Sparky She-Demon: it was really interesting premise. I liked the headcanon that Lyanna initially went with Rhaegar willingly, but had to be locked up after learning about what Aerys did to her brother and father. That would definitely explain why she wasn't seen during Robert's Rebellion in canon. And Jon being born as twins is also a nice twist for an AU.
Guest: I think the movies tried to make that clear with Cato's rant at the end of the first movie. As sadistic as the Careers were, they weren't the true villains.
Cato and Clove had blank looks on their faces. The two victors rule had been revoked. All of their hopes and dreams and eagerness to start something together after all of this… revoked as well.
Clove just stared at the moon, the artificial light putting all of the focus on them.
Cato yelled and sank to his knees, screaming "WHAT THE FUCK!" while banging his fists against the Cornucopia's roof, over and over until they started hurting. After that, he tried kicking it.
Normally, they'd have killed each other for this chance. But that was before they knew their feelings and the thrill of being Panem's first dual victors. Why did that have to be taken away from them? Hadn't District 2 done enough to earn the respect and favors from President Snow and the Capitol?
Cato continued to bawl out and rage at everyone and everything he could think of, shaking his fists to the sky, when he heard a knife being slid over to him on the metal roof.
"You do it," Clove said with a shrug.
"What?" Cato asked, confused. She wasn't asking him to kill her, was she? At this point in time? "No. Hell no!"
"Lover Boy was right. They were never going to let more than one of us walk away with a crown. You should be the one to do it. Just make it fast and painless."
"Fuck that, I'm not doing it!"
"They'll send the mutts back or something, and they'll take their time too. You have your family to go back to. Your dad, your brothers, they'll all be proud of you. I wouldn't have anyone to really enjoy the moment with. Maybe if you weren't here…"
"FUCK!" He began pacing again, nose snorting, breathing heavily. He was desperate, desperate to force the fucking Gamemakers to take it back. Get out of here with Clove by his side. Like those fuckers promised.
An idea came to him. It was crazy, but they were already seen as crazy by most. "Do you remember the history lesson about Antony and Cleopatra? How they failed to win control of Rome?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Do you remember how they died?"
Clove racked her brain to think about it. History had never been her favorite school subject. "Suicide?"
"Exactly." He twirled the knife Clove had given him. "What do you think the Gamemakers would prefer: be forced to accept two victors, or have none this year?"
"Two." She grinned at how clever Cato's idea was. Insane and an enormous gamble, but it was worth it. Neither of them had the heart to kill each other anymore after being promised they could win together if they took out the competition. They cared about each other too much to fight each other now, even for their lives.
It was simple, the more she thought about it. They knew how to kill with deadly precision. If they stabbed each other in the heart at the same time, the Capitol doctors wouldn't be able to save either of them to prop up as a lone victor.
Of course, there was the very real chance that the Gamemakers would just let them die and use their corpses to serve as a warning to future Tributes – but where was the fun in that? Seneca Crane, Plutarch Heavensbee, and the rest of those idiots had a crowd to entertain. And no victors was a good way to spoil the entire games.
Cato held Clove close to him, his sword a hair away from piercing her heart. At the same time, she put her biggest knife at his heart. They'd push their blades together, and die in each other's embrace. At least the Gamemakers couldn't take that from them.
"Sure you want to go through with this?" Asked Clove. "It'd be easier for you to just off me."
"And let you die when you didn't have to anymore? I like these chances." He pushed his sword a little bit closer on her, just enough to draw blood. "Together?"
She smiled back at him and kissed him on the lips. "Together. We do it together." She had her knife in place. Secretly, she hoped the Gamemakers would take their bait. It was funny, tributes about to call the shots on the games rather than the other way around.
"On the count of three," Cato said quietly before screaming at the top of his lungs, to get attention. "You take that rule back! Or we'll do it! Don't think we can kill some more, huh? How about we kill each other? Let's see if that changes your mind."
A few seconds passed. No doubt Crane's staff was running in circles about what to do. "One."
The blades drew a drop of blood each.
But as if yet, still nothing. "Two…"
Still nothing. Maybe they would let them die. At least they'd die together. "Thr-"
"Stop! Stop!" That was Claudius Templesmith, clearly panicking. "Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the winners of the 74th Annual Hunger Games: Cato Richardson and Clove Blackwell!"
Again, they had to take a few seconds to absorb it. Tributes enforcing their will on the Gamemakers? Unheard of. Even if that was the plan all along. But they'd done the impossible. They tossed the weapons aside and went back to kissing and hugging each other until the hovercraft arrived to take them out of the arena.
Clove was the first to wake up, after what must've been at least a day or so. She remembered both of them being given shots to knock them out "as a safety precaution" and after that, just blurs. A surgery team working on her facial scar. Antigonus and Junia looking over her, nodding at somethings and shaking their heads at others. And dreams. Lots of dreams. Mostly of her and Cato back in district 2, training together, talking with each other, sleeping together. Lots of Cato.
When she woke up for good, she saw Brutus and Enobaria sitting by her side, looking happy that she was back to reality. "Welcome back," Brutus offered with a smile. "Congrats on the victory. Took some balls for you and Cato to pull that off at the end."
"Ugh, I feel like shit."
"Well, you shouldn't anymore," said Enobaria. "They should've cleaned you up after taking you out of the arena. Take a look for yourself."
She handed Clove a mirror and she saw that the scars on her face were gone, as if they'd never been there. Other small scars from other the years had also been removed and replaced with pristine pale skin. At least they let her keep her freckles, she thought grimly to herself, and didn't dye her hair any which way.
Marcia came into the room, still with her orange attire. "Ah, finally! Good to see you all prim and proper. Lovely what they've done to you, wouldn't you say?"
Clove was considering telling her to just shut the fuck up, but instead nodded, not wanting to cause a scene in front of the mentors. "What's next?"
"They're going to do the highlights and coronation with you and Cato," Enobaria said. "That's when you'll get to see him again. Antigonus and Junia have something whipped up for you and I think you'll like it." She led Clove to the next room where Junia was waiting, white face paint and a fresh coat of lipstick expertly applied.
"Try this on for size," Junia said. It was a sleek purple dress, a dark shade of the color, and ending somewhere among the calf muscles. "In ancient times, purple was the most expensive color, meant only for Emperors. Or victors, in our case. I think it suits you perfectly with the modifications the team did with your skin."
She supposed the female stylist was right and tried on the dress. She liked it more than she thought she would. Not anything Capitol fancy, but nice enough for one last talk with Caesar Flickerman. "Good enough for me. Now, when are we going on air with the Capitol?"
"Couple of hours," Enobaria said. "Now, I need a word with you."
She took Clove to a more private room, and frowned once the door was shut behind them. "You didn't hear this from me, but higher ups in President Snow's inner circle are dropping hints that what you and Cato did really pissed him off somehow. I know, I know, Snow cares little about the games, but for whatever reason, your stunt with Cato angered him. No one else cares much, but he does."
Clove's heart started beating rapidly. Were she and Cato in danger? Would there be further consequences? "Why? Because we refused to kill each other for him?"
"I don't know. No ones blames you and him for what you did, but just try to keep up the cute couple image at the interview. Nothing against the Capitol or Gamemakers, just that you and Cato were so in love that you couldn't bear to kill each other."
"That shouldn't be hard to pull off."
"Most of the focus will be on Cato, since he was the one screaming his head off and you offered to let him kill you, but just keep everything I said in mind. Brutus already filled in Cato as well, for your information. We need both of you in on this to pull it off."
"But why? We're from District 2. We're Capitol favorites and we've won the most out of all the districts."
Enobaria sighed. "I wish I knew, I really do. But Snow probably fears what would happen if tributes from 2 were allowed to get away with defying the games. Better safe than sorry, right?"
They left it at that. The rest of the hour, Clove spent to herself however she could to pass the boredom. She couldn't wait to see Cato, even if it was on the Capitol's terms. They were dual Victors and no one could take that from them. Not even the Gamemakers and President Snow, no matter how hard they'd tried.
When the time came, she was waiting on a metal circle as the prep teams were showcased to a roaring crowd, followed in swift order by Antigonus, Junia, Enobaria, and Brutus. The stylists gave curt nods and bows, while Brutus and Enobaria roared in equal enthusiasm, pumping up the crowd with bared teeth and raised fists.
After that, it was their turn. Her platform rose up to a prearranged section of the floor, leading her to Caesar's talk show set. But also there was Cato. The stubble from the past few days was gone (though she liked the feeling of it on her skin), his hair was trimmed, and he was in a darker gray outfit than the one he wore to the previous interviews. His first reaction was to walk towards Clove and hug her, lips crashing into hers in a way that was guaranteed to drive the crowd wild.
After a minute of making out, they slumped onto a couch to watch the highlights of the games. The bloodbath, where they and the other Careers killed off half the competition in under thirty minutes. Peeta smooth talking his way into the alliance. Chasing Katniss, and getting ambushed by the tracker jackers, and Glimmer's horrific death. Throughout the highlights, Cato couldn't help but notice how much they fit in clips of him and Clove giving the telltale glances at each other.
Like they were trying to "prove" they'd been in love all along.
Then there was the supply dump being destroyed, and they learned that Katniss had used an arrow to tear open a bag of apples and set off the motion sensors on the mines. Then there was Rue's death (which Katniss indeed wept over), Marvel's death, the announcement of the two victors rule. They showed Kaniss searching for Peeta, but the real applause came from Clove's sudden decision to kiss Cato then and there, although thankfully they cut out the implied sex that came after that.
Then there was the feast. She winced watching herself taunt Fire Girl, knowing Thresh was about to take her by surprise. But of course, they all knew Cato would save the day and nurse her back to health. The crowd made a number of "aww" sounds when he was carrying her and telling her he wasn't going to lose her.
After that, there was the mutt attack and the final battle with Fire Girl and Lover Boy. Curiously, they eliminated Peeta's last words, the ones where he said the Gamemakers would revoke the rule. Same went for Cato's screaming at the world. The screens cut to just Cato and Clove about to stab each other before Templesmith panicked and reinstated the two victors rule.
Then Caesar Flickerman decided to ask a few questions, in an impromptu interview. Normally they'd do this the day after, but the unique circumstances simply couldn't be ignored for television ratings. "Congratulations to both of you. How are you holding up?"
"I'm fine," said Clove. "I'm just glad to be here, alive and well."
"I think she speaks for both of us," Cato replied, holding her hand and squeezing it. He knew that would draw another reaction from the audience.
Caesar went over some of the more memorable moments from the games, getting the perspective of the victors for all to hear. Then he asked, "How did you feel when they revoked the rule for two victors? What prompted you to take such drastic action to get out alive, both of you?"
Normally Cato would've gave a response with the theme of fuck the Capitol, I wanted that rule brought back for Clove's sake. But Brutus had already given Cato "the talk" about how to reply to this inevitable inquiry, whether it come from Caesar, Snow, or academy folks back home. "It's to protect both of your asses," he'd told Cato, referring to both him and Clove.
"I was mad," Cato began. "We'd been working together to both get out alive, and now I'd have to kill her? After realizing how I felt for her? I was just so mad. I thought, if I couldn't win without her, neither of us would." He left it at that, not wanting to say something explicitly anti-Capitol.
"And when did you realize you felt for Clove the way you did?"
"Bit by bit, during the pre-game activities. Being placed in life-or-death situations can do weird things to you. I'm sure both of us can attest to that." He wrapped an arm around Clove and squeezed her shoulder lightly.
"Oh yes," Clove replied, giving off that grin that could kill. Or rather, had.
"So you could say that the new rule was a very lucky coincidence, given how the two of you felt beforehand."
"Very," replied Cato.
Caesar finished off with a few questions about what they'd do after the Games (both of them agreed to a long, well deserved break at 2) and then President Snow arrived to crown them. What appeared to be a single crown turned out to be a pair, and Snow placed them atop their heads. But both Cato and Clove noticed a stern, disapproving look on his face. Like a schoolteacher who'd found out that his favorite student had been caught cheating on a test or smoking drugs at lunch.
They were concerned, but thought nothing of it at the time.
A few weeks later, President Snow met with two men. One was middle aged and portly, the other short, broad chested, and bearded.
"Thank you both for coming here," Snow greeted them as they sat in his office. "So, Plutarch, what say you about the Head Gamemaker position?"
The portly man raised his eyebrows. "Was Seneca Crane fired?"
"Let's just say he stopped breathing." Snow gave it a moment to settle in, and grinned. "I'm offering you a promotion. Are you going to take it?"
"Yes, of course. But I get the idea that I'm not just here to become the next Head Gamemaker."
"No, you're not." Snow turned to the bearded man. "Balbus, would you mind sharing with Plutarch what you shared with me?"
Balbus gave off a small smile and slid over a report. The son of one of Coriolanus' late friends, Balbus Creed was Minister of Internal Affairs – a fancy way of saying he ran Panem's spies. His men kept tabs on both the outside world and unrest in the districts, with a small army of informants and interrogators. The report was labeled "New Unrest" and featured Districts 9, 11, and 12.
Plutarch saw the name "Gale Hawthorne" mentioned as the main culprit in 12, and read a few pages before looking up to Snow. "Is this what I think it is?"
"Oh yes, and so much more. But it relates to why I had to dispose of Crane. Care to elaborate?"
Plutarch Heavensbee thought for a moment. "Disobedience, inspired by actions of the tributes in the last games. The ringleaders in 12 were inspired by Katniss and Peeta's-"
Snow raised a hand, cutting him off. "More than that. Think deeper."
Plutarch took another moment to get what Snow wanted him to realize. "Cato Richardson and Clove Blackwell. They broke the rules to undo the revoking of the two victors rule. If kids from District 2, the district most loyal to the Capitol, could disobey, what's there to stop districts like 11 and 12, which aren't so favored?"
Both Snow and Creed had a conspiratorial look on their face.
"We need to deal with them," said Snow. "And in a way that doesn't turn these two into martyrs for future malcontents." He played the clip of Cato and Clove about to kill themselves, trying to deny the audience the fight to the death by just killing each other instead.
"That's where you come in, Plutarch," replied Balbus, sipping wine. "I hear Gamemakers are quite skilled in innovative ways of dealing with problems."
Plutarch frowned at first. But then he smiled. "Very. Very much so."
A little bit of a longer wait time, but a little bit of a longer chapter. Hope you enjoy.