Convincing Coin to send him to Two was easy. Cressida was already deployed, filming Katniss. Their war hero was burning up screens all over Panem. Coin introduced him to Pollux and Castor; two escaped Avox who now worked for the Rebellion; and worked as Cressida's field team.

The fact that Cressida's people were still in Thirteen, instead of in Two with Cressida, was telling. The look on Coin's face when Peeta volunteered was conclusive proof. Her expression was triumph. She'd made a move, and Peeta had responded exactly as she wanted him to. But that part couldn't be helped.

"We've captured the trainline as far as District Four." Boggs reported. "Transport won't be long. We even caught a few of the outer airfields in District Two. Those Hovercraft are ours now."

Peeta hesitated. "Was Katniss telling the truth about the Hospital?"

"Why do you think we hit the airfields?" Boggs scowled. "The hovercraft there weren't military grade. They had no combat ability. They were transports, really… It's why we left them alone." Boggs scrubbed his face. "But they picked a target that couldn't shoot back at them."

Peeta scowled. "I guess anything goes, huh?"

"Well, the good news is, your Mockingjay was the one to shoot them down. You obviously saw the footage." Boggs sighed. "And we caught the airbases. A day late, obviously; but they're ours now."

"What's the situation in Two now?"

"The Capitol has pulled everything back to entrench Districts One and Two. Geographically, they're the closest to the Capitol Boundary. The two Districts make an outer boundary. We're taking the route through Two. Two is the main Peacekeeper Base, so we take it, and that gives us control of all the Districts."

"We take Two, and the rest is mopping up?" Peeta was stunned. Could the war really be winding down?

"Well, not that easy, but yeah. Capitol Airspace is still closed, so it'll be a hard job getting in, but the next battle will decide the ultimate course of the war."

Boggs had led him as far as Two, and made his way directly to the Command Tent. Peeta had stopped to visit the troops. Katniss and Gale were at the Command Tent; now high-profile enough to be part of the planning.

Cressida came running when she heard Peeta had arrived, and walked him to the Command Tent herself, filling him in on the way. "With most of the remaining Aerial Forces drawn to Nine and Three, all that was left was ground fighting." She told him. "The Peacekeepers are more numerous here than anywhere else in Panem; so the civilians were more than willing."

"I'm sure." Peeta scanned around the streets of Two, all pulled apart by weapons, the fires burned out. "Where are the civilians now?"

"In hiding, after the hospital was hit. There was some trouble the other day. Defectors fight Peacekeepers but Thirteen Soldiers don't know a defector sneaking around from a Peacekeeper that still lives with his family here in Two. It was getting too dangerous for both sides; so the civilians are in their homes, and the Capitol forces have fallen back to the Nut."

"How does that win them the battle?" Peeta asked.

Cressida just looked at him.

Peeta realized. "Oh. Right. It's been their whole policy for seventy years, hasn't it? Make the Districts starve and bleed their forces while the Capitol remains untouchable."

Cressida got a few images of him standing with the other commanders in conference, but he got there too late to add anything. The strategy was decided.

"We can't get into their command centre." Gale said darkly. "So we're going to bury them all. Avalanche the whole mountain. Neutralized is all we need."

"How do they get out?" Peeta asked.

"They don't." Katniss said shortly.

Peeta was stunned. "Katniss?!"

"We try to fight our way in, the battle could turn-"

"Katniss." Peeta said, as though reminding her. "Your father died in a mine collapse."

"My father should never have been in the Mine. The reason he was? The Peacekeepers forcing the quotas." Katniss said flatly. "Those Peacekeepers that whipped Gale? They came from here. Those bombers that blew half of Twelve, including your mom and brothers, straight off the map? They came from here. The Hovercraft that blew up the hospital? That came from here."

Peeta stared at her, noting the one sin she didn't name. "Cato came from here."

Katniss jerked like he'd slapped her.

"It won't bring her back." Peeta said softly. "Killing them all? It won't-"

"The decision's been made." Someone in uniform cut him off. "Begin laying the explosives."

The fight was out of everyone in Two, except the Nut. Everyone was more or less staying indoors. Peeta wandered for a while. Cressida stayed close to him, just in case. Until the avalanche, there was nothing for her to film or broadcast.

It isn't so very different from Twelve. Peeta thought. At least the residential areas. A bakery, a butcher; I wouldn't be surprised if Katniss thought the same thing. From this angle, the bakery looks just like ours-

He caught himself on that thought. The bakery was ashes. The butcher shop behind it was ashes. The alley where a young Katnis had gone through his garbage was ash-

His brain derailed completely when he saw a young girl at the bakery bins, searching through them for something to eat. For a split second, he thought it was Katniss, somehow reaching across time. "Hello?"

The girl scampered back from the bins, startled. She saw the uniform and turned to run-

"I have food!" Peeta called after her quickly.

The girl froze, looking back at him. Cressida faded back a bit further, already filming as Peeta presented the child with a protein bar. Something in every soldier's standard pack. The child inhaled it, deciding Peeta was harmless. "I'm-"

"I know who you are." The girl cut him off. "Is it over?"

"Getting close." Peeta nodded. "When the fighting stops, we'll send in relief. Food, blankets… medicine, if you need some." He sat on the fence, being as non-threatening as he could. "It won't be much longer." He promised.

The girl said nothing. "The TV says Rebels eat the wounded. But they also say we're happy to provide Peacekeepers, and I know that's not true." She held up the wrapper. "But you gave me food, so… I dunno. Are you going to kill me now?"

"No." Peeta sighed sadly. "No kid your age should have so many adults lying to her. I'm sorry for that. They say the first casualty of war is always the truth."

"My dad says the same thing." The girl sat on the fence with him. "I'm Priya."

"Nice to meet you, Priya." He said with his friendliest smile. "You know the bakery?"

"My cousin owned it. He always gave me rolls, even when we couldn't afford them." Priya said with a smile. "Then the Draft happened, and he got taken away." She looked sideways at him. "Your fault." She said without anger.

"I guess it is." Peeta sighed again. "It's not fair is it? Being Drafted, watching loved ones go to war when they just want to give kids like you a little food."

"You would know." Priya said with biting understatement.

"I will again." Peeta promised. "When the war is over, I'm going back to Twelve, and rebuilding my bakery. And I'll always make extra for the kids who can't really afford rolls."

"That's nice." The girl said, face flat with the kind of sadness only a war orphan could know. "You could take this one, if you like. My cousin won't be back."

Peeta looked over in surprise. "I didn't think the Capitol told Next of Kin about casualties. Makes it seem like they lost a fight."

Priya just looked at him, weighing him up, deciding if she could tell someone older than her the truth; let alone one in uniform… before she raised one stick-thin arm and pointed… towards the Mountain.

Peeta felt a punch in the gut. Her family was drafted, and sent to the place we're about to bury. His face hardened. No.

"Detonate charges in T minus 10, 9, 8…"

Boggs listened to the countdown in the Command Tent, not really involved in what was about to happen.

"Boggs! Boggs!" Cressida started yelling over his earpiece. "Please be on this frequency!"

Boggs keyed his comm. "Cressida, keep the line clear for-"

"Abort countdown!" Katniss' voice suddenly screeched over the radio. "Friendlies in the blast zone! Don't trigger the blast!"

Boggs went to the observation post and pulled his scope, searching. At the base of the mountain, near the entrance tunnel… Unarmed, and waving a white flag at the entrance; was Peeta Mellark.

The war had frozen in this one spot. The tunnel was still held by Peacekeepers, who had fortified it. Outside the tunnel was a ring of District Thirteen fortifications. Nobody could fight their way in or out.

And then Peeta had wandered up to the mouth of the tunnel, waving a white flag he'd made himself.

"Peeta! Get out of there!" Boggs called into his radio.

"He's turned off his comm." Cressida reported. "I can't hear him either; and I doubt he can hear either of us."

Katniss had scrambled up the side of a building, just tall enough to give her an angle with a sniper rifle. "I have eyes on Peeta." She reported to Boggs. "It… it looks like someone's coming out of the Tunnel. One person only. Repeat, only one. Colonel Boggs, someone in that Tunnel has a shot on him. I can see targeting lasers pointing at Peeta's chest."

"And we've got several pointing at the other guy." Boggs said evenly.

"Sir, we're getting intercepts." His comm officer reported. "The Capitol is aware of the situation. They're ordering that Peacekeeper to shoot Mellark right now."

"Yeah, but he hasn't done it yet." Boggs countered. "He knows that if he pulls that trigger, we bury the mountain. He knows the Capitol can't save him."

"And probably wouldn't, even if they could." Gale put in over the line from somewhere. "I have eyes too, from the opposite side. The Peacekeeper is… talking. Can't tell what's being said."

"I can confirm from this angle. Peeta's talking to him as well." Katniss put in. Come on, Silvertongue… What are you playing at?

At the tunnel, the soldier suddenly made a decision, his gun coming up fast, point-blank, right between Peeta's eyes.

"Don't fire!" Boggs barked to everyone in a Thirteen Uniform. "Do not fire without command!"

Peeta didn't move, didn't lash out, didn't run away. He stayed very still. He was silent for a long few moments, letting the gunman get used to this new position.

Katniss had the sniper rifle. She was as good a shot with a gun as she was with a bow. She could have ended the guard instantly. Boggs had told her not to fire, but she could see the Peacekeeper's fingers on his trigger. If they twitched, she'd fire; court martial be damned.

But Katniss alone, through the heavy magnification of the scope, could see Peeta's lips move. She saw enough to understand what he was saying. "I'm going to reach for my radio now. I am not armed. It's not an attack."

The guard did nothing, and Peeta moved, very slowly, towards the comm at his collar. "Priya." He said, audible to everyone in range of a Thirteen Radio. "Let him hear you."

"I'm here." A girl's voice said, apparently on the same frequency.

Katniss nearly pulled the trigger in surprise. Prim? No, not Prim. Priya. He said Priya, not Prim. So close. So young…

The voice continued. "He's not my cousin, Peeta."

"I know." Peeta said softly. "But your Mazie is in there somewhere, I'm sure." Peeta was speaking to his comm, but everyone heard him; including the guard that had a gun to Peeta's forehead. "Soldier, my new friend Priya would like to speak to her cousin, drafted into Service against his wishes three weeks ago. You have a radio of your own. If your people are listening, we can do this much. Letting one family speak, one last time."

The guard didn't move. But after a few minutes, the speakers over the tunnel crackled to life. "Priya?" A voice quavered over the PA.

"Mazie?!" Priya's voice came quickly. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sweetheart; I'm okay." The answer came with a sob of relief. "I thought… I know the food drops have stopped…"

"I was eating out of garbage cans… Mazie, this guy gave me food. He gave me his ration bars. Peeta did that."

Priya and Mazie were nowhere in sight. But their conversation was relayed, audible to both sides of the war, from one, to Peeta's comm, to the guard's comm, to the PA station inside the Mountain.

"That's good." The answer came. "Um… Look, Priya… It's not looking good in here. We might not… see each other again. Whatever happens, I want you to know that I love you. Your sisters too."

"We love you too, Mazie. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"None of this is your fault. Just… promise me that you'll keep that alive, okay. In Two, the industry of choice is warriors; but you never had a drop of violence in you. I loved that about you. Loved it so much. Promise me that you won't turn into… well into us; no matter what happens during the war."

"...I promise."

It was goodbye. The PA went silent. But for one shining moment, everyone heard it. Someone in the Mountain, begging a family member not to be poisoned by hate and violence.

"That man in there was a draftee. Like I was at the Arena. Nobody wants to kill. A few Careers, maybe. But that's how it's always worked." Peeta said. "Nine out of ten people want peace. That last one wants war. But the last one has a gun, so he uses it, and suddenly ten people want war."

"We surrender, Snow will kill us all." The guard said quietly, but Peeta's Comm was open. The whole battlefield heard it.

"How will he do that? Send bombers? The bombers come from here. Send soldiers? The soldiers all come from here, and from the Capitol. He can't stop you anymore. The only people left who decide whether you become killers, survivors, or victims… are yourselves." Peeta sighed. "Snow wants all his enemies killed. But those enemies are his own slaves. So he blows Twelve off the map and then rages that there's no Coal coming from Twelve. He orders you to kill unarmed people, and he hurts the only thing keeping him alive."

The gun pressed harder into his face. "Shut. Up. This is a trick. This Base surrenders, and the Rebels win the war. I know you, Storyteller. Don't think I don't see your plan here. You're at your most dangerous when you've got a gun to your head."

"I suppose so. It sure seems to happen a lot." Peeta sighed. "Look, I know you don't have the authority to surrender. I don't have the authority to disarm those charges over our heads. But as long as I stay here; they won't detonate." Peeta gestured at him. "All you have to decide, is whether or not you'll pull the trigger on an unarmed man, who's the only thing keeping you alive. Snow would tell you to pull the trigger just for spite, knowing it'll cost him the whole Mountain. But he can't save you, so he figures killing me is his last move; once your lives are 'expended'."

"He already has." The guard admitted, almost inaudible. "I got the order as soon as you got here."

And then, without anything more being said; Peeta lowered himself to the ground, sitting down. No more words, no threats. He just sat down.

And suddenly every eye was on the guard looming over him.

The moment hung for an eternity.

Then, a small figure came wandering out of the dark. The small body was immediately painted with a dozen targeting beams; but she didn't slow down as she came over to Peeta, and sat down next to him.

It was Priya.

The guard stepped back, clearly recognizing the girl; before he started walking back slowly, gun trained on Peeta the whole time; as he went back deeper into the tunnel.

"Peeta, get out of there." Katniss said to him over the comm. "You're clear. They heard you. Just get clear."

"I leave this spot, you drop a mountain on them." Peeta said quietly.

"Just stand up, and put one foot in front of the other." Katniss begged. "Take the girl with you! At least save her life-"

Peeta pulled the comm out of his ear, and switched it off.

Nothing happened for almost an hour. Peeta didn't say a word. Neither did Priya. Back in the command tent, Gale had the detonator in his hand, but he couldn't start the avalanche without killing Peeta, so there was a stalemate.

Until finally, the PA sounded. "Okay. We're coming out. No weapons. District Two surrenders. On one condition. Peeta Mellark has to promise safe passage."

Peeta put his comms back in his ear. Boggs answered before he could even ask. "Hang on a second."

There was a hasty conference in the Thirteen Command Tent. A few minutes later, Boggs spoke in his ear again.

"Peeta, the only argument against accepting a surrender was that it might be a trick." He reported. "And if it is, you and the girl will be the first to know it. But if it gets them out of the Mountain, we're in a better position to handle a counter-attack… And if they don't come out; we can still bury them-"

"Will they be safe?" Peeta demanded, with a sharp look back at the Thirteen lines. "Don't lie to me, Boggs. Remember, I saw the hidden weapons on the Rescue Hovercraft. It's not the first time you've used me to get a door open."

"Peeta, listen to what I'm telling you." Boggs snapped. "If this is a trick… You're the only one in real danger."

For once. Peeta nodded, and looked up at the PA. "Come out, no weapons. And send Mazie first. Priya misses her family."

Peeta found out later that the whole thing was being broadcast live. Coin had ordered that the avalanche be recorded for Public Viewing; showing the Capitol that Two had fallen. What actually happened was something far more incredible. It became another of the more iconic moments of the war. Peeta, sitting on the ground alone, unarmed; with a guard twice his size putting a machine gun so tightly against his face that the muzzle practically branded him.

All Panem saw Peeta sitting on the ground, with a gun to his head; until the Capitol's largest military force surrendered to him.

Coin had ordered him back to Thirteen, now that Two was in Rebel Hands. Katniss went with him. So did a few of the refugees, as well as one or two of the soldiers out of Two, willing to trade what they knew for food and homes for their people.

Mazie had been 'invited' back, to tell the tale of one of the pivotal moments of the Rebellion. Priya had come aboard the hovercraft with her cousin, thrilled at the chance to fly. Katniss had spoken to Priya for a while; and then come to join Peeta. He said nothing, and she collapsed down on the floor beside him, looking wretched with barely restrained emotion. "I was going to bury them all." Katniss confessed miserably. "I was looking forward to it."

Peeta said nothing.

"She reminds me of Prim." Katniss whispered.

"When I found her, she was searching the garbage bins outside her cousin's bakery, looking for scraps." He gave her a tired look. "Give you two guesses who she reminded me of."

"I was going to bury them all." Katniss said again. "It was such an easy choice. All I had to do was think of Prim, and I was ready to push the button myself."

Peeta nodded. "It's war, Katniss. You're allowed to hate your enemy."

"You don't."

"I do." He assured her. "But nobody in that mountain was my enemy."

Katniss looked back at Priya. "She wants to be a nurse."

"Not a surprise. Pretty much the only place in Two that was guaranteed to give her a job? The Peacekeepers. The only non-combat Peacekeeper is the field medic. To Snow that's 'weapons repair'. Her only choices for the future was to be a nurse or carry a machine gun."

Katniss looked haunted. "Prim wanted to be a nurse."

"Figure it out, Mockingjay." Peeta sighed hard, hands shaking; but if it was exhaustion, or the fact that he'd just had a gun to his head; he wasn't sure. "They're all Prim. At least, they are to somebody."

"You took such a risk, Peeta." She said quietly. "I know what you knew. Two would have decided the War; and you walked straight out into the middle of it." Katniss glanced around. "While you've been with Johanna, Gale's been with Beetee, helping him design weapons. Ugly weapons. Ones that you use in a really nasty fight." She bit her lip. "I actually had a few ideas on-"

Cressida came over. "Peeta?" She called. "We got a call from one of the forward bases. They want to divert you to District Three."

"Why?" Katniss asked before Peeta could.

"Footage of Two's Surrender has been playing in all the Districts for a full day." Cressida reported. "The Capitol is insisting it's a fake. But we've already got interviews with Mazie and Priya playing; so the Districts are buying it. There's only a few Districts where there's still fighting… There are holdouts of Capitol Forces that aren't sure what will happen to them if they surrender. The Captiol is telling them they'll be carved up and served on a District Thirteen Mess Tray, and they don't want to believe that."

"Coin wants me to go persuade them?"

"This isn't coming from Coin." Cressida licked her lips. "The word is: They will only surrender to the Storyteller. If you're there, they figure they'll be safe to put their guns down. But they won't until you arrive."

"My god…" Katniss breathed. "They're surrendering to you."

"If you don't go, our forces will have to take them." Cressida put in. "A few of the Capitol holdouts have sworn to go down swinging if there's no hope to surrender and live. Our Field Commanders are on the line and want us to divert before we go back to Thirteen."

The Commanders called me, and not Coin. Peeta was aghast. What have I done?

"You've become a figure of great importance, Soldier Mellark." Coin said silkily. Peeta had accepted their surrender, Cressida had put it on the air, and Coin had a summons waiting for Peeta as soon as they made it back to Thirteen.

"Not like I planned it that way." Peeta sighed.

"All evidence to the contrary." Coin returned placidly. Peeta had met with Snow. He knew when a peaceful voice meant calculation, but not calm.

It certainly looks like I'm building a power base. Peeta thought to himself. At least a thousand soldiers consider me the sole reason they're alive. Aloud, he made his case. "I was genuinely interested in people staying alive, ma'am. There's no long-term strategy in mind beyond that."

"I'm sure you would have told Snow the same thing. But here you are, pivotal player in a rebellion against him."

"When this war is over, I plan to go home and rebuild my bakery, Madame President." Peeta said honestly. "It would be the best reward I can hope for, going back to a life where nobody around me suffers."

"Mm. And when all those soldiers that have asked for you by name, when those hungry people who have been fed by your hand, or for that matter, when anyone looking for a Savior comes calling on their champion… Are you still just a humble baker then?"

"When the post-war world goes searching for a pledge of more food for their families, and safety and justice for all… I would hope they'd come to you, President Coin." Peeta said evenly. "With the Capitol gone, you'd be able to provide, wouldn't you?"

And despite himself, he noticed a few people in the war room looking over at Coin, hoping she would say yes. It had been a political debate, and somehow Peeta had caught her out without meaning to.

Stalemate.

"You may go, Soldier Mellark." She said finally.

And for the first time in his life, Peeta saluted before he left the room, hoping the show of deference might do something. Peeta left the War Room feeling sick. What will her counter-move be now?

He found out three days later.

Peeta was no longer working in the Kitchens. He'd become high profile enough that his presence was becoming disruptive. The work was slowing down because of all the people who wanted to see him. Some wanted to hear war stories; and Peeta indulged them. Nobody in Thirteen had spent much time thinking of a world beyond their walls. It was too far, to remote from their way of life; and suddenly all of Panem was a topic of conversation.

But the ones that worried Peeta were the people who sought him out for help. There was no starvation in Thirteen, but the order being kept was… clinical. No exceptions were made. People who wanted something else for dinner never got it. But everyone got the same, including the leadership; so there was no real dissension or complaining.

But little by little, people starting asking Peeta if he could change things. Little things. Things they'd never wanted before.

If Peeta said no, it would be bad. But if he said yes, Coin would know it, and it would be very much worse.

So he'd been all for leaving the Kitchens and taking a less accessible post. There wasn't much for him to do in the War Effort anymore. The battles had stalled. The Districts were mopping up as the Capitol Forces realized Two had fallen. With no pay, ammo, rations, or reinforcements; the Peacekeepers were surrendering all over Panem.

Many had asked to Surrender to Peeta. Coin refused to send him, and hunger drove them to surrender to anyone they could eventually. Peeta knew some of them kept fighting until then, and tried not to think of the casualties that would have resulted without him there to accept their surrender a week sooner.

So instead, he worked with the other Victors. Annie was nursing Finnick through the worst of his recovery. Peeta could see him getting better, like Annie's arms were physically charging him up again; just by being there to hold him. He wasn't seen in public very often, and everyone was content to leave them alone. Thirteen didn't think much of damaged people. Pitied them perhaps, but never gave them work.

Mags was not doing as well, her skin seeming greyer and more translucent with each passing day. She had been raised on District Four food, and the hardtack rations were not settling well with her old stomach. It occurred to Peeta that he hadn't seen anyone elderly in District Thirteen. He wondered what became of people too old to work in a life so regimented; and he didn't like what he thought of.

Wiress had been left alone with Beetee until he recovered, but she was listed as 'unstable' during his coma. He'd been trying to talk them into letting her work again; but she'd taken apart anything in the Medbay she could reach, and put them back together with parts leftover. They acknowledged her technical skill, but since nobody could understand her but Beetee, it made no difference. Peeta had picked a fight with the Medics to make sure she wasn't locked away in the psych ward.

"Can't blame them, really. This place is a well oiled machine, and Victors don't really fit into any of their rules." Annie said to Peeta when he checked on them. "The idea of 'celebrity' and 'wealth' are pretty much anti-Thirteen. So is addiction and vice. Everything's just too tightly wound. Victors have a history of going off the rails, drugs and booze are the kindest things we're afflicted with. We're the opposite of them in almost every way."

Peeta shivered. "I know."

Mags came limping into the room, waving at Peeta; mumbling incoherently. She was waving at the screens outside.

"Are These Your Heroes, Panem?" The voiceover intoned.

What followed was a montage that Peeta recognized. Scenes from Hunger Games. Scenes of Combat. Peeta recognized them from the Victory Celebrations. Moments chosen to demonstrate how powerful and deadly the winners were. With flashes from the Victory Celebrations, of the same victorious Tributes, decked out in gold and silver; with their wreaths on their heads.

"The Capitol has raised them up as heroes."

A sheet of flame covered the screen for an instant… revealing another montage. The same Victors, but very different. There were long clips of the Morphlings, drooling and drugged out, clutching at their syringes. Longer clips of Finnick, beaten and feral from the rescue. Panem had seen it already, but not in slow motion with blood-chilling audio. There were more official images of Victors in rehab, in hospital beds; one or two crime scene photos of suicides.

"Panem Remembers. We will always Remember."

The images of Johanna were telling. They stayed on her longer than the others. A montage of her thrashing and shrieking at her doctors, looking like a crazed Mutt. Another shot of her curled in Peeta's lap, sobbing hysterically on the bathroom floor.

Mags rested a hand on his shoulder, mumbling sympathy.

Peeta barely noticed. The images of Johanna hadn't been taken from the Rescue. They had been recorded in the Thirteen Medbay. The last shot from the bathroom was from Peeta's quarters.

Peeta returned to his room at a run, and found Johanna waiting for him. She didn't say a word when the door opened, but once he was inside she opened her hand, and showed him what she'd found while he was away. Monitoring devices. Half a dozen of them. One or two with a camera lens. She'd smashed them all.

"She heard every word we said to each other." Johanna said flatly. "Here and in the Medbay."

Peeta nodded. "Jo, I'd say how sorry I am, but the truth is I'm too pissed off for that."

Johanna almost let out a bark of wild laughter before she could clamp down on it. "What? That's not like you."

"Yeah, well. It's not 'me' this happened to." He grit out. He hadn't told her how far the 'deal' of supporting Coin had gone. The Rebel Leader had found a few subtle ways to remind Peeta who was in charge, beyond sending his friends to the Front. Peeta hadn't been able to call Coin on that one, since Katniss and Gale were eager to be in the fight; and had volunteered for Coin's army.

"In my head I get why she released that video." Peeta growled a bit. "You're a famous face, and if she can show off more Capitol crimes, it makes a difference. But she did it without asking you. It would have been a thousand times more powerful with your help. But she didn't. She just… hit you in guts. I hate that. I really can't express to you how much I hate that." His eyes flashed, working up a good mad. "And even if I could, it's not you I should be 'expressing' at." He turned to the door… and then slumped down on the edge of the bed, letting all that perfectly good rage drain out.

Johanna looked at him. She'd seen it like she was reading his mind. "That sounded like an exit line. It sounded like you were going to march up there and give her a piece of your mind."

"I can't."

"Why not?" Johanna looked at him, and the lightbulb went off. "Oh. That was the deal, wasn't it? She gets us out, and you make sure everyone knows how grateful you are? How… how very wonderful it is to be under her inspired leadership?"

"Me, Annie, Mags, Beetee…" Peeta shook his head. "This is her reminding me of the deal. She can still hurt you. Katniss and Gale are soldiers under her command. My dad is a refugee in her District… I'm walking a very fine line here; and I used up all my goodwill getting you and Finnick back."

"Almost like being back in Twelve." Johanna said softly. "I thought her sending your friends to Two was retaliation for sitting out the meeting, but I should have seen it sooner: Your deal with her was wider than that." She looked at him sideways. "You agreed to that for me? I keep telling you you're a major player. You could have worked the whole war to your advantage; and you gave her all of that just for me?"

"You didn't agree to it." Peeta offered. "If you want to take her on, you could tell Panem anything you wanted."

Jo was hard to read most of the time, but when he suggested it, the panic was clear for a moment. She didn't want to be on camera. Not after this. "No." She croaked. "I… I never saw it."

"Okay." Peeta said immediately. He wondered if he'd ever be able to say 'no' to her ever again.

"Peeta, whatever deal you had with Coin; it breaks the second she becomes the bad guy." Johanna said seriously. "I had some time to think in that hellhole, and… The thought that kept coming back was what you said, about how Thirteen is following the Capitol playbook. If that doesn't change, then you have to change it."

"Me?"

"You might be the only one that can."

"Jo, I made a deal with her for-"

"I WON'T BE YOUR WEAKNESS!" Johanna suddenly exploded. "NOT AGAIN!"

And then he was holding her, pulling her face down to his neck as she went to pieces again, sobbing out her story like a confession. "They stopped asking questions, but they kept me screaming. They did it to make you crazy. Because I was your only weakness. They hurt me to break you."

Peeta was crying hotly. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"You don't get it, Peeta. I'm not asking for an apology. I'm telling you that you can't tell me it worked! You can't let the bastards win. As bad as they put me down, I am going to deal it back to them harder. If their goal was to keep you in your place; then you can't do that. And if Coin has the same idea, you can't let her succeed either!"

"I WAS A BAKER!" Peeta exploded.

And Johanna actually stepped back, startled.

Peeta was losing it, with a storm of his own pouring out of him. "All I want to do is to go back to Twelve, and rebuild my home. I wanna make bread and cakes and have everyone who's hungry come to me and I'll fill them up until there are no hungry people left. That was my goal in life. It hasn't changed. I'm still a #$&{*} teenager! All I want is to make bread, and have the people I love be safe. That's it. That's my whole goal in life." He took a breath. "You are one of those people."

Johanna bit her lip. "And my goal is to go back into the war."

Peeta nodded compulsively. "We can't both have our way, Jo. You've been through enough. I don't want to… I did wrong things to get you back. I seduced, tricked, manipulated, armed; and… and killed. Even if I didn't pull the trigger, at least some of those lives are on me. I did a lot of things I hate myself for doing. But I did all of them to protect the things that really matter. You're at the very top of that list."

Johanna stared at him; suddenly aware of what he was really angry about. Very, very slowly, she reached out a hand towards him. "Peeta…" She whispered in horror. "I can't. I can't stop now. I have to fight. I have to."

"No. You don't." Peeta whispered back, begging. "I… I can't lose you again. I'm not strong enough. And if you die out there, I think you'd actually be fine with it. Part of me thinks that's even the plan. Self-destruction that takes a thousand enemies with you."

"Or more." Johanna didn't even bother to deny it. "If I don't fight, the last word is that goddamn footage of me thrashing around like a madwoman, blasted out to all Panem."

"If you enlist, Coin will own you."

"She'll send me to the middle of the Capitol if that's what it takes to keep you under control." Johanna nodded, seeing the angles. "But… if she doesn't send me to the middle of it, I'll hijack a ship and go alone."

"If you die, I'll break." Peeta said simply. "Some things I can't survive."

Johanna believed him. "So. One of us has to surrender here."

Peeta nodded. "Your revenge, or your safety. I know what I'd pick."

"I don't want revenge, Peeta. I need it. If I don't go to the Capitol..." Johanna said seriously. "Either I surrender and let other people win this war on behalf of poor, brain-broken little me; or I drag you into a fight you don't want; and be your weak point. Either way, Snow has beaten me."

"Either I fight a three-way war of attrition with Coin and Snow, or I stay out of it like they both want me to; and let one of them use you to beat me into obedience." Peeta agreed. "So either I'll never get out of this life and go home; or I'll lose you. Either way, Coin's got me by the throat, for life."

Deadlock.

Silence.

Johanna sat down slowly, and started unlacing her boots. "Let's… not talk about this for a while." She said finally. "I don't have an answer, and I don't think that will change unless the map changes on us completely. Let's just… Not fight? Just be here together for the rest of the night?"

Peeta stared at her for a moment, before he wandered over to the bed, and lay down. She stretched out next to him, close enough to touch. The first night together in this room, she had clutched at him like a safety blanket. Tonight, they were completely still, like they were afraid to move.

Our first time, I did it without telling him our plans for the next day. Johanna thought. I wanted one night where the war with the Captiol would never be a factor between us. But the war is between us in this cot right now.

Unsettled, she closed her eyes and let the nightmares come.

Peeta went to the elevators, and hit the button. When the doors opened, he froze.

Julle was in the elevator.

She was flanked by guards, and had bruises around her wrists to suggest she'd been in cuffs for a while, but overall seemed more stunned at their reunion than he was. "Hello."

Peeta looked up and down the hall for a moment, and finally gave up, stepping into the elevator with her. "Dare I ask?"

"When Two fell, there was something of a panic. Those of us who knew what was going on in the world all knew the game was up." Julle explained. "The outer edge of the Capitol was taken by the Rebels very quickly. Snow gave over the Capitol defence to the Gamemakers... With all the hovercraft destroyed, or captured in Two; the Palace Guard took over the Anti-Air Defence Grid. I barely got out before they moved in, rifles first. My staff all ran for it, and got shot in the back for desertion. I hid until they weren't looking. Spent three days creeping from one abandoned building to another, looking for someone I could surrender to."

"Obviously you found one." Peeta guessed.

"Found a Rebel patrol, shouted 'don't shoot' as loud and as often as I dared, and asked to speak to you." Julle gave him a crooked smile. "You're the most popular kid in school, Peeta. Apparently everyone's trying to surrender to you personally."

Peeta nodded, unable to look her in the eye. The uncomfortable ride continued for several moments. Thirteen had a lot of sub-levels to get through. "I'm sorry. About that night, at the end of the Quarter Quell." He said finally, not looking at her. "I used you. It wasn't right."

Julle wasn't even angry. "I got out. You're the only person I've met who can use a person and save them at the same time. I've used a few of the very best; and you surprised me." She actually smiled at him. "My war's over, and I've still got all my fingers and toes. No apologies, Peeta. I would have used the same trick on you, if it was the other way around."

Peeta heard that and wished she'd hate him. Respecting what he'd done was a million times worse. "It's the Capitol playbook."

"It is." She grinned. "Johanna taught you well."

And that somehow made it worse.

AN:

Reasoning on this chapter: In the Canon, it was Gale's plan was to bury Two and everyone in it. Katniss talked them into a compromise to let them surrender. The result was she gave a televised speech, and was shot in the gut. In this version, Katniss is still looking for vengeance over Prim; so she raised no objection. Peeta's whole strategy in this fic is Passive Resistance. As in the Arena, he put himself completely at their mercy until they surrendered to him.

This chapter is also a continuation of the storyline I started earlier: Coin is trying madly to control the Storyteller. In the Canon, Katniss was a political risk for when the war was over. In this fic, Peeta is something different: A contender for the leadership himself. Peeta would never seek that; but Coin sees the world the same way Snow does: She thinks of her opponents the same way she thinks herself. If she can see the ways to turn this to a personal victory, she assumes Peeta can too; and she assumes he's doing so, because it's exactly what she would do in his place.

Also, you'll notice that I've set up a legitimate reason that could break Peeta and Johanna apart. This fic began as a love triangle between our major couples. In recent chapters, Katniss and Peeta haven't even looked at each other. But in the Canon, Katniss was turned violent by a time of war. With Snow and Coin both dead, Katniss happily never fought again, and she and Peeta lived happily ever after.

In this version, I didn't believe it was in character at this point for Johanna to say the same. She's been out for blood longer than she's known Peeta. It's possible this might lead to a natural breakup, or even a return to potential Everlark. Time will tell.

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