A/N: Welcome back! Ratty here, and here we are with a brand new chapter. I would like to seize the moment and thank all of you for submitting. We are really sorry if you did not make it in, but keep your eyes open while reading and you might find a surprise! ;)

A/N: Hello! Joseph here. If you don't know, I will be writing all the boys, and Ratty will be writing for all the girls. Thanks in advance for the reviews! :P

Chapter One

Alabastor "Aly" Prime, District Two Male Citizen, 18 Years Old

One week before the Reaping

Whack. I finish my work with the dummy and strep out of the room. Done. My test. I was near the bottom of the list, so the results should be out in a few hours. I wipe the sweat off of my forehead–and the hair out of my eyes–and sit down to wait beside my friend Czar.

"Hey," he says, "How'd it go?"

"I guess it was good. Hope it was good enough."

"Don't worry about it."

They call his name over the speakers.

"Well, it's my turn now. Wish me luck."

"Good luck," I call after him as he enters the room.

I sit back and wait for him to finish. There aren't many of us left; maybe about ten other candidates are sitting around, waiting for their turn. Everyone else is done and gone. Bored, I listen to the conversations around me.

"I'm so nervous," one says.

"How much longer?" says someone from the other side of the room.

"I'm pretty sure he's gonna be chosen. He always is. His dad's the mayor, so duh."

"What!" I say, standing up. Everyone stares. I sit back down, a little sheepishly. I can't stand it. If I get chosen, it won't be because of my dad. Why is it always about him. When I help an older man carry his things. Of course, he's the mayor's son, he's supposed to be helpful. When I get 100 on a test. Of course, he's the mayor's son, he's supposed to be smart. When I train for hours a day. Of course, he's the mayor's son, he's supposed to be dedicated. I can almost here what they'll say if I get chosen.

Of course, he's the mayor's son. He's favored.

I feel a tap on my shoulder, and I look up to see Czar.

"Ready to go?" he says.

"Yeah, sure."

I'm standing in the huge auditorium at the Training Center. The head trainer is standing up on the stage, and she holds two envelopes, each holding the ten names chosen by the panel of judges, aka the Victors. Every one of those Ten are qualified for the final dash to the stage on Reaping Day . Sonya, standing beside me, squeezes my hand.

"I hope you get chosen," she says.

"Yeah."

"One more year, and then it's my turn to go."

"Yeah."

"It's about to start."

"Yeah."

She looks at me. "Can't you say anything other than 'yeah'?"

"Yeah," I say, winking at her. She pokes me. I tickle her back, and she erupts in laughter. Quite a few people turn to stare at us. The head trainer begins to test the microphone, and the crowd falls silent.

"Thank you for gathering here for this year's possible tributes! We have chosen the best of this year's aspiring Victors, and we honor their strength, their loyalty, and their courage. Let's begin! As we call your name, please come to the front."

She tears the first envelope, holing the girls.

"Adriana Jackson." A girl near the front whoops and steps forward.

"Drusa Predator." A scary, calm girl strides forward.

"Hera Vanadius." She lists the names, one by one, and one by one, the girls step up to the stage.

"Now for the men." She tears the second envelope. "Nero Dean." I know him. Such an annoying, proud idiot. But he's strong, and we all know it.

"Hadrian Maximus." Another one of those. She calls out the names, and my name still hasn't appeared. What? There's only one name left. Someone rubs me on my back.

"Relax," Sonya whispers. I take a deep breath.

The trainer reads the last name. "Alabastor Prime."

I resist the urge to hoot and shout, and shaking with excitement, I push through the crowd. Everything feels like a blur. I'm now eligible to volunteer for the Hunger Games. The greatest honor possible. They sing the anthem, and them we are dismissed. The moment I step off the stage, I'm mobbed by my parents, Sonya, and Czar.

"You did it!"

"So proud of you!"

"First victor in the family!"

Another trainer comes by and escorts me to a congratulatory meeting, and I wave goodbye and tell them that I'll be back soon. When I step into the room, I see that everyone else is already here. One looks at me skeptically. I fight the urge to throttle him. Thaddeus, our first trained Victor, stands at the front of the room. I take a seat in the back. He clears his throat.

"I know you are all very excited," he says, "But I am here to remind you of one thing."

He looks at every one of us.

"You are young. You are strong. You are trained. But you are not wise or experienced. This is why I'm here." He goes on to talk about his Games, which were known for the intricate system of traps set by Gamemakers. He and his partner hated each other, but they worked together until the end. He starts to conclude his speech.

"What I want you to remember, is that it doesn't matter who your partner turns out to be. It doesn't matter what you feel about all this. What does matter is bringing pride to our district, and to show the rebels the rewards of obedience." I nod, as do many others. He dismisses us, and I start on my way home.

As I walk, I listen to the people as I pass. I hear someone say something about luck. A mother is scolding a boy.

"There's the rich pretty boy."

Huh? I see two boys that didn't get picked standing in a corner, talking.

"He doesn't deserve to be picked. Of course he is though. His father gets him everything. He can anything he want. Anytime. Such a spoiled brat."

"I know, right. We should've been picked."

"I'm pretty sure I could take him down by myself."

I rush at him. "What did you say?" I demand, holding him against the wall. He stares me straight in the eyes. He doesn't answer. "Don't you dare say that," I warn. "You have no idea what you're talking about. Absolutely NO idea. So shut your mouth."

"Fine, fine," he mumbles. I can just hear Sonya telling me to get calmed down. Deep breath. Deep breath. I let the boy go and stomp off. Thaddeus was wrong. There's more to it than just glory to District Two.

People will see me for me.

Laelia Loreal, District One Female Citizen, 18 Years Old

One week before the Reaping.

The morning sun warms my skin as I skip down on the wide streets of my home district. The road from our home to the Training Academy has never felt so long before. Normally, I would walk with my brothers; Joy and Aurumn; but today is different. So different from my day-to-day life.

Today marks one week before the Reaping; which means that the Academy will hold a tournament for the 17 and 18 year olds. We will be put against each other to fight until one of us is unable to compete. By the end of the day, only one boy and one girl will be left standing. The future volunteers. The future tributes.

A wide smile appears on my lips as I see my friend Alexia stepping out of her front door. I wait for her to close the distance between us.

"Morning!"

"Good morning," she says softly. "Did you sleep well?"

I smile at her politeness, but answer her question. "Relatively."

After this we talk about the most trivial things in the world until we arrive at our destination. Many people stand in front of the building, waiting eagerly to show their skills and dedication to the jurymen. I scan the crowd with my eyes, smiling and waving in the direction of the familiar faces until I find a group of teens gathered together a little further away. I grin at the sight of our friends. I grab Alexia's hand and drag her behind me.

"Hey guys!" I shout, earning a couple of stares in the process. I was only a couple of meters away from the group, when I ran full force in a wall. If it wasn't for Alexia behind me, I would've fallen on my butt. At a second look though, it wasn't much of a wall, more like a thin boy with a nose piercing, maybe a year younger then me. I hang my head with embarrassment.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to—"

"Laelia! Alexia! I thought you're not going to come and leave us by ourselves!" From the corner of my eyes, I see a hand grabbing me and Alexia by the arm, and dragging us away before I could embarrass myself further. I peek over my shoulder, only to see that the boy with the piercing has already left. God. So that means I was apologising to no one in particular…

"Seriously, next time I'm not going to save you from yourself!"

"W-we are really sorry, Iunia!" Alexia shutters before I even have the chance to open my mouth. With a smooth motion of her hand Iunia dismisses us.

"Don't mention it."

The minutes pass by slowly after that. Everyone is on the edge, some of us are doing warm ups, the others decide to ignore their nervousness by talking, stopping only when they are out of air. After a couple of minutes I also make up my mind and start doing warm ups along with Alexia and Iunia, while the others gossip.

"You know, I heard that in District Two, the tributes are chosen differently."

"Really?"

"Yeah! There is no tournament. They only show what they are capable of; you know, like a training session, only they are evaluated. The 10 male and 10 female with the highest scores get to volunteer on Reaping day. And guess what-"

I try and ignore their conversation. Instead, I turn towards Iunia.

"Hey, Iunia."

"Hm?" She turns towards me while scratching her arms above her head.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure. What's on your mind?"

"Who was that guy I just run into? He seemed… How should I put it?"

"Strange?" Iunia raises an elegant eyebrow and I nod. "His name is Jasper Leo, my neighbor. And trust me, you don't want to meet him a second time…" Iunia stops with her warm ups, and crosses her arms across her chest. I can't help, but notice the sudden change in her mood.

"Let me guess, not on the best terms?"

"Nope," she says. "Here's an advice, though. Try and avoid his siblings."

I can't help but laugh at her antics. Just as I am about to ask her why, when suddenly the Academy's front door opens, and a tall, board shouldered woman comes forward, with a sheet of paper in her hand. The moment I see her, I instantly forget about my conversation with Iunia.

"Welcome, future tributes of District One!" the woman starts. "My name is Erinite Chartreuse, and I was given the task to supervise you during the tournament. The first match among the males will be between…" She stops and reads the two names from her sheet.

"Jasper Leo and Zircon Ultramarine." The two boys make their way to the women, and stop beside her, then she proceeds to read the name of the first two females to compete.

"Alexia Royal and Amethyst Dove." I turn my head in the direction of Alexia and silently wish her good luck, before she walks up to Erinite. Moments later, the board shouldered woman disappears in the Academy with the four teens following her. I can't help, but stare after them and wonder what exactly is happening there.

Half an hour later, Iunia is called along with a Julia Diamante named girl. And all too soon, I hear my name. "Laelia Loreal and Rose Ariana Pepperhill."

I make my way towards Erinite and follow her in the building. We enter the Training room, and my match begins. And I do what I was taught all those long years.

I attack. I fight. With the intent of killing.