Brutus' little helpers definitely did their job well in setting up this production set.

Immediately upon the uttering of the trigger-phrase, the gallows catch fire, and a ticking sound alerts me to prepare for what's coming up ahead.

Three… Two… One…

On cue, the platform drops, but I'm ready for the fall and land in a crouch. The moment I hit the ground, the flames set below erupt upwards to engulf me before spiraling up the walls of the columned force field in a fiery vortex. A screeching noise pierces the air as the whole structure breaks and collapses to the ground.

Beside me, Gale's being consumed by the synthetic flames as well. Unlike mine, his Peacekeeper outfit doesn't just blacken but actually chars and cracks to crumble away, exposing the mockingjay armor underneath; only the helmet, which is a new addition, remains as it gains a patterning similar to the bird's crest. The backpack falls apart to reveal his quiver and arrows. Even though we're currently still shielded, he quickly removes, from the side of the quiver, a bar which automatically unfolds into a lightweight bow; not as powerful as the one he usually carries, but due to the covert nature of our assignment, dragging conspicuous weapons along with us is not an option.

At this same moment, while all attention is on us, Brutus and Luce should be going along the rooftops to take out any sentries there. Also the fog mines installed along the guard towers and anti-aircraft emplacements are likely being set off right now.

Now comes the next part: my message to our esteemed president and the rest of those complicit to his regime.

People often talk about the power of love; I mean, what's not to love about love? However, people rarely talk about the power of the opposite side of the emotional spectrum. At the very least, it's not talked about in polite company. Don't get me wrong, hate is a terrible thing, and I definitely am not a fan of the emotion. However, the power of it is undeniable, despite how much any decent person would wish to deny such things, and if harnessed right, it can be quite productive.

My goal to not lose myself in this war is still valid. I'm not about to lose myself. I'm just… taking a stroll into a cave with a tether to bring me back when the time is right. This is the only way for my statement to hold the required amount of weight to make the proper impact. Hopefully Gale will do his part after I've done mine.

So I think back to all of the things Coriolanus Snow is responsible for. I dredge up every last bit of dirt on him to review.

The obvious place to start is with the Games. I think to all of the scared faces in the reapings; the hopeless kids from the outlier districts and the brainwashed kids from the Career districts; the brutality of the bloodbaths; the strong preying upon the weak and the meek becoming the sadistic; the very young like Rue having their light snuffed out early and the brutes like Cato being reduced to the scared kids they truly are as Gamemakers prolong their torture… all of it to bring fear to the districts and entertainment to the Capitol. I think to all of the victors who have had their loved ones killed off; the victors who have had their bodies sold to the highest bidder; the victors who have had their lives picked apart and put on display for the sake of ratings.

I think back to the starving souls in the districts with skeletal bodies and bloated bellies in the districts and contrast them to the Capitolites who voluntarily purge themselves; to those who are pressed to the most back-breaking labor in the manufacturing districts just to create fad items for the Capitol to take up and then discard when the newest trend comes around; to those in agricultural districts that can't even eat a tiny percentage of their harvest as their food goes to wasteful banquets. I think to how the young of Two are sent to kill and die just so Capitol can be isolated from the world outside. All the while, the Capitol consumes more and more and more… and the rest get nothing.

And then all of the lives I've seen ruined come to the forefront. I look at the whipping post and see a bloodied Gale slumped over and Eli suffering from infection. Then I remember the old man in Eleven who got a bullet in his head for his troubles; Darius, Pollux, and all the other Avoxes, who have had their tongues cut out and other unspeakable things happening to them; the hospital in Eight, which was turned into a target for bombers; the people in Three and Eleven, who were massacred in the decimation; Finnick and Johanna, who have been tortured while Annie was forced to watch; Haymitch, who has been reduced to a bitter drunken wreck; Cinna, who was beaten to death for daring to make a statement; Mr. Everdeen, who no longer graces the district with his voice, and Mr. Hawthorne, who no longer tell his children stories, just because they were forced into a mine to obtain a resource the Capitol never even has a need for; all of the tributes who never left the arenas; my family… my family…

I finally imagine the face of the man responsible… The one responsible to keeping this whole wretched system running. The one who threatened and humiliated all of us. The one who made Katniss… who made her… her…

You… You did this… You brought this upon yourself. You brought this upon yourself, you fucking son of a bitch! No amount of blood taken from you can ever hope to wash away the debt you've incurred. So you deserve everything that's coming to you, and it'll still not be enough.

When the ringing fills my ears, I welcome it. Soon, all other sounds seem to just fade away as if the world has been put on mute, and the flames slow to a crawl before my eyes.

Just as I allow for the flames wreathe me, I allow pure unbridled hatred for Snow, who's likely watching right now, to consume and replace all thoughts in my mind. So it's just me, the camera, and that bloody-lipped sadist.

Nothing else matters… Nothing else matters at all…

*The Capitol: Right Now*

Peeta Mellark has gone insane.

No other conclusion can be made for the sight before us. Even the Everdeens appear to be taken aback by his demeanor.

His white Peacekeeper armor is now an iridescent black as scarlet flames dance all over and turquoise flames sprout from the shoulders; in the middle of his breastplate, the Capitol seal has been replaced with a glowing crimson mockingjay. That in itself seems par for the course for his theatrics, even if the effects have been scaled up a bit; okay, it's been scaled up a lot.

However, it's the expression Mellark has that holds my attention… This is not the overly idealistic child with a crowd-pleasing smile everybody's used to seeing. No, this is the victor who threatened me back in Centerpoint; the one who has some poison behind those words of his.

Mellark's face alternates between being lit up or completely silhouetted in shadow by the inferno surrounding him. The whole time, the glow of his fluttering hair makes it look like he himself is part-fire, and the electric-blue glow of his unblinking eyes appears to cut through everything else, especially when he's cast in shadow. That's when he bares his teeth and points straight at the camera.

No… he's pointing straight at me.

"Hey, Coriolanus… remember my promise? Well I sure do." Despite the deranged expression on his face, the boy's speaking a very tranquil and collected manner. "You once stated that Katniss created a spark that would create an inferno which destroys Panem. Well, that inferno's pretty real. However, it's not Panem itself that's going to be destroyed; it's not even really going to be the Capitol. It's going to be your Panem that we reduce to charred ashes, for which no tears shall be shed.

"And now that my district is being taken back, there's really just one last place to go. So enjoy the show because, after this, we're coming for you next." As he pulls back his hand to clench it into a fist, Mellark's smile soon morphs into a snarl as he coldly growls, "And like I said before: that is a promise."

With the conclusion of his speech, the boy is completely obscured by the flames increasing in intensity. The view is switched to another camera to show that the swirling inferno climbing ever upwards in a luminescent pillar of fire until the flames suddenly expand out in the sky and begin branching at what appears to be nodes scattered at random spots. It looks like a fiery baobab tree.

Wait… those aren't branches…

After a while it becomes apparent as to the shape the flames are making: they are making a damn mockingjay with its wings outspread over the district.

This… this is…

Damn him…

Katniss' bratty little sister just has to use this to add her own smug input. "Peeta's right: once they get done mopping up over there, there's no place to go but here. And I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't looking forward to it."

And damn this insufferable girl. "You know, Primrose, it's a very good thing that your sister is currently toeing the line; otherwise I would have had you Avoxed a long time ago."

While Katniss blanches, all Primrose does is give me a saccharine smile as she pops a chestnut in her mouth and cheerfully chirps, "I know."

*Back to Twelve*

The mixture of the projectors and synthetic flames set up has definitely done its part in creating the light show. After a couple minutes the vortex stops spinning and the whole thing collapses.

As the flames cascade down, they sweep across the square and crash against the steps of the Justice Building like a torrent of water that had just been released from behind a dam. As they hit the flagpole, the modified Capitol flag, which was slipped in earlier today, ignites and reveals a black flag with a golden mockingjay on it.

At the same time of the cascade, the force field finally shuts off. However, if the Peacekeepers think that they are to take advantage of dropped defenses, they are sorely mistaken. Scattered throughout the square are a collection of Joseph's mines. When the synthetic fire goes over them, they get set off, releasing plumes of very real flames. It turns the square into one big Peacekeeper grill. As an added bonus, the whipping post explodes, sending splinters of wood and metal in every direction.

When I watch these soldiers scream as they are charbroiled alive, I muse on the fact that I did offer them a chance at surrender. It is not my fault they decided to squander it. So since they have made their bed, now they are going to lay in it.

What was it that you all said? Ah, yes: "no greater honor" to die for the Capitol. Well, it looks like you all are doing a good job at that right now. So, how does that honor feel? How does it—

I'm suddenly yanked back behind the remains of the gallows and land on my back. Before I'm able to fight back at the unknown assailant, a pitcher's-worth of cold water splashes in my face.

"Hey, snap out of it!" Gale's voice barks with a slap on my face for good measure.

It takes me a few moments to reorient myself and feel shame over the last few thoughts I just had. I look over to see Gale kneeling next to me with the pitcher in hand and concerned expression on his face.

"Congratulations Peeta, you're officially the scariest baker in the world," he pants.

"I try," I breezily remark despite how rattled I feel. "So does that mean we're sticking with 'Peeta' from now on?"

"Don't push it."

I hold up my hands in a placating manner. "Okay, okay."

Gale snorts, but I can see a slight trace of a smirk on his face. "But seriously, that was pretty freaky." He shakes his head. "Never thought I'd say this, but I think I prefer the 'soft and sentimental' you. Try not to bring that other side up again."

"I seriously don't plan on it…"

Explosions towards the direction of the Seam tell us that fight is starting to pick up there. Any moment now, the official forces from the other districts will come a-knocking. Now and then, we see some of the rebel Peacekeepers; they decided to identify themselves by stenciling mockingjays, in yellow and black safety paint, on their uniforms.

"So now what?" Gale asks as he lets several arrows loose, taking out several Peacekeepers who decided to rush us after the incendiary devices have expended themselves.

"My job's pretty much done. Now it's just waiting for the battle to conclude."

A flustered expression crosses Gale's face, which makes me add. "You can join the fight if you wish." It's pretty obvious that's what he wants to do.

The guy looks fairly conflicted for a moment before finally sighing and shaking his head. "No. Someone needs to look after you."

"Dude, I think you know me well enough to know that I'm pretty good at surviving through a ton of shit. Just go on ahead; I'll be fine."

Gale looks like he's about to retort when he suddenly looks a bit puzzled. "Hey, what are Joe and Bannon doing up here? They said that they were going to stay in the Seam."

Sure enough, we see Edwen and Joseph running up the hill. While they are still in Seam clothes, both guys are wearing something similar to glasses as well as some electronic devices around their wrists. In addition to that, Joseph's vest is laden with what looks to be various grenades, satchels, and other things I don't even want to comprehend.

Unfortunately I have to, as a group of Peacekeepers almost waylays the duo. The two quickly duck behind a corner as the Peacekeepers rush past them. That's when Joseph pulls out a large spherical item. Once the enemy soldiers are far enough, he lobs the device at them; it arcs in the air and barely is at head-level when it explodes in the middle of the group.

I'm not sure if the black substance that comes out is a gas or a liquid. Whatever it is, it forms an almost solid-looking cloud that settles over the soldiers. Their screams are suffocated almost instantly. What's left looks like a mass of tar that has impacted the area; amorphous mounds signify the presence of the Peacekeeper bodies.

The two seem to be in a heated discussion with Joseph rapidly signing at Edwen and pointing at one of the Peacekeeper spotlights in the corner of the square nearest to us. Edwen just looks progressively angrier by the moment as he begins jabbing his finger in our direction. Finally they split, with Joseph racing towards the spotlight and Edwen running in our direction.

Once he finally reaches us, I try to ignore the fact that his clothes are covered in blood splatters and his collapsible baton — normally disguised as a working flashlight — looks like it has fragments of skin, hair, and bones stuck to it.

"Damn mute fucking forgot his damn collar, and I don't fucking know a damn thing about fucking sign language," he seethes. "All I reckon is that Joe wants to do something with that light. In the meantime, since Dewdrop's busy having some fun in one of the barracks, I'm just waiting for a special delivery to arrive."

"Why wait here?" I ask.

He shrugs. "Open space with chokepoints is the best spot to attack from."

I try not to think about what he has planned as I watch Joseph work intently on the spotlight. He appears to be replacing the light itself with another device that fits into the fixture. That's when I see a Peacekeeper nearby attempting to sneak up and get a good shot at him.

Before I know what I'm doing, I yell out a warning to Joseph — he quickly sees his assailant and attempts to crouch down to minimize his profile; however it's a bit hard to evade when on a platform — before slamming into the Peacekeeper. The soldier's shot misses his target, but the guy quickly rolls away, gets up and trains his gun on me. But before he can fire it, his helmet visor shatters and is accompanied by a splatter of blood before the body collapses lifelessly.

I look around to know who fired that bullet only to see Gale, Edwen, and Joseph staring at me with wide eyes. Then I remember one of the "gifts" Arezzo left at Delly's place and make a mental note to thank Luce later.

"Hey, I reckon that Joe wants you," Edwen comments.

Looking back at the platform, I indeed see Joseph gesturing for me to come to him. When I get there, he gives me a small nod and smirk before pointing at the ground. At the base of the platform, there's a mass of cables; that's when I notice the disconnected plug.

"You want me to plug that back in?"

His nod confirms my thought, and I crawl underneath the structure to reconnect the light to the grid; shortly after I plug it back in, a small humming sound can be heard above me. I'm about to run back to my spot when Edwen tells me to stay where I am.

"Trust me, it's safer where you are when he turns the torch on," the scientist remarks as he hunkers down. The "torch"?

In a couple minutes, I see exactly what the torch does. A squad of Peacekeepers comes charging towards us just as Joseph turns the device on. All the enemy soldiers suddenly freeze where they are as a golden light shines upon them; they almost look transfixed by the beam. That's when I notice that their flesh appears to be melting off their bodies as if it were simply wax next to a fireplace; I turn away in horror and disgust before I can see the end result.

As Joseph turns to aim the torch at another squad, I'm alerted to a horribly familiar series of clicking noises that seem to be getting progressively more cacophonous and numerous. I look at Edwen to see that a large swarm of glittering insects has descended upon him. He looks up towards the platform with a wide and unnerving grin. "Hey Joe… You didn't think that you tech guys would have all the fun, did you?"

The moment he sees a group of Peacekeepers, Edwen points a gloved hand in their direction. Immediately the swarm erupts into light and a collective cicada-like call as it rushes the now-panicking soldiers. It almost moves like a singular entity and doesn't take long for it to strip them to the bone. With a flick of Edwen's wrist, the swarm moves on to another group that's busy engaging rebel forces.

I wonder if Gale would be so enthusiastic about fighting the Capitol with the techniques these guys use. Then again, he does work with Joseph when designing those weapons of his.

Wait…

Where is Gale?

A/N: I highly suggest listening listening a bit to Johnny Greenwood's Convergence to set the tone while reading this chapter.