AUTHOR'S NOTES: A while ago I hinted that there was in fact a 100th victor of the Hunger Games. In this chapter, we learn that victor's identity in what I consider one of the most entertaining chapters in the entire series. While technically this 102nd installment ends the story, there are three more chapters that comprise an epilogue that will appear at the usual times the following week. In the meantime, here's the Quarter Quell; here's the arena, and here are the twists involved as this story culminates in one glorious finale. Enjoy the show; for I certainly had fun writing it.
Happy Reading!
The True 100th Annual Hunger Games
With the damage that Romula had done to Panem, the surviving victors and rebels put it to a vote as to how she should be punished. The eventual conclusion was simple: it was time for one final Hunger Games. Even Korra, opposed to needless bloodshed as she had originally been, had been hurt enough by this woman and her antics that she agreed to it all the same.
Some called this the 102nd Annual Hunger Games. Others called it the real Quarter Quell or real 100th Hunger Games, considering that this year the rule twist was that 48 "tributes" would come from the Capitol—as a reminder to the Capitol from the districts that all of this destruction was their fault, and that the blood of 2400 other boys and girls was on their hands. Whatever the case, it was time to see what the original Quarter Quell arena had been set to be, and so the 48 tributes that had all thus far miraculously survived, all stood watch as the revolutionaries held a mock-"reaping" to pluck 48 high-ranking Capitol officials and stick them in a death arena. The last of these, perhaps unsurprisingly, was Romula Snow herself. However, in a twist of fate that no one, not even Korra, Amy, President Fox, or any of the Capitol rebels could have foreseen, four words echoed through the crowds, and the owner of the voice sounded oddly familiar.
"I volunteer as tribute."
From the crowds, Junichi Thatch stepped forward. Considering her role in the rebellion, not only as an unofficial therapist for the victors, but also as a valuable soldier in the war, this was not received well. Her brother Delun was just as adamant against it, but it seemed she could not be swayed in this regard. Her only stipulation was that Romula be forced to watch the entirety of the games as they played out. That was easily arranged, and furthermore, the nine most recent Hunger Games victors were chosen as the Gamemakers. It would be an interesting twist. On one hand there were cunning victors like Amy, Shigeru, and Lyndis. Others such as Korra, Eli, or Aveline, might have been more merciful. Shishio was fairly neutral to the whole thing, while many people both in the Capitol and out of it were worried that Lux and Cadence would be particularly sadistic Gamemakers. Time would tell.
Similar to standard protocol, however, they were all given the same three weeks of training in the same facility that the tributes had used for a century. They even had access to all the same state-of-the-art equipment. In fact, everything was the same except that instead of Peacekeepers posted to prevent any funny business, previous victors, soldiers from District 13, and some of Clove Kazera's 300-woman battalion were posted as sentinels around the facility. Fortunately, no one tried any funny business.
To the surprise of the some of the rebels, many of these high-ranking Capitol politicians turned out to be pretty competent fighters. Even Junichi, who scored a 12, wasn't exactly alone in that regard, for the victor-Gamemakers knew the system, and knew how to evaluate combat skills.
The arena was an interesting little layout though, and the evening before the games, the victors actually got a look at the holographic layout of the place, and were rather impressed with what they were dealing with. Shishio used his piloting skills to take the 48 tributes to the arena, bidding Junichi a final farewell as they parted ways.
When the Capitol tributes rose from their pedestals, they found themselves in a plaza similar the ones that they would see in the Capitol. In the middle of the large plaza was the golden cornucopia, although there were suspicions that arose as the tributes looked around. The horn appeared to be empty, but maybe they were just not seeing what they were supposed to see?
The gong rang out and everyone raced towards the cornucopia, but found nothing. Almost immediately there was a sort of protest. They didn't intend to try and kill each other with just their bare hands. However, the Gamemakers had something in mind as well.
"Attention tributes," Lyndis' voice was heard across the arena, "Welcome to Panem! As you likely figured, you are in the Capitol right now. The Capitol currently offers nothing to Panem on its own, it instead has to take from the districts around it for sustenance and protection. Hopefully you can remember which districts produce what items as you hunt for weapons, food, and resources. The odds will favor those who remember their geography, and remember—the tail of the cornucopia always points north. Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor."
Most of the Capitolite tributes beelined it southward towards where they assumed District 2 would be, knowing that it was responsible for the weaponry of Panem. Junichi broke a trend and headed for the east towards where she assumed District 8 and District 11 would be. She might not have found the battle-ready weaponry that the other tributes were discovering in the "District 2" region of the arena, but she found sickles in "District 11", protective clothing and armor in "District 8", and shelter farther east in the "District 12" section. While she technically didn't know for sure, she was fairly certain that this arena was in fact a scale map of Panem. It made her curious to see how the rest of the games would go down. For now though, she was not going to get involved. However, when the Gamemakers announced a feast on the first evening, she suddenly had an idea for what they were going for.
There was in fact food back at the cornucopia, and so it was not just a ruse, but now everyone was armed and dangerous. The bloodbath happened as a result of this, and 16 Capitol tributes lost their lives, five of which were by Junichi's hand. The sickles she had snatched up proved to be formidable weapons, and she was one of the only people who had trained in combat skills long before this game. She had not known that these Hunger Games were going to happen this way by any means, but she had always believed in strength to back up her words and actions. As such, she had an edge over her competition and planned to keep that edge as the games persisted.
Because of the lack of districts as well as solidarity, there was no real "career pack" this year, and so all of the trends that the districts followed were thrown out the window. There were no conniving tributes from District 3 or District 4 to contemplate joining the careers; no wildcards from Districts 5, 6, 7, or 8; no fodder from '9 or '10, and no wild, strong tributes from '11 and '12 to serve as primary opposition to the career pack. There weren't even district partners, and so it seemed that this was the most like a Battle Royale than any of the games that came before it—and if the rebellion had their way, this would be a one-of-a-kind game, and no others would follow it.
By the time Day 5 rolled around, 11 more tributes had lost their lives, leaving 21 still alive. Three of those kills belonged to Junichi, and she was proving to be quite the thorn in everyone's side. They knew she was hidden in the vast wheat fields representing District 9, but they had no real way of flushing her out, especially when the weather was as wild as it was. Wind and rain and long nights kept the tributes on their toes, which made some of the more seemingly useless areas become more useful to protect them from the inclement weather.
Junichi mostly used knives to eliminate her opponents, but she was eventually chased out of 'District 9'. She made her home instead in the nearby 'District 6' region of the arena, which was a similar labyrinthine setup as the wheat field, except more urban instead. Here she also started building traps before she got any competition, as this locale was a bit more hazardous than the ones before it. In fact, the more the games progressed, the more hazardous the entire arena seemed to become. Luckily for Junichi, she was above that sort of thing, and reacted swiftly to each and every hazard that she encountered. The Gamemakers were very subtle about the pattern of things they threw at Junichi, but they also knew that they couldn't make it too obvious that they wanted her to win.
Day 7 and Day 8 both saw torrential rainfall, during the which time Junichi migrated back to 'District 2'. Originally a hotspot when tributes wanted to snag themselves a killer weapon, now it was mostly left deserted because of the lack of usefulness that stone, rock, and extra weapons had. Junichi knew better though, and scaled some of the smaller mountains to avoid the rising tides. By the time Day 9 rolled in, there were only 14 tributes left: 6 were slain either by other tributes or by the water, and the last one thought the same thing Junichi did and tried to scale the mountains. She was no match for Junichi's knives and reflexes, however, and she became Junichi's 9th kill.
Romula was kept out of the games for a psychological reason that Junichi had known from the get-go, and now the others were finally starting to realize what it was. These were people of her inner circle, and while she had claimed that they were disposable, now that she was powerless to prevent their deaths, seeing each one get slaughtered by her enemies (including Junichi, who was an enemy to the totalitarian Capitol at this point anyways) was striking her harder and harder. She actually recoiled in what looked like fear on Day 10, where Junichi detonated a handmade grenade that killed 4 more Capitolites in a matter of seconds. A 5th one followed minutes later by being unfortunate enough to cross paths with Junichi. The endgame was approaching.
Day 11 marked the beginning of the end. The areas representing District 12, District 3, and District 8 were bombarded with Gamemaker fireballs, rendering all three areas uninhabitable. Junichi was the only one to realize that there was significance in the order of these attacks. She knew that the next day would involve the destruction of the areas representing District 11, District 9, and District 7, in that order, and sure enough, she was right. The pattern was obvious: the rebels were destroying the arena in the same order that the District 14 Rebellion had taken Panem in—and so was scheduled to end with the Capitol section on Day 14. It was clearly symbolic, both of the District 14 rebellion, and also because the last decade of Hunger Games had all been 14 days long each.
Sure enough, those three areas of the arena were taken down, and with them went two more Capitolites. Junichi bunkered down in the Capitol region, slaying another tribute to take over his camp, and bringing the remaining tribute count down to 6. At least two tributes didn't realize the pattern until too late, for the regions representing District 6, District 4, and District 10 went down on Day 13, killing them, and injuring a 3rd Capitolite. The day of reckoning was near.
Day 14 saw the end of the areas for District 5, District 1, and then finally District 2, leaving only the Capitol region intact (and claiming another tribute's life), with the golden cornucopia standing symbolically in front of them. This was where it ended.
Later that afternoon, another cannon went off. The man who had been wounded from the earlier strikes succumbed to his injuries, leaving only Junichi and one other woman, who squared off in the central plaza, sidestepping around the cornucopia. Both of them looked ready to launch their knives at the other. Junichi was actually the slower of the two, getting struck in the upper chest near her right shoulder, disabling her dominant hand for the moment. However, she was just as proficient at throwing knives with her left hand, and so she triggered a surprising reaction when she launched a knife deftly into her opponent's throat, and promptly ended the 4th Quarter Quell. The Capitol Hunger Games was over, and it would be the first and last of its kind, and of the Hunger Games in general. Junichi Senwa Thatch was the 1st and only victor from the Capitol, and the 100th victor of the Hunger Games—after all, everyone, victor or not, considered this game to be a Hunger Games just like any of the 99 that preceded it. It was merely a Quarter Quell with a rule twist: said twist simply being that there would be 48 tributes chosen from the Capitol, and chosen by the past victors of the games.
Junichi was shaken from her experience, and actually suffered similar trauma to the victors, despite it being voluntary. However, she was vastly supported by victors and rebels alike and made a quick recovery, even if some of the scars were permanent, just as they were on all victors.
Incidentally, the other victors treated Junichi like a real victor as well, and they were the strongest advocates of putting her on the metaphorical Panemian throne. They knew that she would help set things right, and that the days of totalitarian oppression were over—and surprisingly, they were right. It took a lot of effort and cooperation, but Junichi Thatch became President of Panem, and helped lead the now united country into an era of prosperity. After 102 years of division, oppression, violence and blood, the Hunger Games were finally over—this time for good.
VICTORS BY YEAR:
1HG: Fukaya Kerezaki (#1, District 5)
2HG: Lucy Takamatzu (#1, District 11)
3HG: Naseru Litzak (#1, District 3)
4HG: Naisha Szasz (#1, District 2)
5HG: Jade Prima (#1, District 1)
6HG: Cedar Hardin (#1, District 7)
7HG: Susan Jackman (#2, District 5)
8HG: Malcolm Reed (#1, District 6)
9HG: Mags Cohen (#1, District 4)
10HG: Faren Dragmire (#2, District 1)
11HG: Maius Karuha (#2, District 2)
12HG: Iunius Karuha (#3, District 2)
13HG: Hilda White (#1, District 10)
14HG: Minali Otoyome (#2, District 3)
15HG: Willow James (#3, District 1)
16HG: Lark Chandnea (#2, District 11)
17HG: Woof Casino (#1, District 8)
18HG: Leah Holden (#2, District 7)
19HG: Zeruda Mezkiel (#2, District 6)
20HG: Muscida Lee (#2, District 4)
21HG: Kada Lahka (#4, District 2)
22HG: Gleam DiFronzo (#4, District 1)
23HG: Ivette Coronado (#3, District 5)
24HG: Olivia Thurman (#1, District 9)
25HG: Laurel Fox (#1, District 12)
26HG: Daron Armstrong (#5, District 2)
27HG: Cobalt Evans (#5, District 1)
28HG: Lyme Golding (#6, District 2)
29HG: Ash LosDias (#3, District 7)
30HG: Challis Worth (#2, District 8)
31HG: Beetee Latier (#3, District 3)
32HG: Fletch Crossley (#4, District 5)
33HG: Seeder Howell (#3, District 11)
34HG: Price Emerson (#6, District 1)
35HG: Leto Irizari (#7, District 2)
36HG: Jackson Kjelle (#5, District 5)
37HG: Zerviah Hawke (#3, District 6)
38HG: Wiress Plummer (#4, District 3)
39HG: Nephi Lott (#3, District 4)
40HG: Miriam Luxio (#7, District 1)
41HG: Marcelina Kovac (#6, District 5)
42HG: Niles Lincoln (#8, District 2)
43HG: Blight McKay (#4, District 7)
44HG: Sagittaria Svenja (#4, District 11)
45HG: Dezna Meraxa (#4, District 6)
46HG: Alice DeSiete (#3, District 8)
47HG: Aurum Zianja (#8, District 1)
48HG: Layla Aranai (#9, District 2)
49HG: Chip Sangster (#5, District 3)
50HG: Haymitch Abernathy (#2, District 12)
51HG: Derrick James (#7, District 5)
52HG: Chaff Mitchell (#5, District 11)
53HG: Brutus Gunn (#10, District 2)
54HG: Tiffany Waxler (#2, District 10)
55HG: Zak Dreggite (#4, District 4)
56HG: Zoroka Chandaki (#9, District 1)
57HG: Cecelia Sanchez (#4, District 8)
58HG: Meili Meisha (#5, District 6)
59HG: Zhin Lyautey (#6, District 3)
60HG: Lucas Drazen (#10, District 1)
61HG: Kara Petersen (#5, District 7)
62HG: Enobaria Taos (#11, District 2)
63HG: Gloss Zianja (#11, District 1)
64HG: Cashmere Zianja (#12, District 1)
65HG: Finnick Odair (#5, District 4)
66HG: Elroy Trujillo (#12, District 2)
67HG: Varric Svenja (#6, District 11)
68HG: Carver Tabris (#2, District 9)
69HG: Bethany Shanza (#8, District 5)
70HG: Annie Cresta (#6, District 4)
71HG: Johanna Mason (#6, District 7)
72HG: Immanuel Cox (#3, District 10)
73HG: Paige DeSiete (#5, District 8)
74HG: Clove Kazera (#13, District 2)
75HG: Katniss Everdeen (#3, District 12)
76HG: Johnny Stallings (#9, District 5)
77HG: Ikki Ortolani (#7, District 3)
78HG: Ryuka Satoru (#6, District 6)
79HG: Nailah Zoraki (#13, District 1)
80HG: Zenzi Tallarico (#7, District 11)
81HG: Kaede Raiden (#14, District 2)
82HG: Katsuo Raiden (#15, District 2)
83HG: Mandy Ikezhen (#7, District 4)
84HG: Vigo Zakatau (#4, District 12)
85HG: Resin Balthezar (#7, District 7)
86HG: Marian Greene (#3, District 9)
87HG: Connor McIrish (#6, District 8)
88HG: Ian Nelson (#8, District 3)
89HG: Kozue Sowa (#8, District 11)
90HG: Gill Wainright (#8, District 4)
91HG: Aveline Togisala (#5, District 12)
92HG: Amy Zavala (#16, District 2)
93HG: Korra Francisco (#17, District 2)
94HG: Cadence Montoya (#10, District 5)
95HG: Lux Calameda (#14, District 1)
96HG: Shishio Meraxa (#7, District 6)
97HG: Eli Christiansen (#9, District 11)
98HG: Shigeru Lombardi (#9, District 3)
99HG: Lyndis DeSiete (#7, District 8)
100HG: Junichi Thatch (#1, The Capitol)