I DO NOT OWN THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES.

FACE CLAIMS

DR. NEMO BRONZELEAF- JIM PARSONS

Outskirts of District 12, Panem. The next day.

Coriolanus awoke to find himself sleeping on a dingy mattress with Lucy Grey sleeping soundly with her head in his chest. The pair had found an abandoned cabin about 10 miles out from District 12. Whoever had once lived there, it didn't seem like they were going to be coming back any time soon. Once they settled, Lucy Grey had gone searching for Katniss to eat before the rain started.

For those 15 minutes she was gone, it tore at Coryo. He didn't like Lucy Grey being out of his sight for too long. She needed to be near him so he could keep an eye on her and ensure her safety at all times. To anyone else, it would have seemed like obsession, but they just didn't understand. Coryo was in love and when one is in love, nothing else matters; at least that was what Tigris had told him. She had dated more people than he had, so Coryo had to take her word for it.

Thankfully, Lucy Grey returned exactly as the rain started with an armful of Swamp Potato. As the rain fell, they gnawed on the roots and drank plenty of water to stave off their hunger.

"So sweetheart, how do you like Katniss?" Lucy Grey asked as they ate.

"It's got a interesting flavor to it." Coryo answered with a grin. The truth was that he hated Katniss. He fought valiantly against the urge to spit out the root. Lucy Grey seemed to enjoy it and he didn't want to hurt her feelings when she had risked getting caught in the rain to make sure that he didn't go to bed hungry.

After they had ate and drank their fill, the lovers climbed into the sole mattress in the cabin. Naturally, Coryo began to make out with his songbird feverishly. Lucy Grey returned his kisses eagerly as they whispered sweet nothings in each other's ears. As the passion increased, Coryo's hand slowly slid up Lucy Grey's skirt and caressed her bare thigh.

"Coryo!" She exclaimed as the passion immediately died as he looked up at him with anxiety in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" He asked breathlessly.

"I'm...I ain't ready...for that." She admitted bashfully as Coryo caught his breath and got off her. "I'm sorry sweetheart...I just want my first time to be special..."

"You're a virgin?" Coryo asked, his curiosity piqued. "But what about Bil..."

"I never did it with Billy Taupe: I always said it wasn't the right time...but deep down I knew he weren't the man for me." Lucy Grey admitted as she looked crestfallen. "He'd always get pissed and call me a little tease before storming off."

"Lucy Grey..." Coryo said softly as he could see her fighting tears from the bad memories. "That doesn't make you a tease, it makes you a good woman. He was probably cheating on you with Mayfair because she's a slut who'll let any man under her skirts."

"Ain't right to speak ill of the dead...but you might be right." Lucy Grey replied with a devilish grin. Coryo gently kissed her forehead as he looked in her eyes.

"I'm a virgin too, so I can understand you wanting your first time to be special. I'm willing to wait." Coryo promised as Lucy Grey snuggled up and hired her face in his chest. Coryo smiled to himself as he stroked her hair. It was true that he didn't mind waiting. When she did give him her virginity, and she would; he didn't want anything to spoil his moment.

The next day.

Coryo and Lucy Grey got up early the next morning, eager to put more distance between themselves and the hanging tree. On the way, they had managed to find a bush of blue berries and made breakfast of it.

"I can't remember...the las time I had fresh berries." Coryo mumbled as he picked them off the bush and ate his fill.

"There ain't no better taste." Lucy Grey giggled as she too popped a dozen of the blue berries in her mouth. Once the lovers had eaten their fill, they washed their hands in a puddle and kept moving on. About an hour out from the cabin, Coryo heard a strange sound. It sounded like a large machine was near by.

"What in the Hell is that?" Lucy Grey asked anxiously as her eyes darted all over. Coryo followed the sound until he reached a large cavern within a mountain.

"It's from in here." He said as he slowly began walking inside. Lucy Grey took his hand as she followed him. He quickly turned to his songbird, not wanting to put her in harm's way. "Lucy Grey, it could be dangerous."

"I don't care...I ain't leaving you Coryo." She declared as he relented. As much as dragging her into danger pained him, leaving her by herself did more so. Coryo quickly planted a kiss to her lips as he held her hand tightly as they made their way deeper into the cavern. While they got deeper in, the pair were stunned to see piles of boxes and machinery throughout the cavern. When Coryo looked closer to the boxes, he saw the same thing stamped on all of them;

PROPERTY OF DR. VOLUMNIA GAUL

DEPARTMENT OF WAR

"Dr. Gaul's here... in 12?" Coryo asked in amazement as he traced the stenciled letters on the crates.

"And she's up to no good, I reckon." Lucy Grey declared as she tried to act angry, but was partly afraid. Her eyes were darting around the room, fearful that the head game maker might be lurking in the shadows. They crept slowly forward, seemingly unable to turn back, until all of a sudden, they heard the sound of a gun cocking. Lucy Grey turned her head to see a peacekeeper; aiming a rifle at them.

"Hands in the air, you are in a restricted area!" the peacekeeper declared.

"RUN!" Coryo shouted as he grabbed Lucy Grey's hand and quickly pulled her along with him as he ran. The peacekeeper let off a shot, but it struck one of the crates. Coryo and Lucy Grey kept running for their lives while the peacekeeper shouted at them to stop running. They swerved through more machines until they came into a well lit area, where they saw at least a dozen scientists conducting experiments. The couple bumped into several of them as they continued evading their pursuer. Eventually, Coryo slammed into a stack of files, which caused him to trip and fall into an open pit; bringing Lucy Grey with him.

They stumbled into the pit and laid in it, bruised and stunned. As Lucy Grey looked up, she saw that a white bunny rabbit was the only other creature in the pit with them.

"Shit...this is unsatisfactory..." Dr. Nemo Bronzeleaf said from his observatory as he saw video footage of 2 strangers falling into the testing pit. He didn't need this, not now. He was the senior scientist working on Dr. Gaul's newest brain child: a device that made traveling to alternate realities possible. It was the final round of animal testing before they could start human trials and nothing was to impede Dr. Gaul's work. Dr. Bronzeleaf knew that this was too much of a delay and if he didn't tell Gaul about it and she found it...bad things would happen. He immediately went to the video phone and rang up the doctor's main lab in the Capitol. After a few second, the errily face and especially eyes of Volumnia Gaul were staring back at him.

"Ah, Dr. Bronzeleaf, I trust that the final animal test was a success?" she asked eagerly.

"We haven't conducted it yet, Dr. Gaul. There has been a breech in the testing area." He said as her smile fell at the news.

"What breach?" she asked as Nemo brought her screen to his, showing the intruders. Gaul didn't show it, but inwardly, she was stunned to see Coriolanus Snow and Lucy Grey Baird inside the testing pit.

"We can remove them and..have them disposed of. I just thought you should be made aware." Bronzeleaf explained as the evil smile returned to Volumnia's face. What better test subjects were there than the last son of General Crassus Snow and the victor of the 10th annual Hunger Games?

"Don't, go forward with the test." She commanded, earning a look of surprise from her underling.

"But you said we weren't ready for human trials?" he asked in confusion.

"No time like the present." Dr. Gaul said before hanging up. Nemo took a deep breath before turning on the intercom.

"We are launching the test, begin the sequence now!" He announced.

Coryo and Lucy Grey held onto each other as a bright blue light from above was turned on. Before they knew it, they were trapped in a force field. Pain shot through them as they felt their innards being stretched outward. Lucy Grey was brought to tears as she saw the rabbit fade away, squealing in pain.

"AHH, IT HURTS...CORYO...CORIOLANUS!" Lucy Grey screamed as she slowly disappeared.

"NO, LUCY GREY...LUCY GREYYYYYYY!" Coryo screamed in agony as he had to watch his songbird vanish, only for his world to go totally dark.

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