get here. You've relied on your instincts and integrity to form you. You haven't needed to fall back on ruthless murder to get ahead. You've stayed wholesome throughout this entire game."

Mako's words were comforting, and I felt a small smile tug on my lips. "Thanks Mako. That... that really meant a lot."

I decided to let the two lovers from twelve have the Cornucopia entrance to themselves. It wasn't my place to barge in on their relationship either. Instead of practicing my axe skills or some stupid thing like that, I decided to just lie against the right side of the Cornucopia and stare out at the jungle, focusing my gaze on the area that Jake and Cranston disappeared to.

With a piqued curiosity, I reached for my axe. Something felt uneasy, and I had a feeling it dealt with Cranston out in the greenery. Before I could go lunging out onto the plain, Mako came to the side of the metal structure and rapped his knuckles against it. The echo made the entire area go quiet, as if the ringing of the Cornucopia was interesting to all the animals that lived in the jungle.

"What do you need?" I asked, slowly putting my axe back on the ground as if I hadn't touched it.

"I can sense exactly what you're wanting to do, and before you take one step further... I'll let you know that I'm thinking the exact same thing. However, we may be wrong. I don't want to leave Nydia by herself, but I don't want to bring her along with us and have to explain the situation along the way. If Cranston wanted to kill Jake, I figure he would've done it a long time ago."

I nodded. "You're right." What am I worrying about? Our alliance is fine.

Maybe I spoke too soon. As soon as those words came out of my mouth, Nydia screamed in pain; Mako's name burst from our ally.

Mako and I rose our eyebrows in surprise, and we jumped out to the middle of camp. To our horror, we saw Diamond wrench a knife from Nydia's back. The blade had come out of her sternum, and retracted right through her body. Nydia flopped to the ground, her body motionless. The vicious Career from 2 turned to us, about to throw her knife at one of us when Mako let out a low growl. Before I could blink, a spear was embedded in Diamond's neck, the girl stumbling back and falling. A cannon disrupted the scene, meaning Diamond was dead.

I brought my attention to Nydia, who was now clutched in a distraught Mako's arms. He was crying, tears streaming down his face. Nydia's breathing was shallow, her chest rising and falling ever so slightly. From the way the knife had entered her back, and reappeared from her chest... it was evident that she was not going to make it. I clutched one of her hands in mine, silent words forming at my lips.

"Come on Nydia," Mako pleaded, his words starting to form incoherent babbles. "Look at me babe. Stay with me, hold on to whatever you've got left. She's dead, Diamond is dead. I killed her for you. Now all I'm asking is for you to stay with me! Just stay with your boyfriend please! I can't lose you."

Nydia's lips parted, and she turned to me. Her gaze was ghoulish, the color from her already dark-skinned face turning paler by the second. "Does that mean we won? Diamond is dead. Shouldn't we all be going home right now?"

I blinked. "Um... perhaps. I don't-"

Mako cut me off with a petrifying scream as Nydia slackened in his grip, the rising of her chest stopping to a halt. The hazel glint in her eyes was now a pallor white stare, her gaze looking at something beyond the horizon. With a boom, another cannon resounded from some unknown area, signifying that she was dead.

"Leave me!" Mako growled at me, snapping his head at me in a ferocious manner.

I backed up on my hands. I didn't need him to repeat himself. He was going to grieve over his girlfriend, and most importantly, his district partner. I stood, and went back around to the same spot where I was before Diamond intruded on our camp. Two more tributes dead. Now, we had a pool of four. I blinked, trying to remember something Nydia just said as soon as she passed. What was it?

"Diamond is dead. Shouldn't we all be going home right now?" Nydia's voice echoed in my head.

Holy shit. Nydia was right. Why weren't we announced as winners? Diamond just got speared by Mako in the neck. She was the only other tribute left that wasn't part of our alliance, so we all deserved to be going home right now, back to our families. Someone broke off from the alliance before Cranston and Jake departed, and the person only pretended to be part of our group. That must mean Cranston really broke off from the alliance. He must've really killed Rye.

I noticed a change in the atmosphere, and saw Mako standing in front of me with a sword in his hands. His tear stained face looked furious, beyond angry. He looked down at his sword, then changed his gaze up to me, as if he was contemplating something. "Nydia's dead. Cranston's going to kill Jake out there in that jungle. That just leaves you and I. I was hoping to tell you sooner or later, but I couldn't see the right time to do it. But, now that I lost my girlfriend... I guess there is no need in hiding it any longer. I don't need you anymore. Ryder Cole, I will now fulfill my plan all along."

"What are you talking about?" I spat at him, starting to get a little nervous by his behavior.

My answer was Mako's sword thrusting into my chest.

"I'm talking about your death." the boy from 12 snarled, his murderous grin turning into a smile of insanity.

As I fell to my knees, the light changed to dark.

Cranston Ervack: District 8 Male P.O.V

"I think Mako is mad at me." Jake commented, biting his lip. We eyed a sparrow perched on one of the branches of the tree that stood where our old camp in the stream used to be.

I notched an arrow, bringing my bow up to the bird's level. "Why do you think that?" I asked, releasing my grip on the arrow.

The bird fell to the ground dead, and Jake picked it up, dropping it into a basket that already had a fee other dead animals, birds, and some plants in it already. We we're going to bring the basket back and have some feast of sorts. "Because I chose to hunt Diamond with you instead of him," Jake explained. "I don't know where he got the idea that I was his best friend."

My eyes caught the small flash of blue, a blue jay flying by to land on the same spot the sparrow was. I scoffed, tightening another arrow into the bow. These birds were dumber than rocks, for it was clear that the blue jay saw me just kill that sparrow, and decided to fly to the same spot. I released another arrow, the bird landing in the basket with a plop. Our 'game bag' as Jake called it was starting to get heavy, meaning we must've been carrying a great load.

"If that's truly the reason, then Mako needs to get his big boy pants on. That's quite an immature grudge if you ask me," I said, putting my two cents in. I shouldered my quiver, scanning the tree line for more stupid animals. "I think he's mad at me too, for something else though."

"What do you think that is?"

"I don't know. Personally, I have no idea. Maybe I'm just getting paranoid, but I've been having that vibe from him for a while." I lied, hoping Jake wouldn't catch on to what I truly knew. Mako knew I killed Rye, but to what extent of that was unknown to me.

"I've been meaning to ask you," Jake said, causing me to turn to him. "You went with Rye on the day he died. I don't think you explained to me what happened. How'd he die? Was it by suicide or..."

"Well-" I started.

The boom of the cannon stopped me short. I tensed, swinging my bow in an arc. Jake unsheathed his sword, dropping the game basket against the tree. "Who do you think that was?" Jake asked hesitantly.

"I don't know," I confessed. "It could've been Diamond or... or one of us." Those three words at the end felt so odd coming out of my mouth.

My worst fears were confirmed when a second cannon rang out, shortly after the second. Jake and I shared one terse glance, and then we booked it. Scenarios began running through my head of what exactly was happening at the Cornucopia. Diamond either killed one of our allies and then proceeded to die by someone else, or she just killed two of our allies... or even worse, one of our own turning on the other two. The only person that brought that evil thought up was Ryder. Mako and Nydia were in love, and that normally established a strong connection that made murder seem farfetched. Then a third cannon came shortly thereafter, meaning that either all three of our allies were dead, or Diamond and two out of Mako, Nydia, and Ryder now were dead. None of these situations seemed to be very pretty.

After running for what seemed like forever, Jake and I burst out onto the Cornucopia plain to see an enraged Mako cutting Ryder's still body up like carving wood. Nydia and Diamond lay behind Mako, their bodies motionless. I felt my heart rise to my throat when it hit me that Diamond, Nydia, and Mako were all dead. Jake stopped, his eyes getting smaller as he processed Mako just a couple hundred yards away losing his marbles. Ryder's body was completely covered in blood, cuts and gashes spewing the cardinal liquid. Mako's hands were a putrid crimson, the blade completely drenched in red. Jake's breath hitched slightly, his sword sliding out from the sheath as inconspicuously as possible.

Mako had gone insane, it was clear. Even if we managed to get him to stop slicing Ryder's body to a pulp, it didn't confirm Jake nor I's safety. There was only one option left, and it was to kill him.

"We have to kill Mako," I whispered. "There's nothing we can do. He's lost his mind. Even if we try to calm him down, he may try to kill one of us in the process."

Jake nodded, a saddening look in his eyes. "I don't think I have it in me to even kill another person. All three of my deaths were accidental, but I can't bring it upon myself to kill him. Can... can you please just do it?"

He was right. I was already experienced at killing, but this time the person I had to kill was no longer truly human. I nodded, drawing an arrow from my quiver. "I'll only need one arrow. I'll make this as painless as possible. He'll go quickly, I promise."

"Thank you." Jake said, his voice barely rising above a whisper. It was too painful for him to even watch as he turned around to face the jungle.

Leaving Jake where he was, I slowly inched forward to Mako who had paused from his bloodthirsty rampage. He was now sitting on the ground in front of the Cornucopia, rocking back and forth while laughing insanely. He muttered some incoherent phrases here or there, but it was clear that someone other than Mako now was inside the male. Bringing the bow up so the arrow would fly cleanly between his eyes, I cleared my throat.

"Mako," I said his name, my voice ever so soft. "Can you please look up for me?"

My former ally from 12 looked up with a snarl, his eyes now blazing in a murderous black. I didn't hesitate, and I let the arrow fly. My shot was impeccable, and Mako flew back, the projectile embedded between his eyes, on the bridge of his nose. His body hit the floor of the Cornucopia, his heavy weight causing a loud reverberation to ring out from inside the structure. Soon after the sound dissipated, a cannon followed shortly thereafter.

Mako Narcis was dead.

I felt someone else's presence next to me, and Jake was by my side. He stared down at his former ally, his mouth slightly open as if he wanted to speak. I guess Jake couldn't bring himself to say anything as he then crumbled to his knees and wept bitterly, his cries stinging with apathy.

The anthem must've come on behind us since a loud trumpet rang out from the dome. My thoughts were confirmed when Jerald's monotone voice spoke next.

"Diamond Zrae, District 2 Female. Killed by Mako Narcis, place: 6th. Ryder Cole, District 3 Male. Killed by Mako Narcis, place: 4th. Nydia Jones, District 12 Female. Killed by Diamond Zrae, place: 5th. Mako Narcis, District 12 Male. Killed by Cranston Ervack, place: 3rd."

Jerald Donnor: Head Gamemaker P.O.V

Jerald let the folder of papers that contained the biographies of all the other tributes fall to the floor in stunned silence. The sound of rustling papers could not drown out the heavy beating of his heart, the beat echoing inside his head. Four tributes died in a ten to twenty minute span, and there hadn't been that much death since the very first day of the Cornucopia.

Ammadeus entered from behind, his mood slightly down from what his usual perky self. He noticed the papers scattered at the Head Gamemaker's feet. The president raised an eyebrow. "Jerald? What's wrong?"

Jerald spun around in his chair, his mouth slightly agape. "I assume your interview is finished. There's nothing wrong, except from the fact that four tributes just died. Diamond snuck up on Nydia and backstabbed her, which drew the attention of Ryder and Mako. Mako threw a spear into Diamond's throat, killing her instantly. Nydia died in Mako's arms shortly after that, and then Mako killed Ryder in a bough of insanity. The cannons brought Cranston and Jake back to the Cornucopia, and Cranston opted to kill Mako for him, since the guy went insane. That happened in only twenty minutes."

Ammadeus's mouth dropped, and he gripped the railing for support. "Are you saying that there is only two tributes left?"

Jerald nodded feverishly. "Yes sir. We have our final two just like you predicted. Paranoia ripped that arena apart."

"It sure did," Ammadeus mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Holy shit Jerald, I mean it too."

"Now all we have to do is watch Cranston and Jake tear each other apart. It's going to happen soon enough, if not in the next half hour. You were right Ammadeus. We are going to have a victor. We won't have victors, but a single lone victor. Only one person is coming out of that arena. There's nothing left we can do. I never wanted these games to end this way. They weren't supposed to ever end in bloodshed.

"I know," Ammadeus agreed. "I didn't want these games to end this way either. I wish they never happened."

Tribute List (Boy then Girl)

District 8: Cranston Ervack (Crans-ton Err-vack)

District 10: Jake Quipp (Self Explanatory)

Well, there you guys have it! That was chapter twenty five, Paranoia. Just like Jerald said, paranoia would run rampant at some time or other and rip certain alliances from the ground up. The Careers and Lone Hunters were ripped apart, in the same exact way he predicted. I clearly knew this the entire time, for this is my story. But, interesting thing to know is that I almost considered having Cranston miss his shot, and then Mako kill him. Mako, in his insane mode would've turned on Jake, and then Jake would've killed him leaving Mr. Quipp as our victor. But... since that's not the route I want to take, we still have one more chapter to sit through before the last chapter of Capitol's Strike.

Diamond Zrae: She was the last Career, and I'm extremely glad I let her live the longest out of the six of them. Diamond was a very snarky character that held her ground against everyone else, and definitely was one of the feared tributes in the arena. I tried to insert moments of humor with her character because there is some instances where a character has to be light, and it really worked in her favor. You all enjoyed her, and she was one of the most popular tributes out of the 24, but was still overshadowed by Eve, Rye, Jake, Cranston, and Flint as favorites. If you think for one moment that I'm going to forget her, you're dead wrong.

Ryder Cole: For a District 3 tribute, he was pretty strong in combat, and as a character. He was the first real tribute P.O.V you got to read about way back in Chapter One, and from then he stuck as one of my favorites. As I was writing this story, his character began to grow on me even though you didn't see to much of him till about now. He was incredibly smart, and figured out many things before anyone else did. My plans for Ryder originally intended for him to die at the Cornucopia by Flint's hand when he had gone all crazy on Jake's ass, and then that changed to where Opal was to find out that he was planning on sabotaging something of the Careers, and then it led me to have him die at the feast by Flint's hand for being a traitor. That didn't happen, because I decided that he was great as a late game character. He hid in the shadows for most of the games, and then when opportunity arose, he shot ahead. Great character, but I don't think he held a light to the ones listed above.

Nydia Jones: Nydia probably is tied with Diamond for having the least screen time of the final eight throughout this story because I only truly ever saw her as a background character, someone who once she eventually died, would be like Birch and elevate someone else's character for the benefit of the story. She was probably one of the more enigmatic characters, and I'm glad I left that much of her out in the shadows. Nydia was no Katniss Everdeen, but she held her ground. You all saw it when she talked to Cranston back at Chapter 20 or 21 on character and morality. She was one of those that hid from the main view of the story, but when she did get moments to shine; she stole center stage and directed the limelight right on her.

Mako Narcis: District 12 Male really never brings much to the screen, aside from Peeta in the real Hunger Games. Mako was one of the forefront characters in the beginning of the story, for I mentioned him way too many times for him to not survive. You saw his leadership skills match evenly with Jake's, and sometimes his combat skills were just as good. He had a great balance of serious, humorous, crazy, and caring. If there is anything I got out of writing him, was that with some time and patience, even the most forgettable parts of canon can be turned into something fabulous near it's end. He was my favorite of the four that died today.

That's all I have for now. I plan on typing Chapter 26: The First Victor sometime next week, possibly on Tuesday/Wednesday. Now, we have the final two- Jake Quipp from District 10 and Cranston Ervack from District 8. Who did you think was going to be the final two and why? Who do you think will win in this contest of strength and cunning? Following standard Hunger Games canon, there is only one true winner. *Note* Capitol's Strike is officially longer than Cross Examined, and now CS will soon become the first story of mine to reach 100k in words! I'm so happy about that! Also, this chapter is the longest in Capitol Strike's arsenal! The only one that may surpass this is Chapter 27, my finale.

Please review you guys, it means so much! I love you all! I'll see you next week!

~ Paradigm