~Tristabelle: Three of Clubs~
I wake up that morning to still trees. Everything is how it should be, at peace. I look around, and realize that this is it. This is the big moment.
I look up at the sky, so calm and peaceful, lazy clouds drifting around. Beautiful, crisp and clear, the breeze gentle… Oh, piss off. Today's just another of those days when I don't want to be fucked with. I know what's coming, I'm going to have to kill Gio if I want to live. I have to be in the right mindset or else I'll never be able to do it. I wasn't in the right mindset that day I could've killed Dawson, and I froze up. That can't happen to me now.
I'm so close to getting home. Somehow, I feel like getting home isn't going to be the hard part of all this.
I sit up, and my stomach screams where Pontifex left his mark.
Just one more day. One more fight. I can make it.
Death scares me more than facing the families of those lost. But only slightly more.
I eat a hearty breakfast and make sure to stay hydrated. After all, this is going to be the last day of this. Tomorrow, I'll be out of here. Whether it be alive, or dead. Whether it be radiant with victory or pale and dead in a box, right next to Lyndon. I don't want to think about it either way.
The time for letting myself be exposed is over. The time for crying, shedding tears, being vulnerable, it's far behind us. Now's the home stretch. One more tribute and 23 will be dead, and I'll be the one left alive. What a weird thought.
I take a second to memorize the sensations surrounding me. The stillness, the calm atmosphere, the smell of the tropical breeze, the warmth of the sun, not as overbearing as it was before for sure.
All the memories that were made here. Ripping up my brother's last words to me. Getting medicine from a sponsor. Sitting here, thinking about Lyndon and the other people that changed my life. Getting my revenge on Pontifex. Getting trapped under the parts of the resort during the earthquake and Ori helping me get free. If it weren't for him, I'd probably not be here now.
The morning goes to afternoon before I'm even hungry for lunch. I wait, sword close, knife so close to my hand I could grab it in half a second. My heart pounds harder and harder with each second.
Nothing happens, though. Nothing in the day. The sun is setting just as I'm getting hungry again. I eat my lunch and wonder what time it is in the world outside. Probably mandatory viewing hours, I would guess. I eat and drink before I hear something coming toward me, and the all-too familiar crackling of electricity trailing behind it.
In the darkness, the sparks shoot up like lightning. The stingrays start to close in on me, so I leave all my supplies, food, and water there. It's nothing now but dead weight. All I need is all the determination I've got and my weapons.
I run, looking back to make sure the stingrays are still at a close distance behind. They stay behind me, obviously not wanting to kill me that quickly. I have a feeling that if we were anything less than dead-set on getting home, they wouldn't have sent something so easy to kill yourself on. I go where the stingrays push me, heart beating harder, blood roaring in my ears with nerves.
It's time.
The stingrays turn around, leaving us a circle of free ground. There's no running away from this battle.
I see Gio's silhouette, looking small and helpless, and can't help but hope that this could be an easier fight than I've been preparing myself for.
He comes running at me, a look of pain and determination on his face, sword raised up high, bringing it up to clash with mine with all his might.
We don't speak. His brown eyes look determined, he has dark circles under them, but the most noticeable thing about him is his expression, set in stone with determination.
He charges at me again, not even taking a second to survey my damage. He charges at me, but it's nothing compared to Pontifex. I counter his attacks easily, not letting my expression crack either. I can't afford to. Not after all the hell I've been through. It has to mean something.
Gio doesn't give up, not at all like I was hoping or expecting. Every time I deflect an attack, he attacks again with twice as much vigor. I make a slash down his stomach, causing him to cry out, but he doesn't stop, he doesn't give up. He even gets a hit in, reopening one of Pontifex's more minor wounds, though every drop of blood lost is agony.
I attack back, charging and taking charge of the fight. I'm not letting him defeat me, and if so then not without the fight of his life. I back him up so that he almost steps in the goop, which would make things so much easier, but he manages to scramble aside in time, getting a slash down my back and causing me to let out a cry of agony.
No, I can't lose like this… My vision is blurring, all I can feel is pain that sears and burns across my chest and back, arms and legs, I just want to be home, I want to go home and not be here, not do this… But I have no choice.
I swing my sword at Gio, who deflects my attacks though his hands start to falter. I'm in total control now. I charge farther forward, getting a cut in on his shoulder. He lets out a scream but doesn't stop defending my attacks and attempts to stab him and make it quick.
Suddenly, something awful happens. Apparently we're not good enough fighters because Solitaire's sent us some… Help.
Huge-ass black rats come to join the fight, seemingly immune to the crackling electricity somehow, malicious expressions on their faces. They look hungry for blood. Gio and I stop focusing on each other and start taking out the mutts, but more and more appear and suddenly they're becoming too hard for me to fight off. I feel one bite the wound that Gio left and scream.
I can't fight them off. I keep trying, though, letting out screams of frustration and agony as I feel myself bleeding out. My heart pounds, my ears roar, and I hear Gio screaming out next to me. I just have to outlast him… I kill rat after rat, but they just keep coming until suddenly, I'm overwhelmed and I know it.
My body absolutely screams with pain, and that's it. I know that it's over. I'm out of ideas. This is it, this is really it. I start to lose my strength as I bleed out of so many wounds.
Good job Gio.
I'm dead.
You win.
~.~.
~Gio: Joker~
I went into this fight knowing that there's no other option but to win.
Tristabelle is a good fighter, much better and more skilled than I am, stronger, braver probably… But I can't let that stop me now. Every time she deflects one of my attacks, I see Abri watching at home through her fingers, I feel Atticus's belt around my waist and Ori's necklace around my neck, and I know that I can't give up. And I attack again, twice as hard.
Tristabelle almost backs me into the goop, but I'm quicker than she is and turn the fight around, getting a slash down her back on the way, which takes me back to the first day, when everything was so much simpler and I did that to Dream at the Cornucopia.
It feels like two centuries ago. I still can't believe it's been less than 3 days since Atty died. It feels like forever, almost like he and Ori were never real after all and were just my imaginary friends of a past life.
But no.
They're real. They're very real, and they existed and had friends and family and people that cared about them, and they impacted my life and left their mark on it forever, and they died for me, and I can't let that go to waste. Damn me to hell if I ever let the deaths of my best friends go to waste!
Soon, though, Solitaire sends us a surprise: those rat mutts from earlier. Seeing them causes me to freeze, in shock and horror, for just a second, taking me back to the night with Atty.
The moon is bright, the crackling electricity provides light to see by as I try to fight off the mutts. They bite my skin and clothes, and I hear Tristabelle crying out and screaming. She sounds far away, but can't be too far.
I keep fighting until I see movement out of the corner of my eye and hear Tristabelle straining with effort.
I look over and see her climbing up a tree, leaving me here on the ground with all the rats after me.
The mutts close in on me, make their attack, and I scramble over to the tree, making a leap and grabbing on, barely caring about holding on to my sword at this point, scrambling up the tree with the rats crawling after me.
My heart pounds, sweat drips down my forehead and rolls down my neck, and I heave with effort, finding a strong enough branch to take support on for a quick rest.
I see Tristabelle above me, holding onto the tree trunk, her body slicked with blood that the light reflects off of eerily, but still heaving with breath. I get an idea just then, pulling a knife out of the belt that Atty left for me when he died for me.
Tears push at the corners of my eyes, but I hold them back. Using all the upper body strength I can possibly muster, I hold myself up and start to saw at Tristabelle's tree branch. I don't think I can hold on any longer… I saw with all my might, and soon Tristabelle's branch cracks under her weight and she goes down to the ground, the mutts pouncing on her.
I sit on my branch up there and glance down every once in a while, until she starts to scream. She lets out horrible shrieks and cries, and I try not to look. I cover my ears as best as I can while still holding onto the tree.
"Atty," I whisper, muttering, crying, "Ori," I gasp. "Abri, Simon…" I list off people that love me and that I need to get home from to try and drone out the screams of pain and agony and torture coming from down below.
"I'm sorry," I gasp out, even though she can't hear me, she'll never be able to hear me, but maybe someone that was rooting for her will, "I should've just finished you off," I gasp out, my whole body shaking with tears. "I'm sorry…" I sit there and whisper that over and over again, grabbing the necklace and squeezing it for support, thinking of Ori and Atty, holding that damn seashell Ori gave me in my other hand.
Even though I'm not dying, my time in the Arena flashes before my eyes. Injuring Dream, seeing Juli's face in the sky, dealing with the goop, the death of Dawn, discovering that Atty's a werewolf, the fight with the Careers, being on the brink of death after losing my finger, Ori giving us the seashells, getting separated, being on my own, having Janie spare me, telling Dream where to find her to be released, Ori finding us right before he died, the feast, hearing Pontifex's cries that night, Atty teaching me how to use the finger and how to throw a knife, Atty dying to save me, a day on my own, seeing Pontifex's face in the sky and being shocked that I didn't die in third…
I'm snapped out of my memories and flashbacks by a cannon booming, loudly, or so it seems. I scream, squeezing tears out of my eyes. I let out a sob before I can stop myself, feeling so utterly defeated, broken, and horrified at what I'd done. I should've died and I realized it too late.
The goop disappears, the sun starts to rise, painting the sky with pinks and oranges, the periwinkle clouds sitting lazily above. The gentle breeze of the morning blows gently. The leaves of the palm trees rustle familiarly. I hear the ocean waves crashing in the distance. A couple of unthreatening birds squawk peacefully. For a few seconds, complete silence. The tears flow silently as everything appears just as quiet, still, and peaceful as it was before.
The mutts and body are gone, the electricity is gone… I slowly climb down the tree, my entire body aching and in pain, shaking, still not entirely sure what just happened until I hear Polymestor's voice, gentle and smiling.
"Ladies and gentleman, your Victor of the 36th Hunger Games… Mr. Gio Piccozzi!"
A/N: I almost had it be a mystery like in 1 and 41 but I just couldn't make myself. I was too excited about having my Victor selected! I'm so sorry Tristabelle! You made it so far and were a serious consideration for Victor since the beginning. Also, I think you have the most A+ character development out of all my characters.
Also, I was REALLY REALLY on the fence because I could see either of them as Victors. But the poll on my profile had 6 out of 11 voters cast their votes for Gio and a grand total of 1 cast their vote for Tristabelle.
I can't believe it's over… And we have a Victor… That's awesome and amazing and I thank all my loyal reviewers, submitters, and friends for all their support and love. It means the world.
Anyways, I shouldn't be on and on with all the sappy stuff YET. There are still a few other chapters left. If everything goes as planned, this story will end up with exactly 36 chapters :) So after this, we'll have Solitaire's post-Games interview and, of course, Gio's Victor interview and the Victory Tour. Man, I still can't believe I cracked and made him the Victor. After that, then I'll do epilogues, one for each District, in one long-ass chapter. And then the epilogue, chapter 36. AAAHH I CAN'T BELIEVE IT.
Chapter Question: What did you think of the turnout of the Games? Are you surprised?
SCORES:
AbbyCorabby123: 10
A-Bookworm-Named-Steph: 36
Beauty. Is. Strange: 61
Blonde4ever: 62
calebbeers21: 6
Coolgal02: 61
CrissKenobie-the-Numenorean: 51
Dreamer: 307
dreams and desperation: 76
elisa. anya: 5
Emrys Holmes: 86
epictomguy: 14
fat necrosis: 42
falyn. oliver: 43
FlawlessCatastrophe: 12
xGred-Forgex: 31
GryffindorOnFire: 5
hopefuldreamer1991: 204
Ibbonray: 35
Jalen Kun: 12
Jess: 371
Josephm611: 72
Kate: 243
Xx-Katerina-xX: 56
Kyoko Rose: 26
Lady Lysa Arryn: 97
LokiThisIsMadness: 61
magicharity: 163
Medium-Indigo (Guest): 60
Music Rules The World: 4
Mystical Pine Forest: 30
nevergone4ever: 2
xxPeppermintxx109: 71
Programming: 7
xQueen-of-Applesx: 40
rising-balloons: 75
Red Roses (Guest): 5
Rosemarie Benson: 12
santiago. poncini20: 66
Seahorse8: 17
seaotter99: 22
Shaunaicecream (Guest): 20
Sinfonian Legend: 345
superneet1214: 6
Skyflapple: 21
ThisWorldWeHate: 17
TyeTheLurker (Guest): 5
We're All Okay: 61
W. R. Winters: 76