Chapter 47:
Three Days After The Quell Ended
Seraphim Lukianas, Head Gamemaker
A somber mood fills the air as Seraphim enters the meeting room of the Games Headquarters, a very different atmosphere compared to the last time he had a meeting of this size here. Even then, the room will be packed and more chairs have been brought in to fit all of the guests. Seraphim, Zephyr, and his mother Tara – with baby Cain – are among the first to arrive.
Rosabella sits facing the door, with Theodosius sitting to the side of her around the round table. Name cards have been placed on the table for the key people, and the rest will fill in the space around them. Seraphim takes his spot next to Theodosius who he normally would have scooted away from, but Theodosius says nothing to him, keeping his head down and staring at the sheet of paper in front of him. Seraphim tries not to focus on him for too long, knowing it will just bring forward his own sad mood at the fresh death of the President…
He hadn't expected it to hit him as hard as it did… But President Xavier was a father to him and it hurts him knowing he didn't get to say a proper goodbye to him.
"Morning, Seraphim," Rosabella says softly as he gets situated, Zephyr and Tara just behind him and pulling their chairs closer. "Zephyr, Tara."
"Morning," Seraphim responds, unable to put much enthusiasm into it. It's hard when the future of the country seems to be in such a perilous place…
Seraphim jumps up from his chair at the next two people that walk in, sending the chair back into Zephyr. Seraphim moves protectively in front of his mother, his heart racing as he stares at the woman that shot him just last year. "What the fuck is she doing here?"
Kostas keeps her hand on Khaya's shoulder as she guides her over to the opposite side of Rosabella. "She has defected from the rebels in Seven and assisted in freeing the survivors," Kostas tells him as she gently pushes Khaya down into the seat next to her before sitting herself. The handcuffs Khaya wears and the apologetic look on her face doesn't do much to calm the anxious feeling that is threatening to overwhelm him at the sight of her there. "I know what she did in the past is inexcusable, but we will discuss her future today."
"She shot me, why is she not in prison?" Seraphim asks in disbelief and Zephyr gently sits him back down. He barely notices the movement behind him until his mother has made it over to Khaya and gives a huge slap across her face, the sound echoing in the room. "Mom!"
Tara points a finger accusatorily at Khaya who clutches her face as Theodosius gets up, gently pulling her back to by Seraphim, "That's for shooting my baby boy!"
Khaya rubs her face before looking down at her hands, and her shoulders slouch. "I deserved that. I didn't see the corruption of the rebels back than and was blindly following them. So for that…I apologize."
"Your mother just slapped a girl while holding a baby," Zephyr whispers to Seraphim, amusement in his voice that makes Seraphim give him a look. At least Zephyr is glaring over at Khaya. "I love your mom."
Rosabella clears her throat and Seraphim looks over at her, trying to stop the fear in him from just seeing Khaya. "Seraphim…please try to have an open mind for this meeting. Ah, there's our group."
Seraphim chooses to ignore the convenient subject change as Odyssey, Misha, and the four survivors enter the room, looking around at the people already seated before starting to examine the name tags on the table. Odyssey picks his up from next to Seraphim before giving him a look and turning to Amelia who is put in the middle of their group of six. "Amelia, do you mind switching?"
"No problem," Amelia tells him, giving him a small smile before taking what should have been Odyssey's spot next to Seraphim. Seraphim cringes a little at the jab at him, especially when Misha gives him a bit of a glare as he sits between Amelia and Odyssey.
Zephyr leans closer to Seraphim to whisper, also having picked up on it, "Again, you deserve that."
"Yes, I know," Seraphim rolls his eyes at Zephyr as Fox sits on the other side of Odyssey, while Anastacia and Elias stand awkwardly near the door, with Anastacia holding onto Elias' hand. Seraphim realizes why they haven't sat yet and lets out a sigh before gesturing over at their spots, "Anastacia still can't see."
"Yes, I was wondering how long it would take for one of you to realize that," Anastacia responds to him as Fox leans back to whisper in his chair to them, pointing Elias over to their two spots. "You should give your scientists a bonus for doing such a thorough job at removing our senses that you can't fix it now."
"That is something we will be discussing today," Rosabella tells the group as Seraphim opens up his mouth to give a response to Anastacia and he shuts his mouth, letting her speak. The victors and survivors start to quiet down their individual conversations and once quiet, Rosabella begins. "There's a few things we need to discuss today before the rest of the victors arrive. I know it could become chaotic then and so we need to get the important things done first."
Rosabella starts passing out a stack of papers for the group to take, filled with the agenda for today and more details. Seraphim skims over it, raising an eyebrow as he gets to the last section that has no details there, just the words 'CHANGES TO GAMES'.
"Right," Rosabella starts, looking at the group as they read over the papers. "We'll start with the Presidency… As you are all aware of, President Xavier was attacked by a rebel muttation when we traveled to District Seven to meet with the rebels and come to a compromise. Sadly, he did not make it…" Rosabella stops as she looks down at the table for a moment before continuing, "In the case of the death of the President, the Council will decide who takes over until an election is held. We decided this years ago with Luciano and so I will be the interim President of Panem."
Rosabella stares at the group, taking the time to meet each person's gaze before she continues, her voice wavering. "I never wanted to have this happen but I'm going to do my best in the tumultuous upcoming months. And I need to ask for the support from each one of you going forward. Seraphim, your job as Head Gamemaker is going to become more crucial than ever."
Seraphim starts frowning at this, confused on what she could possibly mean, but he nods his head at her. "I will do my best," he tells her and Zephyr reaches out, putting his hand on his shoulder for comfort. He looks over at the survivors, feeling a surprising pit of guilt in his stomach. "And as for your senses…we're still investigating it but it seems like when they damaged your trackers, they permanently damaged the nanobots so it's possible that you may never get your sense back…"
Seraphim watches all of them react, with Odyssey taking in a deep breath and immediately showing guilt that he has his sense back. Yet the four survivors…it seems like they already know. Anastacia fixes an annoyed look in his general direction, "Yeah we already know. Thanks, buddy."
"We will do everything we can to assist your adjustment," Rosabella speaks up, giving Seraphim a look and he nods his head in agreement, before she turns to look at the two victors and four survivors. "You have all been through so much and I wish I could give you the chance to recover…but we are going to need your assistance with the changes that are required moving forward in this country. First…what happened there? Any information you can share about the rebels will help us."
Seraphim stares over at Khaya for a few seconds, finding the rebel staring down at her hands instead of trying to speak up, something that surprises him. But he soon turns his focus over to the survivors when Anastacia clears her throat, getting the attention of everyone. "I obviously couldn't see what they were doing, but they did tell me a little about how they did things before realizing I wasn't on their side. Uh…" Anastacia cringes for a moment and scratches the back of her neck before continuing, "Is it a bad time to mention that my parents – who I do not agree with at all in this situation – helped the rebels hack into your operating system?"
Seraphim blinks a couple times at this and turns to the Council to wait their reaction. They knew about the hack and Anastacia's parents being rebels, but not the connection between them… Rosabella clears her throat, bringing Anastacia's focus over to her. "We have already put out an order for their arrest and brought them in…but that has just become a higher priority. Kostas?"
"On it," the Head of Security answers, bringing out her phone before Rosabella even said her name to start sending out a message.
They fall into an uncomfortable silence before Amelia speaks up, timid at first but growing more comfortable by the second, "They didn't torture us…just whatever they used to sedate Elias so he wouldn't fight back. But Adam…he looked hurt…"
Khaya picks up her head when Amelia trails off, looking around the group with uncertainty. "They wanted to know where that baby was," Khaya tells them, pointing over to the baby sitting on Tara's lap. Seraphim moves his chair over protectively, trying to block his mother from the rebel's view. "At least, I'm assuming that's Adam's baby because why else would there be a baby here?"
"Why were they so determined to find a baby?" Theodosius asks, sounding in disbelief that the rebels would go to the lengths they did for Cain.
Khaya gives a shrug at him, "The rebels feel very strongly about their family and protecting them – as you saw. Anton lost his son and Cain is the last living piece of his son he could have. He was going to step in after Cain was born, but then Adam was picked to go into the Games and Anton swore to do whatever to get that baby home safe. You know, if you would have advertised that Cain was safe here, he probably wouldn't have kidnapped Adam…"
"And then the rebels would have done whatever to find my mother," Seraphim speaks up defensively, reaching back his hand to his mother. "That wasn't going to happen."
"Well you have bigger problems now with the rebels to deal with," Khaya retorts back at him, her voice filled with sass that makes Seraphim narrow his eyes at her, only prompting her to roll her eyes. "Maybe you shouldn't keep sending innocent children to their deaths each year for entertainment."
"Yes, that's something we'll discuss today," Rosabella says quickly before Seraphim can respond to Khaya, sensing the brewing argument between the two of them. Rosabella gives him a poignant look and Seraphim sits back in his chair, crossing his arms at the rebel who tries to do the same but is stopped by the handcuffs on her wrists.
"Please don't argue like children," Theodosius tells the pair of them, making Khaya roll her eyes and Seraphim wants to, but he isn't a child like Khaya is. "We have important things to get through and we'll be here all day if you bicker over every single thing."
"Theodosius is right," Rosabella agrees, getting a smug nod from Theodosius. "But while we're on the topic of families, there's some other things to discuss. Elias, we should also discuss your family now," Rosabella tells the boy gently and Anastacia reaches out for his hand as he stares at Rosabella with wide concerned eyes. "They will no longer be hurting you. We have them arrested while we complete an investigation into the abuse in the family. You'll be safe in Six."
Elias shakes his head, looking around fearfully as he contemplates what to say. "You do not understand… It is not just them. There is a whole group of people. I…" Elias' eyes widen even more as he starts whimpering in fear, and Anastacia pulls him into a hug to comfort him. "Is Cecy safe?"
"She is," Rosabella answers him immediately and Elias visibly reacts at this news, but the fear is still in his eyes. "Since you informed us of your parents' activities before the Games, she has been kept in the Justice Building for her protection."
"Thank you," Elias responds quietly, nodding his head a couple times before looking down at his hands and hiding his face from the rest of them.
Rosabella gives a reassuring smile at him that he doesn't see before looking at the others, "All of your families are safe and being monitored in your home Districts. Well, those not currently arrested…"
"On the topic of families," Theodosius speaks up, bringing Rosabella's curious look over to him. But the Council Member turns his focus over to Seraphim, surprising him, "Our Head Gamemaker discovered something interesting when analyzing the blood samples and family trees of our tributes."
Seraphim sits up at the attention brought to him and clears his throat, remembering what he found that he was told to wait to reveal until they knew who won the Games. "Ah, right, that thing," Seraphim says before turning to look over at Odyssey, finding not a pleasant look – but at least not unpleasant look – from the newest victor. "So you all know that we took blood samples prior to the Games. We use this to run medical tests, see what kind of information your genetics can reveal that we should be aware of – sometimes things the tributes aren't even aware of yet. Well, we found something interesting in Odyssey's genetics."
"Me?" Odyssey asks, his face switching to concern right away. "Do I have some disease I don't know about?"
"No, no, you're healthy," Seraphim answers quickly, watching Odyssey let out a sigh of relief. "We found something interesting when your DNA was cross-referenced in our database. Found a relation to a previous tribute from District Two…"
"Don't insult my niece by calling her just a tribute, she's a damn Quell victor just like Odyssey," Theodosius interrupts, clearly feeling the need to defend his family. Odyssey gives the Council Member a wide eyed stare at this and Theodosius grins at him, "Surprise, you're related to Glacia. Not sure what that makes us, but probably very distance, something removed."
"Wait," Odyssey says, looking between Seraphim and Theodosius in confusion. "How? Wouldn't we know? I mean…you're telling me I'm related to Glacia?!"
Seraphim takes over before Theodosius can keep confusing the boy and send him into a panic as he reconsiders his entire family history. "It's a very distant relationship, we traced it back to her grandparents and your great-grandparents. This makes you first cousins, once removed."
Odyssey sits in stunned silence for a few seconds, just blinking at Seraphim as he processes all of this information. Seraphim glances over at Rosabella, not knowing what else to say right now. Rosabella clears her throat, bringing Odyssey's stunned stare in her direction. "We didn't want to tell either of you before the Games in case you did not make it out. It wouldn't have been fair to just discover new family and have it taken away so soon… But Glacia doesn't know yet and we're planning on telling her after this meeting."
"Okay…" Odyssey answers quietly, clearly not hearing all of what she said. "Sorry it's a bit of a shock to discover you're related to one of Two's most known victors…"
"Yeah we were all shocked too," Seraphim says with a chuckle, recalling that discovery before everything went to chaos.
"We understand your shock," Rosabella tells him with a reassuring smile. "But it was not our place to withhold that information."
Odyssey nods his head, still not absorbing the information, so Rosabella looks at the rest of them.
"Right, if we're done with that, I think we should move on to the biggest thing to discuss, which is what changes we will be making to the Hunger Games," Rosabella tells the group, immediately bringing Seraphim's full attention to her. She looks his way and continues quickly, no doubt seeing the worry on his face, "You will still have a job, Seraphim. In fact, it's going to be even bigger than before. All of you will have a job in this going forward."
Rosabella takes the time to look at all of them gathered there and Seraphim looks at the victors and survivors, wondering just what Rosabella has in store for all of them. What she has in store for him. And here he was thinking the biggest year of his career was done…
"These changes don't come without great deal of thought," Rosabella speaks up, making sure she has their full attention. "President Xavier put a lot of research into the best way to eventually end the Hunger Games. Yes, you heard that correctly."
Seraphim blinks a few times at the statement, the shock of everything over the past few days making it hard for him to even fully process that. "You…are going to end them…?"
"In five to ten years," Rosabella clears up, leaving an uneasy feeling in Seraphim's stomach. Seraphim looks over at the people that went through the Games, questioning how they are reacting to this, and finds a similar mix of confusion, but no one seeming downright angry about it. "Mendalius knew the Hunger Games were not a sustainable thing… He has been researching the best way to get the entire country on board with this decision – we cannot succeed without every District in agreement, both career and non-career. And so…"
Rosabella pauses for a long moment, unintentionally letting anticipation build in them as she hesitates to tell them the changes. But she finally takes a deep breath and looks at each of them, "Within the next year, we will be starting training centers in each District in an attempt to bridge the gap between One, Two, and Four compared to the other Districts. In addition, the Games will become volunteer only – and no, we have not yet figured out a solution for if no one volunteers – with bigger monetary rewards for every participant, regardless of placement. And…"
"The Capitol will also send in two tributes," Theodosius finishes for Rosabella when she trails off, clearly knowing the gravity of that statement. Seraphim's eyebrows raise in shock at all of the statements, especially the inclusion of the Capitol, and his face bounces between surprise to confusion and back rapidly over a few seconds.
"Wow," Seraphim says quietly and a few of the others nod their heads in agreement to that. "That's…something."
Rosabella picks back up in their stunned silence, hoping more detail will help them grasp all of it. "The idea is to have every District on the same page about the Games. Right now, we have a few that adamantly support it, some in the middle, and those very much against it. But if we show that everyone is getting the same opportunity and its volunteer only, perhaps they won't be as upset when we decide to end them in a few years. Only those willing to face the Games by choice will be sent in…no more picking children against their will."
"But it won't be instant change," Theodosius mentions and Rosabella nods her head. "We were trying to reach a truce with the rebels but they attacked our President before he could even explain his plan."
"Khaya, you know the rebels better than we do," Rosabella says suddenly, turning to the rebel and making Seraphim's heart race with the anxious feeling from being around her. Khaya sits up at the mention of her name, face unsure about what Rosabella will ask of her. "Will these changes satisfy the rebels or will they still fight us?"
Khaya looks down at her handcuffed hands, contemplating her response for a minute before letting out a loud sigh, "If it was Vera still in charge or just my father and the others…I think they would have seen what happened now and reconsider violence, at least in the short term. But Elin…" Khaya shakes her head as she turns her gaze to Rosabella, "Elin is not a violent person, but their mother was murdered in front of their eyes. They're going to be acting out of hurt… So for all of our sakes, you better hope they're not really in charge and the District leaders are really pulling the strings."
Rosabella, Theodosius, and Kostas share a look at this as Seraphim wraps his arms around himself, trying to remind himself that he is safe right now and won't get hurt by any rebels. "Will Elin start a war?" Theodosius asks quietly, expressing all of their concerns. "Or can you give us insight on to how to stop them?"
"I know a lot about the rebels and believe me, I don't want more deaths. That's why I helped the tributes escape," Khaya says carefully before holding up her handcuffed wrists. "I am willing to help but not living as a prisoner. Please, do not send me back to that prison," Khaya's voice drops to a whisper, fear on her face as she shakes her head.
"She helped us get out and proved she doesn't agree with those other rebels," Fox tells the group, clearing his throat when they all look over at him. "Please…just consider not keeping her as a prisoner… Adam trusted her and he wouldn't want to see her as a prisoner…"
"We cannot just let you go free," Kostas tells her and Seraphim watches the Head of Security carefully, praying she will not let Khaya get near him. "If you cooperate with us, you can live in a guarded apartment and would always have someone with you, but it would not be in handcuffs…"
"I could also use some help from Josefine and Niek," Khaya adds softly, clearly knowing she is not really in the position to be making demands. "They can help me and know the rebels just as well as I do."
"We can see what we can do, but we will make no guarantees," Theodosius answers and Kostas nods her head in agreement. "If you show further cooperation, we can make more adjustments."
Seraphim clears his throat, unable to stop the panic in him at the thought of Khaya running free. "Are we going to ignore the fact that she shot me last year?"
"Absolutely not," Theodosius answers immediately as he shakes his head. "I'll keep my top guards with her and check often myself. We'll keep her away from you if that helps you keep your fears suppressed."
Seraphim opens his mouth to respond right away, before taking the time to contemplate his response at the reassuring hand on his shoulder from Zephyr. This…is more than just him. This is safety of the country… "Fine," Seraphim finally says, crossing his arms as he looks over at the rebel. "But only because President Xavier would have wanted us doing everything we can to stop a war."
Rosabella gives Theodosius a quick glance at this before nodding her head at the Head Gamemaker. "Thank you for understanding, Seraphim. These upcoming days are going to be challenging for all of us and you're right…it's what President Xavier wanted. But you will not be working with Khaya. Your job will be with the people to your right."
Seraphim glances over at the victors and survivors, knowing that some of them really are not the biggest fans of him right now and almost feeling like it would be easier working with the rebel. But no, he doesn't want to work with Khaya. He'd much rather work with the victor that punched him than the rebel that shot him.
"We are asking the most of Odyssey," Rosabella turns her focus to the young victor, who reaches out to take Misha's hand, his new prosthetic resting limply in his lap hidden below the table. "You're the newest face of the Hunger Games, the victor of the Sixth Quarter Quell. The Capitol is paying attention to you and will take note of what you support. So if you were to actively support the Capitol sending in tributes and training…"
"There's less chance of rebellion here," Odyssey finishes with a nod of his head before sighing in resignation. It's clear he understands what is being asked of him, but wishes they were asking it of someone else. He looks over at Misha next to him, giving him a pleading look and apologetic smile before turning back to Rosabella, "I understand…and like I told Seraphim before, I'll do it because it's right. But…do I have to do it alone or can Misha join me?"
Misha briefly raises his eyebrows in surprise before keeping his face neutral once more as Rosabella looks at him. "If Misha wants to, yes, he is more than welcome to join. It might even be better having both of you." She holds up a hand when Misha looks ready to agree, "Let me at least explain what we have in mind before you just agree. We would like Odyssey to be vocal in support of the changes and also assist in the training center here in the Capitol. You would spend your time between District Two and the Capitol – probably a few days here a week – and we would provide an apartment for you. It wouldn't start until after the Victory Tour, assuming there is one. And…well, you'll have a good amount of free time and freedom in the Capitol to pursue any other interests of yours."
"I'm in," Misha answers right away, realizing immediately what Rosabella is implying. He turns to Odyssey and smiles at him when he gives Misha a surprised look. "I can help you finally reach your dream since I didn't before the Games… Of course I'll help you with this."
"I don't deserve you," Odyssey says quietly as he blinks back tears starting to form. He looks around at the people watching them and gives a hesitant chuckle. "And I would kiss you right now if everyone wasn't watching us."
Rosabella's lips turn up slightly at his joking around, but Seraphim knows it will take her a long time to be genuinely happy again after the loss of Xavier. "So you both are in?"
Odyssey and Misha share a look, with Misha silently encouraging him, before Odyssey turns back to Rosabella. He nods his head and Rosabella lets out a sigh of relief, "Yeah, we're in. I don't know how good we'll be at training but…we'll try."
"That's all we need, your full effort," Rosabella responds, giving a nod of her head before looking over at Seraphim. "You will have to coordinate efforts with Seraphim…can you do that without any further punches?"
Odyssey's cheeks immediately flush in embarrassment at this and he gives Seraphim a slightly apologetic look while the survivors give him looks of various surprise – and a little bit of pride from Anastacia. "Yeah…I can be civil."
Zephyr starts chuckling at this and pats Seraphim on the back, making him cringe internally at whatever teasing he'll have for him now about getting punched. "Maybe Seraphim can be your first trainee. Teach him how to throw his own punch."
"That is not necessary," Seraphim says quickly before Odyssey can say anything when he sees the slight amusement on his face at Zephyr's suggestion. Odyssey grows serious once more and nods his head at Seraphim, "The punch was justified and I can put something inconsequential like that in the past for the sake of keeping the country unified."
"Right," Odyssey agrees quietly while Misha gives Seraphim an uncertain look, clearly not trusting him to not do something again to hurt Odyssey.
"Thank you both for your willingness to put that in the past," Rosabella tells them, her voice sounding just a little like a mother scolding children and warning them to not start anything. She gives both of them a look before turning to look at the survivors. "As for the four of you, we will need your support with the upcoming changes, but after that…" Rosabella pauses to look at each of them, "Well, that's up to you what you would like to do and know you'll have our full support. You are welcome to go back home or stay here in the Capitol if you feel it will be safer. And you will be granted free travel to the home Districts of all the people here."
The four survivors are silent for a moment before Fox clears his throat, "Ma'am, I just need to be back home with my family that will be growing soon. That's all I need."
"Absolutely," Rosabella agrees, her smile slightly increasing at the mention of Fox's family. "We can even send a doctor to help with Paloma's pregnancy."
"Thank you," Fox says with tears of gratitude welling in his eyes. "Thank you, ma'am."
Fox sits back after that, clearly satisfied and not needing anything else. But he does look over at Tara and Cain, sadness filling his face right away that he cannot take Cain with him. Tara notices the look and clears her throat before addressing Fox, "You're always welcome to bring your kids here and come visit Cain. I love being around little kids."
"That would be wonderful, ma'am," Fox grins at the possibility while Seraphim silently makes a note to not visit his mother on those days. He just can't be around that many crying babies at once.
"I…" Amelia starts, before hesitating for a second, but soon nods her head with resolution. "I want to go back to university in Three. There's nothing left for me in Six…but in Three, there's a future."
"You can go on full scholarship," Rosabella tells her with a proud smile, making Amelia sit up straighter. "Anastacia and Elias?"
Elias speaks up first, fear making his voice waver, "I am afraid of going back home to Six and do not know if I will be safe there…"
Anastacia turns her head towards Elias for a moment before turning in the direction of Rosabella. "I've always had my plan: help those in need in abusive homes since I couldn't help Pad when we were younger. That hasn't changed. But now…now I've seen that this isn't just a problem in District One, but I'll start there. And Elias is coming with me."
"I am?" Elias asks in surprise and Anastacia nods her head immediately. Seraphim would have expected fear before the Games, yet Elias slowly begins to smile as his eyes well in tears at the career protecting him. "Really?"
"You're the type of person I want to protect," Anastacia replies quietly before tilting her head in confusion as Elias lets out a little sniffle. "Are you crying?"
"Yes," Elias answers as Rosabella slides a box of tissues across the table towards him and he takes one, but just crumbles it up in his hand. "That makes me very happy. But Cecy…I cannot leave her."
Anastacia purses her lips at this before looking over in Rosabella's direction. "Well since we'll be going out of our way to help out the Capitol after they won't even give me back my sight…perhaps they can make an exception and let Cecy move to One with us."
"Would they really?" Elias asks, his eyes widening in excitement at the possibility. "I think Cecy would like that as long as she can have room to make her art."
Seraphim knows there's no way that Rosabella can say no to the request, and soon enough she nods her head. "Yes, we can work something out. It will probably be best for her safety too. So that settles the immediate future and as we move forward, we'll give out more information as it arises. Are there any questions before we bring in some of the mentors and it becomes chaotic?"
Seraphim has simultaneously dozens of questions and none, most of which surrounding the finer details of the Games. But he stays silent, knowing it's not the time to be worrying about his job security. No one else speaks up, some of them shaking their heads, and Rosabella takes a moment to prepare herself. "Alright, Odyssey, can you get the door?"
Odyssey nods his head before pushing his chair back and sliding over on the wheels, leaning back to reach the doorknob. He pulls the door open, a bit surprised by the large group of victors and escorts waiting outside for them. "We're, uh…ready for you."
Odyssey starts pulling himself back over to his spot at the table and Misha grabs the arm of his chair to help pull him back as the first people enter the room, unsurprisingly being some of the people from Two. Kat gives Odyssey's shoulder a squeeze, making him tense up and look uncertain about the subtle praise from his mentor before she walks over to one of the chairs near him. Flannery comes in and gives Odyssey a hug from behind his chair, looking so happy to see him. "I'm so proud of you and happy you're safe," Flannery tells him and Odyssey pats one of her arms around him, smiling a little at his escort.
Next into the room is Thetis and Jeweladia, the mentor showing relief on her face at Anastacia sitting there safely, even though Anastacia cannot see her reaction. Jeweladia has a deep frown on her face as she follows Thetis over to Anastacia and the victor leans over to whisper something to her former mentee.
The next group Seraphim could do without seeing, especially after what happened in the finale… Okeanas glares him down as she goes to the other side of the room – probably so she can keep staring him down – and Bobby silently follows her over, for once finally seeming to grasp the seriousness of the situation and not making any terrible puns.
Two old men enter the room next, representing District Nine. Fonio is also unusually silent as he goes to stand next to Okeanas, who doesn't cuss him out over it. Agapios takes one of the seats, the nearly retired escort trying to hold back the worry from his face as he looks at the rescued tributes.
Matla and Rosalina enter next for District Three, heading over to Amelia right away. Even though Matla wasn't Amelia's mentor, she still shows a surprising amount of emotion on her face as she sees her sitting next to Seraphim. Rosalina goes to hug Amelia right away, knocking into Seraphim with one of her wings and making her start apologizing profusely to him, and he just waves it off. But Amelia starts smiling at this and coughs, barely hiding the small bit of laughter.
Dampero enters quietly with Thori following him in, keeping her head down and avoiding the gaze of the others. When the pair sees Elias sitting there, Dampero slowly starts smiling at the young boy and goes over to his side, crouching down to be closer to his height as Thori hovers behind him. "Are you okay?" Dampero asks quietly and Elias slowly nods his head, briefly looking over at Anastacia next to him and making Dampero look between them curiously.
The last of the mentors of the survivors enters next and Johan scans the room right away for Fox, who stands up to greet his mentor and Icarus as they approach, giving them both a firm handshake in greeting. Johan gives Fox a few pats on the back with a look promising they'll talk more later before they take their seats.
But then Glen enters with Bella by his side, and Seraphim finds himself frowning at their expressions. He waves them over and Glen hesitates for a moment before approaching. "Is Stefan doing alright?" Seraphim asks him quietly, noticing Theodosius next to him paying close attention.
"Not at all," Glen answers quietly before taking his seat, not looking like he's doing alright either, and Bella takes his hand, trying to provide him a little bit of support.
Seraphim isn't surprised when the next District enters and there's three people there, even though they told everyone to only send one victor. But of course Astrid and Clark would go anywhere together. The woman keeps a protective hand on Clark's shoulder, the youngest victor scowling deeply at the others in the room, but Seraphim suspects it's his defense mechanism instead of crying and breaking down. Devrek silently follows them in – thankfully with no recorder – and looking confused and unsure about the serious mood in the room.
One of the last ones in is the District Five group. Letha drags her feet as she enters the room, her head turned down but not hiding the puffiness from recent tears. Bergundility does nothing to try and comfort Letha, just keeping her arms crossed as she looks around the room.
The District Eleven pair of Pinova and Aineon enter last, the young victor doing her best to keep her face free from tears and to stay positive, while holding Aineon's hand tightly. The escort stays quiet as they take their seats together, but Seraphim can tell he's silently fuming over what has happened and doing his best to hold it in.
Rosabella clears her throat, bringing the room to silence as everyone turns their attention over to her. "Thank you all for meeting with us today. We wouldn't be having this meeting if it wasn't absolutely essential. So we ask that you please, please, try to stay quiet as we give you the information and open the floor for questions."
Rosabella takes the time to look at everyone now in the room before beginning. "Thank you. The information we share with you will be announced to the country later, but it is crucial we inform you now as it will require your support. You are the figureheads of each of your Districts and the changes we make are going to impact all of you. But first, as you are aware…President Xavier is not here today. And it deeply saddens me to inform you that when we met with the rebels yesterday, they fatally attacked him…"
Rosabella pauses for this news to sink in before continuing, "In the time before the next election happens, I will be interim President. And there are big changes we'll be implementing, changes that President Xavier had been getting ready to implement before his…before all of this happened. Changes we need your support for because we cannot afford further divide in this country. Not if we want to prevent a war. And so…" Rosabella takes a deep breath before quickly getting the statement out, "We will make the Hunger Games volunteer only with the Capitol involved and provide training centers in each District before ultimately ending the Games in five to ten years. And we could use the assistance of the career Districts in sending trainers to other Districts to help out."
A long silence falls over the room as Rosabella waits for the inevitable outburst from the victors, especially the career victors. Various levels of shock play out on the faces of the victors and escorts, some with some anger there – particularly the younger ones for who the memory of their Games is still fresh as they realize if this would have been implemented earlier, they could have avoid ever going into the Games.
Rosabella takes the extended silence as them agreeing not to speak up yet, but Seraphim knows they're just processing it and an outburst is coming soon. "The six people here have already agreed to help us with these changes, having seen first hand what could happen if the rebels start a war. These changes are necessary to stop a Third Rebellion from happening and-"
"Hold up," Okeanas speaks up and Seraphim leans back in his chair, trying to make himself small as the outburst he knew was coming starts. "Did you just say that you're ending the Games? What are we supposed to do when it's such a huge part of our District?"
"Two's culture thrives on the Games," Kat adds, glancing over at Odyssey and Misha, then Zephyr behind Seraphim. "The District will never accept these changes."
"Oh boo hoo, your Districts won't be able to celebrate a glorified death match anymore," Astrid says with a very large roll of her eyes. "How about us who have had to see innocent kids die year after year because you constantly send in killing machines?" Odyssey sinks lower in his seat as he glances over at Astrid and Clark before quickly turning away at the looks of hatred in their eyes at him for killing the tribute they mentored.
"Why don't we just end them now?" Johan asks genuinely, not sounding upset about the proposed changes.
"I don't want to work with careers," Clark says with a scowl as he continues glaring at Odyssey.
"I'll gladly work with them," Fonio says with a flirty smile over at Okeanas.
The victors start talking loudly over each other and Seraphim watches the chaos unfold, knowing this would happen. It's inevitable with so many big personalities in one room, especially with such a divisive change happening. But Rosabella gives him a pleading look, clearly not as prepared as him to handle victors, and Seraphim turns to Theodosius, raising his eyebrows to silently ask the intimidating Council Member to speak up.
"Everyone shut up!" Theodosius yells as he stands up, slamming his hands down on the table in front of him. Several people jump at his outburst and everyone quickly quiets down, not wanting to anger the Council Member. He points a finger at the group, "This is not up for debate. We are asking for your help in this but if you refuse, we will force you and we do not want that. Change is happening, whether you like it or not, and it is better the change comes this way than through a war started by rebels. Are we clear?"
Theodosius waits a minute for everyone to agree at different rates, before sitting back down and gesturing to Rosabella to continue. "Very well," she says as she clears her throat. "Please, we know this is going to be divisive and that is why we need your support. If there's this much disagreement within just a small group of victors, what will it be like in the entire country? That's why we need you showing support. People in your Districts look up to you for guidance, especially the career Districts. These young people have been through hell and have agreed to help, so why can't all of you?"
The victors stay silent once more, but the first person to speak up surprises several of them and Rosabella gets a sad look on her face at Clark speaking up. "But it doesn't change what happened," he says quietly, voice wavering in anger and sadness. "It doesn't bring back the people we've lost."
"It doesn't," Rosabella agrees, frowning at the young victor she has a soft spot for after working with him over the past year. "But it will prevent the loss of hundreds, if not thousands of lives by preventing a rebellion from occurring. It will not stop the loss of lives in the Games, but it will be by choice with the tributes knowing the risks. So please, I'm begging you all for your support going forward. Support the training centers and change to volunteers only. Mentor the tributes. Encourage your Districts to support the Games and Capitol. Big changes are coming to Panem. And we will also need help from the escorts."
Rosabella turns her focus over to the escorts and the various emotions across their faces. "We understand that you may not agree with these changes to the Games and if you do not wish to continue in this job, we understand and you are free to quit. However, if you choose to continue, we will require all of you to reapply and go through a thorough screening to make sure you are in support of these changes and will bring Panem forward, not into rebellion. Flannery and Agapios, I know you two were preparing to retire and you still can, but we may ask your help in the hiring process and reaching out to old escorts. We may ask that of all of you that choose to continue."
Some of the escorts don't look to thrilled at this news while others are ready for the changes, reassuring Seraphim that the Games should continue smoothly from the Capitol side. And at least the victors are staying quiet for now, starting to grasp the severity of this situation.
"I know you all must have questions and some things we'll have answers to now while others we will not be able to answer yet," Rosabella tells the group. "We're still working on the timeline of when announcements will be made and when training will start. But we'll do our best to answer them at this time."
After much build up, we finally know our changes moving forward! This is going to significantly change up subs for the sequel to this story, so I will summarize them here:
1. Volunteers only with greater monetary compensation regardless of placement. (more info soon on District specific requirements and if no one volunteers...)
2. Training centers implemented in each District.
3. The Capitol will be sending two tributes.
4. All escorts must reapply, meaning all escorts must have a new form submitted.
That being said...I can finally announce that subs will be opening next week for the sequel to this story: Renegades: The 151st Hunger Games! I'll have more information on subs next week with that chapter, but I'm very excited to be continuing the story from here and implementing the big changes to my verse!
So lots of things happened in this chapter, what was the biggest surprise? I had a lot of fun with this chapter writing all of the character interactions, hence why this ended up being so long lol my bad. But there also was a lot of information to give in this chapter.
We are very quickly reaching the end of this story, hard to believe. There's just one chapter and three epilogues left! Next chapter we'll see everyone leave the Capitol and Odyssey's return home to District Two! And then just three epilogues dedicated to all of the tributes! See you soon!