Lacey Weaver- No Way Down D8F

It made sense they'd pick Alysanne. She was Lancia's cousin, plus the martial arts stuff. She'd have won the first time if the twins hadn't been... twins. It was painfully clear to me that in my own case, I'd only been brought back because I was her friend. What a disservice to everyone involved. Alysanne would lose her friend again. Via would lose her sister again. And I'd fail both of them again. But then, with an attitude like that I'd just make a self-fulfilling prophecy. I was here, whether or not I thought my chances were good. All I could do was try.

Elle Phant- Swing Vote D8F

So we actually did it. Irina walked into the room and I saw the circus kids had brought it home. One of us, anyway.

"How are things back home?" I asked.

Irina winced a little. "They're... going. We're still putting on shows. We got some new cats out of all the publicity and stuff. We have a cheetah now, which is pretty cool. We sent him on to a preserve, since he's a cheetah, but he seems to like his new home. So some good came out of it all."

"Good to hear. I was afraid it would just fold entirely, what with losing like half of the performers," I said. I supposed my understudy must have taken over for me. Leo was okay at magic, but if I did say so myself, he wasn't on my level yet.

"People still come, anyway," Irina shrugged. She gave a sad smile. "We're pegless now, though."

To most people, that just sounded nonsensical. Only a circus people would know the meaning it had. Hundreds of years ago, Barnum said there were two pegs on which the circus hung. One was elephants. The other was clowns.

Zibby Spooly- A Night to Remember D8F

What a time to be alive. Decades had passed since my first Games. Technology advanced exponentially, meaning there was endless new science and inventions I'd never even dreamed of. What treasures I would find in the arena. What possibilities for science and mayhem.

"So how does the cloning stuff work?" I asked. "Do you need a tissue base to work with, or just DNA?"

"We use the DNA sequences we harvest from Tributes before the Games," the medic said.

"Would a fossil work?" I asked.

"I think so," the medic said dubiously.

"So you're telling me we could clone every extinct animal ever? Why are we not on this?" I asked.

"I suppose because of the ecological implications," the medic said, clearly getting more and more out of her depth.

"Ecology schmecology. A small price to pay for science."

Niko Lafont- Heart of Darkness D8M

Twenty years. It had been more than twenty years since my first Games. Twenty-five, more like. No one would remember anything about me. They barely knew I'd ever existed, much less about the... incident. I wondered how many of the people punished for me were dead. Of the ones still alive, I wondered how many had forgiven me.

It was a new start, if I looked at it more positively. My family was likely gone, no one remembered me, and I was more or less a cipher. No one was behind me, but no one was against me. In a sea of faces, I was one of the least memorable. I could only hope I'd be just as unnoticed in the arena.

Linden Anderson- Descent into Madness D8M

The medic looked at me with a dreamy expression. I briefly wondered if she might be relaxed about the fraternization rules before she spoke.

"Isn't it so romantic? You and Visenya have a second chance!"

Oh... So that was how it was. We were here again to keep up that same old story. If I'd known our little ruse would be this long-lasting, I might have elected to take my chances on my own. Visenya and I were bound for life now- as many lives as we had.

"It was so heartbreaking how you died for her," the medic sighed.

I didn't tell her the truth. Visenya and I had never been in love, not from the start. I died saving her, but the real truth was, I didn't die for her. I died for myself- to finally be a selfless person and think about someone else. Not because I loved her, but because she was a person and had value even though I didn't love her. It didn't end up saving her in the end, but that didn't really matter. It only mattered that I did it.

Christobal Chanel- Swing Vote D8M

In all the chaos, being with Juniper felt like being in the eye of a storm. It was strangely serene, just being with the person I'd come to love. I felt guilty for thinking the Games were worth it because I never would have met him otherwise. But then, if the Capitol wasn't the way it was, we could travel between Districts and I could have met him. Either way, I didn't mind being back in the Games center, getting ready to do it all over again, because for this moment, Juniper and I were just sitting peacefully and being together.

"Guess we should enjoy it while it lasts," Juniper said, no doubt going through the same thoughts.

"You wanna see if we can catch a concert or something?"

Daisy Stem- Res D*4F

"You two think we'll just keep doing this forever? Just keep dying and coming back?" I asked as Unique picked at some sushi and Mahi bit off half a steak in one bite.

"Probably not," Mahi said after hastily swallowing. "Eventually Panem will fall apart for whatever reason and the new people won't do the Games."

Unique glanced around for cameras, but when nothing happened, she relaxed. "Guess that'll be it for us."

"Maybe they'll resurrect all the Tributes and let them live," I said. Wouldn't that be nice? A new country, and everyone getting the lives back that were stolen from them? To finally die of old age, maybe with some grandkids around my bed?

"Then it doesn't matter if we win," Mahi said. "The new people will have all our names from the tapes and they can come find us."

"Good," I said. "Since we're probably not gonna win."