To say the energy in the building was nervous would be an understatement. Gamemakers were swarming around the room, talking to each other about the last-minute touches on the Arena. It was truly crunch time, due to the pure lack of guidance given to any of the employees of the Games. Lux Hastings seemed like a bumbling idiot, but he was good at his job and was sorely missed.

And worst of all, the supposed leader of their pack – if you could call it that – wasn't present. The Games were to begin in half an hour and there was still absolutely no sign of Aika. And she wasn't the only one missing. Her second in command couldn't be found either. In their wake left chaos. A group of people trying to perfect their specialties while waiting for approval or guidance.

Meanwhile, the tribute complex was in shambles. Twenty-three kids sat in the building, none of them having a wink of sleep. Jun couldn't be glad that he wasn't the only one that pulled an all-nighter. Not when he failed, and she was still out there somewhere.

But promptly at 11:30, tributes were escorted from their rooms to the landing pad deep underground, where the hovercraft that would take them to the Arena was waiting for them. Maxim kept a level head as he led Wendy and Basil at the head of the pack. Pit insisted on walking the District Two tributes down with Cortland, squeezing Ryder and Nadia's shoulders as the door opened.

Mimi was chipper as ever, chattering away about how exciting these Games were going to be. Jun heard how she talked about Robin to him when Vyka was gone on the District Eleven floor. It was disgusting.

Then again… Jun was the one that sold him out.

Ambrose twisted their engagement ring around their finger nervously, trying to feel close to Thor as they guided Keelan and Ridley through the winding hallways, looking back over their shoulder frequently to be sure that they were still following. Behind them was Edulcorante, with Kaoru under his arm and Amiah holding his other arm as he spoke soothing words to his tributes, trying to get them to center and focus. Gian and Riggs were back with Anakyn. He wasn't going to let his tributes go without their mentors by their sides, especially not after the night they had. Ruthie stayed close to Gian's side and Dante unashamedly held Riggs's hand. Em was silent as he followed them with Mary and Ceru. He hadn't spoken a single word since he shot Ben. He appeared back on their floor around 3 AM and stayed in the great room without speaking a word. Ceru could get a few signs out of him but not much else.

Even Eros was quiet as he guided Rory and Paisley through the hallways. Neither of them was going to speak, but Rory kept looking nervously over their shoulder the whole time they were walking. Behind them came the District Nine team. Lino was quiet and after storming down to the Eleven floor and seeing the state he was in, June insisted on coming down with Cadmus, Prentice right by her side. He wasn't going to let her be alone.

District Ten followed. Eryx tried to stay positive about District Ten's chances for a Victor with two strong volunteers, but he obviously didn't understand. Arthur walked between the two tributes. Chiwi held his hand, but Kodiak balled his fist, refusing to do that and show weakness now. District Eleven was right behind them. Rose had a sullen expression on her face as she had her arm around Vasilisa. Antonio walked behind them with Chervil. District Twelve was the last to arrive, Angelina walking with a hand on Ember's back while Adrian lingered behind them.

When Kodiak saw the Peacekeepers with needles, he grabbed onto Arthur's hand and hugged his arm with a small cry. Arthur couldn't believe how his District had failed these two kids, that were both hugging him and crying….

"Don't be nervous, you're going to do great, tiger," Eryx said, but as soon as he reached out his hand to touch Kodiak, Arthur growled at him and pulled the other two in close.

"Get the fuck away from my kids!"

Eryx pulled his hand away, turning back around and watching the Eight tributes get loaded onto the hovercraft.

"You can do this," he said. He didn't know what he would do if both of them died in there… He winced a little bit at how both of them hugged him tighter at the knowledge that they would have to say goodbye. "I know you can do this."

Chiwi sniffled a little bit and wiped her nose before she leaned in to kiss Arthur's cheek, stepping up into the hovercraft and being escorted to her seat.

"No," Kodiak said as he stared at Arthur and then back to where they were prepping the needles. "I can't do this!"

Arthur gently pulled his arm out of his tight grip. "It's time," he said quietly. But he wished he could have saved him from this. He didn't know that this wasn't what he wanted until now, until it was too late. It broke Arthur's heart to watch. Kodi was pulled forcefully away from Arthur and seated on the farthest side, away from Ryder.

Vasilisa hugged Rose again and then went without a fight, Antonio following, but Arthur just stood there. Rose came over and put a hand on his shoulder. "Come on," she said quietly. He turned around and went with her as Adrian and Ember were seated.

Riggs let out a small sob he tried to hide in Gian's shoulder as the doors closed. They had never gotten to walk tributes to the hovercraft before, but if anything, this just made it all worse.

"We have to get to work," Gian said quietly, but his heart was breaking at his fiancé as he put an arm around him and the small group went up to the mentor room.

The hovercraft was dead silent as Peacekeepers started to come around and inject the trackers into tributes. Kodi screamed every time he saw the large needle come even remotely near him. Ryder and Ridley were both trying to find him, but neither was close enough to him to try and comfort him over the sounds of the revving motors and air flying past them.

"Hey." Kodiak looked over to the girl that was sitting next to him. "Five things."

"What?"

"Five things," she said again. "Tell me five things you see."

Kodiak looked at her for a moment. "I see… You. I see, harnesses on us. I see… Needles," he said, his voice wavering.

"Hey," Ember said, holding out a hand for him to take. "I know you're scared, but you're not in danger. Not yet," she added quietly. "I see… Your nails, they're pretty."

"Thanks," he said quietly.

"What are four things you hear?" Kodiak screamed a little bit but Ember turned his face to look back at her and not at Paisley getting her shot. "Kodiak. Four things you hear."

"Your… voice. Wind…" he closed his eyes, trying to listen some more and not looking at Keelan across from him getting his shot. "Motors. A small beeping of some sort."

"What do you feel?" Ember asked, willing him to keep his eyes closed as she put her arm out to get her shot.

"I feel… The ground on my feet. And- and the harness on my shoulders. And… Uh… Your hand."

While his eyes were still closed, a guard grabbed Kodi's arm and pulled it out, causing his grip on Ember's hand to tighten as he cried out a little bit and screamed when the tracker was injected. The guard walked away, but he was still screaming a little bit.

"Kodi, two things you smell."

Kodi screamed again, and Ember frowned at him, taking a small breath. "You're Kodiak Chay," she said quietly. "You're in the Capitol. You're in a hovercraft, in the sky. You're going into the Hunger Games."

Kodiak quieted a little bit at that, taking a few deep breaths. "I'm Kodiak Chay," he said quietly.

Ember waited for him to let go of her hand first. "It's all over."

"Thank you," he said. But he was soon reminded where he was when the doors opened. He really hoped he could save them.

The tributes were taken out to get dressed, and there was no sign of the Head Gamemaker. But the Complex breathed a collective sigh of relief when they saw that Lester had finally scanned into the building.

The tributes had a final moment with their stylists.

The Gamemakers were waiting for guidance on how to proceed.

The show must go on.

The tributes were all successfully loaded into their tubes, which lifted them into their Arena. They looked around at the indoor environment that surrounded them. There was a small fountain, behind which rested the golden horn, with a few reception desks, carpeting, and fancy furniture. Nobody wanted to say that a hotel was kind of a ripoff of the casino idea, but many were thinking it. Soon, though, the tributes were forced to find a fighting spirit within themselves as the timer started to count down from sixty. Everyone had their eyes on the prize.

Sixty.

The timer counted down steadily as the tributes looked out to find their allies. The Careers were well-distributed throughout the group of tributes, and allies were set apart from allies. Vyka tried to find Antonio, but her heart dropped that he was on the other side of the arc from her. Paisley found Cadmus easily and gave him a confident smile. But Cadmus was so damn tired, he couldn't even stand up.

Fifty.

The figure in the hood could hear the clamor and the chaos happening the Complex. All over something so… Callous. Something that was so evil. Something that took loved ones away from people that loved them. How could a culture of people love something so much that they would sacrifice so many to protect it? Especially something like this. He hugged the jacket tighter around himself as someone he recognized walked past him. Just a little further.

He tucked a strand of burgundy back into his hood, and pressed forward.

Forty.

Alvis stood completely still. He had to stay calm. But the timer was still going and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He failed to find Lizzie and now he was here.

Odessa took a deep breath. Rory was two people away from her and Mary was four on the other side. Amiah was off in the distance, looking for her allies desperately.

"I'll help you get to them," Ridley told her quietly from where he was stationed beside her. Amiah nodded at him.

Thirty.

"You can't resign!"

"I can, and that's what I'm doing. I'm sorry. I can't do this anymore." She wasn't ready to watch all of them die because of her. She wasn't ready to watch innocent souls walk into a death trap that she created. She couldn't get the screams out of her mind. She couldn't watch any more blood be shed. She couldn't watch anyone else get hurt and just… Not do anything about it.

The gun was cocked and loaded and she let out a small scream as it was pointed straight at her. She wasn't a rebel. She was just trying to find a better way to help…

Twenty.

Basil took a shaking breath. He wasn't ready to see any of his allies die. But he couldn't die himself. His eyes rested on the sword that was right at the mouth of the Cornucopia. It was calling to him. Nadia was right beside him and she looked over at him and gave him a nod. They both knew what they had to do.

But that didn't even make it easier.

Ten.

The door to the complex slid open.

Everyone looked over at the figure standing in the door for guidance. Guidance that they would never receive. His hood came off and the room was filled with screams. But before anyone could run at him, try to call the Commander, or make another move, he opened his jacket again, leaning his head down to talk into the small speaker that was waiting for his command.

His eyes filled with tears. It was finally time to do what was always destined to, one way or another.

It was time for the man in the hood to know exactly what these people in this complex put his poor boy through three years ago.

Sitting in that bunker, he felt like nobody. But now… He felt like everything. He didn't have people then, but now… He had so many that he could claim for his own. They were patient with him and took care of him. They laughed with him and read books to him, and ate cookies with him. They patched up each one of his wounds. They celebrated with him, they cried with him. And now…

They would miss him.

He was a star-crossed voyager, but it was time for him to finally, finally join the boy that took a piece of him away when he left. He had taken his friend, his puppy love, his inspiration, his purpose with him everywhere he went, from the Games to the stage to the bunker, and now, he really did believe that he was here with him.

He pulled up his hand to look at the purple and red flower that was gently tied around his wrist by Wolf before he left, and still had a small tear on it from him. Goodbye was hard. But he had to have this.

It was his reminder that after three long years…. After all the pain he suffered, after all the family he'd made, and the family he'd lost… He was about to see his face again.

For the good of many.

He spoke into the system. Amazing how something small enough to be attached to the human body could destroy a building as big as this so quickly. But he had a job to do and now, it was time to do it.

Numitor looked at them all one last time. At the world one last time. A pang of guilt hurt him at everything he was leaving behind. Wolf had saved his letters. This was something he had to do. Angel wings unfolded from his back.

All it took was one word from him to activate the bomb.

"Always."

Ten.

The gun was dropped abruptly at the crackling over the speaker.

"Sir, the Complex is in flames and-" with a loud pop, the transmission was cut off. The mansion wasn't that close to the complex, but they could feel the slight vibration in the ground from the second explosion. "What?!"

The door to the office burst open and two guards pushed into the room.

"What is the meaning of this?!"

"GET ON THE GROUND!" The helmet came off as another speaker crackled.

"District Seven is under attack!"

"Go," Wolf said, a smile across his face at the news as he pointed his gun at the Commander, hitting him with a well-aimed shot to the dominant hand to keep him from picking up that gun as he cried out. Aika stared at them with wide eyes as another speaker crackled.

"District Three requires backup, repeat, backup in District Three, stat!"

"Game over," Wolf said. "You have to do it, though, now."

The second helmet came off and icy eyes stared at Junius who was still grabbing for his gun when Wolf shot him in the leg to force him to the ground, looking back at her.

That was the moment when everything became far, far too real for her. He was really… gone. She stared at the Head Commander for a long moment before the tears, which had been pushed away for so long, came coursing through her.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO MY BROTHER?!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. "DIE!" she shot him in the chest, loading up and shooting again. "DIE! DIE! DIE!" she shot him again, again, and again, as Wolf crossed the room and put a gun to Aika's head. "You're coming with us." But they didn't have much time at all. Alarm bells started ringing at the sound of the gunshots and Maggie's screams.

"We have to go. Now!"

Ten.

"Okay, what the fuck is going on?!" Wendy asked. "The timer is frozen!"

"Everyone, stay where you are," Alvis said. "Nobody move."

"They did it. We're getting out of here!" Ryder said with a laugh.

"What?!" Keelan yelled over at them.

"Nobody move!" Kodiak said, putting out his hands like Alvis with a laugh as he looked over at Ryder.

"That's been ten seconds!" Paisley said. "More, in fact. Cadmus, let's go."

All three of them yelled "NO!" at the same time, but she stepped off of her platform and a mine exploded, causing a few tributes to scream as they winced.

"Great. Anyone else wanna not fucking listen to us or what!?" Jun asked. Nobody wanted to do that. Not even Adrian, who was staring out at the rest of the tributes. This here was what he wanted, but…

He couldn't make himself do it.

Ten.

"This is a call to arms!"

Malloy looked up at hearing his friend's voice and grinned at seeing Trap's face on the screen of District Seven's main square instead of the Arena. "Yes!"

"We don't have to stand for this!" Tessa looked so big on the screen. She had definitely grown since they met. "But we need to join forces together!"

"Have you heard from Camellia?" Jo hurried over to be by his side as the crowd was screaming and cheering as the crack of Coda's gun took out Junius's most valued contact in District 7.

"No," Malloy said quietly. "But she'll be fine."

"I hope so," Jo said quietly, wincing at the sounds of gunshots from the Peacekeepers in the crowd.

"We need everyone to help fight back! District Seven, are you with me!?" boomed his own voice on the screen. On the stage, he looked out at the crowd.

They were with him. Malloy took a deep breath, unholstering his gun. He wasn't going to let his people fight without him.

Jo took his hand and squeezed it. "I'm coming with you."

"District Three, we need you!" Jace said on the screen. "Join us."

"We are angels!" Coda said on the screen.

"Wow, that's some good editing," the same boy commented beside them, coming back with a gun still smoking. He wasn't going to go into the heat of battle with his leg, but he couldn't let them come here without him.

"We offed the bastards in charge, but it's a bloodbath out there. Are you okay?" Kat asked. She hated being away from any of them.

"Oh, it was damn easy. Damn bastards just forgot that they're in a Career District with the best fighters you've ever seen. My Mama's a great shot! WOO! Where's Chief?"

"I'm okay, I'm taking shelter. Let's just worry about kicking ass and hoping Camellia and Mari get out safe."

"Right. Well… It's time. I'm going to fight with my people," Malloy said, watching Ceru's girlfriend Clair jumping on a Peacekeeper's back to subdue him as guns cracked and axes came down on others. It was looking like the Peacekeepers were outnumbered.

He found his brother in the crowd, taking a small break between fighting and shooting, and hurrying over to him. "The Malloys are back together baby!" he said with a grin.

Jack smiled at him, but his eyes filled with tears before his face set in determination.

"Let's kick some ass."

Ten.

"Tributes, stay in your spots and nobody move! We hacked into the Arena and we're going to get you out of there."

The voice over the intercom wasn't one that they were expecting.

"What the-" Nadia started.

"Oh Lux you crazy bastard!" Jun said, clapping his hands as the forcefield glowed blue and started to rescind.

But Kodiak and Ryder were just getting ready to do their jobs. A small explosion caused the walls of the hotel to crumble, crashing down around the tributes.

"What the fuck is going on?!" Wendy shouted at the top of her lungs.

"This is CRAZY!" Ruthie said, looking over for Kaoru.

"Mines are disabled," Lux said over the loudspeaker. "Go!"

But instead of helping his fellow tributes like they planned, Jun Kozart went rogue. He turned away and ran away from there as fast as he could. He didn't know where they were or what he was going to do, but he couldn't fucking stay there. He left, as fast as he could, and left everyone else out to dry with one goal in mind.

"Let's get out of here," Kodiak said, grinning as he jumped down from his pedestal and taking Ember's hand again. Ryder darted to grab a knife to cut trackers out with later, holding out their hand to Amiah as Ridley sprinted with her to catch up to Kodiak.

"This is crazy!" Ridley said, taking his other hand.

"There's no time!" Kodiak said, as Ryder grabbed Mary.

"Come with us!" Rose said, waving her hand towards the tributes. "We're going to keep you safe." With her was a figure that was only recognizable by her face tattoos – now sporting a short, choppy bob.

But their plans were quickly put on hold by the entrance of Peacekeepers from the other side. The Peacekeepers grabbed Adrian before he could protest and started dragging him away. Vyka tried to get to Antonio, but a sudden gunshot startled all of them and they watched in slow motion as Dante crumpled to the ground.

"DANTE!" Lis cried out, running over to him where he was laying on the ground, spilling blood everywhere. "NO!"

He gasped for breath with a small cry.

"Vasilisa, we have to go!" Rose cried out to her. "You have to leave him." She pushed Mary ahead, towards Mari who was guiding them to a small hovercraft parked in the wilderness outside the hotel through the shrapnel.

"NO!" she cried out. He was still alive, she couldn't just leave him.

Rose turned around, darting away from there as Lis heard a gunshot at Rose and felt hands grab her arms and pull her up. "NO!" she cried out, fighting them to try and be with her ally, but it was too late. Dante's eyes glazed over as Vasilisa was dragged away from there.

Rory was going to go with them when they looked over and saw a pair of Peacekeepers approaching Chiwi. They took off – away from Rose and Mari, towards Chiwi as more gunshots rang out and more Peacekeepers felt to the ground.

"We have to go!" they cried out to her. Chiwi blinked at them, and when a Peacekeeper came towards them with a gun she snapped into action, pushing Rory away and getting a shot to the thigh as she cried out.

"NO!" Rory shouted. Even injured, Chiwi continued to fight the Peacekeepers, but it was too much for her and they soon had her and Rory bound.

That was, until a great force sent the Peacekeeper to the ground and Chiwi with him.

Basil was holding a bloody sword as he held a hand down to her.

"I don't know what the fuck is going on, but we're gonna get out of here."

Chiwi took his hand and allowed him to help her up as an arrow landed in the back of a Peacekeeper that was holding Rory and he gurgled and fell over.

"I guess we're all on the same team now," Wendy said as she came over and helped throw the guard off of Rory. Another guard approached them, and they all held up their weapons. But soon the guard unmasked and held up a baton for them to see. But not a Peacekeeper baton… A tiny little baton used for conducting an orchestra.

"Don't shoot. I'm here to get you out of here. They killed my brother, now I'm gonna raise hell."

Wendy and Basil exchanged a look. Chiwi needed help. The girl with hair that was identical to the rebel they watched die last night aimed another shot at a different guard before gesturing for them to follow her.

At the first sound of gunfire, Kaoru panicked. He didn't want any part of this. He grabbed Ruthie, picking her up and putting her over his shoulder as he ran away from there as fast as possible. Vyka just barely managed to wrestle herself away from a guard and started running after them, not knowing what to do as people were dying. Kaoru ran past the hotel, into the woods, and away from there with both of the girls in tow. A crack of gunfire sounded and sent Kaoru to the ground, Ruthie falling with him with a cry. Kaoru's ankle was absolutely shattered. "Go!" he told them. "Dammit, Ruthie, take Vyka and out of here!"

"I don't want to leave you!" she said with a frown, trying to help him up onto his feet, Vyka quick to try and help by her side. But she was too small and he was too heavy.

"I got him." Keelan appeared, wearing a bag and carrying a weapon as he hefted Kaoru up and supported him as the four of them hobbled into the woods.

Cadmus ran to the horn, wincing as bullets ricocheted off of it, and when he got there, a familiar face stared back at him. Odessa was also hiding. She saw what happened to Robin – hell, even Dante. She didn't know what to do.

"You okay?" he asked her.

Odessa stared at him for a second before she nodded. "Yeah."

Cadmus took on a fighting stance when he saw a Career approaching, grabbing a sword out of the Cornucopia. "Wait," he said.

"I'm not gonna hurt you," Nadia said. "Look, I don't know what the fuck is going on, but I'm pretty sure they're going to be sending more of those guards soon so we'd better get moving."

"Moving where?!" Odessa asked, hiding again at the sound of another loud shot.

"You think I know!?" Nadia asked her, sighing a little bit.

"Come with me."

They looked up at the voice they recognized, and saw the pink hair of Upward Voyager's old band manager. "I'm gonna keep you safe." He hid behind the wall and sniped another guard, leaving the field empty… But not for long. "The second wave is coming so we're gonna have to bolt. If we get separated, you're looking for the big-ass red truck with Calliope in the driver's seat."

"I'm with you," Nadia said, holding up her sword as Thack landed another shot on a straggler.

"You're not too bad at that," Odessa commented.

"Thanks. NOW!" He took Odessa's hand, who grabbed onto Cadmus as they started maneuvering the shrapnel and the wilderness. But soon enough, the truck came into sight. Thack grabbed the door, piling in and slamming it behind himself. "DRIVE!"

Calliope floored the car and the hovercraft took off past it at lightning speed with the girls and six tributes inside as another block of Peacekeepers arrived at the scene.

In the hovercraft, Amiah was grabbing onto Ridley, who was holding onto a handle on the floor and staring at Kodiak and Ryder with wide eyes. Mary was shaking with sobs at what she had to witness as Ember held her, still in a state of shock.

"Mari and I are out. We have six, but it's going to be a bumpy ride."

"I love you, Flower," Malloy said quickly.

"Love you, please stay safe. DIE MOTHERFUCKER!" Jo added on.

Camellia Gallen took a deep breath. There was no need for her to hide behind her false identity of Rose Westmore anymore. She smiled a little at hearing her partners' voices. It was gonna be so weird to look at Malloy and not call him Oliver in public!

But unfortunately, she had more pressing problems right now. "Where the fuck is Jun!?" Camellia asked, looking around the hovercraft at all of the tributes who were pale-faced and grabbing onto something as a shot rocked the vehicle.

"He was supposed to help us," Mari said, her brows creased as she held onto Ryder. "But… He ran."

"Shit," Camellia said. "If he didn't dart maybe Dante wouldn't be dead." Maybe Vasilisa would be here, safe with them. She failed her tributes, both of them were taken by the guards. She hung her head in shame.

"He ran right away, away from everything," Ember said quietly. "I watched him go."

"Bastard!" Camellia said as the angry tears started to pour down her cheeks. Vasilisa and Antonio were out there somewhere and she didn't know fucking where. "I knew he couldn't be trusted!"

"First they take Freddy, then Lizzie disappears, now this," Mari said, putting her face in Ryder's shoulder to hide her tears from them. "Fuck. I'm so glad you're okay."

"We'll get them back," Ryder said, trying to sound confident about this but not having a single ounce of confidence.

Camellia swallowed one more time. She was grieving her tributes, but she couldn't linger on that too long. Not when she had six living ones here to take care of. "Trackers. Out. Now. The tracking system was probably destroyed when the Complex blew up, but we can't be too safe. We have to keep flying in circles until they're gone and we don't have time."

Ryder was holding Mari and looked at the knife, then to their own arm. They… They weren't sure they could do that to themself, or the others.

"I will," Kodi said, holding out his hand for the knife. Everyone gasped in horror as they watched Kodi not hesitate at all to dig the knife into his arm, wincing with a small cry as he found the tracker and extracted it. He threw it on the ground and stomped on it. He didn't even seem to notice the pain as he moved to the others. Kodiak cut and removed the trackers while Camellia followed him and made sure they were destroyed before wrapping up their arms. She was trained to do it, but she was really glad he did…

Once the trackers were destroyed, Camellia looked over at the six of them. "We're going to keep you safe," she said.

Amiah tapped Ryder's shoulder and signed to them. Ryder nodded and turned to them. "Amiah said… She's confused." And so were they. Apparently this was a much bigger plan than they had any idea about. "What's going on, Rose?"

"My name is Camellia." She pulled out a Holo from her bag, which showed a broadcast with the headline about the Head Commander's murder. She smiled at the video of her friends, finally back to their real appearances to announce they were alive. Footage soon followed of her family, all of them very much alive. Malloy and Jo in District Seven with Jack and Clair from earlier, Jace and Tessa with Kat and Jill in District Three, and her Champ Trap with his Mom and a crazy-looking man that she'd only ever heard about from Wolf or Kat. Mari watched with wide eyes as Kodiak and Ryder exchanged a long look and another shot rocked the hovercraft again as they all cried out a little bit.

Camellia was about to shut It off the Holo when it showed footage of Numitor. She hadn't heard from him all day, so she had to see that he was okay.

But… It was old footage, since he was inside the Complex. The explosion of the Games Complex was shown, and Camellia's mouth fell open as her eyes filled with tears. He… He must have been in the damn building when it happened. No… He was supposed to plant the bombs and leave!

But as she stared at the footage of fire and rubble where the building once was, a few tears escaped her eyes. He was never going to make it out alive, and… He knew it.

Why would he do that?! And… Why would Wolf let him!? That was her little brother! Watching him… It felt like losing Syca all over again. Fuck. She could feel pain in her chest as she let out a small sob and quickly turned the program off, wiping at her eyes a little bit.

"I…" Ridley finally looked up. "I apologize if this sounds tactless. Wait, no, actually, I don't apologize at all, this is crazy. WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED?!"

She didn't entirely know. In the chaos, she couldn't see who had gone with Ben's sister, or who went with Thack… She just had to trust this process. And understand that this was for the good of everyone. Still… It didn't make it any easier to lose one of her found little brothers... She took a deep breath. She would have time to mourn later.

She looked at the six of them. Six, just like her band members. She only hoped that they would rely on each other like her band did. They would need each other, until they could bring other tributes back and get them home. But for now, she had to be for them what Wolf and Kat were for her and her family.

"I'm sorry. I know you didn't choose for this to happen to you," she said, trying to keep her voice steady. "I didn't choose it either. But…" She took a second to compose herself.

"This isn't a winner-takes-all fight to the death anymore. This is a full-blown motherfucking war."

~.~.

A/N: Surprise! It's a war story!

We are officially diving into uncharted territory. I know, this was mega-deceptive of me, but I always knew that pretty much all the characters are going to live. Now, instead of the Hunger Games, we're gonna be witnessing a war through the eyes of the (ex-?)tributes, and let me tell you, we are in for a wild ride! So we're still gonna see the tributes, and they still get arcs, but they're rebellion arcs and that means that at this point, any number of them can live.

So, now that we're out of the pre-Games, I'm gonna be switching up the featured tributes a little bit to (to nobody's surprise) add a few of my own to the list and take off a few whose readers aren't as active. The more active people are, the more their characters get featured. If someone is real active then disappears, I'll probably feature someone else. If someone comes back after being gone, their tribute will get featured again. The features are gonna get real fluid at this point because I really don't care anymore (obviously, because y'know, war). There will be POVs from some of my Capitolites, survivors from previous Games, and the tributes, really whoever I need to show scenes as they happen, but it will be centered around the twenty-three (RIP Robin).

This is a plot three years in the making and I'm so excited for it to take off! I will see you for the next update!

TL;DR

Just be a decent human being and your character gets to live.

If I know you're reading, your character will get more POVs, and the featured tributes aren't fixed (except for Kodiak Chay, he will never go away).

Have a great day!

Eulogies (for tributes that aren't my own):

Paisley Adams, District 8- Someone had to be the one to not listen and if it's Kodi and Ryder, you know who that one (1) person is. RIP to Paisley, ultimately she didn't really have a good place in this subplot but she was a fun character to explore anyways. She had a lot of good moments, but now was her time. Paisley will be missed.

CQ: uhhh I don't really have one other than what the FUCK!?

Tribute Locations:

Dead (RIP) – Robin, Paisley, Dante

Taken by Peacekeepers – Vasilisa, Antonio, Adrian

Out of Spite Bunker (with Camellia and Mari) – Ryder, Ridley, Amiah, Mary, Kodiak, Ember

District 9 Bunker (with Thack and Calliope)– Odessa, Cadmus, Nadia

Capitol safehouse (with Ben's sister)– Wendy, Basil, Chiwi, Rory

Wilderness outside the Arena – Keelan, Vyka, Kaoru, Ruthie

? - Jun