12

Gale hated research. He wasn't made for it the same way he wasn't made for school and watching everyone prep up for battle – or a risky escape – made him want to drop the books and join.

The circus had started a little before dawn; kids, teenagers and the rare few adults around were dashing in and out, gathering supplies, studying maps, arguing over the best route to take, conferring with Abernathy, pleading with Trinket to reconsider and go with them…

Trinket was holding firm on her decision to stay though.

He wasn't sure why he sneaked in the library when Thresh finally walked out and left Abernathy alone in there. His time would have been better employed figuring out how to find his vengeance demon and reverse the spell.

He was curious though.

"Why did you come here?" he called out, hoping to catch the man unaware.

Abernathy, being his best irritating self, didn't even deign to tense in surprise. Clearly, he had heard him lurking outside the library and had expected him to come in. The man could be annoying like that. At least, Gale figured, he was sober. That was something.

"The Council hired me." the man answered in a bored tone, lifting a hunting knife to study the blade under the yellowish light of the lamp. He seemed satisfied with it because he stashed it away in his right boot. Then he inspected the next one. There were five knives on the table and they all looked very sharp.

"Bullshit." Gale scoffed. "You come here, you're gonna head to your death with a woman you don't even know… Nobody'd do that for money. Not even a shit ton of it."

Abernathy spared him a glance, looking a little amused. It was harder than usual to tell if he was mocking him though. The scar on his eye and the puffy eyelid made it difficult to interpret his expression. "You must really hate me, kid. Can't say I ever had a vengeance demon's wish centered around me before. I'm almost flattered."

Gale's ears burned and he knew he had flushed again in a mix of embarrassment and anger. "You're… You stole my best friend from me."

Abernathy's eyebrows shot up but that weird amusement didn't disappear from his gaze. "Did I, now?"

He opened his mouth to growl a yes, to explain again that if he hadn't showed up… But what would have happened if he hadn't showed up? If he had never showed up? Not for Maysilee. Not for Katniss.

A lot of dead people, amongst which his own sister, it seemed like.

And it was a bitter pill to swallow but it was also hard to deny the truth when it was right under his eyes.

"I just don't get it. You never became a Watcher, you ran away from this place… Why would you come back now?" he insisted instead, going back to the topic that made no sense to him.

Abernathy stopped checking over his weapons to look at him and Gale almost wished he hadn't because that was a hard gaze to meet. That man looked no less haunted than his own version. He looked just as fucked up. But in different ways.

"Never became a Watcher, no. And I ran away from this place, yeah." The man shrugged. "You wanna know why? Cause I was tired of watching women I love get killed. Doesn't mean I've ever left the fight." He snorted, a touch bitter, a touch amused. "Always knew it'd end this way eventually. This place? It was always meant to be the death of me. Always knew that."

"But you still came?" he pressed.

Abernathy studied him for a second, then he lifted a hand, palm turned up, in question. "Am I that much of a coward in your world that I'd run away from the fight of my life?"

Gale wanted to say yes. The word was burning his lips.

But…

For all his accusations that Abernathy was making Katniss do the hard word, that he was using her, that he hid behind her… The man was also more often than not blade swinging by her side. At the Reaping, he hadn't hesitated one second before jumping after her into the mass of vampires. And he had gone to hell – literally to hell – to fetch Mellark and Trinket.

Abernathy was a lot of things, a lot of things Gale hated, but a coward?

"I don't like your methods. I don't like you." he spat. "You're sitting on your thumbs while people are being kept prisoners and…"

"Without any good reason?" Abernathy cut him off.

The reasons Abernathy had given for not moving against the Capitol were solid and Gale couldn't argue against them. He had understood when the man had explained even if he hadn't liked it. And now that he was seeing just how little the Council was willing to help when things actually got that bad… Yeah, he got it. Abernathy, and by extension Katniss and Trinket, couldn't afford to act too soon out of sentimentality, they couldn't afford to make a mistake.

Because they were the first and last line of defense.

He looked down. He felt bad and he was angry about feeling bad.

"How many Slayers did I get in your world?" the man asked curiously, crossing his arms in front of his chest, as if to brace himself. "Two? Three?"

"Six." Gale grumbled.

A flash of surprise passed on the demon hunter's face. It was quickly followed by horror and then replaced by something Gale tentatively would have said was humility. Weird look on him.

Abernathy cleared his throat and looked away. "Guess they must be short on Watchers…"

But they weren't.

One thing had been made absolutely clear: they had a whole bunch of Watchers tucked away all over the world.

And everyone reacted to the news of the number of Slayers Abernathy had mentored the same way. With admiration. Which was odd to him because it was six girls the man had ultimately failed.

However he was starting to figure out Watchers simply didn't get honored that many times with a charge.

"Maybe you're just that good and I'm blind." Gale reluctantly admitted. "Seems like without you the world turned to shit so…"

"Maybe you're not blind and you just don't like me cause I was an ass to you." Abernathy suggested with another shrug. "Cause burying that many Slayers? I guarantee it'd make me an asshole."

"You're an asshole." He nodded in agreement. "And a drunk too."

"Figures." Abernathy snorted, smirking. "Look… You don't seem like a bad kid. You know… Vengeance demon's wish aside." The taunt didn't rub him the wrong way like it would usually have so Gale let it slide. "I know it's not that obvious when you're a kid but… Grief… The more people you bury, the deader you become inside. Ain't saying you shouldn't give as good as you get but maybe, if you ever make it back, try to remember that… Surviving? It fucks you up."

His mind flashed back to the Reaping, to the dead kids, to the relief that had brought tears to his eyes when he had found his brother still alive… The guilt he had felt about being so relieved when so many children were dead…

"Didn't want to train." he muttered. "That's how this whole thing started. You said I needed to train if I wanted to stick around on patrols and I didn't want to 'cause I didn't think I needed it. Thought you were just trying to get me out of the way so you could keep controlling Katniss." He shook his head. "I've seen what monsters can do but I…"

His version of Abernathy would have been sneering at him by then. This one simply snorted but not in a harsh or condescending way. He didn't even sound amused. Just… tired. "You hadn't seen war yet."

"I guess." Gale averted his eyes.

"We all need to train, kid." The man sighed. "You, me, Slayers… That's how we keep sharp. That's how we stay alive."

Gale was starting to see that.

But it annoyed him to understand how wrong he had been. Because it had felt good to be vindicated, it had felt good to know with certainty Abernathy was his enemy… It had been easier to blame him than to face the reality that there was a bigger meaner enemy out there or the fact that Katniss had maybe outgrown him… It had been easier to make Abernathy the villain rather than admit everything had changed, his whole world had changed, and he needed to adapt because there was no going back. Getting rid of the man wouldn't bring Katniss back to him and it wouldn't make the vampires disappear…

"I need to go back to my research." he mumbled. "Good luck out there."

Abernathy nodded at him in acknowledgement and turned back to his knives. Gale was almost at the library's door when the man spoke again.

"Trinket. In your version of the world, what happened to her?" he asked with pointed disinterest. "No chance of her losing control, turning evil and stabbing me in the back, right?"

Gale frowned and looked back at him but Abernathy wouldn't meet his eyes.

"In my world, she's not that…" He hesitated. "She's weird here. I don't like magic so I don't really like her but my Trinket she's not that…" It was hard to find the words to describe what this Trinket had become. "She's blond, she's so cheerful all the time it drives us all mad, and she's a Watcher. She's not an empty shell like this one, she's… She's full of life, I guess." He shrugged. "Also, I think you're in love with her."

That seemed to take Abernathy off guard because he actually startled.

"Yeah?" The man scowled but he still sounded casual enough. "How do you figure?"

"You jumped through a hell portal to get her back." he deadpanned.

Abernathy froze.

Maybe because he was about to jump after her in a different kind of hell and the symmetry of it bothered even Gale.

"I fucking hate fate." the demon hunter spat.

When it was clear he would leave it at that, Gale retreated to the living-room, feeling weird about the whole thing.

It might have been the first time they had ever managed a decent conversation.

°O°O°O°O°

Effie did not cry when she hugged Thresh, finally all out of last second advices, and she didn't cry when she hugged Madge.

It was terribly hard to let the girl go though.

Harder still to watch Peeta make his own goodbyes.

Harder yet when Madge turned away and joined Thresh to lead the group toward the back of the Village from where they would sneak away into the woods once Effie had attracted enough attention to the front.

For a second, just a second, the pale sunlight of early morning caught Madge's hair and Effie could have sworn it was Maysilee standing there and…

Her throat closed. Her eyes burned. Her heart clenched.

Soon, she thought, soon we will be together again. Except she knew better and they wouldn't be. Because Maysilee's soul had certainly moved on to some sort of heaven and Effie' soul… Oh Effie's soul was certainly bound to go to hell.

Then the weight of the magic slammed back into her and she was hollow once more, numb to feelings and…

But feelings were persistent little things.

They lifted their ugly heads right back once the large group had vanished in the distance and Peeta turned to her, his face resolute. The boy was bad at hiding his emotions though, he had always been.

"Remember the plan." she said, her voice flat, almost flippant. She didn't know how else to act. She was painfully aware this was a definitive goodbye. The painful kind. The likes of which almost made her glad that she couldn't properly feel it.

The streets of the Village were empty but the sounds of the demon army massed around the wards were deafening. She would have loved for this moment to be peaceful, for the two of them to have a few minutes of calm before the storm but… The storm was raging around them and they were in its eye. It was too late for… Too late…

She was vaguely aware Abernathy and Gale were standing a few feet away, far enough to give them a semblance of privacy, close enough to remind them time was of the essence and they couldn't linger.

"I know." Peeta whispered softly. His cheeks were wet, his eyes bright with tears.

"You stay in the house." she reminded him all the same. "If…" When, she mentally corrected herself. "… you feel the wards fall, you pick them back up. Keep them up as long as you can but start running. Let them think you are all still inside…"

"I know." he repeated, a touch harder.

She knew too.

Knew that he would probably not even try to run away, that he would stubbornly keep the siege up in hopes that it would buy the others time to reach the fence, that he was likely to die very soon unless that Gale boy was true to his word and dragged him out but even then… The missing leg would be a problem, she knew that. She knew his odds. And Peeta knew them too. And because of that… She wished she hadn't raised him so well… She wished that…

"I am so proud of you." she breathed out, the stab of sorrow so strong that even her magic couldn't numb her to it. "I am so, so proud to have called you my son…"

His resolve seemed to break and he made a face as more tears leaked from his eyes. For a second, she was reminded of the tiny five year-old she had rescued and carried back home at a loss for what else to do. She had been so young at the time… Still blonde. Still optimistic. Still… Too young, she had thought back then, too young to take care of a small child… But she hadn't done too bad all things considered.

Because look at who he had become…

"Try to come back." he begged her. "You can distract them and then come back and…"

"Oh, darling…" She didn't try to control the pained expression that distorted her features. She stroked his cheek, stepped closer to him so she could embrace him… Her little boy… He had grown so big that he was taller than her. Not so little anymore. Not a boy at all but a man now. She closed her eyes, breathing him in. If she had any sort of heart left, she was holding it in her arms. "Darling, I am already gone…"

She said it slowly, softly, knowing he would understand and unable to soften the blow.

Her control on her magic was brittle at best. She didn't know if the Hellmouth somehow knew what they were planning or if it was the prospect of their imminent death but… Her magic felt hotter than before, searing… It was this huge ball of raw power in her chest and it wouldn't be contained much longer.

She had told Abernathy she was burning out like a candle the previous night and she had meant it. She had been burning out for a while now.

But that morning…

That morning she felt it.

She was all melted wax with not much of a wick left.

It didn't even matter if she tried to survive out there or not. The magic would kill her or, less desirable a fate, completely take her over. It was a matter of hours now.

"Mom…" Peeta pleaded, his voice breaking.

"Save yourself, Peeta." she ordered. "I do not want you to die in this Village. Save yourself. Find Madge and have a fabulous life together. No demons, no vampires… Just be happy, my darling."

Her son faked a chuckle. "Buy a cottage in Ireland?"

"Near a lake." she joked. "And do not forget the sheep."

She tightened her hold and then forced herself to drop her arms, to step back…

He looked so lost, so terrified, so sad when he looked at her…

"I love you." she promised. And meant it.

Love was only a distant memory, now, but Peeta… She knew she loved him. She felt it at times. Through the magic. Through the taint of the Hellmouth. Through everything. Like an Ariadne thread to the girl she used to be.

"I love you too, Mom." he replied just as forcefully, just as much of a promise.

She was almost grateful when Abernathy cleared his throat. She turned her head to look at him and he winced in apology. "If we're going to do this, we should do it now."

She nodded and turned away from her son even if it was the hardest thing she had ever done in her life, harder even perhaps than burying Maysilee and Caesar. She didn't spare a glance for the other boy, the one who had caused them to stand there with his stupid wish…

She didn't have room in her head to wonder about that world of his, to regret the things that could have been…

The magic was filling her, from her toes to the tips of her hair it was filling her, and she embraced it back, welcomed it because if she was going to burn…

Oh, she was going to burn bright…

The gates were in sight when Abernathy unsheathed the sword that was strapped between his shoulder blades. Not his mother's sword, not a Slayer sword… That one was swinging on her left hip and she was proud… She was proud and maybe a little grateful for that small kindness of his. To be called a Slayer at last. Not because Fate had chosen her but because she had earned it.

"You're still sure?" he asked.

There was no turning back now.

"Are you?" she challenged.

He didn't answer immediately. He waited until they were almost at the gates, until she was about to open them with her magic…

"You know…" He sighed. "I fucking hate Fate." He shot her a weird look and then licked his lips. "That boy… The vengeance demon one… He said I'm in love with you in his world."

She lifted her eyebrows in surprise, not quite sure why he was telling her that, not really in a place to care either.

"And do I love you back in that world?" she retorted anyway.

"No clue." Abernathy shrugged. "Hey, sweetheart… If we survive this, let's have a drink. Maybe more sex too. Maybe not in that order. Let's find out, yeah?"

There would be no finding out what they could be to each other because there would be no surviving this. But that was why he was smirking, she figured.

Despite it all, she laughed.

She was still laughing when she flung the gates open and stepped outside.

She was laughing like an unhinged woman and it gave the demons who were about to rush pause.

Then she stopped laughing, Abernathy standing slightly behind her, weapon at the ready, and she smiled.

A blood-curling chilling smile that didn't belong on any human's face.

But her face didn't look quite human anymore anyway.

She could feel it, feel the dark magic rushing through her blood…

The dark veins appeared on her face, on her arms and hands… Her eyes were not blue anymore but entirely black. Energy was cracking around her and she was almost high on power…

She let her gaze roam on the lines of demons massed in front of her and selected one.

"Run and tell Snow I am coming for him." she purred, her voice hers and not hers at the same time.

The demon hesitated but, when she lashed out with her black fire and killed a few of his brethrens, he turned heels and ran…

It started the fight.

Demons closed in on them from all sides and…

It was too easy.

Her magic reacted and she was laughing again…

She was…

A hand clasped hers tight.

She barely registered the grunt of pain as the magic burned through Abernathy's flesh… The man didn't let go though. If anything he clung to it harder.

His grey eyes found hers, unflinching.

"Steady, Slayer." he reminded her. "It's a marathon, not a race."

Slayer.

Yes…

Yes, she liked that name.

It suited her new form.

Slayer…

Actual communication between Haymitch and Gale? Is that really possible? I guess we just needed an alternate version of Haymitch for that to happen ;) Also in a very disturbing way... Is hayffie cute or what? And how much do we love mama!effie with peeta? Because I do.

Next week everything goes to hell in a handbasket! I hope you fastened your seatbell!

Let me know your thoughts!