Chapter 44:

The Night The Quell Ended

Mendalius Xavier, President of Panem

They can no longer keep everything happening secret from Panem. Mendalius had waited and waited, hoping they would sort this out and end whatever the rebels are up to before it reached this point. He didn't want to start widespread panic or give the rebels new allies by letting everyone know they exist. And for a while, they could just pass of the rebel actions as the work of Seraphim – even though he hates blaming him for things that have upset the country.

They could blame Adam's faked death on the delay at the start for the chariot mishap. Anastacia's kidnapping looked like a cheap trick with the sponsor gift, but at least the rebels made her death seem real. The disaster at the last Trial by Combat was…trickier to explain. Their excuse was flimsy at best, but the upcoming finale distracted them from thinking too much about it.

But Elias failing to launch for the finale? People were demanding answers about that, blaming them for not giving a crowd favorite the chance to fight. And not to mention them changing the senses for the finale as well. They might have a damn rebellion in District Four alone for what the rebels did to Delta.

Then there's the question of how they all did this. At least he has the answer to that, discovered not too long ago now that the Games have ended and they could do a full search of the entire Games Headquarters and system.

Mendalius sighs as he waits at his desk, watching the crew around him make the final adjustments for his broadcast. His throat is tight from nervousness and he reaches for his tea, but sets the cup down when he notices how badly his hand is shaking.

"It's going to work out."

Mendalius glances over at Rosabella standing near him before sighing once more and shaking his head, "I have never been this nervous to make an announcement to the country. We're balancing on the edge right now and I worry that one wrong word will tip the favor into the rebel's hands and tear this country apart."

Rosabella steps closer to him and puts her hand on his shoulder, trying to provide a bit of comfort to him. "Have faith in your country. You have dedicated so much of your life towards improving this country for everyone, not just the Capitol. Panem knows what you have done and will support you now, just as they have for years."

"I would do anything to protect them," Mendalius answers softly as he looks up at Rosabella. "This country, it's citizens… I've sacrificed so much for them and I will continue to do so to keep them from an unnecessary war."

"I know," Rosabella says with a smile, but her eyes are full of fear. "Now you tell the country this. Be honest with them and they will see your reasons."

"I'm tired of all of this," Mendalius whispers as he gestures around the office. "I thought I had earned my retirement and rest, but it seems like the universe had other plans for me." He clears his throat as the head of staff approaches him hesitantly and takes a sip of tea to prepare himself. "Yes, it's time to let the country know that I have always looked out for their best interest and will continue to do so."

Rosabella hesitates for a few seconds, staring down at him with concern filled eyes, before finally giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze before stepping away from him and out of sight of the cameras. The crew steps in to fix his appearance – and then it is time.

Mendalius straightens in his chair, feeling the weight on his shoulders of holding together this country. He folds his hands together on the desk in front of him, but that's all he does as the camera begins broadcasting him to the country. No faking a smile and pretending that everything is alright this time. "Good evening, Panem. I know you have questions and I am here to provide answers. But first, I would like to say congratulations to Odyssey Gunderson for winning the Sixth Quarter Quell. He is safe here in the Capitol and just recently came out of surgery for his hand and on his way towards a full recovery."

Mendalius pauses at this, pursing his lips together to hold back showing any emotion to Odyssey punching Seraphim. Normally that would have been a bigger deal to have a victor hurt the Head Gamemaker, but it was mostly Seraphim's ego that was bruised and there are much bigger problems to deal with right now.

"There is something very important that I must discuss with you now and to start, I would like to ask for your forgiveness in not informing you about this sooner," Mendalius pauses, starting to frown at the thought of the country not forgiving him for this. "We hoped to quietly handle this problem and avoid widespread confusion and panic. But our hand has been forced and now I will be fully transparent with you."

Mendalius takes a deep breath, understanding that there is no going back after he tells the country this. But they deserve to know the full truth. "A rebel faction in District Seven has been interfering with the Quarter Quell. Not only did they try to manipulate the Games, they have kidnapped five tributes…Anastacia Astoria, Amelia Fensa, Elias Pilkvist, Adam Vignola, and Fox Durham. We don't know why they have done this, but we are putting in our full effort to locate these five and return them home safely to their families. I promise you, we will get your children home to you alive."

"In addition, they have kidnapped one of our council members, Luciano Samson," Mendalius frowns, guilt building in him once more that he let them put themself in danger. "For some presidents, this would have been considered a declaration of war, but that is the last thing I want for this country… I have spent years building this country into a better version of itself and will do anything to keep it from falling apart. Rebels, I am talking to you now. I will give you one chance to surrender now with all of the captives alive and your lives will be spared. If not, we will do everything to find you and you will not like the results. You have 24 hours to respond before we make our move."

That's not entirely true as they already have a strike force that Theodosius put together searching for the rebel headquarters in Seven as he speaks, but he would like to give the rebels the chance to live. "Panem, I am asking you to please trust me when I tell you that I will do everything in my power to prevent a war from happening. And please, do not let this strike panic and fear within you. That is what the rebels want. We will not let a few renegades destroy the decades of peace we have built. Stay safe, Panem."

The camera shuts off and Mendalius sinks back in his chair, letting his exhaustion show freely on his face now that he is no longer being broadcast to the entire country. He stares ahead for a minute as the crew starts to pack up the equipment, respectfully ignoring his gaze. But one person dares to meet his gaze as she sits across from him at his desk. Rosabella reaches across the desk to grab his hand, trying to give him an encouraging smile, but Mendalius isn't reassured when he sees tears threatening to fall from her eyes. "We're going to find them. All of them."

"But will they all be alive?" Mendalius asks her, knowing the odds of getting all six people out of a hostage situation alive are slim. "And what will be the cost for the country?"

"There won't be a cost," Rosabella says optimistically, but they both know that's a lie. "We have to stay hopeful about this. Surely they don't want a war as well, everyone knows the casualty count for both sides in the Second Rebellion."

"I don't know about that," Mendalius answers before taking a slow sip of his tea. "They were willing to attempt an assassination on Seraphim last year and now they have kidnapped Luciano. Seems to me that they want a war-"

"Sir!"

They both look over at the Head of Security Kostas as she runs into the room, out of breath as she races to the television. Mendalius stands up, putting his hands on his desk to lean closer, "What's going on?"

"Seems the rebels were ready to respond – I don't know if that's a good thing. We're getting a broadcast trying to get through from the Districts, but we can't track the source. It seems to be continuously changing," Kostas answers in a fluster as she flips the screen on and reveals a symbol that Mendalius knows he's seen recently. Kostas gasps and points at it, "That necklace! Anastacia's mother was wearing that symbol!"

"Put out an arrest warrant for the Astoria family immediately," Mendalius tells her as he steps around his desk to get closer to the screen. Kostas begins a call as the rebel symbol fades away, being replaced with a scene that immediately freezes him in place.

A woman stands in front of a forest that looks like every other bit of forest in Seven, giving them no indication of where the rebels are located. Kneeling to her left is Luciano, hands cuffed in front of them and looking absolutely terrible, beaten and bruised and bleeding all over. Yet their face remains hard and from the way the woman has a tight hold on the chain connected to their handcuffs, Mendalius suspects Luciano has not given them any information, despite the torture the rebels must have inflicted on them.

And to her right…Mendalius quickly looks over all five tributes lined up, letting out a sigh of relief when all of them are still alive. Yet they're far from looking alright as they're handcuffed and held in place by four rebel leaders that Mendalius recognizes from the profiles Luciano put together on them. Anastacia keeps turning her head around, making comments under her breath that make Ilarion Christian push her to shut her up, only further fueling her. Amelia's lip quivers in fear as she stands there quietly, but standing her ground as Rosana Arnott keeps a hand on her shoulder. Beside her, Elias is held upright mostly by Pierre Ottlinger standing behind him with their arms wrapped around him as Elias' eyes are glazed over, making Mendalius suspect they have drugged him to keep him from fighting back. On the end, Fox is doing his best to help keep Adam standing with his hands cuffed together, all while the grandfather of Adam's baby, Anton Martinez, keeps a hand on both of their shoulders.

"Good evening, Panem," the woman starts with a cruel smile. "You may not know me, but you will now. I am Vera Snow, great granddaughter of Coriolanus Snow and leader of the rebel alliance. We have heard the message from the President and we have our own offer in return."

Vera gestures to her sides at the people she has imprisoned. "Yes, we have kidnapped a council member and some of your children. We needed to be heard by the President and now, Panem, you will see the true colors of your President. Is he truly the benign person that cares about the Districts like he claims? If he was, he wouldn't put your children through the Hunger Games year after year. These are the lives he takes away from us and would have, if we had not taken them out of the arena."

"A child who has trained for years for this and blindly volunteered for a death match, thinking it will bring her glory," Vera walks over to Anastacia, gripping the girl's chin to look at her closer.

"Blindly volunteered, real nice choice of words," Anastacia answers under her breath as she pulls back from Vera, who moves on to Amelia.

Amelia glares back at Vera as she takes her chin, but smartly holds her tongue. "A child promised the great opportunity of education and safety, only to be ripped away from it while all alone in a different District from her family."

Vera doesn't touch Elias, the poor boy barely knowing what is going on around him. "A child abused to the point of physical and mental damage, all because his parents wanted him to fight in the Hunger Games for the glory."

Vera stops in front of Fox and Adam, the two boys looking terrified as she stares them down. "And not just children, but fathers." Vera turns back to the camera as she returns to her original spot, shaking her head, "Not only is the Hunger Games now taking away our children, but now they are ripping away parents. Do we really want to live in a country full of fear that will so easily destroy families?"

"Here is my offer, President Xavier," Vera stares down the camera, pausing to make sure everyone is listening to what she has to say. "It is time to see how much you truly care about the people of this country. Tell me, Xavier, do you really care about these five children that you were willing to let die for the sake of entertainment? If you do, end the Hunger Games. For each day you wait, one of them will die. Time to prove to the country how you really feel about the people of the Districts. And in case you think I am not serious about this ultimatum, we will start with the life of your council member."

Vera kicks Luciano forward, who lets out a grunt of pain and glares up at her. "Luciano Samson, double agent for the Capitol… You lied quite well to us, but your secret is out. Your great grandmother must be rolling in her grave for you working with a man who has kept the Hunger Games going."

"Korrina would be proud of me," Luciano spits on the ground at Vera's feet, clearly insulted by the insinuation. "Unlike your ancestor who tore this country apart. Clearly that's a genetic trait."

"Quit, you scum!" Vera shouts as she shoves them, only making Luciano laugh at her weak attempt to hurt them. Luciano looks up past her, and a slow smile begins to form on their face at something they see of camera.

"I am not afraid of dying. But are you, Vera Snow?" Luciano asks Vera, who follows their gaze, struggling in the dusk to find what they are looking at. They let out a low whistle that they hold for a couple seconds, before sharply increasing the pitch and a shiver of fear goes down Mendalius' spine when he realizes what Theodosius sent out with their strike force. "Kill Vera," Luciano whispers before chaos erupts.

A loud screech sounds and everyone in Seven searches around as Luciano does their best to shove themself away from Vera Snow as the large mutt swoops down out of the sky. In a flash, Vera is picked up by the bird and taken into the sky, screaming as she is taken out of view of the camera, and Mendalius knows exactly what is going to happen to her.

"Mother!" A person shouts as they step into view, only to get pulled back by a man that they fight back against as Vera's screams approach them, just before her body slams into the ground, her bones cracking as her body is shattered by the impact.

Everything is silent for a moment as everyone stares at Vera's body, before the silence is broken by the young person crying out, breaking the spell that froze them all in place. Luciano looks up at the camera as Anton steps towards them, pulling out a gun tucked in his waistband. "Do whatever it-"

Crack!

Luciano stays upright for a few seconds as they look down at blood leaking out of their chest before they collapse to the ground. Rosabella cries out next to him, mourning the council member, as the people in Seven panic. The tributes scream at the gun shot and Anastacia starts shouting for someone to tell her what is going on as the rebel leaders all pull out guns and search around, trying to secure the area. Vera's child has thrown themself onto her body, sobbing and fighting against their father trying to pull them away. The camera gets knocked over and from the spot sideways on the ground, Mendalius sees a familiar person run over to the tributes, followed by a few others her age, and Khaya looks around and starts pulling the tributes away just before the screen fades to black.

Mendalius doesn't move for a minute as he continues to stare at the black screen, frozen in place by everything he just witnessed, too shocked to begin to know what to even feel right now. Rosabella quietly weeps next to him and Kostas shuts off the screen before clearing her throat as she faces Mendalius. "Sir…I'd like to apologize for sending the thunderbird into Seven. I did not anticipate Council Member Luciano using the weapon in this situation and thought the strike team would use it only when absolutely necessary."

"Luciano made the choice when faced with their death. They knew the risks and consequences, now we have to address them. Their death will not be in vain, so call Theodosius and get him here. We're going to Seven to end this," Mendalius says coldly as he continues to stare at the blank screen, the image of Luciano bleeding out on the ground burned into his mind. The rebels might have pulled the trigger, but their death is on his hands as well. Even though he knows they would deny it being his fault, but it is. He was the one that sent them back to Seven before the Games started. They would still be alive if he kept them in the Capitol… "And someone check on Winona and Stefan and make sure neither of them starts a war before we do."

"Sir…" Rosabella says cautiously and Mendalius slowly takes his gaze away from the blank screen to look at her. "Are we really going to start a war?"

"Luciano might have by using the thunderbird to kill their leader," Mendalius lets out a heavy sigh, thinking through all the consequences from what might happen in the next few days. A war is not how he wanted to end his presidency. He never wanted a war at all during his presidency. But if it means protecting his country… "We'll do our best to negotiate first, see if they agree to our plan to end the Games. But that requires both sides to agree, so if it comes down to it and there are no other options, yes, we will. I will do anything to stop these renegades from staring the Third Rebellion."

Let the subplot begin...

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Okay I love being dramatic but I won't be that dramatic and leave that as the entire A/N XD Yeah we just went there. I really just killed those people. No one in the subplot is safe and next chapter is going to just up the stakes as we see two sides meet that are very angry at each other.

Will a Third Rebellion happen? Stay tuned to find out!

I'll see you all soon in a few weeks. Keep an eye on my profile as I have a schedule that I am hoping to keep up for the next couple of months with updates between this and Legacy!