Here is a little shorter chapter, taking a break from the happenings of the Games to look at what's happening in the Capitol, now that Clem has fallen from power and Mox has taken his place. Enjoy!

Capitol Interlude

Mox

"Chamberlain, what the fuck?" Mox burst through the door to the Minister's hotel room, shaking with anger and dripping with sweat. "We agreed that we were going to let it slide, just keep a close eye on him."

"Yes. Mox. We did." Chamberlain snapped back, spinning round to face the woman. "We agreed to ignore it until he messed up again. Well, he has."

"You didn't ask me or consult me? You arrested him without even talking to me?" She argued, pushing her way further into the room, keeping her distance from Lyric Chamberlain, afraid that she would get so angry that she would do something she would later regret.

"You're my inferior, I don't have to go through you to make this decision." The older man objected, infuriated that he had to explain his decision to someone below him.

"Lyric, you know how close Clem and I are. You didn't think that it was just courtesy to tell me?" Mox protested once more. What right did Lyric have? He was just some lonely old man that only had friends because of his power. No, Mox knew she was being stupid and angry and spiteful in her thoughts. Chamberlain had shown her nothing but kindness this whole time. He had stuck by her when she had confided in him about Clem, he had kept her secrets instead of running to bring Clem down. What she was thinking about him now was just because she was angry and hurt, Mox was level-headed enough to realise that, but that didn't stop her from thinking it.

"That's precisely why I didn't tell you." He walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know how much he means to you, you're too emotionally invested. I knew you would react this way, which is why I was going to lead with telling you that you're promoted to Head Gamemaker."

"As if that makes it any better." Mox spat, pulling away from the man. "I love him, Lyric." She sighed, defeated, knowing it was completely out of her hands to do anything that would save Clem now. "I don't know what to do." She perched on the end of his bed, not reacting as Chamberlain sat down next to her, putting an arm around her shoulder once more. It wasn't worth fighting him. She had come to him and told him about Clem all those days ago because she needed people, she needed someone to tell her that whatever Clem did, he would be alright. And whilst although she knew now that he wouldn't be, she still needed someone by her side to help her with the pain of losing the love of her life. "I don't know if I want this if Clem isn't there to support me."

Chamberlain let out a sigh of his own now. This had all spiralled out of control so quickly. Clem's secrets were ones they could control, he wasn't exactly doing any harm or influencing the Games in any way. But the second even the thought to sponsor Jordan had entered his mind, he had crossed a line, broken rules that no other Gamemaker had dared before. "I know." Lyric felt awkward, unprepared to deal with the worried, sensitive side of Mox that he wasn't used to. "But he loves you too, I'm sure he wouldn't want you to be sitting here worrying about him. You're the boss now. You control it all." He nudged her playfully.

The defeat Mox felt was like nothing she had ever experienced before, worse than when she had lost out to Clem in becoming the Head Gamemaker, a pain she never thought anything could compete with. At the end of the day, Chamberlain was right, this was her dream and it was coming true, she just wished it wasn't at the expense of Clem. "You know who decides what happens to him?" She asked eventually.

"Me, mainly. And you. But it still needs Snow's approval, though I don't see him objecting to much of anything these days." He chucked, shaking his head. "Come on Mox, you know it's not much of a choice, you know what has to be done."

She had known as soon as she had heard that Clem had been arrested what would happen to him. There was no way he could ever get away with it. It would make the Capitol look weak if they didn't kill him, almost as if they condoned the good treatment of tributes, like they shared the same view as Clem, that the Games had badness within them. What Mox also knew was, no matter how much she loved him, she couldn't fight it. She and Chamberlain both knew that if they spoke out against his execution, they would look guilty, as if they agreed with him. "You said we decide what happens to him?" Mox pondered, receiving a nod and a confused look from Chamberlain. She didn't do defeated for long. She was knocked down by the sudden shock of the loss of Clem, but knew now that the only thing she could do to save him was to stand up and fight. And that was exactly what Mox intended to do. "What happens if there's an alternative to killing him? Something almost worse, but that gives him a chance at survival?"

Clem

Grey was Clem's least favourite colour. It was full of nothing, no excitement, no fun, no interest. It was just plain and, well, nothing. But grey was a colour Clem had been forced to get very used to over the last few days. Grey walls were all there was to look at in his cell. That and the bucket he was forced to use as a toilet. But he couldn't look at that, it was humiliating, it reminded him of his not so graceful fall from power. What was the strangest to Clem, though, was that he didn't regret any of it. If he knew this was the way it ended, he still would do it again. He would still help Todd say goodbye to his nephew, he would still take care of Flynt's letter, he would still try and save Jordan's life.
He knew the only fate that awaited him was execution, he had heard the guards discussing it late last night when they had assumed he was asleep. Clem didn't sleep anymore. No matter how much he tried to, it wouldn't come to him. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw images of tributes dying in an arena that he had created, subjected to the horror of the Games that he had created. Him. He had done all this, and despite the effort he had tried to take to make it right, he knew it would never be enough to save him from hell. But that was the thing, it occurred to Clem. This had never been about clearing his conscience, he had never tried to make himself feel better by saving the tributes. Clem was doing this for them, he had risked his position and ultimately his life to do right for the tributes, never to make himself feel better about the way he had destroyed their lives.
Worst of all, when he closed his eyes, he saw Mox. He saw the woman he was leaving behind, caused by his selfishness and his want for power. He knew his girlfriend would be completely fine without him, that was just who she was. She was strong, stronger than he would ever be and he knew she didn't need him. But that didn't stop the guilt he felt at leaving her, letting her down. They were supposed to have a life together. At least Mox got to live and have a full life, she would just have to start again without him.

The doors creaked open, and Clem sighed. This was it. This was his last few moments alive. He hoped it would be quick. The thought that it would be hours of agony was worse than the prospect of death and oblivion. But this was the Capitol, he knew what they did. He had committed a cardinal sin: disrupting and manipulating the Games, their most precious event, he had caused carnage and chaos in the Quarter Quell, the year that was meant to save ratings and cement their legacy and continuation for at least the next fifty years. He had ruined it all, and he knew the Capitol would be in no way forgiving.

"Clem?" it felt weird to hear another person's voice, Clem hadn't heard one for a while. And it was weirder to hear this particular voice.

"Mox?" He stuttered, his throat dry. Clem hadn't noticed but he had been so afraid that he would never see or hear her voice again, and her suddenly being there eased some of his suffering. She pulled out a key and unlocked the cell he had been sitting in. "You busting me out of here?" He smiled, rushing over to her, and wrapping the woman in his arms.

"Oh Clem." She stroked his head, their tears mixing as they kissed. As they pulled away, Mox grew angry. He stood there so frail and helpless, the opposite of the man she had fallen in love with. "What the fuck were you thinking?" She pushed him backwards, running her hands through her hair. "Don't you think I have been trying to protect you? And now this? Sponsoring a tribute to save their life, Clem. How fucking stupid can you get?" Her anger began to move into frustration. Although Mox may never have agreed with Clem's changing attitude towards the Games, they had always been in it together. He had shared things with her, trusted her, but this action was so foolish and reckless, and he hadn't even consulted her. Mox knew she would never have been able to change his mind about doing it, but maybe she would have been able to protect him, when the world ultimately came crashing down.

"I didn't want to drag you into this." Clem looked exhausted, as he pushed his hand across the slight stubble that was forming on his chin. "Look what's happened to me… I couldn't live with myself if the same happened to you. Hell, I can hardly live with myself now, knowing how much risk I put you in just telling you things." A knock on the door sounded, and Clem let out a choked sob. "Looks like I won't have to live with myself long at all."

"I want to run away." She looked him straight in the eye, and Clem knew that for once she was being as raw and exposed as she ever would be. "You told me you wanted a farm and a dog and a child and a normal life, and I laughed, I shut you down. But I want it Clem, I want it so badly." Mox brushed the tears from her cheek, hating that she was letting Clem see her like this. He was the one that was supposed to be a mess, destroyed by everything, but instead it was here. "I can see it all now. Three kids, a labrador, maybe a horse?"

"Mox, its a farm, of course there will be a fucking horse." He joked, thankful that they could have at least a few seconds of laughter and happiness. "There will be, like, three horses, and some pigs and cows and goats, I love goats." Clem paused to kiss her gently. "And I can see you, in knee high boots, cleaning out the pens, our children running round your feet."

"Clem, sweetie, if you think I'm ever going anywhere near some animal shit, you've got another thing coming."

Another knock, and suddenly all the laughter and imagining was over.

"All I've ever wanted was a life with you, Mox."

"You're such an idiot Clem." Mox slapped his arm playfully. "Why would you put yourself through all the training and schooling to become a Gamemaker only to have it end like this? Why would you put yourself at risk for tributes that are going to die anyway?" The thought of having to live without Clem scared her. It scared her that now, she would be alone. Clem was the only person she trusted, the only person she cared for and loved. She could count on him to help her through things, to be the voice of reason, to listen to everything she said without judging. He had been there through the very worst and very best of Mox's life, when her father died and her mother moved away, when they graduated college and secured the job at the Capitol. She had lived her life with Clem by her side, and all too soon that was going to end.

"I did it because it's not right, none of this is right. Why do we get to live in luxury when the people in the Districts don't? Why do we get to control their lives while they live in fear?" Clem cupped Mox's face in his hands, and smiled sadly. "I know it's something you don't understand, but having so much control over Panem, is not a good thing. It never will be."

"Come on," She reached up and kissed his lips. "Clem, I admire your sudden sense of responsibility but couldn't it have waited until after the Games? You could have… I don't know, started a charity or re-home orphans. Now you're in here, there's nothing you can do."

"There was a five year old girl. There is no way I could look at her, watch her die knowing I had caused it, and done nothing to help prevent it." He paused, leaning against the wall. "Why do you think I authorised the private training session? Or made the start a line, or-"

Someone knocked on the door once more, stopping Clem in his sentence. "I guess the executioner awaits."

"Oh God, Clem." Mox rushed forward, hugging him lightly and sobbing. "I hate you, I hate you for doing this." She was breathing heavily, hyperventilating into his chest. "But I love you so much, Clem. Don't leave me please."

"I'm sorry for ever dragging you into any of this. This was supposed to be my thing, you weren't supposed to know anything." He held Mox's hands, staring into her eyes, trying to memorise every feature so he could keep a picture of her in his mind for whatever remained of his life. "You were the best thing to ever happen to me, Mox. I never cared about any of this, the fame, the position, the money, the power. Not really. I only cared about earning your love, about being with you." Clem exclaimed, rubbing his thumb across the back of her hand.

"Oh my God, Clem. I know this is supposed to be our dramatic goodbye, but you're going to make me throw up." The normal sarcastic, cold Mox was back, and for just a second, Clem smiled feeling comfortable, happy that he got to spend time with that Mox once more, even if it was just for the briefest of seconds. "I love you more than anything." Mox was realising that Clem's own cringy words rang out just as true to her. She didn't need or want anything the Capitol gave her if Clem wasn't by her side. "I would give it all back just to run away with you to that farm and forget about the world." She moved forward, pressing their foreheads together, their lips brushing.

"Goodbye, Mox." Clem breathed out, the last of his tears falling down his face. "I'll never stop loving you."

Clem was calmer, calmer than he thought he would be as he walked towards the door, well aware of the guards that stood outside, ready to escort him away from the love of his life forever. Maybe it was because he always knew this time was coming, or maybe it was down to the fact that he knew it was what he deserved. Clem had been the one to orchestrate the Quell, to construct the arena, to put the tributes through hell. Even though he had tried to stop it, it was too little too late. Karma was being served.

"Clem listen to me. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Mox sobbed, knowing now that she had made a terrible mistake, grabbing on to Clem's hand, and pulling him back from the door. She had thought she was saving Clem by setting this up, but in fact she was destroying him. This was his worst nightmare, he was going to be subjected to the very thing he had tried to destroy. "You're not going to be executed."

"You're sorry?" Clem was ecstatic rushing forward to hug her. "Mox you bastard, you've saved my life."

"No, Clem, just listen to me." She pushed him away, holding him at arm's length.

"I'm listening, and what I'm hearing is that somehow you have got me out of dying."

"You're going in." She rubbed her hand across her forehead, preparing for Clem's reaction.

"In?" Clem questioned. Mox was being cryptic and he didn't like it, Clem wanted answers, now.

"To the Games."

You will never know how much I sobbed writing Mox and Clem's goodbye... God I love them, why do I do this to myself? So there we go, Clem isn't being executed, but instead takes his place as the 25th tribute. This whole SYOT started with the idea of having a Gamemaker subjected to the very thing they created, everything was built around this moment. Originally, I was going to have the Quell twist as all the tributes are previous Gamemakers, but it wouldn't make sense to have the Captiol do something like that, and so Atonement was born. Ahhh, I can't wait to have Clem interact with the tributes, and watch them find out who he truly is!

I am ever thankful for your love and support, ad hope everyone is well.

Until next time,

Alice xxx