The Guardian Games: The Odds of Five
Chapter 27: Shift
This is the Real Chapter. I swear. Just the first paragraph is the same.
Summer Quarter
It had started as such a beautiful day. Her hair had gotten washed and done up, with the help of her new frien-um, ally. Hiccup had braided a central braid to hold most of her hair of the ground, which reduced the mobility hindrance. He had however left the two free cords near the side of her head to coil around each arm, which she could continue to use as whip and lasso as she had previously done. To that, she had been much grateful, and had expressed it so enthusiastically, much to the embarrassment of the awkward boy.
In the afternoon, they had gone fishing – mostly to feed Toothless - in the Summer Quarter, and later on they had gather 'dragon nip' together. Somehow or another, she had ended up aiding him in his construction of dragon traps. While she hadn't completely agreed with his 'anti-kill' sentiments towards the reptilian mutts, she had admired the thought he had put into his non-lethally effective and effectively non-lethal designs.
As the sun crept closer and closer to the west of the Arena though, that was when -
"Don't stop! Go! Go! Go!"
She obeyed without question. In the hours of interaction she had with him, Rapunzel had learnt two important things about Hiccup. Firstly, he may have seemed weak on appearance, but he had enough smarts to make up for it. Secondly, even he wasn't a Career in the traditional sense, he had grown up with them, so between the two of them, he had greater authority on their workings. She didn't like to be so completely reliant on someone else, no matter how nice he seemed. But desperate times called for desperate measures, and having four Careers on your tail definitely counted as desperate.
"C'mon!" He yelled at her, beckoning her to catch up. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to pick up speed, berating herself on not taking up Hiccup's offer to try making her new shoes – not that he had the material to do so, anyway. The stones and crags made it difficult for her to get ahead to where he was even though she definitely was the fitter of the two. She had long given up on waiting for Eugene to send her anything, so she consoled herself with the thought of healing her scratched soles later. 'Later' being when she was alone, somehow.
But that could wait. Right now she needed to survive.
A familiar clink and whish! warned the duo in time. They ducked simultaneously as a curtain of shuriken flew over, smacking harmlessly into tree trunks instead of skulls. Relief was immediately swept aside for anxiety. Their attackers were closing in.
"We need to throw them off somehow," Hiccup told her, as they rushed through thickets of thorns and hopped over crawling vines, "there's no way we'll win a fight."
That she agreed with instantly. In her satchel, she still had her knife, but compared to the swords and axes the enemies wielded - and wielded with expertise – it was a pitiful weapon. "So what's the plan?"
"Split up, lead them of to-" he broke off suddenly as a long dagger sprung out of nowhere, almost slicing his shoulder. "YARGH! Okay, do you remember where all the dragon traps are?"
She nodded. They had spent the a good deal of the afternoon building them, anyhow.
Speaking of dragons…
She took a quick glance to the sky. It was stained crimson red, with ribbons of violet shooting in between. The Gamemakers were manipulating the daylights again.
"How long do we have before the next raid?" she yelled at him, before hopping over a mossy stone, swinging herself over rotting log and landing on the dirt ground.
He battered through low hanging brambles, spitting out the leaves that got into his mouth before replying, "An hour at most, and that's only if the Gamemakers don't feel like ruining our lives -which they do by the way." He's scrunched up his face. "Shouldn't have said that out loud, should I?"
Rapunzel nodded again with a plaintive expression. As they half-skidded, half stumbled down the pebble-strewn slope before them, she asked, "Rendezvous point?"
"The stream. Let's finish before sunset. Hopefully," he muttered last sentence with a note of melancholy.
"On it."
At the foot of the hill, they parted ways. The clamour from the pursuers informed them well enough that the Careers were splitting up too. Hearing the crunching of leaves under heavy footfalls, and the jingling of metal against bark, her pulse quickened as she wound the golden cords tighter around her arms. She considered hooking onto one of the higher branches and swinging herself away, but time was short and she needed to put down the Careers, and put them down fast.
She tried not use the word 'kill'. It only served as a reminder that she was too weak to carry it out.
A quick glance informed that the pair of chasing Careers was that of District 1, which meant a lot, and a lot, of flying knives.
Half a dozen darts flew past her head and she shrieked at the unsettling sight. The distraction proved disastrous, as she just happened to step on particularly pointed shrapnel of stone at that moment. Slowing, she caught sight of the tall black-haired girl running abreast to herself, with only pocket of shrubbery and two trees keeping them apart. But Rapunzel had seen her practice, and she knew Gothel had the almost uncanny ability to strike anything she aimed for, and the green shields might were about as protective as paper.
The first dagger whizzed past her chest, bypassing the blonde's torso only by sheer luck. The pursued girl began sucking in tight breaths, frantically scrambling away from Gothel, darting behind another curtain of foliage as if the leaves could protect her. But in the periphery of her vision, she spotted the white-headed boy, Shen, charge her way. Twisting back his arm, he then swung it forward, releasing a splay of razors. Abandoning her previous reservations, Rapunzel launched a blonde cord upward, pulling herself off the ground just as the blades bit into bark once more.
Picking the momentum from the jump, she swung herself forward, lashing out the other coil of hair to hook another branch. She heard annoyed snarls from Shen, and a gasp of surprise from Gothel. She couldn't help grinning – she supposed Career Training didn't quite prepare them for a Tarzan-like antics.
The chase didn't cease though, though it's nature had altered drastically. She took to hopping from one branch to another, whilst the pursuers below her attempted to pin her with knives. Taking higher ground fortunately gave her the advantage, in the fact that it took the Careers more effort to hurl each projectile. On the plus side, the increased density of boughs and brambles provided gave her better cover while she led them surely and precariously to what she hoped would put an end to this heart-thumping escapade.
No matter what it had seemed initially though, luck wasn't on her side. An unchecked landing on one of branch suddenly had her skidding off the bark completely, before she plunged toward the rocky ground. Only a blonde loop above cutting her fall, stopping her from smacking against the Earth and suspending her midair. But this slip had cost her dearly in time, and by the time she had untangled the twin cords and got ready to run, she felt sometime scratch the side of her hip.
With a yelp, she clutched at the fabric there, letting out a whimper as she gathered up the blonde strands and tried to move forward, but whoever had assaulted her was much faster. Two blades later, she found herself pinned to a tree trunk: one blade stabbed into her blonde braid, and the other to her coat jacket.
"You know, dearie, I saved your life back in the Bloodbath. I should think you'd at least have the decency to thank me."
Rapunzel raised her head, her green eyes meeting the steely gray of District 1 girl. She held a long dagger parallel to her forearm, edging towards the blonde, yet Rapunzel couldn't help noting the slight hesitation in the Career's face.
"We would have made such excellent friends, I'm sure. Or at least, allies," Gothel continued coolly, waving back her black curls. She paused only to scrutinize her fingers for a moment, a mortified expression appearing on her face. "Did I break a nail?"
"And you say I'm vain," the sneering voice of Gothel's district mate broke in. Both girls immediately turned to face him. Gothel groaned in annoyance, while the captured blonde swallowed, trying to draw herself away, only to find that the blades holding her down were doing their job too well. Then she stopped short.
Furtively examining their surroundings, a realization struck Rapunzel when she caught sight of the net of vines hanging above the Careers, blended carefully against the greenery. It seemed that she had made it to her destination after all.
She could hear the two Careers exchanging insults in front of her, but she focused on finding the trigger. A few seconds later, a half-smile formed on her lips when she spotted the ropes for pulley system. Then she frowned. Her little discovery wouldn't matter if she couldn't cut that rope.
She considered trying to yank out one of the blades pinning her to the tree trunk, but the Careers would notice such an action easily. So as inconspicuously as she could, she slipped a free hand into her satchel, her sweating palm searching for the knife that she had stolen from the Career pile a few days prior.
"-oh, so you caught her now?" Gothel snorted derisively at the pale boy by her side. "Please, you couldn't nab anyone, even if they were brought in shackles and served to you on silver platter."
Shen dripping in sarcasm. "Oh, I wouldn't pretend that I could. Trapping and ensnaring is your speciality. You're the snake, after all."
Gothel made a sharp laugh that was obviously lacking any humour whatsoever. Rapunzel tried not to dally on how that sound made her muscles tense, instead the cool steel that pressed in her palm. Slowly, she withdrew her hand from the satchel, her eyes still fixed on the arguing duo.
"Let's get this over," Shen said abruptly, heading towards the blonde, his hand going immediately to the long curved blade strapped to his back. Rapunzel gulped, her as she stared at the hollow emptiness in his strange, red eyes.
"Oh, no, you don't." The tall boy was jerked to a halt by Gothel. A conflicted expression crossed her face briefly her gaze fell on the quivering captive, who hoping nobody noticed the knife in her hand.
"I see someone else is already having second thoughts on life-taking," remarked Shen, narrowing his eyes at his ally, yanking his arm from her.
"What do you mean?" Gothel demanded, almost jabbing her dagger at the boy glaring at her.
Rapunzel pursed her lips together, tearing her eyes away from the predators to focus on her target. The Career had seriously underestimated her if they let down their guard whilst her hands were unbound. Of course, she was seriously overestimating her abilities if she thought the half-baked plan in her head would come to fruit.
"Don't think I don't know about the little alliance you tried to put together, and don't think I don't know why either."
"Well, you should know the why, at least. You're largely to blame."
Rapunzel recalled too well how that particular practice session during Training days went. Compared to these two, her aim with darts was truly pathetic. Besides that, a knife was much heavier and longer than a dart, so this was a really whole new experience.
Her heartbeat was drumming in her ears, and the fist that held the blade behind her back was trembling. This wasn't training anymore. She had only one shot, and if she messed it up, she was dead.
"Face it, Gothel. There's nothing you can do that'd ever bring her back."
"I suppose that's true enough. After all, you made sure of that."
Saying her last silent prayers, Rapunzel launched herself forward as much as the blades that pinned her could allow. Her arm swung forward, letting fly the knife from her hand. There was exclamations of unpleasant shock came from both Careers, till they saw the steel tip zip past their heads.
"Missed!" Shen cawed in scornful delight, his hand going to his curved longsword again.
Gothel open her mouth to say something, but whether it be a mocking cheer or a poisonous snide, it was morphed into a yelp of surprise as the weed nets fell onto the two Careers standing in the clearing, its weight forcing the duo to the ground.
Not wasting time in celebrating her narrow victory, the blonde pulled the blades off the trunk, freeing herself. Rather than leave the projectiles for her competitors to retrieve, she decided to stash them in her satchel. The Careers struggled beneath the contraption, still uttering and cursing in disbelief. As Rapunzel scooted over to get the last of blades – that is, the very humble one that she had just thrown – she caught the dark-haired girl beneath the net giving her lost look, almost disappointed. Then it hardened into a glare of steel.
Discarding any initial plans of taunting them –
not that she was really that malicious, but it would have been nice to give them a taste of their medicine – she swung around and sunk herself back into the forest, far away from the sharps razors in their hands and the sharps words on their tongues.
As she raced towards the rendezvous point, she couldn't the uneasiness as she recalled the anger in Gothel's eyes. The elder girl was a puzzle. She was hardly the compassionate type, and Rapunzel had seen her kill in the Arena, so obviously the Career didn't suffer the first-kill trauma the way she herself did. Yet for some reason or another, Gothel tended to treat her with a great deal more leniency, and – dare she say it? – care as compared to how she treated other tributes. Sentimentality, perhaps? A reminder of someone else? That sounded almost sacrilegious for a Career.
She arrived by the stream side when the Sun had just dipped on the horizon – the very same steam where she had first met and almost killed her bony little ally. Removing a knife from the satchel, she held it while seating herself on a rock near the bank, scanning her surroundings, always on guard. Little reptilian mutts called Terrors were flying off from their nests now, heeding summons of the program. Across the skies, she noted occasional pockets of scaly beasts swept over. She knew come midnight, they would rain down like a fiery Summer storm.
As time flew by, she got to her feet again and started pacing about. Unconsciously, she began coiling her golden strands tighter around her arms, even chewing on a lock in nervousness. Where was he?
Then a terrifying thought struck her, and when it did, she wanted to kick herself. What if he had betrayed her? He claimed that he wasn't a Career, and by appearance, he certainly didn't look it, but what if he really was? What if he was in cahoots with them all along and was just playing her up? Even if he wasn't from the start, should he get caught by them now, it wouldn't be that difficult for him to strike with a deal to save his skin. One of the girls was from his district, right? She'd probably get him in.
And he would lead them right to her.
Her blood boiled at the thought and her heart clenched. Yet another part of her couldn't see him doing that. It just felt so… un-Hiccup.
A shriek from the edge of the forest almost startled her out of her skin. Instinctively, her bare feet wanted to pull her away, send her running back to the cove, but she sucked in a breath and headed towards the origin of the cry instead. She darted through a curtain of vines, over the mossy pebbles and the hard dirt, not stopping till she arrived at the scene.
Dangling from a tree was a blonde Career in a net, looking extremely furious. She struggled in the ropes, screeching at the top of her voice, "You're dead, Hiccup! So, so dead! Just you wait till I get my hands on you!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know," was the dejected reply.
Upon hearing the familiar nasal voice, Rapunzel was glad to see the skinny brunette boy sprawled on the ground, with a strange expression on his face. She did however blanched when she caught sight of the long gnash along his arm, the weapon at fault sitting at his feet. Any fear she had of him double-crossing her dissipated, turning instead to concern as she hurried by his side. "Are you alright?"
The boy seemed pleased to see her too, even though he winced when he shifted his arm. "Yeah. Sorry I'm late. Ran into issues." He gestured at the infuriated Career almost nonchalantly. "Don't worry. They're both caught now. "
The blonde in the net growled, causing the boy to shriek back. Rapunzel extended a hand and he took it gratefully. Even as she heaved him, he kept turning to look at the Career, so Rapunzel found herself examining the other girl too.
With her axe lying harmlessly on the ground now, the entrapped girl seemed a whole lot smaller, though not as small as Hiccup. She was lean-built, and she had any muscles, it was obscured the black coat hung over her shoulders. Taking each and every one of the girl's features from her stringy blonde strands to her sapphire blue eyes, Rapunzel suddenly realized that she recgonized her.
She turned to Hiccup, starting, "Is she-"
"So are you going to kill me now?" The Career interrupted scornfully, still glaring at the boy, as if the other blonde wasn't here at all.
Hiccup's expression was close unreadable and his hands were trembling. Rapunzel couldn't stop the wave of sympathy from washing over her.
Gently removing his ally's arm from his own, facing his district mate, answering quietly, "Not all of us do things that way."
"You don'thave a choice, you know," the Career retorted snidely, gritting her teeth together. Rapunzel could detect a hint of doubt in her words.
"No, I don't," the boy's voice dropped at an octave. Bending over, he reached for the bloodied axe, raising it shakily off the ground. Rapunzel inhaled sharply, dropping several steps back, but she noticed that his gaze wasn't on her, but on still on the Career.
The District 2 girl seemed confused, almost worried. She tried to recoil, but couldn't because the net wouldn't allow her to. Hiccup's visage didn't change when he placed both hands on the axe handle, lifting over his head. The brilliant blue eyes suddenly went as wide as saucers, while Hiccup's green ones seemed to darken.
Then he slammed the blade into a tree, jamming it there.
"Let's go, Rapunzel," he told his dumbstruck ally. She nodded. His actions puzzled her, but the pained expression he wore kept her from questioning her further.
The blonde Career in the net was half incredulous, half mad. "You can't keep avoiding this!"
"I'm not," he answered simply, as he stepped in pace with Rapunzel, turning away from his District mate. "I wouldn't stay past midnight if I were you."
"Why not? What happens at midnight? Hey! You get back here right this instant, Hiccup Haddock! Get back right now! Hiccup! HICCUP!"
The duo kept walking away from the Career till her screams faded in with the sounds of the night. Reptilian calls could be heard all around; the dragons were coming.
"We'd better head back to the cove quickly," he told her, and she agreed, quickening her pace.
The question she had in mind still bothered her, so she asked, "Hiccup?"
"Yeah?"
"She's the girl, isn't she? The one you drew in the book."
He didn't answer, only striding forward more briskly, forcing her to accelerate herself.
"I'm sorry. That's really horrid." The adjective seemed so inadequate, she realized after saying it.
He didn't look at her – not that it was much to see with darkness creeping on them. The last lights were fading fast.
Finally, she heard a soft answer. "There was nothing to begin with."
"I-I don't understand."
He tried to shrug, only clutch his wounded arm in pain at that moment. "I never stood a chance, so," he made a weak chuckle, "nothing to lose."
Rapunzel couldn't help glancing at the gnash. From the little light remaining, she could make out the shiny red liquid dripping down. "It looks bad."
"Oh, this? It's just a cut." He waved it off, unconcerned. "Maybe Toothless might help me lick it clean. I'm starting to think his saliva has healing properties."
It was just on her tip tongue, just to say that, 'oh, your scary dragon isn't the only one with healing abilities, you know. And not to boast or anything, mine's way faster ,' but it was as if there was something clogging up her throat. She shook herself. What was wrong with her? Hiccup had proven himself over and over; he had taught her so much, given her shelter and shared his meals – which weren't poisoned, as she had feared. He had never even considered betraying her, and he turned his back on the girl he liked in favor an alliance with her. If anyone could be trusted here, it should be Hiccup.
She clenched a golden lock in her hand. He deserved her help.
But her lips stayed sealed all the way back to the cove, and she doubted they would part even when they went beyond the cliff door, back into their safe haven.
'When did he get this good?'
She was mad - absolutely and terrifyingly mad. She hated being outsmarted. She was the best Career of District 2 – no – of Panem, and she got showed up by none other than the stupid wimp of a Haddock.
Swearing through clenched teeth, Astrid shifted her body back, then heaving her weight as front as she could. The tree branch groaned as the net hanging from it swung forward, only to be jerked back by the wiry girl inside it. Determined and positively livid, she kept swinging back and forth over and over, till she was able to reach between the net hole and grab onto her axe handle.
She grinned, but only a little. Smart little Haddock couldn't be that smart if he put her axe right where she could retrieve it eventually.
With her prize in hand, she pressed its blade against the ropes that held her, working fast to cut the knots. Several strained minutes later with her fingers getting more tired each second, she found herself dropping to the dirt packed ground, fortunately falling only the flat of her axe. Picking herself hastily, she only spared a few second massaging her legs before she was off running again into the dark woods.
She supposed she would have to save Dagur first, provided he was still alive. He had fallen into some kind of quicksand trap much earlier in the chase, and had made such a big fuss over it she couldn't bother to rescue him then. Besides, knowing Hiccup, he was probably too squeamish to actually let anyone die in one of his traps, so he'd have some kind of failsafe. After all, that had yet to a cannon shot today.
His traps – he actually built all of these and they worked. Astrid decided to forget about the time she had ever shown any interest in his weird inventions. Now, she hated them, every single one of them. And she hated their maker the most.
Thrice accursed son of a half-troll. She really wanted to bash that oversized skull of his.
Whilst imagining up all sort of wonderful ways to maim her district mate once she had caught him again, it suddenly occurred to Astrid that his misplaced placement of her axe was not misplaced at all. After, he was smart, and he knew that her arms were long enough to reach the axe. And he was squeamish about killing people.
Her face when white with horror, then fury. Did Hiccup, the Hiccup a.k.a walking disaster of District 2, just spare her life? Of all insulting, insufferable-
She suddenly heard a hair-raising roar somewhere out in the forest, causing all her muscles to freeze up. Though her heart beating like a drum, she paused to listen.
There was snorting, loud snorting, followed by a displeased grunt, then… steps, heavy steps. She raised her axe, positioning her legs apart, her eyes flitting around her, waiting for the first sign of danger.
Then, a gush of warm air ran over her jittery form, and she slowly turned, only to meet the large yellow eyeballs, and dripping array of canines.
Autumn Quarter
"Pssst! Lass!"
Vanellope yawned, stretching her arms out, then quickly drawing them back when she remembered where she was. She didn't want to lose balance and tip over, after all. It was a precarious and very dangerous task, sleeping on the tree branch, but the District 11 had much experience with sleeping in this manner than her companion did and didn't need to tie herself down. The great advantages of being a street urchin was that one learnt to sleep in all kinds of funny places.
"Who died?" she asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes.
The redhead girl stared for a moment, then finally understood. "Oh, no one. The death recap was completely clean today."
"Oh, good." Then she changed her mind. "Oh, wait. Bad luck then."
"Yeah, yeah, don't get distracted, l'il lass." In the darkness – both of them had agreed that there were to be no fires after sunset – Vanellope had almost hear the older girl rolling her eyes.
"Stop making fun of my height," she automatically said.
"Ya-da, ya-da," Merida muttered impatiently. She was sitting on a tree branch perpendicular to Vanellope's own, her own back too leaning against the trunk. "I was thinking about how you said the Spring Quarter was full of poisonous plants, right?"
"Uh-huh." Vanellope was having a hard time keeping awake, and she gave another yawn.
"And you said that the Careers kept a – what were your words – 'food pyramid' of their own there, right?"
"It's gotta other resources too," the little girl corrected snippily. "Frizzles, can you get to the point? Sleep-deprived kid here. I have my rights."
"Fine, fine." Merida sighed, but Vanellope could hear a little excitement under the irritation. "Think with me here: won't it be an awful shame if the Careers suddenly found their supply pyramid gone, and they all maybe – just maybe – accidentally ate a poisonous berry or two?"
It took a while for Vanellope to get it, but when she finally did, she was grinning like a Chesire cat. Swing herself over such that her legs were now dangling off the branch, she faced her redheaded ally.
You have my complete and undivided attention."
"Ow, ow, ow."
"Stop moving. I can't aim properly if you doing that."
"Alright, but if you would just –ow!"
Elsa dropped the boy's arm, throwing her own up in exasperation, and that single wave upwards sent an small ice blast up into greenery overhead. The graze on his shoulder was really ugly, mixed with bits of his torn flesh, fresh blood and – though she couldn't see it – wolf saliva.
"Jack, if you don't let me patch it up right now, your wound will get infected."
"Can't we just wait for Bunnymund to – ow! You do know that I can get frostbite, right?"
She did a double take at that. To be honest, she had actually forgotten all about that minor, but rather important, detail. The cold never bothered her, so it was never really in her top ten list of concerns. Didn't mean that list applied to other people though.
"Sorry about that," she murmured rather stiffly, "but we've not idea when your mentor can send something again – your last gift must have really expensive - and the infection will fester if I don't do this."
She heard him give a deep groan, before he straightened his back, leaning the injured shoulder towards her. "Do it."
Squinting at the wound, she carefully focused on applying the thinnest layer of ice over the opening and only the opening – there was no point freezing up his flesh, after all. 'Pretend your frosting a cake,' she told her in her head, 'nice and easy.' She psyched herself over and over with such words, shutting out his hisses of pain or avoiding any reaction to how he jerked away occasionally. She had to remind herself over and over that her powers were not hurting him, but helping him, lest she just glaciate his entire torso a fit of panic.
All in all, it had been quite a rollercoaster, and they were lucky that the Gamemakers had decided to spare them after all. She had been woken from a frightening dream where she had been about to burnt at a stake in her district, to an equally frightening reality where her companion and her had had to flee from a pack of savage wolf-muttations.
There had been no moon, only with a handful of distant constellations bearing the faintest of lights. Being constantly on the go proved detrimental in any fire starting attempts, turning their journey through the snow-ridden forest into one of blind groping and stumbling, until it had finally occurred to her to light up her hands.
She had to confess she had been absolutely terrified when she had first seen the dozens of gleaming eyes reflecting against the blue of her light. Jack had then said that then he had experience in fighting wolves, but not quite in packs, and definitely not muttations.
It had been there he had asked, "Could you make us ice weapons?"
And she had replied,"'The use of powers to strike the killing blow is forbidden.'"
He recognized the quote, but not the purpose of mentioning it. "What's the problem?"
"They never specified if the rule was limited to just tributes."
Jack had been gobsmacked. "That," he said, much chagrinned, "never occurred to me."
The chase – for it was hardly a battle – had been nerve-wrecking to save the least. Even as they had darted past of the evergreens, she had been able to feeling ice spilling on her every steps. At one point, she had so much frost building in her hands that Jack, who had been holding one earlier, had to let it go a yelp of pain. Then she had found herself disquietingly and scarily alone.
Fending off the beasts while taking care not fatally wound them had been tricky, especially since they had come by the swarms. It had been easier at the start, just creating ice barriers or trapping them in ice walls. But as time past, she had begun to understand the Gamemakers had no intention of letting up the attack until the wolf-mutts had torn her to shreds, or she had become desperate enough to ice her grizzly attackers and condemn herself. As holding off the never-ending stream of canines had begun to take a toll on both her body and spirit, the latter had become increasingly appealing.
Option three had come then in the most surprising forms, and even now she couldn't erase the vivid image of it flashing in her mind.
Out of nowhere – or it had seemed so at that time – a war-like cry had sounded, and from behind a rock ledge her brunette ally had leapt, dramatically lending between her and her foes. In his hands, he had wield a weapon she had never seen him carry before – a long wooden staff, he had explained later, as the latest gift from his mentor. One of its ends had been alight with a flame – which, he had revealed, had been so because he had lit it that way, and not by some mystical means as it had appeared at that moment.
With the blazing staff in hand, he had charged, and it had been at that moment she had been reminded that the District 10 boy was no weakling – even the Careers had recognized it at some point. Whipping the fire staff overhead, he fought of the beasts with an extraordinary amount of ferocity. The burns had sent many scattering. The bolder ones he had knocked them by their skulls or sent swift blows to their stomach. Throughout all of it, he had worn a grim grin, with a glint in his eye. With such prowess with the staff, she had wondered how on Earth he could possibly attain such a low score for his judging. But then, the same could be said for her.
They had been an excellent team; he had attacked and she had defended. But even the best fight tactics could not win, even logically, against a program design to kill. So they had turned their pattern of fight to hit-and-run. It had been rather effective but imperfect, as evident by the wound on Jack's shoulder.
"Elsa?"
"Yes?" she answered, drawing back her hands to examine her handiwork. The ice patch was unlikely to kill all chances of infection, but it would definitely slow it down indefinitely, and that was more than enough. The Hunger Games usually never last that long anyway.
"Where do you think we are?"
She gazed around their surroundings, using the light from the glowing staff to see. The conifers had vanished, replaced by warm maples and an occasional oak. Red leaves littered the ground, and the only snow at their feet was that still clinging to their boots, and even it was melting away in the new temperature.
"Autumn." She couldn'st hold back the disbelief. Had they manages to run so far? "We're in Autumn."
If Jack shared her feelings, he didn't show it. "Well, that explains why my clothes are melting."
She glance sharply at his attire. Sure enough, the white colouration was leaking away, bringing out the original black of the fabric. She anxiously examined her own apparel, but it still remained frosty white as the day she had first formed it.
"This is so unfair," Jack complained, crossing his arm as he compared their clothes.
"I can make it again if you want," she offered instantly, fearful that he was really offended.
"Nah, I was kidding." He waved her away good-humouredly. "'sides, it'll probably melt again." He paused for a while, eyeing her attire critically. "Honestly, though, I don't white's really the most suited color for this place. Could you melt yours out?"
She knew she had repeated it several times, but sometimes she wondered if he'd fully grasped it. "I can't melt things." Then an idea came to her. "However-"
Focusing on her dressage, she waved her hand towards her white attire. At once, a flurry of ice surrounded her again, transforming the white to a darker navy blue.
Jack just gawked, then turned away, pouting. "Now I'm really, really jealous."
She couldn't help smiling at his childish manner, and eventually he stopped sulking and laughed too. Then his face fell suddenly.
"Wait. Is my staff still on fire?"
Sure enough, the staff, resting against the soil, was still burning merrily away. The boy leapt from his seat hurriedly, muttering 'he's gonna kill me, he's gonna kill me,' before taking up the stick. Then, he haphazardly tried to put out it with his hands. It was pure folly, of course, and he ended up dropping it all over again, blowing on his palms with much vigour. Elsa was snickering all over again as she raised the staff from the ground, a single touch spreading a sheen of frost around the staff, climbing and circling it till the flames were extinguished with a silent hiss.
His mentor had chosen one of excellent quality; that much was apparent by the fact that the entire staff had yet to disintegrate into ash and embers. This was not to say the staff was undamaged, however. In the heat, the burning end had become gnarled and twisted, curving itself into a charred hook.
"I guess it's ruined now," she said, as she returned the staff to her ally.
He toyed with the staff for a moment, twirling it about in his hands. Making a mock thrust with it, she was surprised to find he was grinning away. "It's perfect."
"What?"
"The hook. It's makes it like a shepherd's crook," he explained, tracing up the blackened wood lovingly. "Fits me like a boot. Hat. Weapon. Whatever."
Elsa lifted a brow, but made no further comment. Cocking her head to a side, she pointed out, "It looks like a 'G', doesn't it?"
Jack went quiet for a long minutes after she said that, then he answered sombrely, "Yeah. 'G' for Guardian."
S/N:
Jack's staff makes an appearance. In case you didn't catch, Bunnymund had asked to send it in Chap 26, but it had only arrived that night.
Wolves that attacked Jack and Elsa are the ones from Frozen, the ones that chased Kristoff and Anna. Initially I planned on writing out the battle in active POV, but it was so unsatisfactory, so I went for this style. It isn't that important a fight anyway.
Up Next: It's title is 'Departure.' As you maybe able to tell by this chapter, big things are about to start, and there'd be consequences. Go figure.
A/N:
My exams have just ended, so there's a short reprieve for me now. Sorta. Now I have orchestra competitions and I'm supposed to work on philosophy paper. Yeah. Apologise for Typos in advance.
Okay to the matters on hand:
Benchmark Chapter
Whoohoo! Over 200+ reviews since Chap 26!
I must say this a lot, but whether you're a new reader or an old one, I really want to thank y'all for your support throughout this story! Especial thanks to my regular reviewers (you know who you are.)(I know its cliché and greedy – but reviews do motivate me.) The story is long past its halfway mark, and only because of you guys, the readers, reviewers, questioners, critics, and random people who just drop by. THANK YOU!
Okay, hype's over.
The Prank Chapter: Shift to Insanity
Before I became a Fanfiction writer (which was sometime in May last year), I had seen a couple of April Fool's Chapters, and I've always wanted to do one. I was honestly going to write a really honest sounding chapter, then kill off everyone brutally. But I was too lazy to that, so I went for breaking the fourth wall and insanity, because I just love that stuff. I apologized again if I had somehow ruined your sensibilities. From the reviews, I'm glad to see some have enjoyed it, so I'm glad about that, and thankful that no one has tried to kill me yet.
Mailbox:
Chapter 26:
waveringshadow: Love Team Arthouse? Awesome! I love them too (I love all the teams, but whatever). About Astrid not making out…I can't say anything. This is THG after all. As for Hiccup, well, he may have more of the right friends, but is he himself the right friend? Glad you liked the insanity chapter, and yes it was fun to write.
that one evil girl: Well thanks for thanking me! My insane chapter's a good chapter? *plots insanity in the future* hehehe.
Fenris Jin: I hope you've read up to this chapter by now, and if you have, I want to thank you for taking your time to pour out your thoughts on the chapters. I'm glad you've enjoyed reading (and crying. I think you've mentioned crying sometime.) I'll try to answer (or avoid answering) some of your questions: Yep, lots of Mayor's kids in these Games. In this universe, Hans' motivations and reasons for doing things are not quite the same as the movie, so how he acts may be …confusing. Yep, so many (ahem, or just two) mutants.
Fangirl: The Head-librarian called Bookworm in Chap 26 is indeed from Toy Story 3! The librarian that Eugene bumps into however is the guard from Tangled, the Hay-fever guy guarding the crown.
Frostbite (chap 5): Sorry about the Typos. *cringes* I love BH6 too.
SmilingStarcat: Weird ipods? Get it from my phone sometime (especially when I typing the story in it. Grr…). Ralph is rather like Thresh (sharp of you to notice!), but for that reason he won't be appearing much in the story much, but he has a role. To answer your questions: What you're reading in the story is what is actually happening in the Arena, and may not be seen on Capitol TV. (e.g. Scenes with Hiccup and Rapunzel in the Cove don't appear on TV, because (explanation Chap 24 on blindspots)). I have planned out the entire story, and…it is about 45 chapters in length. Which is really long. I think there's a good chance that I'll complete it, because I've already planned it out. Thanks for reviewing.
parkk20: Thank you! Sorry if you got tricked by the April Fool's Chapter, but here's the real one.
Awsomaniatica: To be honest, I really, really love Merida and Van as a team. They are just wonderful. The Head-librarian a.k.a. the Bookworm is from Toy Story 3 (never really thought of the scary librarian from Monsters U. Should add to my file of unused useful characters.) I'm glad you like the bit about Tooth – she deserved it.
Maggietheawesome: Ah…sorry, er, I don't like Mericup. I understand why people like it, but I just…don't – partially because I like Hiccstrid, and partially coz I usually try to be really canon - really canonical till the point it's almost ridiculous. I'm glad that you like Van and Merida. Wait, what don't we know about Turbo? I'm glad that you like the prank chapter. Write something about the Big Five living completely normal lives and chilling? I could as a one shot at most, but I don't really one for peace. For long.
Prank Chapter:
Electricangel12: Man, I knew I should have dropped the playstation thing. It was dead giveaway.
AmyMilo: Thank you.
Nightingale82: I'm really glad it cheered you! I really didn't plan the story. It was just nuts…
Manyotpsforlife: Sorry I had you worried. It is nuts.
ixPinkRoses: Thanks. Wait, if this is my best chapter, then all my other chapters are…
WarriorQueen 14: Don't lose faith in me. I'm not insane. Yet. Glad you found my weird humour somewhat funny. I guess.
Easter
I realized that I'm posting this on Easter Weekend, which is why I want to wish one and all a Happy Easter. As said and represented by Bunnymund/ Easter Bunny, Easter is all about hope. It is about second chances for even the most broken of souls, to see the lights in our dark, terrifying world, and I wish that upon every one of you. So, Happy Easter and God Bless.
So see you in two weeks' time guys!
(If y'all are really lucky – like really, really lucky, I might update in a week's time, but depends on life, so yeah.)
Review. Critique. Ask Questions.
Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8 (NIV)
