In Chapter 26 of SFCBruce's "Absolution," Katniss and Peeta meet some Thirteens in Haymitch's basement. In my chapter below, I add Prim and Coin (and Boggs), and this makes all the difference.

In my note for Chapter 15, I argued that sweet Prim, even in canon, can haggle like a used-car dealer when she chooses to. Here Prim displays this ability again.

A belated note about Chapter 32: No tribute found the pearl in the AU Clock Arena; or if someone did find the pearl, (s)he did not give the pearl to Katniss. The pearl is gone, folks.

Chapter 35
No. No. No.

The next morning
At the District Twelve train station

Effie said to Katniss, "Be thinking about your talent, dear. Every Victor needs to have one."

Katniss pouted. "Fine. I'll think about a talent. But it won't be singing."

Peeta said, "That's fine, Katniss, but it's a fact you're better than at least one Capitol singer. Actually, you're the best I've ever heard."

"Exactly!" Effie said. "Dear, if you recorded albums, people would line up around the block to buy them."

Haymitch said, "Princess, our newest Victor has spoken. Leave her alone."

Prim said, "I think people would get their coins' worth if they bought Katniss music albums, yes. But more than this, I want my big sister to be happy."

Katniss smiled big, looking relieved. "Thank you, Little Duck."

"Trinket! Get on the boinking train!" a man's voice yelled.

Effie smiled at Katniss again. "I need to go. But if you want any help at decorating your new house, call me." Katniss's brand-new house was across the green from Haymitch's house and was next to Peeta's house.

"If you're sure you wouldn't mind a call about house-decorating," Katniss said to Effie. She rolled her eyes.

Effie hugged all the Victors goodbye, then stepped onto the train.

The four District Twelve Victors watched the train leave. The four Victors then walked back to Victors' Village, with the three youngest Victors saying little of importance.

Prim noticed that during the entire walk back home, Haymitch spoke no words, and he seemed to be deep in thought.

As soon as the four Victors passed through the gates of Victors' Village, Haymitch said, "Come with me. I want you to see something in my basement."

Prim, as well as Katniss and Peeta, shrugged and agreed.

Prim's curiosity was whetted when Haymitch, at his front door, did two mysterious things: Before opening the door, Haymitch pulled a bug-jammer out of his pocket; then Haymitch said, "Kids, don't speak till you're at the bottom of my stairs—even though you're gonna want to."

A half-minute later
In Haymitch's basement

Prim saw the seven fake-Capitols—all now dressed in gray clothing. The formerly-green-wigged woman was sitting in a chair (while the other six stood), and her green wig now lay by a rolled-up gray sleeping bag.

Katniss said, "It's the Thirteens—why am I not surprised?" Katniss asked the sitting woman, "Are you wearing another wig?" Prim agreed with Katniss that the sitting woman's gray hair was too perfect to be natural.

The woman snapped, "Soldier Abernathy, you were told not to tell anyone about our visit here!"

Haymitch said, "Coin, I keep telling you, I ain't no soldier!"

Katniss demanded, "Haymitch, who is this woman?"

Peeta said, "Ma'am, Haymitch didn't tell us that y'all were Thirteens, we told him. As spies, y'all are ... well, pathetic."

Katniss snapped, "Lady, if a real Capitol had tried to talk to y'all, y'all would've been spotted in a second, then you'd have wound up being arrested by Peacekeepers. Then all four of us Twelve Victors would've been arrested too! Did you think of the danger you were putting us in, before y'all strolled around our Square in your clown clothes?"

The gray-haired woman's eyes narrowed, and her nostrils flared.

Prim asked calmly, "Ma'am, who are you? Why did you call Haymitch 'Soldier'? Most importantly, why are y'all from District Thirteen here?"

Haymitch said, "Kids, let me make introductions. The sitting woman is Alma Coin, president of District Thirteen—"

"President of Thirteen?" Katniss snorted. "And I'm the queen of the District Twelve forest."

"—and the dark-skinned man who's standing next to Coin is Peter Boggs, a colonel in Thirteen's army. Sorry, other Thirteens, but I don't remember y'all's names. Thirteens, these three zit-faced killers are Peeta Mellark, Primrose Everdeen, and Katniss Everdeen."

Prim said, "Ahem. I'm thirteen. I don't have facial blemishes yet." Prim and Peeta high-fived.

Alma Coin stood up and introduced her group to the Twelve Victors. Prim noticed that the dark-skinned man and the tall brunette were both introduced with a specific officer rank, while the other four were introduced with the unspecified rank of "Soldier."

Alma Coin looked at the Twelves. "The time has come for the twelve districts that are now under Capitol oppression to be freed. District Thirteen's army, plus you three recent Victors—'the Three Mockingjays'—plus soldiers in district militias that are under District Thirteen's direction, together will break the Capitol's chains."

The Thirteens clapped. The Twelves stared.

Peeta looked at Haymitch, puzzled. "Did you know about this? About Prim, Katniss, and me becoming 'the Three Mockingjays'?"

Haymitch replied, "Coin said stuff yesterday about 'bringing the children into the fight,' but she didn't say shit about mockingjays."

Prim asked Alma Coin, "We 'Mockingjays'—what is our job to be? You'll give us guns and we shoot Peacekeepers?"

Coin said, "Oh no, we have soldiers for that. Your job will be to make propaganda messages that inspire the soldiers and district residents, and that demoralize Capitol people."

Prim shook her head. "I have no idea how to begin to do that. Where would we get camera people? Sound people? Editors?"

Katniss said, "Besides which, what would we say?"

"That's not your decision to make, Soldier Everdeen," Alma Coin said to Katniss.

Prim frowned.

Alma Coin continued, "By the time the Rebellion starts, we will have the services of a Capitol traitor who knows much about propaganda. He will write your scripts. You three will each have the responsibility to say the words believably."

Haymitch asked with a smirk, "And my job, I suppose, will be to lead Twelve's militia, under District Thirteen's capable direction?"

"Yes," Alma Coin said. She added dismissively, "Assuming you're up to the challenge."

Peeta asked Haymitch, "What do you think? About what she said?"

Haymitch sighed. "It's not the way I pictured the Rebellion going down. But if it takes out Snow and it stops the Capitol breathing down our necks, I suppose I can live with it."

Peeta asked Katniss, "What do you think?"

Katniss shrugged. "What Haymitch said. I guess I can live with it."

Peeta sighed. "Yeah."

Alma Coin said, "Good, that's settled. We shall—"

"NO," Prim said. "Nuh-uh, forget it."

Everyone else in the basement stared at her.

One second later

Katniss said, "Speak your mind, Little Duck."

Prim looked at Alma Coin. Prim disliked very few people and she distrusted very few people, but 'President' Coin was on both lists.

Prim said to Alma Coin, "Let me see if I have this straight. You're from the district that ran away and hid seventy-five years ago. But now you want to start a new rebellion. That is, a rebellion where Haymitch and every other fighter in the Reaped districts takes orders from Thirteen—the same district that ran and hid, remember—and everyone in Thirteen takes orders from you, Mayor Coin."

One of the blond twins started to say something. Katniss sneered, "Silence, Soldier!" The blonde obeyed.

Prim said, "Now suppose that this Rebellion succeeds—Snow no longer is president. Who would be the new president of Panem? Would it be a Victor from District Two or District Four who had led troops in battle, or a troop-commander woman from District Eight? Would it be Haymitch, or Peeta? No, because during the Rebellion, all of these Reaped-district leaders would basically be flunkies and order-takers, whatever their so-called rank and whatever their battlefield successes. No, the only logical person to be the next president of Panem would be the one person who gave orders but never took orders. You, Mayor Coin."

Nobody spoke. The Thirteens looked shocked that anyone would speak disrespect to their leader; the Twelves looked angry.

Coin's eyes narrowed, and her nostrils flared.

After a brief silence, Coin said, "Soldier Everdeen, I insist you address me by my title—"

Prim shook her head. "You run a district; you don't yet run a country. Which brings me to my next point. People whose judgment I trust have told me that a rebellion can't succeed without someone or something to unite the districts. That's us, 'the Three Mockingjays' who make propaganda messages. Each of us is admired and respected in the Reaped districts. Without Katniss, Peeta, and me, you will never be president for real, 'President' Coin."

Alma Coin replied, "The Rebellion would be helped by you three, yes, but—"

"Would be helped by us? Listen, Thirteen could have fought the Rebellion fifteen years ago, right? You did not. You did not fight the Rebellion ten years ago, nor one year ago, nor last week. When did you come to Twelve to announce you would fight another rebellion? The day Katniss came home! You need 'the Three Mockingjays,' admit it, because you think the Rebellion can't succeed without us."

Alma Coin said, "The fact remains, you three are children, and you need strong guidance."

"I walked out of a kill-or-be-killed arena; I think I've proven myself." Prim looked at the Thirteens. "All of you are too young to have fought in the First Rebellion. So how many people have y'all killed in battle? None, right? This 'child' has killed 1-1/2 deadly opponents. As for guidance, when I need it now, I'll ask Haymitch."

Alma Coin sniffed, "Soldier Abernathy is a drunk. He is unfit to give guidance except for the narrow specialty of the Hunger Games."

Haymitch said, "Coin, if you'd lived through the shit I've lived through, you'd be a drunk too!"

Katniss said, "Mayor Coin, it seems to me you're not fit to give anyone advice, except for how to hide for seventy-five years." Katniss and Peeta high-fived.

Lt. Jackson snapped, "Hey Victors, you four are rude and ungrateful. President Coin is offering to liberate the lower twelve districts from the Capitol's oppression, so show her proper respect!"

Katniss said, "Oh, yeah? Here's her 'offer': You Thirteens will come in, who've never been Reaped and never been scared of being Reaped. You fine Thirteen folks will give the orders, and the Reaped districts will take the orders and do the dying. The Reaped districts will still take shit, we 'Three Mockingjays' will take shit, but you Capitols in gray will get the glory. By the way, the Capitol is always lecturing us districts that we should be grateful to them, even as they send off district children to die."

Katniss and Lt. Jackson glared at each other. Seconds passed in silence.

Prim said, "Mayor Coin, here's my bottom line: I refuse to take orders from you."

Prim heard many gasps.

Prim added, "If this means no Rebellion happens—sorry, Haymitch. If the Rebellion happens but you're in charge, Mayor Coin, I'll stay out of the fight. Completely out. Neutral."

Katniss said, "Prim, you can't stay completely out of the fight! The Capitol won't let you."

Prim shrugged. "I'll live in the forest if I have to. Till I'm eaten by a bear."

Katniss looked at Alma Coin. "If Prim won't take orders from you, I won't either."

Peeta said, "I'm with Prim and Katniss."

"Well, fuck me," Haymitch said. "So where does this leave us?"

Prim said, "I'll take orders from Lyme Sahad in Two, or Hammerhead Oleery in Four, or that woman who led the fighting in Eight last year. Let one of them be the Big General in Charge."

Colonel Boggs said, "But Thirteen has the firearms! Thirteen has the ammo and explosives! Thirteen has the hovercraft!"

"Not all the hovercraft," Peeta said. "I'm told the Reaped districts have one hovercraft hidden."

Colonel Boggs covered his eyes with a hand.

Prim said, "Thirteen also has the history of running away and hiding when times got tough, which forced the other districts to have to sign the Treaty of the Treason. To remind you Thirteens, this is the treaty that forced all four of us Twelves in this basement to fight to the death. Anyway, these are my terms—Mayor Coin commands a rebellion that I'm no part of, or Mayor Coin takes orders from the same Reaped-district general whom I take orders from."

"Same with me," Katniss and Peeta said together.

"Well, shit," Lt. Jackson said.

One minute later
In the silent basement

Alma Coin glared murderous death at Prim. Then the mayor/president of District Thirteen said, "Fine. Give me the names and districts of the three people from whom Primrose will take orders."