Gallant Deacon (18) D2M
Polaris' body was dead on the ground before I had a chance to do anything about it. I could have fought back. I could have let him die a warrior's death, risking injury for myself. I wished I could have actually fought him in the final two, just like we had originally planned, even if I knew that he never wanted that to happen in the first place. He wanted to win, which was entirely fair, but he didn't want to win in a fight. He wanted to take me down at any cost, which was what most Careers ended up doing. It took me a moment to realize that I was feeling just like them.
Combing through the room left over, I knew that it wouldn't be long. Sometimes, the finale took days to begin, dragged out as tributes searched an entire island to find each other. Sometimes, the Gamemakers had to lure the tributes to each other, using balloons or slowly making the forcefield smaller. Sometimes, though, the last two tributes were half an hour away from each other, hiding spots were dwindling, and there was nothing for the last Career standing to do but take the win he was practically guaranteed.
Still, it was hard to focus on finding another tribute. It was the most important part of my life, and my mind insisted on wandering. I had figured out who my final enemy was. Yvette Ishi, the twelve-year-old from Seven. I could remember her interview, seeing her tiny body and knowing she didn't belong in the Games. The Games belonged to Careers, even if they didn't always win. They belonged to people who were willing to be there, not the children who were dragged in without a fighting chance. They belonged to the people who were ready and willing to fight to the death, having trained and prepared for the right to glory and riches. They didn't belong to children hiding in boxes, children who thought the slit in the box wasn't easily noticeable.
At first, I hesitated. I was walking silently, trying not to walk into a trap in the final two. I kneeled on the ground, my head in my hands, and thought. I wasn't ready to die. I had things to live for in the District, my siblings who deserved a better life, my trainers who I had to thank for bringing me out of an emotionally abusive family. I could get my scar removed if I won, finally wiping the last piece of my parents from my life. And it would only cost one quick kill. One quick murder, I thought, unable to use the fallback so many people used. It wasn't self-defense. I had volunteered for this.
Time passed, but I had no way of telling how much. I just knew that I could hear Yvette's breath and process my own. My knees grew sore from kneeling and my feet fell asleep from their awkward positioning. The Capitol must have grown antsy, the viewers knowing I was deciding exactly what to do. Perhaps they thought I was deciding how to kill Yvette; perhaps they knew I was figuring out whether her death was worth it. I knew I only had so long to choose before the Capitol chose for me, wanting an outlier Victory before a cowardly Career. So, with a heavy heart and a broken spirit, I raised my sword.
It only took one motion. A slice through the air and a cannon sounded. I looked away from the camera, pretending to be opening the box to admire my handiwork. I couldn't afford to have the Capitol know I was wishing a dead girl goodbye.
2nd Place: Yvette Ishi - Stabbed by Gallant
Yvette was, honestly, pretty amazing. She got put through a ton before the Games even began (*cough* her ally AND District partner got pre-Games deaths), but she stayed strong and tried her best no matter what. She was really resilient and had way more inner power than she ever knew, and she actually had the chance to be my Victor. I really considered it, but having Gallant win seemed way more realistic, and I think I can do a lot to develop him. Thank you to Platrium for Yvette, who was worthy of lasting so long.
Victor: Gallant Deacon
Gallant was, as hard as this might be to believe, an underdog. For a long time he existed to me as "a Career" or "Prosper's ally," and it's only recently that I came to see him as his own. He was wishy-washy when it came to me choosing him as a Victor, since Yvette seemed like a viable choice, but I didn't want to kill him off just because I wanted an underdog victory. He's a good character who fought hard to make it this far, and now I get to work with the trauma of selling your soul to save your life. Thank you to JAJ for Gallant, who will prove a worthy Victor.
I may or may not have deliberately made this finale coincide with LadyCordeliaStuart's finale just to add extra chaos to everyone's day, so make sure you check out her All-Stars Games too ;)
And, with that, a Games ends. I will be doing a bit of post-Games stuff, and then this story will be done. Thanks to everyone who stuck around through so long of a story. I hope to see you when this story ends.
