Disclaimer:

I do not own the Hunger Games book series. It is the property of Suzanne Collins and the publisher Scholastic Press. The movies are owned by Lionsgate and other associated producers and creators. I am simply a humble fan, writing this for the enjoyment of other fans. Please support the official release.

Arena - Day 11

Caligula Bells

Head Interviewer: District 12

It was only his second year as a Head Interviewer for the games, and once again he was out to Twelve. Not that Caligula minded all that much. Unlike many of his colleagues, he enjoyed spending time in the more rural districts. It was why he originally took the job. Back then he had only started out on the lowest rung of the district interview staff. Now he was at the top.

Caligula ignored the Peacekeepers shadowing him as he walked through Twelve's shopping center. The locals called it the square. It was small, cozy, and quaint. His life in the Capitol was fast paced, endless meetings and duties that Caligula never could seem to get away from. Out here in Twelve, in the small district, life didn't seem so fast. These people lived their small lives and in a way he was jealous. If he had the money he would retire in one of the mountain villages, living out the rest of his life in comfort. Alas, he did not have that kind of money, and as a Head Interviewer for the final six of the Hunger Games paid well, it wasn't enough to retire on.

As much as he moaned, even if he had the money, Caligula doubted he could make himself retire, despite how much he told himself otherwise. The rebellion didn't exactly have a lot of members in the Capitol. The life style his people enjoyed was the result of the way things were run. Even the poorest citizens in the Capitol had access to welfare programs that citizens in the districts could only dream about. Outside of One and Two that is.

In the Capitol no one starved. As long as you didn't have any debts, one could apply for government housing and be given a small apartment that very day. A stipend would be granted to by food and other essentials. Water in those apartments wasn't even charged.

No one in the Capitol was homeless, not even debtors. No one went hungry, unlike the people of District 12. He had seen the children in the Seam, and watched them on the streets. It was what had brought him to the Rebellion's attention in the first place.

"Sir?" Carly, his assistant, called. The perky girl walked up to him, offering him a cup of coffee. "I got Rye's father, some of his cousins and school friends. Even Gale Hawthorne. Figured we could get him in on the Katniss, Peeta love angel."

"His father? What about the rest of his family?" Caligula inquired as he began sipping on his coffee.

"They're dead," his assistant said bluntly. "Died a few days ago. In a fire. So burnt they had to be identified by dental records."

Caligula felt a peg of pity spike through his chest. Peeta Mellark was a good kid. He didn't deserve what had happened to his family. In the back of his mind, Caligula wondered if this might have been some accident set in motion by the government.

"Damn shame," he muttered.

She nodded. "Everdeen's died in the same fire. When those two love birds get back home, I don't think they'll be very happy."

If anything, Caligula felt even worse. "Shit."

He pushed his emotions back away into the back of his mind. He still had a job to do, even if he didn't like it.

"Put Mr. Mellark up first. We'll avoid the topic of his family for now. Focus just on Rye. Leave the big wig officials to make the official announcement."

"Wise," his assailant said, writing on her small notepad.

"Hawthorne next. We'll see if we can get anything about supporting the brother of his soon to be family member." The narrative was still Gale Hawthorne equal Katniss cousin. Maybe Caligula had just been in the business too long and was able to see behind the scenes that most people in the Capitol never got the chance to, but as far as he was concerned, you'd have to be an idiot not to see how much Hawthorne liked the girl on fire.

"Good choice, good choice." His assistant wrote down another line of instructions. "Handsome boy like him will be popular. Too bad he isn't Reaping age anymore. He would have made a fine tribute. Anyone else?"

"Rye said he was on the wrestling team, didn't he? In his interview with Caesar. Push them to the front. We'll put a focus on his wrestling career. Try and drum up some interest in his combat skills."

"He has a gun now, doesn't he? Don't you think that it doesn't matter?"

Caligula gave her a sad smile. There had been a time when he might have thought the same thing. Before he had been deprogrammed. "You can never tell in the games."

"We also have a Delly Cartwright. According to all his friends, she was going out with Rye before he was reaped."

"A girlfriend? Was it serious?"

"I can't say. She did cry for him at the reaping, but they only started going together after the Victory Tour. Not really enough time to be very serious, if you ask me."

Caligula nodded, considering her words. "Put her after Gale. We'll try and play up the love sick lover angle. If worst comes to worse, we'll play it off as nothing serious."

"We could put it in the light of Rye being a playboy," he assistant suggested. "He's good enough looking to be a heartbreaker. Maybe this relationship isn't something serious. Just another fling?"

Caligula nodded his assent. He didn't really care for the idea, but the show must go on.

"Right. So his dad, Hawthorne, girlfriend, wrestling team members, and friends," his assistant summed up nicely. "Right. Well, let's get everything ready. I'll send the junior interviewers to the rest of the down and the Seam to see if we can get anymore juicy bits."

Temperance Hale

Capitol Citizen

She didn't dream; she only remembered. Temperance had still been in Six during the memory. It was the dead of winter, snow falling over the well up kept buildings of Upper. She looked out her window, across the river to Lower. Even from that far away, she could see the run down the buildings. The snow was just falling in earnest, and she was wondering if the man she had seen in Lower that day was still on the street corner.

In reality she had fallen asleep soon after, but her memory took on more of a dream quality, and she sat by the window through the night, watching the snow rapidly covered the world. When the sun came out and it finally melted, District 6 was gone, replaced by the colorful streets of the Capitol.

Her uncle was at the table when she came down in the morning. Since that first day when he had casually given her ten thousand denarii, she hadn't seen very much of him. The servants who could speak told her that he was a very busy man, and each day he left her money so she could explore the city.

She had been left to her own devices, which suited her just fine. It gave her more chances to spend with her aunt, who played guide. While Mercedes didn't live in the city, she had been coming to the Capitol since she won, and knew it a lot better than Temperance did.

Now her aunt is gone, back to Six with Aero. Temperance was left all alone. She often spent time at the Hale Manor House, trying to learn as much about the Capitol as she could. It didn't come as a shock to learn her education in Six wasn't very high, compared to what children in the Capitol were taught. Even the common public schools had a higher level of education than the one she attended in Upper.

Temperance had broached the topic of school once, only for her uncle to dismiss it. When the Fall, she would be attending a specialized school that helped kids who moved to the Capitol from the mountains villages.

The holoscreen flickered to life as she stepped into the shower. Every shower in the house had a holoscreen built into it. Another strange facet that she was growing accustomed to in the Capitol.

As she started to wash herself, the interview of Gleam Delmas' family started. The tributes numbers had been whittled down to six, which meant that the final interviews before the end of the Hunger Games would be taking place.

It started with in District 1. Gleam Delmas' mother and sisters were led into a luxurious interview room, where all six of the women showered nothing but praise on him. How honorable he was, how he was bringing One honor. It moved onto interviews with his classmates and teachers.

District 2 came next. The girl's family were cool, and a little bit distant, but supported her just as much as Gleam's family did. There was something a little bit off about their interview, but Temperance couldn't put her finger on what it was. The girls teachers and friends followed suit, and again that same feeling nagged her.

District 9 flashed on the screen next. It was the only district left that had both its tributes, and because of that fact (and the fact that they were both still working together), their odds have gone up. Friends and family appeared in the interview, though Maisie's mom was absent. Given that she was mentoring here in the Capitol, it was to be expected.

The first thing she saw of Ten was a field of horses, grazing on the emerald green grass. If that was where the boy from Ten was raised, she was jealous. She had been born among the crumbling buildings of Lower. Even living in Upper, she had never gotten the chance to experience the beauty of nature.

She finished up when the boys brother appeared on the screen, and turned it off before the interview got to District 12.

When she got to the luxurious dining room, she found her uncle wasn't alone. A man she had seen a few times on T.V. since she came here was sitting opposite Honorius, eating a cream filled pastry. The Minister of Welfare turned to her as she entered the dining room.

"Honorius, so this must be your beautiful niece." The Minister offered her a smile. "I'm Tiberius Grayson. It is my greatest honor to make your acquaintance."

"My pleasure," she answered. Temperance reached her hand out, and the Minister took it.

"I'm sorry, Temperance. The reason your uncle has been so distant has been my fault. Me and him have been working very close together. On assignment for the president."

Temperance wasn't surprised. Honorius was incredibly rich. She hadn't been living under his roof for a month yet, and she had already seen things she never thought she would have been able to. It was common sense that with his wealth and connection he would know people in the Government.

As far as she was aware Honorius wasn't actually a member of the Government. Connections and backroom deals were one thing, but actually working formally with a government Minister was not something Temperance expected.

She wanted to ask what they would be working on, but she doubted that either man would give her an answer.

"I suppose you'll be away again today, uncle?" Temperance said pleasantly. She hoped he would. She had gotten one of the servants to teach her how to drive. In Six, she never would have had a chance to own a car, much less drive one. It was only the government people who were allowed cars. In the Capitol things were different. Anyone who had the money was allowed to buy one. She wanted to get behind the wheel, and Honorius had given her more than enough money to buy one.

Honorius nodded. "Yes. I am sorry about leaving you here all alone so much, but my work is important. Me and the good minister have a very important meeting we must attend. Though I do not plan to leave you here all alone again."

Temperance frowned. She didn't like the sound of that. "What do you mean, uncle?"

Was he getting her some babysitter? The idea of someone watching her, and running her day was an annoying thought.

"I've bought you a VIP ticket to the Fiftieth Hunger Games arena."

He smiled like it was supposed to be good news. Temperance had seen Capitol citizens touring arena's on Mandatory viewing before. The idea of going to an arena, where they forced tributes to slaughter each other as a vacation made her sick. And now he wanted her to join in the game?

Temperance couldn't remember watching any reruns of the last Quell, so she had no idea on what to expect the arena to be, but she knew she didn't want to go.

"It's a week trip," Honorius continued. "I'm hoping that by the time you return, I'll be finished with my business. In the meantime, you can get out of the house and enjoy yourself."

Katniss Everdeen

Co-Victor of the Seventy-Fourth Hunger Games

When she woke up, Katniss found herself in bed. Which was surprising, because she didn't remember getting into bed the night before. She couldn't remember anything when she first came to. Her head was pounding, and she felt heavier than ever before.

The holoscreen on the other side of the room was playing the yesterdays highlights of the games. The boy from One and the girl from Two appeared to be out of breath, staring down at the bodies of two mutts that looked like two deceased tributes.

"Where's Margaret?" The girl from Two gasped between breaths.

The boy from One shook his head. "No idea. Where-"

Katniss found the remote on the desk by the bed and clicked it off. She felt horrible enough without watching the games.

She forced herself to sit up, closing her eyes when the world started to spin. Which lasted for a second before whatever was in her stomach came shooting up her throat. She turned her head to the side and threw up.

Katniss waited until the world stopped spinning before she gradually stood up. Why am I naked? She thought to herself. Since she had stayed in the Capitol, Katniss had been sleeping in her underwear. It happened when she was looking around the room for her clothes, which she did find on the ground, but that wasn't what caught her attention.

Laying in the same bed Katniss found herself in was another person. A very familiar girl, who she had seen on games broadcasters for three years. Johanna Mason, the victor of the Seventy-First, was in the same bed.

The day before slowly came back to her. Bits and pieces of it, anyway. She could remember her meeting, but when she tried to remember what it was about a feeling of raw pain ripped through her chest. She told the driver to pull into Paradise, and she took that rainbow drink. Everything after that was a blur. All she could remember were bits and pieces. Being in the crowd, meeting a lot of people, moving to some big house, and finally seeing Johanna in black leather. Now she woke up in bed with the girl. What the hell happened? Did she?...

No. Katniss didn't want to think about that. She grabbed her clothes off the floor, ignoring the other set across the room. Rainbow stains dotted her shirt. While putting the shirt and pants on, she realized how uncomfortably tight they were. How much skin they exposed.

Was I wearing this? She thought to herself.

Now the question was where the hell was she? She needed to find Haymitch, and Peeta and figure out just what had happened. There was only one door in the room, and Katniss went over and opened it.

"I never wanted this for you," the painfully familiar voice spoke as she walked into a lush hallway. The hallway was decorated in the obnoxious luxury Katniss had come to expect from the Capitol, but none of that matter in the face of what she had just heard.

Turning her head, she found him leaning against the wall. He looked sad and resigned, wearing the same clothes she had last seen him in. His voice was exactly how she remembered it. His beautiful voice could make the Mockingjay's stop and listen. Her eyes filled with tears, but despite that, his remained crystal clear.

"I never wanted you to suffer," Edric Everdeen continued. "When you and your sister were born, I wanted to shield you from the world. I didn't have the kind of power to do that. I couldn't protect you, or your mother or Primrose. What a worthless father I turned out to be."

Katniss didn't know what to say. She missed her father so much. She wanted him here right now. She wanted to be held in his strong arms. The promise of safety. When she needed them most, her words abandoned her.

"It's hard, isn't it?" Edric said after a moment of pause. "Walking down your path. I used to rage at my life back when I was your age. I hated District 12 and Panem. Your mother told me that only we can choose our path."

"It's so hard," Katniss spoke softly, the words finding her.

"It is," Edric agreed. "Sometimes, though, it's not. Sometimes it's easy. Choose the path that will make you happy."

"Happy?" Katniss repeated. Ever since Prim had been reaped, she hadn't had a lot to be happy about. The games, the murder, watching the tributes who's life she was supposed to be responsible for die... The news about Prim she desperately didn't want to think about.

"Yes. Happy." Her father repeated. "Like you are with him."

"Katniss?" Peeta's voice called, drawing her attention away from her father's phantom. He and Haymitch were standing at the end of the hallway. His expression was one of desperate concern. "Are you okay?"

"… I don't know," she admitted slowly. Katniss looked back at the wall, but Edric Everdeen was gone.

Author's Note:

Hello! I hope you have enjoyed the nineteenth chapter!

Not a lot of tribute action going on. Since it's the final six I wanted to focus on some out of the arena action. I didn't want to go into too much detail on the interviews, since I'm not confident that I wouldn't make them all sound exactly the same haha.