Chapter 24: Gadget Schroeder

A/N: Well, here's another one! District Three's second female Victor and one who won in a rather unexpected setting! You might have already guessed it, but she is Linux's sister (look at the surname), but unlike her brother, she's going to come out on top! Pls review and tell me what you think and who you think will come out on top for the Quell! Enjoy:)

Katniss blinked. "Am I hallucinating or something?"

Peeta laughed, shaking his head. "Nope. Gadget Schroeder was Gadget Scott's aunt."

"Why would you name your kid after your aunt?" Katniss frowned. "Seems uncreative, doesn't it?"

Peeta shrugged. "Gadget's a pretty popular name in Three. I guess they were too busy to think up of a proper name."

"I thought they were supposed to be smart," Katniss muttered. "I wonder how Gadget won her Games."

Gadget Schroeder

District 3

Aged 16

4 Kills

District Three was a pretty terrible place to live in. When that surprisingly smart boy from Ten, John, came around on his Victory Tour, he claimed that he wished he was born in Three, not Ten. Everyone in the District had laughed. Who in their right mind would choose a dark, severely polluted factory District over a super cool cowboy ranch District? They didn't know the reality of District Ten, didn't realise that they were, in fact, richer than their 'cowboy' counterparts. But despite being better off, that didn't mean they lived good lives. Gadget herself could testify against that ridiculous lie. She'd been forced to start working at the computer factory at the age of ten. She didn't work long shifts, but the labour and the amount of schoolwork she had to do were unbearably stressful. The only thing that kept her going was the arts. The arts were pretty much nonexistent in Three. Everything was so dark, gloomy, plain, depressing. No one cared about a painting or a song. Those were dished out the bin and deemed useless. Most people here would sleep right through a dance, a pastime they could never quite understand. It was too boring, they said. But Gadget didn't think so. She loved to dance. Every day, she would spend whatever little free time she had dancing the blues away. Her parents didn't like it but her siblings sure did. She had two sisters, and another coming on the way soon. Both were younger than her; Delphi was twelve and Unity was nine. She used to have a brother, but he'd died in the last Hunger Games. That traitor John had killed him. He was just a boy! He didn't know what he was doing! The scenes had been unbearable to watch. Every night, Linux's death would replay in her mind like clockwork, threatening to end her mental sanity. At least Delphi and Unity were still alive. They would come to her room in the middle of the night and beg for a short dance. They clapped and cheered her on at every school talent show, even if everyone else in the audience remained silent, staring at her as if Gadget were an alien from Mars. They were fascinated by her moves. "Where did you learn to do that?" Delphi asked, her eyes wide with amazement.

Gadget chuckled. "There are books about it in the school library. You should check them out sometime."

Delphi grinned and eagerly said that she would. Little did she know, her life would change drastically before she ever got the chance.

The 24th annual Reaping for the Hunger Games. The show that struck fear and terror into the hearts of the entire District. Gadget had taken out tesserae, which unfortunately meant she was in quite a pickle at every Reaping. Delphi, on the other hand, had been forbidden to take out any tesserae. Not until she was at least fourteen. She was safe as she could possibly be, they thought. The escort pulled out a slip of paper. Gadget crossed her fingers, hoping it wasn't her. It wasn't. It was Delphi. She screamed and wailed when her name was called, crying as she dragged her feet up to the stage. Gadget's teeth chattered. There had been only one volunteer in District Three's history. Nikola Johnson. A Victor. Time to make it two. "I VOLUNTEER!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, so loud she was sure they could hear her all the way in District Four. The escort covered her ears. The girls around her scattered, moaning as they checked if their eardrums still worked. Gadget blushed, but she tried to confidently dance her way up the stage, hoping to make an early impression Her attempts could only be described as a miserable failure. Her nerves caught her up as she tried to twirl up the steps, causing her to trip and fall at least twice. She had succeeded in making an impression, all right. As the Hunger Games' most idiotic tribute. Her cheeks were bright red by the time she was up on stage. Delphi continued to scream, sobbing uncontrollably as the peacekeepers carried her effortlessly off the stage, barking at her to 'shut the f*ck up'.

The escort's ears were still ringing. "Uh, what's your name, dear?"

"Gadget Schroeder," Gadget replied, a little too timidly.

The escort blinked. "Oh, so your bother is-"

"Linux Schroeder," Gadget finished bitterly, gritting her teeth. "Yeah, don't want to talk about that."

The escort nodded slowly, forcing a smile for the cameras. "Yes, err, time for the boys! Ooh, so exciting?" Her usual excited chirp and high tones were gone, replaced by a baffling warble. Gadget didn't mind. She paid no attention to the escort. Her eyes were locked on Nikola, the District's first and only Victor shifting his glasses, squinting closer at her, mouth wide open. She felt her face heat up again. She had done exactly what he had done so many years ago, only her attempt looked a lot less noble and a lot more comedic. Maybe that would encourage him to give her extra help? Perhaps try to win her more sponsors? The boy was called up to the stage. An eighteen-year-old geeky boy named Flux Chandler. He hobbled his way to the stage, glancing around nervously as he did. "Tributes, shake hands!" They did, Flux refusing to meet her eyes. Gadget gave him a small smile before the peacekeepers ushered her off to the Justice Building for one, final, long farewell.

"What can you do?" Nikola asked, his tone strong and urgent. He sort of intimidated Gadget with his crafty eyes and history of killing fellow tributes.

Gadget gulped. "Uhh, I can build stuff?"

"What else?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Uhm, I'm a good dancer?" She highly doubted that was a real skill. What was she going to do, dance the other tributes to death? She knew it was hopeless, but she had no other skills. Might as well bring that up. She expected Nikola to sigh and give up there and then, but instead, to her surprise, his eyes lit up and his lips curled into a smile. She frowned. "What is it?"

"Remember Switch?" he asked, the cunningness glowing in his eyes.

Gadget nodded. "Yeah, the quick-change girl?" It was hard to forget Switch, her infectious smile, her brilliant tricks, her five bloody murders.

"Yes, she stood out because she could quick-change," Nikola said. "Jill stood out because she could play the violin. Ringo stood out because he could ride a horse. You'd already be different from all the other tributes if you can dance in the Tribute Parade. Quite literally, you could dance your way to victory."

Gadget gasped. She had never thought of it that way. But Nikola was right. She could win by being different. Sure, she might trip and end up being an utter embarrassment before being sliced to death by those awful Careers. But if she played her cards right, well, there was a reason Switch and Jill won their Hunger Games. "I could win," she uttered, her voice soft and hopeful.

Nikola grinned. "That's the spirit."

The next step was to watch the replays of the Reapings. Flux had finally joined them after spending an entire hour wallowing in despair on the roof of the train, hissing at everyone to stay away from him. When he walked into the carriage, he reminded Gadget of their District's tributes from the Third Hunger Games, who her parents said were children of criminals, keeping to themselves to scheme and plot against the District, hissing at everyone to get lost when they came near. They'd both been killed by Axel in that chaotic chain reaction, and it was fair to say they weren't missed by anyone in the District. Nikola said he knew Flux's father, an alcoholic who neglected all three of his children, including Flux. Gadget would be lying if she said she wasn't intimidated by the tall, scowling boy with those stormy grey eyes. The sooner he was gone, probably the better. The Reapings began and to Gadget's shock, Bartomeus was nowhere to be seen. He'd had a torrid time on the Capitol hot seat for the past few years, it was only a matter of time before he was fired anyway. His replacement was a stout middle-aged man with curly brown hair named Neptune Bellmark. He had a perky, funny-looking face. Gadget supposed he was probably better than Bartomeus, who'd undergone decline at such a rapid rate. Rumour had it, he had fallen critically ill and his nervous system had suffered as a result. Others claimed that he was getting far too stressed and gradually lost his mind. Either way, Snow had definitely gotten fed up and replaced him with Neptune. Neptune seemed like an old-school version of Bartomeus, happy as a lark, always excited about the Games. But Gadget wasn't concerned about that at all. She was solely focused on the tributes. The pair from One were twins from the Carmichael noble family, whatever that was. The girl, Imogen, was nothing special, just another spoiled brat searching for glory. The boy, however, was different. Copper was a seventeen-year-old boy trying to escape a forced marriage, just like Crystal. he wasn't in it for the honour or for the riches. He just wanted to be free. Gadget had a begrudging sense of respect for both him and Crystal. They were just like them, people wanting to be free. The Twos, however, had no such intentions. Nzinga and Titan were the classical fierce brutes, although Gadget had to acknowledge the fact that Nzinga at least had some regard for the arts, learning how to play the piano when she was twelve. Such a luxury was not available in District Three, but it wasn't as if anyone showed much interest in music anyway. She cringed horribly when the Threes' Reaping was shown. Her failed stunt, right there for all to see. At least Neptune had the good sense to not comment on it. The Fours seemed a lot more formidable than last year. Moana and Caspian, a pair of fishermen, had some muscle and showed some confidence, way more than outliers usually did. Gadget sighed. More competition for her to beat. Great. just great. Fleming, the boy from Five was also a volunteer, joining the deathmatch in place of his crippled thirteen-year-old brother. He was a scrawny fifteen-year-old geek who wouldn't pose much of a threat. The Twelves were as pitiful as usual, neither having any decent Reaping clothes and donning torn rags as they climbed up the stage. Gadget had always had a bit of sympathy for Twelve's tributes. They never stood a chance in the Hunger Games. Always so malnourished, underskilled and depressed. Axel was likely to be their only Victor in Hunger Games history, as he'd won in the early days of the Games, without Careers or elaborate Gamemaker traps to stop him. The Capitol seal flashed on the screen and normal programme resumed. Flux grumbled something under his breath and stormed off, banging into doorways as he returned to his room. Nikola sighed deeply. "That boy may not make it home," he admitted. "I'll try, but..." He was right. If District Three was going to have a Victor this year, it had to be Gadget. Outside, the Capitol loomed, a grand mall under construction becoming visible. The escort said that when opened, it would be the grandest mall in the Capitol. Not that Gadget would ever see it. She bit her lip as she returned to her room for a shower, one that stunned her. Why were there so many buttons and soap bottles? She took five whole minutes trying to figure them out, but once she was out of the shower and had a chance to look at herself in the mirror, she gasped. She had always thought that she was at the very least a little bit pretty but looking at herself now, it was like looking at a whole different girl. One that was clean and actually pretty. She grinned as she put on the beautiful green dress in her wardrobe. Time to pull of a Jill Wilson.

Nikola was nervous. He usually was, before every Tribute Parade. He never knew what his tributes would be forced to wear. Tigris had left their District to join the team from One, before taking a break from styling a couple of years ago. He'd heard that she was back in town. There was hope that she would decide to return to styling Three, but it was a small, faint one. He arrived at the twenty-three special seats in the audience, specially reserved for the Victors. Draco never sat there, thank goodness, as he was busy chatting with that god-awful President Snow up in the Presidential Balcony. Those two were attached to the hip. He was one of the first to arrive, with only Freya, Jill and Mags at their seats. Freya snorted when she saw him, quickly scooting over to the farthest seat. They didn't like each other very much. In fact, they've despised each other since his maniac of a tribute, also known as Gadget's brother Linux, burnt the entire arena, brutally killing off both of hers. He could vividly remember her roars of rage when that tree fell on Bayonet, forcing her to fall face-first into a boiling pond before a fireball blasted her to bits. It hadn't been very enjoyable for him either but Freya went nuts, screaming insults at him and for some reason, Magnetto. Insulting him was one thing, but insulting his defenceless brother? That was a whole different code altogether. He'd lunged at her, and they'd had a good, old-fashioned brawl. The peacekeepers had to separate and isolate them, but the point was made. They absolutely hated each other. Jill and Mags, on the other hand, were his friends. Mags had actually cheered him on during that brawl, even whacking Freya in the head when she pinned him to the ground. Besides that, her sarcastic jokes and parties were brilliant. Jill was by far his best friend in the Victor family. They'd shared mentoring strategies and tried to help each other out whenever possible. She'd even offered to help mentor Nikola's tributes along with hers for a day two Games ago when he'd been called to meet President Ravenstill for a meeting on new technologies. His tributes had refused, much to both their dismay, but the intention was there. When he and Freya had brawled, she had tried to pull Freya away, only to get punched in the face. That didn't stop her from continuing to try to get the Career Victor from Two off of her best friend, even if it meant taking a black eye and a bruised shoulder. Nikola was definitely grateful for that. "So, reckon your tributes will win this year?" she asked.

Nikola nodded. "I have faith in Gadget. She's-" He lowered his tone, making sure Freya didn't hear him. "-Linux's sister."

Jill gasped and Mags scowled, glancing at Freya. "That's not good," Jill muttered. "The Twos, they-"

"Probably won't even know she exists," Mags pointed out. "To them, she's just Tribute Girl from Three. Trust me, it's more likely that they'll march into that Parade naked than recognising her." She smirked as she said this. "I'd love to see them in some stupid outfit for once, though. Like, I don't know, spiked mace costumes?"

Nikola gagged. "That's awful!"

Mags grinned. "Exactly the point. They'll be one hundred percent different from all the other tributes from Two before them."

Jill chuckled. "Yeah, I think I like that idea. My District hasn't got a good stylist since my Games. Like, the poor kids keep on showing up in bloody tree costumes! Shame, one of them was a real talent with the violin." She sighed, thinking of the violin prodigy she couldn't save.

Nikola put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, you'll get a Victor next year."

She turned to him incredulously. "What do you mean? Why next year?"

"Because I'm winning this year," he said coolly.

Mags smirked. "Oh, really? Mind you, I have a perfect duo right there. I think I'll get a Victor!"

"No chance!" Jill told her. "It's Seven for the victory!"

The endless banter and laughter, a rare sight these days amongst Victors, continued on until the Parade itself began. Nikola held his breath, not even giving the Ones and Twos a fraction of his attention. Then she came out. Dressed in a yellow ballerina's costume fizzling with pink electricity, she stood on top of one of the horses, before dancing her way around the chariots. Flux stood like a stone statue, looking not too bad in a tuxedo fizzling with blue electricity, but he didn't even smile. He simply stared stonily ahead as Gadget danced around him. As she neared Snow's mansion, she leapt into the air and did a triple spin in the air before landing gracefully on her chariot and capping off with a pirouette. The audience lost their minds. They were cheering for her like there was no tomorrow. Behind Nikola, Switch was grinning broadly and cheering her on. "She's super cool!" she told Nikola excitedly.

Nikola couldn't help but grin. Gadget was fantastic. A far cry from the nervous girl during her Reaping. She was the brand new star of the show. "She kind of reminds me of you, Switch," he told the bubbly girl from Five.

Switch beamed. "She must've taken some ideas from me! This might be your year, Nikky!"

Nikola frowned. "Nikky? Seriously?"

Jill chuckled. "Nice nickname. Good one, Switcheroo."

Switch laughed. Despite all the horrific things Bartomeus did to her, some of which made Nikola puke on the spot, she still maintained her natural humour, a miracle Nikola couldn't quite believe. He was glad that at least one Victor kept her sanity, but she was still annoying as hell sometimes. "Yeah, I'll start spreading the word. Hey, everyone!" she shouted. "Nikola's now to be called Nikky!"

Woof looked up from his romantic novel. "What the hell?"

Nikola swatted her arm. "Oh, shut up."

Gadget couldn't help but feel satisfied. Her Tribute Parade performance had been breathtaking. Her training was decent. Her score of seven? Magnificent! Sure it was nothing compared to the Careers' scores of nine, but Nikola, Gwen and others had won with lower scores. At least it was better than Flux's three. He shrugged when his score was announced, and sulked off as usual. "Be proud, Gadget," Nikola told her. "You've got a fighting chance."

Gadget had never seen Neptune on television before, so she didn't know what to expect for her interviews. She hoped she wouldn't be given the same treatment as Switch, oh the commentary for that poor girl was downright awful! She had decided to be like Jill and skip the traditional interviews, not willing to take the chance with Neptune, instead, she would be going for one, final dance performance in front of the entire nation. Jill had agreed to play her violin as background music, owing to her friendship with Nikola. Perfect, Gadget thought. She had the best musician in Panem by her side, what was there to worry about? As the prep team prepared her dress, she went over the most important thing to take note of: never tell anyone she was Linux's sister. That would be a huge mistake. She stood in line in her dance costume, tapping her fingers nervously as she waited for her turn. Imogen glared at her, looking classically beautiful in her orange dress. "So, you're the little upstart, eh?" she snarled, cracking her knuckles. "You better watch out, because when I catch you..." She didn't get a chance to finish. Neptune was already calling her up. She gave Gadget a withering glare before putting on the sexiest smile Gadget had ever seen and going up to meet Neptune.

Gadget wished she could bury herself in a hole. Now, everyone was staring at her, some enviously, other furiously. The boy from Nine seemed to recognise her as Linux's brother, and he scowled at her, whispering, "Pyromaniac," ominously in her ear. She shuddered, backing against the wall. She just wanted it to end, for her name to be called up so she could go and sit with Nikola. It felt like an eternity, waiting for the Careers to finish their interviews. Neptune was a significant improvement from Bartomeus, actually trying his best to engage with the tributes.

"So, Copper, your District has four outstanding Victors. Who would you say you are most similar to?" he asked Copper.

Copper shrugged. "It's got to be Crystal, hasn't it? We've both volunteered to escape our forced marriages. She's really nice, and her kill count's good. But I think I can top that."

"Nzinga, I heard you claim to be the best swordfighter in the history of Panem! How's that so?" he asked Nzinga.

Nzinga sneered. "Well, it's all about fighting smarter, not harder, isn't it? Oh, but why should I tell you? I'd rather show you! I'll cut up those pathetic little tributes to wee little pieces, starting with that egghead from Four!" She pointed straight at Caspian, who rolled his eyes, cursing under his breath.

"Welcome, Titan! You're a hot favourite to win! How does that make you feel?" he asked Titan.

Titan smirked. "Well, I think I'll prove myself worthy once I get into that arena. I can't wait to start chop-chopping!"

By the time it was Gadget's turn, she was scared shitless. Those Careers had been terrifying enough. Now she had to upstage them all. She took a deep breath as she slowly but steadily went up the stage, the lights dimming and Neptune scooting to one side. Jill was at the corner of the stage, her violin ready. She gave Gadget a big thumbs-up. In the crowd, her escort waved excitedly while Nikola gave her a firm nod. Gadget took another deep breath. Focus. She was ready for this. The music began and the spotlight was on her. Jill's tune was haunting and enchanting as always, striking chords in every listener's heart. Gadget used that emotion to power through her dance, expressing her sadness of going into the arena and channelling it into strong, powerful moves. Her eyes remained closed most of the time, blocking out everything except Jill's music and her dance. She thought of her family, of Delphi and Unity. And of course, she thought about poor little Linux, her pyromaniac younger brother who only really needed a little bit of Capitol therapy, something he would never be allowed access to even if he had won the Hunger Games. That fuelled her passion, ignited her spirit, stoked her fire. She danced like there was no tomorrow. She couldn't see it, but many miles away, her parents were crying, wishing they'd paid more attention to their daughter's supreme talents. Alas, it seemed that it was too late. Jill played her last note, letting the strum hang in the air as Gadget fell to the ground snd the lights went back on. She opened her eyes. A standing ovation was given for her. Even Snow stood up and reluctantly clapped. She flashed a nervous smile. "Thank you, Panem! Good night!" As she walked off the stage, Neptune grinned and told her she was a rare talent, a hidden gem. She beamed at the praise. It was genuine, out of admiration, but not the perverse kind. She could tell he really meant his words. "Thanks, Neptune," she whispered softly, her voice faltering over the sheer monstrosity of the Capitol citizens' roars. As she timidly took her seat next to Nikola, he gave her a big hug.

"You're going to win, Gadget."

Gadget gasped when she saw her arena. To her, and everyone in Panem's surprise, it was set in the interior of the brand new grand Capitolian mall. The one she had seen on her way here. It was even grander on the inside. The floors were made of shiny white tiles. A golden chandelier loomed over them. There were seven floors plus three basement floors, all connected by escalators and grand glass elevators. There was everything from boutique shops to grand theatres and even swimming pools on the roof. It was, to put simply, the grandest and most extravagant arena in the history of the Hunger Games. The other tributes were so awestruck, they forgot that they were in the Games. Gadget, however, remembered. By the looks of it, so did Flux. He scowled the minute he saw the arena. Both of them fixed their eyes on the supplies in the Cornucopia, ready to charge in. The gong rang. Only they rushed forward, the rest failing to react in time, instead choosing to admire the pretty shops and fancy outlets. Gadget slung two backpacks over her shoulders and grabbed a knife, water bottle, some rope and a first aid kit, stuffing them into the pack. As she left, she also managed to pocket a shuriken. By then the tributes had begun to move. While Flux ran into the girl from Eight and was forced into a fight, Gadget faced no such problems. No, she danced her way around the oncoming surge of tributes, her moves still elegant as ever even with her supplies weighing her down. Even when Titan tried to lunge at her, she made a simple pirouette to dodge him, before twirling away in a blur of motion. She took a quick look at the signboards. 'Theatres, Level 6'. She knew exactly where to head to. Bounding up the escalators, she made it all the way up to the sixth floor, where she got a sickening view of the carnage down below. Flux had killed the girl from Eight and was escaping to the basement floors. Titan was busy chopping up a screaming Moana as Nzinga duelled Caspian just a few feet away. Imogen as brutally slashing the helpless, terrified boy from Seven, cutting up his organs as if they were nothing. Copper had stabbed both tributes from Eleven, making their deaths relatively quick and painless. Gadget watched it all in horror, distress quelling up in her. Snap out of it! she scolded. Keep moving! But her feet were rooted to the ground, unable to tear her eyes from the endless bloodshed. Nzinga had killed Caspian and was moving on to the girl from Twelve. Gadget winced as the defenceless girl was sliced up mercilessly. She only moved when the boy from Five, armed with a mace, ran up the escalators. She raced into the theatres, entering 'Theatre 3'. Her jaw dropped. It was the most marvellous theatre she'd ever seen. The stage, the seating, it was something she'd only seen pictures of. She'd dreamed of performing at such a venue! In a twisted way, her wish had come true. She ran down the aisles and hopped onto the stage, immediately rushing backstage, a place surely no one would even remember to check, right? She huddled in a small ball, fingers shaking from fright as she examined her two backpacks. A Swiss army knife, some bread rolls, some crackers, a packet of beef jerky, another bottle of water, a blanket, some tape and a coil of wire. It seemed more than sufficient for her to work with. Regardless, she was going to have a tough time in the arena.

She carefully explored the theatre, careful of traps. The prettier the arena, the deadlier. Indoor arenas were often rigged with traps, and Gadget correctly guessed that this would be no different. The boy from Twelve, sadly, had the opposite impression, being mauled by mutts after falling through a trapdoor in a fast food restaurant, bringing the total death toll to a shockingly high fifteen. Compared to last year's nine Bloodbath deaths, this year's Bloodbath death count had been astonishingly high, and the glossy white floor was now permanently stained with blood. Gadget didn't know this though. She was too busy observing a small mouse. It had made its way into the mall somehow and was scurrying along the wall when suddenly, it disappeared with a frail squeak. All that remained were ashes. She narrowed her eyes. Squinting carefully, she saw it. The electronic trap, taped to the wall and painted over. Looking around, she saw dozens of them around the theatre, arranged in piles of three. Gadget mulled over this for a moment, wondering what she could possibly do with these traps. Weaponising them didn't seem like a bad idea. Nikola had done it with the Cornucopia landmines. She took out her Swiss army knife and began carefully extracting one of the electric traps. It was easy for her, she had done this many times back home in District Three. Soon, it would all make sense to the now baffled Capitol citizens.

The boy from Five, ever so inspiring, unfortunately, had to meet his end when the Careers found him and cut him up beyond recognition. He had been hiding in 'Theatre 4' and Gadget could vividly hear his screams and his pleads for mercy. She shivered. If her plan didn't work, she would be next. Focus, Gadget. Deep breaths. She positioned herself carefully, and begun her dance. When the Careers walked in and saw her dancing, to say that they were stunned would be an understatement. Still, a cheap kill was a cheap kill, and they approached her willingly. "Ready to die, Three?" Imogen snickered, brandishing her sword. All too late, they realised something was fishy. It was exactly the way Jill had acted, all calm and collected in the face of certain death. But by then, Gadget had swung her foot out and somersaulted backwards quickly as the bewildered Careers watched, glancing around in a panicked state. Suddenly, a jolt of electricity struck Titan and the burly fighter from District Two fell to the ground, burnt to death. The other Careers backed away slightly, a terrible mistake. You see, Gadget had placed four electrical traps together, moving one from a set of three to another. That way, all four Careers could be taken out at once, which was exactly what happened. One minute they stood, frightened for the first time in their lives. The next, they were twitching freakishly, slowly dying from electrocution. Gadget had only been awarded one kill for Titan, but it didn't matter. Not when she'd collapsed to the ground soon after. Her legs were like noodles and her tongue felt like a bristly sponge. Her head spun around like a spinning top, her world whirling rapidly around her. For a moment, the Capitol thought she'd been electrocuted too. It had never occurred to them that the mental exhaustion inside her was slowly taking its toll.

Gadget wasn't the same after that. Her kill, or kills, depending on which source you read, were severely traumatising. She would scream in the middle of the night, attracting tributes, who would only be killed by the electronic traps she'd rearranged and set up near the entrance of the theatre. The boy from Ten and the girls from Five and Nine were the victims in question. Gadget hadn't meant to kill any of them, they were sort of just passing by. All she wanted was to get a good night's sleep. She wasn't Jill. She hadn't purposely attracted those tributes! But no one cared. All they cared about was that Gadget Schroeder killed four innocent children, albeit involuntarily, and that she was up against her District partner Flux in the finale. An outcome no one expected. Flux was badly wounded, blood streaming out of his knees as he crawled his way to the theatre. Gadget was very much physically unscathed, but her stare was as dead as a zombie. She danced nonstop, never quite seeming to be able to stop her moves, but throughout those dances, she showed no emotion. It was as if she had lost her soul in the arena. The showdown came on the night of the seventh day, with Gadget dancing her way towards Flux. She only had her knife while Flux had a sword he had retrieved from the Cornucopia. It seemed all to likely that Flux would win this battle. That is, until you remember, he was an insane psycho at that point. He charged at her, only for her to twirl put of the gracefully. He skidded to a halt, growling in fury and went at her again. Again, she elegantly dodged his blows. She knew something no one else did. Gadget didn't have to kill Flux herself. The more runs he made, the more blood he would lose. In his crazed insanity, he'd forgotten to bandage his wounds or at the very least attempt to stop the bleeding. He would bleed out eventually on his own. It took seven frantic charges and seven elegant dance moves before finally, Flux crumbled to the ground, his legs turning to jelly and his eyes saggy and bleeding with exhaustion. Gadget stared at him blankly. Should she kill him? That would be taboo, right? While Flux had tried to kill her, killing your District partner was usually a big no-no in the Hunger Games, unless you were a Career of course. Feeling as though she'd killed enough, she sat down and waited for his inevitable death. Flux groaned and moaned in pain, but just five minutes later, he went silent. Gadget stood up and did a victory pirouette, her face still dead as ever. She didn't respond when the trumpets rang. She didn't respond when the hovercraft came to pick her up. She didn't even respond when Nikola snapped his fingers in front of her eyes. She herself couldn't explain why she was so unresponsive. Those deaths, the blood on her hands, for some reason, she was lost in her trauma, trapped in a caged mind filled with the hollow screams of her four victims. She was dead inside.

Gadget sat across the table, staring blankly at the food set on the table. Black circles encircled her eyes and her arms didn't move, as she felt they were heavy as boulders. Nikola gripped her hand tightly. "Just try to forget it, okay?" he told her. "Don't dwell on it. Focus on something else." Ever since her victory, she had danced in theatres across the Capitol, showcasing her talents. Yet, no one had ever seen her smile again.

Gadget turned to Nikola. "How can I" she mumbled quietly. "It's still fresh. I don't know if I can ever forget."

"You can and you will," Nikola told her firmly.

"What's there to focus on anyway?" she asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

Nikola gave her a dark smile. "Ever heard of Oakette Mason?"

The pair had a respectful moment of silence for Gadget, but neither of them had much else to say about her. "You know, I've always wondered why her niece looked so dead," Peeta muttered.

Katniss shrugged. "Guess we may never know."

Peeta flipped the page. "The first Quell," he muttered, his brows furrowing.

"It must've been horrific," Katniss said.

The Victor of the first Quell was an elegant looking girl with immaculate platinum blonde hair and startling blue eyes. Her face, however, was terrified, clearly shaken by what she had seen in the arena. "Sterling Jones."

VICTORS

District 1-Sapphire Huntington(4), Onyx Hibonite(9), Franc Montgomery(14), Crystal Montgomery(21)

District 2-Ragnar Sveinsson(5), Reyna Boudicca(6), Draco Hadley(10), Scipio MacAllister(17), Freya Carson(22)

District 3-Nikola Johnson(13), Gadget Schroeder(24)

District 4-Marina Bluebell(1), Mags Flanagan(11)

District 5-Shocker Crimson(8), Switch Kim(19)

District 6-Ford Hamilton(20)

District 7-Hassan Greenwood(2), Jill Wilson(15)

District 8-Woof Casino(16)

District 9-Gwendolyn Whitfield(18)

District 10-Ringo Alvarez(7), John Gatwick(23)

District 11-Orchid Bloom(12)

District 12-Axel Millar(3)

A/N: So Gadget makes it two for District Three! The dancer girl becomes a Victor! I hope you enjoyed that and pls review and tell me what you think! Also, if you have any tribute suggestions for the Quell, feel free to PM me! I've got exams coming up so don't expect too many updates for the next few weeks or so (my Chinese results suck and I need to stop relying on my English results so yeah) but stay tuned for the first ever Quarter Quell! Cheers:)

P.S. I based some of my Victors' tactics on two Youtube videos by The Film Theorists on how to win the Hunger Games. It's pretty good, if you ask me, so do check that out!