"What are you guys doing back here?"
The final four competitors exchanged looks, before Ella spoke. "There was a fire in the Arena. I can't imagine it was intentional, but it… it looks like most of the Arena burned down. The flames were getting pretty bad when they pulled us out."
"I'm so sorry," Mina said, standing up and approaching the final four. "Do you need anything?"
"Some water would be nice."
Instantly, a few of the other competitors jumped into action, making space for the final pairs on the couches, finding them blankets and water bottles, and just generally making them feel a bit more comfortable. Even Noel seemed to be a bit thrown off by the day's events, which was saying something. At what seemed like the precise moment that the four competitors were finally relaxing a bit, the voice of Ruby Emerald blared through the room. "Well, that was very lovely of you all. Thank you for taking care of your friends like that; I'm sure they very much appreciate it.
"As I'm sure you've heard by now, there was a fire in the Arena a little bit ago. Fortunately, nobody was injured and there were no casualties, but as I'm sure you all can imagine, we've had to change around our plans for tomorrow's challenges. We will give you more information on that tomorrow morning. For now, please return to your floors and try to get some rest; we will be closing the lounge for the night, and we ask that you all stay on your own floors so that we can keep track of you. Your mentors and escorts should be on your floors soon, if they are not already, so if you need anything you can feel free to ask them. Goodnight, everybody, and sleep well."
~.~.~
When the competitors woke up the next morning, they were surprised to find breakfast waiting for them in their rooms, and their doors locked. It wasn't until quarter to ten that their doors finally opened, signaling to the competitors that they should perhaps leave their rooms, as waiting on the tables in the common space of each apartment, except for Six and Two, was a note.
Good morning, competitors! We hope you had a pleasant night last night and are ready for our final set of challenges!
Today, we are going to be recognizing District Seven and its value of karma. In Seven, the circle of life is on full display, as trees are planted, grow, and then are cut down on a very regular basis. The citizens of Seven believe strongly that what you do in any given moment affects what happens to you later in life, and it is in that spirit that we have set up our challenge for today.
As you might notice, sitting on the table is a large disc in your district color. Down in the lounge are two boxes, one for the pair from Two and one for the pair from Six. You will place your disc into the box of the team you believe deserves to win the Events. The team that receives the most votes will receive the Medallion of Karma, and therefore a slight advantage at tomorrow's live finale.
You are allowed to use any logic you'd like to cast your vote. If you need help making your decision, you will be allowed to visit each team once, to ask one question; the team from Two will be waiting in Noel's room, and the team from Six will be waiting in Sigmund's room.. We want you all to make your decisions on your own, so only one team may be in the room with either of the final two teams at one time. Once you go down to the lounge, you must vote, so please only go down when you're ready, and make sure to have your disc with you when you go down.
You will have twenty-four hours to cast your votes, beginning at ten in the morning today and ending at ten in the morning tomorrow. If your disc is not in one of the boxes by ten tomorrow morning, you will not be allowed to vote. Best of luck!
~.~.~
Paisley and Jack looked up from the letter and exchanged looks. "Smart challenge idea," Jack said. "Fits the theme and allows them to cover for the fire mess."
"They're lucky we're all still here," Paisley retorted.
"They would've figured something out."
"Do you feel a need to ask either team a question? I have a sense of who I'd vote for but I want to hear your thoughts."
"I mean, not really," Jack admitted. "Do you see any reason why we wouldn't vote for Sigmund and Ella? They embody the spirit of the Events more than anybody, and quite frankly I like them better."
"Yeah, I'd be lying if I said I wanted to give a vote to the Careers. Certainly not the Careers that sent us into the Elimination challenge at least once if not twice."
"So Sigmund and Ella?"
"Sigmund and Ella."
District Six 1 – 0 District Two
"So who are we asking a question to first? We have to go to both teams right? I thought of a really good one for…"
Pax Imperioli cut her partner off. "No need to. We're voting for Noel and Mack."
"Oh?" Altomare replied.
"Absolutely. I see no reason why we shouldn't. First of all, Career loyalty is important. Second of all, Noel and Mack controlled at least half of the eliminations of the Events. So much of what happened in that Arena happened because of a decision they made. Even the eliminations the Careers didn't control somehow tied back to Noel and Mack later on. Plus, their challenge wins were far more impressive. They were the main storyline of the Events, and I see no reason why they shouldn't win."
Pax Altomare blinked. "So we're not going to ask a question?"
District Six 1 – 1 District Two
"So what are you thinking?" Mina asked her young district partner.
"I think I know who I want to vote for, but I feel like we should ask a question to each team anyways," Cam admitted. "Just to give both teams a chance, right?"
"Exactly. Who should we go to first?"
"The Twos, I think," Cam suggested. "If they don't give an answer we like, it'll make our decision for us."
"We're on exactly the same wavelength. Can I pick the question for the Twos?"
"Sure."
Mina and Cam caught the elevator and rode it all the way down to Two's floor. It didn't particularly surprise either girl to find that nobody else was waiting there; most of the teams probably made up their minds before they even finished reading the note waiting on the table. But giving both teams a chance was the right thing to do.
Mina knocked carefully on the door to Noel's room, where the pair from Two were waiting.
"Come in," Noel called gruffly.
Carefully, the girls pushed the door open. "Hi," Mina started shyly.
"Your question?" they cut to the chase.
Mina swallowed hard. "When was the last time that you said thank you to someone?"
Noel looked Mina up and down. "I don't know if I've ever said thank you before," they said, not seeming distressed by their answer. "Things just tend to go my way, and..."
"I try to say thank you to my mom a lot," Mack broke in, trying to cover for Noel. "She helps me feel better when my head hurts."
"Thank you both." Mina turned around and ushered Cam out of the room.
"What's up, Mina?" Cam asked.
"We're voting for the Sixes."
"I figured, but…"
"I saved their sister's leg. And I never got a thank you."
District Six 2 – 1 District Two
The elevator on the Twos' floor opened, and Mina and Cam stepped aside, allowing the Thirteens to pass them before stepping inside. Atticus and Atticus walked in lockstep to Noel's room, Otterson gesturing to Peregrine to knock on the door for both of them.
"Come in," called Noel gruffly.
Peregrine opened the door and stepped back, allowing Otterson to walk through first. "Hello there."
"Why, hello," Noel said. "How are you both?"
"We're doing well," Otterson replied jovially. "We have a question for you both."
"What is your proudest accomplishment during the Events?" Peregrine asked.
"I…" Mack tried to jump in, a desperate look on his face.
"I think it was obtaining and maintaining control," Noel said. "Basically from the beginning of the Events, the Careers were clearly seen as a threat. People were thinking about what we did or what we would do, and it's all thanks to me. Well, and Pax, but mostly me."
"Thank you guys!" Otterson said, giving a little salute, which Noel returned. Then, the Attici turned and left. As the door closed, he turned to Peregrine. "So, thoughts?"
"I do not think Noel was lying," Peregine said. "From what I have seen, their choices impacted a lot of other things in the Events. And if they did do so much to control the Events, they probably deserve to win. They were strong competitors, after all."
Otterson shrugged. "I don't have a better reason to vote for the Sixes, so if you want to vote for the Twos, let's go for it."
District Six 2 – 2 District Two
"So what are we going to do?" March said, putting their head in their hands.
"I don't know," Augustus replied. "I'm not going to lie, I feel weird just outright voting for Two."
"I agree. Like yes, they were probably the biggest name in the Events, but at the same time, they totally steamrolled the rest of the teams."
"But they played the best game without question is the issue. Like, you can't argue that the Twos really drove the plot."
"But they don't represent what the Events stand for."
"That's the problem, isn't it? On the one hand, I don't want to betray the Careers, not when Four is already on the outs; we can't mess up our chances in the Games by making the wrong choice here. On the other hand, I don't want to put Four on the wrong side of the Capitol and the direction President Emerald is moving the country in."
The two fell silent, trying to weigh out their options. Suddenly, Augustus had a thought. "Is there any way the Sixes can lose?"
"What do you mean?"
"Like, think about how many teams are gonna vote for the Sixes. It's gotta be at least half of the teams right? Even if we vote for the Twos, I highly doubt they're going to win this challenge."
"So I guess that's what we've got to do."
District Six 2 – 3 District Two
"I mean, I think we should at least give the Sixes a fair shot," Titania suggested. "But I don't know if I can justify throwing a vote their way."
"You can't deny that the Twos did a lot in the Arena. It would be a completely different game if they weren't there."
"Why don't we go ask the Sixes a question and see what they say? If they give us a good answer, then we can seriously consider them."
"That's a good idea."
Disc in hand, Mettius and Titania rode the elevator down to the Sixes' floor, discussing on the way precisely what question they would ask. When they got there, they were somewhat surprised that there were no other teams waiting. Mettius followed Titania to Sigmund's room, where the pair from Six was waiting with the door open. "Come on in!" Ella chirped excitedly. "Can we get you anything?"
"I think we're good, but thank you very much for your hospitality," Titania said. "We do have a question for you guys."
"Ask away!"
"What would you say your strongest strategic move was through the Events?"
The pair from Six looked at each other. "Can we take a moment to discuss?" asked Sigmund.
"Of course!"
The two took a moment to whisper to each other, then turned back to the Capitolites. "We think our best move was choosing not to send the Twos into the elimination challenge."
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, sure, the Twos were strong, but we figured out that the Twos weren't targeting us, for whatever reason. We didn't want to make ourselves a target, and so by not sending them in, we kept ourselves as lesser targets in their eyes than the other team in the Events."
Mettius and Titania exchanged a glance, then nodded. "Thank you guys!"
"Thank you!"
Once the Capitol pair was safely in the elevator, Titania turned to Mettius and said, "We can't give them a vote, can we?"
"Not at all. Their best strategic decision still revolved around the Twos."
District Six 2 – 4 District Two
Berk and Nova were committed to doing their due diligence; sure, they thought they knew who they wanted to vote for, but it was more important to them to be thorough, to see if they could justify giving their vote to the other teams. They'd sat down with a pen and paper and divided it into four quadrants: a column for pros and a column for cons, then a row for each of the two remaining teams. Then, the two sat for hours, working through all of the things they could think of about each of the remaining teams: what competitions they'd won, how many elimination challenges they'd survived through, how many medallions they had earned, how many medallions were willed to them, stuff like that. Finally, once they'd gone through all of the statistics of both teams, Berk picked up the pen.
In the "Cons – District Two" quadrant, he wrote, Possibly sent us into an elimination challenge.
In the "Pros – District Six" quadrant, he wrote, Definitely did not send us into an elimination challenge.
"Are we really going to go off of that?" Nova asked.
"What other defining factor is there?" Berk replied.
"I guess you have a point."
District Six 3 – 4 District Two
"So, Xayah, what are you thinking?" April asked quietly.
"I don't really know either team very well. It's hard to make a decision without that knowledge."
"We don't know them very well, but we did get to compete alongside them for a while."
"I wish we'd talked to Mettius and Titania about them a bit more. I bet we could have learned a lot about the Twos from them."
"That's true, yeah. Or that we could have seen a bit more of what happened in the elimination challenges we weren't in."
Xayah paused for a moment. "Did you ever interact with either team?"
"Maybe the Sixes once or twice. They were very kind; they have good energy."
"I would never have even tried to interact with the Twos. They just never seemed like they wanted to interact with me."
"So maybe that's telling."
"Maybe it is."
District Six 4 – 4 District Two
Kubi and Kamela were at a bit of a loss. They'd been eliminated so early in the Events, and they hadn't really made friends while they were there, so they had no personal experience to go off of to make their choice. They'd floated the idea of not voting, but both kids agreed that it would probably reflect badly on them if they abstained, so they wanted to at least try to make some sort of choice.
"Do you have any strong feelings for one team or the other?"
"Not really," Kamela admitted. "Do you?"
"Not really."
"Do you have any strong feelings against one team or the other?"
"Not really," replied Kubi. "Do you?"
"Not really."
"Hm."
"What if we just… go downstairs and see how other teams vote? President Emerald said we shouldn't talk to the other teams, but I bet we can get away with watching them."
"That's not a bad idea."
Kamela grabbed the disc, then followed Kubi to the elevator, which they rode down to the lounge. When they arrived, they were surprised to find that, despite the challenge starting maybe an hour prior, there were already three other teams there, those from Seven, Five, and Ten, congregated around an opaque white box set up in the middle of the room with a big black number six printed on it. Directly across from it was an opaque red box with a big black number two on the front.
"How do you get this disc in?" asked Herman.
"Here, let me try," Marshall insisted. He stepped around Herman, who was struggling for some reason, and easily slid Ten's pink disc into the Sixes' box.
"You make it look so easy."
"You just have to look for the slot."
"Oh." Herman stepped forward and easily slid his disc in, then stepped back to allow Oksana to add hers to the box. "Thank you."
"No problem!"
The three teams stepped away from the box, conversing amongst themselves. "Well, I guess that's our answer," Kubi said.
"I guess that is."
District Six 8 – 4 District Two
Sigmund Roost, 14
District Six
Sigmund leaned against the wall, clenching his palms to try to keep them from sweating. He felt his leg shaking a bit, the tapping of his sleek black dress shoes on the floor echoing across the green room. Next to him, his partner, Ella, was walking back and forth, wringing her hands as she did. Every now and then, the two would lock eyes, but then quickly look away, not fully ready to acknowledge the weight of the evening's competition. Sure, they weren't at risk of dying, but there was a lot riding on the evening's competition.
After all, everything in the Events had been leading up to this.
Sigmund and Ella had met with their mentors early that morning to review the plan for the day; after the voting closed at ten, the competitors would have time to prepare for the final results show, which would be broadcast live to the whole country. Fortunately, the actual competition would not be taking place live; rather, the second karma challenge would be taking place in a separate space, so that the live audience wouldn't affect the competitors' choices. Sigmund far preferred that option, as he had a feeling that the already intense pressure he felt would be amplified by the feeling of thousands of eyes staring right at him.
"Sigmund, Ella, are you ready?" asked a woman dressed in all black.
"Yes," responded Ella.
"I think so."
"Fantastic. We're just getting confirmation from the Twos' handlers and then we'll get started."
A few moments later, the woman in black opened the door to the green room and gestured for Sigmund and Ella to follow her. The teens made their way through the winding backstage hallways until they came to a simple white door. "Whenever you're ready," the woman said.
Taking a deep breath, Sigmund placed his hand on the doorknob and turned it, stepping through the doorframe into what seemed like another world. The room was dark, lit only by torches that, given the events of two days prior, Sigmund hoped were fake fire rather than real fire. He could barely make out the shape of vines overhead, which cast faint shadows across the table set up in the center of the room, which had three silver pyramids placed on it. Sitting on the table were thirteen medallions, nine of which were on the side closer to the door Sigmund and Ella entered through, and four on the other side; the fourteenth, the Medallion of Karma, was hanging from a hook on the wall in front of the table. Shockingly, none of the medallions, most of which had been hanging on the walls of the competitors' houses, looked like they'd been damaged by the fire; either there were multiple copies of each medal or the Capitol had gotten very, very lucky.
A moment after Sigmund and Ella entered, a door across from them opened, and Noel and Mack stepped through. Slowly, both teams walked up to the table.
"Noel."
"Sigmund."
"Was this always your plan?"
"I had always wanted to face you directly. Because I think I can beat you."
Sigmund smirked. With more confidence than he'd ever had before, he responded, "Keep thinking that."
"Good evening, competitors, and welcome to the end of the Second Inter-District Inter-Disciplinary Events. You all have come very far and should be very proud of all that you have accomplished. But at the end of the night, only one can be left standing.
"This is the second of the two challenges representing the value of Karma. Before we begin, however, we need to award our fourteenth and final medallion to the winner of this morning's challenge. Your peers and competitors voted to award the Medallion of Karma to… Sigmund and Ella! Congratulations." Sigmund and Ella exchanged a very quick high five. "Ella, if you wouldn't mind taking the medallion off of its hook and placing it on the table in front of you? Thank you. I'll now explain this evening's challenge.
"As you can see, there are three pyramids in front of you. Underneath one of them is a golden pyramid. In each round, the team with fewer medallions will claim a number of the pyramids, with the caveat that that team must leave at least one pyramid open for the other team. To claim a pyramid, you will place one of your medallions in front of it on your side of the table. If you claimed the pyramid under which the golden pyramid was waiting, you will collect all the medallions on the board. As we move through the rounds, we will add more and more pyramids, so the second round will have four pyramids, the third will have five, et cetera. The first team to collect all fourteen medallions wins. Do any of you have questions?" Sigmund and Ella looked at each other, then shook their heads, as did Mack and Noel. "Very good.
"At this time, please pick up your team's medallions from the table in front of you. Mack and Noel, you are beginning this challenge with the medallions of Discipline, Strength, Leadership, and Commitment. Sigmund and Ella, you are beginning this challenge with the medallions of Teamwork, Trust, Knowledge, Friendship, Courage, Heart, Perseverance, Ingenuity, Luck, and now Karma. So, Noel and Mack, you get to claim first. We'll give you a moment to strategize, but whenever you're ready, you may begin."
Sigmund turned to Ella. "I actually wish we started with fewer medallions."
"Why do you say that?"
"Noel and Mack only have four. I don't know if Noel is going to have the self-control to temper what they put down which means they'll usually be taking only one or two of our medallions. If we had, like, six to their eight, we could be more strategic and take control early."
"I like the way you think."
Sure enough, when Sigmund and Ella turned back around, Noel and Mack had already put down two medallions, in front of the pyramids on the outside, leaving just the one required space for the Sixes. Ella picked up one of the medallions and placed it in front of the middle pyramid, then stepped back next to Sigmund. After a tense moment, the pyramids flipped over, revealing that the gold pyramid was all the way on the left. "Congratulations, Noel and Sigmund, you have won this round. You may pick up the medallions on the table; it is still your turn to place first."
"Well," Sigmund said, as the Twos turned to each other to deliberate, "at least if the challenge keeps going this way, you might get your wish sooner rather than later."
"I hope my thought process is right," Ella whispered back. "I also hope that we don't lose too many medallions before we can turn the tide."
Noel Patterson, 18
District Two
"See, Mack, I told you this was a good idea," insisted Noel, as they collected the three medallions from the table. "We put more down, we have a better chance of picking things up."
"But if we keep putting so many down and we lose we're screwed," Mack protested. "We could lose all of our medallions in one fell swoop if we're not careful."
"We still have two more medallions than total pyramids, so we'll cross that bridge if we come to it. I still think this is the best plan. We have to play aggressively, or we risk losing our edge."
"But if we play too aggressively, we risk losing our medallions."
As Noel and Mack bickered, the three pyramids from the first round, as well as a new, fourth pyramid, flipped back up onto the main table. "See," Noel pointed out, holding up the now five medallions that the team from Two had. "Still more medallions than pyramids."
"I see that, but…"
But before Mack could finish his sentence, Noel had already placed three medallions on the table, in front of the first, third, and fourth pyramid. They had no interest in playing this game any way but full-out; Careers didn't win the Games by playing it safe. Plus, the longer that the Twos were able to keep control, the better. Mack could make (and had made) the argument that it might be better to put out fewer medallions because they could get more of the Sixes' medallions if they guessed right. But by keeping control of the board for as long as possible, it would wear down on the Sixes' psyche, which would hopefully make them do worse when they inevitably took control of the game – although how much control could you really take if you still had fewer medallions?
Once Ella had placed her medallion in front of the second pyramid, all four flipped over, revealing that the Twos had, once again, picked the golden one. Smugly, Noel collected the four medallions from the table, bringing the Twos to a total of six.
Only eight more to go.
Practically the moment the pyramids flipped back over, five this time, Noel had already placed four medallions down on the table, leaving just the leftmost pyramid open. Their strategy had worked thus far, and with the odds still in favor of the Twos, Noel had no reason to believe that things would go any differently. Noel kept their eyes on Sigmund as he filled in the last slot with one of Six's medallions. The two did not break eye contact as the pyramids flipped, only the sound of Ella's excited gasp and Mack's frustrated grunt revealing that, for the first time, the Sixes had won a round, taking a commanding twelve to two medallion lead.
"That's it!" Mack exclaimed. "Give me one of those medallions."
"No! Why?" There was no way that Noel was going to let this little setback change their strategy. They had to go all out or they.
"We are not putting both of these medallions down on the table. Then we lose. And I do not want to lose."
"But the odds of us winning the round are much lower if we don't put them both down. There's already six pyramids out!"
"Yes, but I want two shots at this rather than just one. Pick a pyramid."
"Mack."
"No."
Begrudgingly, Noel placed the single medallion in front of the second pyramid from the right. They stepped back from the table to allow the Sixes to fill in the remaining five slots. Then, one by one, the pyramids flipped over, starting with the one on the left.
Nothing.
Second from the left.
Nothing.
Third from the left.
Nothing.
Third from the right.
Nothing. There were only two pyramids left. And you could hear a pin drop.
At once, the two rightmost pyramids flipped over, revealing the golden pyramid underneath the one second from the right.
Noel could hear Mack breathe a huge sigh of relief. And yes, Noel was relieved too, but they were not worried. Why would they be? They were a Career. There was no way they were going to lose.
The Capitol wouldn't let them.
With the score rebalanced at six medallions for the Twos and eight for the Sixes, the challenge began to move into a phase of ebbing and flowing. When the Twos took the lead, the now-behind Sixes would claim about half of the pyramids, leaving the other half for the Twos to claim. When the Sixes took the lead, the Twos would claim all but one or two of the pyramids, leaving just a couple for the Sixes. The contrasting strategies led to rounds and rounds of give and take, with one team taking a two to three medallion lead before the other team stole it back. As the rounds progressed, Noel kept getting more and more frustrated; why were the rounds going so slowly? This was their challenge to win! The Sixes were just stalling the inevitable.
As the challenge dragged on, Noel's frustration grew and grew, becoming more and more visible on his face. "What's wrong?" asked Mack, clearly able to sense how frustrated Noel was.
"This is just taking forever."
"Do you want to try a different strategy?" Mack suggested, a frustrated tone to his voice.
"No, this strategy should work. We just have to wait it out. It just… shouldn't be taking this long."
Finally, after what seemed like ages, the momentum swung in the direction of the Twos, as they began to win round after round in a row. The Twos' medallion count began to spike, going all the way up to thirteen medallions. They were now just one medallion, one round away from the grand prize: Victory.
Noel and Mack watched with bated breath as Sigmund and Ella debated where to place their last medallion. They'd maxed out the number of pyramids on the table at nine quite a few rounds prior, so it was just a matter of which of those pyramids the Sixes picked. After quite a bit of conversing, Ella stepped forward and placed their medallion in front of the middle pyramid.
"What's your last medallion?" asked Mack.
"Luck," Ella replied. "We were saving it for last."
Quickly, Noel and Mack filled in the other eight places, then stepped back. Perhaps if they were closer friends, perhaps if Noel had put more effort into their partnership, they'd have held hands, as Sigmund and Ella were doing. But instead, they stood apart, two individual entities rather than two parts of a whole.
And when the middle pyramid flipped over, revealing no gold pyramid underneath, the district partners didn't hug or celebrate. No, Noel and Mack simply exchanged a firm handshake.
Victory was not a thing to celebrate necessarily; firstly, Noel had not won the Games, and secondly, winning was simply a rite of passage for kids from District Two.
"Congratulations, Noel and Mack," Violet's voice boomed through the room. "You have placed first in this challenge. But we still have one more challenge before we can officially crown a Victor of the Events."
"What?" Noel exclaimed indignantly.
"We've only covered thirteen of the fourteen district values so far. We have yet to honor District Five's value of trust."
To Be Continued...