ACT II: The rebellion

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Katniss strapped an unconscious Peeta into the hovercraft, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Take a deep breath, sweetheart. He's here, okay?" Haymitch said, slightly annoyed. Prim walked over to Katniss, who was struggling with the last buckle around Peeta's chest. She gently touched Katniss' shoulders and pulled her away, buckling Peeta in easily as Katniss began breathing normally again.

Plutarch strode over, plunging a syringe into Peeta's arm, causing Katniss to thrash out again.

"What the hell are you doing?!" She said, pushing Plutarch away.

"It's just a sedative," Plutarch explained. "He needs to be out for a day or two. I don't want him causing a fuss when we get to thirteen. Plus, I need you to focus."

"You… heartless-" Katniss began, her eyes welling with tears.

"Katnip?"

Katniss whirled around at the familiar voice that she unconsciously missed. She flung herself into the arms of Gale, who held her close. "Take a deep breath," he whispered. "We're all safe."

Katniss looked up at him, before turning around and counting. Haymitch, Prim, Plutarch, Peeta, Gale… "Where is Cinna?" She demanded quietly.

Plutarch shook his head. "Taken care of. He's already on his way to 13, he wanted to be there when you got there. He assumed you would be in this… well this emotional state," he said with a slight smile.

"Easy," Gale threatened, throwing a dark look at Plutarch.

Katniss, ignoring Plutarch's comment, sunk quietly to the floor, breathing deeply.

"She's in shock," She heard Prim say quietly. Katniss felt her hand on her shoulder and she grabbed it tightly, staring into space.

Prim placed her hands on her sister's face. "Katniss?" She asked, looking into her eyes. "We're all okay, and Peeta's here. Everything is going to be okay."

Katniss took a deep breath, nodding slightly. "Can I have a minute, please?" she asked, standing up shakily and walking towards where Peeta was. She sat down next to him, exhaling loudly with her eyes fluttering shut.

Haymitch tilted his head, referencing everyone to the front of the hovercraft. Katniss kept her eyes closed, but heard the footsteps of everyone leaving. Finally, the door to the front of the hovercraft opened and sealed shut, leaving her alone.

She opened her eyes and gazed at Peeta, who looked peaceful enough to be sleeping. Stroking his hair, she leaned down towards him. "I'm so sorry," she whispered quietly. "I'm so, so sorry. I'm sorry…"

Sometime later, the door to the front of the hovercraft swung open, and Katniss strolled in. Gale was sitting on the side with Prim, his arm protectively around her, while Haymitch and Plutarch sat at a table with loads of papers on top of it. Their eyes all flickered to her, as she clearly interrupted some busy planning.

"How long till we get to 13?" Katniss muttered darkly, crossing over to Prim.

"Couple hours," Plutarch responded.

"Probably best that we got out early. The capitol is probably in chaos, but I'm sure they'll be sending hovercrafts out in a little while to start looking for us," Haymitch explained.

Katniss sat down next to Prim, leaning forward and placing her elbows on top her knees and folding her hands. "Will they be able to find us?" She asked, anxiously.

Plutarch shook his head. "13 is completely underground," he told her. "It hasn't existed for years… They won't find it overnight."

Katniss nodded shakily. "What's the next plan?" She demanded of them.

Haymitch began shaking his head. "Don't think about that now. You need to get some rest-"

"We get a handle on how the capitol is responding. Beetee is tapping into their military database to get an idea of how they're choosing to proceed," Plutarch interjected.

Haymitch rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed at Plutarch's response.

"It's okay, Haymitch," Katniss said, looking at him. "I need to know these things…" then she looked back to Plutarch. "Do you think they might collapse without a President?"

Plutarch laughed. "They've always had a President. Snow has been watching in the shadows for weeks now."

Katniss bent her eyebrows. "Snow? What about Peeta?"

Plutarch shook his head. "Katniss, Peeta was never the President. He was a pawn… he was only there for show. Snow has been in command secretly since Peeta took office. All of Peeta's orders went through Snow before they were processed."

Katniss laughed, darkly. "And Peeta just never found out?"

Plutarch rolled his eyes. "This game has been thought through to the most miniscule detail. Peeta would never have found out."

Katniss sighed, realizing that she had more to tell them. She closed her eyes. "He's been having memories," she admitted.

Haymitch's eyes bulged, before he rushed over to her and knelt in front of her. "Katniss-" he began slowly.

"I mean it," Katniss snapped. "Every time he sees me doing something familiar he gets a headache. One time it was so severe he collapsed... And he's been having strange dreams…" she trailed off. "But they're memories of the games. He thinks they're nightmares."

Haymitch gasped, and looked at Plutarch slowly. "Is it possible?"

Plutarch shrugged. "It's happened a handful of times. Technically, emotions never can physically leave the body. What he feels will never escape."

"Maybe… the more he sees you…the more he remembers," Prim said quietly. "I read about that in that book."

"What book?" Haymitch asked her.

"The one about hijacking," Prim explained. "Before they took me… extreme emotional connection can be restored. It's just like what Plutarch said, it can never leave the body… it's inside him somewhere. The headaches are from the hijacking, it's his body attempting to fight off the memories that are coming back…" she trailed off, taking Katniss' hand. "He's remembering, Katniss."

Haymitch sighed again, touching Katniss' face gently.

Prim looked at Plutarch. "There's a drink that might help with the memories. Some mixture of mint juice and morphling or something. And he'll have to do extensive therapy… we need to show him who he was before the hijacking… but I think it's possible."

The room fell silent. Katniss could hear her own heartbeat in her ears, and she wondered if anyone else could see it.

"Plus," Prim added quietly. "There's always the chance of achieving personal connection with someone. The memories apparently just… well they come back."

"Isn't that just urban legend?" Gale snapped. He had been so quiet, Katniss had almost forgotten he was there.

"I'm willing to believe anything if it means saving Peeta from himself," Prim said defiantly. She looked around the room at the group of still faces. "What's happened to you guys? Where is your faith?" She asked slowly, disappointment dripping from her voice. "There was never a moment when Peeta didn't have faith in you. Even you, Gale," She sneered his name.

"C'mon Prim, you don't even know him," Gale snapped.

Prim stared at him. "I know enough to know that he doesn't deserve this from any of you. I know that he's only done good things for my family, he's only ever been kind to all of us. Even just now, when I got tired from running, he carried me. He didn't even know me…" she trailed off. "He still wanted to help me. He remembers something," she finished, quietly.

She stood up and looked at Katniss, leaning over and handing her the mockingjay pin. "You told me never to doubt you. Do you doubt me? Would you doubt Peeta?"

Katniss sighed, realizing Prim was right. She stood up slowly and looked at Plutarch, gripping Prim's hand. "As soon as we get back to 13, I want a group of medics analyzing him. I want data. I want research done to find reviews of hijack recoveries. I want something."

Plutarch looked at her, exasperated.

"See to it, Plutarch," Katniss muttered, taking Prim out of the room. She threw a glance over her shoulder. "Or you can find yourself another mockingjay."

Ooh la la! Katniss making some demands! What will happen when Peeta wakes up? Will he ever fully recover? What is it going to be like with Gale now that Katniss has fallen back in love with Peeta? What will the prep be like for the war? Comment your thoughts :) XOXO DLL