Hi again! Welcome to the next chapter! Oh boy…what will be in store for us now? Let's read and see :)

Back To The Capitol

Within an hour and 30 minutes, Golias, Bongo, Effie, and the others arrived in the Capitol. With their hovercraft completely invisible, they immediately headed for the penitentiary, where they hovered there for a bit, trying to come up with a plan to sneak past security and get inside the building.

After surveying their surroundings, Beetee came up with an idea. "Wiress and I will drop the rest of you off someplace where we won't be spotted, and then the two of us can create a diversion from here. One that's big enough to attract the attention of all the guards down there long enough for you to sneak in."

"Great idea, Beetee," Golias delightfully agreed. "You can invite them to the biggest circus or the biggest party they've ever—"

"What?!" Johanna interrupted. "Why would they fall for something like that?"

"Circuses and parties are fun," explained Golias.

"Not to Peacekeepers they're not," Johanna told him, before he could say anything else. "Just because you like circuses and parties and would totally fall for that kind of trick doesn't mean Peacekeepers do or will."

Golias looked away from her, hurt by the "and would totally fall for that kind of trick" part of the statement, but he didn't say anything other than a simple "Oh. Okay." Johanna might be even bossier than Lili (which was really saying something), but he knew she was a good person who wanted to help save everyone the Capitol had captured. So, even though some of the things she did kind of hurt his feelings, he was doing his best to stay on good terms with her for Matt and Lili's sake. They needed rescuing, and rescuing them was only going to be a harder task to do if he let himself get upset enough to cause Johanna to storm off or something.

Yuri, on the other hand, gave the woman an annoyed frown and started to say something in his best friend's defence, only for Golias to stretch one of his large hand-like ears out in front of him as a way of stopping him. Because if there was anything he didn't want, it was for Johanna to find a reason to get angry at the young boy too.

"Nice thinking," said Haymitch, before Yuri could say anything in response to what had just happened, "but if your diversion's what I think it is," he then did a gesture with his hands to mime an explosion, "then I don't think we should do it." He then discreetly glanced at Golias and Bongo before turning back to Beetee, indicating that he knew the suggested diversion involved blowing something up.

Correctly guessing what was going through the man's mind, Beetee asked, "But how else are we supposed to divert the Peacekeepers down there?"

Bongo paced back and forth, pensively telling himself, "Way to distract them, way to distract them! Way to distract them…"

That prompted everyone else to think hard as well, except for Effie, who took one look at the present Big Big Friends and knew exactly what needed to be done. And as this realization came to her, she suddenly realized something else: that this was it. No turning back—she was about to fully and purely rebel against the Capitol. A group of people that she'd looked up to all her life, but had let her down immensely. A circumstance that gave her the shivers…no. It was best not to think about that. What she needed to be thinking about was Lili, Matt, Katniss, Peeta, and everyone else that they were breaking into the penitentiary to rescue…and how worried she was about them. That was why she was taking part in this rebellion; because she cared about them too, as much as knowing this would upset the Capitol. They were more than just tributes and children…as much as her thinking this would upset the Capitol should they find out she was thinking this…

Wiress turned around, and seeing Effie's expression, she decided now was the best opportunity to find a place to land where no one would see them. Taking the wheel from Beetee, she steered them downward and behind a building across the street from the penitentiary, where she extended the ladder—the only part of this particular hovercraft that couldn't turn invisible—downward so everyone could either climb, jump, or fly out. Effie and the mentors came out first, and while Bongo took the wheel and parked the vehicle, the former stared downward, concentrated, and within seconds she was able to use her powers to make various weapons appear next to some of her companions. Two tridents for Finnick and Annie, a pickaxe for Johanna, a sword for Cecelia, and a sickle for Seeder. "Just in case…" she whispered.

"In case those guys try to kill us?" Haymitch guessed knowingly. When Effie nodded, he added, "You know at least most of the others can't see us with these things, right?"

"Method," Wiress cut in, looking at the escort and pointing at the Peacekeepers who were guarding the penitentiary.

"Method?" Effie asked, looking at her in confusion. "What do you mean by 'method?'"

Beetee studied her pensively. "Did you come up with a plan to divert the Peacekeepers?"

Effie then remembered the answer was yes. All at once, her nervousness returned, but she immediately pushed it back. Now was not the time to bask in it; now was the time to save her tributes and accept that her days of working with the Capitol on any matter were over. She could let herself become lost in her thoughts later, when so many lives weren't at stake.

Her heart pounding, she slowly stepped forward and concentrated on her idea…and then, out of nowhere, two buildings away from the penitentiary, precisely as she'd planned, a giant merry-go-round appeared, with its plastic mammals not only looking exactly like everyone in the hovercraft minus Objectiva, but also having the ability to move their arms and talk, with their most popular quote being, "You can't catch me!"

The Peacekeepers who were guarding the outside of the penitentiary instantly saw the merry-go-round and drew their weapons, prompting Seeder to run back into the hovercraft and make sure everyone who was still in it didn't get out of it or happen to look through the windshield. But before the Peacekeepers shot anything out, they each flipped a switch that was on each of their blasters. Then they began firing darts at the merry-go-round, only for the darts to bounce off the plastic mammals. The troop stared at the scene in confusion, and then most of it rushed toward the ride, presumably to get a closer look at it and see if it was really their targets that they were observing, while five of the Peacekeepers stayed where they were to continue guarding the penitentiary.

Now. As soon as the majority of the squad was in front of the merry-go-round, Effie concentrated hard, and in the blink of an eye, a very strong and powerful neon pink forcefield enclosed itself around the ride, with nothing done by their own blasters or the blasters of their five teammates being able to bust them out of there. Catching on to the plan, Wiress quickly gave Finnick one of the tridents, which he took. Johanna, Cecelia, and Seeder grabbed the weapons intended for them as well, and the four of them then crept forward, discreetly but still swiftly, ready to fight the five remaining Peacekeepers so they could get them out of their way before entering the building.

Annie, however, was a bit more slow to perform the first task, and she never ended up completing the second one. As soon as she picked up her trident with shaky hands, she took one look at the Peacekeepers, whether the ones fighting to escape the forcefield or the ones trying unsuccessfully to help from outside of it, and then let her trident fall out of her hands and to the ground. The sharp parts of it nearly touched Effie's right legs, but luckily she moved out of the way just in time.

The escort stared at her last remaining companion in shock. "You must be careful, Miss Cresta! That almost hit—" Then she noticed Annie didn't seem to be paying attention to her. She was simply standing there, her eyes closed very tightly and her hands over her ears. And her expression, well…you'd think she was having a nightmare that was downright unbearable, but that she couldn't rouse from.

"Miss Cresta? Are you alright?"

The woman didn't respond to her in any way. The frown on her face did grow though, and as the other mentors worked together to successfully take the last five Peacekeepers by surprise and eventually either kill them or injure them too much for them to do anything to them, she seemed to just zone out. Effie called her name six times, and even deliberately walked past her in a way that caused Nessa's tail to brush against her legs, but no matter what she did, she couldn't snap Annie back to the present. Had she just been even more nervous about what was to come than she was and kept it all bottled up inside her? What was going on with her?

Effie was tempted to call out to the other mentors and tell them that something was wrong with Annie, but ultimately she decided against it. It would take their focus away from the task at hand, and she didn't want to even think about or look at what they were doing right now. The best thing to do would probably be to stay here and keep an eye on her, and to be as gentle with her as possible.

A minute later, the quintet of Peacekeepers had all been defeated, and Beetee, Wiress, and Haymitch were even able to steal three of their blasters so they could each have their own way of protecting themselves. They then returned to the other two, with Finnick saying, "Alright, that's all of them. I think we're good to…Annie?" Worry filled his eyes, and he rushed to his true love's side, dropping his trident as he went. "Annie, what's wrong?"

Hearing his voice, Annie finally snapped back to the present. She then looked around, and the realization of something seemed to flash through her eyes. Not a good realization either…and then suddenly, before anyone knew it, she burst into tears of sadness. "I'm sorry," she exclaimed, "I'm so sorry…"

Finnick guided her into a tender embrace. "Hey, hey, it's okay. You needed to do it."

"I wish I didn't need to!" Annie sobbed. "I tried to be there so we could save Nessa and get her out of this mess, and with you and even Golias with me all the way I thought I could! But it's just no use…" She then sobbed a lot more, and Finnick gave the others an apologetic glance before deepening their embrace.

Everyone else, meanwhile, could only look on, not really sure what to do. Even Johanna was at a loss for words; she would have told Annie to get her head in the game if it wasn't for the fact that this was Finnick Odair's girlfriend who was having a breakdown right now. Finnick was a good guy; he was one mentor that seemed to really get her, Annie, and many other victors in the right way, and he was anything but hopeless, whether it was with handling a trident or talking to people. If there was anyone she wasn't about to make upset, it was him.

Seconds went by, and when Annie didn't stop crying, her boyfriend reluctantly asked the other mentors and Effie to give them a minute, gesturing to the hovercraft. They all felt that was best and agreed, and while Finnick took his soulmate back into the vehicle, Cecelia and Seeder went over and moved the bodies of the five attacked Peacekeepers behind the building next to the penitentiary so that when Bongo, Golias, and Yuri left the hovercraft, they wouldn't get spooked by the sight of them. Wiress simultaneously began cleaning the blood off of each of the weapons Effie had used Nessa's powers to create with the insides of her pockets, while Beetee observed the darts that the Peacekeepers had shot at the merry-go-round and realized something: "They must want to bring Golias and Bongo in alive, but unconscious. Why else would they have, despite being in a situation where they have no time to waste, taken the time to flip the switches on their weapons so that darts would come out rather than bullets or flames?"

"Then they probably want to bring us in alive but unconscious too," Haymitch decided. "So they can have the pleasure of using us as hostages."

"It's not going to be us," said Johanna, "it's going to be Yuri. If they don't already know that he's Golias's favourite, they're going to find out once those two go in there together. They might even use Matt if Bongo breaks his promise."

Effie worriedly gazed behind her at the hovercraft, which Objectiva was just flying out of now. "The other three will be out here shortly," she said. "Let us just say there's not a soul in there that isn't determined to cheer up Annie…whom I really am starting to doubt should be accompanying us into the building of prisons."

"She's likely just nervous about what we're about to—"

"No, Long-Neck, it's not that," Johanna interrupted Effie. "It's something that's none of your business."

"Either way, good point," Haymitch told them. "She's better off staying in that thing while we go get everyone who's in jail. Yuri too."

Everyone else looked at him and then at each other, and then slowly nodded in agreement. While not everyone was aware of the real story behind Annie's breakdown, it was clear to all of them that she was in no position to participate in the dangerous job they were about to do. And Yuri…well, if he got taken hostage or something, then Golias would be at the Capitol's mercy. Something nobody could let happen. It really was best if the two of them stayed behind, so long as they kept the hovercraft invisible and the ladder out of sight.

"I will stay behind as well," decided Objectiva. "Just to keep the two of them company while you are gone."

"That works for me," replied Beetee, with everyone else being in agreement.

Soon Seeder and Cecelia returned, and they were filled in on what the group had decided on. Only a second later, Wiress finished dealing with the weapons, and Finnick returned as well, accompanied by Yuri, Golias, and Bongo, who all had an awkward energy about them. "Annie's not coming," Finnick said. "She just…needs some time."

"Well that's good," Objectiva said. "I guess, that is. For we also decided it would be best if she stayed here."

"Oh," the new arrivals said in unison.

A few seconds of silence went by, and then Yuri said, "Come on! I wanna find Matt, Lili, and the others and get out of here."

"Uh, no," Haymitch told him. "We're going to find them. You're staying here with Annie and Objectiva."

"What?!" the boy exclaimed, with Golias and Bongo doing so at the exact same time. Then Yuri added, "Why do I have to stay behind again?"

"It's for your own good," said Seeder, apologetically. "I'm sorry, but we don't want you to get hurt."

"But I can help!" Yuri insisted.

"You can help by helping Objectiva help Annie feel better," Effie suggested, though sounding somewhat insensitive. "That way the rest of us won't have to feel too concerned about her while we're in there."

"It's not fair," Yuri stated in frustration. Golias nodded in agreement, although he was easily able to maintain his composure, and said, "Yeah, we can't go without Yuri again. He's my bestest friend in the world! Why can't he help us since he's here?" As for Bongo, he nodded vigorously in agreement, but he didn't say a word.

Johanna rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Didn't that Fox girl tell you anything?"

"Of course she did!" Golias said. "She said…that I couldn't let the Capitol know how much I love Yuri or else they'd take him away and make me do what they want." He then sighed in sadness. "I can't just not show you how much I love you, Yuri. Maybe…maybe it will be better if you stay here."

"But…but…" Yuri then sighed, realizing his best friend was right. Next, he quietly said, "Good luck everyone," before unhappily turning and climbing back into the hovercraft, followed by Objectiva.

When the two of them were gone, Bongo noticed the weapons on the ground and asked, "Uh…what are those things doing here?"

"They're just items we might need in case we have to deal with more Peacekeepers," Beetee discreetly explained.

"Which reminds me," Haymitch told Bongo, still wanting him and Golias to see as little of the weapons as possible. "We'll need to split into two groups if we want to find everyone faster. I say you, Effie, the elephant, Seeder, and Cecelia take one side of the first floor and the rest of us search the other side. After we're done searching each area, we'll meet up at the front doors, and if there's still someone missing, we'll go to the second floor. Got that?"

"Yup," replied Bongo.

"And remember," Golias told him and Effie, "like Nessa's new friend Foxface said. If more Peacekeepers try to stop us, use our magic or do something you know you're good at."

Bongo perked up in excitement. "Like my bouncing? And my kangaroo super-do moves?"

"Yeah!"

"YIPPEE! Bongo Bongo Bongo!" the kangaroo yelled in delight, all the while bouncing upward at a very high distance, doing a flip in midair, and landing on his feet. Effie, however, simply stayed still, once again feeling very very nervous. Would she have to do the rapid neck-spinning technique Nessa had tried to teach her soon? For the first time? She'd meant to practice it while she and the others had been waiting for Bongo and Objectiva to arrive in District 4, but her inability to shake how nerve-wracking the very thought of the action was had resulted in her never ending up practicing it, no matter how many times Haymitch and Johanna told her to stop procrastinating. Then the time had simply zipped by, and before she'd known it…

Effie shook her thoughts away. She might not even have to do it. It would be okay…hopefully…

"Alright," announced Cecelia, "is everyone ready to go in?"

Everyone either nodded or said yes, and then the mentors each grabbed their respective weapons, though they hid one of the tridents inside the hovercraft before they left. Just in case. After that, the remainder of the group walked forward, past the still-present forcefield, and into the penitentiary. One thing happened without Golias and Bongo's knowledge though: when Beetee entered the building first, the receptionist noticed him right away, only to be knocked out by a tranquilizer dart that came from within the blaster he'd stolen. Then the team split up; Finnick, Haymitch, Johanna, and the Threes opened a door that had a sign on it, reading, Prisoners Who Require Extreme Action This Way Only. They then headed through the hallway beyond the door, while Effie, Golias, Bongo, Seeder, and Cecelia went down a different hallway, which didn't have any doors blocking the way into it.

Things went fine for the most part at first, since there were no Peacekeepers in either of the hallways and the first few cells (which they were able to lock and unlock the doors of via the sharp blade of Seeder's sickle) were vacant. However, no one felt easy, for everyone knew they were on camera and, with that in mind, that it was only a matter of time before a troop of Peacekeepers or more ambushed them. And in fact, that was exactly what happened to Johanna's team when they opened the door to the fourteenth torture chamber and found someone they were looking for.

The Big Big Friends' team, on the other hand, was slightly more fortunate in that department. They weren't ambushed as soon as their allies were, and they had no idea their allies even were ambushed when it happened. Though that didn't make the energy within them any less tense.

"Hm," Bongo said, about two minutes into the search. "Nope! No people in Cell 24."

"I don't see any people in Cell 25 either," informed Golias.

"Well keep looking," Effie advised. "Hurry! The Peacekeepers could be here at any moment!"

Bongo quickly closed the door to Cell 24, and Seeder used her sickle to lock it again. The action was repeated with the door to Cell 25, and then the mentor from District 11 unlocked the door to Cell 26. She then went over and did the same to the door to Cell 27, and as she did, Golias used his trunk to pull open Cell 26's door. Next, he peered into that cell and saw someone in there: two men, both dressed in white lab coats and white pants. One of them was holding something behind his back with one hand, and there was an open vent sitting at the bottom of one of the walls, but he didn't take much notice of this. He was too focused on the fact that there were two men in the cell to begin with.

"Oh," Golias said. "Uh, everyone, I found someone! It's not any of our friends, but—"

Yet before he could finish his sentence, the man who was hiding something behind his back smiled maliciously and moved his arm so that he was now holding what, or in fact who, he had with him out in front of him: Yuri! The poor boy looked really scared—so scared that the elephant forgot all about what Foxface had said, ran forward to save his best friend, and got stuck in the doorway.

Both of the men burst into laughter once this happened. "Oh, the things some rebels will do for their allies," gasped the man holding Yuri.

The other man nodded. "You've fallen right into our trap."

"Trap?" Golias squeaked in fear. He quickly tried to move forward, but to no avail. He then tried to move backward, but that wasn't successful either. Unable to move, all he could do now was shout, "Heeeeelllllp! I'm stuck!"

"Well then use your magic!" Bongo called from the hallway. "Like you told us to do if anything bad happened! You said that was what Foxface said."

"Oh…oh right." Golias's memories of his conversation with her and Nessa instantly flooded back into his mind, and he then felt ashamed. Foxface had told him! "I am asking you to not let the Peacekeepers know it if you are scared. Even if they manage to close in on Yuri." And now here he was, stuck in a doorway, all because he'd done the exact opposite of what she'd told him to do! It might not have been with Peacekeepers, but with two obvious friends of theirs, but still. As long as they were mean people it was the same mistake!

It was okay. He'd only done that once so far. All he had to do was not forget Foxface's advice again, and everything would be fine. So, quickly, he tried to calm himself down while thinking hard. How could he use his powers to save Yuri from these two men—especially if he was stuck?

Right behind him, meanwhile, the other four members of the group were standing there, trying to come up with a plan for what to do. They knew they had to get Golias out of there right away, but they also knew that they had to keep searching for their captured allies before any Peacekeepers showed up. Which was likely going to be very soon, since they could hear the men's voices from in front of the elephant and, while they weren't sure how exactly they'd gotten ahold of Yuri so quickly without them being aware of it, they could tell one thing was for sure: those men might not be Peacekeepers, since their friend would have made that clear if they were, but they were evil people who had Golias exactly where they wanted him.

Soon, Cecelia decided on an idea that would work well if they wanted to save time. "Miss Trinket, you stay here with Golias and warn us if you see any Peacekeepers. We'll continue to look for everyone that needs rescuing, and once we find them we'll all come back and get him unstuck. Does that work for you?"

Effie stared at the floor and swallowed hard. It did seem like that was the best way out of this. "Yes. That…that does work…"

"Are you okay, Effie?" Bongo asked the escort, noticing she looked a lot more nervous than everyone else in the hallway.

"Oh I'm alright," she quickly replied, smiling to try and lessen his worry.

"Really? 'Cause you don't look okay…"

Unsure of what else to do, Seeder simply closed and locked the door to the also-empty Cell 27. She and Cecelia then walked forward, deciding to let Bongo join them when and if he was ready, and proceeded to unlock the door to Cell 28, and as they did, Effie sighed. If Bongo could see through her act, there was no point in trying to hide it. "Well, you see…is it really true that when giraffes spin their necks around very very quickly…it doesn't hurt?"

"Oh," Bongo said. He shrugged. "I don't know if it's true for all giraffes, but it's true for Nessa. And it's kinda true for me too. I mean, I've never tried spinning my neck around super duper fast before, but look what I know I can do with it!" And then before Effie could react, he curved his neck downward—so far that he was able to dip his head into his higher and smaller pouch without the help of his hands!

The escort gasped in horror and then audibly grimaced, shutting her eyes tight and looking away from him. Hearing her doing so, Bongo painlessly said from inside his pouch, "What? It's not that bad. It really doesn't hurt!"

"It looks like it would hurt!" Effie exclaimed.

"Well it doesn't," stated Bongo, pulling his head out of his pouch without the help of his hands and getting it back to its typical posture. "And uh…why did you wanna know if it hurts or not?" When Effie hesitated, he pushed on, "Come on. Tell me! It's a weird question, and I just wanna know why you asked it!"

"Alright," sighed Effie. She then stepped closer to him and whispered, "I asked because, well…Nessa said that she—that is, whoever's currently in her body—is capable of doing it, and that it doesn't hurt. It helps her to throw things very far, and I know that might assist us in case…in case…"

"In case the Peacekeepers need something to get thrown at them?" Bongo guessed. When she reluctantly said yes, he reassured her, "You know, it's okay to be scared, Effie. But sometimes there are things you just have to do. Like picking up things your puppy knocked over and not you. If you wanna take care of a puppy or help your friends get away from mean Peacekeepers, you've just gotta do those things."

Taking care of a puppy? Where had that example come from? Why had it even been said? Being a puppy owner was such a mild task compared to the situation she was currently in! However, before Effie could say those things out loud, she heard Seeder unlocking and opening the door to Cell 30, and she and Cecelia being met with a relieving sight: three children, two of whom were girls who looked just like Rue, sitting in the cell on a mattress, apparently unharmed.

"Seeder?" the younger of the girls asked in confusion. "Are you here to get us out of here?"

Golias was doing his best to think of what to do, but he was so nervous that his mind was pretty much blank. Sure, he knew what Foxface was expecting of him, and that he had to live up to those expectations, but at the same time, his best friend was being held prisoner by mean men, and he himself was stuck in a doorway! Those two circumstances put together weren't exactly making it easy for him to create a plan…

The man who was holding Yuri smiled smugly. "Face it, mister. You are now in a vulnerable position."

"No, I'm not," Golias said, partly just for the sake of reassuring himself. "I can get myself out of here and save Yuri. Remember…I've got powers…so, let him go, or…or I'll have to use them…"

"You really think that little speech is supposed to scare us?" the other man said, reaching into his pocket. "Clearly, you don't have the confidence most rebels possess. We haven't even done anything to your apparent best friend yet, and we've still managed to shake you up quite a bit."

"No, you didn't," Golias told them, knowing they were right but also knowing that he couldn't prove it. "I'm not um…I'm not afraid of you."

The man holding Yuri rolled his eyes. "Sure," he sarcastically replied, "sure. You're not afraid of us. Face it, you look very afraid of us."

"Okay, fine, I am. But I'm still gonna—"

Though before Golias could finish, the other man took his hand out of his pocket, revealing he was now using it to hold a butterfly needle with a transparent cap on the sharp part. As soon as the elephant saw that object, he squealed in terror.

"Shhh!" the man with the needle hissed. "Now do as we say, and your friend won't be hurt."

Golias swallowed hard, remembering once more some of what Foxface had told him: "You must prove to your allies and your enemies that you are not weak. If everyone sees you as mentally strong, then you and your best friend will not be targeted as constantly. And for that to work, you must not panic, or let your sadness get to you as it did when the two of us officially met. Not even if something bad happens to Yuri."

Come on, Golias desperately thought to himself, do something with your powers! Do SOMETHING! Show them how strong you are! But then again, if he did that, Yuri was going to get hurt. Right? That was what that one man said would happen if he didn't do what they wanted…so was using his powers really the right thing to do if he didn't want his best friend to get hurt? Then again, Foxface had said—

The man holding the needle shrugged. "Suit yourself," he said. He then removed the cap from the needle and started to aim the sharp part at Yuri's arm.

"No, wait! Stop!" Golias yelled in alarm, hoping Foxface, the absent mentors, Objectiva, and everyone behind him would understand why he was doing what he was doing. "I'll do what you want me to do, just don't hurt him! Please…"

"Good," said the man holding Yuri, smiling sinisterly, "because all you have to do is one thing."

Nodding, the man holding the needle slowly began to walk forward. "Brace yourself," he instructed Golias, "and stay still. And no matter what, be quiet."

"Yes," said Seeder. "So is everyone else in the hallway. That is, if you're my female tribute's missing sisters and one of Yuri's missing friends."

"We are," said the older girl. "I'm Daisy, this is Iris, and that's Matt."

After checking in with Cecelia to make sure the coast was clear, Seeder gently stepped forward and led the trio out of the cell. "Here, let's get you out of here."

Effie walked toward Cell 30, hoping that at least one of her tributes had been found as well. However, only Bongo ended up feeling that strong rush of relief as the three former prisoners walked out of the cell, for an obvious reason that he joyously shouted the name of right then and there: "Matt!"

"Bongo!" Matt exclaimed in just as much happiness as his best friend did. He then rushed forward and leapt into the arms of his Big Big Friend, who immediately hugged him in return.

"Oh, I missed you SO much," gushed Bongo. "When Golias told me that the bad guys got you and Lili, I was really really scared!"

"It's okay," Matt reassured him. "They didn't hurt us."

"Speaking of Lili, where is she?" Cecelia asked.

"And where are Katniss and Peeta?" inquired Effie.

"We saw Katniss being walked into another hallway while we were being taken to this one," said Iris. "It had a door on it that said, 'Prisoners Who Require Extreme Action This Way Only.' And Peeta and Lili used to be in the same cell as us, but they both got taken out of it this morning for some reason. We don't know where they went."

"What about my female tribute?" said Cecelia.

Daisy apologetically shrugged. "The last place any of us heard from or of her was just before she fell off our rocket."

Effie inhaled deeply. She'd seen the hallway Iris had described. It was the same one Haymitch and everyone with him had gone into. That meant they'd probably found Katniss by now, or would very soon. At least she knew where one of her tributes was…

"Don't worry," Seeder assured everyone. "We aren't the only ones who came here to rescue you and them. Five more mentors are searching the hallway you described now, Iris. So hopefully they'll find them soon."

Suddenly they heard Golias let out a yelp, and everyone turned to face his rear end, more worry striking them. That wasn't a yelp of fear they'd just heard; it was a yelp of pain. Which meant they had to get him unstuck—NOW. There was no time to explain how he'd even gotten stuck, or much information on the circumstances aside from the fact that he was stuck to begin with, and some mean men were on the other side of him. Quickly, the group, now including Matt, Iris, and Daisy, rushed toward the elephant's behind, and Bongo said, "On the count of three, everyone try to pull him out!"

Matt then grabbed one of Golias's feet, while Iris and Daisy each grabbed another one of his feet, Bongo and Cecelia (who put her sword down for a moment so she could use both hands) grabbed the edge of his right ear, and Seeder put down her sickle before grabbing the edge of his left ear. Next, Effie stood back and watched as her allies pulled—but no matter how hard they strained, Golias simply wouldn't budge.

When a few seconds passed and he was still stuck, Matt finally said, "It's not working! He's too stuck!"

Golias yelped in pain again, and Effie, unable to handle the suspense, called out to him, "Golias! What's going on in there?"

"Uh…" Golias fearfully hesitated. There was a two-second pause, and he said, "One of those men just pricked me with a needle and took it out just now. That's all I can say."

"We have to learn the whole story," declared Cecelia. Then she called, "Golias, is there anything else we can do to get you out?"

"You could try pinching my tail really really hard, like a lobster claw," he suggested, though the fear in his voice was still audible.

Seeder looked around, thinking hard. She then noticed that Effie, due to being in a giraffe's body, was tall enough to reach Golias's tail without any difficulty, and that the escort was currently anxiously clenching her teeth. And then slowly, an idea began to form in the woman's mind. Turning to Bongo, she asked, "Do you know if teeth biting down on something has the same effect as lobsters using their claws?"

Bongo shrugged. "They could. I've never tried it, and neither have my friends."

"Well, I guess we'll have to try it now," decided Seeder. She then looked at Effie and said, "I feel ashamed saying this, but…I need you to bite down on his tail."

"What?!" Effie cried. "That's one of the most uncivil things you can do! How could you suggest such a thing?"

"Because it may be the only way to get Golias unstuck."

The escort stepped back in fear. "I-I can't. Surely there must be another way to—"

"There isn't, Effie!" Bongo pointed out. "If you want to unstick Golias, you'll have to bite his tail!"

"But…but isn't he already in enough pain from the needle?"

"Oh, Effie," Golias sighed, clearly touched that she cared that much about him. "It's not gonna hurt that bad. And I won't get mad at you. You've gotta just do it. For me."

Effie sighed. Was it really the only way? Oh dear…still, she wanted to get him unstuck, and so did the rest of their team. So, taking a deep breath, she stepped forward and, fighting back all the thoughts and emotions building up inside of her, and bit her friend's tail as hard as she could. And then, miraculously, as soon as she did, Golias suddenly gained the power to fly backwards in the blink of an eye, unsticking his body from the doorway and sending her flying back a little too, causing her mouth to get wrenched apart from his tail. Not exactly the most pleasant feeling, but the escort ultimately chose not to complain. Whatever Golias was going through was likely at least a little bit worse than what she was feeling.

"I'm free! I'm free!" Golias cheered. He then looked around, remembered where Yuri was, and instantly became scared again. As he turned around to ask the two men what they wanted him to do now, everyone else studied the cell he'd been stuck in intently. The man holding Yuri was still there, his captive still in his clutches, but the man with the needle was no longer anywhere in sight. It was almost as if he'd vanished…and then Cecelia and the 11s noticed the open vent sitting at the bottom of one of the walls, and they realized what must have happened. He must have escaped through it after ejecting the needle from Golias's skin.

The man holding Yuri, in response to Golias's question, laughed. "I don't care if you evacuate this place, with or without those three kids! You've already given us what we want: DNA made from magic! Oh, and you'd better not try to pursue my partner-in-Game-Making, or else."

"Or else what?" said Cecelia, defensively grabbing her sword and slowly stepping into the room.

"Or else our newest creation will strike!" the man announced.

And then, before anyone knew what was happening, Yuri—who apparently was never the real Yuri—shapeshifted into a cone snail mutt that looked very similar to the real Yuri (he even had the same hairdo as him), but wasn't him. Next, Cecelia pointed her sword forward, but in response, the mutt shot a harpoon forward from out of its snout. It hit the side of Cecelia's neck before she had a chance to block the weapon with her sword, and she dropped her sword and collapsed before she could react in any other way.

The man laughed again and then gently placed the mutt on the floor, while Seeder rushed over to help Cecelia and ordered Effie, the present kids, and the Big Big Friends to run for it. And with that, the man then climbed into the vent and escaped as well.

Next, the mutt tried to attack Seeder with a harpoon shot as well, but she ducked, grabbed her sickle, and threw it at the animal all in the nick of time. The sickle flew forward like a boomerang and cut right through the mutt's neck, beheading it, but the mentor from 11 didn't pay much attention to its demise as it happened. She was only focused on pulling the harpoon off of Cecelia and helping her as much as she could—all the while hoping with all her heart that the poison that had just entered the mentor from 8's system was not deadly.

Oh dear…another cliffhanger! Will Cecelia be okay? And where did Lili and Peeta get taken to? Will we ever hear from Sonia again? Stay tuned to find out…