Welcome back, readers! Sorry for the long wait; a large amount of stuff came up in my personal life, including a Wifi crisis at home that's still not resolved yet. Luckily, despite all that, I was still able to write and release the next chapter of this story. :) I hope you enjoy it!
The Unlikeliest Of Allies
Bongo fearfully bounced back to the hovercraft taken from District 4 as fast as he could, with Objectiva in his shirt pocket. Chasing after them were two cars, both of which read Blissfield Police on their sides.
"Why did you not sell some of that red liquorice and earn the money needed to buy a city-to-city bus ticket?" Objectiva squealed.
"I didn't think that was a choice!" Bongo yelped. Which was technically true. Why hadn't he thought of that the moment he'd gone up to the bus driver, only to be asked where his ticket was? Instead of doing the unthinkable: waiting until nobody was looking and then sneaking onto the bus's roof, where he would not-so-easily but successfully be able to stay until the bus stopped in Blissfield? Why?!
Well, it was too late now. Now all he could do was get himself and Objectiva to the hovercraft they'd used to get to Blissfield, and away from the police. And thankfully, even though the police didn't give up their pursuit, that was exactly what he did. Soon, Bongo was back at the flying vehicle's control panel, Objectiva by his side, and with just the pull of a lever and the press of a few buttons, he was able to get them off the ground and off the island altogether.
Once the only thing in sight was ocean water, Objectiva took a deep breath and asked, "Alright…did you find the amulets?"
Bongo's disguise vanished, and he pulled the green talismans Annabelle had given him out of his neck pouch. "Yup! Right here!"
"Good," the fairy sighed with relief, as he put the amulets back in his pouch. "Now let us return to District 4."
The rest of the ride back to Panem was in complete silence. Then an hour after it had begun, Objectiva left for a visit to the hovercraft's bathroom, leaving Bongo to think through his thoughts. He still had Char's box, with the mysterious dagger inside of it, but as far as Objectiva was aware, the box was the one that contained the many strands of red liquorice he'd gotten from Blissfield. He was tempted to tell her about the box mixup, but…was that really a good idea? She'd made it clear that the amulets were the only items on the island that they were going there to find. If she found out that he'd accidentally stolen a dagger—a magic one, at that—that was supposed to be in Blissfield's police station, she would not be happy…wait a minute. Oh no. Thinking that thought reminded him of something…something he wasn't sure why he hadn't remembered when he'd first realized he had Char's box…
Flashback - Two days ago, District 1
"Well, I can assure you that we're not stealing from an innocent family or going all the way to China," affirmed Effie. "So that just leaves us with this Knife Witch's dagger."
Objectiva gasped in horror. "Did you not hear my description of its functions?! If we use the dagger to undo the body swap, Nessa could be traumatized for life! Maybe you as well!"
"Traumatized?" Golias asked. "Oh, I don't think I like the sound of that…"
"You wouldn't," said Objectiva. "I am not even going to describe the functions to you. They are that scary. Besides, acquiring the dagger could require stealing as well, in a more serious way! Ever since the uprising that took place when its latest victims used it, the dagger has been locked away in the victims' city's police station!"
End of flashback
Bongo stiffened in fear. He wasn't sure what Objectiva had said to Effie when he and Golias weren't around, but he knew this much about it: the Knife Witch had had a magic dagger taken away from her, it had the same power as the Freaky Friday Fairies, and it was last seen in one of the island's buildings (possibly a police station; she hadn't been able to remember for sure). So that meant that the Knife Witch was without her weapon, which meant that unless she had a spare magical knife, she wouldn't be a problem.
Well, in case she did have a spare knife, Bongo wasn't going to take any chances. Her dagger was coming with him…which meant he really couldn't tell Objectiva about the box mixup. He felt bad about having to keep this whole situation a secret from her, but…if she knew he had the Knife Witch's dagger, she'd almost certainly want him to get rid of it! And even if acquiring the dagger had been a complete accident, he was keeping it with him because he was only trying to help! Besides…what if the amulets broke and then they couldn't use them? Yup—it was a good thing Bongo had the dagger, even if he hadn't meant to get it. Like he'd said before, you never knew…
Golias wasn't sure how late he'd slept in, or how long she'd been awake before she quietly nudged him out of his slumber, using her free hand to carry some harmless berries, an apple, and a pear. He guessed he had probably been asleep for a while though, because by the time he was awoken, the sun was high in the bright blue sky. And he had to admit…he felt pretty hungry. It was high time they had some breakfast…
"Hey…hey. Sun's up, in case you didn't notice."
The elephant was a bit surprised when he saw who was crouched in front of his face. "J…Johanna?"
"Shh," she whispered. "I went into the hovercraft and 'borrowed' some food from the tributes. Now, let's go over there so no matter how I riled up I get, it won't wake up anyone else."
"Um…okay," he awkwardly replied.
Careful not to wake the other mentors or Clove, Golias got up, tiptoed away from the group, and followed Johanna to another section near the arena; one that wasn't out of their teammates' sight, but out of their earshot. As they walked, the elephant couldn't help but tremble and moan a little, nervously. Even as they'd gone to sleep last night, she had been really mad at him (even madder than he'd ever seen Lili, which was really saying something) for accidentally causing Blight and Chaff to get stung by the tracker jackers, and her mood hadn't improved when she'd heard about the whole Wish-Trish thing. Was she still mad now? Hmm…based on her tone of voice and her expression, it looked like she wasn't as mad now, but she was definitely going to be very soon.
The two of them made it to the right spot, where they sat down without a word. Johanna let Golias eat her apple and pear, while she munched on her berries. Then their entire breakfast also went on in silence, with neither of them saying a single word; Golias was simply too nervous to say anything, and Johanna…well, only she knew what was on her mind. Really, all he could do was just sit there and tremble, every now and then tooting his trunk just to break this awkward silence.
It felt like forever, but eventually, the remaining mentor from District 7 sighed wearily and put down the last of her berries. "Fine," she finally said. "Might as well get it over with, for both of our sakes."
"I'm really really sorry about Blight and Chaff," Golias quickly told her, worry, regret, and fear all in his eyes. "I didn't mean to—"
"I know you didn't mean to," she interrupted. "Frankly, I doubt you'd even hurt a Peacekeeper on purpose. But…ugh! That's not how you handle it when an enemy is chasing you! I mean, even Nessa knows that! She had several of those moments in the arena, and she never stopped and therefore sabotaged her team! Do you have any idea how hopeless that makes you look?"
"Hope…hopeless?" Golias squeaked.
Johanna sighed. "Blight and Chaff weren't much to me, but…one of them was from home. And they were both worth a lot to the other mentors. They went out trying to save you from the most avoidable of all rookie mistakes! You're lucky you got rid of them by accident, because otherwise you do not wanna know what I would have done to you."
"Actually I already know," said Golias, wistfully. "And you can do it if you want. I mean…if there is a timeout box out here."
The recalcitrant young woman gawked at him. "Are you serious? In your opinion, getting sent to a timeout box is the worst thing that could happen to you?"
"No, it isn't! I just thought…that was what you would have done to me."
Johanna looked away from him in disdain. "The point is, according to that Trinket lady, you're not only equipped with magical powers, but you're also the one who knows the most stuff about them. And you look like you're strong enough to beat Chaff's tribute, Thresh, in a muscle fight. Or at least make that fight end in a tie. So you're supposed to be our team's strongest member. But apparently, despite that, you still dragged the team and cost it three members. So that makes your one and only weakness, which is your inexperience with fights for survival, stronger than all your strengths put together. In other words, as ridiculous as it is, you're now our team's weakest link. But since Escort Long-Neck still needs you to help her get used to her body, I have no choice but to not kick you off the team."
Unsure of what to say in response, Golias stammered a little, before taking two deep breaths and mustering the courage to say, "Sorry. Uh…um…is there anything I can do to um…uh…fix any of that?"
"Well, you could admit that you need mentoring yourself. And that we can't go back to the Capitol and save those young friends of yours unless you learn a thing or two about how to survive the right way. That way…the next time we get into a tracker jacker chase or something, you won't do anything President Snow will say is weak."
"Yeah," Golias confessed, "it's…it's true. I never mean to, but I keep doing the wrong stuff when something scary's happening to me! And it always gets someone else in big trouble…or almost does."
Johanna gave him an uneasy look. "Almost?"
Golias quivered. "Well, there was this one time when Yuri and I got stuck in a plane that was flying really really fast and out of control…and it happened because I thought the worst button you could push was the button that would help us land. Even though he already said it was the worst button you could push. Then the rest of our friends wanted to help us land, and Yuri said they could after he couldn't land us by himself. So Lili and Nessa made a landing spot for us, and Matt and Bongo told us how to find it. We got to it after a while and…"
Flashback - An actual scene from "My Big Big Friend: Air Buddies."
The plane was flying super fast, and really out of control. It was really hard to steer it the right way, whether it was Yuri or Golias doing the driving. They were both very scared…but they knew they had to keep trying. Their friends were doing all they could to help from the ground, and thanks to Matt and Bongo's shouting, they knew exactly where to fly. If only they could stay put for longer than a millisecond…
"You're looking good, Yuri!" Matt called through a megaphone. "Just move it a little this way."
"This way, this way, this way!" Bongo excitedly chimed.
They took their advice, and then Matt instructed, "Okay, now a little more that way."
"That way, that way that way!"
"No, stop! Too far! Back!"
"Back!"
"Now up!"
"Up!"
"No, down down down!"
"Down down down!"
When the plane was finally in the right area of the sky, Matt smiled. "Okay, good. Now lean forward."
While Bongo obeyed Matt's command and almost but didn't end up falling off the platform the two of them were standing on, Yuri, against all odds, used the control panel to make the plane lean forward. They then started zooming downward, where Lili and Nessa had used several buckets and arrow prints to create a landing road for them.
Oh, I can't look… Golias nervously thought to himself. It was a very suspenseful moment. Would they be able to land or not? Then the realization that Yuri was probably thinking the same thought as he had just now came to him, and in an effort to ease his best friend's fear along with his own, the elephant closed his eyes, clenched his teeth, and placed his large ears over his eyes and Yuri's entire face.
"GOLIAS!" Yuri yelled, pushing his ears out of his face. "Be careful. I need to see Lili and Nessa or we can't land!"
Golias, who had opened his eyes to look at Yuri as he spoke, then spotted the girls and smiled in excitement. "Oh! There they are!"
"I see them!" Yuri shouted, also smiling. "Great! Matt got us to the right place."
"Way to go, Matt!" Golias hollered, throwing his ears into the air to celebrate.
"Okay Yuri!" Matt called. "Now Lili and Nessa will show you where to land."
End of flashback
"Then we finally landed the plane, and all of us got to help Yuri fly his kite," concluded Golias. He chuckled. "No more plane rides for me!"
Johanna, however, didn't respond. She simply sat there, her mouth agape—which, as much as Golias didn't know it, was not a good thing.
Nessa yawned softly, and opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Yuri, who was peacefully sleeping next to her, and when she saw Rue asleep nearby, she sighed wistfully. Everything was flooding back to her—the escape from the arena, and from the hospital and through the city, the whole situation with Clove, her reunion with Yuri and Golias, the loss of Peeta, Sonia, Katniss, two of the mentors, Matt, two of Rue's sisters…and most painfully, Lili. At least five hours must have passed since she'd heard about her best friend's disappearance, and she still felt very bad about being inadvertently responsible for what had happened to her. But then again, the body swap had its good parts too, as she'd told herself last night…
Oh Lili…I'm so sorry… she thought, once again growing teary-eyed and limp as she thought about the poor girl. I don't care what Foxface thinks. You are a good friend. And you didn't deserve to get taken by the Peacekeepers! I should have just climbed down the ladder and warned you as soon as Geolo said he was going to do something crazy. I should have told you to climb up and stay with me until he was done saving us! I…I should have KNOWN what would happen if I didn't do that!
Her tears continued to fall down her cheeks, but this time she didn't dare make a sound. She didn't want to wake up everyone else that was in the hovercraft; they had stayed awake super late last night, and she wanted them to sleep for as long as possible. They had a big day ahead of them; now that they'd found and used the medicine, their next step was to travel from district to district and pick up most of her tribute friends' families (and in Katniss's case, friend). And their first stop would be to District 8, where they would be faced with the difficult task of telling Sonia's parents that their daughter was among those of their allies who had been captured by the Peacekeepers. They couldn't let anything distract them—they needed everything to go right.
Nessa sniffled and glanced at Rue, then at Yuri. And all at once, she found herself remembering something that had happened the last time she'd been separated from Lili without herself being responsible for it. The day Lili had mistakenly thought she was moving to a new house and had literally stranded herself on an island to practice being alone. The then-giraffe had been lamenting about her best friend's departure, wondering who was going to do all the nice things for her that Lili had always done…when Yuri had said, "We gotta get Lili back."
It was a statement that couldn't have been more true, both then and right now. Best friends never left each other's sides, especially when they were in danger. Sure, the bad guys in Panem were pretty scary, but the thought of reuniting with Lili and of her eventually being safe if she just kept going in her adventure strengthened Nessa. She was going to find her best friend, and she was going to rescue her. And with that being mentally said, she bolted to her feet, dried her tears, and started to sneak out of the hovercraft. She left the cargo bay and was just about to access the exit when she saw the last thing she expected to see. Someone was standing in front of the vehicle's control panel, pressing their hands against it so they could lean forward on it.
It was Foxface. She had finally fully woken up, and seemed more oriented than she'd been since the two of them had first met. They'd succeeded in helping her booboos get better—and seeing her this way, Nessa was unable to help it. She yelled her nickname in pure joy, rushed forward, and pulled her backward into a hug before she had time to react.
"Ah!" Foxface gasped. "Not so hard! Ouch…"
"Oh," Nessa said. She released her ally, who as a result almost fell down, but was able to turn and grab her shoulders just in time. As she caught sight of her face, Nessa could see she no longer looked tired, lightheaded, or pale. In fact, honestly, she couldn't have looked better. More refreshed, and less distracted by pain than she had been so far on their journey. Although she was clearly still a little hurt, so once she stopped herself from falling, Nessa told her, "Sorry…I didn't think you still had those booboos."
Foxface caught her breath and glanced downward. "I admit…I thought that too, after I awoke and realized there was suddenly little to no pain left in my leg. By the time I arrived in here to test my mobility, even that pain was gone. But…I suppose the one thing the medicine you located cannot heal is a twisted ankle."
"What?!" Nessa exclaimed. "You're still—"
"Do not worry," Foxface assured her. "That kind of injury can heal on its own simply through rest, which it has been provided with already. It simply needs around four weeks more of it, and then it will be alright. My leg was what truly kept me in danger, but it won't be a problem now. Which…" she glanced to the side nervously but noticeably gratefully, "…which is all thanks to you."
"Me? No, Thresh was the one who snuck into the Capitol's hospital and got it—"
"No, Nessa, it is thanks to you," affirmed Foxface, looking her in the eyes to show she was serious. "You achieved something that even I never thought possible. You allowed more than one tribute at a time to leave a Hunger Games arena, without being eliminated or prevented from leaving! That is a plan I never would have come up with myself or had the confidence to go through with if I had, and I doubt any of the other tributes would have come up with it either. But you…you may be the least experienced person with Panem's era here, but…you have something in you that no one else I know has. And that something has just gotten us through an arena escape, and a hospital theft. Without you…most or all of the tributes you saved including me would have…would have…" Her voice faltered, and no more words came out.
Nessa glanced at the cargo bay, where, at least as far as she knew, everyone else in the hovercraft was still sound asleep. "You…you really think they wouldn't have wanted to help each other if I hadn't gone into the arena instead of Clove?"
Foxface nodded. "Fear of receiving too many…booboos…and fear that such a plan will fail and that their allies will betray them due to feeling the same way can hold someone back even more than you realize. It is in them, even though they do not always look scared. And I must confess…that being a factor…I still do not feel entirely comfortable with trusting our allies. It is not that I don't see the goodness in them, I just…you never know when fear that your allies can betray you even though you have escaped the arena can lead to you doing the betraying."
"Our allies aren't going to betray us, Foxface. Really! Why do you think they would do that even if we're not in the arena anymore? They don't have to give each other booboos."
"But that does not mean the Peacekeepers are not to be worried about. There are thousands of them all around Panem, all of whom are likely furious that your plan succeeded. They will stop at nothing to find us and make sure we are punished for leaving the arena, in ways so horrible that you are better off not even thinking about them. Which is why we must be extremely careful when it comes time for us to pick up our allies' loved ones. Once we enter each of the districts we are going to, we could come across a group of Peacekeepers at any second. And they are even scarier than the Careers…scary enough to cause the same trust problems amongst our team that would have happened in the arena."
"Are you sure you're not just saying that because you're not used to trusting people?"
"I could not be more sure," assured Foxface.
Nessa sighed. "Foxface…it's okay if you really aren't used to it. You told me, back in the arena. I'm the first one who was ever really nice to you."
"All I am saying is that you should be prepared just in case."
"And I'm saying you should give the other people on our team a chance. I really think they're nice people, and they're always going to be nice! I mean, they could be. You just have to try to be friends with them. You won't really know if they're nice or not until you try, right?"
Foxface considered what she said, and her shoulders sagged. While she was genuinely trying to prepare Nessa for the worst, her only trusted ally was right too. Part of the reason she didn't want to let her guard down with everyone in the cargo bay was because she was still pretty used to not trusting others. With Nessa it was different, because she had proven that she truly cared about her, but…none of her other allies had had a moment like that with her so far. Still, her first ally was right about another thing too: she wouldn't know unless she tried. Trying was how she'd figured out how distrustful everyone she knew back in District 5 was, and if she hadn't done it, she never would have known not to trust them. And truth be told…not trying to communicate with her now-deceased district partner was the reason why she, unlike her strong knowledge about many of the other tributes, knew nothing about him aside from his name and fighting techniques. But then again, she had lost count of how many times trying to trust people had resulted in those people betraying her, and how many times their actions had left her miserable. Could she really find it in her to risk experiencing the emotional pain she had spent seven years trying to avoid?
Nessa gently led Foxface into a sitting position so she could rest her ankle more easily, and then hugged her, correctly guessing what was going through her mind. "Don't worry. It's okay…even if it doesn't go well, you'll always have me."
"I know," the fox-like tribute whispered. "I understand you are only trying to help me, but…I just do not feel ready to move in that direction yet. I have no problems with trusting you, but with them it is different."
"But if it's different with them, then why did you tell Sonia you were sorry for saying she was an idiot?"
As that memory flooded into her head, Foxface was unable to stop herself from getting teary-eyed. "I…I am not sure. I do not think she is one anymore, but I was still hesitant to say so. I just…I wanted to open up to her but at the same time I did not…and then she learned I have no loved ones from back home and I could tell she regretted saying that I was superficial, and when I started feeling feverish and constantly sleepy a few hours later, I was extremely scared that I would fall asleep and never wake up, and…and then I remembered Sonia's regret and did not even think…I, I…I don't know. Where is she?"
"She's gone," admitted Nessa, and then she told Foxface everything she'd missed. The unexpected arrival of Effie, the rebel mentors, most of her friends from home, three of whom had met and recruited Rue's five siblings, along with the tracker-removal-induced wound healing, Clove joining their team and claiming she had changed for the better, the Peacekeepers capturing Sonia and then Matt, Iris, Daisy, and Lili, the loss of Blight and Chaff, the tracker removing (which prompted Nessa to realize that Foxface's arm had healed overnight as well), and finally, Katniss sacrificing herself so the other captives wouldn't get hurt.
Foxface perked up in surprise when she heard that last part. "She really lied to the Peacekeepers and allowed herself to be captured? Just to protect your friends?"
"Yeah," Nessa said, gazing at the floor in sadness. "She told us that she's trusting us and we can't let anything happen to her sister. We were all so sad, but…she just wanted to save them."
"I…I was not expecting that. I mean I know she cares about her sister because that was how she even became a tribute, but…sacrificing herself for us too?"
Nessa managed a small smile. "She does like us, Foxface. She even gave Rue and me a hug before she left. And I bet the other people on our team are nice too. They're not going to make anything bad happen to us. I really don't think they will."
"You do not know that will be the case," cautioned Foxface. Although Nessa could tell that she was considering what she'd said anyway, based on her expression.
The two of them sat in silence for a while, until Foxface finally wiped away her tears and said, "Should…should we go outside?"
"Sure," the former giraffe agreed. She then picked up her ally, allowing her to engage in yet another piggyback ride. After that, Nessa quietly made her way through the hovercraft's exit, and as she did, she asked, "So...did you already see Effie and Yuri? They are in the cargo bay…"
"I did," replied Foxface. "I noticed Rue's present siblings too, but I was only certain of their identities until you confirmed your friend's and the District 12 escort's just now." She inhaled a little. "I cannot believe you used to be a giraffe. A pink bespectacled one, at that. To be honest…before our conversation now I was a bit worried that she was a mutt. But then again, I suppose if she was, then she would not have been here."
Nessa chuckled. "Then maybe you'll be surprised with my magic powers even more."
"Magic…wait, what? You…you have…?"
"Well, I think I lost them after I switched bodies with Effie. But yes. I'm a magic animal."
"But you never told me this back in the arena…"
"Yeah. I'm sorry, maybe I should have told you that part, but…I just didn't think of that. We were just talking about my friends, and Lili…"
Then Nessa's voice trailed off, as she remembered her best friend, and all of the thoughts she'd had before leaving the cargo bay. She had to go back and rescue her, but she also wanted her teammates to be able to find their loved ones. So…that probably meant she would have to go to the Capitol while they went to the districts they'd agreed they would go to. And she would have to leave as soon as possible to save time. Okay; as soon as she was done introducing Foxface to Golias and everyone else outside, she was going to go rescue Lili.
But as she arrived outside the hovercraft, Nessa found herself having second thoughts about that plan. Saving Lili was definitely not going to be as easy as she was hoping it would be, and while Golias's team along with Geolo, Thresh, Katniss, and Peeta had experience with fighting Peacekeepers, she hadn't even talked to any. That was only going to make things harder—maybe she was better off going to the Capitol with one or two of her allies. Foxface would surely be one of those particular allies, since she didn't have to worry about finding anyone she knew from her home district…but just as Nessa was about to bring up her current thoughts, she remembered one of the things Foxface had said moments ago.
"Nessa, it is thanks to you. You achieved something that even I never thought possible. You allowed more than one tribute at a time to leave a Hunger Games arena, without being eliminated or prevented from leaving! That is a plan I never would have come up with myself or had the confidence to go through with if I had, and I doubt any of the other tributes would have come up with it either. But you…you may be the least experienced person with Panem's era here, but…you have something in you that no one else I know has. And that something has just gotten us through an arena escape, and a hospital theft. Without you…most or all of the tributes you saved including me would have…would have…"
Nessa was torn. She trusted her teammates, but…did they still need her with them even now that they were out of the arena? It was true that they never would have gotten this far without her, at least the way Foxface saw it. And while she knew there weren't any trust problems with Geolo and Rue (not as far as she knew anyway), she doubted the same could be said for Thresh. The only present member of the team he'd ever really been comfortable around was Rue, and then there was Clove—a person that everyone felt uneasy around. Without a doubt, Foxface wasn't the only person on the team who was involved in a trust problem. Someone had to be there to keep everyone together in case the trust problems got out of control; something Nessa was probably the only one who could do.
So she couldn't go save Lili after all. Her own best friend and she couldn't do anything—
"Nessa?" Foxface said.
The former giraffe jumped, snapping out of her thoughts, and then fully became aware that she was outside the hovercraft. Clove and some of the mentors who had helped her friends from Brasília were in front of the vehicle, and most of them were still lying on the ground, asleep. One of them was awake though: Haymitch, whom despite her sadness, Nessa had learned was one of the other people in charge of finding sponsors for Katniss and Peeta. As for Golias, he was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Johanna, the last remaining of the mentors who had saved Katniss from the Peacekeepers.
After apologizing to Foxface for zoning out, Nessa turned to Haymitch and asked, "Where are Golias and Johanna?"
"Not sure," he replied. "They were already gone by the time I woke up. But knowing Johanna…I don't think we should go looking for them just yet."
"Why not?" Nessa asked.
The man's answer was, "Well…let's just say she more than likely thought things would go better if she gave him some one-on-one lessons on how to do things right."
Foxface did a face palm, immediately seeing through his discreet explanation. "He made a mistake that nearly ruined the escape from the city."
Haymitch glanced at her, impressed with her guess. "Now I see why your mentor thought you deserved more attention." He then got serious again and said, "Because yes. He did do something pretty bad. I'm not gonna push it, considering I already did last night and he's not from around here, but…Johanna's never going to do the same. Trust me."
"What did Golias do?" inquired Nessa, worried.
"Okay. You know how there were a lot of parts in the Games where you and your allies got chased? And some of those chases tired you out but you still kept going? Good move on your part. But when the tracker jackers chased us back in the Capitol, he didn't keep going. So we had to go back and stop him from getting stung."
"And as a result," Foxface concluded, predicting what had happened next because of what Nessa remembered from the incident, "you lost Blight and Chaff because they were stung too many times."
Clove moaned a bit and sat up, awoken by the conversation happening in front of her. Haymitch, Nessa, and Foxface all heard her, but since the former and the latter visibly still didn't feel reassured by her presence, they along with Nessa only glanced at her for a second before, with a sort of awkward energy in them, turning away from her to try and focus on each other…that is, mostly. They wanted to give the two deceased mentors some well-deserved respect, but they also knew that simply forgetting about the Career's presence would be a foolish decision.
"Right again," sighed Haymitch. "Not gonna lie…I'll miss them both. They were pretty understanding, and I think it's obvious Chaff was relatable."
Cecelia and Seeder, who had by now also been roused by their companions' conversation, nodded in agreement. "In their own ways," Seeder murmured, "they were very good people. There wasn't a single moment when they weren't there for their tributes, and I don't only mean by helping them increase their chances of winning the Hunger Games."
"It's true," said Cecelia. "They were such excellent men…but as sad as it is, we'll just have to keep going without them."
A familiar scoff was suddenly heard from nearby, and Nessa, Foxface, Clove, and the three present mentors turned to find Johanna walking back towards them, her fists clenched. Obviously not in a good mood, she stated, "Without. Good point! While we're on that topic, can I just say something before we keep going?"
Haymitch gave her a knowing look. "I'm guessing you two didn't find a way to sort out your differences."
"Look, I wasn't as mad at him when I pulled him aside while you were asleep," Johanna told her companions. "I just wanted to give him some survival tips so he doesn't make that tracker jacker chase mistake again. But once he told me that apparently, he even has a tendency to block drivers' eyes when they're trying to land a plane that somehow HE caused to go haywire…I mean, how do you do that without knowing it's the rookiest of all rookie mistakes?! It's so obvious that it's a bad move!"
Unable to stop herself, Clove let slip a guffaw. Haymitch instantly gave her a suspicious frown, and successfully hiding any signs of fear within her, she quickly said, "Hey, how did you expect me to react? I'm the…one of the best fighters in District 2's fighting academy!"
"So you're giving up mentoring him simply because of some shocking news?" Cecelia asked, not pleased with the woman's anger despite acknowledging her point.
"I'm not giving up," said Johanna. "I'm just asking you if you're sure keeping him with us for the rest of the mission is a good idea. I mean, the mistake from yesterday was one thing, but the one he made on that plane?"
Nessa stared at the recalcitrant mentor in surprise. "Johanna, why would you say that? Of course letting him help us some more is a good idea! You might know more about what we should do when scary things happen than he does, but that doesn't mean—"
"You don't understand," insisted Johanna. "I also think it's wrong that the president of Panem wants kids as young as your friends from home to live in jail, so I'm hoping our next step is rescuing them and everyone else who's trapped in the Capitol. Which is so dangerous that if we even make one mistake, we'll all be doomed. And your friend over there? Now I know. He's going to mess up somehow, even with us mentoring him."
"You don't know that," Nessa objected, trying to be polite as she said this.
"Actually, I do know that. Every time something bad happens to our team—"
"Not every time," Seeder gently cut in.
"Oh really? Whose fault was it that that plane from before the switch went out of control? Whose fault was it that the fairy who made the body switch happen got squashed? Whose fault was it that Blight and Chaff got taken out by those tracker jackers? And I'm serious, those incidents had better be because of a bad luck streak, because if they weren't—"
"They weren't, okay?" Nessa stated, now on the brink of getting just as tough as she was now. "Listen. We all know Golias made some mistakes, but you can't start being mean to him because of it! If you want things to get better, you can't just tell him how to do things right. You also need to be nice to him and let him fix things with you."
"She's right," added Cecelia. "I'll admit you have a point, Johanna, but if you spend too much time criticizing a member of our team's mishaps, then you will be the one dragging us down. I know you don't want to hear this, but…dwelling on negativity to this extent never mends the pain."
Johanna groaned a bit, reluctantly trying to calm herself down. "Fine," she said. "But when the time comes, we've got to mentor him like we've never mentored before."
A yawn was heard from inside the hovercraft, and the gang turned to find Geolo stepping outside, rubbing one of his eyes. "What's going on out here? We could hear one of you shouting from in there."
"Unless you feel like helping us confirm the next parts of our plan, you're a bit late to intervene," mumbled Johanna.
Hearing what she said, Geolo glanced around, and albeit in a slightly awkward way, smiled. "Good to see you back in shape, Fox. For um…for the most part, I mean."
Unfazed (or at least appearing to be), Foxface curtly replied, "Each team, remind each other of your respective planned next steps, if you are not already aware of them. I assume it is best if Nessa and I locate Golias…by ourselves, I should add."
Geolo studied Johanna's still-tense body and furrowed his brow. "Okay, actually…never mind. I think my question's been unintentionally answered."
Then, while the other people outside discussed the nearing future, Nessa politely stepped away from the scene and headed off in search of her elephant friend. She brought Foxface with her too, and while doing so she asked, "Why do you want both of us to find Golias?"
"Well…" Foxface confessed, "the truth is…I know he lacks experience with the era of Panem, so I mean no offence saying this, but…I agree with Johanna regarding what he did being a rookie mistake. I will let the tracker jacker mistake slide despite the severity of it, but…to manage a vehicle landing, the driver must be able to see where they are going! How could there be anyone in the entire world that does not know that?"
"I'm sure Golias just got scared and thought Yuri was scared too," Nessa kindly and gently replied. "He always gets more upset when Yuri's upset."
Foxface shook her head. "I can imagine them both feeling scared, but…even those who are driven to madness know better than to make a mistake as large as his. And it is not even a mistake that happened because they were in Panem. I am not trying to be mean…it is just concerning."
Nessa stared at the ground. "All Johanna had to do was explain it the way you just did. Why did she have to get so mad at him?"
"So you can admit that Johanna getting that angry is a mistake, but you cannot say the same about Lili getting that angry?"
"Well Lili might get mad at us sometimes, but that doesn't mean she…" Then Nessa noticed Foxface was giving her a knowing frown, and sighed. "I-I mean…well…"
"Nessa," said Foxface, "she may be your best friend, but you have to face it. She basically treated you and your friends in the same way that Johanna just treated Golias. If you think that is mean, then you must also think Lili's actions were mean."
Once she heard that comment, Nessa stopped walking, now too caught up in her thoughts to focus on her movements. The truth was, Foxface was right. Lili was sometimes kind of mean—but she just couldn't bring herself to admit it out loud. Lili was her best friend, and she knew she wasn't always mean to her and the boys! Johanna had so far not shown any signs that she was nice (at least not to her knowledge), but Lili…she had. Which had to mean she wasn't really a bad person. It just had to; right? Then again, Johanna had gotten really mad in the first place because she was worried about Golias's "rookie mistakes," while Nessa couldn't remember a time where Lili had gotten really mad simply because she was worried about her friends…no. Lili was a good person. She WAS. Although…no. No.
Sighing, Nessa let her gaze wander around the scenery surrounding them, until she spotted a familiar face near the arena. Golias…and she gasped in fright the moment she realized he was there. He was sitting on the ground all by himself, his trunk, ears, and legs effortlessly sprawled out either in front of or around him, in a droopy, melancholic kind of way. And his expression…well, it would seem like a sleepy frown to anyone who saw it for the first time, but Nessa knew it wasn't that kind of frown at all. She'd seen Golias like this before, when they along with Bongo and the kids had magically gone into Yuri's show-and-tell drawing. At one point they'd come across some red mushrooms and had fun jumping on them like trampolines, and Golias had been the only one who couldn't join them because he was too heavy. Then he'd suddenly fallen into the same state he was in now…that is, until Yuri had revealed that the mushrooms weren't for jumping on, but for taking part in parades with. Which Golias had been able to do; in fact, being in parades was his favourite thing to do.
"Oh no," gulped Nessa. She rushed to Golias's side as fast as she could, then set Foxface down and asked, "Golias, are you okay?"
Instantly Golias looked up, lifted his ears (like humans moved their arms when feeling very passionate about what they were talking about), and wailed, "Johanna thinks I'm the weakest link on our team! And all I wanna do is help but I keep doing the wrong stuff and now Blight and Chaff are gone!" There was a catch in his voice, as though he was about to cry. "And then I told her about the time Yuri and I flew in an airplane, and she just looked at me funny and left. She didn't even say anything! She just shook her head and left!"
Nessa gasped. "She said you were…the weakest link?" Despite not knowing for sure what the second part of that title meant, she felt really bad for him. She knew what the word weak meant, and while this was the first time she'd ever heard anyone being called that, she still knew it wasn't a good thing to be called. The word didn't even suit him; he had proven on many occasions that he was very strong, the exact opposite of weak! How could Johanna say such a thing?
Foxface, meanwhile, could only watch the scene as it played before her, hoping this feud triggered by a rookie mistake would end in a good way as the one between herself and Sonia had. She hadn't gotten a chance to say so because the topic had been steered towards Lili, but the true reason why she'd requested that both she and Nessa went to find Golias was because…well, he needed to be mentored. And since she at this point doubted Johanna would be able to mentor him without losing it and making matters worse, and had a feeling the other present mentors were probably the only ones who could keep her from losing it from the sidelines…well, for Nessa's sake, she figured she might as well give him some survival tips herself. All the while with him receiving the comfort he now needed, which only Nessa could do because Yuri was still asleep.
"YES!" Golias bellowed, answering Nessa's question. "I just wanna help everyone but I don't think all of Effie's friends know that! I just keep doing things wrong…" A tear escaped from one of his eyes, and he used his ear to wipe it away.
Nessa bent down and gently placed her hand on his cheek. "Golias," she told him, "I wasn't there when you made some of the mistakes Johanna said you made, but I know you're not weak. And you could never be weak. You're the strongest friend I know…and not just because you're an elephant."
"R…really?" Golias whimpered.
"Of course. And Effie's friends don't even have to know that. Yuri knows you wanna help, and so do I."
Golias sniffled. "And Effie knows too. I know she does. But…what if I make another mistake when we get back with Bongo and Objectiva? Or when we're trying to save Matt and Lili and everyone else the Peacekeepers took?! What if Johanna wants me to leave after all, even if she knows I have to stay because Effie needs me to help her use your body right, Nessa?"
"You're not gonna make another mistake, Golias."
"I know I'm gonna try not to, but what if I make one anyway?"
"Just say you're sorry."
"I tried that! And Johanna's still mad!"
As her friend, unable to hold the rest of his tears back any longer, let them out, Nessa wordlessly and comfortingly hugged him, with him immediately returning the gesture. Now she felt even more bad for him—he'd had his moments with Lili, but that was usually just because she was mainly at odds with Yuri at the time. He'd even had the occasional dispute with his own best friend, but those tensions never lasted long because whenever it came to him in particular, Yuri would let go of his frustration right after making his point. Being the main and only cause of someone else's frustration (someone other than Yuri) and especially not being forgiven after trying to apologize to that someone (which he never had to worry about with Yuri) wasn't something Golias was used to, and the fact that the poor elephant could also be pretty sensitive didn't help much either. And as Nessa sat there, doing all she could to comfort him, she stole a glance at Foxface; and the exact same thought occurred to them. The realization that Johanna Mason and Golias having to work together, for at least a day or two, even with Yuri, Effie, and the other mentors (and later Bongo and Objectiva, provided everything went as planned) there to ease the tension, was probably going to be a big big problem.
But it's not like we can put one of them on our team so they won't have to work together, Nessa thought. Golias can't go with us because he's too big to go inside our hovercraft, and Johanna can't go because Effie needs as many strong people with her team as they can find. And I heard Seeder saying Johanna was one of the stronger mentors last night! So that means…well, she and Golias will have to work together.
Nessa and Foxface exchanged glances again, and once more, they seemed to read each other's minds. They both knew that if Effie's team was going to succeed in their part of the mission, they HAD to do something to lessen the feud between Golias and Johanna. And that something was mentoring the former themselves, so the latter could trust him enough to stop getting so angry at him that it jeopardized their quest. But could they succeed in doing it, knowing that Golias was a lot more sensitive and emotional than Sonia, and that Johanna was a lot harder to tame than Foxface had been?
WOW. Will the drama amongst both rebel teams ever truly come to an end? We'll have to wait and see in the next chapter…