Author's Note: I'm back! A slightly longer break than I had anticipated, but onto the next story. This is a side-step from the victors (although you will soon realise that I can't let them go entirely!) But we are very much in the same Hunger Games universe with many of the characters. You don't have to have read my other stories to understand this one (but I'm not going to complain if you do read them!)

I've realised this chapter is my 100th chapter uploaded in just over a year of uploading my writing on here so a little bit of a milestone.

I would normally do a reminder at the end with characters but as it's the very start I will do so now to avoid confusion.

We start and end this chapter with the rebel underground network. They normally introduce themselves with just their district, but where they wish to give a more personal message or emphasise a level of trust, they use their codenames as follows:

Lighting is Beetee. Three/Firework is Halley (one of my own District Three victors). Six is Poppy (one of my District Six victors). Eight/Arnel is Merino Arnel (Cecelia's husband in my stories). Four/Awl and Harpoon are Cari and Sereia, Mags' daughters.

Katniss is the Queen, Peeta, the King, Haymitch the Knight and Plutarch Heavensbee, The Rook.

The rest you will probably figure out, they follow similar themes.

….

Chaos

"This is District Three. Status update required."

Silence.

"Repeat. This is District Three. Urgent update required."

"Lightning, do you copy? Urgent update required".

"This is District Six. What is happening?"

"District Four. No idea. This was not the plan."

"District Eight here. We have a problem. People have taken up arms, anticipating a fightback."

"Eight, Arnel, it's Three, Firework. Trust me, they don't have a figurehead, there's no organisation anymore. No Capitol leader. Nobody to lead a charge. Certainly not over to Eight."

"We agree. Eight, it's Four, Awl and Harpoon here. We have everyone, well as many people as we can, staying at home. We are staying put. Get people back inside."

"I trust you. But my people won't. You haven't seen what we have here. We won't stay inside, trapped, waiting for them to come back."

"You have prisoners, Arnel?"

"Lots of them."

"Well move people only to secure them. Give them something to do. Make it clear there will be no fightback. The Capitol won't be coming to save any of the prisoners. It's over. We've won. No fightback. Get everyone else back inside."

"If it's truly over, then what the hell was she playing at?"

"We don't know. If she was doing our Knight's bidding, then we should trust him."

A laugh from a new voice cut in, disrupting the exchange between Eight and Four's representatives. "Sorry, Eleven here. The Queen doesn't do what our Knight says at the best of times. This was her own doing. Besides, he wouldn't use her like that. The Rook maybe, but him, no."

"So, we're stuck because of the whims of a seventeen-year-old?"

"She will have her reasons," the voice from Three replied. "I've watched it back. I've found them in the carnage. The Queen has been captured. The King is frantic. The Hunter too. Our Knight was ready, I think he knew something. But I agree, if he wanted to kill Coin, he would have found a way to do it himself, not use her."

"What about the others," Six's spokesperson replied.

"Thankfully Lightning seems to have got out. I was worried, what with him being stuck in that chair. But Winter hauled him over her shoulders and ran. She seemed to be dragging Spear too until Hatchet caught up with them and took over shepherding. Paylor got through the crowds and out of the stampede. Everyone else must have been in the crowds somewhere. The Rook, well he just sat there smirking. You know, there are times where I really don't like that man. But either way, Snow is dead. There's no way he survived that. Lots of other casualties too."

"Snow is dead. Coin is dead. Who is in charge?" the woman from Six continued.

"We take charge of our own districts until someone good offers to lead, and we collaborate through here. Keep everyone calm, keep things running as they have been. It's the best we can do right now," one of the women from Four answered.

"That's all well and good for you," another new spokesman joined in, this time from Two. "The fighting has started again. The loyalists hiding in the mountains are back."

….

The arrow flew into the heart of the wrong President. District Two had just got used to the idea of a Thirteen-born President, but now that was not to be. Or maybe it would be? Maybe Coin's second in command would take over? But who was that?

The rebels were confused. They thought they had won, but now they were unsure what their victory actually meant. There did not seem to be any leadership. Just chaos. Those who backed the rebels once they saw the tide turn were unhappy. Had they backed the wrong side? Have they abandoned Two's old stability in return for lawlessness at the hands of disorganised rebel forces?

But it was those who had wholeheartedly supported the Capitol who reacted first. They had been in retreat, stuck in the mountains bordering the Capitol, in a no man's land between their district where it seemed they were no longer wanted and the Capitol, which was no longer the place they fought for. The regime had crumbled at a pace none of them predicted. They believed their Capitol was strong, that their leaders were too, and would acknowledge their loyalty, but they let them crumble with them.

Now their President was dead. Killed in a stampede of factory-workers and labourers turned rebel soldiers. The new apparent President was also dead, shot by the teenager who started this entire mess. Obviously, she did not know who she was getting herself, and the whole country, involved with.

They had to do something. They had to retake control. Show whoever was left in the Capitol that they could fight back, show the rebels that they cannot expect them to take the chaos lying down.

So they marched. Out of the mountains and into the surrounding villages where they found like-minded people. Those who opposed, they fought. They marched further into Two until they met the first sign of resistance. Nothing organised. The rebel leadership were apparently stunned into total inaction.

But they got their attention. Dead rebels in the streets will do that, especially now they were supposedly entering a new era of peace and prosperity. But look at where they have ended up already. The new leader shot by a teenager in front of the nation, nobody to take her place, looting and rioting in the Capitol, homelessness, and displaced people across the districts. How was this favourable to the stability they had before?

They were determined to come out of this episode of history on the right side, to be the ones who fought for their district and what they felt were its best interests. They were quarriers, peacekeepers, business owners, who all stood by their leaders and protectors. Their Two was strong and they would remind Panem of that.

….

Across Panem, they watched as the woman they believed to be their new leader topple onto the stage beneath her feet and nobody knew what would happen next. It was obvious to anybody who stayed fixated on the images that the former President Snow had not survived either. The stampede of civilians, ready and willing to get their piece of the old tyrant would have made sure of that. Then the screen went black.

In the Capitol, Plutarch Heavensbee watched the scene unfold. He was pleased to say he was not surprised by the Mockingjay's actions. The girl had finally figured out the game and he was pleased he did not have to figure out a way to outmanoeuvre Coin whilst she consolidated her power. That woman was a problem. She was useful, Thirteen was what they had needed to tie all the loose ends together, to seal years of work on the part of his associates. But her leadership was never the desired outcome. Perhaps he should have thought more about that? But the girl from Twelve had solved that problem for him. He would need to make sure he rescues her in thanks.

But it was time to work. Braying, violent crowds were not for him, and he was sure someone else would take care of that. He would need to make sure they did not end up with another Snow or Coin in the Presidential Mansion.

….

He knew the girl was trouble. They all did. Her survival was not part of the plan. They thought they had it all figured out. It was obvious she would breakaway, but everyone they had assigned to Squad 451 was dispensable in one way or another. They would all make brilliant sacrifices, martyrs to inspire the eventual victory and a neutralised set of victors was never going to be a bad thing. Now, the Mockingjay has been captured, her sidekick is having some sort of unfortunate relapse and their handler is out of his mind with worry. But there were still four other victors he knew about in the Capitol, in the very same building. He had a feeling there would be more out there too, they were all too crafty for their own good. Hopefully, they could be placated with the promise of a quiet life.

General Silver was the de facto Second in Command, at Coin's side in District Thirteen and the closest advisor she had brought to the Capitol. If anyone was best placed to take the reins at this moment, he had decided it was him.

Now there was so much to do. District matters had been taking up much of Alma's time, she had not really cared for the fact that the Capitol was in ruins. But that was not his style. If they were to all be one country, the Capitol problem would need to be resolved.

There were people charged with running trials of surviving former government officials and Gamemakers. Coin had planned for those to be a quick affair with a prompt verdict and more public executions. But he would rather there not be a repeat of the day's carnage. The desire for revenge must be dealt with.

Then there was government itself. Alma Coin had declared herself President, and he was poised to do the same. But unlike his old friend Alma, he would have to put a time limit on this period of interim Presidency. There should be a set date for elections. Not in the immediate future. It would be nice for people to associate him with the Presidency after all. But not in the too distant future either, he did not want to face accusations of tyranny or power-grabbing.

Who was he to surround himself with? Some of Coin's more hard-line Generals were not his favoured choices and he had always tried to sway Alma to his point of view. The destruction of the Capitol would not satisfy anybody in the long term. It would paint the rebels as equal to the tyrants and that was not the image Panem should strive for. Putting the victors on trial was another nonsense he would need to quash. They may not be his favourite people, but their efforts in this victory were to be applauded, even though he did not want any of them near a position of power. If any of the Capitol supporting victors were alive, he would have no issue of disposing of them, however. But there were people he had in mind, allies, people he would need to bring over from Thirteen. He would need to get hovercrafts ready to fly.

There were voices coming from the Presidential office. It seemed he had been beaten to it. Now he would have to assert his place. He had been at their new former President's side throughout their time in the Capitol. He knew the most about the districts. He could hear people who would support him so he should be able to stand his ground. There were some who would oppose him, but it may well be a numbers game. He just needed to find more supporters and quick. And why on this earth did Plutarch Heavensbee deem himself important enough to be involved?

"General Silver. Glad you could finally join us. We need a plan and I have several proposals," started General Montgomery.

"We would be keen to hear your response," said General Connolly, thankfully one of Silver's own supporters in the Thirteen circle.

"Well go ahead," Silver replied, picking up on his ally's eagerness to involve him in the debate.

"The way I see it is this. Put the Capitol on lockdown immediately. Increase soldier presence, disperse the crowds, control the queues outside shops. Remove anyone Capitol-born from a position of power or organisation and restrict their movement. Then we can decide what to do with the native Capitol dwellers. We will need to send people out into the districts to maintain order and impose rules. We'll need to think about daily schedules-"

"Let me stop you there. What do you mean by 'decide what to do with the native Capitol dwellers'? Imposing on the districts? Schedules? I don't like what I think you're suggesting and we're not in Thirteen anymore," Silver replied.

Just as Montgomery was about to reply, they heard a woman shout from the stage outside, "Enough! We stop this now. Look at what we are doing. We all need to calm down. If you have a place to stay, go back to it. Return to your homes or barracks peacefully. If you do not have anywhere to stay, go to the designated shelters where you will be accommodated."

"We need her in here," Plutarch interjected and promptly left to find Kersey Paylor, who it seemed stood a chance of getting the crowds to listen.

….

"This is Lightning, do you copy?"

"District Three, copy. Glad to hear from you Lightning."

"You too. It really is good to hear from you. But an update, the most important things."

"Eight, Arnel here. We really need this update. Reunions later."

"Of course. I think you can all tell that both Snow and Coin are dead, and I am concerned we are at the beginning of a power struggle. Paylor has tried to take control of the chaos in the Capitol. But we need district input. We know there is fighting again in Two and that people have become unsettled in Eight and Eleven. Anyone else with emergencies needs to make that clear now."

"So we have no leader? And no change here in Eight. We have got some people inside, but others are still anticipating more fighting."

"We are all going to do everything we can to ensure that doesn't happen, no more fighting. The Capitol, rather the old Capitol, have lost. The main players are either dead or captured. Those still at large pose no risk alone, and they won't be able to gather support. Huge areas of the Capitol have been destroyed and there have been significant casualties. There's no appetite to resume fighting in the districts. As for a leader, I have been speaking to Heavensbee, The Rook, rather, and he is concerned about our options."

"Please don't say he wants to lead," Three's voice cut in.

"No, for once, he has deemed himself unsuitable."

"He has some self-awareness then."

"He does, but he can still play the game better than most. I know it's an uneasy alliance for many of us, and Arnel, I am truly sorry. But together, we have managed to convince the Thirteens to bring representatives from every district to the table for talks."

"Talks. That's where we are at. The whole country is falling apart."

"I know, Arnel. But that is why we need to hear from everyone. Paylor has already assured she will stand up for Eight, and wider district interests."

"Hang on. Four here. You had to convince the Thirteens to involve us? They were going to walk in after we had done the hard work, for years, and simply take control? Our mother was right, she knew we needed to be careful."

"Your mother was rarely wrong and yes, it seems that was their plan. But I understand you have someone suitable already in the Capitol, Four?"

"We do. Paylor will know him."

"Then she will get him to the table. Three, Firework, I do not want the job. I presume this was a role you were chosen for? And Six, if you're here, this might be a job for you too."

"I'll be there." The women from Three and Six replied together.

"Everyone else out there, we need one person per district at this stage. Keep things simple. If there is anyone already in the Capitol, let us know and we'll find them. If they're at home, we're sending a hovercraft."

"Lightning, in terms of danger for Six and I, personally, what are we facing?" Three's voice asked.

"Montgomery is the problem. Silver we can work around, although we don't want either in the top job personally. Of course, if they get elected, if we get that far, we watch our backs. You'll understand when you arrive."

"Received. On that basis. Katana, Stone's boys, and Argyle are to stay down. And anyone else, if there are more of us, hang in there."

"Understood," Lightning replied. "And, the Queen, she was right to do what she did. We should do what we can to help her."