Author's Note: The first main event of the Quarter Quell. We have finally arrived at the Tribute Parade. I really enjoyed putting this chapter together so I hope you enjoy my take.

….

Spectacle

"Well, it could be worse. Bit too bright and floral, but at least I don't look like a kid," Chaff said.

"You're a victor, Chaff. I wasn't going to dress you like a child," his stylist replied. "And when you see some of the others, you'll be grateful."

Chaff soon realised what his stylist meant. As he left the stylist's company, he saw Adan in a cow outfit with a flaming cowbell that looked distinctly uncomfortable. Maria was going to throw a fit of epic proportions when she saw how her victors were dressed and Chaff was looking forward to witnessing it. Barric appeared beyond Adan in a costume that Chaff assumed must resemble a loaf of bread. The District Nine man was not going to be impressed, and neither would his mentor.

Haymitch's boy appeared suitably dressed. A man now, Chaff realised, and he made a note to himself to speak to Peeta later. But for now, he joked with Adan and tried to make out that his outfit wasn't as bad as it really was.

Mags too was trying to reassure her fellow tributes. She had spoken to Luna, still upset about her predicament, and had tried to comfort Wiress about her outfit. But there was not much Mags could say. At least Wiress wouldn't be the only victor dressed as a child in a silly costume.

But, upon seeing Finnick, Mags was furious. She would never have allowed this. But she was a tribute and had no say. Chloe and Coral had clearly not been consulted and Dora would not have let this happen either. But Dora was in Four and this was the result. Her Finnick was practically naked.

Somehow Noah had left the other mentors and joined them. He found Finnick's outfit, or lack of, hilarious. Noah's absence and then Finnick's appearance was going to do nothing for Chloe's nerves. But Mags let Noah joke with Finnick, it would do no harm.

Then they were being moved to the chariots, Noah still with them, despite the instruction to join the mentors at their designated seats. He made sure Mags reached the chariot safely and then went to wind up Brutus and Enobaria, but not before Mags heard him joking with Finnick about Twelve's girl.

Sure enough, Finnick had caught sight of Haymitch's girl and went to join her. Mags had no idea what he was planning but she was sure she would find out later. It would probably not be how she would approach the girl, but in the arena, it would be Finnick's alliance so she would let him do as he pleased for now.

She turned around to see Poppy also with the tribute group, attempting to get both Claudia and Levi onto the chariots and to stay in one place. Mags just hoped for all their sakes that the pair would not fall off the back. Poppy then joined Cecelia and Woof and helped adjust their outfits as they mounted the chariots. Mags was proud of them all. It was a hideous situation, but she could see the care Poppy took in assisting them to make sure they looked as they should. It was more than they would get from their stylists who had already left.

They met eyes as Poppy walked in her direction and Mags knew that Poppy could see the trust they had in each other from that alone. As she passed Brutus and Enobaria, Poppy grabbed Noah's arm and insisted they join the other mentors. It was past time they did as they were told. Mags waved them off and watched as Finnick re-joined her, laughing as he made his way over.

….

"Where's Noah? He should be here by now. What on earth is he doing?" Chloe asked.

"Calm down, Chloe. He'll be helping Mags and probably causing mischief with Finnick," Coral replied.

"That's the part I'm worried about. He'll see that Mags is okay, and I know she will be. But can't he do as he's told!"

"Chloe, none of us can do as we're told. It's why we're here," Liev cut in. "You worry too much my dear. Noah can manage himself and Mags will be running the show. They will be fine."

"Poppy's not back either. She'll make sure he doesn't cause trouble," Linden replied.

The designated box for the mentors was fast filling up with plenty of disgruntled victors, anxious at the spectacle their friends would be made into. It was bad enough watching twenty-four children year after year, but this was going to be several times worse. Whatever their position, rebel or not, none of the victors wanted or deserved this and everyone present knew it.

They watched as Haymitch made his way over, constantly being interrupted by over-eager spectators wanting to have the ear of their current favourite mentor, even for a few seconds. He went through the motions, shook the right hands and promised to speak to the right people later. He was going to need to be on form this year.

Behind him, Orchard followed, accompanied, to the relief of the other victors. Haymitch announced that their most senior victor had been assigned an avox as his personal assistant for the duration of the Games. He would not be left struggling to get around the various events they were going to have to attend before the arena. It was an unusual act of assistance for the Capitol, but dragging a man of Orchard's age and declining health to the Capitol to watch his victors die was perhaps the greatest insult they could have thrown at him.

By now, Poppy was making her way back with Noah following a way behind her.

"All okay?" Max asked as she took her seat next to him.

"They were still standing on the back of the chariot when I left them. Hopefully, nothing's changed."

"Worried about them falling off?" Linden asked.

"Wouldn't you be?" Poppy replied.

"Chloe," she started, "Noah's on his way. Mags is okay. Finnick, well Noah will let you know. But he's certainly something," she laughed, and Chloe groaned in response as Noah finally reached them.

"Chloe, Coral, everyone, just you wait and see what our Finnick isn't wearing!"

"Why do I think you're going to say clothes?" Chloe said.

"Because you'd be right, auntie Chloe. You can't quite see everything, so you don't need to cover your eyes to save your embarrassment."

"Please say Mags is appropriately dressed," Coral asked.

"Of course she is. Probably not quite to her usual tastes, but a good enough job. She'll charm everyone and that's what we need her to do. Probably a rushed job, probably expecting Annie to arrive, the silly fools, so she's not matching with Finnick."

"I don't think we'd want that," Chloe snapped.

"Relax Chloe, Finnick will be fine. Mags is with him," Liev said, trying to reassure his friend.

"Mags will cover him if it gets too windy," Noah laughed.

"Noah!" Coral chided, to the laughter of the rest of the group.

The chatter amongst the mentors died down as the anthem began and the Tribute Parade formally opened. The Capitol had promised extra effort for an extra special Quell and it had been achieved. Unfortunately, it was their friends at the centre of it all. Even more people than usual had been crammed into the stands which had been extended to accommodate the extra attendees and The Avenue itself had been modified for the event. The Games were only just beginning, and it seemed as if no expense had been spared in the Capitol's efforts to kill the victors.

The chariots began to roll out from the Tribute Centre and along The Avenue of the Tributes. The crowds were cheering and craning their necks to get a glimpse of their favourite victors. It was a moment of excitement for Capitol audiences, but not one shared by the victors.

Topaz and Luxor nodded approvingly to each other upon seeing Gloss and Cashmere. As ever, District One's stylists had done a fine job and the siblings were presenting themselves as well as they ever did. They had lots of fans, so it was not a difficult job, but One's victors would mark the parade as a job well done. Gem could be overheard telling Aria that they should all be pleased with their showing so far whilst Satin nodded along to her colleague's positive comments.

District Two gained an equal amount of praise. Their mentors were happy, Lyme was happy, and the crowds were delighted. Brutus and Enobaria were putting on the performance expected of them, and the Capitol enjoyed their display of enthusiasm for the coming events.

Beetee and Wiress were considerably less enthusiastic.

"We look stupid," Wiress whispered to Beetee.

"It could be far worse. Just look at Nine and Ten. And of the pale imitations of Twelve's outfits last year, I'd say ours is the best."

"At least it will be over soon."

Looking on, Halley tried to meet eyes with Wiress as they approached the end of the route. She wanted to provide reassurance that they had done a good job and ensure her old mentor knew that she was looking out for her as their roles had reversed.

Next to Halley, Chloe looked as if she were sucking lemons. Mags looked lovely and was charming the crowds of her own accord. But a nearly naked Finnick was the main attraction, and everyone knew it. The screaming from across the crowds was deafening.

"At least we will have sponsors. Think of the money Chloe, of what we can do with it when it reaches us," Coral muttered.

"They're going back to the arena! How am I supposed to focus on the money!"

"Perhaps I shouldn't have said that, but we are going to be inundated and it will work in our favour, in Four's favour, once we get our hands on it."

"They can't even dignify him with clothes!"

"He handles it in his way, Chloe. It will never be right, but at least he has learnt how to handle it without destroying himself," Halley said, having overheard Chloe's worries.

"You will look out for him if he comes to you?"

"Of course, I will. Always," Halley replied sincerely, and Chloe squeezed her hand in thanks.

Beside them Noah was laughing again, "He's using Mags and her dress as a shield! It must be cooler out there than sat here!"

Coral nudged him sharply, "Noah! He's presenting Mags, showing her off. Whilst she is protecting him. They're working together, and the audience will love his loyalty to Mags."

"Whatever you say, Coral, whatever you say," Noah laughed.

Behind them, Porter looked less than impressed. Her friends were following Finnick and that was never going to end well. She was going to have to work hard to get them sponsors against the competition.

Max and Poppy could breathe a sigh of relief. "They've stayed upright," Max said.

"And Claudia is trying to engage with the audience. That's better than we expected," Poppy replied.

Levi was downcast, distracted by the flecks of colour on his suit, too busy running his hands over them to look at the crowds.

On the chariot behind them, Blight too was willing the pair to remain standing. He did not want to have to explain to Poppy that it was his chariot that trampled her friends.

"I wish I could put an axe through all of them," Johanna hissed.

"Hey! Not all of them! I have my friends here," Blight replied.

"What? Flogging your albums?"

"Reminding them of my greatest hits, Johanna. Showing them what they're going to miss. What a wasted talent I am."

"You wish," Johanna snorted.

"They're going to bring us sponsors, Johanna. We have to take what we can get in this situation."

"They'll bring you sponsors," Johanna said.

Blight sighed and shook his head, reminding Johanna to at least wave to the crowds and not look like she wanted to kill them. A sentiment he shared to a large extent. But that wouldn't get them out of their situation. Sponsors would help, but Johanna won't acknowledge what Blight really means, what he had told her several times over. She was going to be his priority and he had told his friends to at least match whatever they gave him in sponsoring Johanna, and that they should encourage their associates to favour his girl.

Back in the stands, Cotton was trying not to cry. Maria had spent a lot of time trying to reassure her, and Cotton knew that people would be watching her. She could not let Cecelia or Woof down. She tried to smile and wave, clapped loudly for Cecelia and Woof as they passed and tried to catch the eyes of who she knew to be Eight's regular sponsors. She was going to have to try to mentor.

Barley and Mona groaned at the sight of Barric and Maizey. This was not good. Grown adults dressed as loaves of bread. What an embarrassing sight. Their pair would make of it what they could, wave to the crowds, hold their hands in the air, united, but it was going to be difficult to overlook their outfits.

Beside them, Maria swore loudly. Her victors had been disrespected. Dressing them like that. A pale imitation of Twelve's innovation last year. It was embarrassing. They were proud, accomplished adults who loved all of what Ten offered. They didn't even come from cattle farming backgrounds. But the stylists knew nothing of Ten, they knew nothing full stop in Maria's eyes. She would be having stern words, with the stylists and Heavensbee. She needed new stylists and quickly. Orchard could sense her anger and placed his hand on her shoulder. She could see both the sympathy and anger in his eyes. He was a proud man too so could sense the insult she felt.

Orchard was angry at the whole spectacle. Chaff and Seeder made a good showing of themselves, and he would have their usual sponsors. Next to Haymitch's pair, they would pale into comparison, but Orchard didn't mind. The Twelves needed to be the talking point.

But the parade had brought it into focus. Orchard had watched every single one of these victors survive their Games and now twenty-four of them were returning to their worst nightmare. Chaff and Seeder did not deserve this, they were needed at home too. None of the victors, rebel or otherwise should be in this position. They each had their own lives and as Orchard stared down the end of his own days, he could only hope that they would bring the Games and the whole regime down with them. He was tired and the Capitol needed to be stopped.

Cinna and Portia had done it again. It made his job so much easier and for that, Haymitch was grateful. The immediate popularity of his two victors and the infamous circumstances of their victory would do a lot of the work for him too, but maintaining their position as the highlight of the parade would assist his efforts immensely.

It was all stupid, they were being sent to their deaths after being dressed up and paraded like prize ponies. But it was the Capitol and appearances mattered. Maria's ongoing rage was a testament to that. Her victors had been made to look silly in front of the Capitol and she would have to deal with the repercussions. The Nines were in a similar position, but they would manage it in their own, quieter fashion.

President Snow declared the Games officially open but most of the victors barely listened. They had too much to think about. There was so much planning to do, both for the Games and beyond, that Snow's speech was the last thing on their minds.

The speeches ended, the chariots rolled back towards the Tribute Centre and the mentors made their preparations to join their friends. But not before a television runner made their way to them to inform Lyme, Noah and Liev that they would be appearing on the evening Games show to discuss the parade and that both Poppy and Aria had been selected to comment on the evening's fashion choices.

The news sent Aria into a panic. She hated interviews and television appearances. Gem immediately tried to reassure the younger victor and her advice was clear. Speak favourably about Gloss and Cashmere, pay lip service to the Twos, and for Maria's sake, attempt damage limitation for District Ten. Maria had long been a close friend of Gem's and District One's victor was furious for her longstanding ally. So much so, that upon seeing Maria leaving the stands, Gem joined arms with her and made a beeline towards the Centre in the hope of finding Ten's stylists.

Both Lyme and Noah expected that their presence would be required and was quickly discussing the best talking points with their fellow victors. But for Poppy and Liev, this was not a request they expected.

"They normally get Cecelia for this. Do they seriously expect that because we're friends, I will have picked up all her fashion knowledge?" Poppy asked.

"That's probably their thinking. That and the fact that they don't want victors who will be actively hostile or difficult on screen and, my dear, we play the game well," Liev replied. "At least I know what they'll be asking me. A trip down memory lane, back to that very first parade, where I had the misfortune of being. And of course, being the sole survivor. A District Seven tribute dressed as a tree, and look where we found ourselves, District Seven tributes dressed as trees!"

"How did we ever get here, Liev?"

"I've given up asking myself that."