"Victor's awake!"

There was a flurry of motion, people moving around the large, exceedingly sterile white room. Will blinked a few times, trying to clear the dark spots from his vision.

Victor.

He was…Victor?

He moved his arm. His other one. He was alive.

Alive.

Alive!

Will passed out.

XXXXX

He woke up again sometime later. He honestly wasn't sure what time it was. Or where he was. Why was he in the clean room? They didn't have hospitals like this in District 9.

It hit him again that he was the Victor.

The Victor. He had won.

He had won! He was going home!

XXXXX

Will's sleep got more scheduled and even over the next few days. His mentor, Lee Fletcher, was there with him most of the time. They didn't really talk, just sat in silence. Will didn't feel like talking anymore, anyway. Lee told him about home. He assured Will that his family was still alive and well, that everyone was ecstatic, that the Capitol was ecstatic.

Will closed his eyes every night and let himself think about the dark-haired teen that he had spent his time in the Games with.

He didn't want to think about it too much, but he was pretty sure that he would have died without Nico.

Thank you, Will thought to the dark room that surrounded him, hoping that Nico's ghost was listening. You saved me. Thank you.

XXXXX

Within a little while, it was time for the recap. Will knew it as soon as his stylist dragged him out of the hospital room and started putting him in some simple black pants, interwoved with something shimmery, and a golden armor breastplate over another black shirt. Will felt too fancy, and the armor was heavy. But something about it seemed right. Will fingered his pants, trying to feel Nico's presence somewhere in the darkness of them. He imagined that Lou was with him, too, in the sparkling silk. His family and the District 9 sun were his armor. And then he was himself.

He went on the stage to ear-shattering applause. He and Antaeus exchanged a few questions and quips before the recap started.

The Reapings flashed by quickly. Will named each tribute as they were called up, or volunteered. He was thankful that he didn't feel any bitterness towards the ones who had hurt him. All of the Careers…Octavian especially. Will just felt sad. All of them were dead. He felt almost empty, like a glass cup with the water poured out and eagerly devoured by the waiting ground. Next up were the chariot rides. The cameras focused on Will, on Nico, on Reyna, on Katie. The scores flashed by for half of them. Will took a moment to remember the ones that were left out. Castor. 8. Ella. 4. Jason. 5. Rachel. 5. Clovis. 1. Calypso. 4. Piper. 6. Lou. 5. Connor. 2. He felt some anger, at least, at Lou being left out. But she got a glorious moment for the interviews, birds flying away from her. Will let out a small grin at the sight of his friend looking so powerful in front of the nation. His interview wasn't bad, either, but nothing remarkable.

Then the Games started.

Will had seen bad things in there. He had done bad things. But he wasn't prepared for…this. So many deaths. The ones he didn't know about, like Ella, killed so quickly and coldly, or Connor, stabbed and left to die alone. Lou.

Lou.

He hated himself for not being able to remember how she had died. But he had been hysterical and Nico had pulled him away…and now there were cameras getting every gory angle.

She deserved better than this.

Percy ran away with Annabeth. Reyna killed Piper before Nancy could. Rachel killed herself. Calypso's death was shown, slowly strangled and mutilated by plants and acids. Octavian's death. Leo's death. Nancy's death, mauled by the wolf. Will almost felt sorry for her.

Frank killed Grover. Will felt a brief shot of happiness at Annabeth and Percy kissing, Frank and Hazel kissing, before he remembered that the four of them were dead and couldn't appreciate anything anymore. He fervently wished that there was some sort of afterlife where they could be happy. They deserved it. Even Percy. More and more people died, and then suddenly it was just the five of them left. Will watched himself let Nico kill Zoe. He watched himself let Katie kill Nico. He watched himself murder Nico and Hazel.

He didn't let himself cry.

"And how do you feel?" Antaeus asked him.

How do you think? Will wanted to scream. He kept himself under control. "I'm going home. To be honest…I don't think that anything's ever felt better."

XXXXX

Will couldn't imagine anything feeling better. He really couldn't.

The first arms to engulf him were his mother's. He collapsed into her, but she held him, strong and steady. There were tears on his head. He was crying onto her shoulder. Then his father's strong arms encircled him, worn and muscular. Kayla wormed her way in. Austin joined the hug.

They stayed like that for a good long while.

Will had never felt so happy.

He had never assumed that he would live.

But he had! He was back! He was alive and well, and he had saved his family from poverty and starvation! He had saved himself!

Going into the Games, killing Katie and Hazel…it was all worth it!

(Will needed it to be worth it, he needed so badly for it to be worth it—)

Austin took his hand on the way back, and Will squeezed, comforted by his twin brother's presence. When they were much younger they always held hands. They were inseparable, and their parents rolled their eyes and laughed about their two little devils.

"I'm sorry," Austin whispered.

"It's okay," Will said.

He didn't want to talk about this. Not because he was bitter towards Austin. If he could let go of his anger towards Octavian, than he could forgive Austin for the non-crime he had committed.

"I…" Will was embarrassed to see Austin crying. "I've never, ever regretted anything any more. The fact that you're back? It's a second chance. I'll never abandon you again."

Will let the lie fester between them, pulling his brother into a hug.

"I think we have an appointment to teach someone guitar." They laughed, and Austin grinned at him.

Will couldn't finger the strings anymore. His hands shook too much. His voice had never been as nice as anyone else in his family's, so he kind of just hummed along. His father introduced him to the drums one day. Will kind of enjoyed hammering out a rhythm on them. Austin coached him through the shaking ever day, helping Will build back up his guitar skills.

It was as perfect a life as Will could imagine.

He prayed every night. Not to a god, or anything. He wasn't sure if he believed in one. But Death was real. Death was eternal. And Will refused to believe that with the infinity of the universe, everyone was truly gone for good. He got on his knees, looked out the window, and apologized to everyone. To Katie. To Katie's sister. To Zoe. To Hazel. To Nico.

He thanked them, too.

Thanked them for his life.

HAZEL: Hazel wasn't ever perfectly suited for the Arena she was in. She was a warrior of the open plains, one with a gigantic sword and a really fast horse. Because of that, her character skills were seriously cramped by these Games. However, Hazel is and always will be a survivor. She made it far. However, something that is different about her character in this continuity is that her past gave her a severe dependency on Frank. Without him, she couldn't go on, and I don't think that she would have wanted to. I do believe that she would have been happy to see Will go back to his family. RIP, Hazel.

There will be at least 1 more chapter, possible 2.

TRIBUTE DEATHS:
24. Ella Harrison (killed by Clarisse La Rue)
23. Castor Bourdeax (killed by Ethan Nakamura)
22. Clovis Sonan (killed by Nancy Bobofit)
21. Lou Ellen Lerner (killed by Octavian Hill)
20. Connor Stoll (killed by Zoe Nightshade)
19. Piper Mclean (killed by Reyna Ramirez-Arellano)
18. Rachel Dare (killed by herself)
17. Calypso Aterra (killed by Gamemakers)
16. Octavian Hill (killed by Gamemakers and Hazel Levesque)
15. Leo Valdez (killed by Clarisse La Rue)
14. Nancy Bobofit (killed by Gamemakers)
13. Grover Underwood (killed by Frank Zhang)
12. Jason Grace (killed by Ethan Nakamura)
11. Annabeth Chase (poisoned by Ethan Nakamura)
10. Ethan Nakamura (killed by Percy Jackson)
9. Percy Jackson (killed by Reyna Ramirez-Arellano)
8. Frank Zhang (killed by Clarisse La Rue)
7. Clarisse La Rue (killed by Hazel Levesque)
6. Zoe Nightshade (killed by Nico di Angelo)
5. Reyna Ramirez-Arellano (killed by Katie Gardner)
4. Nico di Angelo (killed by Katie Gardner)
3. Katie Gardner (killed by Will Solace)
2. Hazel Levesque (killed by Will Solace)
VICTOR: Will Solace