-Aika Muramatsu, Head Gamemaker-

She looked out over her Complex. In all honesty, she never imagined that she would be in this position. She certainly didn't feel qualified: where her predecessor had this as his major field of study, she did not. She only wanted to get into politics, and now she was here. This felt completely above her paygrade, and she could only bank on the hope that the people around the Complex knew what they were doing. All she could do was supervise. She didn't even have a single Arena idea.

What the hell did I get myself into? She shook her head at herself as she stared blankly over Mx. Bishop's shoulder and watched what they were doing. She could tell if it was any good. She thought she was only put on her entertainment position to keep an eye on Lux Hastings, not to actually learn anything about the art of Gamemaking. She could only read textbooks in her free time and trust her associates.

And after everything that happened, trusting anyone was borderline impossible. She was in charge of protecting a nation from war, after all. She put her trust into President Blossius, but now he was long dead. Now, she was taking orders from the head of the military, and as much as she wished she wasn't, she was smarter than to be reckless. This nation she loved needed stability. After witnessing their newest Victor spewing out treason and causing a highly public figure from the most popular band in the nation be executed, after riots erupted in multiple Districts that caused such deep and widespread death… They needed a little normalcy.

She believed that the military was going to diffuse the threat of rebellion, and that was all she could hope for right now. She took a deep breath to steel her nerves. The last thing these people needed was a nervous, wishy washy leader. She had to continue to be strong for each one of them if she wanted to do her part to protect this nation she loved.

"Yoo hoo!" called a familiar voice, that caused Aika to both relax and tense up.

She initially got close to Viola Wallace, the Announcer, trying to get intel on her sibling, Piccolo, who had split off from the family. But it didn't appear they were wrapped up in anything except for some serious mommy and daddy issues. Now, somehow Aika was wrapped up in a relationship with her. It wasn't that she didn't have any sort of feelings for Viola, it was simply how much pressure she was under, she couldn't give her all into sustaining a relationship. It made her so nervous...

"Hey," she said, trying to radiate confidence, but she was not particularly good at making her team feel secure.

"How's it going, Head Gamemistress?" Viola asked, flipping her hair over her shoulder. It was now in a purple gradient, countered by her typical gold suit and the gaudy jewelry that she liked to wear, often presents from her parents.

Aika hated being called that. She wanted Lux back. He knew what he was doing, even if it seemed like he didn't.

"It's… Going," she said honestly, sighing and shaking her head. She sincerely hoped nobody would ask her any questions today, because she just didn't know how to answer any of them. How would she know if she was even making the right decision. "I think the climate control is almost ready?" she honestly didn't know. Nothing was more humbling than this. She wanted to grab her temples and just scream a little bit from all the stress that was building up in her.

"That's good," Viola said, remembering to straighten her back as her mother had instructed her to work on. "Hey, you're still good to take me on Saturday?"

Aika stared over at her. "What's on Saturday?" she asked.

Viola's eyebrows creased. "You know? My last procedure?"

Her bottom surgery. Shit. Aika gaped for a moment, having completely forgotten about that. "Oh my God, Viola, I'm so sorry…" she said, holding her head in her hands for a moment as all of the appointments and goals were set out in front of her. She was starting to understand why Lux didn't have a life outside of Gamemaking. It was so hard to maintain.

"I… Yes, I can," she sighed. Always a pushover. "What time?"

"Pick me up at five."

Five in the morning?! God. She was going to lose her goddamn mind.

"Alright, I'll be there." She gave Viola a smile as the Announcer kissed her temple and left with a short goodbye.

For a moment, Aika closed her eyes, holding her temples with her fingers. God.

"Miss Muramatsu?" came the voice of her intern. Aika looked up for a moment and was relieved to see the platter of various breakfast pastries and coffee he was delivering to her.

"Thank you Lester," she said. He was so ready to do anything for her and the other Gamemakers, and without him the whole Complex would definitely fall apart. He was just starting to attend Uni for Gamemaking in hopes of being where she was someday. How many others hoped to be where she was?

She had received a call from the young man as Lux had apparently given him her number, probably already planning to step down from the position when he did. Anyone that knew anything about Gamemaking was helpful to Aika, and Lux was so masterful at it that she would take anyone he recommended to her. He was proving to be essential, even if his only jobs were shadowing and providing food and coffee.

"I've received word that Commander Junius would like a word," he informed her. Aika nodded slightly, still nervous to talk to him even though she knew that he trusted her enough to put her in this position of power.

"Thank you," she said again, biting into a croissant. She was starting to understand the stress-eating of desserts now as well. She sipped some coffee as she walked through the stretching halls of the Complex to where Cornelius's office was. He was only there when he wished to conference with someone on the team, usually spending his time in the President's Mansion as there were plenty of rooms for strategizing and monitoring activity in the Districts there.

She knocked on the door there, swallowing a nervous lump in her throat as it was pulled open for her. Junius gave her a gruff nod of greeting, instructing her to sit. He was not a man of pleasantries, which was intimidating to Aika as she sunk into a seat.

"As you know, the goal of the nation is stability," he said, cutting right to the chase. "I hope you have the Complex under control."

"Yes sir," Aika said. It at least seemed to be under control, even if it was stagnant because of her lack of leadership.

"I want to make you aware of a new development in the bid towards that stability." He pulled up a holo as Aika nodded obediently. A face popped up on the Holo that looked vaguely familiar to Aika, but she couldn't quite place it. The blonde boy was grinning ear to ear, his skin sun-kissed, with prominent canines and a small black top hat on his head.

"Alfred Smith," Cornelius continued. "An orphan from District Ten that has now been relocated to the Capitol. My son." Aika blinked at the picture of the boy, but now the resemblance and familiarity made sense. He looked like Cornelius. "I recruited him from the District due to his notoriously charming attitude and his skill at playing the guitar. He is motivated solely by fame, wealth, and status. He has no real connection to District Ten, so he will be a valuable pawn. Especially because he is not so bright." He laughed a little bit as Aika looked at the boy for a moment. He looked intimidating from a distance.

Cornelius switched to a girl with flaming red pigtails and shining green eyes. Her skin was pale and she had red circles on her cheeks. "Elizabeth Afton," he said. "A Capitolite orphan. She was dropped there in a box as a baby, records show that her mother was poor and single. There are no recent records of any family." Aika frowned, but at least the girl seemed happy. "As a child, she was bubbly and theatrical, performing shows for couples that came into the orphanage." Aika nodded, trying to read her face as Cornelius continued. "She has tried to get into the music business before," he explained. "But broke contract with the record company with an allegation of sexual assault." Aika's frown deepened. "She now works as a bartender and performer at a bar on Main Street. She is motivated by fame and wealth, and freedom from her orphanage." Aika nodded slightly as he swiped and the next face appeared.

His skin was a powder blue color, his hair dark navy to match, with square frame glasses and twirling a drumstick around his finger, though he looked bored. "Bonnie Bunsen," Cornelius said. "You may recognize this one."

Aika squinted, and then nodded. "He works as a secretary, right?"

"That's right. Desperate to get into politics and starting from the bottom. He is also a well-rounded man: straight A student, offensive player for his high school's soccer team, consistently participates in band festivals on snare drum, and president of his school's debate team."

Aika smiled a little bit, seeing some of herself in this young man. "He seems like quite a busy bee."

Cornelius eyed her for a second, not acknowledging the comment as he continued. "He has an older brother on record, that was adopted and still keeps in contact with him. Their parents died, Andrew was adopted, and Bonnie eventually tried to live with and care for his grandmother, who is since deceased. He has a younger brother, Kin, who lives in the orphanage with him. Seems to not be very connected to him, though." Aika nodded a little bit, the frown back on her face. Hopefully he would take care of that little boy… "He is motivated by political gain and status, and a patriot through and through, which makes him extremely valuable."

"Do you worry that his motivations might be selfish rather than patriotic?" Aika asked, hating the thought of crooked people that would put themselves above the good of all.

"Selfish, patriotic, doesn't matter. He knows that if he doesn't say what I tell him to, his fate will end up like that little rat Numitor and his buddy Philander."

Aika nodded silently as the fourth face appeared in front of her. Despite her pose being the shiest of the bunch, her face was definitely the boldest, with red dots on the far side of her cheeks and indigo streaks right below her black eyes, which were framed by dark eyeliner. Her lips were red like the circles on her face and she donned a huge black ponytail.

"Mariana Bellevue," he said, as Aika studied the young woman in front of her.

"She performed with the Capitol Symphony didn't she?" Aika asked.

"Correct," Cornelius said. "She aspires to play violin with the Symphony someday. But now, she's picked up the bass for this group."

Aika smiled a little bit, imagining the biggest instrument on her small frame. Could her little arms even reach the bass?

"I had someone else in mind, but Alfred wasn't going to negotiate with me." He shook his head. "If that's the hill the boy is going to die on, that's fine." He shook his head at that. "She has living family in the area: her father's sister and brother and their families, but she still lives in the orphanage. She appears to spend holidays with them, but doesn't choose to spend her time with them as she is always practicing the violin. Her father was quite wealthy, and left her a trust for violin lessons and school at a Conservatory when he passed away. No record of her mother ever being in the picture. She is a quiet person, it is hard to tell her motivation as she was already on the fast track to the Capitol Conservatory. Perhaps a form of teenage rebellion? Perhaps wanting a family of her own?"

He pursed his lips for a moment as they both looked at the young woman. His guess was as good as hers.

"That's dangerous," Aika commented quietly.

"As long as Alfred is convinced he can keep her under control."

"I'm guessing this is a band?"

"Yes," Cornelius said, showing her a snippet of the group performing that was circulating on social media. "One Man Circus is the name they've chosen."

Aika smiled. "Fitting," she commented, as she watched them perform for a moment. "It will be good to have a more positive voice in the media."

Cornelius nodded. "Yes, they are the little chips up our sleeve if Jansing and his little ragtag group decide to step out of line." Cornelius's face soured at the mention of Wolf Jansing and he shook his head. "That young man thinks he's being a hero with whatever he's doing. I hope Markov's death has put him in his place." He smiled a little bit at the footage of Pluto speaking out at a press conference against Numitor. "They thought they were untouchable." He smirked and Aika didn't know how to feel as she watched him silently as he got back into the topic at hand. "I will make sure that Alfred and his group keep a close eye on Jansing and Valentine's love-children, and perhaps even figure out their ties to the underground rebel movement that is going to usurp our entire country so we can snuff it out before it even starts. And at the Capitol pride festival, I'll ensure that they buddy up."

"That will cause less death, right?" Aika asked, frowning a little bit.

"It is necessary to keep us from war," he said, giving her a glare at her questioning him.

Aika nodded a little bit.

War… Terrible war…

She wouldn't stop until there was no chance that it would ever ravage this great nation again.

~.~.

A/N: Welcome back to Celtic Airlines! If you're new, welcome! If you're returning, welcome back! So happy to see all of your beautiful faces (and avatars).

So, welcome to the last installment of the trilogy and my last ever full SYOT! Hoping to go out in a blaze of glory, so you don't want to miss this!

If you haven't read Danzon and Whims of Fate, I like them haha but you don't HAVE to read them to submit. Just know that 1) there was a military coup, 2) the 126th Victor couldn't keep his mouth shut about the Games being terrible so he's now in hiding and they executed another highly public figure in his stead, and 3) Wolf is a genius. If you know those things, you'll be fine.

You get sponsor points for fave/following, and reviewing this story, 5 points each. You also get points from other related stories, for a full list of those send me a message. You also get 5 additional points for answer the Chapter Questions at the end of each chapter.

AND, there's another chance for points, as I'm about to post the character designs for One Man Circus on my art blog (prophetic – duck – drawings . tumblr . com) and if anyone can PM me the inspiration for this group, I'll give you ten additional points. We'll see how obvious I made the Easter eggs.

This is competitive, both escorts and tributes, so give me the best you can and don't be shy! Info is on my profile.

Deadline for escort subs is going to be in three weeks on Friday, August 7th. For tributes it will be the next week, Friday August 14th. This is because the list will be released on the prologue that introduces the escorts so obviously gotta have them all in first.

Thank you for choosing Celtic Airlines! Please buckle your seatbelts and prepare for takeoff. In the event of an emergency, oxygen masks will drop from the ceiling. Please secure your own before helping others. Please keep the aisles clear and note the four emergency exits on the aircraft. Your flight attendants Pontifex, Dawson, Beowulf, Diesel, Nez, Bonaventure, and Phil will be around with complementary peanuts.

CQ: What happened to Lux?! (If you don't know who that is, then what stood out most to you in this prologue?)

Tl;dr: Welcome, I love you, important info from WoF is up above, sponsor system is in play for this story, deadline for escorts is August 7th and for tributes is August 14th.

Next prologue, we check in on Out of Spite at Capitol Pride!