Penelope's Web

by Zevoros

In silence, the first tick of the clock rings out. Dawn rises, but the Hunger Games steadily grind onward. The tributes stand in preparation for the journey ahead, and Seneca Crane stretches out his hand. The gears slip forward and Gadget knows that the first hour is here.

4. Jars Full of Air

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~~(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)~~

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Author's Notes:

Triage: I'm not a fan of Mortimer, and I want horrible things to happen to him...repeatedly. You should all thank Zevoros because I would have otherwise written his untimely demise via a one-tonne brick appearing out of thin air and flattening him a la Wile E. Coyote style. Anyway, more Septimius, Beetee and Wiress goodness here. Enjoy, please read and review.

Zevoros: Special thanks to Evie Rose and Team Shadow! Additional thanks to CragmiteBlaster.

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Penelope's Web

Chapter 4

Jars Full of Air

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Gadget stumbled into the suite as the elevator doors opened. She clutched a hand to her forehead in agony. It felt like her head was being split open.

Though despite it, her mood remained unchanged. She showed the Capitol who she was and they cheered for her. They couldn't wait to see what she could do and she felt so proud of herself for it.

With arms wrapped around her firmly, Gadget took another step and felt the pain in her leg jump up through her and she nearly slipped. Her head fell forward and the headpiece of her parade costume slipped off and shattered on the floor like glass into tiny pieces.

So it wasn't plastic, Gadget recognized faintly. She kicked her foot through the mess and giggled to herself as she watched small pieces splinter off into tiny ones. There was something so rewarding and satisfying about the sight.

She understood that the people around her spoke, but their words meant nothing to her. The words they said, she couldn't make out. All she knew, all she thought, was that they were pleased with her, and that made her happy.

Gadget rubbed at her eyes, they felt like they threatened to burst. But still, she smiled. Because a mere headache wasn't anything to be upset about. She was in the Capitol and it was wonderful!

To Gadget, in that moment, there was nothing wrong with the world. Everything was perfect. Everything was bright. She could hear the cheers of the District Two tributes through the floor and their excitement filled her with glee.

For what felt like ages, Gadget was truly happy to be alive.

Dimly, she heard Septimius' voice and became aware that Wiress left her side and someone else took her place.

Gadget took a step, then a second, and on and on, automatically as the people at her side dragged her along. But she had no problem with that. She felt too elated with her success at the parade to have a problem with anything in the world.

The beautiful, beautiful world.

She wondered where her companions would take her. To the room the Capitol provided to her? Would it be as nice and lovely as the one on the train? She tried to ask, but her voice lulled as soon as she opened her mouth. She giggled to herself. She was far too excited to even speak.

The world came to a stop around her and she felt one of the presences around her disappear. Gently, she felt the second presence guide her down to her knees, where her bare legs connected to a tiled floor. A shiver from the coolness ran through her, but she didn't mind.

The room was odorless, Gadget noticed. No perfume or smoke or roses or whatever the streets of the parade smelled like. No, the room had nothing to it.

Gadget opened her eyes in spite of the headache that throbbed, and the room came into focus. The first thing she noticed was the sterile white, similar to the ones in the Remake Center.

To her side was a sink made of beautiful marble. She wanted to touch it. She wanted to know if it felt as smooth as it looked.

"Gadget?"

Gadget looked to her other side. Septimius had sat himself down beside her, his feet crossed underneath him and a glass of a clear liquid that Gadget thought was probably water.

"Hey, Septimius," Gadget slurred. Her smile went impossibly wide. "Did you see how good I did?"

"Oh, my dear, did I see." Septimius gave Gadget a weak smile. He tapped the glass in his hand with his index finger.

"I think they loved me," Gadget said. "They really loved me."

Septimius didn't say anything to that. He had a look in his eye that Gadget couldn't begin to read, not in her state.

Silence plagued the room, but Gadget found she didn't mind it. It was nice. Silence always gave her time to be alone with her thoughts, and-

"I think you'll like this." Septimius broke the silence and Gadget tilted her head towards him. He held up the glass of water.

"Water is nice," Gadget said, and she took the glass from his hand with surprising delicacy for a girl that had trouble balancing on her two feet.

"It is," Septimius said somberly. He watched as she opened her mouth and drank the liquid from the glass in just a few, small gulps.

It didn't taste like any water Gadget had before, though she drank it anyway.

"Sorry," Gadget apologized with a sincere smile. She put the glass down at her side. "I was thirsty."

"I can imagine," Septimius said. He leaned forward and put a hand on the platform in front of her that she hadn't paid any attention to. He lifted it to reveal an oval-shaped bowl filled with water.

"Oh," was all Gadget said, before she retched into the toilet. She pushed her head forward and grasped onto the sides of the bowl.

Though she couldn't see it, Gadget felt Septimius' hands quickly grab her hair and pull it back, out of her way, as she vomited out into the bowl.

Slowly but surely, Gadget felt her senses return to her. Her inhibitions and control and all the rest slammed back into her like she'd been shocked with a live wire.

Similarly, her headache vanished as quickly as it had come. The ache behind her eyes became a buzz, before it disappeared entirely.

Then the despair hit her all at once, and Gadget couldn't stop her tears from leaking from her eyes. She gripped the bowl hard enough for her manicured nails to create scratches. She was again reminded of the breach of her comfort that her prep team forced her to endure.

"You're doing great." She heard Septimius encourage and felt her heart become just a bit lighter.

But it did nothing to stop the abhorrent revulsion of her violation. She had never felt so vulnerable before.

Humiliation coursed through Gadget. She'd had her will stripped from her just to please the people of the Capitol. The people who would and had watched her at the parade. And none of the things she had done were her.

I might as well be a corpse.

Gadget spat out the remains of her retching that stained the inside of her throat. Tastes that burned.

She didn't dare look at what was in the bowl of the toilet and hit the flush button. She listened as it was all wiped away, down the drain and away from her forever.

Don't cry, Gadget thought furiously at herself as she covered her eyes with her arm. Don't cry.

"Gadget?" Septimius voiced from behind her. Out of her peripherals.

Pure anguish and misery. Her stylist's drug…he said it gave her happiness but it did nothing of the sort. It gave her a lie. Destroyed her inhibitions. She might as well have been on morphling.

Don't cry, don't cry. She had done enough crying the past few days.

"Gadget?" Septimius prompted again.

Her stylist…she didn't want to think of him by name. He didn't deserve one. He shut down her barriers. Attacked her body. Attacked her heart. Attacked what made her comfortable.

Gadget sobbed.

"D-don't look a-at me…" Gadget whimpered. She put her face in her palms and slid into the corner of the bathroom.

"Gadget, after what you've been through today, you'll find it hard to get me to leave your side," Septimius said patiently. Gadget could hear an undertone of sorrow.

Gadget knew that wasn't true. She knew it in her heart. He would see her tears and realize that it's a waste to spend his time on her. A waste when there was someone that could do so much better than her.

"Gadget-" Septimius said softly.

"No!" Gadget almost yelled with uncharacteristic harshness. But she didn't look at him. She didn't want to look him in the eye as he turned his back on her.

Like everyone else inevitably did.

Septimius didn't say anything and Gadget hoped he left. She hoped he left her to wallow alone.

They took everything from her. Stripped her down to nothing and, at her most vulnerable, turned her into a puppet. To make them look good without a care for how she felt. As if taking her life from her wasn't good enough, they, too, took her will.

Gadget let out a choked sob.

Her throat…the collar of her clothes felt so suddenly constricting. It closed and closed around her throat and- and she couldn't breathe!

I-I can't breathe! I can't breathe!

Gadget's hands left her face and shot to her collar. She needed to open it. She couldn't breathe and tried to suck in a breath. But nothing came.

Her hand moved from her collar down her chest. The outfit glittered stupidly with her movement and she grabbed at the clothing around her chest. The outfit…it squeezed too tightly around her. It was going to kill her!

Gadget's vision grew cloudy, but she could make out someone moving in front of her. She blinked, over and over to make sense of it, but her mind remained too panicked.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and Gadget shook fretfully. Was it her stylist? Was he back to restart her misery?

"Gadget." She heard a voice speak, but she couldn't register who it belonged to.

Am I going to die? She wanted to ask the voice, but the words stuck in her throat.

"Gadget," the voice said more urgently. She felt a second hand on her shoulder. But it didn't sound like her stylist. It was far too low, and even in her panicked mind she could distinguish between the two.

"W-who…" Gadget managed to say, but her throat closed up. She tried to swallow, but her throat was dry. Too dry. And the revolting taste of the remnants of her vomit slid away.

"Look at me, look at me," the cloudy figure said and Gadget looked at them desperately. She blinked again and again in an effort to clear her vision.

Gadget sniffled. She, again, tried to suck in a breath, but she failed. Is this what dying is like? she wondered.

"Breathe in with me, Gadget," the figure said and Gadget wanted to cry in despair and frustration. She couldn't breathe! She couldn't, she couldn't, she couldn't!

Gadget breathed in harshly, but she only caught a modicum of air. It wasn't enough. I'm going to die! She was going to die, and the realization made her want to weep.

"In through the nose, out through the mouth. Slowly," the voice said.

Yes, yes, she could do that. She sucked in a breath through her nose slowly, just as the voice advised her to do. She held it, and then blew out. She could do it. She could breathe again!

She repeated the instructions again, and again, and again until her breathing was back under control. She was okay. She was okay.

She blinked once more, and the cloudy figure slowly turned into a blur. Again, she blinked until she could make out the things around her clearly. The tiles of the bathroom floor, the toilet which had been closed, and a mirror overhanging the sink. In front of her, Septimius held her shoulders, a clear look of worry in his eyes.

"I-I'm sorry…"

"Please don't be," Septimius said, and Gadget felt his hands leave her shoulders.

Gadget drew her knees in and hugged them to herself. The bathroom was suddenly very quiet and Gadget knew that she had just suffered an attack in front of someone. In front of Septimius.

"Thank you," she said quietly. She flicked her eyes to the door. "I think…I w-want t-to go to bed."

Septimius awkwardly hovered by the door. "Dinner will be ready soon."

Gadget shook her head. She didn't want to face anyone. Not Beetee or Wiress. Grid or Qwerty. Binary. She clambered to her feet and ran her hand under the cool water of the sink.

"Very well. I'll escort you to your bedroom, then," Septimius said, his face impossibly blank. He opened the door and Gadget hesitated a moment, then slid out after him.

She felt a throbbing ache in her leg. It was the one Binary stomped on earlier. She forced herself to not limp. To ignore it.

At Septimius' arched eyebrows, she knew she hadn't quite succeeded in hiding it entirely. She gave him a nervous look, and tucked her long hair behind her ears in an attempt to behave nonchalantly.

"Are you all right, Gadget? Were you hurt?" Septimius asked, looking her over very quickly.

It was obvious he was searching for any overt signs of injury on her. But where she was hurt, she was still well covered by the horrid outfit and her shoes.

Don't flinch, don't flinch, don't flinch, she ordered herself when his eyes reached her feet.

She flinched.

"I'm-I'm fine…" Gadget lied.

Septimius narrowed his eyes. "Somehow I don't believe that."

She shook her head, and lied again. "Really...I'm fine."

He acquiesced and didn't push it any further, but before he turned away, he said, "I hope you understand, Gadget, that I care first and foremost for your wellbeing, and by that extension, your survival in what's to come."

She nodded, and he continued as he stepped back, making the double doors slide open. "Remember, I have given my word, my promise, and I will keep it no matter what. Rest well, Gadget."

The door shut and Gadget gasped. Her legs buckled and she slid down the wall.

She took a moment, ignoring the pulse of pain shooting through her foot and up her shin, to really examine the adjoining room just past the narrow passage between the exit and the bathroom, which was directly across from it.

It seemed she was in a large and spacious bedroom already. The floor had metallic grey tiles with a reflective surface. The walls were silver and the accents were highly reflective chrome. This represented District Three's recognizable specialty in technology.

The light fixtures in the ceiling interspersed a warm yellow-orange with plain white beams of light, but the mixture created a fairly lovely warm glow.

Set in the center of the room was a bed large enough to fit virtually her entire family, provided they packed themselves together very tightly. She shook her head to get that image out of her head. They abandoned her...well...maybe not Syncis, but the rest of them? She was dead to them.

She focused back on the bed and saw that it was by far the most colorful object in the room. The three pillows were each a different color of red, yellow and green, and the blanket was silver on top, and grey underneath.

A drawer adorned either side of the bed, and to the left, Gadget could see a floor-to-wall window, but she recognized the shimmering on the surface of the window to mean it had a holoprojector.

The center of the room sunk down and were led in by two steps going to the bed.

Gadget pushed herself back to her feet and limped over.

She climbed down the steps towards her bed. Why the steps? Gadget wanted to throttle whoever made that decision. Her leg screamed at her with each small movement.

Step, step, step, Gadget dragged herself with a limp. The pain flooded through her thigh and up her hip. Her mind begged at her to stop moving at all. To grant herself that small mercy.

And then out of the corner of her eyes, she saw it. The chrome accents and the mirror on the dresser by the far right corner of the wall coming in, all reflecting her image. She turned towards the dresser and looked, and the reflection stared right back.

Dead, miserable eyes met her own. A girl that didn't belong. A waste of space. That's who she was, and it's all anyone would ever see in her. It's all she ever would be.

Gadget stared at herself in the mirror and the figure in the horrific dress stared back. Clad in silver. They stared at each other with dead eyes. Then she looked away.

An outfit that would remind her of the comfort taken away. The outfit that a man put her in to quite literally parade her around. And she had had no choice but to go along with it. To dance to his whims.

The awful outfit felt like a weight around her. One that hugged her and clung to her.

She wished she could burn it. Gadget felt sick at seeing herself in it. Her stylist was supposed to help her. That was what they were supposed to do. To help. But all her stylist did was hurt her.

Gadget clenched the fabric of the dress in her hands. The pain in her leg was forgotten. No scars had been left on her by that horrid man. No physical marks like Binary had left on her. But that thought did nothing to soothe her.

It still scarred her mind. It still haunted her thoughts. Everything she was comfortable with…disregarded.

Gadget straightened herself out and peeled the dress off. She didn't want to see it on her body any longer. Not the mark of someone who hurt her. Her leg burned in protest as she withdrew her feet from the skirt and she winced.

When she was done, she threw it away from her and watched it pool on the floor of the far end of the room. I could test my fire-making skills, Gadget contemplated to herself.

Alas, she knew that idea wouldn't be kind to her. Her stylist would likely be worse to her than he already was, and for someone who was meant to be helping her…

Gadget shivered in disgust and wrapped her arms around her naked body. She sat on the edge of the bed and clawed at the soft blankets. The only comfort the Capitol would give her.

But it did nothing to quell the sickness she felt for herself.

She saw the curved remote resting alone on the drawer next to her. She'd settled on the right side of the bed.

As she found nothing better to do for the moment, she grabbed it and began to play with it. Random pushes of various buttons soon had her mastering the controls to scroll through scenes that the holovid embedded into the thick windows presented.

She eventually settled on a scene she had never really seen in person, or in such vivid clarity before; a sunny valley filled with sunflowers, butterflies, bees and birds everywhere as far as she could see. Hidden speakers provided an ambient sound accompaniment that almost made her feel like she was really there.

The girl basked in the feeling of false contentment for a while. Then she got to exploring again, without leaving her position on the side of the bed. She found the underside of the bed had nearly flat drawers with just enough space for a set of silken pajamas.

She pulled on the top easily enough, but she very gingerly slid the shorts on.

Examination of the bedside drawer revealed something she had seen many a tribute provided with by sponsors.

An all-purpose healing cream. Or at least, that was what the label on the container read. 'A super salve that is a high value commodity exclusively available to the tributes and the Capitol,' it read. Or in other words, something that would never be available to the districts.

Gadget uncapped the lid and slid her hand around through the cream. What if it didn't work and only upset the ache in her leg further?

It's worth a try, she thought.

With some hesitation, she began to apply a generous coat of it to the wound on her foot. She winced and cringed at the pain that flared as soon as she touched it, but gritting her teeth, she fought through the pain to apply the salve.

Before long, her skin began to tingle, and the pain subsided.

Gadget heaved a sigh of relief, and the events really began to catch up with her.

She reflected on the fact that today alone, she'd been drugged twice. First by her stylist, to make her a puppet for the Capitol's whims and fancies. Like an Avox. Then once again by Septimius, but this time, to counteract the first drug. It had been highly unpleasant, painful, humiliating, but it did get the drugs out right away. But that didn't change how she felt about the matter.

Because really, what was the difference? Both her stylist and Septimius fed her a drink without telling her the contents of it. Both of them drugged her. Just in different ways. And Septimius…he took advantage of her inebriated state to feed her another one.

But it flushed the first one out. Why was she upset when what he did helped her? Because she didn't have a choice in the matter? When did I ever have a choice?

Or was it because she had started to put her trust in him?

Gadget shook her head. What a stupid thing to even be upset about. Her stylist had never received her trust in the first place. And Septimius? He helped her to get whatever her stylist forced her to ingest out.

She felt her heart ease. The rational part of her mind told her that in the end, Septimius really had her best interest at heart. So she hoped.

Unable to keep her eyes open much longer, Gadget barely slipped under the covers of her bed, letting out a weary sigh, and she fell into the gentle oblivion of sleep.

---

With a gasp, she started awake. Sunlight streamed in from the windows and caught her face in the beams. The sound of merriment was still a dull roar that never lessened. Did the Capitolites never sleep?

She clutched her belly as she felt an uncomfortable ache, followed by the loudest growl her stomach ever made.

She barely remembered changing out of that horrid dress her stylist - may his name be forgotten - forced her to wear. She scanned the floor where she'd left the despicable outfit, but she found nothing. Had an Avox removed it? She quickly decided that she didn't care.

Gadget moved to sit up on the comfy blankets of the bed; they were just as soft as the ones on the train. She winced as she prepared for the rush of pain in her leg. But she felt almost nothing. It was barely more than the faintest ache. Though the ache in her stomach was from something else entirely.

It was with a slight start that Gadget realized the last time she'd eaten was lunch on the train...an entire lifetime ago with all that transpired.

Normally, she'd been able to go a day, or two...sometimes three, without eating a thing. It never bothered her before. She was used to hunger, and she was used to famine. It was why she was such a skinny power pole, as Binary and others liked to call her.

But it was different now.

She underwent a great deal of stress. Whatever was in the drugs her stylist gave to her, it burned through whatever reserves her body had...add to that whatever Septimius gave her to counteract her stylist's toxins, which made her completely upend anything left in her, followed by her immediately proceeding to bed...it wasn't doing wonders for her.

Gadget groaned to herself, she slowly rolled to her side and sat up.

Gingerly, she placed her feet on the padded floor and stood up. Except for a barely-there ache, her leg felt fine. She'd probably be good to run again in a few hours...after she had something to address the discomfort in her stomach.

Gadget extended her leg in a test for her injury. It really worked. She felt a grin come to her face. The cream worked. She hadn't expected that it would, but it did. Her grin grew wider.

She pushed her leg out as far as it could go, but the pain remained small. Almost completely gone. She let out a sigh of relief.

But this changed nothing. Binary could repeat the same actions again in the arena, but then she wouldn't have any cream to soothe her injuries. Anyone could hurt her there and she wouldn't be able to soothe her pain.

In the Games she would be all alone with Binary. All alone with people who wanted to kill her. Knives on all sides.

I'm safe. For right now, I'm safe, Gadget told herself, though she wasn't sure if she believed it. As far as she was concerned, the only way she was truly safe was if she was alone, but that was foolish. She needed allies.

Gadget whimpered and glimpsed at the closet. A black form-fitting outfit hung loosely and Gadget knew in her heart she wouldn't be able to wear anything else. She approached it and put the clothing on.

It hugged her body like a second skin, yet it didn't constrain her. She wished she didn't have to wear it. That she could wear something else.

She already missed the outfit Septimius picked for her yesterday. He was right; one could never have too many pockets.

As ready as one could be to face the world such as it was, Gadget ventured out the door where she came face-to-face with an Avox that waited on the other side.

He was dressed differently from the ones on the train. One that matched the pillows on her bed: blue pants and a red robe, divided diagonal slash from the shoulder, and melted into green. His hair was unnaturally straight, but pulled back into a golden hat at the back of his head.

Gadget supposed the Avox was meant to escort her to her mentors. "C-can you take me t-to Beetee and Wiress?" she asked.

The Avox nodded his head and started to walk. Gadget trailed after him. She could hear the indistinct chatter of people resounding off the walls.

He brought her past the dining room where Gadget caught a glimpse of Qwerty and Grid talking to Binary in hushed tones. Across from them, on the holovid, was a replay of the parade.

Gadget felt her stomach sink. The parade. One of the earliest and best times to pick up sponsors but Gadget doubted she would get any.

No, the footage on the holovid seemed to play the highlights of the parade. The smug faces of Cato and Clove popped up as they waved. Gadget couldn't hear much sound, the volume was too low, but she could imagine just how eagerly Caesar and Claudius talked about them.

Gadget swallowed. She stood absolutely no chance against them, whether she went with Binary's plan of being an ally or not.

Then the footage changed and she saw herself and Binary on the holovid and Gadget took an involuntary step back.

It was the first time she had seen herself under the effects of the drug her stylist gave her. And she didn't look anything like herself. A smile much too wide on her face. A look of pure exhilaration. She could hardly believe that it was her.

Gadget shuddered, her hunger forgotten. In its stead was a pit of anxiety that grew as she watched the holovid.

She had notably favored one leg over the other, Gadget realized. She hadn't even remembered doing that at the time. And her eyes…they glittered with false happiness, but they were so, so tired.

Gadget shifted on her feet slightly. She looked awful. Almost sickly. It would take something amazing for anyone to want to sponsor her now, she was certain. Her eyes slid over to Binary. He looked better than she did. Not nearly as much of a wreck as she did. And unlike her, he hadn't been drugged before he was revealed to the masses.

They disappeared from the holovid, but her thoughts remained. What did the people in the Capitol think, truly? Would they see past just how pathetic she looked? Would they think she had enough potential to be a player in the Games?

Gadget doubted it. She had already resolved herself. She would enter the Games without any. Nobody would care for her. Why bother with her when even her district partner had so much more potential than she did?

On and on the recap for the parade went, but Gadget found she couldn't move from her position. None of the tributes in the parade really ever did anything other than wave. Or blow kisses. Or both.

Thresh from Eleven didn't even bother to do any of those things. He just stood, brooding. Arms crossed and a scowl on his face. But Gadget could tell that the audience ate it up. He looked strong, something Gadget couldn't say for herself. So he would automatically pick up sponsors for himself.

Gadget remembered what came next vaguely. At the time she couldn't pay much attention, but now? Now she watched as the District Twelve chariot roared in, tributes bathed in flames. And the Capitolites went wild for it.

They had stolen the audience away so quickly. So easily. The crowd chanted their names. Katniss. Peeta. Gadget couldn't remember if anyone bothered to do the same to her, but she didn't think so.

Gadget felt a stirring of envy rise up in her chest. So many people seemed so taken with the tributes from Twelve this year. Because unlike what happened to Gadget…their stylist seemed to have been kind to them. The crowd even tossed roses out at them and Katniss caught one and gave it an exaggerated sniff.

Such was the way of the fickle minds of the Capitolites, Gadget mused. They seemed to like whatever shined brightest.

Gadget took a step back. She didn't think Grid or Qwerty or Binary ever noticed her. Just like at home, she was invisible to the people around her.

Gadget turned and spotted the Avox waiting under one of the doorways. She flushed. He'd been waiting for her all that time, yet did nothing to stop her.

Well, that was what Avoxes were, Gadget supposed sadly. Meant to serve and wait for whoever commanded them. And Gadget did command him.

She hurried to the doorway, an act made much easier now that her leg felt nearly painless.

"S-sorry," Gadget muttered when she reached the Avox.

The Avox did nothing. His expression simply remained blank and downcast. He turned and started to walk again, and just like before, Gadget followed.

Grid, Qwerty, and Binary's hushed tones faded away as Gadget took step after step. She wondered how Binary had gotten Grid back on his side. He had seemed rather averse to mentoring him only a little while ago, but now he was back to help.

What had Binary done to change his mind?

And for that matter, what were they talking about? Gadget wondered, briefly, if they would advise him to kill her. To do away with her because any murder in the Capitol's eye equals to putting in their bets and sponsors on whoever did the murder.

But Gadget knew better. It was more complicated. If Binary did that, he would be just like her. An outcast. Which raised the question again on what they were talking about.

Gadget tucked the question into the back of her mind as the Avox led her around a corner to a set of stairs. He made a sweeping gesture and Gadget climbed up into the dining room.

At the center of the room was a long, glass table. An assortment of food laid on top that waited to be served. Ten chairs were set against the table, each the same shade of a silvery blue.

Overhead the table were lamps that put the room into a warm light to match the silver red floor. They were matched by holograms of white roses that sat at the center of the table.

Gadget scanned the room and found Beetee and Wiress sat on one side of the table, and Septimius on the other.

But it was the last two that had ice fill Gadget's veins.

On the end closest to where Gadget stood, she could see the back of the body and head of Carmenta, Binary's stylist. And on the other end, faced her way, was her stylist.

He sat there, looking oh, so content after he did something so horrible to her.

Gadget clenched her fists. He hadn't seen her yet. She could retreat and come back for food later.

She took a step back as quietly, but quickly as she could.

But it wasn't fast enough.

Her stylist's gaze swung in her direction and he saw her. Gadget froze.

"Ah, and there you are!" her stylist announced. He extended his arms towards her, and Beetee, Wiress, and Septimius looked at her.

Gadget's nails dug into her palm and her eyes searched everywhere except for him.

"I was wondering if you would join us, Beautiful," her stylist said. "You did absolutely magnificent yesterday!"

Gadget settled for staring down at her feet. She wouldn't look at him. She couldn't look at him.

"One of your best works yet, Mortimer?" Carmenta asked. She hadn't turned around to even glance at Gadget.

"Oh, she might just be one of them, Carmenta," her stylist said. His tone…it was like she was nothing but a product to sell.

Gadget bit her lip. She was nothing to them. Just like she was to so many others.

She unclenched her hands.

"Oh, the people loved you, Beautiful!" Her stylist stood up from his seat at the table. "You and your partner!"

Gadget didn't believe that for a second. She had just seen herself on the holovid. She looked terrible. There was nothing glamorous about what she looked like.

"Mortimer," Septimius said sharply and Gadget looked up at him. His face, usually solemn, now had steel in it. "That's enough."

Her stylist blinked and he looked taken aback. Gadget idly wondered if anyone had actually told him 'no' before.

"I think, Mortimer," Beetee started, his tone cautious, "that you have done enough here." He removed his spectacles and put them on the table.

"How dare you speak to Mortimer that way!" Carmenta screeched, affronted. Gadget winced at the sound.

"Where is this hostility coming from?" Gadget's stylist asked. His brow furrowed in confusion.

Beetee said patiently, "Hostility? No." He tapped the table lightly.

"You have a dress to work on?" Wiress added quietly.

Gadget could hear the dawning realization in her stylist's voice.

"Ah! Thank you for reminding me!" He made a few steps past Septimius before he said, "Come on, Carmenta! No rest for us, we have something darling to create!"

Carmenta grumbled, but she stood and walked past Gadget without a word. But she wasn't the one Gadget was most nervous about.

Her stylist grabbed something off the table. Some kind of bread, if Gadget were to guess. Gadget quickly stepped to the side to let him more room to pass. She didn't want to be so close to him.

But then he stopped and looked at her. Gadget felt a shiver go down her spine. Even under his gaze she felt vulnerable.

"I can't wait to show you your interview dress, Beautiful," he said. Then he bit into the piece of bread and went down the stairs.

Gadget released a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. She glanced behind her back and watched as her stylist disappeared.

For the moment, her stylist was gone. He couldn't hurt her if he was gone.

"You must be starving," Septimius said, and Gadget noticed that the steel was gone from his voice. She looked over at him and could see the concern in his features.

Gadget nodded and eyed the food spread out along the table. All sorts of meat and different kinds of bread. Ones that looked similar to the ones on the train, but hadn't tried.

She lowered herself into the chair that Carmenta had vacated. There was so much food. More than she'd ever seen at once in her life.

But unbidden, the memories of yesterday flooded into her mind, reminding her of how she got drugged. Twice.

Yes, Septimius did it to counteract her stylist's horrid actions. But both times she'd ingested a drink.

So she felt loath to even look at any drink, but the food wasn't entirely exempt from this either.

Even though her stylist had left the room, it didn't mean the food and drinks were left untouched. He had left her in the chariot, and still he hurt her. Long after he'd left her alone with Binary, he had hurt her.

Seeing her staring piercingly and suspiciously at the spread before her, Septimius gently asked, "Gadget? What seems to be the matter?"

Gadget straightened with a start, looked at Septimius, then Beetee, then Wiress, who all looked at her with such concern she would have felt her heart threaten to burst from sheer elation to be looked at like that all the time: with care, interest, and concern for her well being.

But as it was, she merely felt deflated, and very hungry, but also too scared to eat.

And she admitted this after a moment, "I'm...I-I…" Her lips curled down in shame as she fought not to cry. "...I'm afraid...o-of what might be i-in the food."

The two victors exchanged looks, but Septimius merely pursed his lips, considered her for a while, and then he began moving.

He took a little bit of everything and piled them on a plate for her, and then poured a glass of orange juice. He took that cup, poured a quarter of it into his own cup.

He took a few pieces of the food that he'd put on her plate and transferred them to his own, then set the plates down in front of her and himself.

Without breaking eye contact, he ate and drank.

"I promise you, my dear, what happened to you yesterday will never happen again. Not as long as I have something to say about it," Septimius said.

Seeing what Septimius had done, Beetee and Wiress realized something profound was happening, and they both began to mimic Septimius' actions. They smiled and nodded encouragingly at Gadget, as they began to eat again.

After seeing nothing adverse happening to the trio of adults, Gadget managed a weak smile, and began to eat whatever Septimius had placed before her.

The taste exploded in her mouth, and it could be that she was just experiencing it in an enhanced manner because she was famished, or Capitolites really had it good. Either way, she couldn't quite stop a satisfied moan as she ate. As soon as she realized she made that noise, she paused eating, and blushed beet red.

She lowered her gaze, not wanting to see the three adults who were starting to matter most to her and how they'd react to that embarrassing noise she made.

"It's okay, Gadget," Beetee said, "you should have seen what I was like when I was participating in my Games."

Gadget raised one green eye up to the man, the other was hidden by stray locks of brown hair forming a curtain over her face.

He glanced at Wiress. "I think my district partner asked me, 'Are you eating that, or are you eating that?'"

Wiress' laughter was like tinkling bells of delight, and at once, Gadget felt a little bit better. She brushed her hair back behind her ears, and started eating again, at a slower pace.

"Let me know if you start to feel nauseous," Septimius told her, "you haven't eaten in over a day, and you threw up everything you had left last night, and there's quite a bit of training to do today."

She nodded at him as she chewed, then eyed her food. How much would be too much?

No amount of feeding would get her up to what would be considered optimal for her height and age. Nonetheless, the Training Center was going to be full of predators today. Everyone would be sizing each other up. And although none of it would be seen from the outside, the Gamemakers would keep a keen eye on them, Gadget was sure.

She'd seen previous Games, and also how the tributes would start getting evaluations for their actions, behavior and performances. There was no such thing as privacy anymore.

Gadget grabbed the same bread-like food that her stylist had grabbed on the way out. It didn't feel like bread. It was far too soft and the texture was very different.

"W-what i-is th-this?" Gadget asked cautiously. Septimius had put it on her plate, but she didn't know if it held any side-effects. As far as she was concerned, anything she ate could potentially do something.

"That's a muffin, dear," Septimius said. He grabbed the one he'd put on his own plate that he had already taken a bit of. "It's a…" he trailed off in thought. "It's a type of cake."

"Oh." Gadget sniffed it. Sweets were rare in District Three. Cakes were even rarer. Foods were usually imported from another district or the Capitol, and after that, Gadget wasn't sure how they ended up in any shops. She hadn't cared enough at the time, fending for herself.

Gadget put the muffin down and grabbed at a thin piece of food that was of similar texture to the muffin. She nibbled on it and, just like before, felt senses erupt at the wondrous taste.

"When you g-gave me that dr-drink," Gadget started, and Septimius' features morphed into something serious. "W-w-what was it?"

Septimius rapped his fingers on the table. He looked at Beetee, then Wiress, then back at Gadget. "We in the Capitol like to eat quite a bit."

Oh, Gadget knew. All food she had never tasted before, hoarded exclusively for the Capitol, it seemed.

"So," Septimius continued, "after someone is full and can't eat anymore, they take that drink to vomit it all back up, to continue eating more."

Gadget frowned.

"Yes, well." Beetee put his spectacles back on. "It purged whatever Mortimer gave you."

Gadget flinched at the name of her stylist and she regretted asking her question. It didn't matter anyway, not really. Just that it stopped whatever he had started.

She looked back down at her plate and nibbled again on the food in front of her. Her stylist…she was such a coward. She couldn't even hear his name without flinching. And yet, Beetee and Wiress. Septimius. They expected her to win?

No, Gadget remarked to herself silently. I won't be a coward.

Gadget forced her resolve to steel. She could be strong. She would prove to the Capitol that she was strong.

Her stylist…His name is Mortimer.

Gadget suppressed her shiver.

See, Gadget? You can say his name…progress, Gadget said to herself, but she wasn't sure if she believed herself. She hadn't even said it out loud.

"You seemed to have, uh, caught the eye of Burgundy," Wiress said suddenly, and Gadget looked away from the food she'd been nibbling on.

"I don't…know who that is," Gadget admitted softly. She recalled the name. The same one Beetee mentioned and everyone else was disgusted by on the train. But beyond that, the name didn't ring any bells.

"You were staring at him," Wiress told Gadget. "The man with the scars-"

"Oh," Gadget said suddenly. She straightened in the chair. She remembered that. She'd been so out of it that she couldn't stand on her own two feet without stumbling.

And then she'd looked right at one of the victors from District One. That wasn't good. He, like Beetee and Wiress, had gone through the Games before. But unlike them, he wouldn't help her. In fact, he would probably tell the tributes from One just how weak she was. How easy it would be to kill her.

Gadget swallowed. "W-what happened to his f-face?"

Wiress peeked at Beetee. He sighed. "He was the year before me. He, like every tribute from One, was a Career. But his relationship with the Pack was…tenuous."

Tenuous? That was…unheard of. The Careers always stuck together. Gadget couldn't remember a time they didn't.

"I think they thought he was a wildcard, and they couldn't trust him." Beetee tapped at his glass, watching as the liquid inside spun. "Whatever the reason, they tried to poison him with their food."

"But he s-survived," Gadget said. She ran a finger over the rim of her plate. He survived being poisoned by his alliance partners.

"Evidently." Beetee nodded. "All the poison did was scar him. He won shortly after."

Gadget's eyes strayed down to her food. She took another bite, bigger than her nibbles from before. None of that was good. A victor that survived a poison attack, what did that say about the tributes?

Realistically, nothing. And Gadget knew that. Yet it still made her nervous and frightened.

"Now," Beetee said as he leaned forward, "for the next few days you will go through training. You will learn skills to help you survive in the arena."

Gadget nodded. This was important. She needed to learn something. Maybe even how to fight. Sponsors would like that.

"Knowing how to use a weapon is important, but so are the survival stations. Don't ignore them," Beetee said.

"The Careers tend to stick only to the weapon stations," Wiress put forth.

Gadget gave another nod to show her mentors that she was listening. She took another bite.

"Given our home, the wilderness survival stations are something you will need to look into," Beetee told her. "District Three is urban and the arena could be anything. From a desert to an abandoned city. To anything in between."

Gadget curled her hand around her fork. Of course. She had no idea what the arena would look like, and her survival skills were next to nothing as they were. The only things she had ever picked up were limited to her being homeless. How to survive in a shelter on her own.

But she had always needed help, one way or another. For food. Gadget had never had the stomach or the courage to steal from someone. If she were caught doing something like that, the punishment she would receive would be severe, she was certain.

"Okay," Gadget said softly. She released her grip on her fork slightly.

"Find smaller weapons," Wiress said suddenly and Gadget flicked her eyes to her. "Something you can handle."

"A knife. Or a spear would also work well," Beetee added.

A knife or a spear. Gadget fretted over using one of them. She could hold one fine, she was sure. All she needed to do was look intimidating in her hand. But to actually use them?

To kill with them?

Gadget played with the food on her plate with uncertainty. Did she have what it took to…to kill someone in the Games?

"There are generally more knives in the Cornucopia," Wiress said grimly. "And they're cheap to sponsor, too."

Easy to find in the Cornucopia? But that would mean she would need to dive into the Bloodbath. Because if she ran away, she would have nothing. And no reason for anyone to sponsor her.

But what did sponsors matter at all when she was dead? It really was likely best to run. Gadget squirmed slightly. She didn't know what to do.

"This will be the first time you get the chance to watch the other tributes," Beetee said. "The other tributes will be doing the same, in order to tell who may be a threat to them or not."

Gadget nodded again. She settled back into her chair, the food forgotten. "I n-need to find their w-weaknesses," she surmised.

"Precisely," Beetee said with a nod of his own. "But strengths are just as important."

"They are?" Gadget asked nervously. It was the same thing they had told her on the train. It felt like a lifetime ago that had happened now.

"Yes. To help you know what to avoid from them." Beetee looked at Wiress. "Or to understand the limits of your allies."

Gadget bit her lip. The faces of the Careers shone in her mind's eye. They frightened her, the way she saw the ones from Two smirk on the holovid.

She was their perfect victim. Weak, and with a spirit on the verge of being broken. Easy pickings for them.

I need to steer clear of them, Gadget said to herself silently. And if they come for me…I won't let them see me cry.

Gadget refused to let them. She wouldn't show weakness, not to them.

Gadget dropped her voice. "Binary wants to ally with the Careers," she said.

Beetee didn't say anything for a moment. He breathed in a sigh. Wiress didn't seem to be surprised at the revelation. Gadget didn't dare see Septimius and what his expression might have been.

Beetee adjusted his spectacles as Gadget watched him think. "It's doomed to failure," he said at last.

Gadget let out a quiet sigh of her own. She had known the idea wasn't a good one, but it had still made her nervous to tell her mentors. Because what if they had agreed with Binary's plan? What would happen to her, then?

"When I was in the Games," Beetee started, "the Careers allowed no one into their alliance. Together, the six of them killed most of the rest of the tributes until it was just me left."

Gadget listened with rapt attention. She had never watched Beetee's Games. She never really wanted to. The only times she had watched the Games was when she was forced to or, in the case of the 38th, for a school project.

"I rigged a trap and lured the Careers into it and…like that." He snapped his fingers. "I won."

Electrocuted in a trap. Gadget should have known.

Beetee lowered his fingers and Gadget carefully watched his blank face. "Since then, I know the Careers have changed little. In fact, they've become even more…stingy about who they let into their alliance."

Gadget dropped her hands to rest on her knees to stop her leg from bouncing in anxiety.

"The two tributes from Four," Beetee continued. "They could be worth considering for an alliance, Gadget."

Gadget remembered back to how Marina looked so menacing. She could and probably would kill Gadget so, so easily. No, she didn't think she wanted to approach her.

"Or they might join the Careers," Wiress said. "But then the Careers would use them, and wouldn't hesitate to kill them once their usefulness to them ended."

Beetee nodded in agreement. "Which means, just like them, Gadget, you and Binary would only last for as long as you are useful to them."

"I don't…I don't need to be c-convinced," Gadget said quietly.

"I know," Beetee admitted. "Be mindful, Gadget, that this is the Hunger Games. We're making this up as we go."

Gadget nodded in understanding. No two Games were ever going to be the same. No two tributes were ever the same.

"Your earlier assessment," Beetee said, his tone cautious. "When we watched the recaps…I recommend you follow that idea. See what the other tributes have to offer rather than the Careers."

Gadget didn't need to be told twice.

---

The elevator descended and Gadget's heart pounded. This would make for the first time she met any of the other tributes. And they would meet her.

The Careers and the outliers…they would decide her fate. They would decide whether or not she lived or died. Her chances of survival were entirely in their hands.

Gadget wondered if the Gamemakers would honor those chances, or if they would just kill her without warning.

Gadget shook her head fiercely. She put her back against the wall, one hand on the handrail, and the other over her heart.

"It's okay, it's okay," she whispered to herself.

Gadget glanced up above the door where the descending list of numbers shone. Far too fast had the elevator gone past the floors Districts Two and One were staying on.

Gadget blew out a breath. She could do this. She wasn't a coward. She wasn't.

She released her grip on the handrail and centered herself in the middle of the elevator. She wouldn't show the other tributes her fear.

All too soon, the elevator doors shifted open and Gadget saw the large gymnasium before her. It was enormous, filled with weapons to practice with and obstacle courses.

Gadget shuffled out of the elevator and the tributes came into view. She stopped for a moment in surprise as she realized almost all of the tributes were there, despite that training didn't officially start for another little while.

The Careers were already ready and raring to go. No surprise there, Gadget thought. They stood together and chatted loudly among themselves. The only one missing was the boy from Four, Ridley.

Gadget slowly looked at the other tributes and she spotted the missing Career from Four staring at the Careers with a look on his face that Gadget couldn't decipher.

Gadget took note of the tributes that had already arrived. Other than the Careers, the only ones missing were Surge from Five, both Husk and Monkshood from Ten, and Katniss and Peeta from Twelve.

"And Binary," Gadget muttered to herself with a glimpse at the elevator that had dropped her off.

"Oh, look!" Glimmer announced and Gadget practically jumped. Glimmer had looked right at her. "It's Happy-Go-Lucky from Three!"

Gadget took a step back as the Careers slowly began their approach. The training hadn't even begun and they wasted no time in jeering at her.

"She doesn't look quite so happy anymore," Glimmer said with an exaggerated pout.

"I can change that," Clove said with a grin that scared Gadget. "A knife is all I need."

"Leave her," Cato said as he crossed his giant arms. He looked at Gadget and she tried to stop herself from flinching.

She couldn't.

"Save her for the Bloodbath, Clove," Cato said with a smirk. He shot Gadget an arrogant smirk.

She wanted to disappear into the floor. Gadget palmed her hands and trembled at the familiar feeling of her building anxiety.

They wanted to kill her. They wanted to kill her! To end her life like she was nothing.

And…and maybe she was nothing…

The sound of the elevator doors opened and Gadget looked back. Out of it she saw Husk and Monkshood, followed by Binary. The former two left in different directions as Binary examined the gymnasium.

He looked right past Gadget as if she weren't there, and right at the Careers surrounding her. He nodded at them, and Cato looked at the boy thoughtfully. Not hungrily, not angrily, but thoughtfully.

They saw something of worth in the way Binary carried himself. More than they saw anything at all in Gadget, at any rate.

The voices telling her to just curl up and give up, there was no point, threatened to overwhelm her, but just as quickly, the voices of Syncis, Septimius, Beetee and even Wiress countermanded or contradicted those first voices.

It reduced Gadget's expression to one of a near-glower.

In another time, if her life weren't at stake, she might have taken delight in the look of surprise that came over Marina's face when she saw what must have looked like a suddenly fearsome appearance on whom they thought was a non-threat.

"Ooh, Bloodbath girl's got fangs!" Marvel said mockingly, and Gadget felt her face flush against her will. He let out a short laugh and he spun around to follow after the rest of the Careers.

Gadget's face fell and she looked around for a place to sit. To stay invisible from anyone else who wanted to call her names and harm her.

But even as she took step after step, she could still hear the Careers' laughs and talks of jubilation.

The thought made Gadget stop. She could use this. But it was risky. She could be caught by them and…and they would try harder to kill her.

But did that matter? The Careers would tear her apart regardless. No matter how much she wished to be as forgettable as she wanted until then, but in the arena, she would be remembered.

Gadget shuddered and took slow, minute steps to her right. She knew her nervousness shone in her face, but that was okay. Between the training and what she wanted to do, she hoped nobody would catch on.

She shuffled again slowly to the right. Gadget stared down at her shoes and wrapped a hand around her forearm.

Step, step, step.

"Here's how this is gonna go," Cato spoke loudly amongst the pack. For the first time, Gadget thought that the pack quieted down. "To be a member of this alliance, you'll need at least a score of eight."

Cato looked at each member of the alliance. His eyes lingered briefly on Marina, and Gadget could see her bristle.

"This is us being nice," Clove said. She smirked at the Glimmer and Marvel.

They must have coordinated that, Gadget thought to herself. She turned around slowly to make it less obvious she was listening to them.

"An eight," Marvel said and Gadget could picture the cocky grin on his face. "No problem."

Glimmer's shoulders shook from the corner of Gadget's eye, and she knew she was giggling to herself. "Child's play," she pronounced.

Gadget shook. They talked so simply, so easily about getting a high training score. What would her own look like?

Gadget bit her lip. She would be lucky to even get a four. The scores were so important. They would tell the sponsors if she was worth being sponsored, or paid attention to.

Gadget let out a low breath and glanced around the gymnasium. The Careers trained all their life with weapons, so it was no wonder their scores were always so great. But…but Gadget had never so much as held one before.

She didn't think the Gamemakers would care anything about her technological prowess. The only thing she could do to impress them, and they wouldn't care. She was sure of it.

"We're all trained," Cato said with a pause. Then he resumed, "And these outliers," he added with another pause, and Gadget could see in her mind's eye Cato sweeping his gaze over all of them. "Don't want them getting too big for the artisan. Knock them down some. And the ones that are strong? Well, they'll have to be stupid to turn down an offer from us."

Gadget could practically feel the malice radiating from them. As if they needed an excuse to belittle their opposition.

"I have one question," Marina said. Gadget heard her shoes squeak against the floor as she moved.

"Then why don't you tell us?" Clove asked.

Gadget took that moment to glance at the Careers. Clove and Marina were chest-to-chest, glaring at each other. And though Clove was much shorter than Marina, and even shorter to Gadget, it still made a stab of fearfulness run through Gadget's being.

Gadget looked away again. She couldn't let any of them see that she was listening to them.

"Who drowned and made you leader?" Marina asked. She sounded annoyed and furious.

Gadget heard Cato's heavy steps and she knew that he had taken Clove's spot next to Marina.

"I did," Cato said. His calm voice managed to sound angry and Gadget figured it was at the very idea someone would question his leadership. "District Two is the strongest. District One is next." Another heavy step. "And you need to learn your place."

"District Four," Marina seethed, "is just as much a part of the Career Pack as you are."

"Is that so?" Clove asked. "Why don't we kick you out and see how well you do without us?"

Silence. Marina said nothing and Gadget knew if she looked back she would see a look of horror on her face.

"That's what I thought," Cato said gruffly. "Unless," he added slowly, "you wanna be the leader, Marvel?"

The Careers collectively all went quiet. Gadget was tempted to turn to look at them, but she resisted. If she was caught, she knew they would tear her limb from limb.

Gadget quivered and shook her head.

"Nah, man," Marvel finally said, and Gadget couldn't hear that trace of cockiness in his tone. "I'm just here to achieve my dream."

Gadget heard Cato's heavy steps move around. She took a discreet glance back and saw Cato put a hand on Marvel's shoulder.

"There's nothing more noble than that," he said. He began to move again and Gadget quickly looked away, down at her feet once more. "What about you, Glimmer? Think you've got what it takes?"

"Oh, you'll hear no complaints coming from me," Glimmer said. Gadget could hear the grin in her voice. "Only the strongest survive, yeah? So only the strongest can call himself the leader."

Cato breathed out a small laugh. "And you don't think you're the strongest of us?"

"I'm full of surprises," Glimmer replied.

Gadget could only listen as Cato resumed his hulking movements.

"The only other person here I would trust to lead the Careers is Clove," Cato said. Gadget didn't find that surprising. "And if she wants the mantle, she'll have to spar me for it."

"You already know my answer to that," Clove said in return. "You want to be the leader, you can have it." Clove paused and Gadget knew she was analyzing Cato. "You've shown enough to convince me."

Cato said nothing, however even without looking, Gadget knew he was pleased. She wondered if the entire point of this was to reinforce the idea in Marina that nobody said no to him.

Well, that idea to Gadget was loud and clear. She had no intentions of going anywhere close to Cato. And if she ever was, she had to run in the other direction and hope he, or the others, wouldn't find her.

"So, then, District Four - Marina - I suppose you're the better leader?"

Marina said nothing and Gadget wondered if she was as fearful of Cato as Gadget was. His very gaze, on the brief times they had landed on her, made her squirm in fright.

"Well? Do you?" Cato asked when Marina didn't respond. His voice dropped an octave lower, far more scary to Gadget then it had been a moment before.

"No, I think you're a great leader," Marina finally said.

"Good. Wouldn't want you to end up like your district partner."

Gadget peeked to the side of the room at the mention of the other half of District Four. Ridley leaned against the wall and was no longer looking at the Careers. Whatever he thought of them had been decided.

"I don't think I would, no," Marina said with a tinge of anger.

Cato started to say something else, but the elevator doors opened again and the final tributes came out. Katniss and Peeta from Twelve.

They were all here. Which meant that training was about to begin.

"I can't wait to carve something into her face," Clove said with sadistic glee.

Gadget had heard enough. She thought they would tell her something useful, but all she got was Career posturing.

Gadget heard the floor shift behind her and she turned around. A confident, strong-looking woman stood on top of an elevated platform that had risen up. She swept her gaze at the tributes…at Gadget.

"My name is Atala. I'll be your head trainer," she said. She waited until the tributes shuffled closer and Gadget held her fingers tightly. "In a few days, twenty-three of you will be dead."

Gadget felt like a bucket of ice cold water had been dumped on her. She knew that was the case. It always was. But to hear it…to hear it was something else.

"One of you will be alive. Who that is depends on how hard you pay attention over the next three days. Particularly to what I'm about to say."

Gadget slipped her gaze over the faces of the other tributes. Cato looked bored, and so did the other Careers.

"First, no fighting with the other tributes. You'll have plenty of time for that in the arena," Atala said with a hint of amusement. Like they were all children who weren't about to be sent to their deaths. "There will be three compulsory exercises, the rest will be individual training."

Compulsory exercises? Gadget again glanced at the Careers. Clove smirked and the others let out a variety of pleased expressions.

Neither Beetee or Wiress told Gadget about the compulsory exercises. Where the other tributes would see just how weak she really was. It would only make getting any allies harder, she was certain.

Gadget exhaled in an attempt to calm herself. Her heart beat hard and fast against her chest. Don't show them your fear, Gadget, she told herself over and over.

"My advice is: don't ignore the survival skills. Everybody wants to grab a sword but most of you will die of natural causes."

Clove's smirk faded into neutrality, and so did the rest of them. The only Career to look at all intrigued was Marina, but even her eyebrow was raised in indifference.

"Ten percent from infection. Twenty percent from dehydration. Exposure can kill as easily as a knife."

And just like that, Atala dismissed them. The Careers were the first ones to scatter, and the rest of the tributes slowly followed until it was just Gadget left. There were so many stations and she didn't know where to start. And there was no point in training in something she was already good at, she figured as she eyed an electronic station.

The Careers had gone straight to different weapon stations. Like there was any doubt they would. And each of them…they scared Gadget with their prowess with their weapons. Cato tore apart dummies with a sword. Clove threw knife after knife after knife, and each one hit a target. Marvel threw a spear right into the chest of a dummy. Glimmer shot an arrow into the head of one. Marina sparred with one of the trainers in the hand-to-hand combat station.

Gadget swallowed. They were so, so much stronger than her. She would never be able to kill them or even harm them. Her only hope was to wait if someone else would hurt them first…or if they were part of the percentage that died of natural causes.

Gadget examined the stations closest to her. Edible plants. That was something she needed to know, otherwise she would eat something poisonous.

She shuffled forward to the station and the trainer's eyes lit up upon seeing her. She guessed he didn't get too many people to see their station.

"Hi," Gadget said softly. She looked down at the table in front of her. It was smooth and sleek, fit perfectly for the gymnasium.

"Welcome to the edible plants station," the trainer said. He pressed a button on the side of the table and a panel slid open. From the center of the table, four plants appeared before her.

"Oh," Gadget mumbled. Each of the plants were all a similar shade of green, with similar leaves on their branches. Gadget didn't know how she would even begin to identify any of them.

"If you were to guess, which of these do you think is poisonous?" the trainer asked.

Poisonous? They all looked the same, Gadget didn't know how she could tell. She looked between their branches and leaves but still could tell little difference.

"I don't…I don't…"

The trainer's face morphed into disappointment. "Something easier, then."

The plants disappeared and were replaced with different ones. Miniature bushes, they looked like to Gadget. Each with a different kind of berry connected.

The trainer pointed at one of the plants. "Safe." To another. "Safe." Another. "Safe." Last one. "Poisonous."

Gadget nodded to show that she understood. She looked between the plants carefully to find the difference between them.

The trainer pulled a poisonous berry free. "Do you know how to tell a poisonous one from a safe one?"

Gadget shook her head. Of course she didn't. That was why she was here, for his help.

The trainer nodded and carefully split the berry open through the middle, to reveal a blood red inside. It almost made Gadget nauseated to look at.

"Nightlock is blood red on the inside," the trainer told her.

Gadget nodded. She could remember that. That was easy enough to remember.

The trainer showed Gadget a few more plants and showed her how to tell the difference between one that looked similar. It was a dull affair, but it was important for her to understand in order to survive.

She almost jumped in surprise when she felt a new presence fill her side, but she forced the instinct down. Until she entered the arena, she was safe and no one could hurt her.

"Greetings, there," a boy said and Gadget turned her head to see who had arrived at the station.

The boy from Eight, Corduroy, and, to Gadget's surprise, his district partner, Lace, on his other side, who looked so completely frazzled.

"Welcome to the edible plants section," the trainer said with a large smile. He gestured to the plants he had had Gadget study differences of. "Do you know the differences between these plants?"

Lace actually paled when confronted with the question. Gadget thought that she was horrid with social interaction and cues, but Lace made her look positively stoic in comparison.

"I do not," Corduroy said after a pause. "That is why we are here," he added.

The trainer made a noise Gadget couldn't decipher. He asked both Corduroy and Lace the same questions he had asked Gadget. She figured he had forgotten she was there.

Gadget took a step back to watch the other two tributes. Contrary to what his reaping showed, Corduroy was not very stoic. Actually, Gadget thought it was quite the opposite. He was quite emotive with his expressions.

Gadget's eyes slid to Lace and she felt sympathy settle over her. Lace's reaping had not gone well for her, and Gadget recognized just how difficult it would be for her to obtain sponsors.

"You do not have to wait for us," Corduroy said and Gadget looked at him in surprise. "You were here first."

Gadget noticed, belatedly, that his voice was higher than she was anticipating, if only just.

"Thank you," Gadget said softly. She stepped forward beside him. But she didn't understand. Corduroy was an adversary, he had no reason to be kind to her. Or provide her any opening for an advantage in the arena.

"We might be going into the Hunger Games," Corduroy said as he identified a poisonous plant. "But we can still be pleasant with each other."

That answers my question, Gadget thought.

"We cannot all be monsters," Corduroy said. He smiled at the trainer. "Right?"

The trainer blinked in confusion and Gadget had to stifle a giggle. She hadn't been expecting it.

"Uh, no...of course not," was the somewhat uneasy reply.

Gadget wondered at that. Lace began to rub her arm in a fashion similar to what Gadget often did.

"We-we can learn...together?" Lace suggested.

Gadget eyed Lace warily. Perhaps she was just like Johanna, and the nervousness was all an act. Perhaps Lace was thinking the same thing about her.

Having noticed Gadget's attention, Lace withered under her wary gaze, but after a moment of looking at Corduroy, who nodded at her, she offered Gadget a weak smile. "It saves time," she offered, "and we might find answers faster…t-together!"

Her last word came out rather excitedly and loudly, emphasized by a tiny hop she made as she spoke, and she looked around herself in surprise.

Her actions were…adorable. Even Gadget couldn't quite suppress the smile that graced her lips.

"Okay." Gadget was proud she managed that without stammering.

"Excellent." Corduroy smiled, and he turned back to the trainer. "Please continue, sir."

Having watched the exchange with a bored expression, the man nodded and called up another set of plants. "Which would you say are safe for eating?"

Gadget took a look at the set of plants, and just like before, she knew none of them. They all looked similar in a variety of different ways, and from a quick glance at Corduroy and Lace, neither of them knew a thing, either.

Before Corduroy could point out they wouldn't know, the man quickly said, "None of these, in fact. If you see here…"

He began to explain what signs to recognize in a plant as toxic, or harmless. To be honest, almost none of them were ever harmless.

The training went on, and Gadget occasionally turned her eyes onto the duo from District Eight. They were a bit of an enigma to her right then, but they were inviting and friendly enough.

Corduroy was polite to a fault, and Lace…well, Lace was an emotional wreck, but made up for it with her enthusiasm and surprising energy.

"The number three," Corduroy said suddenly and Gadget looked at him. "District Three."

Gadget glanced at Lace, but she offered nothing and continued on to identify more plants. She had taken up to it rather fast, actually.

"The number of harmony, wisdom, and understanding." Corduroy looked at Gadget. "Did you know that?"

Gadget shook her head slowly. "N-no," she answered awkwardly.

"Well, now you do!" Corduroy looked back at the plants in front of him, and Gadget followed his lead.

That is…an interesting piece of information, Gadget supposed. And the station went quiet.

Gadget tapped her foot uncomfortably and then said, "I have three brothers…"

Corduroy grinned. "Number three strikes again." Gadget heard Lace snort.

Gadget almost smiled, but stopped herself just shy. She didn't quite understand why Corduroy and Lace were so open to talk to her and not someone stronger.

She swept a peek around the gymnasium. The Careers acted like the centerpiece, but she could see there were other strong tributes. Thresh from Eleven sparred with a trainer and nearly threw the man off his feet. Elm from Seven took apart training dummies with an ax, and although he was far more of an amateur than the Careers, he was still dangerous.

So, again, it begged her to ask the question as to why they came to work at the same station she was at, and not wait until she was gone.

"I, uh…I don't have any siblings," Lace said. "Mommy and…and daddy. They love me very much and…"

Gadget frowned as another pang of sympathy hit her. Lace had a mom and dad that cared about her. She deserved to go back home as much as anybody.

Anybody except me…

"And I…I wonder if they miss me, t-too…" Lace said, her voice pattering out.

"I am certain that they do, Lace," Corduroy said. He raised a hand, but then seemed to think differently and brought it back down again.

"I just…" Lace looked towards Gadget and Corduroy, and she could see the tears swimming in Lace's eyes. "I miss them so much!"

"And you will show them how strong you are. I know it," Corduroy said in the same tone as before. He folded and unfolded his hands over and over.

Corduroy seemed to be a very caring district partner. Which was more than Gadget could say about her own. Binary would probably love to see me skewered in the Bloodbath.

But despite Corduroy's kindness to Lace, Gadget wondered why he bothered at all. Only one person could ever win the Hunger Games, and if Corduroy wanted Lace to win, then he would have to die.

Lace hiccupped. "Th-th-thank you, Corduroy."

Gadget could not feel more out of place in something she didn't think she was meant to see. But here I am and…and maybe I can try to help Lace feel better?

"I-I don't think I…really l-like my…" Gadget hesitated and swallowed dryly. "I don't think I r-really like m-my da-dad very much."

It felt like a weight was lifted off of her, and she felt relieved. But she knew they weren't the words Lace would want to hear and cringed.

Gadget slowly looked over at Lace and Corduroy and prepared herself to see their enraged expressions.

She wasn't prepared for Lace's expression of sympathy. Though Corduroy's own face was completely unreadable.

"Ohh!" Lace jumped around on her feet slightly, then hurtled herself forward.

Gadget raised her arms to defend herself. Atala had said not to harm any of the other tributes, but that couldn't stop someone angered enough to hurt someone! Not if they really wanted to and really tried.

Gadget prepared herself for a rush of pain to follow from Lace's lunge.

But none came. All she felt was the feeling of warmth as a sheet of red hair fell in front of her face and arms wrapped around her back.

"Oh," Gadget mumbled and flushed. She wasn't being attacked. I'm…I'm being hugged…

She heard Lace sniffle into her shoulder, but she found she didn't really mind, as the surprise of it had only started to fade.

"I'm so sorry!" Lace said, her voice muffled by Gadget's shoulder.

"I-I…it's o-okay," Gadget stuttered.

Slowly, Lace separated herself from Gadget. She rubbed at her reddened eyes, but she still smiled. The girl that was so scared to even talk to the trainer seemed to have completely disappeared.

"Yeah," Corduroy started and Gadget flicked her attention from Lace to him. Again, she braced herself for the worst. "I do not like my family, either."

And again, Gadget was floored. She had expected a thousand different things, but that had not been one of them.

Corduroy shrugged with a light smirk. "Such is the way things go, I guess."

"I-I guess," Gadget repeated.

She eyed the trainer for the station the three of them stood at and Gadget was reminded of the plants again.

All of this had just been a moment in time.

A whistle blew and Gadget winced. Whatever she'd been about to say was forgotten and the gymnasium quieted down.

"First compulsory exercise starts now!" Atala announced loudly. "Everyone to the bridge!"

Already? Gadget's breath hitched. She thought she still had more time before the compulsory exercises would begin.

To her side, Gadget heard a violent exhale of breath. Lace appeared to be on the verge of a panic attack. Her pale skin went even paler, and her pupils dilated. She sucked in a breath, and then blew it back out over and over again.

"Corduroy, I-I don't think I can do this," Lace said, very clearly panicked.

Corduroy wrapped an arm around Lace's shoulder as he guided them forward. "It will be okay," he said to her, almost quiet enough that Gadget didn't hear. "Think of it as just something kids play on. Can you do that for me?"

Lace nodded and said nothing else. Slowly, her breathing returned to a normal level, but the fear remained in her expression.

Most of the tributes had already made it to a line in front of the bridge Atala had them stand in front of. As usual, the Careers were at the front, chatting amongst themselves eagerly.

Gadget stopped for Lace and Corduroy to step in front of her, and then waited for the last tributes, the two from Twelve, to line up in front of her. Gadget didn't mind being last. If she was last, then maybe fewer people would pay her any mind.

She hoped.

The short obstacle course in front of them was a balance beam. A bridge that was on top of an elevated platform, similar to what Gadget could see of the gauntlets. Connecting one platform to the other was a bridge with square holes through them at even sections.

Atala put her foot on top of the bridge to keep it from spinning and Gadget knew that she wouldn't complete the course at once. She glanced down at the floor below the bridge to spot if there were any padding she would land on. But true to Capitol fashion, there was none.

"This looks fun," Peeta commented sarcastically in front of her.

Gadget examined him. It was the closest she'd been to Peeta, it wouldn't hurt to understand how much of a threat he could and would be.

He…certainly looked strong to Gadget. Broad, but not as much as Cato or, say, Thresh. But any kind of strength meant danger.

"Y-you c-could probably do i-it," Gadget stuttered out nervously.

"Somehow, I don't think I could," Peeta replied. He turned himself sideways so that he could look at her. "Gadget, right?"

Gadget bit her lip. He had noticed her and remembered her. She glanced at the person in front of him. Katniss, his district partner. She wondered if that was the case with her, too.

"Th-that's right," Gadget answered. Peeta smiled. "W-why can't you d-do it? You look s-strong enough," she said as her voice became progressively more muted through her question.

"Uh," Peeta started with a slightly flushed face. "Well, I don't know about that," he admitted. "And I don't have the best balance ever-"

"Peeta!" Katniss hissed. She turned and glared at him but Peeta only smiled.

"It's alright, Katniss," Peeta said, and then he said something quieter that only Katniss could hear.

Gadget rubbed her arm and tried her best to strain her ears to hear whatever he was saying to her, but he was much too quiet. Whatever it was that Peeta told her, though, she looked placated. She turned her back to them again and Peeta shrugged at Gadget.

Gadget quirked her lip in a smile, but she wasn't sure if she meant it. It was hard to mean something as simple as a smile when she wasn't sure if the person she was talking with wanted to kill her.

It could all be a facade to get her to lower her guard around him in the arena. Where if they ran into each other, she could trust him. And then he would kill her while her back was turned.

The shriek of Atala's whistle interrupted Gadget's thoughts, and she watched as Clove jumped forward onto the bridge with ease, and balanced her way across with no difficulty.

One by one, each of the Careers went first, and none of them had an issue on it. They each scrambled across to the other side easily enough.

And then the rest of them were to go. Just like the Careers, they went one by one, some better than others. Finch from Five was nimble and quick and was the first non-Career tribute to cross the bridge.

Rue was the second. Flighty and quick on her feet, Gadget noted to herself. Similar to Finch, if Gadget were to say.

None of the other tributes did nearly as well after them. Thresh slipped off after a mere three steps, and Cedar after one.

Lace almost had a panic attack when she made it to the front of the line, and when she finally went, she was quick to slip off.

But then Corduroy went after Lace and Gadget felt her heart skip a beat as he flew across the bridge with a surprising amount of grace. He was a lot faster than Gadget had been expecting.

Maybe…maybe he might want to be in an alliance with me?

But oh, who was Gadget kidding? She had no chance, why would Corduroy ever want to ally with her? She was barely better than Lace, and who would want two people slowing him down?

Katniss stood eventually, and Atala signaled for her to go. Just like Finch and Rue before her, she made it across easily. Like it was second nature to her.

Peeta went after Katniss, but he only made it across the bridge about halfway before he fell off.

All too soon, it was Gadget's turn and the bridge lay before her. She clasped her hand on her forearm as she stared down at the object.

Tentatively, Gadget put her foot on the bridge to test just how easy it was to slide off. With little effort, the bridge tilted.

"Hey!"

Gadget stepped back at the shout and shot her frightened gaze to Atala. Had she already done something wrong?

"Feet off," Atala said sternly.

"S-sorry," Gadget apologized. She wrapped her arms around her torso in a hug. Already she had done something wrong. Of course she would manage to screw something up so simple.

"Alright," Atala began. She looked at Gadget. "You're up, District Three female."

"My name is Gadget," Gadget whispered to herself. She eyed the bridge again warily. It'll be okay. It'll be okay.

Gadget leapt forward carefully and as soon as her feet touched the bridge, it wobbled under her. She gasped in surprise and maneuvered herself as quickly and cautiously as she could.

It was so volatile, how quickly the bridge moved. So easy to fall off of.

Gadget managed a calculated step, very slowly as opposed to how the Careers made across the bridge swiftly.

The bridge twisted and Gadget fought to retain her balance, before she shuffled forward again one more time. It felt like ages she'd been standing on the bridge already, and yet she had so far to go.

"Ah!" Gadget whimpered as the platform spun sharply and her balance slipped with it.

Her heart jumped into her throat, and down she fell. For a brief moment, all she felt was air whoosh past her.

Her back connected with the ground harshly and a gasp escaped her. Her ears rang and she could hear the distant snickering of the Careers.

A groan escaped from Gadget's lips. She felt like such a fool for even trying, no matter if it was compulsory. Tears pricked at her eyes but she shut them and shook her head frantically. I won't cry, Gadget thought furiously. I won't let them see me cry.

"Are you okay?"

Gadget recognized that voice, someone who had been kind to her. She opened her eyes and sure enough, Corduroy loomed over her.

"H-hurt," Gadget replied with a winced. Corduroy grimaced.

"Here." Corduroy offered his hand and Gadget stared at it, uncomprehending.

Such a simple act of kindness. Yet one Gadget had never seen before.

"Th-thank you," Gadget said at last, and took his hand. Together, they pulled Gadget up to her feet.

"Yeah, do not mention it," Corduroy said.

Gadget walked forward, away from Atala and the few remaining tributes that hadn't gone yet. Her back didn't hurt much after she stood, but she feared it would soon bruise.

"You did decently," Corduroy said from her side.

"I…I-I still fell," Gadget murmured back.

"It was nevertheless still better than her." Corduroy gestured with an incline of his head towards Cedar, who had fallen right after taking just one step.

Gadget stammered out, "B-but…I...okay."

She blinked in mild surprise at herself as she found herself simply agreeing with the boy in front of her.

And Corduroy's smile was genuine. Not a smirk, not condescending, but he frowned after a moment, and turned to look in Cedar's direction.

"It seemed almost intentional," he said, "rather like she wanted to fail."

Gadget in the meantime finally noticed how Corduroy did not use contractions in his speech. At all.

Gadget opened her mouth to comment on it when she cut herself off. Corduroy was no longer looking towards her and Gadget turned to follow his line of sight.

They hadn't been the only ones to observe the other tributes.

By one of the sparring stations - a sword training one, Gadget noted - were Ridley from Four and Monkshood from Ten.

Monkshood, Gadget idly noticed, was much more curvaceous than her reaping clothes had suggested. Her training outfit hugged her form closely, which only complimented her features further.

Ridley dodged out of the way of the trainer's attack and raised his own weapon to bring down on him.

Gadget watched the spar with trepidation. Is Ridley a Career that was reaped too early, she wondered? He wasn't nearly as good as what she had seen in Cato and the others, but he was still competent.

And that scared her.

Monkshood stood on the sidelines as she watched Ridley's every move. He didn't seem to mind, so they were likely to be allies.

Gadget bounced from foot to foot nervously. She knew it was inevitable that the other tributes would ally with each other, but that didn't mean she had to like it. All it did was succeed in raising her hackles ever further.

At least now I know what to expect, Gadget thought morosely to herself.

Monkshood swung her head around towards Corduroy and Gadget, and whatever it was she saw, she was pleased about it. She said something to Ridley, and then she began her approach towards them.

"Howdy, partner," Monkshood said kindly as she strolled forward. She bent her knee slightly and winked, then tipped an invisible hat in their direction.

"Greetings," Corduroy replied with geniality.

Monkshood flashed a glance at Gadget, then focused back on Corduroy. The solemn-faced girl Gadget once saw during the reapings had disappeared utterly.

She wondered if it was a mask in order to gain pity sponsors.

"M' name's Monkshood." She offered a hand. "Might I get yours?"

Corduroy took Monkshood's hand in his own and shook it. "Corduroy."

"Corduroy," Monkshood repeated. She grinned. "Tha's a mighty fine name."

"It is my name, after all," Corduroy responded with a somewhat bowed head, waving his palms back and forth exaggeratedly.

"So, naturally, it's lovely." Monkshood's grin widened. "Anyway, I ain't wantin' t' waste your time. Time is important here, after all." She waved her hand around the gymnasium. "But I was wonderin' if you were interested in partnerin' up with Ridley and I?"

Monkshood circled Corduroy and Gadget felt her heart sink. The answer to that question was obvious. Between Ridley, who seemed decent enough with a weapon, and Monkshood who had turned up as much charm as she could for Corduroy…

The aforementioned boy looked Monkshood over thoughtfully. His action was critical, and an act of considered observation.

After a moment, he said, "That is an interesting offer; and generous. How many people do you perhaps consider bringing on?"

Monkshood's eyes slid to Gadget, and then back to Corduroy. Full of cunning that Gadget recognized from the calculating ones of Binary.

Binary. Gadget had almost forgotten about him. She looked over her shoulder to evade Monkshood's own cunning eyes in order to find her district partner. Had he already managed to make friends with the Careers like he had planned?

It didn't take long for her to find him. And it was nowhere near the Careers. No, instead, Binary was at the fire-starting station with the boy from Nine, Kernel. They looked to be talking to each other quietly.

Gadget supposed Binary had found his backup option. She wondered what made him approach Kernel. His reaping wasn't the most memorable, after all.

"Only one," Monkshood said at last and Gadget turned her attention back to the girl from Ten. "We were thinkin' that any more than three is a crowd." Monkshood nodded in the direction of the Careers. "An' dangerous."

"That is fair," Corduroy replied and Gadget wondered why he hadn't just accepted the deal yet. It was so heavily in his favor that she had to wonder what was going through his head.

"I thought so, too," Monkshood said with a charming smile. She put her hands on her hips, which accentuated her curves. "So, whaddya say?"

Gadget watched Corduroy watching Monkshood. Any light of hope Gadget had that she could ally with him had gone out.

She started to step away, to get away from an incident that would leave her without an ally.

But she didn't make a single step before Corduroy said, "I cannot join you without my ally."

Gadget froze and Monkshood finally looked at Gadget completely, focused solely on her.

"I wasn' aware you were partners," Monkshood said, her charming grin fading slowly. She tapped her knuckles together.

"I…I…" Gadget trailed off. She was allied with Corduroy? Surprise rushed through her very being.

"Lace, as well," Corduroy said like he was discussing how to charge a battery, and not changing what very well might be Gadget's fate in the Games.

A smile bloomed on Gadget's face. I have an ally, she thought in giddy disbelief. Someone had really wanted to ally with her.

"So, unless you want an alliance with five other people, we all have to decline," Corduroy said.

Monkshood popped her cheek out slightly with her tongue. Her smile had gone and her face morphed into something neutral.

But Gadget could see the anger in her eyes. Just like with Binary, she knew what it looked like on a calm face.

The giddiness slowly faded, replaced soon with unease. Would Monkshood just let this go? If she were a Career, Gadget would say that no, she certainly wouldn't. But Monkshood wasn't one, which only left her as more of an unknown variable.

"Tha' really is too bad," Monkshood eventually said. Then her charming smile reappeared as quickly as it had left. "Good luck to the three of y'all," she said, even as her eyes scanned for Lace. Or maybe other potential allies.

"Good luck," Corduroy told her.

"Righ' back at ya," Monkshood replied. She spun on her heel and strolled back to where Ridley had finished his sparring with the trainer.

"You…you want to be my ally?" Gadget asked when Monkshood was gone. She felt the edge of her lips tug upwards against her will.

"Yes, indeed," Corduroy said with an enigmatic smile.

Gadget rubbed at her arm self-consciously despite herself. "W-why?"

"Why does anyone do anything?" Corduroy asked. He started forward, yet the small smile didn't disappear. "Lace is at the first-aid station."

So she was, Gadget noticed. But that wasn't what plagued her mind with questions. Instead she wondered why Corduroy chose Lace and her over Monkshood and Ridley.

In spite of her curiosities, however, Gadget almost skipped in happiness at the thought that she would not be entirely alone in the Games.