Chapter 62: Nemo Williams

A/N: District Four once again and this time it's Nemo who has the victory! A young boy with a humble past, he would be easy to overlook at first glance. But forced into a swashbuckling tale in an arena that was sure to favour District Four, he found himself the captain of a ferocious crew of Careers...

P.S. Reservations for my upcoming SYOT are closed! If you want to sub to the remaining slots, it won't be first come first serve anymore! And the submission form is out, you have until February to get your subs in! Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favour!

P.S.S. I've started a collab with Marie464 called 'Crystals', feel free to check that out on her profile xd.

P.S.S. Thank you to peachiebumblebee for the arena idea!

Katniss raised her eyebrow. "Nemo, huh? The sailor kid?"

Peeta nodded, a hazy look in his eye as he tried to recall how Nemo had won his Games. "Yeah, his arena was pretty neat, if I remember it correctly. He had the upper hand and won."

Katniss frowned. "The upper hand? You mean- oh." A sudden recollection washed over her and the events of Nemo's Games became a little clearer as the memories of it pushed through the fog of her brain, presenting itself to her in one blue wave. "I see what you mean. Sure, he might have been on home turf, but then again, he was fourteen. His young age didn't do him much good."

Peeta shrugged. "Well, I suppose you're right, Kat. But still, he really did steal the show, even if he was rather young for a Career."

"Did he volunteer?" Katniss asked, twitching her nose as she tried to remember. "I can't quite remember."

Peeta shook his head. "I don't think so. I mean, why would he?"

Katniss shrugged. "He is from Four after all. They do have their fair share of risk-takers. Poseidon was fifteen when he volunteered, remember?"

Peeta nodded. "That's true. But I doubt Nemo was that kind of person."

Nemo Williams

District 4

Aged 14

5 Kills

Life was a breeze for Nemo Williams.

No, he wasn't rich, or exceptionally skilled, or incredibly smart, but there simply wasn't much more he could possibly ask for in life. Born to a middle-class family who lived in a modestly-sized house just a few steps away from the nearest beach, a golden strip of sand called the Necromancer's Bay, a once heavily-polluted area that had been revamped due to the efforts of Jolien Fisher. A neat row of palm trees right in front of their beach with their large, regal leaves swayed back and forth in the gentle ocean breeze, their movements similar to that of tall, graceful dancers. Boats lined the shores of Necromancer's Bay, two of which belonged to the Williams family, and off the shore was an abundant fishing ground, a horn of plenty for the local population who could earn a good living off of the fish that thrived in these particularly rich waters. Clams and oysters were also abundant at the sea floor, as were lobsters and crabs, all of which made succulent food and could be sold for a good price. Abalone could also be found here, something which the palettes of the Capitolite elite craved, and ensured that those who harvested abalone were nowhere near the poverty line. Nemo's family were standard fishermen, although his older brother did have a knack for collecting abalone, a pastime which earned their family enough money to put food on the plate, afford good housing, schooling and have some spare cash for some personal pleasures like board games and slightly better bicycles. Nemo himself practically grew up on water, having spent much of his time out on fishing trips with his father, while his mother and older brother Condatis remained closer to shore for the most part. His father taught him from the age of five how to sail, and a fine sailor was soon to be born. By the time he was six, he could row his father's fishing boat with absolute proficiency, and by the time he was seven, he was part of the crew made up of people from their community who sailed out into the open waters in their community sloop to catch some fish that lived in deeper waters, such as marlins, tuna and sharks. His first big task, though, was when he was appointed captain of the said crew at the young age of eleven. Questions were raised over his age and several members of the crew expressed their concerns over his captaincy, declaring him unfit to steer the ship and wear the navy blue captain's hat that the Necromancer Bay community owned.

And yet, his father and many more members of the community sung his praises, declaring that he was more than capable of steering a sloop.

And Nemo did not disappoint.

It turned out to be their most productive year in decades, as with Nemo's excellent navigational skills and Lady Luck flashing a wide grin towards them during their journey, they reeled in a particularly big catch, earning enough money to sustain themselves for a relatively long period of time, and all of a sudden, Nemo found himself elevated to a high position of respect within their town, after his antics while out at sea had saved them during a particularly big storm. The entire community eagerly awaited his arrival back home at the docks, and he rappelled down the side of the ship, donning that navy blue captain's hat with Necromancer Bay's crest printed on it, a big fat grin smeared across his youthful face, his scruffy hair blowing in the wind as he did a backflip and landed in front of the beaming townspeople. That night, a party was held, and Nemo could remember very vividly tucking into a chocolate cake for the very first time in his life.

The taste was absolutely heavenly and by the end of the party, his stomach felt as though it was about to explode with sweet chocolatey goodness as he sat on his mattress, his mouth stained with chocolate fudge, a contented, dreamy look in his dark brown eyes.

All was good, life was good, and Nemo felt as though he was one of the luckiest boys in District Four, just a jovial boy sailing around the high seas, and on land, he made for an exceptional Career Academy trainee too, being able to masterfully wield a spear and use a harpoon gun, although he highly doubted that the latter would ever make an appearance in the Hunger Games. He was quick and agile, having had to dash around the ship to give orders and handle ship affairs during a crisis, and could tie knots too. While his hand-to-hand combat skills (like that of most youths from Four) were rather lacking, it looked as though in the unlikely event that Nemo got Reaped when he was older, this skilled young captain might just be able to wriggle his way out of the arena alive.

But then he was actually Reaped at the tender age of fourteen, and suddenly, life wasn't so much of a breeze for Nemo Williams anymore.

It became a harrowing, stormy nightmare.

Nemo didn't ask for this.

Of course, who the heck would ask to be Reaped for the Hunger Games? Well, except for maybe the Careers, of course, but not a single one of the twenty-four tributes going into the arena, not even that supposed drug dealer from Eight or that terror-inducing boy from Two, deserved to die in the Hunger Games.

But that didn't mean Nemo wasn't going to kill them.

"This is just a freak storm," his father had implored, desperately clinging onto the shoulders of his beloved son as they said what could well be their final goodbyes in the Justice Building. "You know how to weather these storms, don't you?"

"And the other tributes?" Nemo had piped up, suddenly feeling small, as a lump formed in his throat.

"Kill them," his father had urged, an urgent, anguished look in his usually calm eyes. "They are like sharks and pirates. What do we do with sharks and pirates? We kill them, with absolutely no mercy."

No mercy.

Those last two words echoed through the air. No mercy, so Nemo was supposed to turn into a ruthless killer? Just like the Careers that he had grown up despising so much? At the time he had been utterly revolted by their killing sprees, but in a game of life and death, when he himself was faced with the option of killing or being killed, he found himself edging towards the former. Hypocritical, yes, but his life depended on these sudden changes of heart. But the idea of killing someone, it just didn't seem like such a bad concept at the point. Nemo had killed tons of marine life, sure, and he had wounded a pirate before, the quartermaster of a newly formed pirate crew called the Bloodsail Buccaneers, but he had never taken away an actual human life, but yet, in spite of all the times he had declared that the act of killing in the arena was repulsive, that wee little hypocritical side of him seemed to be pushing his moral compass in a different direction, and Nemo knew that if he was going to be alive to see the next month, he would have to follow his gut and that murderous little part of him.

His mentors seemed to agree with him too.

Iris and Rafael Fisher, the younger duo of the Fisher siblings, those were the two he had chosen. Ever since the news of Marina's sad demise had broken out, all of the Victors, including Poseidon, who didn't exactly have a good reputation in Four to begin with, seemed a shade gloomier than usual. They looked depressed, and after her funeral, refused to show themselves in public. All of them seemed to be in a state of prolonged mourning, as if they couldn't quite let go of what had happened, and they were in an emotional mess of epic proportions.

But Iris and Rafael seemed less saddened than the others.

The pair, who were never quite as close to Marina as the other Victors, wore darker clothing and looked a little more dejected than normal, however there wasn't that big of a noticeable difference, mostly because they had always been the most broken of the District Four Victors, who mostly kept within their small inner circles, circles that didn't typically include Marina. They spent most of their time with Coral, Caesar, Geneva and Gwen, and even Poseidon could be seen more often with Marina than those two.

The news of her passing didn't hit as hard for those two, and that was exactly why Nemo picked them. He wasn't going to go for Jolien, who looked to be a mental disaster, or Timmy, who slunk in a corner, and not a chance he was even going to remotely consider Poseidon as an option. The pair followed him to his bedroom, their footsteps and movements eerily silent, and their pale faces making them look like twin ghosts floating through the train corridor.

They're nice people, Nemo tried to assure himself, feeling slightly spooked by these two, who both had glazed expressions as they entered the room, practically floating in. I'm sure they're really kind, there's nothing to be worried about.

The three of them talked, and sure enough, Iris and Rafael were indeed much more cordial than initially expected. Rafael, who wasn't known to talk much, actually chipped in a quip or two aimed at Iris, something he was rumoured to have once done so in an abundance back when they were supposedly two sweet little kids who were attached by the hip. At least that last bit never changed. Iris told him to work hard to impress the Careers, stating that he needed to earn their respect.

"You're fourteen, you have to show them you're not just another little kid they can mess around with," she advised in her willowy voice, with had a tinge of sweetness to it, Nemo supposed.

"How?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. He didn't think that the Training Academy had any ships he could operate to show off his leadership skills, and he wasn't exactly sure if his spear-throwing skills would be good enough.

"I've seen you with a harpoon gun," Rafael uttered, his voice a quiet, hollow echo in the room. "Show them what you can do with that."

Nemo wasn't too convinced, but he didn't exactly know what else he could do. So he just nodded along. "Anything else?"

"You're very agile, do some rope tricks, that might impress them," Iris told him, her gaze slowly softening and a warm smile slowly spreading across her timelessly beautiful face. "And your spear-throwing skills aren't too bad either, so that counts too."

"But if you wanna be in the pack you have to get a good kill count in the Bloodbath," Rafael chipped in, his eyes flashing with a deadly seriousness as he uttered those words.

Kill. There it was again, that slight churn in Nemo's gut that screamed at him to heed in to its will. Nemo swallowed, tracing the bile as it ran down his throat. "I have to kill, don't I?"

Iris bit her lip, tilting her head downwards ever so slightly, letting several strands of blonde hair fall over her eyes like a yellow veil. She seemed reluctant to speak, although Nemo already knew what her next words would be. "Yes," she muttered, her voice sounding distant, far away. "And not just one person, no, no, you're fourteen and would be seen as a child, you have to take down two in the Bloodbath to prove your worth."

Nemo gritted his teeth. Killing one innocent child was something, killing two in the span of a few minutes was a whole other kettle of fish. "And after the Bloodbath?"

"You'll likely have to kill again," Iris told him. "I can't sugarcoat it for you, if you do win, which I think you can, you'll likely leave the arena with a kill count of at least four."

Just then, Willuna called them to the dining car, announcing that dinner was ready. Nemo stood up and brushed some dirt off his navy blue shirt, the one he had worn to the Reaping.

Four kills?

As he tried to digest what he surely had to do in order to survive the arena, his mind began to warp itself around his heart, a sinister grin on its nonexistent face as it did so. The sheer scale of that kill count, four kills, it sank deep into his heart, which for some reason, didn't feel as disturbed as he might have expected.

You will kill.

"Show us what you can do, runt," Marius, the boy from Two, ordered, giving Nemo a hard push towards the spears.

The rest of the Career pack snickered at him, staring at him with those big, cunning eyes that flickered with light, as if mocking him, teasing him, ridiculing him. The girl from Two, Fuhao, sneered at him, shaking her head as she leaned in and whispered something into the boy from One's ear, causing him to chuckle and nod along with her. "He's not gonna make it past the Bloodbath," Nemo could hear the noble boy, Roland, mutter to her, a smirk marred by a scar on his upper lip on his classically beautiful face.

Nemo just ignored them as he marched towards the spears, a defiant, concentrated look on his face. His brows were furrowed, his eyes narrowed, his lips contorted into a scowl and his fists balled. Glancing over his shoulder, he could see the girl from One, Glowla, sneering at him.

"You're going to miss!" she called out, cackling at her taunt, before being elbowed by Nemo's District partner, Hydra, who gave him what could almost be described as a look of sympathy.

Almost.

Nemo shrugged her taunt off, chewing on his lower lip as he picked up a spear and aimed it at the target.

"Shoot straight," Vincent, his best friend, had told him at the Goodbyes. Vincent, like Nemo, was a good spear-thrower, and frankly, he was far better at this particular weapon than Nemo had ever been. He was the one who had helped Nemo improve on his spear-throwing skills when they were younger, giving him tips and practising with him on cold, rainy afternoons.

Right now, when the world demanded to see his skills, Vincent was not around to help him.

But he was still going to try, just to make him proud back home.

Nemo hoisted the spear and his eyes bore right into the bullseye in the middle of the target.

He was going to hit it.

He was not going to miss.

He was going to earn his place in this pack.

The spear flew out of his hands and soared through the air. Nemo watched as it whistled across the spear-throwing station, before, to his delight and relief, spearing the dummy straight through the heart, hitting that red bullseye in the middle of its chest. He picked up another spear, suddenly oozing with an overflow of bubbling confidence, and aimed it at yet another dummy. A small smile spread across his lips as he flung this spear, this time spearing the dummy's chest, although it missed the bullseye by a few inches.

No matter, at least he had hit the target.

Now time to cement my place in this pack, Nemo thought to himself as he picked up two spears at once, did a somersault, before hurling both of them straight at a third target. One of the spears pierced right through the dummy's abdomen, while the other sailed just an inch above the bullseye.

Good enough, he wagered. Turning around, he gave the stunned Career pack a sly smirk. "And I can do better with a harpoon gun," he said, his voice surprisingly calm as he tapped his foot, his sly smirk slowly spreading wider and wider across his face. "Oh, and I can swim, run fast, climb, fish, tie knots and administer first aid." He paused, and raised an eyebrow. "Convinced yet?"

Marius grunted, a briefly impressed look in his eyes quickly replaced with his usual steely one, the one that was ice-cold, hard as obsidian, as imposing as the sea serpents of local folklore. "Well, you're in, for now. Get an eight in training and a kill in the Bloodbath and you're one of us, kid."

Nemo chuckled, marching straight towards the harpoon gun station, his arms swaying by his side as he walked. "Oh, trust me, I'll get more than just a kill in the Bloodbath, all right."

Deep inside, he wasn't sure if he had it in him to get multiple Bloodbath kills, and yet, he wanted to, for the sake of going home, of course.

Or was there something else, something that would terrify Nemo to no end, brewing within him?

Shaking his head and picking up the harpoon gun, aware that the Careers still had their eye on him, he decided that the best course of action would be to refrain from dwelling on it for now.

He had to impress the Careers, and he certainly did so with his score of eight.

The pedestal rose, and Nemo could see a bright ray of sunlight right above his launch tube.

It's gonna be an outdoor arena, huh? Nemo thought as more and more blinding golden sunlight flooded into his vision. He loved the outdoors, most of his time was spent outdoors, learning valuable skills that could be used here and now in this outdoor arena. If the arena had been a mall or something indoors, well, Nemo would find himself in a bit of a pickle trying to figure out what an elevator was supposed to do.

In the distance, he could just barely hear the mewing of seagulls, and a quick flash of white flew in the tiny bit of sky that Nemo could see.

Seagulls.

He wrinkled his nose, and just then, a salty, familiar whiff entered his nostrils, filling his lungs with a scent that he had taken for granted for so many years. He could hear that easily-recognisable lapping of waves, that swoosh as the waves broke against the foot of the pedestals, and it dawned on him that the arena involved an ocean.

Nemo's eyes lit up with joy as the entire arena slowly came into view, and he basked in the delight of seeing an endless ocean all around him, dotted with boats of all shapes and sizes, an arena that would surely favour the young sailor boy. The Cornucopia clearing itself was an island, with a wet, slippery floor littered with supplies doused with sea spray standing between the tributes and the silver horn that gleamed in the fresh daylight. Among the trove of supplies were navy blue backpacks, cutlasses, lemons, bags of fish slices, spears, and, to Nemo's absolute delight, harpoon guns. His favourite weapon standing right there cropped up against a wooden crate, just begging for him to take it. And take it he would, once the countdown was over. Nemo gazed out at the selection of ships, hoping to see a sloop somewhere in the waves. Sure enough, there was one, but unlike the numerous motorboats and dinghies, it wasn't docked against the Cornucopia island, and required a bit of a swim to reach. Of course, Nemo could swim that distance fairly easily, but then he'd be easy pickings for any tributes to steamroll him with their motorboats.

But if he could just reach that sloop, perhaps with another motorboat, oh, the odds would be very much in his favour.

"You can be the captain of any crew, doesn't matter if they're all older and stronger than you," his mother had told him right before his first voyage as captain of the community crew. And at that moment, Nemo realised that he could well be the captain of a crew of Career tributes, steering their grand sloop around the open waters in the hunt for other tributes. Hydra, as powerful as she was, had only ever sailed on small fishing boats, so there was no way she could possibly captain that ship. It would have to be Nemo, and it would be a golden opportunity, one he had to seize tightly with both hands, to grasp a firm control over the Careers, and to turn the tides and ensure the odds were in his favour.

A cunning smile slowly began to spread across his pink lips.

He could go home.

The gong rang, and Nemo charged forward, making sure to keep his balance as he dashed across the slippery, smooth surface, his eyes fixated on that brown harpoon gun, which practically had his name written all over it. He could hear the yelps, shouts, cries, as the other tributes slipped and slid across the wet floor, but neither Nemo nor Hydra, who was bolting for her preferred cutlass, were too bothered. This floor was not too different to that of the fish market or the docks back home, places they had run across several times without slipping, so they were more than well-prepared for this arena. You could almost say that this arena was designed for them. The new Head Gamemaker this year, Trisha Angelov, was rumoured to be a big fan of Jolien and Timmy Fisher, as well as a woman who loved sports and the sea wholeheartedly, so in Nemo's mind, she could have well engineered this arena to suit the District Four tributes.

Well, in that case, Nemo certainly wasn't complaining.

He grabbed the harpoon gun, a brand new, shiny model, quite unlike the old ones he used back home, relishing in the feel of this extravagant mechanism, before aiming it straight at that big boy from Eight, who was struggling to get onto his feet. This boy had gotten himself an eight, an astonishingly high score for an Outlier, and a massive threat to the Careers. A drug dealer skilled with knives, Nemo knew he had to take out this huge competitor early to maximise his chances of obtaining victory. He loaded a big, heavy harpoon, knowing that every slip of his fingers was a precious second wasted. The boy from Eight was getting closer and closer to a knife now, and his eyes were dead set on Nemo's chest. It was now or never. Nemo pulled the trigger, and the harpoon was sent flying straight at the boy from Eight, who didn't even have time to scream before the sharp projectile blew right through his chest, sending a burst of thick, red blood flying into the air as the boy's corpse was sent skittling backwards, before resting limply on the ground, drenched in a coat of his own blood.

Nemo thought that he would feel bad.

Nemo thought that the guilt would overpower him.

Nemo thought that the inner good within him would cry out in agony.

But instead, to his horror, he felt satisfaction. A sickening satisfaction, knowing that someone as dangerous and threatening as the drug dealer from Eight had perished in such a manner, and that he had claimed the kill.

Nemo gulped.

What the heck was wrong with him?

He didn't have time to think, though, as the horrified girl from Eight had pulled the harpoon out of her District partner's body and was aiming it at him, her arms trembling as she readied herself to hurl it straight towards him. Nemo didn't even have to dodge. The harpoon sailed way over his head, before limply clattering into the walls of the Cornucopia, and landing on the ground with a loud clang!

"Shit!" the girl cried out, but she could speak no further as Marius sneaked up behind her and slit her throat. Nemo ran over to retrieve the fallen harpoon, dragging his harpoon gun along.

There was still time for one more kill.

Most of the tributes had hopped into their motorboats and were sailing away rapidly, but he could see a couple still lingering at the Cornucopia, easy pickings for Nemo to take out. He loaded the harpoon and aimed it at the girl from Nine, who was stumbling towards a green motorboat a few steps in front of her.

She wasn't going to get away, not under his watch.

The harpoon was released, and it sailed through the air with a loud whoosh sound, before piercing the girl from Nine's back, causing her to let out a strangled cry of agony, before tripping and falling into the water, the weight of the harpoon pulling her beneath the waves, leaving only a smother of her blood on the floors of the Cornucopia island.

And yet, it felt strangely satisfying to kill.

Nemo shuddered, eager to get that horrific, barbaric voice out of his head. How could he possibly entertain the thought of enjoying a kill? The very notion of it sickened him to no end. But for some reason, a small, teeny tiny part of it seemed to be telling him that he was born to kill, that he was a murderous beast right from the start. After all, he had killed numerous sea creatures before while on that sloop with his crew.

That was when he remembered about the sloop in the arena.

The alliance consisting of the pairs from Five and Ten were on their motorboat, attempting to sail their way there to claim it. They fumbled about with their engine, having never seen something like this ever before. Nemo's eyes widened in alarm as he raced towards where the other Careers were gathered, laughing and bragging about their kill counts.

"We have to get to that sloop!" he shouted, pointing at the ship in question, a frantic shrill in his voice, not that he cared. "Before those guys do!" He shifted his gaze to the other alliance, and so did the rest of the Careers.

Marius nodded. "Four's right. Come on!"

"How do we steer that thing?" Glowla asked, concern written all over her face. "Hydra says she can't steer big ships."

"I can," Nemo piped up, a desperate urgency in his tone. "Now come on, let's go!" He hauled his harpoon gun, loaded with that one harpoon, and snatched a couple of knives from the floor, since the harpoon gun could only be used once anyway, unless he could retrieve the harpoon that was fired, of course. With that, the pack charged towards the nearest motorboat, before clamouring inside, locked and loaded with weapons and a set of backpacks. Hydra revved up the engine, and they zoomed across the waves, heading straight for that sloop. The boat crashed against the waves, rocking heavily, but Nemo had dealt with these boats since he was a toddler, and Hydra was pretty good at sailing motorboats too, so despite Glowla's fearful screams, there was really nothing to be worried about.

The alliance of four was drawing closer and closer to the ship. "Argh, we have to stop them!" Roland shouted. Before Nemo could stop him, he grabbed the harpoon gun and aimed it at the alliance's boat.

"No!" Nemo shouted upon seeing who he was aiming at, knowing full well what the outcome would be.

Whoosh! The harpoon soared through the air, before grazing the boy from Five's outstretched arm, and plunging into the ocean waves below. The boy from Five yelped in pain, and their motorboat jerked a little, allowing the Careers to gain a precarious lead, but the harpoon was gone. Nemo cried out in frustration, cursing as his favourite weapon was now gone, beyond reach, underneath the waves. There it was, just gone, because Roland had tried to get himself another stupid kill. Nemo glared at the boy from One, who instantly dropped the harpoon gun and muttered, "Oops."

Nemo rolled his eyes, but he knew that he was far from a position to argue with Roland. After all, he was just another fourteen-year-old boy from Four, everyone else in the pack would no doubt side with Roland. He just kept on steering the boat, until they finally reached the sloop. The other alliance had veered away and were making a beeline away from the Careers' sloop, and as the Careers climbed onto their new ship, they disappeared into the horizon, along with the other tributes.

Over the next few days, Nemo steered the Careers' sloop, in search of the other tributes' ships. He was by no means the leader of the pack, but as it stood, he held a high position of power, especially after the other Careers revealed that they had each only managed one kill in the Bloodbath, making Nemo's tally of two all the more impressive. Sure, Roland had so foolishly thrown away that harpoon of his during the dash for the sloop, however, Nemo quickly received not one, not two, not even five, but a full seven harpoons as a sponsor gift later that night. He grinned as he held up one of the harpoons for the cameras to see, his pearly white teeth almost glowing a little under the velvet dark cover of the night sky blanketed with a beautiful canvas of stars, most of which Nemo could easily recognise as he often had to rely on these stars for navigational purposes. "Thank you to anyone who chipped in for this," he declared, waving the harpoon in the gentle ocean breeze. "Trust me, I won't let you guys down."

And let them down he certainly did not.

On the third day, he was steering north at the break of dawn, sailing past a row of dinghies floating aimlessly in the open water. Roland, the only member of the Career pack who could actually cook, was cooking up a breakfast of fish and berries down on the deck, grunting every so often about being the 'maid of the pack', a moniker that Fuhao constantly mocked him with. He had checked all the supplies available on the ship for food and constantly bemoaned, "Why is the rum gone?" Hydra stood by Nemo's side, keeping a wary eye on him. Nemo's District partner, who was nearly twice his size, had always been on cold terms with Nemo, with the pair having barely spoken to each other at all since they were both taken to the train platform on that fateful day. She was busy carving out sketches on the wooden planks of her ship with her cutlass, although she was obviously unfocused, since she was also gazing at Nemo, her cold, calculating eyes giving Nemo the impression that she was suspicious of him. Nemo chose to ignore her, keeping his eyes peeled on the horizon for the boats of tributes. The cannon had boomed last night while Nemo was taking a quick nap, leaving the steering wheel unattended to get his much-needed sleep and forcing Fuhao and Glowla to stay on guard. According to those two, the boy from Six had been the fallen tribute in question, a boy Nemo had seen leave the Bloodbath with a deep gash in his thigh following a fight with Hydra. Nemo had a feeling that the boy had simply bled to death, but there was no way of knowing now. Not until the Games recaps, and he would only see those if he actually won, something that would require even more killing on his part.

Nemo shook his head, biting his lower lip so hard a drop of blood rolled down his chin. No, he had vowed to himself that he wouldn't think about that, no, he definitely wouldn't and shouldn't. Entertaining those dreadful thoughts was simply not an option for Nemo Williams.

Just then, Hydra slowly walked up to him, that cold gaze seemingly morphing into a more sinister look as she approached him. Nemo tightened his grip on the steering wheel. He trusted her about as much as he would trust a convicted criminal, why the heck was she getting so close to him? He slowly backed away from her, narrowing his eyes slightly.

Hydra rolled her eyes, an exasperated flash quickly wiping away the previous sinisterness in her eyes. "Calm down, I'm not trying to hurt you," she hissed.

Nemo raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah?"

She gave him a withering glare, putting a finger to her lips, which were pursed tightly. "Shh! Don't let them hear you!"

Nemo frowned. Why was she being so secretive all of a sudden? He knew that Hydra was a bit of a schemer back home, was this yet another one of her schemes? Nemo wasn't quite sure if he was up to the task of carrying out one of her plans, some of which he had heard from his friends ended up disastrously. Still, he waved his hand to motion for her to continue, intrigued by what she had to offer on the table.

Hydra leaned closer, until her face was almost touching Nemo's, which only made him a lot more uncomfortable. "You and I are the only ones here who know a thing or two about berries, right?"

Nemo shrugged. "I guess so, but I'd say Roland knows a fair bit about them too."

A wide, wicked sneer spread across Hydra's face and Nemo found it harder and harder to combat the urge to back away that very instant. "Ah, funny you should mention Roland."

Nemo bit his lip. "What do you mean?"

"He's our target, we pretend those berries he's putting on our plates are dangerous and then everyone will turn on him and kill him!" Hydra explained, chuckling softly to herself as she revealed her plan.

Nemo blinked, unsure if he should agree to this striking betrayal. He couldn't possibly stoop to such a low lie, could he? And yet, with his life hanging on a thin line, in a twisted way, it seemed like the right thing to do. "But would they trust us? I highly doubt Fuhao, Marius and Glowla would listen to the words of a fourteen-year-old from District Four."

Hydra clucked her tongue. "Pity, you underestimate my grand scheming skills. Fuhao's in on it too, you know. She'll openly declare how much she trusts us in this matter. And then Marius and Glowla will fall for the trick and turn on Roland."

Nemo scratched his chin. It did seem like a good idea. It was possibly one of her smarter schemes. He was by no means elated that Roland, an innocent boy, was going to be killed with his lie, contrary to the screaming inside his guts that tried to convince him that he should indeed be ecstatic about Roland's grim demise. But it was necessary, to narrow down the tribute count.

Before he could agree, though, Hydra continued her plan, clearly far from done. "And then we pull off an Iris!"

Pull off an Iris.

Those four words were synonymous to backstabbing an alliance in District Four. Nemo's mind flashed back to his willowy, kind mentor, who hid a dark history of betraying her fellow Career allies. He gulped as his mind began to connect the dots, realising the sheer extent of Hydra's plan. "You mean- You don't actually think-" he stammered, his eyes widening in alarm.

Hydra gave him a sideways smile. "Yes. Fuhao, you and I backstab Marius and Glowla while they're dealing with Roland. You'll be the first to get your meals, right? Just have them away from Marius and Glowla, right next to a loaded harpoon gun, then, Fuhao and I will rush over, confirm the toxicity of the berries, frame Roland, and then we catch the other two idiots off guard!" She spread her arms out, grinning broadly. "It's the perfect plan, Nemo."

Perfect plan.

In theory, Nemo guessed that it was a pretty good one. But the backstabbing part left a sunken feeling in his heart. And he knew why Hydra wanted him close to the harpoon gun, and it wasn't for a pretty reason at all.

He had to be the one who would kill either Glowla or Marius.

And then that weird feeling, the one that was actively pushing for him to kill, kill and kill again, it cackled at his insecurities, and dumbly, against his own will and better judgement, Nemo found himself nodding along to Hydra's sinister plan of betrayal.

At the end of the day, after the plan had been set into motion, as he tossed Glowla's frigid, dead body over the side of the boat and into the roaring waves below, a gaping hole of blood and gore on her muscular stomach, he let a warm, frightened tear roll onto her once gorgeous face.

He had claimed yet another kill.

By the fifth day, Nemo had navigated his way through much of the arena's waters, discovering all the other tributes and crashing into their boats, allowing Fuhao and Hydra to leap over the side of the sloop and onto their boats, killing them before they could escape, not that there was anywhere to escape to anyway. Nemo declined to play much of a hand in any of the five tributes they had killed, opting to stay on the boat while the two girls massacred the flailing tributes in the water, both of them being strong swimmers who could fight well in the water. He didn't want to even come close to triggering that horrible inner feeling within him, the one that demanded for him to kill, to slay, to destroy.

However, on the sixth day, he was eventually forced to spill some blood.

It was a usual, warm afternoon, the sun beaming brightly in the distance, its bright rays bathing the blue waves with warm, golden ripples. Seagulls and other birds soared across the puffy white clouds that hung in the golden sky, shooting across the sun in dark silhouettes of life that squawked loudly, their chants bellowing throughout the arena. A fairly peaceful afternoon, it seemed, and Nemo stood on the upper deck, munching on a fish slice, one hand on his steering wheel, his eyes dead set on the horizon, as boats floated around lazily in the waters below. Fuhao and Hydra stood on the lower deck, dressed in breeches and a waistcoat of deep crimson colour, tailored from velvet. A sash was worn around the waist, fashioned from silk and their outfits were adorned with gold jewellery. A statement leather belt was also worn, made heavy by the dangerous collection of a sharp cutlass and a dagger. Nemo himself wore a similar attire, only he didn't have a sash, and his outfit was not adorned with gold.

Volunteer bias, he thought, rolling his eyes as he continued to gaze ahead.

Suddenly, a dark speck came into view in the distance. Nemo could just make it out, a dark blob of black rapidly rising above the waves, sending large ripples of water gurgling in all directions as it seemed to be swimming its way towards them. Nemo narrowed his eyes, peering closer at the thing, whatever it was. And then, he gasped, and on the lower deck, Hydra did too, both of their faces paling in fright as they realised just what it was.

A Kraken had emerged.

Nemo could recognise it straight from the old folklores of District Four. A Kraken, a colossal, octopus-like creature with spikes on the numerous suckers on its innumerable long tentacles, all of which ended with the red claws of a crab. The description of it varied from different accounts by the local fishermen, and Nemo himself hadn't seen it before, but one look at it and he could tell that it was a Kraken, and so could Hydra, judging by the way she shakily reached for her cutlass as Fuhao stared at her with a baffled look in her eyes. The beast was black, quite unlike Old Agnes's account of it being sea green, and it moved at an incredibly fast speed, faster than even a motorboat. Nemo was so stunned by it, in a horrified daze after witnessing this majestic mutt, that he could barely hear Hydra and Fuhao screaming at him until Hydra slapped him hard in the face.

"Get us away from it, you fucking idiot!" she screeched, a petrified look of absolute terror all over her face.

Nemo didn't need to be told twice. He spun the steering wheel, in a desperate bid to turn the ship around and flee from the Kraken mutt, which let out a loud, ear-piercing roar, its dark amber eyes blazing brutishly with a scorching rage as it bared its mouthful of fangs, its mouth large enough to chomp up an entire bus. Hydra grabbed the harpoon gun and fired a harpoon straight at the Kraken, piercing its nostril. It let out a bloodcurdling screech, which made Nemo quickly cover his ears.

But it didn't stop the Kraken from its rampaging conquest towards them.

"What the heck is that thing?" Fuhao yelped as the Kraken sent a wave tumbling towards them.

"Kraken!" Hydra screamed, propelling another harpoon into the Kraken's eye, prompting a sudden outburst of the Kraken's inky black blood all over the deck. Nemo wiped some off his face, dead set on getting as far away from the beastly creature as possible. In the horizon, he could see a glint of silver shining brightly in the sunlight.

The Cornucopia.

And near the Cornucopia was a small motorboat, or at least that was what it looked like from Nemo's point of view, and he knew that it could well be another mutt lurking underneath the choppy waves, which, to his horror, were getting darker and darker by the minute as storm clouds loomed over them in the sky. A flash of lightning blasted across the sky, striking the Kraken mutt at the exact moment that Hydra launched a harpoon directly into its mouth, causing it to let out a high-pitched scream as blood gurgled and bubbled out of its gigantic mouth, spewing out into the ocean like big black pools of vomit. Nemo, though, wasn't too focused on that. His gaze was fixated on that motorboat in the distance, which he could see carried the remaining two tributes other than the Careers, the pair from District Ten, on board.

"We can end this right now!" Nemo yelled at the two girls, who drew out their cutlasses, charging towards the starboard side of the ship, ready to pounce.

And then Hydra sliced off Fuhao's head.

It had happened so quickly, so suddenly, Nemo was left stunned for a couple of seconds, blinking in shock. Did Hydra just kill her best friend in the arena? A wave of sudden fear washed over him, sending a chill up his spine as he realised that he would no doubt be next on her kill list. As Hydra dumped Fuhao's body off the side of the ship and the sloop edged closer to the pair from Ten, who were desperately trying to flee on their motorboat, to no avail, Nemo jerked the steering wheel, sending the ship tumbling to its side and crashing over the motorboat just metres away from the Cornucopia island. He could feel his feet being quickly swept away so he grabbed onto one of the ropes, ignoring the screams of Hydra as she was sent tumbling onto the motorboat, along with her cutlass and the harpoon gun, and Nemo swung himself around the quickly capsizing boat, feeling the wind roaring against his scruffy hair as he clutched onto the rope as tightly as he could, trying his hardest not to let his sweaty palms cause him to slip and fall.

And then, he made his leap.

He let go of the rope, just as it was sent tumbling down with the ship, and landed on the Cornucopia island, the impact of the landing stinging his ankles but he didn't care.

He had to get a move on.

The savagery within him roared to life, and a slick smile spread across his lips as he burst forward, racing for a cutlass not too far away on the slippery floor, as in the water, the pair from Ten thrashed about, unable to swim, and Hydra flailed about in a desperate attempt to get closer to them, which struck Nemo as odd, since she was usually a confident swimmer, but he didn't have time to dwell on that now.

Kill them all.

Nemo found himself unable to resist the burning temptation, unable to do anything but oblige and give in to that part of him, just this one, crucial time. He grabbed the cutlass and charged towards the water, where the boy from Ten's dead body floated about in the water, the rancher boy having succumbed to the swell of the waves and drowned. Hydra was grappling with the girl from Ten, a pained expression on her usually cunning face. Her teeth were gritted, and tears shone in her eyes as she tried to level a punch at the girl from Ten's face, only for the factory girl to dodge and strike a hard blow to her chest, causing her to scream and bellow out in pain. Another strike to her jaw was enough to send her tumbling down to the water, moaning and crying out in agony, and that was when Nemo saw the blood spurting out of her ankle, a sharp piece of metal having lodged itself in her foot. Nemo didn't care. This was his moment, his chance to shine, his claim to fame, his time to take the victory home.

He was not going to let this chance slip.

Catching the girl from Ten off guard, he dove into the water, cutlass in hand, and let out a loud scream of rage as his cutlass sliced through her throat, giving her just enough time to let out a strangled scream before her eyes rolled over the side of her head and the cannon boomed Nemo quickly brushed aside her body. It wasn't important now. With swift, strong strokes, he lunged forward at Hydra, dragging her underneath the waves. She kicked and thrashed about, screaming underwater, trying to throw him off her, but the weight of her injuries was too much. She thrust her feet up, hitting Nemo in the crotch, sending a molten pain blazing through his body. He let go of one of her shoulders and sent his fist flying into her nose, whilst jerking his knee up and sending it crashing into her chest as hard as he could, forcing her to exhale.

And in an underwater fight, that was all it took before her body went still and Nemo rose above the waves, gasping for air as the trumpets blared in the distance.

Katniss and Peeta held a brief moment of silence for the sailor boy who packed more of a punch than people would've expected him to. "He did kill his District partner, but then again, he didn't exactly have much of a choice," Katniss noted.

Peeta nodded. "Yeah, can't exactly blame him for that. That girl was a backstabber, he simply had to kill her in that finale."

There wasn't much for the pair to add on about Nemo, so they swiftly moved on, with Peeta flipping the page to reveal the next Victor. Instantly, Katniss let out a choked gasp as the memories of a bygone era flooded her mind, opening the floodgates of her eyes and sending tears rolling down her cheek. The boy in the picture was a strikingly handsome one, with sleek blonde hair and bright blue eyes that seemed to be brimming with life and energy. He wore a dazzling smile and his magnificently white teeth shone like a bright light, as if it had been cared for and groomed for years, hiding the true, darker past behind this charming young man. He was muscular, although not quite as muscular as Franc or Luxe were back in their prime years, another hint at a different backstory, one that had been hidden away, tucked far from the prying eyes of the public, and that of the noble families of District One. "Gloss Irvine."

VICTORS

District 1-Sapphire Huntington(4), Onyx Hibonite(9), Franc Montgomery(14), Crystal Montgomery(21), Sterling Jones(25), Luxe Carmichael(36), Geneva Cooper(37), Cartier Cooper(44), Valkyrie Montgomery(54)

District 2-Ragnar Sveinsson(5), Reyna Boudicca(6), Draco Hadley(10), Scipio MacAllister(17), Freya Carson(22), Hercules Nichols(28), Julia Dawson(39), Brutus Gunn(42), Lyme Sveinsson(45), Evan Fortis(55), Enobaria Golding(61)

District 3-Nikola Johnson(13), Gadget Schroeder(24), Beetee Latier(40), Wiress Jansen(47)

District 4-Marina Bluebell(1), Mags Flanagan(11), Jolien Fisher(31), Timmy Fisher(32), Iris Fisher(33), Rafael Fisher(34), Coral Thiller(41), Poseidon Nakamura(58), Nemo Williams(62)

District 5-Shocker Crimson(8), Switch Kim(19), Flash Morrison(27), Porter Tripp(38), Marie Meredith(52)

District 6-Ford Hamilton(20), Kimi Bentley(51), Audi Lando(59)

District 7-Hassan Greenwood(2), Jill Wilson(15), Olive Sanchez(26), Birch Davison(35), Blight Gavin(53), James Silva(60)

District 8-Woof Casino(16), Calico Pepper(48), Cecelia Rheys(56)

District 9-Gwendolyn Whitfield(18), Laurel Flamsteel(29), Miller Thompson(49)

District 10-Ringo Alvarez(7), John Gatwick(23), Mare Trybull(43), Colt Dias(57)

District 11-Orchid Bloom(12), Seeder Crue(30), Chaff Mitchell(46)

District 12-Axel Millar(3), Haymitch Abernathy(50)

Victors that are underlined are deceased.

A/N: What did you think of Nemo? Will he end up playing the villain card or will he not? And lastly, why is the rum gone? (Pirates of the Caribbean reference btw)

Alrighty alright, there we go, Nemo's chapter is out and done with ughhh. Sorry for the late update I was going to finish it on Saturday but then things happened and I just couldn't bring myself to write this stuff out because I was just so tired and I am clinging on to that final strand of motivation to even finish this story at this point. I'm really sorry for the late update, but after the weekend and all that happened then I just forced myself to grind out something at whatever possible cost and so here it is, apologies for the potentially shit quality of it, it's just that it's been really tough for me and I just didn't feel like writing at all but I knew I would only feel even guiltier if I didn't so yeah, there we go. I mentioned some of my friends over in the last chapter who've really been there for me through all this and thank you to Firedawn'd for checking up on me when I kinda vented in my channel in SYOT Verses (a server you should join if you're into SYOTs btw) and yeah, that's about it for now. Stay safe, take care, pls sub to Blue Moon, and I'll hopefully see you next time. Cheers:)