Merry Christmas, everyone! Ooh boy…time to see what happens next after that cliffhanger…

Things Only Get Worse

Swiswiswaswiswasisswasswis…!

Once he heard the magic dagger whispering to him yet again, Bongo stopped in his tracks. He wasn't sure what was going on—he really couldn't understand what the thing was saying, and yet somehow, ever since what'd happened in District 4's Victors' Village, every time it spoke, these thoughts just popped up in his head from out of nowhere, as if telling him what the dagger was saying! And now it was asking him why he was "fleeing like a weakling" when he could easily "go back and fight like a warrior." What even was a warrior?

Yet somehow, Bongo didn't think about that question for long at all, and he never really felt any confusion over that matter. For some reason, all that truly made it into his head was the fact that he had to go back in there, and nothing and no one could stop him. No fear, no confusion…just determination and a kind of angry bravery he wasn't at all used to feeling. And then, without even thinking, he found himself bouncing back the way he'd come, pulling the box with the dagger inside of it out of his pouch.

Golias was the first one to notice the kangaroo's change of plans. "Bongo, wait!" he called, screeching to a halt himself. "Where are you going?"

But Bongo didn't respond to his friend's call in any way. He simply kept bouncing, all the way back to Cell 26, all the while opening the box and taking the dagger out of it. The dagger's handle's right eye was glowing bright red again, but he didn't pay any attention to that either. He had a mission: get back with Cecelia and Seeder, even though the latter had told him and the others to run for it, and take on those enemies.

Soon he arrived at the cell, knowing it a few seconds prior to his arrival because Seeder was out in the hallway, struggling to drag the sword and a dizzy and weak Cecelia into the hallway as well. However, before he could get into the cell, Seeder saw him coming and called out, "Bongo, it's okay! The man and his mutt are gone! No one's in there!"

Bongo skidded to a stop, breathing heavily. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. I saw them leave." Which was technically true, since the mutt that looked similar to Yuri was dead, but that was the main reason why she didn't want him going into the cell; she didn't want the gruesome sight of the mutt's corpse to traumatize him in any way. Especially when he was already so worked up as it was—a lot more worked up than usual. It was actually quite a worrying and unusual sight to see, even for Bongo. He seemed to be calming down now, sure, but a second ago…it was almost like he'd been possessed or something. He'd come down that hallway in such a way that it almost looked like an angry Career tribute had swapped bodies with him!

The dagger stopped whispering to him, and as it did, Bongo slowly snapped out of his sudden mood swing and calmed down. He then stared at the dagger in confusion. That was the second time he hadn't exactly been in control of himself during a moment in which the object was whispering to him…was the dagger controlling him somehow?

Golias, Effie, Matt, Iris, and Daisy then returned, all with concerned looks on their faces. "Bongo, what's going on?" Golias asked. "Seeder told us to run for it, remember?"

"I know," Bongo sheepishly admitted, putting the dagger back into its box and the box back into his larger pouch. "I just…I just wanted to see if I could help her and Cecelia fight the bad guys. But they're gone now, so I guess I was too late."

Effie shook her head. "I cannot believe they created a mutt that had the power to make itself look exactly like Yuri."

"Wait, that wasn't Yuri?" Golias asked, genuinely surprised.

The 11s stared at him in shock. "What do you mean? Even after watching it transform you still thought it was the real him?" Daisy asked.

"I might be Yuri's best friend, but that doesn't mean I know everything about him," said Golias. "I thought Yuri had a power to turn into an animal that I didn't know about, and it scared Seeder so much that she wanted us to run away from him."

"Golias, that wasn't Yuri," affirmed Effie. "That was a muttation, or a mutt for short. Mutts are mostly like animals, but they are scientifically modified by the Game Makers so they can have different names, different abilities, and slightly different appearances. They are usually used in the Hunger Games to make them more interesting, but a few of them live in the wilderness like other animals."

"Oh." Golias then sighed with relief. "So that means Yuri's safe after all."

"At least as far as we know," confessed Seeder. "There's a very small chance that the Peacekeepers found him, Annie, and Objectiva because of our hovercraft's invisibility, but…you never know."

"Peacekeepers?" Cecelia suddenly asked in horror, though she was still weak. "Where?"

"It's okay," Seeder gently told her. "The Peacekeepers are not here." And to the others, she said, "We'll have to take her back to our hovercraft before we resume our search. As long as she's sick, it's too dangerous for her to be here."

"I agree," decided Matt. "When it's not scary, this place is so boring! I really wanted to play something, but Iris and Daisy kept saying we couldn't or else it might make the Peacekeepers mad. And Lili wouldn't stop being mad because of what Nessa said on TV, so that didn't help things get better. I just wanna go outside and see how everyone's doing."

"What did Nessa say?" Bongo asked.

"I'll tell you when we're outside," said Matt.

Much to the group's surprise, no Peacekeepers, mutts, or anyone showed up or made any attempt to stop them as they left the hallway and then the building. Instead, the team was met with silence and tranquility, and the fact that the Peacekeepers who had gone over to investigate the merry-go-round were still trapped in the pink forcefield. One tense thing they did notice, however, was that Haymitch and the mentors who had gone with him still weren't done in the hallway they'd gone into, but that didn't settle their concern. Why hadn't any attempts to ambush them been made since the mutt had failed to attack anyone other than Cecelia?

On the bright side, once they made it back to the hovercraft, Golias (who easily carried Cecelia on his head until they got to the vehicle) and Effie were able to fill Matt, Iris, and Daisy in on everything they'd missed. They (especially Matt) were shocked that Golias had accidentally squashed Wish-Trish, and that Chaff and Blight (though Iris and Daisy reacted more strongly to this part) had been lost as well, but all three of them still forgave the elephant and remained glad that Objectiva was still around. Matt then talked about the TV in Cell 30 showing a video that, based on his description, Seeder correctly identified as Hunger Games footage of Nessa and District 5's female tribute talking to each other on top of the Cornucopia. But before anyone really had time to react to the part about Lili's reaction to the video, the hovercraft's ladder came into sight, and an anxious and tearful Annie climbed out of the vehicle to meet them.

Once she noticed Matt, Iris, and Daisy, the woman asked, "Are you three of the people we came here to save?"

"That's us," smiled Matt. He then noticed the distraught look on her face and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I'll tell you what happened to Cecelia in a bit," Seeder said. "I think it'll be better if we discuss that a—"

"It's not Cecelia, it's Yuri," interrupted Annie. "Objectiva's out looking for him right now. She went to the bathroom, and I only zoned out for a minute before I realized—"

"Yuri's not here?" Golias asked, worried.

"No," Annie said, fresh tears leaving her eyes. "He must have snuck off when neither of us were looking. I know I should have been paying attention, but I just—"

"You can't buy attention," Cecelia moaned in pain from on top of Golias. "It doesn't cost anything!"

"I'll put her inside the hovercraft," said Bongo. "You guys find Yuri."

"It's not that simple," Annie insisted. "He was still upset that he wasn't allowed to go with you before he left, and I think he tried to follow you."

There was a second of silence, and Golias asked, "So…Yuri's in the building we were just in?"

"Annie, how much time passed since you realized he was missing?" Seeder inquired.

"I don't know!" Annie cried. "We don't have any way to keep track of the time and we were so focused on the fact that he was missing to begin with…"

Golias turned to Effie and Seeder, now more worried than ever. "Are you sure that was just a mutt that looks like Yuri?"

"Trust us, it was," said Seeder. "The real Yuri would never have attacked Cecelia like that."

"Ahem. What's going on here?"

The group jumped and turned around to find that Finnick, Haymitch, Johanna, Beetee, and Wiress had returned, weapons (among which was now an extra stolen blaster, and most of which were hidden behind the backs of Haymitch and the Threes) and all. Yet they were not alone, for Finnick and Johanna had brought an extra person along, hoisted on their shoulders. The person's blonde hair was ruffled, and a thick white bandage covered half of his face, making it impossible to see his left eye and cheek. Both of his legs appeared to have been broken, yet because he was wearing white pants that matched his long-sleeved shirt, you could only tell by looking extremely closely. And even with the bandage on his face, Effie recognized him almost immediately.

"P…Peeta?" the escort said, taken aback by the sight of him.

The tribute, despite clearly being fatigued and in pain, looked startled. "You…you can talk?"

"That's your escort, in Nessa's body," said Haymitch. "And no, she's not a mutt. We'll explain that part later."

"I look forward to it," was Peeta's reply.

Then, turning to everyone else, Haymitch admitted, "We couldn't find Katniss or the girl from 8. But we found him in a t…in a chamber." He knew better than to mention the complete version of the name torture chamber in front of some of the ones here. "And thanks to the stuff we stole and that you made appear," he then added, discreetly gesturing to the weapons, "we eventually got one of the Peacekeepers to tell us where they are. Apparently, they're supposed to be used as bait to try to make Nessa stop what she's doing."

"The girl named Lili is with them too, for the same reason," Beetee worriedly added. "They were taken onto a hovercraft this morning at nine, but that was all he would dare tell us. We don't know where the hovercraft went, or where it is now."

"Now," Johanna cut in, making a second attempt to steer the conversation in a specific direction, "could someone explain why in the world Hopeless actually mistook an obvious mutt for his best friend?"

Golias stepped back, both hurt and nervous. She had a new nickname for him at last. That wasn't a good sign.

With many of the newly-reunited team, even those who hadn't had to deal with the mutt who'd resembled Yuri, already bracing themselves for Johanna's wrath, Seeder explained everything that had happened in the hallway she and company had gone into. Finding Iris, Daisy, and Matt, Golias being fooled by the Game Makers and their mutt due to the latter looking identical to Yuri and getting stuck in the doorway, one of the present Game Makers taking some of the elephant's DNA with a needle and then escaping into the vents with it, getting Golias unstuck, and finally, trying to confront the other Game Maker, only for the mutt to reveal its true form and shoot a harpoon at Cecelia, which was what was causing her weakness, dizziness, and peculiar behaviour. The only thing she didn't mention was the part where she'd found out Bongo had been keeping a dagger inside his pouch, which surprised the kangaroo. Not that he said anything about it of course. He didn't want to get in trouble for having it with him, which he knew could still happen even if Objectiva wasn't here.

Something seemed to click within Finnick after Seeder described what the mutt really looked like and how it had shot out its harpoon, and once the story of what'd happened was over, he let Haymitch take Peeta's left arm and then walked over to Golias, where he closely examined the red bump on the side of Cecelia's neck—the one where her harpoon had once been. After that, he turned to Seeder and said, "It must have been a cone snail mutt that did this to her. Which means we have to get her back to District 4 and to a medic there. Now."

Trusting Finnick, nobody wasted a second. Beetee and Wiress quickly climbed back inside the hovercraft, followed by everyone else except for Golias, Effie, Cecelia, and Peeta. Then the claw was activated by the Threes, and with its help, the last four members of the team were lifted into the vehicle. The two injured people were then taken into the larger-than-most cargo bay, and since Finnick and Annie knew the most information about cone snails due to them being a popularly-dealt-with species in District 4, they were assigned to watch over Cecelia and try to keep her alive as best as they could until they returned to their home district. Seeder, meanwhile, took Haymitch aside and whispered something to him; something that, unbeknownst to the other passengers, had to do with Bongo and the dagger she'd discovered he'd been keeping with him.

"Wait a minute," Golias spoke up just as they were about to start their journey out of the city. "What about Yuri? And Objectiva?"

Yikes. That was a good point. They couldn't leave without them. What could they do?

"How about some of us take Cecelia and Peeta to District 4, and the rest of us stay here and watch for Objectiva and Yuri?" Seeder suggested.

Everyone instantly agreed to that plan, and soon arrangements were made: while Seeder, Beetee, Wiress, Finnick, and Annie would look after Cecelia and Peeta and bring them to District 4, Golias, Bongo, Effie, Haymitch, Johanna, Matt, Iris, and Daisy would stay in the Capitol and watch out for Objectiva and Yuri. The latter team would keep the hovercraft they were in with them, and Golias would use his powers to create a jet that those who were going back to District 4 could use to get there. Except this one, at Effie's request, would have a roof and seatbelts, unlike the plane they'd used to get to the Capitol from Brasília.

Within a minute, Effie's group was standing in their hovercraft, watching as the jet containing their allies (which everyone had made sure also had an invisibility setting) lifted off into the sky, in the process vanishing from view, but not due to how far it was from the other vehicle or the ground. Once it disappeared, Johanna announced, "Alright. Now we have to decide how we're going to handle the search for that kid and the fairy. And before anyone says anything, please feel free to know that someone responsible is staying in here with you kids. After Yuri disobeyed us, I'm not taking any chances. Don't try to make me change my mind."

"Fine," Matt grumbled. Iris and Daisy, however, understood her decision and went with it willingly.

"Ooh, can I stay with them?" Golias eagerly asked.

Johanna scoffed, staring at him like he was insane. "Are you kidding me? After what I heard happened with you and that mutt, you really I think I'd trust you with such an important task?"

"Well we're on the same team, and—"

"Not anymore. You're off the team."

Golias froze. "Wha…what?"

Johanna glared at him intensely. "I tried to be patient with you, okay? But you clearly don't have any fight in you, and come on! Who does the things that you do? Blocking a pilot's view when they're trying to land a plane, mistaking an obvious mutt for the real someone you can never stop thinking about, stopping in the middle of a tracker jacker chase and making two strong links sacrifice themselves for you…"

"But I've been trying really hard not to do some of those things again," Golias politely but worriedly reminded her. "And I'm gonna try not to do that other thing again too—"

"Yeah right. Do you realize you ran forward to save your so-called best friend from those two Game Makers and got stuck because of it after that Fox girl and I both specifically told you that that's literally exposing your weakness? You haven't been working on anything. Just admit it."

"Yes I have! If you just knew what it was like inside my head—"

"Frankly, I'm not sure I want to know what it's like in there. If I had to guess, I'd say it's pretty much Yuri this and Yuri that. Am I right?"

"Well yeah, but he's my bestest friend! I'm supposed to think about him all the time, even when he's not with me."

Johanna stared at him like he was insane again. "So you won't even admit that it's an unhealthy habit? You just do it anyway?"

"It's not unhealthy, Johanna," Golias told her, visibly hurt by her comments but not exactly in the mood to deny it anymore. "It's just a best friend's job."

"More like a Yuri-o-holic personality!" Johanna snapped.

"A what?" he asked, confused.

Matt defiantly stepped forward. "Johanna, don't kick Golias off the team! I wasn't there for most of your trip, but I know him! He just wants to help!"

"Yeah!" Bongo agreed. "He might have done a few things wrong, but if you give him another chance, it could be different!"

"We'll be just fine without him," insisted Johanna. "Long-Neck pretty much has the hang of being in her new body without any help now, and the last thing we need are more instances where Hopeless drags us down."

"Actually, I think he just needs more mentors," Haymitch put in.

Johanna chortled sarcastically. "Oh please. We both know he's too hopeless for that to make him a better ally."

"Johanna, I'm not hopeless," Golias said.

"Yes you are!" the recalcitrant woman shouted.

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm—"

"Uh, guys?" Bongo cut in. "You might wanna look at the windshield."

Everyone turned and obeyed her, and saw Objectiva hovering in front of the windshield, on the other side of it. She was trying to knock on the glass to get their attention, but her fists were so tiny that no one could hear her. Though that part of the scenario wasn't what worried her teammates. The parts that worried them was her fearful expression, and the fact that there was no sign of Yuri anywhere.

Haymitch opened the entrance/exit to the hovercraft and let her in, and once she was inside the vehicle, she noticed Matt, Iris, and Daisy and sighed with some relief. "I'm glad to see you found them…but where are Lili and everyone else who needed rescuing?"

"You go first, Objectiva," Haymitch said. "What happened to Yuri?"

"He snuck off," Objectiva frantically explained. "I was unaware of it until I came out of the bathroom and saw Annie had zoned out. When she told me she wasn't aware Yuri had left, I went out to look for him in the penitentiary. Minutes went by and I did not find him until I reached a door leading outside through the other side of the building. 'Twas where I found him at last. He was struggling against the Peacekeepers' hold, but they carried him into a parked hovercraft. I tried to follow the hovercraft once the Peacekeepers that stayed outside of it went away, but it turned invisible and I lost track of it. I am very sorry."

"Yuri's in trouble?!" Golias exclaimed in immense fear.

"Did you at least hear the Peacekeepers say where they were going?" Iris asked.

"They mentioned meeting up with the Peacekeepers who had 'the other baits' and waiting with them for the 'men who have the magic ingredient' to catch up with them, but that was it," replied Objectiva.

Haymitch narrowed his eyes. "They must've been talking about Katniss, Lili, and the girl from 8."

Objectiva looked confused, so he and Effie each retold their sides of the story, along with the part about the absent mentors going back to District 4 to save Cecelia from the cone snail sting she'd received. Once they were finished, the fairy remarked, "It seems that the search that led you to finding Matt, Daisy, and Iris was almost…too easy."

"It was," Haymitch affirmed. "The Peacekeepers and the Game Makers had something planned. They wanted to prick Golias with a needle long before we got here. Seeder said so. His DNA was exactly what they wanted."

"Um…what's DNA?" Golias awkwardly asked. Bongo, Matt, and Iris all nodded in agreement.

"It's a part of you that can only be found within your body and everything you touch," explained Effie. And then, just like that, a terrible thought occurred to her. "Hold on…what if they wanted it so they could have access to his magical abilities?"

Daisy gasped. "It all adds up! The powers, the three baits, Yuri, who I guess is a bait too…they want them all together so they can use them against Nessa and everyone that's with her! Whether as bait, or fighting skills!"

"Yeah, that's got to be it," declared Johanna. "They wouldn't just let us leave with four of their prisoners like that!"

Golias forgot about what had happened between him and her and grew worried. "We've gotta go save them and Nessa before the Peacekeepers and their baits get to them!"

Johanna shook her head. "No no no. Not you. No. We are finding a safe place to drop you off, and then that's that."

"But I can help!" Golias told her.

"No you can't," she snapped. "You had your chance, and you blew it. You're off the team."

As the discussion continued, Haymitch silently waved Objectiva, Bongo, Matt, Effie, Iris, and Daisy over to him and pointed at the cargo bay. He then went into it, with all of them right behind him. None of them said a word as they went; they didn't have to. His message was clear to all of them: they didn't need to be present for what was being said now.

"But I can't just get off the team!" Golias reasoned. "I've gotta make sure Yuri's okay!"

"Just Yuri?" Johanna asked, genuinely surprised by the way his response had come out. "What about everyone else?"

"Of course I'm worried about them too—"

"Yeah. But just not as worried as you are about Yuri."

"That's not true, Johanna! I—"

"Would you just admit it?! Through our entire adventure more than one person was in trouble at a time, but you keep acting as though the only person in trouble was your best friend!"

"But—"

"No buts, Hopeless!"

"Johanna, I—"

"The world doesn't revolve around your best friend!"

"Well my world does! Yuri's the best, and without him, I'm…I'm nothing!" Golias's eyes then filled with tears as he finished that sentence, and whimpering a little, he paused and then added, "But that doesn't mean I don't care about anyone else. Really, it doesn't! Yuri's just…he's the bestest friend in the whole wide world."

Silence filled the hovercraft for three seconds, and then Johanna shook her head. "You're weird. Weirder than love. Which is such a pity, considering there's actually someone out there that has a crush on you. If she were here right now, why do I have a feeling that everything you said just now would have broken her heart?"

Golias sniffled, wiping a tear from his eye and doing all he could to fight back his growing impatience. "Please don't say that…"

"I'm serious! There's a girl that likes you for some reason, and based on everything you said, you're so obsessed with your best friend that you'd blow her off just so he can be happy! And believe me, she's already going through a tough time as it is—"

"Just stop! STOP SAYING MEAN THINGS!"

And then Golias froze, shocked that he'd actually let his emotions get the best of him and shouted at someone. That wasn't the kind of soul he was—he was supposed to be the kind of animal who was patient and calm, and always managed to tolerate it when someone was mean to him; even if that someone was Lili or Johanna! Shouting at times like these might be what Yuri would have done, but it wasn't his own style. It…it just wasn't. So why had he just done it now?

"For the record," Johanna then said, "I wouldn't call those mean things. I'd call them honest statements."

Golias was tempted to say something to sort of deny that statement, but he ultimately resisted it. He wasn't thinking as clearly right now, and what he really needed was, as shocking as it was to be thinking this, some time by himself.

Luckily, he didn't have to ask for any time alone, because at that moment Haymitch returned and said, "Alright, mister, I think you should come in here. Johanna, you can stay out there with the rest of us. Let's just focus on saving everyone that counts as bait, and not worry about kicking anyone off the team. Even if they aren't exactly making you like them. Just remember: the more magical help we have, the easier it'll be to get everyone back."

Johanna realized his point and huffed in frustration. "Fine," she said. But then she turned back to Golias and warned him, "But you'd better not do anything else wrong, alright? One more mistake, one more, and you won't get away with it next time. Understand?"

"Yeah, I understand," Golias replied. Next, he waited until everyone else left the cargo bay on Haymitch's signal, and then went in there himself. Matt asked him if everything was okay, and in response, the elephant said, "Not really…I think I just need to be alone for a few minutes."

"Alone?" Bongo asked in surprise. "But you never wanna be alone!"

"I know," Golias told him, paying close attention to the tone of his voice out of fear that he'd end up raising it again. "But I…maybe it's just what I need this time."

He then disappeared into the cargo bay, leaving Matt and Bongo standing there with all the other passengers except Johanna, looking in his direction and then at each other in confusion.

Effie sighed in disappointment. "This is exactly why you must watch your manners, Miss Mason…"

"Don't you dare go there," intervened Johanna.

Iris nervously stared at the floor and said, "Um, sorry for interrupting anything, but shouldn't we be searching for Nessa and everyone she's with right now?"

"Good point," Haymitch said. "Since your home's the last stop on their list, let's go there and wait for them. If we end up crossing paths with the Peacekeepers on the way there, well…stay alive. And together."

And with that, he went to the control panel, started the hovercraft's engine, and steered them high up into the sky. Next, he turned the wheel, and before anyone knew it, they were on their way to District 11.

The flight to District 12 lasted 55 minutes. By the time they got there, it was undeniably time to call it a night, and Toolip and Fern had been asleep for half an hour.

Virt soon parked the hovercraft behind two small houses, but left its engine running so it could stay invisible all night. He then followed everyone else into the cargo bay for a good night's sleep, but since there wasn't enough space in there for everyone, some of the passengers ended up sleeping on the floor in the doorway and the area between the cargo bay and the pilot's cabin.

Astilbo was the first one to fall asleep after the sleeping arrangements were made, and by the time twenty minutes had passed, Rue, Geolo, Clove, Nessa, Paul, Esther, Appara, and the Gearingtons were all asleep too. Foxface, however, made sure she stayed wide awake and furthest away from the cargo bay; she had something to tell a certain member of the team in private, and this was her only chance to do it without risking anyone eavesdropping on them.

She waited for a few extra minutes, and when she was certain that everyone was asleep, she tapped on the shoulder of the person lying next to her: Nessa, who was still the only person in this alliance that she'd fully opened up to. She felt bad about rousing her so soon, but this was an urgent matter. It had to be discussed, now.

Nessa stirred after she was tapped twice and next, gently shaken awake. Her ally then whispered, "Nessa? We need to go to the pilot's area."

The former giraffe looked up, confused and very sleepy. "The pilot's area? Why?"

"I am sorry that I have to wake you up. But we must talk about something alone, and it must be done now, while everyone else is sleeping."

Nessa yawned, but then said, "Okay…" Next, she slowly got up, lifted Foxface onto her back, and quietly went into the pilot's cabin. Once they got there, thankfully without waking anyone else up, she set her tribute ally into the pilot's chair before sitting on the floor, trying to get herself to feel fully awake.

Foxface chose that moment to start the conversation. "Nessa, I have to prepare you for this. If the Capitol catches up to us, they will likely try to use Lili against you."

"They'll try to what?" Nessa asked.

"Once they find us, they will likely tell you that you have to do as they say or else something bad will happen to her. And…I don't want it to overwhelm you when the time comes."

Nessa gasped, suddenly more awake than ever. She was, after all, already very scared just by the thought of that scenario. "They can't do that to Lili! She's my best friend!" Then her gaze returned to Foxface, and another dreaded thought came to her. "Oh no, what if the Peacekeepers tell me to let them get you? I don't wanna let that happen either..."

"And that is not all," Foxface warned. "They could also tell you to do as they say or else something bad will happen to Golias as well."

"They could?" her ally asked, now even more worried.

"They will. Which is why you must come up with a plan for what to do when it happens. You must not let yourself panic or give in to any negative emotions that might come your way. You have to stay calm, and well…just remember the things I told Golias this morning."

Nessa nodded, and repeated some of the advice aloud. "Yeah. If we're scared we can't let the Peacekeepers know that, even if they say they'll do something bad to our best friends."

She sighed, suddenly realizing how hard doing that would be for her. It was impossible for her to not feel anxious whenever she knew Lili was in danger! As her best friend, feeling anxious in that kind of situation was just a part of who she was. She couldn't just not feel anxious or anything like that in the scenario Foxface was describing! That would mean being disloyal to Lili! But then again, she had technically pushed aside her sadness and guilt over accidentally being responsible for her best friend being captured by the Peacekeepers and for the most part even forgotten about it for the majority of her and her team's adventure through District 8, District 3, and District 13, and managed to only focus on helping her current companions…

Yeah, but that was different, Nessa thought. I did that because I knew Golias, Effie, and everyone with them were gonna save Lili for me. This is something that'll happen whether they save her or not. And…I don't know what's going to happen when that happens.

Foxface must have noticed her expression, because she then said, "I know this is a lot for you to process, but you must consider it. If you do not, our mission to leave Panem will fail."

"I know," said Nessa. "And I don't want that to happen, but…how can I just not show Lili that I'm worried about her? I mean, maybe I could pretend I'm not worried, but if I do, she might think I don't like her anymore or something!"

"Well if that is how she will see it, then that is on her. Not you."

"But without me…I don't know what she'd do! I mean, Matt and Yuri and Bongo and Golias are her friends too, but what if she gets into another fight with them? I'm always the only one who stays with her when that happens, so without me, she'll be all alone."

"What even causes those fights, Nessa?"

"Well, sometimes they happen because Yuri doesn't wanna share or want our help with something he needs help with. And sometimes he, Lili, and Matt all wanna play something different and they get mad at each other for it."

"And sometimes it is because of Lili's bossiness," Foxface knowingly guessed.

Nessa shrugged. "Well yeah, but…" She shook her head. "Foxface, why do you keep saying Lili's a bad friend? I told you about all the nice things she did."

"Blowing a loud whistle in someone's face simply because they broke a rule of a game is not a nice thing to do! It is even worse than anything the people I knew back at home did."

"But that doesn't mean Lili's an even worse person than them!" Nessa reasoned.

"Then why did she do that to you? You did not do anything wrong!"

"Yes I did! I broke a rule!"

"What rule was it?"

"The rule that says you can't say 'but' or else you lose a turn."

"That is no excuse."

"It was just her way of telling me I broke a rule."

"What was stopping her from using nothing more than her words?"

"It's just her way of telling us things."

"Did she even tell you she was sorry for doing it?"

Oh. Now that was a good point. Lili hadn't said she was sorry—in fact, the only time she'd really apologized to her was when she'd accidentally ruined some pretty leaves Nessa had found during an extraordinary adventure, and it had very nearly brought her Big Big Friend to tears. That was another thing too; that had been the only time Lili or anyone from home had ever noticed it when she was sad…no. Lili was a good friend, and so were her other friends from Brasília. They were. But at the same time…

Nessa sighed in exasperation. She had to stop thinking about all that! But Foxface clearly wouldn't, and they had something important to…oh, she couldn't do it. She couldn't take it anymore. She needed a break—now.

Correctly guessing what she was thinking, Foxface softly said, "Alright, you can have a break from this conversation. But if you want some fresh air, make sure you put on one of the Peacekeeper outfits that you, Twill, and Patch snuck out of District 8. Otherwise you could be recognized by a real Peacekeeper."

"Okay," Nessa replied, distractedly. She looked around the hovercraft for the disguises the team had acquired, and eventually found them in a pile, in a corner residing in the space between the cargo bay and the pilot's cabin. Next, she pulled out a Peacekeeper uniform and put it on, helmet and all, before jumping out of the vehicle without another word.

As soon as she was outside, the former giraffe sat down on the ground and buried her face in her hands. Lili was still gone, her doubts about her friendships were still here, and now she had to face the possibility that she'd have to be disloyal to her best friend right in front of her! It didn't matter if Lili sometimes overdid it when she was bossy towards her; she was still a nice person, as were their other friends, and she had to stand by her. Then again, why did a part of Nessa feel like it did matter if her best friend overdid it when she was bossy towards her?

Because it hurts my feelings when she acts like that and never says she's sorry, Nessa thought, not having the energy to not let herself admit it. And Foxface is right. Breaking a rule just by saying "but" isn't an excuse. But I can't just stop being Lili's best friend because of stuff like that! Not when I know she's a good friend, even though she did all that!

Though at the same time, it wasn't like Lili would really listen to her if she told her to stop being so bossy without apologizing. She was always so convinced she was right that she would silence all of her friends if they tried to talk to her about something like that. No matter how many times she'd have to do it. That didn't sound like what good friends did…did it?

No, of course it is, thought Nessa. Because Lili's a good friend! I know she is. She might be kind of bossy sometimes, but she's still a good friend! She just…she just is.

Still, why was part of her still doubting that that was the truth?

Wow. More thought-provoking scenes…what will we be seeing next? Stay tuned for the next chapter ;)