At last! I was covering for a coworker so I wasn't able to write earlier. I wanted to give this all my attention so at last here it is!

Tabitha Sparks, District Three female (15)

The joke's on them.

The Games was designed to break our spirits. It was meant to take children and cut their lives off before they'd even lived. But the joke was on them. I'd lived. I had parents who loved me, even if they didn't always understand me. I'd seen every District in Panem and had a second family from every corner of the nation. I had an elephant as a friend, both literally and metaphorically. I'd seen things people wouldn't believe. A boy bouncing a cannonball off his stomach. A woman who could talk to lions. The things that made up the greatest show on Earth. I had the kind of best friend most people just dream about- the kind of friend who's more a brother than anyone whose parents you shared. The Capitol could kill me but they couldn't take my life. I lived fifteen years and in them I lived a lifetime.

My blood was dark red as it collected underneath me. I seemed to remember that for some reason that was better than bright red blood. Me being me, all I could think of was that the shade didn't match my rubber nose. It was hard to breathe but I could still do it. If I had to guess I thought Alice had punctured my lung. The joke was on her. I had two.

Irina Sokolova, District One female (18)

You're never supposed to fight angry. But the instructors never gave me any inkling about fighting desperate. Even as I held myself back, trying to remember that hastiness would just mean a quick death, I knew I was taking far more risks and being far more aggressive than usual. All my plans had left my mind when I saw Tabitha's eyes go wide. I jumped onto Alice and started punching. I hit her hard enough and fast enough that she didn't have time to bring her knife back up. I grabbed her wrist and with our free hands we battered at each others' faces. I felt flesh give and abrade under her fists and then tasted blood as my lips dug into my teeth. I wanted to see her die. I brought my fist into her face over and over to hear her head thud against the wood floor as she brought hers into mine until the world shimmered and my ears rang. I wanted it to open up and spill her brains across the planks. I wanted to put my fist into her face until she didn't have one. It crossed my mind faintly that I hoped Tabitha wasn't looking at me.

Alice twisted her hand free from my grip and brought the knife up toward my temple. I would never have been able to do what I did next if it wasn't for Tabitha bleeding next to us. I reached out and put my hand over the knife. I sucked in air as the blade pierced through my hand and came out the other side... leaving the handle close enough for me to grab. I wrapped my fingers around the knife hilt and yanked it out of Alice's surprised grip. My hand on fire with pain, I brought it down at her face.

Alice Mason, District Two female (17)

That was pretty badass.

I knew Irina was strong but I didn't expect her to take a knife through the hand on purpose. I barely had time to stick out my arm and block her as she tried to stab me through the forehead. Her arm hit mine with jarring force and we strained against each other, the knife quivering inches from my head as she pushed her weight down on her arm.

Irina's hand dripped blood on my cheek. She was crying with pain and her fingers were twitching. It can't be good for your grip strength, having a knife through your muscles. I took my free hand and slapped at the knife. I was hoping to be able to snatch it but the blood made it so slippery it flew away from both of us and landed on the floor some feet away.

It was probably a cliché to say I'd never felt so alive. It didn't take a genius to see I was who I was because of a childhood best described as "nightmare hellscape". Once you've seen enough horrible things they just sort of pale into nothing. The trouble is that after that everything seems pale by comparison. You just wander through life like a ghost because that's basically what you are. Your body might still be around but something of whatever makes you human was murdered before you were even old enough to understand. All that's left is to seek out more and more extreme stimulation until even murder just feels like boredom. When I was a little girl I feared for my life every day. When I was a little girl I hadn't been murdered yet. Seeing my own death suspended inches above my face made me feel like I was back there again. Like maybe I could do it over and make it end differently this time.

I surged upward at Irina and we rolled on the ground as we battered at each other. It hurt more than I'd imagined. It made me want to laugh how much it hurt. Hurting was something. It was some echo of the emotions and inner life most people took for granted. Pain was real. Pain was in this world and in this life. I hurt just like a normal person.

Irina Sokolova, District One female (18)

There was blood on the floor. It wasn't mine and it wasn't Alice's, though both of us were bleeding as well. A thin stream of blood was oozing toward us and all I could see was a timer counting down on Tabitha's life. I aimed an elbow at Alice's face and we both screamed at the pain of the impact. My body ached all over from Alice's onslaught, a background din to the screaming clamor in my hand. I could only think of killing her but I could barely get a grip on her, we were both so bloody.

Alice put an arm out to try to get leverage on me. Her hand came down in Tabitha's blood and slipped. I pounced, aiming for her throat. I wrapped myself around her in a movement I'd learned in the Academy. I didn't even have to think about it, I'd done it so many times. I wound around her and ended up behind her with one arm crooked across her neck. I braced my legs on her shoulders and pulled. It didn't stop me, but it did enter my mind how inhuman it was. I was pulling so hard on another person's neck that it seemed to me her head was bound to fly off. I was trying to rip Alice's head off her body like a predator tears out its' prey's throat.

Harder. Harder. HARDER. HARDER!

Alice made choked sucking noises as she flopped and twisted. She punched at my sides and then started to scratch and dig her nails into my skin. I didn't look down at her. I never looked into her eyes as I leaned harder into it. Alice had to die if Tabitha was going to live. If I had to rip the life from her throat then so be it. Seconds flashed across my brain. Seconds from Tabitha's life. Never. Not on my watch.

Die, Alice. DIE!

Alice Mason, District Two female (17)

I was closer to death than I'd ever been. I'd passed by exulting in the sensation and was now faced with the imminent reality of a very real and final death. I was afraid. I hadn't known real fear in years but I was afraid. I didn't know what came next. I didn't know if my mother would be there waiting for her revenge.

As I struggled I smiled. If Mom was waiting for me I'd kill her again. I'd kill her as many times as I needed. And when she finally stopped coming back I would rest in peace.

Tabithaha Skraps, circus clown (15)

You can do it, Irina.

I watched from the ground as my best friend fought for her life. I was still crawling over when Irina started to choke Alice. Alice was a nightmare to us all throughout the Games but I still wanted to cry as I watched her thrash and then convulse and then weakly twitch. I could see the life leaving her body. Kind of like the life was leaving mine.

It took a long, long time for the cannon to sound. Once it did Irina dropped Alice and she slid to the floor like a puppet. Her face was turned toward me. It was a fox's frozen grin.

Irina pounced across the floor to cover the small distance between us. She wadded up my shirt and pressed it down on the oozing hole in my chest. One arm went back around my neck and cradled me into her.

"It's okay. I got her. Now it's time for you to win," she said. She looked over at the knife on the other side of Alice's body.

Wait. There's something I need to tell you. I'd had a long time while Alice struggled. I had time to think about my life. My future. Irina and her future. I had time to think of Lester and what he might be doing now. I'd had a lot of time in life. Not as much as some people, but it's not how much, it's how you use it. They say your life flashes before your eyes when you're about to die. I didn't see anything to be disappointed about. It was a beautiful life. I hoped someone else's life was just as beautiful.

"Joke's on you, Alice," I whispered, smiling up at her.

She looked down at me in confusion.

"I want you to win."

I closed my eyes.

3rd place: Alice "Marionette" Mason- Strangled by Irina

Alice's form could have gone south pretty quickly. A lot of authors would have come out with a pretty cringe caricature of mental illness that leaned heavily into the "quirky" and "she's so craaaazy" side. I'm not tooting my own horn as far as quality, just saying that I have more sympathy than average for "ugly" mental illnesses and the non-glamorous side of them. Alice shows that unfortunately, if a child is planted in a shitty garden they often end up growing shitty fruit. Alice never had a chance in life and though some people are able to succeed despite that, many aren't. She made her own choices but it still remains she was hamstrung by both nurture and nature. Reality aside, she was popular with votes because she was dynamic and charismatic. She was never in any danger of dying and at many points had the most votes to win. At the finale she had two Victor votes. Funny story, it didn't matter anyway since her submitter liked Irina enough that he planned to scuttle Alice if it came down to her and Irina. It more or less did, since she and Tabitha tied for second in votes. So a big thanks to Tinks for the active killer every story needs to keep pacing. I loved her warts and all.

2nd place: Tabitha Sparks- Stabbed by Alice

Tabitha wavered a lot in voting, mostly because people either (fairly) found her an unlikely Victor or because they were worried she'd be too popular and get enough votes to get other Tributes killed. However, her alliance was always enough to keep her just afloat, which brings us to the twist that she was ALSO submitted with plans to scuttle her (more information on behind-the-scenes info is coming next chapter since it would be a really really long A/N). Tabitha was one of those Tributes I dread writing because they're such shining stars and I know I have to snuff them out. There's no good side of Tabitha dying. A bright, lovely joyful person is gone. That's the Games. Not a fun story. Not a triumphant tale of Victory. It's Tabitha Sparks bleeding out in Irina's arms. So thanks Silver for another Laurel I had to kill. Y u do dis.

Victor: Irina Sokolova, District One female

So as it turns out, it WAS a member of the circus alliance. Really juicy fact: she would have won even without the votes from her allies' submitters. She had eleven votes, only seven of which were from allies. Since I knew from the start Irina had a good chance of winning (though, fun fact, Talise and Veda did as well) I had to make absolutely sure she deserved it and the readers would be happy. Thus I took two of her fingers, stuck a knife through her hand, and detailed her transformation as the loss of her friends drove her to near-despair and a fanatical effort to do good by one of them. Well, Tabitha's dead. Despite everything Irina did, she still lost every one of her friends. I hope that's enough growth and angst to satisfy some people who had very fair reservations about her winning. Irina went from a long-shot with a weird backstory to someone I hope deserved to win the Games. She has a long way to go when she gets home and we'll be seeing that soon. And finally it's with great pleasure that I am able to award Willuna a place in the Victors' pantheon. She's been an enthusiastic participant for a while (not as long as some people but she makes up for that with EVEN MORE ENTHUSIASM) and it was the work of not just me but many people that got her this spot (more on that next chapter). I'll address the concerns but FWIW I think it's a lovely example of what the internet can be that so many people collaborated for this moment. My heartfelt congratulations to Irina and Willuna both.