Yay! Strawberries to jakefan and missbookworm13, who reviewed!

C3{ C3{

(I know, they kind of look like radishes instead, but my greater-than less-than signs don't show up, so I had to use Cs. Just take my word for it when I say they're strawberries.)

Caius: Oh yeah, they're strawberries. They're good ones too.

Me: Stop whining. It's a good thing you're not in this chapter.

Caius: *glares* I should be in every chapter. I'm awesome.

Me: Stop being so egotistic and go sit in your corner!

Caius: Yes, mother…

Me: Shut up.

Chapter 10

Level 11 of the Training Center Tower, the present

At this, nobody spoke. No one present, save three, had ever heard of such a thing before.

"How did you find out?" asked Plutarch in an ominously low voice. "About the others?"

Artemis looked up, and met his gaze. "The Capitol wanted us not to know about the others who had attempted something of this level of subversion," she said. "Naturally, I just had to figure out why for myself."

"What happened to them?" blurted out Katniss Everdeen, for which the majority of the people in the room glared at her for.

But Artemis was not part of that majority. "Executed for treason," she replied in a deceptively level voice. "Imprisoned. Turned into Avoxes. Sometimes all three, not particularly in that order. There have been seventeen attempters, and all I had to do was take their notes, modify them to my standards, and construct an upgraded version of their models. And for this, what will I get? The same punishment?"

"Why did you do it?" interrogated Plutarch, with his boot still over the control disk.

"For the same reason Katniss and Peeta resorted to using the nightlock."

Cornelius, Artemis's district partner, snorted from the back of the room. "Love?"

"That wasn't truly why they did it," corrected Artemis, meeting Katniss's eyes. "They did it to show their manipulators that human beings can't be controlled."

Everyone was silenced once again. A chill trickled its way down Katniss's spine as one thought ran in circles in her mind. She knows.

"Did you make the control disk before the war?" asked Plutarch when he regained the ability to speak.

"Of course this was before the war," said Artemis, breaking Katniss's gaze. "I wouldn't have had the time or opportunity to do it afterwards. I ran the final test during the Quarter Quell, with the tsunami wave. I managed to make it several feet taller." It would be an understatement to say that for this, she looked quite proud.

"What were you planning to do with it in the arena?"

"At best, get us all out of there before the gong sounded by lowering us on our plates back into the Launch Rooms, remotely sealing the holes, and programming the countless pieces of technology above us to explode and destroy the entire arena. And if that backfired on us, at least I know that all of us dying together in defiance would be better than all of us dying separately in vain."

Plutarch raised an eyebrow, then leaned down and picked up the control disk. "May I please have it back?" asked Artemis politely. At this the Head Gamemaker only laughed.

"Have it back?" he chortled. "Have it back? No," he snapped, his mockingly cheerful voice taking on a hard, cold edge. "This is a very complex piece of technology. It does not belong in the hands of a child playing a dangerous game."

Artemis's brown eyes widened. "Please," she begged. "Don't do this. I need it."

"No, you don't," said Plutarch, striding away towards the elevator. "Beetee, keep it safe." He tossed it precariously over his shoulder, and the District 3 man caught it.

"What should I do with it?" he called after Plutarch.

"Don't let her have it back," replied Plutarch as the elevator doors closed.

Beetee, with the silver disk in hand, glanced at Artemis. She returned his gaze pleadingly. "Please."

He averted his eyes. "No. I'm sorry."

"Haymitch!" gasped Artemis. But her mentor only avoided her gaze. "Johanna?" The young woman shook her head and turned her back. "Cornelius…" The stocky boy had already returned to his room. "Peeta?" The Boy with the Bread hesitated, then lowered his head. "Katniss."

And somehow, Katniss found that she couldn't turn her eyes away from Artemis. Artemis, once so strong, now reduced to no more than a child whose toy was being taken away. "I can't," Katniss said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. "It's not my problem anymore. It's your Hunger Games now."

The victors and the guards, minus Haymitch, started to disperse towards the elevator. Haymitch only ordered the guard behind Artemis, "Take her to her room. Lock the door from the outside if you have to."

The man did so, finding that the once-struggling and surprisingly strong girl was willing and weak. Something inside her seemed to have broken. As he led her into her room and took off her handcuffs, there was no resistance. Instead, she looked at him with those wide, glittering brown eyes and asked one question in a small, childlike voice. "Why won't they help me?"

The guard hesitated before replying. "I don't know, child. Just try to get some rest. You have a big day ahead of you."

"I don't know either," she whispered as he left. "I don't know how I'm going to survive that day without it."

He inhaled sharply, then shook his head and closed the door. Behind the locked door, in her dark room, Artemis sank to her knees. Her eyes fluttered shut, and she held her hands in her lap as a tear traced its path down her cheek.

Then her hands clenched into fists, and her eyes opened. But they were no longer large and innocent. They were dark and unforgiving.

Fine, then, she vowed. If they won't give me back my control disk, I am just going to have to find a way to get past them without it.

So? What do you think? I want opinions, people! No opinion is stupid! Just voice them! Tell me if you're confused about anything! Tell me what you think is going to happen! Tell me what you think of the characters! Tell me if anyone's a Mary Sue! Tell me if you like cake! Tell me who's your favorite OC so far! Tell me what you think of my writing style! Tell me if you get the PJO references (small ones, nothing big or necessary; but it might become more obvious in chapter 29) ! Come on! Tell me! And if you say you can't think of anything to tell me, I will bombard you with options… you don't want to be bombarded, do you? Bombardment is not fun… be warned ^_^

Me: All right, everybody! On three! One, two, three ––

*cricket, cricket*

Me: You were all supposed to say, "Review!"

Petronius: But we didn't.

Me: Exactly!

Artemis: What motive should we have to do so?

Me: …