Welcome back! Wowzers—will Effie and Golias find some way to get Annie (and themselves) out of the painting realm? And what about the latter's new mermaid form? Let's find out.

Escape From District 11

After a long explanation (and apology for the dorm painting mishap and the mermaid transformation, neither of which Golias had meant for during all that excitement) about the body swap and etcetera, Annie seemed to soften a little, much to Effie's relief. She thankfully believed them both right away, mainly because, being among the mentors who lost both of their tributes to the 74th Hunger Games bloodbath, she had seen enough of Nessa's antics in the arena to know there was more oddity to the scene than it would seem. And then, a few minutes ago, when she'd happened to touch the river-in-a-beach-city painting in the District 4 tribute residence, only to end up inside of it and become a mermaid—that had taken the cake.

"You know, it's a good thing you're trying to switch back," said Annie. "After the girl in your body let her secret slip out in front of the cameras, the Games' audience are probably going to be in quite the uproar."

"Did she tell everyone she wasn't really me?" Effie asked.

Annie stared at her in surprise. "You don't know what she was really doing? Are you serious?"

Effie stiffened. Everything about the way Annie was telling them this—her expression, her tone of voice—indicated that "Nessa's secret" was a lot worse than the truth about her identity. She started to ask what it was exactly, when suddenly someone fell from the sky and harmlessly landed on Golias's head. Startled but also unharmed, the elephant looked up and could barely see who it was: a young (and kind of handsome) man with short brown hair, a rope tied around his waist with its other end seemingly hanging from outer space, and an outfit that only a royal prince would wear. Instantly Golias gasped and exclaimed, "Look! It's a prince!"

The man carefully climbed off of him and said, "That would be nice, but…the closest thing to a prince around here is the president." He then seemed to realize for the first time that he was wearing princely clothing complete with a crown, and he chuckled. "Oh. Well, then I guess you can just call me a fairytale hero who's here to save his true love."

Annie, who seemed to recognize the man right away, laughed, and he turned to find her levitating in front of him. "Annie!" he exclaimed, and he quickly rushed forward and scooped her into his arms, embracing her tenderly.

"That man here is Finnick Odair," Effie explained to Golias. "Like Annie, he too is a mentor for District 4's tributes. But compared to most mentor pairs, these ones are the closest to one another that I've ever seen."

Introductions to what had happened so far were repeated, and then Finnick and Annie released each other, but they continued to hold hands as they looked each other and their surroundings over. "Why did you get a mermaid tail out of this?"

Annie shrugged. "Maybe the painting knows how I won my Hunger Games and thought it would be funny. Your prince outfit is the part I'm stuck on."

"Who knows?" Finnick said, his smile fading. "That could be an ironic joke too. But seriously, don't worry. After you got whisked in here, I told some of the other mentors and asked for a little help. Not all of our friends could come because they need to have their eyes on their tributes more than ever now, but Blight was free. He decided to lower me in with this rope."

"Only Blight?" Annie asked. "How come Johanna's not available too?"

"Depending on how upset she is, it might be better if you see for yourself. Trust me."

"Just what do you mean by that?" Effie asked, the worry obvious in her voice.

"First things first," said Finnick. "We need to get back into the real Capitol, and I think we all know we'll need to take more than one trip." He glanced at Golias and Effie, and then at the rope around his waist.

"Oh," Golias replied, realizing what he meant. "Don't worry…I think I know a way we'll only have to take one."

Before Finnick or Annie could ask him about that statement, the area of the ground that lay around the quartet suddenly shot upward, until suddenly, all four of the group increased in size and landed on their stomachs, in what had to be the District 4 tribute residence. However, it was slightly more uncomfortable for Finnick and the girls, because, being bigger than all of them, Golias wound up landing on all three of them, causing all of them to finish up in a tangled heap.

"Oops! Sorry," Golias said, after Effie was the first to complain. He quickly got off of them, allowing them to get to their feet. All of them including Annie, who was suddenly back in her typical human form now that they were out of the painting.

Finnick was unfazed when he noticed the non-princely clothes he'd been wearing before he had gone into the painting had replaced the more fancy ones along with the crown. But Effie, who had absolutely adored the new outfit she'd created back in there…well, she sighed in disappointment and mumbled, "After all that."

Blight, whom Golias soon learned was the bearded 35-year-old man with chestnut brown hair standing a few feet away from the painting, walked over and helped Finnick untie the rope from around his waist after being introduced to the animals as well. "Good to see you all safe," he told the four.

"Well, we have you to thank for it," said Finnick, smiling. He then glanced around the room and frowned with worry. "Johanna wasn't kidding, was she?"

"Who's Johanna?" Golias asked.

Effie explained, "She and Blight are the District 7 mentors. Which is why I am wondering why she wasn't free to assist us with leaving that painting…"

With a sigh, Blight said, "You know how she is. President Snow's never really been on her favourites list, and she never goes down on anything without the most unique of fights. So, when your friend made that slip-up in front of the cameras…she made a recalcitrant vow, as you saw, Finnick, and will most likely stay true to it."

"And the vow was what?" Effie pressed on, a mixture of frustration and fear within her. Annie nodded in agreement, looking very concerned.

Blight sighed. "Johanna's trying to convince the Capitol residents to vote against the Game Makers and prove their admiration toward the tributes is strong. She said she was going to try and talk the mentors from 8, 11, and 3 into it too, but if she has to go alone she'll do that too."

"Yeah," said Finnick. "She was steamed to begin with after another pair of 7's tributes got taken out of the Games, but when your friend Nessa, who's been really lucky so far, accidentally confessed…I don't think anyone can deny that that was Johanna's breaking point. Nessa just seems to have a…younger personality…than this year's tributes from 7, and—"

"I'm sorry for interrupting, but what did Nessa do?!" Effie cut in.

Annie was the one who answered that question. "After the girl from 5 apparently told her everything she needed to know about the arena, Nessa rallied together all the tributes who are still in the Games, except the Careers. The girl from 8, the boy from 3, then both of the tributes from 11 and both from 12…and they dug up the mines from the Cornucopia and used one of them to crash the hovercraft that collects all the eliminated tributes. That seemed like an accident at first, but a while later, when the 5 girl's wounded leg was getting worse and nobody was sending in any sponsorship gifts intended to heal it…that was when it started looking like she was going to leave the team. Nessa got so upset about it that she raised her voice in front of the cameras, and said the real reason why she was getting so many tributes on her team. Turns out the hovercraft crash was on purpose, and she's trying to bust almost all the remaining tributes out of the arena. They're going to get some medicine for the girl from 5's leg, presumably by robbing the Capitol's hospital…and then they're going to leave Panem altogether."

Effie gasped in horror. "They're what?!"

"That's great!" Golias exclaimed, smiling in excitement. "Now no one else is gonna get any booboos!"

"This isn't a smiling matter, Golias!" snapped the escort. "Breaking out of the arena before the Games are over is the worst kind of rebellion you can possibly commit! It's never been accomplished or even attempted before, but if such a thing ever succeeds, it would be a strong offence to the Game Makers and the rest of the city! They work so hard to prevent that kind of uprising, and not just through each arena's high security levels."

"Well, I guess Nessa and the tributes found a loophole despite all that," Finnick said, giving a nervous smile.

Blight nodded. "As Beetee says, there's always a flaw in the system. By the way, Miss Cresta, he and Wiress both said to send you their regards. They wanted to look into the painting scandal, but since their male tribute is among your friend's allies and seems to have participated in most of their loophole forming…"

"I can't say I blame them," chortled Annie. "The District 3 victors are pretty impressive. I knew that boy had a few things in common with them, even though so many people didn't think he'd win."

"Me too," said Finnick. "Which could make him the next person President Snow wants gone, after Nessa."

Nervousness filled Golias's eyes, and after a moment of stuttering, he tooted his trunk and said, "Uh…I heard we can watch the Hunger Games on TV. Can we do that and see how Nessa's doing?"

"Sure," Annie said. She walked toward the couch Blight had been standing next to and picked up a remote sitting on one of its cushions. Pressing one of its buttons, she turned on the TV in front of the couch, before taking a seat alongside Finnick and Blight. Effie and Golias, meanwhile, simply stood next to the couch.

Since, according to Annie, the remaining two Career tributes had both been rendered unconscious, the cameras were currently only focusing on Nessa (who Effie instantly identified to Golias) and the tributes in her alliance. They were currently all together, with the boy from 3 currently at the bottom of a ditch you could just barely see into, in the midst of repairing the crashed and more-or-less burnt hovercraft. Katniss was standing guard in case something threatening came after them (which wasn't the case, at least for now), and Peeta was spending some time chatting with the girl from 8, the two of them quickly becoming friends. The boy from 11 was also standing guard, but despite his tough and fierce expression, Effie and company noticed that every now and then, he would give his district partner a more gentle glance. Glances that indicated there was more to his personality than many would assume.

The girl from 11, whom Nessa referred to by Rue at one point, was currently sitting in the middle of the group, trying to lighten the mood by telling her companions about her fondness for Mockingjays. This was mainly aimed towards Nessa and the girl from 5, who were huddled together with the former trying to comfort the latter (who definitely didn't look so good in the health department), but Katniss and the boy from 11 couldn't help but listen as well while they scanned the area for anything dangerous. Although, those who were in the District 4 tribute residence couldn't gather everything Rue said, because during bits of the conversation, the scene kept cutting back to the unconscious District 1 tributes.

"She must be talking about her life from home," decided Blight.

"Yet another reason why the Capitol would have their eyes on them…" Effie sighed. Tributes from separate districts weren't punished on the spot for telling each other what their lives at home were like, but the Capitol still didn't approve of districts learning unnecessary things about each other. Everyone knew that. Normally she wouldn't consider this a big deal, but here, when these particular tributes' lives were already at stake as it was…

As he watched the TV and nervously glanced at Effie, Finnick, Annie, and Blight, who were all struggling to decide how to handle this situation (especially considering the fact that Johanna was already taking action, but a little too impulsively), Golias fidgeted a bit. He hoped Bongo and Objectiva would find those magic amulets soon, but more importantly, he hoped Nessa and the tributes she was helping would make it out of the arena without getting any booboos or something. He was even worried about the two tributes that weren't on Nessa's team. Were they eliminated from the Games, or—

A couple of gentle but audible knocks on a nearby door snapped the elephant out of his thoughts. Everyone snapped to attention once they heard the sound, and when a few seconds passed without the door opening, Blight called, "Johanna? Is that you?"

"The knocks would have been wilder if it was," said Finnick. He then got up and headed towards the door.

"Finnick, wait," Annie warned. "What if that's the Peacekeepers trying to throw us off?"

"A Peacekeeper would never try to throw you off like that. Not if they know a rebellion's about to start." Though Finnick proceeded with caution nonetheless as he unlocked the door.

As soon as he opened it, Finnick jumped a little, startled to see who was standing there. "S…Seeder?"

Everyone else turned to face the scene, now just as surprised as he was. Yet it was true; the person at the door was none other than one of the District 11 mentors. But both of her tributes were still alive! What was she doing here, when her mentor partner Chaff and the District 11 tribute escort and stylists were likely busy gathering sponsors or supervising the Games?

"Are those mutts?" Seeder asked, noticing Effie and Golias. She was calm, but clearly surprised to see two unique-looking animals not attacking anyone during a time of rebellion.

"We'll get to that," assured Finnick. "First things first…did you come here to tell us you got Chaff's message? I couldn't find you anywhere when I told him about Annie and the painting, and he said he would let you know, in case you'd want to help."

Seeder nodded, and quietly replied, "That was part of it. I'm glad to see she's safe." She gave Annie a quick smile, which she returned, although she remained confused at her presence.

"Why don't you come in and…watch the Games with us?" Blight asked in discretion.

Clearly appreciating the way he approached the scenario, Seeder silently agreed, stepped in, and closed the door. Finnick led her toward the couch, but she didn't sit down right away. When she was close enough to everyone in the room, including Effie and Golias (she trusted that they were on the other present mentors' side), she whispered in a calm, gentle, but definitely direct, voice: "I just came from the mostly-abandoned Capitol zoo. I was going there to try and gather a few sponsors for Rue, but I overheard a conversation amongst a troop of Peacekeepers instead. There's been an uprising in District 11 that they learned of from the Peacekeepers who work there…about half an hour ago."

Effie groaned. "That's the last thing we need. One of the districts rebelling right before the tributes do."

"But it wasn't just any uprising," said Seeder, still whispering. "There were eight people involved in it…"

Matt, Yuri, and Lili had been in their new rocket ship for about forty minutes now, and they were still in utter disbelief over what had happened. So were the five slightly older (except for one, who was Matt's age) kids that they'd met exactly an hour ago. But out of all of them, Lili was in the highest amount of disbelief. She didn't know what exactly would have happened to them if they hadn't made that huge escape, but one thing was for sure: they never would have gotten put in any danger if it hadn't been for Matt. She and Yuri had been giving him the cold shoulder ever since they had escaped, while he'd had an awkward energy within him ever since.

Matt frowned. "I told you ten times now, I didn't mean to do it!"

"You shouldn't have kicked it so hard!" Lili yelled, glaring at him intensely. "Something bad always happens when you do that!"

"Not always! Just sometimes."

"Well you should have watched where you were kicking," retorted Yuri.

"But—"

"Can you three please stop fighting?" begged Toolip, the youngest of the kids they'd met back in District 11. "I'm scared of heights, and you're not making this any better!"

"Yeah," added her big brother, Astilbo. "Every time we fight, Mom and Dad tell us to just forgive and move on."

"I'm never moving on from this," Lili snarled. "Something really bad almost happened to us, and it's all Matt's fault."

"Lili, I didn't mean to do it!" Matt insisted.

"Doesn't matter. What matters is that I'm REALLY MAD!"

Sighing, Matt looked away from her. Lili did have a point—it had been his fault. What she wasn't grasping was how sorry he was about the whole thing. Forty-two minutes now, and he still remembered it as if it had only been a second ago…

Flashback - An hour ago, District 11.

The sun was high in the sky by the time Matt, Yuri, and Lili woke up. That wasn't surprising; it had been pretty late when they'd arrived in Panem and landed the hang glider in the first city they had found. They'd then spent the night in that alley they'd landed in, using blankets from a nearby clothesline to stay warm.

Lili was the first one to stand. "Okay," she declared, "now it's time to look for Aunt Posey and my cousin."

"Can't we have some breakfast first?" Yuri asked.

"Yeah," agreed Matt, "I'm hungry!"

"Sure," decided Lili. "We just have to find someone who'll give us something to eat. That shouldn't be too hard."

Ten minutes passed, and the kids soon realized that Lili's statement had been wrong. Everyone they asked didn't have a satisfying amount of food, even though there was a large field in the middle of the town where food was planted all over its ground! Apparently, according to some of the grownups they talked to, nobody was allowed to eat the crops; they were only allowed to eat very small amounts of food each. So small, they were snacks. Not breakfasts—so every time they asked someone if they could have something to eat, the responses they received would always be an awkward and reluctant no.

"Why would the people in charge of this town keep so much food for themselves?" Lili demanded to an 18-year-old woman at one point, frustrated with the situation.

The woman had then started crying. "Just leave me alone, okay? I already had to watch my brother get picked for the Games last week! Go back to the Capitol and tell whoever sent you that I don't find this gram funny."

Since they weren't sure where the Capitol was, the kids simply left that neighbourhood and went to the next one. After trying unsuccessfully to convince a man walking by to give them some food, they finally decided to sit down on the edge of a house's patio and figure out another plan.

"I never knew we were so lucky to always have enough food where we live," sighed Yuri. "Why don't these people have much of it?"

"Yeah," Matt agreed. "Maybe that's why the fairies said everyone here's so unfriendly. It's just because they don't have enough food to have a real breakfast."

Lili thought she heard the sound of curtains quickly closing from behind her, but decided to ignore it. "I still can't believe it. There's a field here that's filled with food, and nobody's allowed to eat from it even though there's not a lot of food outside the field. I understand why someone would keep a special treat like the brickles your mom makes, Yuri, to just themselves…but all the food?! Whoever doesn't wanna share it must have a really big tummy."

"Even bigger than Golias's," added Yuri.

Matt's stomach growled, and he clenched his fists in annoyance. "That's it. If we don't get a real breakfast right now, I'm gonna go to that field and take all the food there is."

Suddenly the door of the house they were in front of was swung open. The kids turned around to find a dark-skinned girl standing in the doorway, with black curly hair done in two very short pigtails, and a dusty-looking lavender dress. She looked sort of like Lili, except she didn't wear glasses, and she seemed to be at least three years older than her. There was a look of absolute panic on her face, but said, "Uh, um, why don't you come in here instead? We've got breakfast…a pretty big one. I mean, we're the biggest family here, so…yeah! The most food…come in, quick! We're almost done eating!"

"Why do you look so nervous about inviting us in?" Lili asked. "You're doing something nice…shouldn't you be happy?"

"Please just come in," insisted the girl. "Quick, before anyone sees you."

Shrugging, Lili headed inside the house, the boys right behind her. Once they were in, they were just about to thank the girl for inviting them, when they jumped, noticing how…well, small…the house was. There was no colour on the floor, ceiling, or walls, no upstairs or downstairs levels, and only two rooms besides this one: a bedroom with only one bed and six blankets and pillows sprawled all around the floor, and the smallest and dullest bathroom they'd ever seen. For a moment, the kids glimpsed a woman sitting inside the bedroom, but she saw them right away and closed the door, trying unsuccessfully to stop herself from crying.

The entrance hall, living room, dining room, and kitchen were all combined into one large room—which was just a little smaller than the size of Lili's bedroom back at home, and there weren't even any plates or bowls. They could tell, because three more girls and one boy that had to be the older girl's siblings (they all had very similar facial features along with the same skin and hair colours) were sitting at a dining table a few paces away from them, each just finishing eating a different fruit with their hands.

One of the girls at the table, who wore her hair down in thick locks and had on an olive-coloured shirt and brown pants, gave the girl in the lavender dress a look of disbelief. "Fern," she said, "what did we say? No company, at least until we know what'll happen! We have to save up on our food, remember?"

The girl with the lavender dress, Fern, now looked more empathetic than panicked. "Iris, please. These three were starving, and look at them! They're outsiders, you can tell by their clothes. Too rich to be from here, not rich enough to be from the Capitol or the Career districts. They're not used to our lifestyle, and you know how badly the Peacekeepers treat country outsiders here! We're the only ones who can help these three because, secretly, we have a bigger food stash. And it's not because we're a bigger family either! It's because our big sister is super sneaky."

"You mean her?" Matt asked, pointing to the girl sitting next to Iris, who also wore her hair down and looked like the oldest girl in the room.

"Not me, sadly," said the girl, "but someday that would be nice. The sister she means…well…" Suddenly a sad energy filled the room, as each of the siblings became teary-eyed and glanced at a lit TV screen sitting nearby. On the TV screen, there was a girl who looked just like Iris and Fern's present big sister, only about two years older. Like Iris, her curly black hair was in thick locks. She was (mostly calmly) sitting in a forest with a strawberry-blonde-haired girl near her age, a teenage boy with blonde hair, a teenage girl with brown hair in a braid, a dark-skinned teenage boy who looked very angry and strong, and a pre-teen boy with ashen skin, straight short black hair, and a nice-looking face but a really nervous expression.

"Oh sis," sniffed the only boy at the table, who had much shorter curly hair than his sisters—and who was the oldest sibling there—as he watched the girl on the TV. "Why didn't anybody volunteer for you? Why?"

Lili gasped. "That's your biggest big sister? She's on TV? That's awesome!"

"Not in this case it's not," said the boy. A tear rolled down his cheek.

Yuri rushed over and tried to comfort him. "Don't cry! It'll be okay, uh…um…"

"My name's Astilbo," said the boy. "I'm eleven years old." Pointing to each of his sisters one by one, starting with the oldest girl present, he continued, "This is Daisy, she's ten, that's Iris and that's Fern, they're 9-year-old twins, and our youngest sister, over here, is 7-year-old Toolip."

"And on TV," concluded Daisy, "is our oldest sibling, Rue. She's twelve, and the reason why we have so much food here…because she sneaks from the food field so much and never gets caught. And now that she's in the so-called games, where players hurt each other to win…well…if she loses, and she never comes back because of it…I don't know what will happen to us."

"Rue might come back though," said Toolip, who was indeed significantly younger compared to her siblings and whose hair was tied into a pretty bun at the top of her head. "That lady said she was trying to get them all out of the arena where the Games are happening, remember?"

"But the Peacekeepers!" Iris bellowed, sobbing. "Their plan's pretty good, I'll admit, but the lady said it in front of the cameras we're seeing this on! The Peacekeepers saw it too, and they're gonna do something about it long before the escape starts!"

"What are Peacekeepers?" Yuri asked. He was still trying unsuccessfully to comfort Astilbo and his sisters, now with Matt's assistance.

"Mean men that always try to hurt whoever steals the field food," lamented Toolip.

Fern sniffled. "Except for Rue, since she always gets away with it."

"Wow," Lili said softly. She'd never imagined anyone could have such a terrible life! So much food you weren't supposed to eat, games that weren't really games at all…was this how people in all of Panem's cities lived? The same awful way that this family and everyone in their town lived? And what about her aunt, cousin, and best friend? Wherever they were, were they going through the exact same problem?

Her determination to find her never-before-seen relatives and Nessa increasing to a new level, Lili stepped toward the table. She rejoined her friends and said, "Um…my name is Lili, and these are my friends, Yuri and Matt. We're new here. See, my best friend, my aunt, and my cousin are all trapped somewhere in Panem. I wanna get them out and take them home. 'Cause I miss my friend, and I wanna meet the rest of my family and make my mom happy. Do you know where they are?"

The siblings all looked at each other, but shook their heads. But still wanting to help their new friends, Astilbo said, "I'll ask Mom if she knows anything. I have to warn you though…she's been kind of emotional all week. So she might not be much help."

"Kind of emotional?" Iris scoffed, but Astilbo ignored what she said and went into the bedroom, closing the door.

When he was gone, Daisy wiped away some of Iris's tears and then studied Lili intently. "You know, it's funny," she said, "but looking at you now…it's almost like you're a District 11 girl like us, but in Capitol clothes. I mean, you look like most people here would, and you're even named after a flower just like at least half of our district!"

"So we're in District Number 11?" Lili asked. When the siblings nodded, she smiled in excitement. "Hey, that must mean this is the district Mommy used to live in! Which means we're getting closer!"

Suddenly, all of the siblings' eyes widened. Toolip, Fern, and Iris gasped, Daisy's mouth dropped open, and Astilbo, who had left the bedroom just in time to hear what Lili said, froze. The five of them stayed like that for a few seconds, and awkwardly, Matt asked, "Uh…is everyone okay?"

A huge smile then appeared on Toolip's face. "Her mom's Juniper Berryharvest!"

"Oh my seeds," Daisy said.

"The one and only person who did it and left Panem!" Fern cheered.

"This is such an honour!" Iris exclaimed. "And a relief! It means Juniper's okay, and that she's started a new life!"

Astilbo held up his hands for quiet. "Now hold on! I agree, she's got to be Juniper Berryharvest's daughter, but…did her mom really have a sister? And a nephew or a niece, depending on whether this cousin is a boy or a girl? No one said anything about that…"

"I don't know if my cousin's a girl or a boy," admitted Lili. "My mom never said that part. Just that my cousin was a baby when she asked Aunt Posey to go with her to America, and she said no."

Daisy counted on her fingers. "A baby…so if Juniper left twelve years ago, then that would make your cousin twelve years old now."

"Twelve?" Toolip asked, her eyes lightening up in excitement.

"I know what you're thinking, Toolip," advised Fern. "And no. Just because Rue happens to be twelve years old doesn't mean she's the cousin Lili's looking for. We've all had at least one birthday and at least one Christmas where we asked Mom and Dad, and they both said we have no aunts, uncles, or cousins. At all. It's just us, which means Lili's cousin has to be some other twelve-year-old in District 11."

"Aw man," moaned Toolip. "I've always wanted to have a cousin."

"It's okay," said Lili, smiling reassuringly. "After Matt and Yuri and I have something to eat, we can show what having cousins would be like."

"Yeah," agreed Yuri, "let's do something fun with them!"

"Right after we eat," Matt reminded him. His tummy growled again, which made him chuckle because it only proved his point even more.

Fern gave Iris and then Astilbo a pleading look, which Toolip soon mimicked, and when Daisy nodded, Iris said, "Okay, okay, we'll let them eat our watermelons and a few of our strawberries. But then that's it. We need to be careful with our stash, seeing as none of us are as good at sneaking food as Rue is. At least not yet."

Fifteen minutes later, Lili, Yuri, and Matt had all eaten a fruity but satisfying breakfast, and had set up a makeshift soccer field in front of Astilbo and his sisters' house. Since they couldn't find any balls or soccer nets, they decided to place two pairs of dusters where the nets would have been instead, and they used a bucket as a ball.

"Okay," Matt announced. "The soccer field's ready!"

"Soccer?" Daisy asked. "What's soccer?"

Matt gasped. "You mean you've never played it before?"

"Uh, no," said Astilbo. "Is soccer a game? One that's actually fun?"

"Of course it is," smiled Yuri. "Back home we play it all the time! Matt's the best player."

Obviously appreciating Yuri's compliment, Matt said, "It's easy. There are two teams. One of the teams has to try and kick the ball, which is actually this bucket for today, into the net on the other side of the field, and the other team has to try and kick the ball into the other net. And in front of each net, one player has to stand there and try to stop the ball from going in their net every time it tries to. But goalies aren't supposed to leave their nets, and the rest of the players can only use their feet to touch the ball. The goalies can touch the ball with their hands, but if the other players touch it with their hands, they get a penalty. That's when you break a rule."

Lili nodded. "And if you break a rule, you have to go to the timeout box."

"Which is where?" inquired Fern and Iris, in unison.

"Uh…on your house's steps."

The twins nodded, as did Astilbo and Toolip. As for Daisy, she furrowed her brow in confusion. "There's a lot of stuff in there about kicking a ball…are you sure this game isn't called kickball or football or something?"

Matt opened his mouth to reply, but paused and said, "You know, those are better names for the game. I wonder why—"

"Wait!" Lili interrupted. "Who's gonna be on what team?"

"I think you should be with me, Iris, and Daisy," decided Fern. "And Matt, Yuri, Astilbo, Toolip, you can be the other team."

"Can I be our goalie?" Toolip asked.

"Sure," said Astilbo.

"I'll be the other goalie," Daisy decided.

"Good," said Yuri. "Now let's start playing."

Once the teams were lined up and the goalies were in the right positions, Lili placed the bucket in the middle of the "field" and said they could start playing. She then tried to make a go for the bucket, but Iris did so at the same time and accidentally knocked her over. By the time she helped up, Matt had the bucket and was kicking it towards their net, Fern hot on his heels.

"Matt has the b…I mean, the bucket," declared Matt, savouring the moment while it was happening. "He moves this way, he moves that way! Now he puts his foot back, starts to kick it in—"

"Not so fast!" Fern declared, managing to steal the bucket while he was distracted. She then began to kick it towards Toolip's net, while Yuri and Astilbo tried to block her way. Matt rushed over and tried to get the bucket back, prompting Iris and Lili to run after him to try and stop him.

"This is fun," Toolip chuckled, watching the spectacle. "I just wish Rue was here to watch. She—"

Suddenly Iris managed to kick the bucket away from the rest of the players, and then kicked it again, catching Toolip off guard as it sailed straight for her net. She dove forward and tried to catch it, but didn't make it in time. The bucket sailed right past her, and Lili's team scored their first goal.

"YES!" Iris cheered. "I got it in! One point!"

"Thanks a lot, Mister-Best-Player-Here," Astilbo sarcastically said. "You had to show off right when we could have scored first."

"Hey," Matt retorted, narrowing his eyes. "It's not my fault! I'll score a goal next, you'll see! Then we'll win the game!"

Yuri grabbed the bucket and placed it back in the middle of the "field." The teams rushed for it again, this time with nobody getting knocked over and Lili claiming the bucket first. Quickly she began to kick it towards Toolip's net, chanting, "Woo! I've got the buck-et! I've got the buck-et!"

"That's more like it, Lill!" Daisy called from her territory. "Come on, get it in the net!"

Lili started to obey, but then Astilbo rushed over and kicked the bucket away from her. He then headed for Daisy's net and kicked, but Daisy extended her foot forward and kicked the bucket back the other way. It sailed off the ground and nearly hit Astilbo in the face, but managing to predict this a few seconds before it would happen, he swiftly flipped into a handstand and kicked the bucket back onto the ground. Iris then reclaimed it and passed it to Fern, but Yuri kicked it away before she could get her foot on it. Next, he kicked it to Matt, who directed it one step at a time towards Daisy's net.

Lili ran after Matt, but he surged ahead of her, determined to make it up to his team after costing them the game's first goal. He then pulled his leg back quicker than last time and kicked the bucket as hard as he could, sending the bucket sailing right for Daisy's net. She tried to catch it, but it zoomed right past her, having been kicked with a lot of force. It was Matt's team's first goal! He felt so proud that he immediately began jumping up and down victoriously, completely unaware that the bucket was sailing right past the net and then past one house—where it smacked a Peacekeeper walking by right in the head.

"Gooooaaaal!" Matt yelled, running around in circles and pumping his fists in the air. "Gooooaaaal!"

"Matt, shhh!" Toolip quickly said. "That man you just hit in the head is a mean old Peacekeeper!"

"A Peacekeeper?" Yuri gasped in fear.

"Oh no…" Lili worried.

"Yay!" Matt yelled, still dancing around, not having heard Toolip's warning and completely unaware that he was drawing the Peacekeeper's attention. "I got it, I got it! I got the goal!"

"MATT, STOP! YOU GAVE A PEACEKEEPER A BOOBOO, AND NOW HE'S REALLY MAD!" Lili shrilled, clenching her fists. She would get in that boy's face and shout even louder if she had to—this wasn't the first time she'd had to resort to that in order to get attention. And knowing her friends, it wouldn't be the last time either.

That got Matt's attention. He snapped out of his thoughts, and once he did, four more Peacekeepers arrived, each with scary glares on their faces.

"Run!" Astilbo yelled, quickly leading Matt, Yuri, and the girls away from the area. They ran for all they were worth to get away from the Peacekeepers, until Yuri saw an abandoned house at the end of the street and had an idea. Too out-of-breath to speak, he could only point at the house, and the other kids could only trust that his plan would help them in some way.

Luckily, Astilbo, his sisters, and the district's three young newcomers made it into the house seconds before the Peacekeepers could get to it—and then the Peacekeepers screamed as they were thrown backwards, as a result of the house suddenly turning into a perfectly-functioning brand new rocket ship.

End of flashback

"I'm sorry," Matt tried again, this time more gently.

Lili sighed, and with obvious reluctance, she said, "It's okay, Matt. I don't really have time to stay mad at you anyway. We've still gotta find Nessa. We'll go back to District 11 and find Aunt Posey and my cousin when the Peacekeepers aren't angry anymore."

"But what about our mom?" Iris asked. "She doesn't know what's going on. And what will Dad say when he comes back home and finds out there's Peacekeepers looking for us?"

"We can't go back now, Iris," said Yuri, apologetically. "Not if we wanna get away from the Peacekeepers. The only thing we can do now is look in the other districts and see if Nessa's there."

Ooh…more suspense is rising…

Be sure to prepare yourselves, because the next chapter's events just might have quite a bit of drama involved too…