Kegan Caption (D2), Chateaux Masona (D2), Raven Textan (D8), and Roland Bucks (D10)

The anthem blared at full volume, its musical tunes filling the arena. Velt Ganger's face appeared in the sky, a naive smile lighting it up, as if he was back home again. Kegan and Chateaux watched him from the Cornucopia with blank expressions. Chateaux felt her heart fall a little in disappointment. So the kid had finally died. She supposed it was going to happen eventually, but still, she had secretly hoped he might win, that is, if she were to die.

Of course, both of them knew exactly what his death meant. They were in the final four. The only other two tributes left were Raven Textan and Roland Bucks.

It would be over soon.

"I assume you are going to insist that I take first watch," Kegan said, rather moodily.

Chateaux shook her head, her expression still solemn. "Let's go hunting," she said. Her voice was subdued. The excitement at the kill that had coursed through her body like a fire was gone. She sounded like a child who was being forced to do an unwanted chore.

"Don't be dim-witted. There are only two of them out there. We'll never find them," Kegan shook his head.

"We won't have to find them dunder brain," Chateaux said. "They'll lead us to them. we've been out here for what? Nine, ten days now? They know just as well as we do. These Games are practically over. Now is as good a time as any for a finale."

"As you wish your royal majesty," Kegan muttered under his breath. Chateaux's eyes didn't flare up in annoyance the way they usually did when he said things like that. She simply pretended to ignore him. It was odd actually. She had been like that for two days now. Ever since Autumn had gone and the two of them had stuck Lindon through. Kegan had thought several times to inquire what was wrong with her. It didn't matter though. He didn't care about her. He couldn't.

With that the two of them headed into the woods.

Roland and Raven sat around their empty fire pit silently. Raven had his eyes closed as he began to doze off. He didn't complain about it, but Roland knew. The boy was completely exhausted. Every time he moved, some kind of ache or pain shot through him. His bad arm had started to throb after the fight with the giant mutt, and it hadn't stopped since. He wasn't dying, but he definitely wasn't in good shape.

Roland stared at Raven miserably. He knew what came next. One of them was going to have to die, and Roland wasn't entirely sure who he wanted it to be. He just prayed that they wouldn't have to make that decision. If they were smart, they would have split up days ago, right after Lena died. He couldn't do it though. Raven had been so hurt. Leaving him in that condition would have felt like betrayal. Now they were in the final four together, and Roland could only imagine the horror that would come if they were the last two standing. He didn't know what he would do. Would he kill Raven? Would he kill himself? That's what he thought was on Raven's mind. The boy from Eight had made his thoughts on winning clear when he stayed behind to distract the careers. He never intended on making it out of the arena alive, and Roland doubted that his plans had changed since then.

There would be no fight between the two boys.

Sighing, Roland sank into his seat, trying to find some warmth. If he closed his eyes, he could just taste the sun in District Ten, shining down on him as warmth radiated through his body. It had been so long since he had been warm. He questioned whether he even truly remembered the feeling.

"Roland?" Raven muttered sleepily.

"Mmm," Roland responded.

"I want you to know that you're the closest thing to a brother I've ever had," he mumbled.

Roland looked up at Raven, startled. He knew about his friend's troubled family life. His two older brothers, Jax and Yeuton, apparently hated the guy's guts. But Raven talked about them like they were his idols. He blamed himself for the way things were screwed up in his family. Coming from him, that was one of the biggest compliments a guy could get.

"You too," Roland muttered back. "You too.

Kegan and Chateaux walked side by side, not talking to each other. They were headed towards the animal end of the forest. The mountain had been coated by some sort of avalanche the other day, and was no longer a viable place to hide. That meant their enemies were somewhere in the surrounding forest. They were just doing some guess-work with where they might find them.

Kegan had recommended this route of travel actually. To be honest, he had no expectation that Raven and Roland would be hiding out here. If he were them, he'd be on the other side of the arena with the plants. That's where the most optimal food sources were. He picked the animal side though for a reason. It was the half where the gamemakers had the most prominent presence in the arena with all of the tiny creatures that lurked in the shadows. If they were going to be driven towards the other two tributes, that would be a good place to find a good predator to do the job. He knew it was a dangerous risk to take, but he had decided it was worth it. As long as it worked that is.

"If you go home, what's the first thing you're going to do?" Chateaux asked suddenly.

Kegan's eyes flickered over to her incredulously. Was she being civil with him or was this just another ploy for some kind of hurtful dig? He wasn't sure. "I'm going to go see my sister of course," he decided to answer. "I believe I owe her an apology."

Chateaux smirked. "What for?"

"My arrogance," he answered simply. He didn't have to elaborate. She knew he was talking about the Games. They had both been arrogant, assuming they would win. They didn't know the competition back then- the amount of people- good people- that would have to die for them to live.

"I'm going to go back and visit an old friend of mine," Chateaux answered. "Her name is Zia. I think I owe her an apology for a lot more than just arrogance." She laughed as if she were making some kind of joke, but it went over Kegan's head.

Suddenly the ground began to rumble, and both of them stopped, drawing out their weapons. About fifteen feet ahead of them, a tree was ripped from its roots and thrown backwards. They both gaped as a huge snowy white gorilla monster looked down at them. Its thick ugly grey lips pulled at the corners. Kegan felt his stomach twist as he realized what it was doing: the mutt was smiling.

"Run," Chateaux demanded, grabbing his arm. They turned, flying in the opposite direction. Its thunderous foot steps thumped after them. Unlike Velt who had ran from the mutt with extreme difficulty earlier that day, the two careers had no problem distancing themselves from the thing. It wasn't that this second beast was slower than the first, and although the two careers were in much better shape than the deceased District Nine tribute, it wasn't that they were better runners either. In fact, Kegan was a decidedly poor athlete, and Chateaux was easily pulling ahead of him. It was as if the mutt had no intention of killing them. No, it was meant simply to give them a push in the right direction.

Kegan and Chateaux both knew this as they ran. Their eyes were glued on the horizon, both looking for the same thing. The woods shifted again and then they were no longer in the animal side of the forest, but the plant side. Kegan nodded to himself. His plan had worked.

Roland heard them before he saw them. The familiar howl echoed through the woods, making the hairs stand up on his arm. "Raven," he cried urgently, shaking his ally awake. "Get up. There's another one. Get up."

Raven jerked awake, blinking a few times sleepily. Another roar shook the forest. That woke him up. Raven leaped to his feet, his tired eyes searching rabidly around for the threat as he grabbed his sword. "Where is it?" he asked gravely.

"Dunno," Roland grunted as he tied a lasso into the little length of remaining rope he had left. "No chance you're running right?"

Raven swallowed hard, his expression bitter and devoid of hope. "Nope. I'm too tired to run," he said. His eyes flickered upwards with urgency. "You run. You can get away. I'm sure I'm the one the Gamemakers want dead, not you."

Roland opened his mouth and closed it again. "I can't leave you again. Not like last time. Look how far that got us. Lena's dead and you look like you got beat up and jumped off a cliff," Roland said.

Raven's mouth twitched into a small smile at the joke. "Think about yourself Roland, not me," he mumbled.

Roland never got the chance to respond. Raven's eyes suddenly turned wild. "Duck," he demanded in a booming voice. Roland obeyed without a second thought. A long blade whooshed over his head, taking with it a few locks of hair. Roland spun around to find Chateaux standing far too close behind him, going in for another slice. He fell backwards into the snow as the blade skimmed his chest. She pulled her sword back up, ready to go in for the final death blow.

Raven lunged forwards, swinging his sword out and knocking it against hers. Again she missed Roland, this time, digging her blade into the snow, right beside his head. She looked up at Raven, gritting her teeth. He jabbed his blade forwards, taking advantage of her moment of vulnerability as she tried to pull her weapon out of the ground. She was a career though, and careers were never truly off guard. Abandoning her sword in the ground, she leaped backwards. Raven missed by a longshot.

Kegan appeared out of the woods, panting and raised his knives, crouching defensively.

"What took you so long slow poke," Chateaux frowned at him.

"Shut up," he grumbled back.

"Where's the mutt," Chateaux grunted back.

"Stopped chasing a minute ago," Kegan answered. They ended the brief exchange there as they had some fighting to do.

Raven flew forwards as Roland stood up, pulling her sword out of the ground and throwing it backwards out of everybody's reach. Chateaux gaped at him. Did he really just pick a piece of rope over a long sword as a weapon?

Kegan met Raven midway, parrying his attacks with his knives. Seeing the injured boy with a sword had shocked him. Last time the two had seen each other, Raven had been plunging off a cliff, quite weaponless. He hadn't taken it from the Cornucopia, as they didn't have any unaccounted weapons when Chateaux and he had left just a half an hour ago. So then, where'd it come from? Not that it mattered though. This was the end. If he won, he'd know soon enough.

Chateaux brought her fists up in front of her face, positioning herself into a boxer stance, as she eyed Roland. She had no other weapons on her, but that didn't mean she wasn't dangerous. She'd had her fair share of close combat training. The problem began when Roland began to twirl his lasso above his head. She didn't want to get too close to him. If she didn't though, she had no way of fighting.

"Kegan give me one of your knives," Chateaux demanded as Roland threw his lasso at her. She dived to the side, causing Roland to miss.

"I'm busy," Kegan grunted back to her. He was still on the defensive. Fight smart, that was his mantra. Raven fought him like a savage, battering him over and over again with his sword. On the outside, Kegan probably looked like he was losing, but he knew better. Raven would tire out soon enough. Then he would get sloppy. That would be when Kegan would strike.

Chateaux cursed rather loudly at her District partner as she rushed Roland. He hadn't had time to gather his lasso back, and Chateaux wasn't going to waste an opportunity. She sprinted forwards, and quickly sunk her fist into his stomach. Roland cried out as he stumbled backwards. The wind completely knocked out of him.

Raven suddenly broke off from Kegan and wheeled around towards Chateaux. He slashed out, grazing her cheek, before she could further her attack on Roland. "Throw your knife Kegan," Chateaux demanded as she started to play a dodging game.

Kegan shook his head as he ran over to help. "Dumb fighting tactics," he responded. "I'm not giving them another weapon."

While Roland clutched his gut on the ground, Kegan and Chateaux both faced the bigger threat- Raven.

Kegan sprinted over, stabbing outwards at the boy, halting his attack on Chateaux. Quickly Raven spun, knocking away the jab. With his other hand, Kegan swung the hilt of his knife around, knocking Raven in the jaw. Raven stumbled back, wiping his now bloodied lip on his sleeve. His eyes glowed with hatred at the two careers. To him, they were the epitome of Captiol influence, the pinnacle showing of Snow's absolute power. It never crossed his mind that they might even be human. No, as far as he cared, they were the reason that the Games existed in the first place, the reason so many of his friends were dead.

"Knife now Kegan," Chateaux commanded again. This time he obeyed, handing his second weapon over to her reluctantly.

Then they both turned back to Raven. Together they put him on the defensive. They slashed and stabbed with their short weapons like two wolves closing in around a wild deer. Raven could only keep up with them for so long. He could feel his limbs protesting his movements, and he ached to use his left arm, only to find that any attempt to move it resulted in a searing pain. His eyelids felt heavy, and his good hand was beginning to shake. His sword had never felt so heavy.

Chateaux felt the sweat dripping down her brow as she landed her first blow, cutting into Raven's forearm. She could feel the guilt already welling in her stomach. There was a time when she reveled in just the thought of slitting this boy's throat. Times had changed though. Now that her moment had finally come, it didn't feel half as great as she had thought it would.

Raven suddenly felt a tree thud against his back. There was nowhere left to run.

Kegan took that as his chance. Diving forwards, he jammed the hilt of his knife into the bone of Raven's thumb. With a cry of pain, he dropped the sword. Chateaux was upon him as quick as a snake. She thrusted her knife forwards, pressing the blade into the soft skin of his neck. She knew that Kegan was expecting her to take the kill for herself, he had no intention of intervening, and she also knew that the Capitol wanted a show. She didn't want to torture this boy alive though.

Then a thought crossed her mind.

Without moving the blade from Raven's neck, she turned to Kegan. "I believe I owe you a kill," she said.

Kegan's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Chateaux had never been one to share. Still, he had to think of himself; it would be unwise to deny her right now. The Capitol would think he was soft.

"Um, okay," he muttered, drawing his own knife upwards. Chateaux grinned at him as she stepped back. It was only then that she thought to turn back, and go handle Roland, the other enemy. He had been rolling around on the ground the last time she had seen him. Somehow, he had slipped both of her and Kegan's minds as they got caught up in the heat of their battle with Raven.

To her horror, she found that he had recovered. His face was twisted as he clenched his teeth together and spun the lasso above his head. His gaze was locked on Kegan as the boy brought back his knife, preparing to end Raven's life.

Chateaux reacted on instinct. "Kegan look out," she screeched as Roland let his lasso fly. Kegan looked over at her confused, but she had already gone into motion. She slammed into him, shoving her District partner violently to the ground, out of the way. In the process, of course, she had moved to where he had been standing. She dropped her knife raising her hands up towards her throat.

Roland pulled hard. In the blink of an eye, his lasso tightened around Chateaux's throat. A sickening crack echoed through the air as her neck snapped like a flimsy twig.

Boom.

Kegan watched in horror from the ground as he watched her die. The sound of her neck breaking echoed in his ears, resonating in his soul. Chateaux- the girl who had bullied him since he was seven years old, who had beat him up time and time again in the training room, who just earlier that day had been boasting about how fun it would be to kill him- had just saved his life. In that moment, he could feel something within him snap, just like Chateaux's neck.

"No," the word came out in a hushed mumble. "No," he said it again louder. He suddenly jumped to his feet. "Chateaux you fool!" he roared. His eyes turned to Roland as anger confusion and hatred churned like a monster within his stomach. In one swift motion he wheeled his arm back and flung his knife at Chateaux's killer. It sunk squarely between the boy's eyes. Killing him instantaneously.

Boom.

And then there were two.

Raven could do nothing as he watched his final ally die. He knew his friend was a goner the moment he saw the look on Kegan's face as he comprehended Chateaux's death. Hell hath no fury like a wronged career. The grief welled up inside of his heart, and flowed through the rest of his body, running like a waterfall. He could hear his own heart beat thumping inside his eardrums. Everyone he had gathered in the beginning were all dead now. The only two options left for victor was either him or a career from Two. In his heart, he knew he had already failed.

Kegan's breath came in unnaturally short intervals as he watched Roland's body crumple. Somehow, it didn't seem like it was enough. Wheeling around, he glared at Raven, livid anger bubbling in his chest. Tears began to stream down his cheeks as he grabbed the other boy by the collar and threw him to the ground. Like a barbarian, he leaped on top of him, pressing his knee into Raven's broke arm.

Raven howled in pain, but made no attempt to resist. He was finished. He was finished with all of it.

"She died for me," Kegan screamed, as he slammed his fist into Raven's temple. "We hate each other. She was never supposed to die for me." He punched Raven again, feeling the other boy's blood wet his knuckles. Then a third time, his fist came down. Kegan could feel his glasses slip off his nose as he stared down at Raven. His vision immediately went blurry, making the arena turn into one big ambiguous blob- a solid sheet of white, mangled with patches of scarlet red. The other boy had his eyes pressed shut as he awaited death.

"Why'd she do that?" Kegan kept going as he suddenly began to escalate the beating. "Why?"

He didn't stop punching. Even after the cannon sounded, and his hands were no longer meeting smooth skin, but the bloodied sharp fragments of a broken skull. Tears flowed down his face freely. Chateaux's hate had been the one thing he had been sure of. It was as sound as the most concrete scientific theory. And he had always been okay with it. As long as she hated him back, his irrational loathing of not only that girl, but of all of the villains in his life was justified.

But she had saved him. Chateaux of all people. It was as if the very foundations of his scientific brain no longer existed because all that was left was the irreversible grotesque regret of all of the wrongs of his unbearably human nature.

Kegan fell backwards, off of Raven's body and into the snow. He laid there with no intention of moving as uncontrollable sobs raked through his body. Why? Why had she done it?

Over the loudspeakers, a voice echoed through the arena. "Ladies and Gentleman, the winner of the Sixty-Fourth Hunger Games- Kegan Capiton!"

Something mechanical touched his hand as something began to lift him into a hovercraft. He was rising upwards, he thought to himself. That's supposed to be the universal symbol of sainthood and victory. He didn't feel like a victor though. No, instead he felt everything that he ever thought he knew, fading away, into the darkness.

A/N: WARNING LONG AUTHORS NOTE

So there you have it. Kegan is your victor. Now before I get into the rest of the note, I'm going to tell you right now that there will be one last epilogue chapter after this. On the same day that I post the last chapter of Fading to Darkness, I'm going to post the first chapter of its sequel, Finding the Light. I'll start taking submissions (one character per person) then, but I'm not going to officially accept anybody right away. Exactly a week after the first chapter is posted, I will make some decisions, and post the tribute list somewhere (either in the form of chapter 2 or maybe just on my profile). If I don't have all the spots filled at that point, I'll open up the pool more and allow readers to each submit a second character. There will be no reserving spots, but I also won't accept any tributes officially until the first list is posted. That will give everybody a week to get in a character without worrying about all the spots filling up.

Alright, onto the rest of it. RIP, Chateaux, Roland, and Raven.

Raven: Never, not once, through the entire story, did I ever consider him as a possible victor. He was a strong, charismatic, and an excellently thought out tribute, and I loved him. But I said in the very first chapter, these Games would not be memorable in the Capitol's mind. Having him win would be like taking a flame and dumping it into a barrel of hay. Heads would be rolling. All the same, he was always meant to come in second. It was just the most interesting way for things to happen, as I always thought he was one of the most interesting characters that I received. I actually got a flaming guest review about midway through training that called me a very interesting name and said something along the lines of 'well obviously Raven is going to win'. That flame completely made my day because Raven never had a chance. I think I had everybody fooled with him at some point or another. (yeah, haha, jokes on you anonymous guest flamer)

Roland: For a long time, I had considered letting him win. I had initially planned to have one of Raven's allies bring home the victory. That way it wouldn't have set the mockingjay rebellion into action ten years prematurely, but Raven could have had the peace of mind that he had been successful in making a career not win. The problem was really poor planning with that. I organized all of the deaths about half way through training, after I had sort of grouped all of the alliances together. At that point I sort of realized that nobody that was with Raven sort of fit the victor's profile. While I love Roland, he just wasn't quite dynamic enough for me to justify giving him the victory.

Chateaux: So that left Chateaux and Kegan, the two careers from District Two. It would make complete sense for one of them to win. First off, they are careers, and the underdogs win the SYOT's way too much. Second, having one of them win would be "forgettable" on the grand scheme of things because they'd be just another career victory. When I got Chateaux's profile, her creator suggested that Chateaux sort of break away from the career pack because she would have this great moral epiphany about the Games. I was fascinated with the idea of her channeling this sort of epiphany through her other careers. I think it was infinitely more interesting to have her show her humanity without veering too far off the path she was raised on. She basically died because I loved the idea of what she was dying for.

Kegan. So yeah. I love Kegan. I love him so much. He was so freaking original- the genius career from District 2. I am probably the biggest nerd in the world. I love math and science and stuff like that, and really I thought Kegan was just so relatable in that way. That is probably the biggest reason why I chose him to win- because nerds are awesome. On top of that though, like I said before, his victory would be a normal occurrence for the Capitol, and therefore nothing to rant about for the next twenty years. And again, I did sort of want a career to win this as they don't often win SYOT's At the same time, he was dynamic enough to go through that horrifying experience of becoming a victor, and I knew exactly the way it would change him. He will be a mentor in my next story, and of course, I still have the epilogue to show you guys what happens in the aftermath of his games. Big thanks to jshrn for submitting him.

So yeah, until next time (with next time being the epilogue)