Hey everyone! Welcome to another intense chapter of this story. What will be in store for Nessa and the others in District 13? It's time to find out…

Seeming Friends & Seeming Foes

Dial never ended up giving Nessa any lectures. In fact, he didn't communicate with anyone in the hovercraft for the rest of the flight to District 13, which surprised his brothers and Appara but nonetheless made them feel relieved. They, like everyone else who'd stayed in the area between the pilot's cabin and the cargo bay throughout the events that had transpired in the latter and throughout Geolo, Rue, and Foxface's moment in the former, hadn't been able to know for sure the full story of why exactly Thresh had done what he'd done, but they knew one thing for sure: Dial had placed Geolo in a bad position that he wouldn't talk about with them, and Thresh had eavesdropped on their conversation and decided to get the District 3 tribute out of that mess, whatever it was. And it would probably be better if they didn't ask any of the three to reveal the whole story; just to prevent any more tensions from formulating and possibly jeopardizing the mission.

However, before we find out what happened when Nessa and her team arrived in District 13, we will focus on something else—something that happened on the other side of Panem, at the exact same time as the evacuees and company began their journey out of District 3. Another invisible hovercraft, this one not having undergone any damage at any time before the current moment, flying over the beaches of District 4, without anyone down below knowing it was there. Which was undoubtedly a good thing, because the souls inside of it weren't Peacekeepers. In fact, they were Bongo and Objectiva, who were now looking for a place to land their hijacked vehicle so they could get out of it without anyone seeing them. Or rather, Objectiva was looking for a place to land their hijacked vehicle.

"I don't get why we can't just keep the hovercraft," Bongo was saying. "It'll help us get to the Capitol faster!"

"Bongo, the only entrance and exit may be the right size for us, Effie, and the mentors, but Golias could never fit through it! If he is to come with us, we have no choice. We have to leave the hovercraft behind."

"But Golias can fit through that thing! Just because he's big doesn't mean he can't squeeze himself out of shape just long enough to get through a pipe that's thinner than he is. Trust me, he did that for some reason when we were exploring the water park that went dry because Yuri didn't wanna cry. It was like watching a huge huge HUGE drop of water trying to squeeze itself out of a water tap, but it just stays there and keeps going," he then closed his mouth and started making a noise from behind his lips—the kind that sounds sort of like a creaking floor but not quite—before adding, "Until it suddenly falls out and you find out it's not a drop of water! It's Golias, and he…actually didn't look like he was feeling so good after that." He then looked around the pilot's cabin and sighed in disappointment. "Okay, okay, I guess we do have to get rid of the hovercraft."

Objectiva sighed with relief. "Good. Now let us park it behind that beach cabin over there. I see no one near it, so I assume that if anyone is supposed to be working there, they must have gone indoors for dinner."

"Okay," Bongo cheerfully replied. He then steered the vehicle downward, until it was right behind the cabin his fairy friend had pointed out to him. After that, he landed the hovercraft, deactivated its cloaking device, and turned off its engine before following Objectiva out of the contraption.

For a while they wandered around the nearest beach, trying to search for Golias and Effie, but to no avail. The duo were simply nowhere to be seen, which wasn't a good sign. They'd arranged to meet up with them at the beaches of District 4; where were they? Had they been captured by the authorities of Panem? Were they still trying to find a way to help Nessa out of the situation she was in? What was going on? What had gone on?

"I hope they're just at another beach," suggested Bongo. "I don't want them to be in trouble…"

"I agree," trembled Objectiva. What was even more nerve-wracking was that, to be precise, nobody was in sight on this beach. No civilians, no Peacekeepers…it was far too quiet around here. Where was everyone? Oh, how she hoped nothing bad had…then the fairy froze in midair, prompting Bongo to stop and ask her what was going on. She simply stared straight ahead, and then he saw what, or in fact who, had caused her to stop. As it turned out, they weren't the only ones here after all.

An old woman with silver almost-white wavy hair who had apparently been hiding behind the trunk of a palm tree about two feet away from the duo was slowly stepping into view, carrying a unique-looking fishing lure in her right hand. She stopped and glanced in all directions for a moment, before continuing forward, until she was standing right in front of her two companions.

Bongo stiffened and nervously waved to the woman. "Uh, hi. You're not…gonna tell the bad guys you saw us, are you?"

The woman didn't say anything, but she did shake her head, smiling kindly and reassuringly. "Oh good," Bongo then said, his nervousness instantly disappearing, but Objectiva wasn't ready to let her guard down; at least not yet. There was still a chance that this lady might betray them later on, and she wanted to be ready for the worst just in case. Not that she was going to say that out loud though; that would be a lethal mistake, and it would probably make Bongo have another unnecessary panic attack, which would only make things worse.

Bongo started to ask the woman if she'd seen Golias and Effie, but before he could, she put the index finger on her left hand to her lips. Next, she did a gesture with her entire left hand—the kind of gesture people did when they wanted someone to come to them or follow them. She then turned and began walking toward the area that qualified as the end of the beach and the beginning of official civilization. Unsure of what else to do, the duo followed her, all the while with Bongo keeping himself and Objectiva disguised with the same disguise he'd made appear back in Blissfield and both of them keeping their fingers crossed that she wasn't in the middle of or going to lead them into a trap. Sure, she seemed trustworthy, but you could never be too careful in Panem.

The woman slowly but surely led Bongo and Objectiva past a large group of palm trees and what was right behind it: a large building that the fairy advised the kangaroo not to look at as soon as she saw the sign just above its front door, which read, Sushibut Fish Processing Facility. She then led them past several more buildings (by now the other civilians of District 4 were starting to come out of the buildings, but thankfully nobody questioned them due to being fooled by Bongo's disguise), one of which was a training academy for future Career tributes and the rest of which were seafood kitchens that weren't as obvious of slaughtering machines as the first building but Objectiva still tried to steer Bongo's attention away from, until they finally arrived at the place she seemed to be looking for: a neighbourhood with a gated entrance that had a large sign high over their heads. A sign that read, Victors' Village.

"Victors' Village?" Bongo immediately asked upon seeing the sign. "Is everyone who lives here named Victor?"

The woman laughed, but it came out so softly that her companions almost didn't hear it. "No Bongo," sighed Objectiva, who, unlike her, could only wish she had it in her to laugh as well, "it just means that everyone who lives in this neighbourhood won um…a scary game."

"Oh," replied the kangaroo. Then he frowned and asked, "What game was that?"

"I…I will tell you later," said Objectiva. She really didn't feel like talking about the Hunger Games right now; not in such suspenseful circumstances and after having spent nearly an entire morning in grief. She just wanted to get this scenario over with, find Golias and Effie as quickly as possible, and see what had happened with them during her and Bongo's absence. Without having to deal with any more pain than she already was putting up with.

Eventually, the woman stopped in front of the fifth house in the neighbourhood's left side: a house that would have been considered ordinary had it been in Brasília, except for the fact that there was a humongous round statue in the front yard that for some reason was covered in curtains. She then walked up to its front door and gently knocked on it, and for the next few seconds everything went quiet. Who was on the other side of that door? What was about to happen? Bongo could feel himself getting more and more scared as he realized that there was a strong possibility that he and Objectiva were about to, for the third time, come face-to-face with a troop of Peacekeepers…

Swiswiswiswasisswasswis…!

Bongo froze. Objectiva and the woman didn't seem like they could hear it, but he certainly could. A creepy voice was angrily loud-whispering some words he was having trouble understanding, and the sound of it was coming from his bigger and lower pouch—the same place he'd put the box containing the magic dagger in. It was the same whispering he'd heard right before he had first realized that he and Char had switched boxes too…this was weird! And scary—he didn't like weird or scary, especially when those two words went together…

Yet for some reason, as he listened to the whispers, he couldn't find it in him to feel scared. In fact, as strange as it was, the whispering was making him feel kind of…calm. He couldn't really explain it, but it was like the dagger was reminding him that he wanted to prove to the Peacekeepers that he wasn't the weak guy they'd called him yesterday and making him stop feeling scared of itself and them. Reminding him that he hadn't chosen to keep the knife for nothing…wherever that last thought had come from…

Before Bongo could blink, he was staring down at his lower pouch, where he knew the dagger was beckoning to him, and felt his right arm slowly reaching for the pouch to pull it out, even though they were technically still for the most part safe. Doing these things wasn't his idea, and yet he couldn't help himself. It was almost like—

Suddenly the door opened, and when he saw the person behind it wasn't a Peacekeeper after all, Bongo snapped out of his trance and regained control of himself. The person who was answering the door was a young man with short brown hair, dressed in clothing that was so charming that it could only have come from the Capitol. A rather odd sight, considering where they were…well, that is, everyone saw it that way except for the old woman that had led the other two here. For as soon as the man opened the door, she smiled in a non-threatening way, apparently recognizing him. And then he smiled in a non-threatening way too and said, "Are they the two friends that went to find the amulets?"

Objectiva perked up a little in surprise. How did he know that—

And then Effie appeared behind the man, not hurt in any way and with a facial expression that indicated she was in no danger; if anything she was far from it. "They may be," she said, studying Bongo and Objectiva to try to see through their disguise.

"Effie! You're okay!" Bongo happily exclaimed, shaking off his disguise to reveal his true identity. Caught off guard by this sudden movement, Objectiva quickly flew out of the small pocket that rested on his dark blue shirt as it left his body, so that she wouldn't be in it when it hit the ground.

"Bongo!" a familiar voice then shouted in the same amount of excitement and relief. The group then turned to find the giant lump—who was none other than Golias—shaking the curtains off of himself before running forward to wrap his friend into a hug that he was anything but prepared for. Nonetheless, Bongo accepted it, and so did Objectiva once the elephant realized she was there too. After that, Yuri and seven other people came out of the house, and Yuri introduced them and the man who had answered the door as "some of Effie's mentor friends": Haymitch, Seeder, Johanna, Beetee, Wiress, Annie, and Cecelia, and the man who'd answered the door as Finnick.

"We wanted to go find you, but we knew the Peacekeepers would recognize us if we did," explained Annie. "Luckily, this happens to be the district where Finnick and I live, so we had Yuri steer the cablecar that brought us here straight into the Victors' Village."

"And a friend of ours who also lives here was very generous. And I mean, very generous," Finnick added, giving the old woman (whom he then introduced as Mags Flanagan, who had been his mentor during his Hunger Games and had been very close to him, and later Annie too, ever since) who had led Bongo and Objectiva here a thankful smile. After acknowledging the grateful smile she gave him in return, he continued, "She let us stay at her house after we told her everything, and she went to go find you in our place."

"Oh," Objectiva said, sighing with relief. "That is good to know."

"So did you find the amulets that can swap myself and Nessa back into our own bodies?" Effie inquired.

"Yup!" Bongo replied happily. "Right here!" He then reached into his neck pouch and pulled out the amulets, which both seemed to glow a bright emerald green as soon as he showed them to the others. Effie seemed immensely relieved upon seeing them in his hand, and she even asked if she could wear one of them right now, even though Nessa wasn't with them.

"I wouldn't recommend that," Haymitch put in. "If Nessa said something about her body other than its magic can turn you into a fighting machine, then we wouldn't want anything to interfere. And jewellery can interfere more than you'll ever know. Trust me."

Beetee nodded in agreement. "We'll be better off keeping the talismans in your friend's pouch until we reunite with Nessa."

Bongo shrugged. "Okay. Back in they go!" And with that, he put the amulets back into his neck pouch, giving Effie a nervous smile as she sighed anxiously.

"So…were you able to help Nessa out of the arena, and out of danger?" Objectiva asked.

"Actually, we didn't need to do anything until she broke herself and most of the tributes out," Seeder admitted.

The fairy gasped in shock. "You mean she…?"

Effie and the mentors nodded, and they along with Golias explained how, after Bongo and Objectiva had left for District 4, they'd learned that Nessa had formed an alliance with all the tributes except the Careers and come up with a plan to bust them all out of the Hunger Games arena. The plan had been successful, but three of the tributes hadn't made it out of the Capitol; Peeta Mellark had been ambushed by the female District 1 tribute before the team left the arena, Sonia Woolweave had been captured by Peacekeepers while trying to help other members of her team from outside the hovercraft they'd hijacked, and Katniss Everdeen had allowed the Capitol to capture her after they'd captured Lili, two of the sisters of Seeder's female tribute Rue, and…um…well…

"And who?" Bongo asked, after Golias suddenly became too nervous to say who the last person had been.

Golias awkwardly tapped his ears together, like a human would tap their index fingers together out of nervousness. He knew Bongo was going to lose it when he heard what he had to say…but it had to be done. He had to say it. "Uh, they um…they kind of, maybe…have Matt too…"

At first, Bongo didn't fully grasp what his friend had just said. "Oh Matt. Wait, Matt?" Then he panicked, grabbed Yuri, and shook him like crazy. "You let my best friend get captured by the bad guys in Panem?!"

"Oh great," said Johanna, rolling her eyes and sarcastically clapping her hands. "Good to know we have another kid-obsessed guy on our team. As if Mister Mentally Hopeless over there alone wasn't bad enough."

"I'm sorry Bongo!" Yuri said loudly, startled by the kangaroo's sudden move. "It happened before we could do anything to save them!"

Bongo stopped shaking Yuri and put him down, but he didn't feel any better. "I can't believe Matt's gone," he wailed. "I thought that if Yuri was here it meant he and Lili were here too! What am I gonna do now that—"

"KNOCK IT OFF!" Johanna screamed. When Bongo stopped freaking out, she told him, "After those of us who didn't get captured by the Capitol or taken out by Golias's foolishness escaped," Bongo almost interrupted her to ask her what she meant by Golias's foolishness, but Wiress wordlessly stopped him, "we decided to sneak back over there and save everyone that did get captured while Nessa, the tributes, and Rue's other siblings are going around Panem to get their loved ones involved in their quest to get out of Panem altogether. And that includes Matt, so you'd better promise you'll NEVER freak out like that again if you want to help us. Do you understand?"

"Oh," Bongo said, stopping what he was doing. He then waved his arms like crazy to stop himself from falling on the ground stomach-first (which he'd almost done in his panicking phase), but he'd gotten so off-balance that he couldn't do anything about it and ended up falling down anyway. After Johanna rolled her eyes, this time scoffing as she did so, the kangaroo took a second to process everything she'd said before adding, "Okay. I promise I won't do that again. With anyone."

"Good," Johanna said. "Now, does anyone have any ideas for how to get back to the Capitol?"

Everyone thought hard, and then Golias smiled, doing a gesture with his left ear; kind of like when a human pointed their index finger upward. "I know! We can use a hot air balloon to get there!"

Johanna stared at him like he was crazy and placed a hand on her hip. "Um, need I remind you that this is Panem, a place where hot air balloons are considered extinct?"

"Oh I wouldn't say they're extinct, even here," the elephant replied proudly. He then shifted his gaze to something behind and above the group, prompting everyone else to turn around and see what he was looking at. Once they did, everybody gasped in shock. One of the Victors' Village houses across the street had suddenly vanished, and in its place was a hot air balloon with a balloon that possessed not a pattern similar to the grey brick patterns of the other houses, but a neon pink background with purple and blue stars on it. It also possessed a basket that was big enough to fit everyone that was planning to go to the Capitol and rescue everyone its Peacekeepers had captured inside of it.

"You don't get it!" Johanna snapped. "If we use something that nobody in Panem uses anymore, we'll get busted before we even get out of District 4!"

Golias stiffened in fear. "We will?"

The recalcitrant woman grunted in anger. Clearly, by now she'd had all she could take of that guy—yet as much as it pained her on the inside, she couldn't kick him off the team. Not when Bongo hadn't proved his worth as a fighter yet and therefore still stood a chance at being an even worse asset to the team than Golias.

"She's right," admitted Beetee, with his expression indicating that while he was not going to say it out loud, one thing he didn't agree on was her still-active attitude towards a fellow teammate of theirs who had been nothing but kind to them, even if she hadn't exactly returned the favor. "Hot air balloons are never used in Panem, so we'll stand out quite a bit if we use one to travel to the Capitol. And even if they were still used here, they don't offer nearly as much protection as hovercrafts do…"

Bongo sighed. "If only the exit of the hovercraft Objectiva and I borrowed and took back without anyone noticing wasn't too small for Golias. Then we could get to the Capitol without any problems!"

"It's okay," said Yuri, smiling. "We can just make a new one that he can fit through." And then, in the blink of an eye, the hot air balloon disappeared, and in its place levitated a hovercraft, though it was much larger than the hovercraft Bongo and Objectiva had used and was bright purple instead of dark grey.

Finnick studied the new vehicle closely and decided, "As long as it stays invisible for the whole way, we can use it."

"Great!" the boy cheered. "Can I drive the hovercraft? Can I?"

"Don't make us reconsider bringing you to the Capitol with us, kid," Haymitch warned, perhaps a bit too honestly. "If you really want to know, we only decided to do it because of just how rattled Golias got when he was apart from you, knowing you in particular were in trouble. And there's no way he's staying behind. So if you want to help us, then don't do stuff that only adults and Geolo Keyship have earned my trust with. Okay?"

Yuri sighed in disappointment and unwillingly agreed to the deal. He really wanted to be the one to drive the bigger hovercraft, but at the same time, he knew better than to argue with an adult over something like this. Especially if that grownup seemed to have a personality that, when it came down to it, was just as strong as his.

And that was that. One by one, everyone climbed into the bigger hovercraft; except for Objectiva, who simply flew into it, and Golias and Effie, who were unable to climb up ladders due to their bodies not having the proper resources and had to wait for Beetee and Wiress to get to the control panel so they could use a claw to get them both inside. Annie and Finnick went last, since Mags had decided to stay behind and do what she could to distract the Peacekeepers of District 4 in case they'd seen anything suspicious and interrogated the Games victors of their hometown. She promised to get the other victors in on her part of the plan as well, but that didn't make the duo of victors she was closest to any less worried about her safety. So it didn't surprise the other mentors that those particular two needed an extra few seconds to bid farewell to their friend, hoping it would turn out to be a "see you later" when all this was over and not a tragic goodbye.

Then, once Finnick and Annie were ready and inside the bigger hovercraft, the team turned the vehicle around and began their journey back to the Capitol.

Nessa and her teammates arrived at what everyone could only assume was the borderline of District 13 within an hour, half of which had been spent eating dinner. Once they got there, however, Thresh took everyone by surprise by requesting that only himself, Clove, Geolo, Twill, and Patch leave the hovercraft to enter the underground area the districts' surviving residents were presumed to be in. And that they leave the vehicle right here and now, that the vehicle was put in camouflage mode after the right people left it, and that no matter what happened, the remaining passengers in the hovercraft did not advance any further into the district.

"R…really?" Geolo asked. Out of everyone in the vehicle, he was the most surprised.

"Yes," affirmed Thresh, curt as usual. "It's what's best."

"Um…okay..." The tribute from 3 wasn't surprised that Twill, Patch, and the group's two strongest fighters were going out there, and he had no trouble guessing that the rest of the plan was the way it was for the sake of having an as-less-risky-as-possible escape plan in case things went horribly wrong—which was extremely likely. But one part of Thresh's plan still had him caught off guard: why was he himself supposed to leave the vehicle too? Was there something really important that had to be done in order to ensure that all went well for the entire team; something that for some reason only he could accomplish?

Geolo mentally shrugged. He was bound to find out in a matter of minutes. Maybe even seconds.

After Appara asked Twill and Patch one last time if they were sure about what they were soon to do (which they were), Foxface sighed and reluctantly deactivated the hovercraft's invisibility setting. She then busied herself with the ladder's controls, and soon Twill, Patch, Thresh, Clove, and Geolo were on their way out of the vehicle. Within seconds they made it to the ground, and she retracted the ladder and reactivated the hovercraft's cloaking device. After that, she along with at least half of the remaining passengers inhaled nervously. There was no turning back now—they were really going to do it. Tell District 13, a place that was more than likely working with the Capitol, about what they were doing and try to seek an alliance with them. Something Twill and Patch were bound to regret instigating.

Things down below were quiet at first. The five members of the team who'd left the hovercraft didn't say anything to each other, mainly because they were busy searching the area of white rocky ground (which didn't look nearly as annihilated as the videos of District 13 shown by the Capitol had at every reaping) for clues as to where the entrance to the new version of the town was. Yet that wasn't the only thing on the group's minds. Geolo was still deep in thought about why Thresh had wanted him to come with them and was also trying his hardest not to look nervous in Clove's presence. She and Thresh, meanwhile, were both deep in thought about their respective plans to get rid of each other once and for all, both of which were only known of by their respective authors. Then there were Twill and Patch, who were determined to put their plan into action but still couldn't help acknowledging the quotes of everyone who'd tried to object to coming here. It was yet another tense silence, and while he didn't know the full story behind it, it still gave Geolo a bad feeling.

Then, about ten and a half minutes later, something happened that interrupted that silence. The quintet eventually came across the entrance to an underground bunker, which looked big enough to fit a hovercraft through it. Yet they didn't have to knock on it or anything to let the citizens of District 13 know they were there, because by the time they arrived in that area, six adults carrying blasters and dressed in what were basically black and helmetless versions of Peacekeeper uniforms were walking out of the entrance. Everything about their stern expressions indicated that somehow, they'd known these five people were coming long before they'd emerged into view just now.

"Hello," greeted Twill, pushing aside any ounce of fear that might have been lingering inside her. "I'm Twill, and this is my husband Patch. We've run away from District 8 to join Nessa's team of arena evacuees."

Most of the people who'd emerged from the bunker nodded, having apparently not recognized her or Patch but having recognized the other three right from the beginning. They still looked unhappy though, and at first Clove assumed it was because they were about to berate her "allies" for even thinking that escaping Panem was possible with them and the Capitol present. But then one of the District 13 soldiers said the particular thing that was clearly—based on the looks in their eyes—on her teammates' minds as well: "I see. But how do you explain the presence of District 2's newest female tribute?"

What? Why would someone from District 13 say the same thing that the people they'd picked up in Districts 8 and 3 had said? They were much MUCH stronger than they were when it came to weaponry, so it wasn't like they needed to trick them into stepping into a trap. They could easily reveal their true colours right here and now without needing to act one bit! Why were they behaving just as wary towards her as everyone in Nessa's team was? It didn't make sense!

Geolo, meanwhile, retold the story of how Clove came to join the evacuees' team, although he was just as surprised by the soldier's question as she was. Thresh was surprised too, but unlike the other two, he kept it hidden from his facial expression. Proving to others that he was a force to be reckoned with had been especially important even before Nessa had replaced Two in the arena, and that was still the case now.

When Geolo was finished, Patch explained everything he and Twill wanted District 13 to know: the rebellion transpiring in District 8, and their longing to end President Snow's reign over Panem by allying with 13, having deduced the truth about their status (they didn't mention the part about them working for the Capitol, wanting to be on best terms with these people as possible in case they could convince them to betray Snow) by closely studying the "live" videos of this district. Twill then politely made it clear that while five people including herself had come here, only she and Patch would be staying in District 13 for as long as required. The other three would be returning to Nessa's side to continue helping her with the nation evacuation, which she explained why they were still allowing to happen despite these new circumstances.

After that, the soldiers took a moment to process everything that had been said, one of the male members of the troop curtly told Twill and Patch, "You two soldiers, this way." Then, to Geolo, Thresh, Clove, and even his own cohorts, he said, "The rest of you, stay here and do not do anything until we come back. Do you understand?"

Geolo nodded vigorously and fearfully before Thresh or Clove could react. Then the soldier who had just spoken clipped his blaster to his belt, grabbed Twill by the arm with his left hand and Patch by the arm with his right hand, and escorted them both into the underground bunker. They walked further and further until those who were still outside lost sight of them, with the other soldiers keeping their hands on their own blasters, which they kept pointed at the three tributes without a word.

As the seconds ticked by, while Geolo simply remained confused by how the whole situation was playing out, Thresh and Clove both stood there, rigidly and silently waiting for the residents of District 13 to reveal their true intentions, shocked and confused that they hadn't already considering the scenario. He just wanted an opportunity to get Twill and Patch to face the facts so they could get rid of the Career and get out of here, and she just wanted the 13s to do what she wanted them to do, which they weren't doing. Why weren't they making it obvious that they were working for the Capitol by now?! Nothing was stopping them! What were they doing?

And then, at the exact same time, both tributes realized something. The way Thresh saw it, maybe Twill and Patch had been pulled aside because District 13 was revealing its true intentions. Maybe they were trying to get them into prison cells one or two at a time so that if they tried to escape, it would take longer for them to find each other. Simultaneously, the way Clove saw it, well…could it really be possible that not just one or two, but all of District 13 was actually working against the Capitol somehow? All six of these soldiers seemed to have the same opinion about the current situation, and if they were working for the Capitol, there was no reason why they wouldn't have proved it by now. They just had too powerful of an advantage over them!

But that didn't make sense. If District 13 wasn't working with her real allies after all, then why (like one of Rue's siblings had said; was it Fern?) hadn't they proved it years ago? They couldn't have been too scared that they'd get punished for it—not if they had nuclear weapons that stood a chance against the Capitol. Then again, them not working for the Capitol was the only explanation the Career could think of for these soldiers doing what they were doing…

Clove wanted to grunt in frustration, but she didn't. She couldn't. It seemed like the only way to know for sure whether or not District 13 was on her side was if she did something that would probably annoy the soldiers no matter whose side they were on: talking to them and trying to trick them into spilling the beans. But what could she say? The only sure-fire way to get what she wanted out of these people was by mentioning President Snow in a casual conversational fashion and seeing how they'd respond, yet a voice deep down was telling her that that would turn out to be a fatal mistake…

However, before she could decide what to do, Thresh startled her by narrowing his eyes and sternly asking the remainder of the soldiers, "What's he telling them?"

"It's currently none of your business, Soldier Croppez," one of the female soldiers curtly replied, a warning look in her eyes.

"Not Soldier," instructed the muscular tribute, clearly meaning business just as much as she did.

Geolo gulped. What was Thresh doing? Sure, these soldiers were obviously not on their side, but come on! They were holding guns that could contain nuclear bullets for all they knew, and it wasn't like Twill and Patch were here to wipe out the chances of any physical battle against those guys ending either in a stalemate or with the soldiers winning! He had to do something to stop things from escalating into an all-out war. So, quickly, he said, "Uh, guys, maybe we should just try to keep things calm and quiet until Twill and—"

"No, Three," barked Thresh. He knew for a fact that the fourteen-year-old thought he was going crazy. He wasn't though. He just knew that he had to get rid of Two, and that by now Twill and Patch were probably being locked up in a cell somewhere in that underground bunker, now forced to accept the fact that District 13 couldn't be trusted or reasoned with. They'd done what they had come here to do, and now it was time to get the couple back and go. If only he could just find out where they were without risking getting shot by who knew what…

Turning back to the soldiers, ready to steer the conversation in a particular direction, Thresh demanded, "Take us to them!"

"It's currently none of your business, Soldier Croppez," the same female soldier repeated, this time in an even sharper tone than the first time.

Thresh took a step forward. It was now or never. "Then take her. Know she's a traitor. You too!" Two, Three, and three of the soldiers turned his way, startled, and another female soldier who wasn't among that trio started to say something, but he continued before she get a word out. "Only difference is she's more selfish! Wants to impress Snow so much, doesn't want your help!"

Geolo's mouth fell open in shock. He was impressed with the deduction, but…why say it and his thoughts about District 13 out loud, in circumstances as scary as this?! Was this a case of overconfidence or something? What was going through his willing ally's mind?

Clove, meanwhile, was impressed by how good Thresh apparently was at predicting her mind worked, even if he wasn't exactly correct on bits of his speech, but was also very very scared. At this point District 13 had better be working for the Capitol, because if it wasn't, she was dead meat. This was such a dramatic situation, she wasn't even sure if she was succeeding in hiding her emotions from her face! District 13 had to be on her side; she needed them to be. It was her only hope. They'd better be on her side…

One of the male soldiers abruptly stepped forward, and started to aim his blaster. But before Thresh, Geolo, or Clove could catch who he was trying to aim for, the soldier who had escorted Twill and Patch away returned from the underground bunker, the couple no longer with him. At first Thresh thought he was going to help the other soldiers arrest or kill him and Three, but what happened instead surprised him. Instead of even trying to touch the duo, he took one look at what the soldier with the aimed blaster was doing and yelled, "Stop! Don't kill them! Don't kill any of them, no matter whose side they're on!"

The soldier lowered his blaster, but stared at the man in confusion. "Why am I receiving such an order from you, Soldier Boggs?"

"I was told to spread the word to all of you," explained the soldier named Boggs. And then he turned to the present tributes and curtly said, "Keyship, you can stay out here. Croppez, Bronzitt, President Coin wishes to see you both in her office immediately."

Oh. My. Gosh. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, for the next chapter, I fully give you Thresh vs Clove. Who will win and who will be shoved away from Nessa and the others? We'll have to wait and see ;)