Chapter 20:
Pascal Flores, 12, District Seven
Pascal is smug with satisfaction as he's taken backstage, knowing he probably angered the Capitol but it was fully worth it to tell Vera to suck his ass. God, he wishes he could have seen her reaction to that. He knows they're not going to let him win after that bullshit in the private sessions forced him to reveal things, so why not go out in burning rage? He has every right to be angry at this shitty situation he's been put in for something he couldn't even control. If Vera guaranteed his death, he's doing his damn best to bring her down too…in whatever way a scrawny twelve year old can do when he's about to be in the Hunger Games.
But when the guards don't take him up to the District Seven floor and instead bring him to a lower level, Pascal starts to get concerned. "Where are we going?" He asks as they lead him into a meeting room, empty table and chairs waiting for people to show up. Pascal nervously looks around the room, wondering why they are putting him in here… "Hello?" Pascal says when the guards don't acknowledge his question.
"You'll wait here until the interviews are done to talk," one of them answers, pointing at one of the chairs. "Sit."
"Okay…" Pascal says slowly as he sits down, staring at the two guards that stay in the room with him, not revealing anything else, even when Pascal tries to find out who will be coming here.
As he waits, he's left to just his thoughts, and that great feeling of calling out Vera slowly starts to slip away, getting replaced with a building sense that he completely fucked up. Why else would they bring him down here to talk? They know who he is and he's lucky they even let him talk in the first place. But now…? Now they're probably going to cut out his tongue so he can't say anything else in the arena, or maybe poison him now so he just mysteriously never wakes up tomorrow, or-
Pascal's train of thoughts is cut short by the door opening and a person walks in, one that Pascal has seen many times but very rarely talked to, forbidden to do so by Vera. Luciano Samson smiles at him as they approach, sitting down in the chair next to him and turning it to face him. "Hello Pascal, I heard you didn't want to talk to my sibling, so now you have me to deal with. Shall we drop all pretending that we both don't know exactly who the other is and why we're talking?"
Pascal frowns immediately, knowing that Luciano is so close to Vera… "You're going to tell Vera everything I say…"
Luciano starts to smirk and they let out a chuckle at this. "How about I let you in on a little secret if you answer my questions honestly?"
"Why should I answer you when I'm going to get killed in the arena anyways because of who I am?" Pascal asks, fear finally starting to creep in to him. He'd been able to put off the fear ever since he was reaped, focusing on the anger of this situation instead. But sitting here, the night before going into the arena with a person that is on the President's Council and close to Vera Snow… The fear slams into him and he starts shaking his head, trying so hard not to start crying. "I don't want to die in that arena but it seems inevitable. I haven't done anything in my life aside from apparently being born to the wrong family! Why does that mean I deserve to die?"
"Pascal… All these years, I've been working on the Capitol's side and providing information I can about the rebels to them. You need to trust me, but I am not on the side of the rebels, and I suspect you might not be too," Luciano stares at him for a few seconds, starting to frown. They reach into their pocket and toss a few pieces of paper on the table in front of him. "I'm here to offer you a fair chance in the arena on behalf of the Capitol if you cooperate with us."
"What's this?" Pascal asks hesitantly, wanting to reach out and look but afraid of what it says.
"Open it," Luciano instructs him, gesturing at the papers. Pascal reaches out with shaking hands and slowly opens all of them, finding the exact same thing written on each one… "When I recognized you, I instructed Winona to get some of the reaping slips before they could be destroyed. As you can see, that sample all says your name on it when you should have had one slip. We suspect they all had your name on it. We want to know why Vera Snow would intentionally rig you in because the Capitol didn't do it."
Pascal stares at the slip of paper in his hands with his name on it, feeling the world crashing around him as his worst fears are realized. He wanted to keep thinking that it wasn't true, that Vera wouldn't do this to him…but here is the proof along with the conversation he overheard. He cannot deny it anymore… Vera has tried to arrange his death all because of something he had no say in. And she probably will succeed, he doesn't stand a chance against the careers or most of the older tributes… How awful of a human being could she be that she has purposely tried to get a twelve year old killed in the Hunger Games? And she's the leader of the rebels…surely the rest are as awful as she is.
"Are you going to let me live if I tell you things?" Pascal asks quietly, still having immense fear that no matter what he does or says, he'll still die in that arena. He looks up at them with tearstained eyes, "Since I was put in here with no chance of it being someone else?"
Luciano contemplates this for a few seconds before sighing, "That will depend on what you tell us and if you can continue to be of use to us against the rebels."
"I'll tell you whatever you want to know about that bitch," Pascal tells them immediately, crumbling up the piece of paper in his hand. His closed fist shakes in anger as he meets Luciano's gaze, struggling now to hold back tears of frustration. All his life, he's tried to do whatever would make Vera happy and this is how she repays him? For something that wasn't even his choice? No wonder Kira cheated on her, she's a huge fucking bitch. "They can all burn in hell."
Sissel Wetherburn, 17, District Ten
"How are you feeling kid?"
Sissel shrugs at Danila, not feeling like getting into everything going through his head right now. He knows her friendliness has only been out of obligation to be a mentor and there's no sense for him to pretend they're best friends now. Humanity sucks and he's seen so much fakeness in these few days in the Capitol to last a lifetime, and he knows in the coming days he'll see people do awful things. At least the killing has a reason, ultimately – even if he's sure some of the tributes are going to act unpredictably at some point and irritate him. Why can't they just kill and be done with it? No need to drag things out or make it over the top. Just kill or be killed. Survive. Simple as that.
"I'm fine," Sissel tells her, shaking his head when she clearly starts to think by him saying that he actually isn't fine – why do people always have to think that? "I'll do what needs to be done. I have too much on the line with the birds to not do what needs to be done."
If only he could have one of them with him. Sissel will admit, he's disappointed and a bit jaded that the Gamemakers haven't said anything about giving him a thunderbird. He thought for sure they would since he promised he would use his research to kill. Guess they don't want to know exactly where he hid his research notebooks for them to find if he dies.
"If you insist," Danila answers before she starts coughing once more, a regular occurrence, he's noticed. Before she can stop coughing and resume talking to him, footsteps approach from the direction of the elevators and Sissel looks over, slowly raising an eyebrow in surprise at the person walking over.
Can't say he expected to see a Council Member tonight – but this has to be a good sign.
"Sissel, come with me, now," Theodosius commands him and Sissel obeys, silently following him towards the elevator waiting with a guard there.
Sissel looks back at his mentor, finding her watching with concern and he gives a non-committal shrug, "I told you I had a request for the Gamemakers."
"Yes, quite the request," Theodosius says as he puts a hand on Sissel's shoulder to push him into the elevator. The man towers over him, standing closer than Sissel would like and setting him defensively on edge as they head to a lower level. "I do hope you haven't told her anything about the research you have been doing. That's at a clearance level above her."
"I haven't," Sissel reassures him as the elevator stops and Theodosius leads him out, staying silent until they enter a room and he's directed to sit at the table. Sissel folds his hands in his lap as he watches Theodosius sit across from him, waiting for him to start the conversation. "Well?"
"Lisia has informed us of your request," Theodosius starts, studying Sissel closely who keeps his face neutral, not wanting to let him in on anything. "You do realize if we let you have a thunderbird, we'll be revealing it to everyone?"
"Pass it off as an arena mutt then," Sissel shrugs at him, not feeling like it's his problem to figure out that part of it. He's just here to use the mutt to kill and get out of the arena alive. "Tributes have used mutts in the past and I'll just be the latest to do so. I don't think it would be that unbelievable that I would do so after my interview."
Theodosius contemplates this silently and Sissel waits patiently for him, not wanting to say something wrong and make him decide not to agree. The Council Member is just like any of the birds of prey Sissel works with and he has to tread carefully and be patient, or risk getting hurt. "You also haven't given up information on the location of your research notes. Some people wouldn't like you trying to extort the Capitol like that."
Sissel watches Theodosius, seeing that he's not one of those people. "I'm about to enter the Games. I know what I need to do to survive, simple as that."
Theodosius laughs at this despite Sissel not joking around, "I like you, kid. That takes big balls to ask the Capitol for a mutt in the arena and threaten not to give them the information on the research that they have been funding." Theodosius pauses, the smile fading from his face. "Here's your one and only deal. You tell us where the research data is and any other information that might not be in those notes, then you'll get your mutt."
Sissel opens his mouth to speak and Theodosius puts up his hand, stopping him. "Know that lying would be a very bad idea," Theodosius warns him. "If we find out you lied, we will search every inch of that facility until we find the data and we will remove your funding."
Sissel shakes his head rapidly at this, knowing he would never do that. He's not a dumbass. "I'm not going to lie and put the sanctuary on the line. Just dose me with that truth serum again if you're that untrusting and you'll see," Sissel finishes with a shrug and crosses his arms as he leans back in the chair. "So do we have a deal? I tell you the location of the research notes and you give me a thunderbird in the arena – and a chance to see first hand the training."
Theodosius is silent for a few long seconds as he folds his hands on the table in front of him and stares Sissel down, reminding Sissel of a bird of prey stalking its next meal. Finally, he holds out a hand to him, "I'm a man of my word. You'll get the bird, now tell me where the notes are."
Sissel takes his hand with no hesitation, knowing it's his best bet at surviving that arena. Theodosius crushes his hand a bit and doesn't let go until Sissel tells him the location. "It's underneath Pissy's cage," Sissel says and Theodosius raises his eyebrows at him. "My grandmother's macaw. Trust me, if you have to find the notes yourself, you'll see why it's there."
Lisia Arune, Head Gamemaker
Lisia sits at her desk, staring at the hologram map of the arena in front of her, knowing she should be sleeping right now but also knowing she won't get much sleep tonight. Not when her final Hunger Games starts in less than 24 hours from now. Everyone else is home, getting rest one last night before they get little sleep for however many days the Games last. But Lisia isn't like everyone else. No one else has the responsibility resting on her shoulders – even more than usual years since everyone is expecting her to make her biggest arena yet…
And damn it, she will not live down to expectations, even if it drives her insane.
So much pressure…most of it coming from herself. Lisia knows she has to go out with a bang, ending her time as Head Gamemaker on a good note – unlike her original mentor. But her need for drama over the years is biting her in the ass now as she has to somehow top everything she's done before.
Lisia zooms in on the cornucopia, studying the layout of the supplies, knowing that is going to frustrate some tributes tomorrow. But who cares if they are frustrated if it excites the Capitol? She slides her position on the map over to one of the closest buildings, studying the interior and its contents. She has to hope this will go smoothly…
Lisia shuts off the map, feeling stress wanting to overwhelm her, and she rests her head on her desk. "Stop worrying, Lisia, you're a boss ass bitch that can do this," she whispers to herself. "You have done this for years. You know the ins and outs of running the Hunger Games smoothly. You will not fail."
And yet…a part of her deep down is afraid that she is going to fail, and it's unsettling. She hasn't felt this way about the Games in…has she ever really? She doesn't think she has. But the previous years didn't have the pressure of it being her final Games. They didn't have the pressure of leaving behind a legacy.
A beep has her bringing her head up to press the button on her holo video chat as she sits up, facing one of the Council Members. "Bit late for a call, don't you think?" Lisia asks Rosabella, who shakes her head at her.
"Says the one still in her office at this time," Rosabella counters and Lisia can only give a shrug, having no other response. "Luciano and Theodosius have been handling some tribute related things and I've been talking with President Xavier about the rest."
Lisia reaches over into her desk drawer and pulls out paper and a pen, crossing her legs on her seat and using her knee to prop up the notepad. "I take it you have notes for me?"
"Of course," Rosabella answers with a laugh. "Most people don't call for fun at midnight the night before the Hunger Games start."
"Very well," Lisia says, holding back a yawn and taking a sip of coffee instead. "What do I need to know?"
Rosabella picks up her own piece of paper and begins reading off notes to her. "President Xavier has instructed you to keep a close eye on Rodrick Tang of District One and Jendaya Barrett of District Eleven, given their history of murder before the Games. Right now, the Capitol does not have a favorable view of Rodrick, but should this change, President Xavier is interested in exploring the possibility of allowing criminals to earn a pardon for their crimes by volunteering for the Games. As for Jendaya…the Capitol does not know that she murdered her husband and we would like to keep it that way. They like her right now, so don't do anything to her yet. But if either of them show signs of being dangerous…"
"Eliminate them," Lisia finishes for Rosabella, getting a nod of agreement. Lisia jots down a quick note before nodding at Rosabella. "Understood. Anyone else to potentially not let win?"
Rosabella shakes her head at this, "Not at this time, but you know how that can change in the arena. You know by now the tributes to watch for, those that go off the rails, get too violent. But if there is anyone that needs to be eliminate, we will let you know. Now," Rosabella clears her throat and Lisia raises an eyebrow. "You know obviously what Sissel requested."
"Yes, can't say I ever had that happen before," Lisia chuckles, not believing the balls it took to request that. "What have you decided?"
"Theodosius has approved it," Rosabella tells her, making Lisia raises both eyebrows in surprise and just blink at her a couple times. "Yes, I know, it's surprising. But he wants to see the thunderbird in action."
"Won't people find it odd that a tribute is using the only mutt different than the others as a weapon?" Lisia asks, wondering how they possibly could have decided to approve this. "Might bring some concern."
Rosabella sighs loudly, clearly having already thought about this. "We are aware… I'm sorry to ask this about you last minute, but do you have any other mutts you can add into the arena and let tributes use to make the thunderbird not as unusual?"
"Of course I do," Lisia answers before letting out her own sigh as she jots down some notes. "I'll look in the catalog of the easiest to add last minute from previous years."
"Thank you," Rosabella smiles at her. "I know you have a lot of pressure on you right now with everything and I'll let you go soon. Just one final thing…"
"Yes?"
"Pascal talked about the rebels," Rosabella starts slowly and Lisia keeps her face neutral as she watches the Council Member as she hesitates with what she says. "Revealed a lot of valuable information to us."
"Just tell me what you want me to do with him."
"That's the thing," Rosabella answers quietly, shaking her head. "President Xavier isn't sure."
***SUBMITTER CHECK IN*** If you have a tribute in this story, please send me a message (on here or on discord) telling me...your tribute's favorite holiday in modern AU. Sure, why not XD
And with that, we have officially reached the end of the pre-Games! Buckle up everyone because on June 19th, we will have the bloodbath! I don't have an exact time set yet, but once I do I will post it on my profile in the Story Schedule section so keep an eye out for that! I can't believe we're already at the bloodbath - it feels like the pre-Games went by so fast for this story.
Of course, we had to end the pre-Games with some spicy stuff! Are you surprised by the choice Pascal made to reveal info (and just what will happen to him)? Just what will Sissel do in the arena with a thunderbird? And of course, we had another check in with Lisia to see how she's handling the start of her final Games!
RQ #20: You know it, it's time for some predictions! Who do you think will die in the bloodbath?
Well, I think that's all I have to say here. Get hyped for the bloodbath! I've been impatiently waiting to reach this point so I am excited for the Games to officially start! I will see you all on June 19th!
