A/N: This chapter will include something I know many of you have been asking for. I know I kind of keep doing it with some other characters, but I think this is what you meant when you asked for it. Anyhow, enjoy!
By the way, you know how this is VICTORIOUS and an AU? Well I'm going to try to bring in more Victorious elements into it. You'll see ;)
Jade POV
I woke up to streams of light pouring into the cave. Everyone was where we were laying last night.
I saw Cat sort of twitching in her sleep, a pained expression on her face. I assumed she was having a nightmare, so I shook her awake slowly.
"Cat," I whispered, and she continued to twitch and thrash around. "Cat."
She jolted awake, breathing heavily. Sweat poured down her face, and her eyes were about as wide as golf balls.
"It's ok. It was just a dream," I said, hugging her tight. She nodded and swallowed hard.
The two of us leaned against the cave in silence as we waited for Katniss and Peeta to wake.
I looked over at them. Katniss had her head on Peeta's chest, and she was curled up close against him. Peeta held her close to him. Their free hands were entwined. To be honest, they looked adorable.
Cat and I talked as we waited.
"Jade, can I ask you something?" Cat asked me.
"You kinda just did," I said, causing Cat to smile and slap me playfully on the arm.
"Go ahead," I said, returning to serious mode.
Cat took a deep breath and sighed.
"How do you think this will end?" Cat asked. I didn't have to think about what "this" was.
I sighed, not knowing how to answer her without upsetting her.
"I don't know Cat. If I knew, I would tell you," I said. She nodded.
"Alright…how could it end?" she asked, sitting upright now.
I didn't want to scare her or anything, so I just gave the best answer I could come up with.
"I think they'll take us all out of here," I said, trying to be encouraging.
"Jade! Please just answer me like you would answer to Katniss!" she begged. I knew she was right. I would tell Katniss exactly what I thought, no matter how gruesome or horrible it was.
"Oh fine. Well…they could kill us all off…" I said, knowing that was pretty possible at the moment.
Cat sighed, realizing that I was right.
I looked over at Katniss and Peeta again, and to my surprise, Katniss had woken up. She was still lying just as she had been before, but with tears in her eyes for some reason.
I walked over to her and sat down by her.
She looked up at me and sighed.
"What's wrong?" I asked her.
"I just want out of here. I want to go home with Peeta and you guys, I want to see Prim, I want to see Gale, I want to see my mom…I just want out," Katniss said. She closed her eyes again for a moment.
I brushed the stray hair out of her face.
"I know, Katniss. We all do," I said. Katniss sighed, knowing I was right.
I turned around and grabbed a water bottle and handed it to her.
"Drink," I said. She did as I told her to without asking why.
Finally Peeta woke up. Katniss gave him a light kiss.
"So…today's plans?" I asked, grabbing a little bit of food that we had left. Everyone else did the same.
"I don't know…see what the Capitol decides to do I guess," said Katniss bitterly. I could tell her hatred towards the Capitol was just as strong as mine.
I sighed and we all finished up our food.
I heard someone humming, but I wasn't sure who it was. I turned to Katniss.
She was humming the lullaby she had sung to Rue. My heart broke in two as I remembered all of the ones we lost.
"Sing out loud. Don't just hum," said Cat. She must have heard it too. Katniss smiled.
She turned to Peeta.
"You know, I really liked when you sang last night," she said. Peeta looked down with a smile on his face, almost as if he was blushing.
Music has always been something that can save me from the reality of life. I can just go off away from everyone else and sing. My best friend Clove and I sing all the time back at home in District 2. Every Saturday, around 2 in the afternoon, we'll go out to the old meadow and no one bothers us. We sing all of the songs that we learn that week. We're really good at finding songs that existed when Panem was North America.
I sighed as I remembered Clove. I missed her so much.
"I know a song," I blurted out suddenly, without thinking. Everyone turned to me.
"Well then sing it," Katniss said.
I decided to tell the story behind it before I sang it.
"Well first, the story," I said, and everyone listened in to me.
Clove POV (A/N: I had to bring her in sometime. She is becoming one of my favorite characters sort of.)
I sat in my living room, telling anyone who came near me to go away. I wanted to be alone as I watched my best friend win the Hunger Games.
They were talking about singing. All the memories of Jade and I going into that old meadow rushed in and crashed down on me, like a wave in the ocean.
"Well first, the story," Jade said. Oh God. Here come the tears.
No, stop it already Clove. You're lethal. Killer. Evil. Don't you dare cry, I continued to repeat to myself. If there's one thing I hate, it's showing emotion, because it makes me seem weak. I am not weak. At least not in front of anyone else.
"Music is an escape for me. An escape from the real world," Jade began.
A memory flashed back as soon as she said that.
It was only the Saturday before the Games.
Jade walked into my view. I was sitting on our rock in the meadow, a fresh song stuck in my head.
She waved at me and ran to me. I hugged her and smiled as we sat up on the rock.
Being with Jade was the only time when I could be Clove, the girl who loves music, the girl with an actual heart. Other than that, I have to be Clove, the lethal girl who everyone fears.
"What's your song of the week?" Jade asked me. I smiled, because I had found one that really fit both of our suckish situations right now.
"It's called Stand in the Rain by a girl named Superchic. I fell in love with it as soon as I found it," I said. One of the things no one ever heard me say except for Jade.
"Sounds amazing…sing it, girl!" Jade said, a smile crossing her face. I had never seen that smile until I found her singing one day in this meadow. At the academy where we train for the Games, we both acted as though we hated the world and would cut someone's throat out for uttering a word to us.
"So stand in the rain
Stand your ground
Stand up when it's all crashing down
You stand through the pain
You won't drown
And one day, what's lost can be found
You stand in the rain," I sang. It had a very rock feel to it. I loved it so much.
"Wow. Just…whoa," said Jade. I smiled.
"That really fits both of our situations right now…and your voice is amazing," Jade continued. My smile never left my face.
I sighed as I listened to Jade retell the same memory.
And suddenly, she began to sing.
Katniss POV
By the time Jade finished her story, I was almost moved to tears. I knew what it felt like; having to act like you're a total jerk around everyone except very select people just so that you don't seem weak.
Jade began to sing her song.
"So stand in the rain
Stand your ground
Stand up when it's all crashing down
You stand through the pain
You won't drown
And one day what lost can be found
You stand in the rain," Jade sang, the passionate side coming out of her. You don't see that side much, as I have learned from these weeks in the arena. But when you do, she goes all out.
All of us smiled at her.
"That was amazing," said Cat. Jade laughed.
"You should have heard Clove sing it," she said, her smiling face faltering only slightly as she thought of her friend back at home. Home. My heart aches every time I say that word.
We all sat in silence for a little while.
"Let's go to the lake," said Peeta. We all looked at him funny.
"Why?" I asked him. He shrugged.
"We could go swimming. We could just enjoy the open air," said Peeta.
I smiled at Peeta. He always figured out how to make a situation better. Really, the only way this could be better is if we went home.
We headed down to the lake, only bringing knives and the sword with us. The only thing that could hurt us is the Capitol's creations.
When we got there, we decided not to go swimming. The weather was just fine outside, the perfect temperature. We decided just to enjoy the fresh, open air.
Shock would never describe what we all saw moments after we arrived.
Tori POV
I watched as the four of them, the four lone survivors of the Hunger Games, walked towards the lake where we all sat.
We had heard them say they were coming here. And without a moment's hesitation, we all decided that we needed to talk to them before they were taken out of the arena.
So that's why I sat there with Beck, Andre, Amelia, Robbie, Rue, Cato, a couple other important people, and Eli. Eli and I had become pretty good friends in a place we call Heaven.
Cato is really a good guy. Deep down in his heart, he found love and sadness and other emotions that he had never known before until he died. He found sorrow and regret for all the people he killed in the arena. So he came here to apologize and to just talk to the others.
Katniss was the first to notice us. She looked at us, her mouth agape. She pointed us out to the others.
They walked slowly towards us, almost as if they were scared we were some sort of mutation group.
"Hey there, strangers," said Andre.
"How….what….how…." began Jade, not knowing what to say.
"We're ghosts," I said. I thought that should explain enough.
"I can see that," said Peeta, the only one who seemed able to form a full sentence between the four of them.
After about five minutes, everyone was through the initial shock.
Now we stood face to face.
"Eli…" Jade said, tears already forming in her eyes.
"Hi Jade," said Eli. He waved at her, and she waved back.
"I am so sorry," began Cato. Everyone listened in to what he had to say.
"I am so sorry for anything I have ever done to anyone in Panem. I'm sorry for taking Robbie away from you guys. I'm sorry for everything," he said, almost babbling. For the first time I've ever seen, tears were forming in Cato's eyes.
Peeta was the first to be able to manage a smile.
"You're forgiven," he said. His voice was shaking.
"We had to say goodbye one more time before you guys left the arena," said Rue.
Katniss looked down at her, and I swear she just about broke down.
"I'm sorry that I wasn't there to save you Rue," she said, trying to stifle the cries that were bound to come.
Katniss fell to her knees, her hand covering her mouth as she tried to pull herself together.
Rue glided over to Katniss and put her hand on Katniss' face. A shudder went through Katniss's body.
Katniss looked into Rue's eyes.
"You did more than you ever needed to," Rue said. Katniss took deep breaths.
"But I didn't do enough," she said, her voice sounding rather weakened and meek.
"You did what you could. And that will always be enough," said Rue. More tears leaked from Katniss's eyes as she smiled and nodded.
Rue walked back next to Eli.
We all sort of did our "hello and goodbye again" type things.
I walked over to Jade.
"I am so proud of you," I said. Jade managed a small smile through her quivering lips.
"I'm sorry that I didn't save you," said Jade, going into the same mode as Katniss had.
"There was nothing you could do," I said.
"I could've taken the knife for you," Jade said.
I sighed. Well, not really, because ghosts don't breathe in or out, so I couldn't sigh.
"I'd rather I died than you. You have something that you need to get home to," I said. I remembered listening to her story about her and her best friend Clove.
Jade smiled and looked down at the ground.
"You'll always be my hero," I said quietly. And that was the truth. Jade tried to protect me with Katniss. She did well. She did all she could.
Jade took a few breaths and composed herself.
"Thank you," Jade said. "For everything."
I nodded and smiled. We gave one last look and continued on.
Cat POV
The ghost form of Robbie walked up to me, and I immediately started shaking. Out of fear, excitement, I don't know.
"He should have sacrificed me," was the first thing I said to Robbie.
"Kitten," he began. I immediately fell silent. That nickname meant more to me than anyone will ever know. My parents called me that before they died. And Robbie called me that before Cato threw him over the edge.
"You've got your brother to go home to. You know how much he wants to see you? I watched him for a while. He sits in front of his TV crying every minute of every day, hoping nothing else happens," Robbie began, his sweet and soothing voice calming me.
I looked up in his eyes. Somehow, even in their ghostly form, I felt myself being pulled into them.
"You had Arthur to go home to," I said.
"But Arthur has moved on. Well not completely, but he is strong enough to do so. He knows I'll always watch over him. Your brother needs you just as much as you need him," Robbie said.
I sighed and let a few tears fall from my eyes.
"I pictured having a life with you, you know," I said. I am sure he knew, because we talked about it every night before we went to sleep before he was killed.
"I did too. But you know that I will be here with you every step of your life. You'll never be alone," said Robbie. He smiled.
I smiled back, even though my heart was aching.
"I know Robbie. I know," I said. Robbie grabbed my hand. Well it was more like he put his hand where mine was, and I could feel him there.
"I love you," he said.
"I love you too," I replied.
Peeta POV
Andre and Beck both walked up to me after talking to a crying Jade.
I was trying harder than hard gets to keep my composure. I was supposed to be the strong guy.
"Hey guys," I said, and my voice was shaking.
"Hey Peeta," said Beck.
"How are you doing?" asked Andre.
I took a deep breath so I could talk.
"Alright. Well I was until a couple minutes ago," I said, my voice breaking again.
"Peeta, you know we've never truly left you," said Beck.
I nodded, knowing he was right. I knew somehow that they had been watching over us.
"I know. It's just so hard to lose someone you care about," I said, even though that was one of the most obvious things that could be said at the moment.
"I know it is bud," said Andre.
We stood in silence for a while.
"But we want you to move on," Beck continued. Oh God, my throat's getting tight.
I finally looked up at them.
"We want you to move on and live yourself a nice life. Take care of Katniss and Jade and Cat. Make some new friends at home," Andre continued.
"I don't deserve it," I said, remembering that I could have saved Beck if I had held him back away from the explosion.
"Yes you do. You don't realize how much you've done for everyone here," said Beck, gesturing to everyone around us.
I felt a tear slip from my eye, and I furiously wiped it away.
"And if you ever feel alone, just know we'll always be with you," said Andre. That did it for me. I let the tears fall freely from my eyes, and no shame overcame me.
I nodded. "I know," I said through the tightness in my throat.
"We're gonna go now, ok?" said Beck. I nodded and waved goodbye.
And then tiny little Rue came up to me.
I now know what happened to Katniss, why she fell to her knees. It's just too much.
I fell to my knees myself, as I was trembling and crying.
"Why are you crying?" asked Rue, in her innocent little voice. The voice of a child who's life should never have been taken. The voice of a child who's life I would have sacrificed my own for.
"It's hard to see everyone back again. Because you know this is probably the last time," I said, breaking down again in front of Rue. I didn't want to upset her, so I tried to put myself back together.
Rue came up and ran her fingers through my hair. I could feel the energy.
"You may not see us, but we will always be there. Through everything," promised Rue. I nodded. I knew they would. All of them.
"Take care of Katniss for me, ok? She means a lot to me. You mean a lot to me," Rue said. I smiled up at her.
"I will protect her with my life for as long as she'll let me," I promised Rue, making a silent vow to do exactly as she asked.
"You're like my big brother. Thanks for everything you've ever done," said Rue, a smile crossing her face.
"You're welcome Rue," I said, and she smiled once again.
"Tell my family I said hi when you go on the Victory Tour, ok?" said Rue.
I broke again, crying like a little child. But I managed to be able to tell her that I would.
I felt energy again, and I looked up to Rue trying to hug me.
"Bye Rue," I said. Rue waved, and she walked away.
Katniss POV
"There's one more person who we want you to see," said Cato. He was looking at me as he said it, too.
The man who I had modeled myself after, who I had loved with all my heart, who had been my best friend for a long time, walked into my view.
"Dad?"
He smiled at me, his smile as bright as it had ever been. I ran up to him, and he put his arms around me. He was semi-solid somehow. I didn't ask how, because that was the last of my worries.
I cried and cried and cried until there was nothing more to cry out into his chest. His strong arms around me were a sense of security that I hadn't felt since I was 8.
"I missed you so much," I said, still sobbing.
Dad ran his hand through my hair, tears filling his eyes.
"I know baby. I missed you too. But I've always been there with you," he said. I couldn't even try and talk. I just listened.
"I am so proud of you and who you have become. You have become the wonderful, beautiful, kind girl who I had always hoped you would turn out to be," Dad said, cupping my face in his hands.
"You made me this way. You and Prim made me the person I am," I babbled, saying all I could in the short time I would get with him.
"I'm glad you think that. Thank you for taking care of your mother and Prim. Tell them I said hello and that I love them when you get home," Dad said. I nodded, cherishing the feeling of his hands on my face for as long as I could.
He held me close to him again, and I closed my eyes.
"Deep in the meadow
Under the willow
A bed of grass
A soft green pillow," Dad sang.
His voice. Oh how I had missed it.
I was no longer crying. Just basking in the comfort that I had missed for 8 cold, hard years.
The mockingjays picked up the song as they always had. I smiled.
"I want you to sing that to Prim for me ok?" said Dad. I nodded.
Jade POV
Tears poured in buckets out of my eyes as I watched the Everdeens reunite again. I looked over at Peeta, who was watching on at the scene, his lip quivering.
He turned to me.
Before I knew it, he was crying in my arms. Katniss had become so close to us all that she had become almost a part of us. Her emotions, her crying, the scene unfolding in front of us, tore us apart inside more than words can ever say.
"You all have done so much for Katniss. I don't think I can ever repay any of you. Even you, Cato," said Mr. Everdeen.
"You don't have to repay us. We did it because we love her," I said. Katniss turned to me and smiled.
Mr. Everdeen smiled as well. For some reason, it was almost calming. It was…odd, I guess. He wasn't even our father. But I could see why Katniss had loved him so much, and what she had loved about him.
Peeta was now standing up straight again, but he was still trembling.
"Please take care of Katniss and Prim for me, Peeta. Can you do that?" asked Mr. Everdeen.
"I promise," he said, his voice coming out strong.
The smile never left Mr. Everdeen's face.
"Thank you. I think we have to go now," said Mr. Everdeen, turning around to the others, who were nodding.
Katniss POV
I was still pretty shaky, but I wasn't crying. I wasn't even crying when Dad said they all had to go again.
"Will we ever see you again?" asked Cat.
Robbie sighed. Well, as close to a sigh as a ghost can get.
"I don't know," he admitted. I knew he would never sugarcoat anything to Cat. He was always honest.
"But even if you don't see us, we will ALWAYS be there," said Beck, looking at Jade as he did so.
"And nothing will ever change that," Rue said.
I nodded. They didn't have to be right in plain sight for us to know they were there.
"I know you will do big things, guys. I can see it in you," Cato said. We all gave him quivering smiles.
"Thanks, Cato," said Peeta. Cato nodded.
Dad walked up to Peeta and shook his hand.
"Nice meeting you, son," he said. I smiled. I knew he would have been one of those almost overprotective dads if he had lived.
"You too, sir," said Peeta. He smiled.
He shook Cat and Jade's hands as well, then walked back to the other ghosts.
They all linked hands, and I knew it was almost time for them to leave.
"We'll never be far away if you ever need us," said Amelia.
The four of us lone victors nodded.
"Goodbye guys," said Tori.
"Bye," we chorused in response.
They all looked up to the sky, and then they were gone.
Oddly enough, no one started bawling or anything. Just…knowing that they were still here in a way…it was comforting. The feeling of loss was no longer there. It was replaced by a feeling of completeness.
Seneca Crane POV
I watched on at the scene before me. I didn't believe it was happening. It wasn't possible. Surely, I was hallucinating.
"Seneca, do you see this?" asked one of my Gamemakers. So I wasn't hallucinating.
I nodded slowly.
As I watched the last four tributes say goodbye to their loved ones, I felt a pang of sadness at my heart.
I knew what it felt like to lose someone important to you. I knew what it felt like to have a best friend. Both of them had once happened when I was living in District 2 as a child.
I had never shown any mercy to the tributes. The last time there was an alliance that was still standing, we had sent in a whole feast to them. It was deadly, because it had some sort of lethal medicine in it that would kill you in an instant. The only one who lived was the person who didn't eat right away. That was how we got our victor that year.
"Is it possible for there to be four victors?" I asked suddenly, surprising myself.
All of the Gamemakers turned to me in utter shock.
"You're suggesting we take all four of them out?" said one of them. He was the one who had pressed the button to send that killer feast in when the other alliance still stood.
I sighed.
"Well what else are we going to do? They're too smart to take anything we give them. They move to quickly for us to bomb them or send fireballs at them. And the crowd is going to get bored and just stop watching the Games if nothing happens!" I said, raising my voice.
Everyone in the room fell silent.
"Send in a hovercraft," said one of the female Gamemakers.
"Wait. I'm getting on it," I said.
I walked outside the control room and watched as a hovercraft descended onto the ground.
I stepped onto it.
"Go," I said harshly to the person controlling it.
And they did.
Cat POV
We stood there in silence for a while, not really knowing what to do next.
Our question was soon answered, with an answer much better than I expected.
The wind started to pick up, and leaves were being blown around.
I looked over at Jade, smiling.
"Oh my God!" yelled Katniss. She was smiling too. As soon as Peeta and Jade understood what was happening, very wide smiles crossed their faces.
Moments later, the hovercraft appeared above us. Four ladders dropped down. You could almost see the current that would freeze us in place once we touched them.
We tugged the sword and knives out of our waistbands and threw them on the ground. The Capitol can do what they want with them.
"YES! WE ARE VICTORIOUS!" cried out Jade as we ran up to the ladders.
I climbed onto one, and I was frozen in place, just as I expected. When we got into the hovercraft, it was to my utter shock that a man named Seneca Crane, the Head Gamemaker, stood there to help us inside the hovercraft.
We all stared at him, wondering what he would say or do.
We felt the hovercraft move with a jolt, but none of us moved at all.
"Congratulations," was all he said.
And so the four of us sat down in the seats where we had sat weeks before, waiting to into the arena, with twenty other tributes surrounding us.
We were going home. We. Were. Going. Home.
A/N: Holy chiz this chapter is LONG. Sorry if I bored you to death. Please review!