Malloy had them all sitting together.

Kat went to Camellia first – but he could see it in her eyes, she was begging someone else to be strong for her. Ever too stubborn and prideful to say it out loud. After hearing of everything she's put herself into for all of their sakes, he knew it was something he had to step in and do for her. Camellia certainly would have done it herself if she was able, but Malloy could see that she was still reeling after learning the news. He was too of course, but for him it wasn't quite as… Personal.

So he had them all together. Thankfully it wasn't too hard to get them together – and that was only because he could take Shani and Kodi together – and didn't mind if Lester and Bonnie tagged along of course. Those four had been spending so much time together since being here that when Shani came in it earned him a cheeky comment from the Moms – that was how you knew it was bad.

Malloy looked at them – Ania and Cheri, Shani and his three boys, Angelo and his cat Charlie that was smuggled along on the big adventure… "Alright," he said, looking at their faces. The realization of who was surrounding them, and the sudden fear that cloaked the room when they saw how Malloy was looking at them all, so he spoke quickly. "I want to start by saying that Ryder is alive."

"Oh," Ania said, holding her chest and releasing a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Mari?" Kodi asked right away, his eyes widening in fear all of a sudden.

"Yes," Malloy said quickly. "Alive, they're both alive," he added quickly, giving the family a reassuring smile, but… It didn't last too long.

"Thank God for that," Cheri said as she looked at her wife and frowned in concern.

"Well… I-I mean, are they okay?" Shani asked in a small voice, almost not wanting to ask because he didn't want the answer. "They're not okay…"

"They're…" Malloy said, not sure how to put it exactly. "They are alive and brain function, all good, they're anxious to see you all." He gave a small smile. "No memory loss."

"That's… Good," Kodi said slowly, holding Shani a little tighter as Malloy didn't seem confident that they were okay.

"Their ears still work and everything," Malloy started.

"Okay now I just feel personally attacked," said Shani and his cheeks flushed.

"No I mean," Malloy said, clearing his throat. "They can still talk and everything – oh God."

Lester clapped their hands loudly, insisting on being heard.

"Lester is good baby," Cheri said, smiling at them making sounds.

"That's… Goddammit that's not what I meant!" he said.

"What, is it their leg?" Angelo asked with a chuckle, gesturing to his cane as the cat on his shoulder gave a meow when Malloy was looking at her.

"I-" said Malloy, opening and closing his mouth a few times before he just let out a sigh. "You got it," he said lamely.

"What?!" Ania asked, looking at Malloy with eyes slightly wide. "What happened to my baby?"

"I'm so sorry to bear the bad news," Malloy said, and he realized why Kat was begging for a break from doing this, because it crushed him. Well, not physically crushing, in hindsight that thought was a little insensitive. "They were on the front lines when the Capitol attacked the university. They got caught in some of the rubble and a spinal injury caused them to become paralyzed."

Kodi and Shani had mouths open in pure shock as the news took a moment to sink in.

"Thanks to the surgical work of the rebel hospital in Five, they are no longer in critical condition. But… I just wanted to tell you now so you didn't feel blindsided, they're still coming home as scheduled."

"I…" Shani said, scrunching up his face.

"Oh, he's making his crying face," Cheri said, but she was looking between him and Ania and her features softened more when she took Ania's hand.

Shani looked around for a moment as his eyes filled up with tears. It was a decision he made in just a second – slightly selfish, yes. But he knew what he needed. He let go of Kodi and turned to fall into Bonnie's arms, who almost immediately wrapped his arms around him.

"I've gotcha," Bonnie said softly, a moment they barely needed to communicate as he just knew. "They're alive, they're coming home," he said softly.

"What else is this war going to take from us?" Kodi asked finally, standing there by himself for only a moment before Lester came over behind him and wrapped their arms around his waist, hugging him close.

"I know," Malloy said, feeling a little guilty that he and his partners escaped all of this unscathed. "I… don't know who the hell had those two on the front lines at all." He rubbed his temples a little bit. "It was brave of them both to go out and try to rescue people."

"They did rescue people." Malloy turned around and he could have cried when he saw her there. Jo went in and rubbed his shoulder softly. "Couldn't let you be in here by yourself."

"Thank you," Malloy said. "Flower?"

"Trap," Jo said, and Malloy just nodded. Of course you couldn't separate the tweedles. She looked at the family. "Ryder and Mari were far braver than a lot of us here in this bunker. Despite their status and fame they went out on the front lines and they did save lives out there. We are all more than excited to give them a hero's welcome home." She frowned at Shani trying to quiet himself in Bonnie's embrace and how… Lost Kodi looked. "We wanted to tell you with enough time for you to process this so that it won't affect your reunion with them."

"Thank you for telling us," Ania said right away, smiling at the two of them and… Smiling as well at Bonnie with Shani, being strong for him. He had been through so much and deserved that.

"Don't be sad pretty sapphic lady," Cheri said, shaking her head because she totally forgot her name despite knowing her – or at least having been introduced. "You did a good thing by telling us even if it was hard."

"Never easy to crush a family like that – oh shit sorry," Malloy said and then blushed more at calling it out. "I didn't mean- I-"

"Sh," Jo said, just covering his mouth before he managed to somehow make that worse.

But that at least made Angelo and Shani start to laugh a little bit, which made Ania at least crack a small smile.

"You're all terrible," she said to them quietly. But that was the family she chose to marry into – and they made her their family right away even when she didn't have that much to call her own.

"I guess we have to laugh so we don't cry, right?" Angelo said, looking at all of them and putting out a hand to gently rub Ania's shoulder. "At least they're coming home and we'll all be together. Well…"

"Except for Uncle Joe," Shani said, sighing again and even though his tears had slowed, he still had a cheek on Bonnie's chest, holding onto him tightly and not wanting him to let go.

"Yeah, but he's got his place under control," Angelo said, not wanting to worry them anymore.

"They're just on their way from Ten now," Malloy said. "Ridley and Amiah will be with them." He bit his lip for a moment as he looked at them and debated saying something or not. He went over to Kodi whose eyes got a little wide with Malloy coming to him. He didn't have anyone – well he did but they were all right here… Malloy looked behind his shoulder at Jo for a moment, glad she was here as his voice caught the slightest bit. "Luke didn't make it," he said to him quietly.

Kodi's face softened as his eyes grew wide. "What?"

"He was fatally shot when Capitol forces invaded the rebel safehouse they were in," Malloy said quietly. "I know your relationship with him was a little tumultuous but… I just wanted you to know."

"Thanks for telling me," Kodi said, just blinking a few times in shock. All this time he had been preparing to see him again, trying to figure out what to say. He knew that the boy didn't do it on purpose but seeing him was always so triggering to Kodi after what they'd gone through.

But he didn't deserve to die over it.

"We don't know what happened, or why," Jo said, frowning a little at the uncertainty. "But his death allowed everyone else to live. Whether by fate or by intentionality."

"Flower said he wanted to do something good," Malloy said, taking a slow breath through his nose. "And he did do something good. So his last wish was granted."

Kodi nodded slowly. "Well… I'm glad for that for him." Kodi saw him once as a crush, once as an adversary, once as the culmination of everything terrible that ever happened to him… But that wasn't what he was. He was just a man that had been mistreated by that evil person just like Kodi had, but differently. That was manipulated and played in a different manner. He didn't deserve that. But at least it was on his own terms, a final wish that was granted. "Peace."

"He's at peace," Malloy said, smiling a little bit as Lester turned Kodi around to put their arms around him and Kodi melted into them after only a moment of hesitation.

"I'm so sorry Kodi," Shani said, keeping one arm hooked around Bonnie to reach over and gently touch his arm. "I didn't know him, but I can feel your loss."

Loss of a second chance.

Loss of someone that he could have easily someday considered a brother.

Lester smiled sadly at that and shuffled Kodi closer to the other two, comforted when Bonnie wrapped an arm around their shoulders and reassured, able to be strong for the two of them.

"Aw," said Cheri with a smile. "They all love each other," she stage-whispered to Ania and Angelo, thinking she was being quiet.

"Sh!" said Ania, but she couldn't help a small laugh as Jo and Malloy exchanged a look with each other that said don't even get us started.

"Woah there," said Kodi, but Bonnie and Lester's strong embrace kept him rooted in place.

"Thank you, Malloy and… Jo?" Ania smiled when the girl in question nodded and went over to give both of them a mom hug. "I think we just need a few moments alone as a family to work through it. Let us know the moment Ryder and Mari get close."

"We will, Miss Ania," Jo said, smiling gratefully as she held out her hand to Malloy who took it and quickly walked him out of the room.

"Thanks," Malloy said quietly as the compartment door slid closed behind him. "Fuck. I don't know how she does it," he said, shaking his head.

"Because it's Kat, she can do anything," Jo said with a tiny smile, but she gave him a hug. "Besides the insensitive comment, you did a good job," she teased him a little bit.

"Ugh, I wasn't even thinking," Malloy said, shaking his head. "Don't remind me, that's going to haunt my memories forever."

"Trust me, mine too," Jo said, before letting out a little sigh and elbowing him a little bit. At least the family seemed to have a sense of humor about that.

"I'll never garden in peace again without getting haunted by that." Malloy shook his head. His poor flowers were going to be infused with bad energy. Hopefully that wouldn't stop them from growing!

"Yeah yeah, you and your garden," Jo said with a chuckle. "Guess one Flower isn't enough."

"Don't get that started," he said with a small laugh, taking a deep breath to dissipate the heavy feelings deep within.

And it wasn't long at all of them walking the halls together - wordlessly slowing their pace, taking the long way, knowing that Camellia was taken care of with Trap, to decompress together – before Stellan and Kat were around spreading the news that they were due in two and a small group of them were on the way to the landing pad.

"Wait a minute!" Camellia said when she noticed Shani under Bonnie's arm, close to his side, and Kodi with Lester, holding their hand as they swung it a little bit.

"Don't ask," said Malloy and Camellia just gave him a look he recognized as her I'm asking you later look.

"She's gonna ask later," Trap said with a laugh as he ruffled Camellia and Malloy's hair. "You guys ready?"

"No," Camellia said softly, smiling the tiniest bit gratefully when her partners both moved closer to her. She wasn't ready to see what that did to them. But she didn't have much of a choice.

The hovercrafts sounded so quiet when they were in the sky, but when coming through the hatch into the District they always sounded so… Powerful, and loud. And the wind practically blew them back. And they didn't know what would be coming when the ramp came down.

"Alright, let me go greet them," Stellan said, putting on a brave face and taking a deep breath as he bravely started up as the ramp touched the ground. He looked at the shell-shocked survivors of two devastating attacks and had to try to smile at them all. "Hi folks," he said, looking around at the faces, many of which… He didn't recognize.

"Stellan," Mari said, running straight to him and grabbing him tightly. He hugged her while he looked at the others.

"We have quite the greeting group out there," he told them.

"Can we please go first, Mr. Wolf?" asked Ridley, getting up slowly and holding a hand to Amiah.

"I think that would be good," Stellan said, still kind of holding onto Mari as he was going to unstrap Ryder's wheelchair. He looked over at the young person that was wordlessly getting the other side. "Oh."

"Rafael Moralis, Sir," Rafa said, holding out his hand to him. "Thank you for the shelter."

"Oh," Stellan said, smiling at how polite he was. "We're going to do what we can for you. He looked around and noticed a collection of unfamiliar faces. "And…"

"My comrade, Valerica Van Buren," Rafa said, gesturing to her.

"Val."

"Hi Val," said Stellan with a smile.

"Annie Grayland," the woman said, blinking in shock. "Thank you, I-"

"Freddy's mami!" said Mari, clapping her hands.

"No-"

"Yes!" she interrupted, breaking from Stellan to grab her hand. "I'll take you over there, come on!" she said, quickly breaking away from the group.

"Well okay then," he said, and his eyes rested on…

"Haneul Chay."

"Oh shit."

"That's what I said – but in my brain because we were running for our lives," said Rafa with a shrug.

"Yep… He… He sure is out there," Stellan said, realizing he had a headache on his hands but trying to put it aside as he could hear Freddy and Lizzie screaming outside. "Let's get Ryder first."

"I got 'em," said Raf, holding onto the handles and carefully maneuvering Ryder through the door. "Let's go Val, I'm not facing him alone."

"Oh goody," said Val with a sigh, but she was behind him, the two men following last.

"AWOOOOOOO!" Kodi yelled when he saw Ridley, grinning and forgetting all the pain for just a moment, hurrying over to give him a huge hug and Amiah giggled as she stole a hug from him as well and a kiss on the cheek. Mary and Ember were close behind and happy to see them. Amiah hugged them both and got distracted doing happy twirls.

"So good to see you man," said Ridley. "By the way I have a boyfriend back home."

"What?!" asked Kodi, blinking in shock as Ridley laughed a little bit but got distracted.

"Ambrose!" he said, abandoning the others to go to them and even though he never hugged them before, it felt so nice to hug them. Someone he knew. "Hi."

"Hey there, kid," said Ambrose, patting his back. "Glad you're back."

"Thanks, I am glad to be back."

Thankfully when Ridley ran off, Amiah too had someone she eyed in the crowd. She did a small flying leap on the way to Kaoru, just so happy to see him looking… Well, living, and well, and happy. She jumped a little bit and Kaoru was not ready to catch her, making a loud groan instead and falling to the ground. She just laughed and when she smiled at him, he couldn't not smile back.

"Hey there," he said as she got off of him and grinned and waved. He pushed himself up, groaning and cracking his back before holding a hand down to help her up. Amiah giggled silently and when he held a hand, she picked it up, jumping to her feet and doing a happy twirl.

But of course they both jumped a little bit when they heard screaming. But Freddy and Lizzie couldn't help it when they saw Mari coming out, dragging another woman on her way.

"Alright sweetie," Bonnie said, gently squeezing Shani one more time. "You got 'em." He smiled sadly as he picked up Lester's arm and put it around Shani's shoulders, knowing that now was his time to make an exit.

Shani looked behind him, but it was too late and he looked at Lester for a moment, leaning into their arm a little more. He was strong for them, now they could be strong for him.

"MARI!" Freddy said even when he was already hugging her. "MARI!"

"I missed you," she said, already tearing up a little bit and just holding him tightly.

"Yay, woman that is with Mari!" said Lizzie, so full of happiness right now that she could hug anyone, so she threw her arms around the stranger.

"Oh, you don't have to-" she said, but there was no use.

"Alright, let me hug her!" Lizzie said loudly when she got tired of waiting, pushing Freddy a little bit and almost pushing the two of them over. Freddy finally let go and Lizzie gave Mari a bone-crushing hug, and Mari let out a small sob, just so fucking happy to be back in her arms.

"I'm so glad you're okay," she cried quietly. "I was worried sick."

"Oh, no biggie, just met the Ace of Spades," Lizzie said with a small grin even though she didn't even know who they were until Jun told her.

"Oh, wow!" Mari said, wanting to hear all about it because she'd only heard bits about the mysterious time travelling rebels, but she quickly perked up.

"Miss Annie!" she said, looking over at the woman who was standing there awkwardly. "One of my best friends, that makes me un poco loco… Freddy Smith."

"Hi," said Annie, just staring at him for a long moment. He was actually alive.

"A fan?!" Freddy asked, grinning. "I knew we'd be a hit with the middle aged female demographic!"

"No, idiota!" Mari sad. "It's your Mom!"

"What?" asked Freddy quietly, looking at her for a moment and blinking in shock. "Really?!"

"I mean… I don't know if I would go that far," Annie said awkwardly. "I mean, probably gave birth to you and all, but… I'm no Mom." She sighed sadly for a moment. "I'm just glad I got to see him. Thank you sweetie."

Freddy blinked at her for a moment. "Well not with that attitude you're not!" he said finally. "Oh there's so much I want to know!"

"And I'll tell you whatever I can and whatever you want," Annie promised him.

"Distract him while we hug Peanut!" Trap said, grinning. "There she is!"

"Teddy!" Mari said, running over to him quickly. He looked completely different now, but his hugs were still just as warm and soft. "Oh, I missed you Trap."

"Oh don't give me that nice girl act!" he said, putting his hands on his hips. "You went out and slept with a boy without telling me!"

"Technically, Ryder is not a boy," Mari said.

"Leave her alone," Jace said. "Come hither."

"Oh! Yes!" Mari said, hurrying over to hug him, and of course she couldn't do that without hugging Tessa and Coda as well, just… Full of happiness to be back with all her friends. She grinned when she saw Mary and Ember waiting for her, opening her arms to hug them both and then not prepared for a running start from Kodi who was bolting from Ridley and Amiah when he saw her. "WAIT!" she said, but he picked her up and she yelled – a little in surprise and a little in pain from her bad leg. "Gentle, please," she said.

"Oh shit, sorry Mari," Kodi said, gently letting her down and wincing when she winced at getting put back on her leg. "So happy to see you sweetie."

"You too," Mari said, still making a bit of a face.

"Not without us!" Malloy said, grinning and going over, much more gentle with her as he actually noticed her leg and gave her a big tight hug with a few sways. "Oh, we are glad to have you back."

"Good work out there, kid," Jo said, ruffling her hair a little bit but Camellia could only wait so long before she cut past her partners to give Mari a steadfast yet gentle hug as she let out a small sob.

"I missed you," she said quietly. Over their time watching the rescued tributes together, they had become close as sisters – or closer. This was the pseudo-Kat to her pseudo-Stellan after all (and she knew Mari would be his choice of a hall pass!). "I was so worried about you."

"I missed you too," Mari said, hugging her back with all her upper body strength. "I'm not going anywhere else until all this bullshit is over."

Camellia laughed a little through her tears. "Good." That was how it should be.

When she heard the sound of wheels bumping over the railing, Mari looked over, grinning when she saw Ryder coming and being pushed along by that gruff Peacekeeper called Rafael.

"Ryder!" Shani said, grabbing his cheeks when he saw them, under Kodi's arm, still trying to adjust to seeing them like this.

"Oh," Ania said, standing there in shock as Shani broke from Kodi to hurry over, just so focused on them that he didn't notice who they were with for the moment.

"I-I m-missed you," Shani stammered out, leaning over a little awkwardly to hug them but holding on tight.

"I missed you too," Ryder said, getting emotional right away. "I-I'm so sorry, whatever h-appened to you, it was probably because of me…"

"Things… Had a way of working out," Shani said, his cheeks flushing a little bit.

Ryder pushed him back a little bit and looked at his face. Then they looked behind him at where Kodi looked like he was doing a potty dance in anticipation to go see them. And their lips spread out into a slow grin. "Oh… Really?"

Shani's excitement and tears immediately turned straight into indignance. "Yes, yes, so maybe you were right," he said, puffing out his cheeks as his cheeks burned a little more.

"So what?" asked Ryder, wanting all the details right away. "I need to know!"

"Ryder I'm dating Shani!" Kodi yelled, desperately waiting his turn but still so excited they were back.

"Oh so I did know it!" Ryder said with a laugh before their gaze set on… "Wait, is that MOM!?" they asked, shocked to see her here but so happy. "Mush!" they said loudly to whoever was behind them.

"Got it," and Ryder was getting pushed toward Ania who knew right away that they were coming to her and went over to meet them. "Mom…"

"I'm here now," she said, her voice catching with tears just a little bit. "It's all going to be alright."

"I'm so s-sorry Mom," Ryder said, just having that crushing feeling like everything was their fault. Everything that happened to them, and their family.

"Don't be sorry," Ania said, pulling back to wipe their cheeks. It was still her baby. "I'm proud of you."

Ryder still didn't feel like she should be proud of them but just swallowed down more tears and nodded, just so happy to see people they recognized, finally. But they could see Kodi practically about to explode and just laughed. "Alright, release the Kraken," they said with an amused chuckle.

"RYDER!" Kodi was yelling as he ran over to them and finally got to hug his friend, crying a little bit and looking like a fucking mess. "I missed you," he stammered out. "I-I have a lot to tell you!" he said quickly.

"I missed you too Kodi," Ryder said, smiling at him and when he let them go, they looked up at him. "So how have you been holding up?" they asked, frowning a little bit thinking about him and not being around to help bandage him up…

"Look," Kodi said, proudly presenting his wrist to them and showing them the butterfly on it. "I did it."

"You sure did," Ryder said, before a memory was unlocked of Mari talking about drawing a butterfly and they gaped. "Wait what?!"

Kodi grinned and rolled up his shirt and pulled down his pants a little bit to show off no bandaged cuts and the ones that existed were mostly healed by now.

"Kodi!" Ryder said, gaping in shock and surprise and… Excitement!

"A lot of things have changed since you left," Kodi said, giving them one last hug. "I'll have to fill you in."

"Who…" Ryder asked, looking at Lizzie and Freddy for a moment, but fuck they knew who it was and it wasn't either of them. "Oh."

"We'll make it work," Kodi said, knowing that they knew and shaking his head just a little bit.

When Kodi was released, Shani was going to go back to Lester when suddenly he let out a yell of surprise and slapped his cheeks.

"RAFA?!" he asked, grabbing handfuls when he saw Val there. "ISSY?!"

"It's, uh, Val now," said Val, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly.

"So… Hi…" Rafa said, letting Ryder go to get other greetings and putting his hands behind his back. "It is me. Rafa."

"I mean, I see that." Shani shook his head for a moment. "I'm just…" He shook his head. "You're not the people I was expecting to see right now."

"It's a long story," Val said, digging her foot into the ground and letting out a sigh as she was sent back to… Him.

"I was part of all this shit from the start," Rafa said. "I… Made sure that my stupid Dad wasn't gonna give us a problem anymore. And then I made sure her Dad wasn't going to give her a problem anymore either. Who do you think scanned cards to access your wing anyway?"

Shani just blinked slowly and shook his head in disbelief. "Not you, I guess," he said, as Kodi came back over with a grin on his face.

"Oh hey guys!" said Kodi with a wave. "You met Shani?"

"We know Shani, Kodi," Val said, and she was right about those two and gave Rafa a look, while he was just conveniently not meeting her eyes.

"I…" Shani said with an awkward laugh, really wishing he wasn't in this situation right now. "Remember when I talked about all the head I gave in the back of the training center after hours?" he asked.

"What? Head in the training center after hours? I had no idea about that!" Rafa said quickly.

"So I see we haven't figured that out yet," Shani said, looking at Val who just looked at her feet.

"Wait, you said all those people you blew in the training center didn't let you finish and were no good," Kodi said.

Shani elbowed him right away at that comment and his cheeks heated up quickly. "Ugh, please excuse my boyfriend." He really couldn't read the room.

"Your what?!" Rafa asked, putting a hand on his chest in a gay fashion. Oh he really wasn't looking at Val now.

"Yep," Shani said, standing taller and puffing out his chest proudly because despite being emotionally unaware, his boyfriend was the best! He was tall, dark, and handsome. He was a fucking hero. "Never thought I'd get one of those, huh?"

"No!" said Rafa as Val just gave the two of them a small smile.

"I'm glad you're happy, Shani," she said, and she meant it. "I… I'm sorry for my part in your suffering and get if you don't want to see me anymore. Really."

"Oh, yeah, what she said," Rafa said, awkwardly clearing his throat before he deflated a little bit. "As you can see, I got issues still."

"Rafa? Issues?! No," Shani said, but he just managed a small smile. "I mean yes. Who of us doesn't have our issues though?" he asked with a small sigh. He knew that Val always tried to protect him from whatever happened to him in prison and Rafa was never part of any of that. "I can get over the sexual humiliation now that I actually got laid. So thank him."

"Lucky," Rafa grumbled a little bit and Shani just grinned bigger at that because it did feel like a personal victory.

"You deserve to have a happy and fulfilling relationship," Val said to him. "Right, Rafa?"

"Oh, yeah, definitely," Rafa said, giving him a thumbs up.

"I'm sure with time and some healing, you will too," Shani told them both with a smile. "A lot of healing has happened here, I know that for sure. It's a part of the queer experience sometimes, unfortunately." He looked at the two of them sadly. "And it looks like being away from those influences has already changed you a lot."

"Yeah," Rafa said, looking over at Val who was frowning and looking at the ground.

"My whole life changed Shani," she said softly. "In just a few days. I'm not even close to the same as I was." She signed quietly. "I was only supposed to guard the tributes for my Dad, and... Him," she said softly, barely able to force out his name. "Luke…"

Kodi frowned right away, holding Shani a little tighter. "I heard…"

"I'm sorry for your loss," Shani said to her, able to see it deep in her eyes how deeply it affected her.

"Thanks Shani," Val said softly. At least someone was. "It still hurts so much…"

"I know," Kodi said quietly, releasing Shani to open arms to her. "Come on in," he said with a nervous chuckle but when Val hugged him, he hugged back.

"Oh. We're all… Like, hugging now?" Rafa asked, looking at those two.

Shani resisted to roll his eyes at them being a little stupid but that was the Rafa and Issy he knew and he was, despite it all, happy that they had the chance to break away and start to heal and find themselves here. "Alright," he said. "But I expect reciprocation on the hug!" he said, and he wasn't disappointed when he hugged Rafa and the hug was returned. He was such a dummy and no good with words but that hug said it all.

When Kodi let go of Val, Shani went straight to his friend, already crying a little bit seeing the tears in her eyes, and hugging her with the smallest sob.

"If you don't want me to call you Issy anymore, I won't," Shani said. "I'm so proud of you."

Val hugged him back tightly and could feel in his voice how he meant it. Even though she only ever treated him unfairly when they were together… "You can call me that," she said. "But only you," she said quickly, wiping at her eyes. "Thank you Shani." He was far too good to her.

"You're welcome," he said, smiling at the two of them – and mostly just smug at how much Rafa was soaking up that Kodi hug because he wasn't able to get them all the time like Shani. "I think you're not going to like me after I say what I have to say though…" he started, biting his lip, not sure if he should tell them, but at the looks on their faces, trying to figure out what it could be and thinking the worst. "…Soooooooo," he started, before he just took a breath and said it. "Cyrus is here."

"Fucking WHAT?!" Rafa asked loudly.

"Oh," Val said, looking at Rafa and then at Shani. "Oh geez."

"Yep," Shani said.

"Oh hell no," said Rafa.

"I know how you feel about him," Shani said with a sigh. "But better for me to tell you before my Mom goes off about it. She's a little fucked in the head right now and refuses to use his new chosen name."

"Oh of course Cyrus has a fancy new chosen name!" Rafa said loudly, throwing up his hands. "Of course he has a great new life!" he said loudly and it brought attention to them and Shani just sighed, suddenly regretting saying anything because honestly, now it was his problem. "Of course!" He had so fucking much in mind that he wanted to say to him but it was all quickly going away and he wasn't ready to see him again. He didn't thing he'd ever have to but of course!

"At least Cyrus is still here," Val said, shaking her head, and that was when she saw… Just who she wanted to see…

"Here comes Mom!" Meanwhile, Cheri said, tired of waiting her turn and going over to Ryder. "Welcome home honey."

"I don't know if this is really… Home," Angelo said as he watched his sister give her step-child a big hug. "But we're so glad you're here."

"Uncle Angelo too?" Ryder asked. "Damn, what the hell happened?"

"They fucked with the wrong family," he said and Charlie the cat mewed on his shoulder as if to agree with him.

"They fucked with the wrong family," Cheri repeated, pulling back to smile at Ryder and pat their cheeks. "I'm still figuring things out but I'll never forget how much I love you. You're my child."

"And you're my Mom," Ryder said with a smile at her as she kissed their forehead a little bit. "I'm so glad you're here." They bit their lip for just a moment. To some extent it was because of her that any of them were here. But… Without this so much would be different, so they understood now. They understood things in a way they hadn't before. And after everything their family suffered through… They couldn't blame her for wanting the world to change.

"We were all worried about you, kid," Angelo said when Cheri stepped back, giving them a hug. "Glad you're okay and you have all of us by your side."

"I know," Ryder said, putting up a hand for Charlie to sniff and then rubbing her head a little bit. "And I see Miss Charlie came along for the ride."

"Oh of course," Angelo said with a chuckle. "I couldn't leave my girl!"

"Wouldn't expect anything less." Ryder grinned as they saw Camellia hurrying towards them at a sprint and she stopped herself before plowing into them with a small surprised sound. "Woah!" they said, making a small grunt of surprise when Camellia threw their arms around them. "Hi there."

"Oh thank God you're back," she said, giving them another squeeze. All the rescued tributes were like little siblings to her and after losing Numi… She couldn't do it again. She could barely stand to look at them (don't make a comment, that's low-hanging fruit) like this and squeezed a tear out of her eye before she stood up again. "You have more waiting," she said, gesturing to Mary and Ember who waved to them and came in to give them a hug, both of their arms around them.

"Hey, you been enjoying a bougie safe life?" they asked both of them who just laughed.

"Oh we've been going stir crazy!" Mary said right away with a dramatic sigh. "Gah!"

"Just a little bit," said Ember with a smile. "But we've found ways to pass the time- WOAH!" she yelled out a little bit when she almost got knocked over by Lester.

"Hey Lester!" Ryder said, smiling at them and happy to see them. Lester leaned down to give him a hug and they smiled when they saw the makeshift skirt they hadn't stopped wearing since the wedding. "Wow!"

They, they fingerspelled, giggling and doing a small twirl.

"Oh!" Ryder said, excited right away to have another enby. "Beautiful!"

Thank you! I also want to date Shani.

Ryder blinked. "I'm sorry – WHAT?! How much did I miss?!"

A lot! Lester said with a grin and a twirl. It's still a work in progress. They made their fake fishing line, throwing it out towards where Shani was talking with Val and Rafa and doing a reeling motion.

"Oh, got it," Ryder said with a laugh and a grin at them, still trying to wrap their head around all of that before remembering who Lester was devoted to first. "But…" they said slowly and Lester just shrugged and turned the other way – despite being mute, not deaf.

"Sooooo…" Ania said, and when Ryder maneuvered themself to turn around, they saw their whole family, including Shani and Kodi, staring at them intently. Ryder felt their face heat up right away and a lump in their throat.

"Uh, yes?" they said, clearing their throat as they looked at them all and had a feeling they knew what they were going to say.

"When do we get to meet your girl?!" Shani asked, pulling his hands into his chest, shaking them excitedly. "Come on, I've heard so much about her, and you too!" Shani said with a laugh, going over to try to pull Ryder's head down to noogie them, and they were fighting him back right away, just like… Normal brothers did.

"Stop that," Ryder said, pushing him off of them because he was a weak twink still. "I… Well… She's not technically my girl…" they said awkwardly, their cheeks flushing as they let out a nervous laugh.

"What?!" Kodi asked, staring at them for a moment before looking at Shani and Lester in shock who both returned the look. "Wait wait wait. You mean… You and her have gone through all this… And you still haven't CONFESSED to her?!"

Lester was shaking their head quickly and brushing off their fingers at them in the absence of an ability to tsk.

"I…" Ryder said. "I was kinda too busy being crushed by a building to think about confessing!"

"That's no excuse," Kodi said right away as Shani nodded and pointed to him.

"Oh the little sweetie is right!" Cheri said, squeezing Kodi's cheek.

"Okay okay," Ryder said, blushing. "I'll get there…"

"It's okay honey," Ania said, but she was very anxious to meet Mari who had gone through the gauntlet of greetings and had her hands clasped awkwardly.

"MARI!" Kodi said, hurrying over to grab her but being careful to help her hobble over even though he wanted to run.

"Oh no," Ryder said. "Hold up. I'm still trying to figure out what to say.

"No holding up!" Shani said, as he went to grab the handles of their wheelchair and start barreling them over to Mari. "Out of the way, lover boy coming through!"

"Technically not a boy!" Ryder said, choosing now to get hung up on verbiage of course as their face was growing so red.

"What?!" Mari asked as Shani almost accidentally hit Mari's bad leg before swerving and throwing Ryder to the side, who couldn't do much more but grab onto the seat and pray with a small cry.

"Ryder has something to tell you," Shani said, breathing heavily. "Oh hi, I'm Shani. Wow you are shorter in person than you look."

"Oh, uh, hi," Mari said, looking at him, and at Kodi.

"My boyfriend!" Kodi said with a grin as he went over to pick up Shani and spin him around a little bit despite his cry of surprise. It felt so good to say it out loud.

"Wait, QUE?!" Mari asked, shaking her head in shock as she looked at them. "You're Kodi's boyfriend!?" she asked Shani. "Since when? WHAT?!"

"Oh, it's been a few days," Shani said with a grin as he blushed but when he looked at Ryder he clapped his hand. "No, this is not about us anymore!" he said. "It's about what Ryder has to say," he said, and grabbed Kodi to pull him back – but only two steps back and they were both still grinning in anticipation as they watched Ryder.

"Huh?" Mari asked as he her heart started to pound and her cheeks started to heat up. "…Yes?" she asked, perking up right away.

"Oh…" Ryder said, feeling their cheeks heat up. "Actually, I, uh…" they said, but they could feel Shani staring at them – and Kodi too, dammit. "So…" they said, blushing and they gave her an awkward smile and chuckle. "Um…"

"Yes?" Mari asked, because she was waiting. This was it!

Ryder laughed again and the blush was crawling all the way down their neck. "I'm sorry, I thought I would have more time to think about what to say!" they said with a chuckle.

"More time?!" Mari asked them, just looking at them with a huge grin on her face.

"Mari's getting confessed to!" Camellia announced loudly to the room in a royally unhelpful manner.

"WHAT?!" Freddy screamed and suddenly there was attention right on them. A lot of attention.

"Goddammit," they said.

"No offense, but you literally had ten thousand private moments to confess before this," Mari said with a small giggle as she was just waiting.

"Yeah," Ryder said with a sigh and shaking their head. "You're right," they conceded and sighed deeply one more time. Their hands were shaking a little bit and their heart was pounding so hard and fast at doing this – especially in front of everyone! "I knew for a long time and was just so scared of saying something," they said and they tried to ignore the murmurs of their friends and family. "But if throwing you away from a falling building isn't enough indication, then I guess I will try to find a way to say it out loud."

"Of course it's enough," Mari said, not wanting them to be embarrassed and going over to give them a tender hug. "I knew that from the start, I was s-so afraid for you."

"Even if I had died, it would have been a worthy cause. I finally found who I want to be, who I am, and who I am is someone that loves you."

Gasps went through the group of friends and Ryder swore quietly, knowing that was a bit of a stretch. It had only been a few weeks.

"Oh they said the word," Cheri said to Ania, thinking that she was being quiet and of course she wasn't and literally everyone heard her.

"I'm sorry this had to happen in front of all our family and friends," they said right away as their face burned in embarrassment. "In fact I'm sorry for a lot of-"

"I love you too."

"She said the word!" Freddy said, not trying to be quiet about it as he grabbed Lizzie's arm.

"Will you stop that?!" Mari asked, but she just had to laugh about it. "That's what you're signing up for, you know?" she said with a grin.

"I know," Ryder said, gesturing to their embarrassing family on the other side. "You know it too."

"Yeah," Mari said with a laugh, slowly sitting down on their legs and wrapping her arms around their neck, pushing their hair behind their ears. For a moment she brought her face closer, just barely brushing her nose with theirs and giving a smile. "I know."

"They look eerily alike with her short hair," Coda whispered to Tessa, who just shushed him.

"Okay, just making sure," Ryder said with a chuckle, their teeth practically touching hers with how close their faces were when they grinned in tandem. They reached up to gently caress her jaw with their hand and feel her cheek go up in the smile. "Because they are weird," they said quietly.

"Honey you don't even know weird," Mari said back with a grin.

"Alright, kiss already!" Mary said loudly, met with a whistle from Ridley and Amiah clapping her hands while Freddy and Lizzie hooted and howled.

Ryder flushed but they were not going to get judged today by them and they held her face still, eyes closing, to give her a kiss that Mari returned quickly, and of course the whole room went wild seeing them kiss and caused both of them to have to pull back as they were both blushing and laughing. And the few breaths of laughter that were shared between them, the feeling of her smile so near, was worth everything they'd ever suffered through.

"Alright, guess I gotta introduce you to the whole fam now," Ryder said, seeing where they were all crowded together and obviously bustling with the anticipation to meet her. They rolled their eyes, but they felt a huge grin on their face as they wheeled themselves over – a little bit burdensome with her sitting on their lap – but worth it to present her to them.

"I don't know how I feel about this," Trap said, but he had no idea what was coming to him and before he could say anything, he was sent to the ground with a sound of surprise and a huge clatter. "Shit!"

"Oh fuck you!" Before he could say anything a fist threw itself forward towards his face and smacked him right in the eye.

"Ow!" Trap said, immediately going into a reflex mode and grabbing the person's wrist.

"What the hell Val?!" asked Ridley, staring in shock as she pulled her fist back and punched him again.

"Piece of shit human!" Val said again and Trap was just trying to defensively get her off of him.

Amiah pulled Rafa's shirt. "Not now, rainbows, I'm having my own crisis!" He certainly wasn't going to stop this from happening.

"What the hell is going on?!" Kat asked, and Stellan came over with a man that nobody recognized, each of them grabbing one of Val's arms as she was yelling, and wriggled a little against him. Kat helped Trap up, who spit a little blood out the side of his mouth and reached up to wipe his bleeding nose.

"Thought you'd never see me, huh!?" Val asked, struggling a little against the men. "Come on, fight me like a man! You didn't fight him like one!"

"What is going on?!" Trap asked nasally, staring in shock. "Who are you?!"

"I'm fucking Valerica Van Buren, bitch!" she said, and when Trap's face changed realizing who she was, Val let out a bitter laugh. "Yeah, though you'd never see me, huh!?"

"What?" Kat asked, looking at Trap in concern holding his nose and putting his shirt up to it, and looking so haunted.

"Auri's sister," Trap said, looking away from her. "I got it. Aight, you deserved that one."

"Auri," Tessa said reverently. A name she hadn't heard in a while.

"He was going to win!" Val yelled at him. "He was going to help me when he won! And you couldn't even fight him, you had to poison him like a heartless fucking coward!"

"I'm sorry," Trap said.

"Well sorry doesn't get him back!" Val said, full of rage seeing him here like this. What a fucking vile human to do that to someone that trusted him so much to come out to him. Auri thought they were friends. He was made to look like an idiot on national TV and it only brought their Dad's hell on her. "You don't know how much I've suffered because of you!"

Trap didn't say anything in response, he just nodded a little bit and stood there, patting his nose.

"Oh yeah," Shani said to Kodi quietly. "I forgot about that."

"Not gonna say anything, still like a coward?!" Val asked, looking him in the eyes.

"Nothing I say is going to change how it happened," Trap said softly, looking back at her only for a second, and then looking away.

Val looked at him for a moment – the brokenness in his eyes that she felt in her soul. She fucking hated him. But beating him more wasn't going to do any good. "You have no idea the pain you've caused," she said darkly, stopping her struggle against Stellan and Han and letting her body go limp. Kat took Trap back into the mainstay to get some ease for his nose and take care of him.

"I'll get her," Shani said, going away from Kodi and grabbing Rafa's arm on the way. "You're coming," he said, pulling him along to her. "If we see Cyrus, are you going to continue the beating-up streak?"

"Yeah," Rafa said. At least he was honest.

"Awesome," Shani grumbled under his breath, rolling his eyes as he brought the two of them in to a compartment. Soon, the others dispersed after them, murmuring to themselves, and yet so happy to be reunited as they found places for all the tired refugees to stay.

Shani fell in the back of the crowd, Val and Rafa along with him. "Nobody look at us, please," he said, but he had a sinking feeling when he saw who volunteered to help find spots for the new traumatized folks. Oh fucking peachy.

"Rafa?"

"Oh fucking hell, why me?" Shani asked with another curse.

"Don't even," Rafa said through his teeth.

"What are you… What… I…" Monty was just standing there, staring at him in shock.

"The next words out of your mouth better be I'm sorry or else I'm throwing hands," Rafa told him right away.

"I think he's going to throw hands either way," Val said, her mouth also dropped open because… Yep, that sure was Cyrus. And she felt a little mad on Rafa's behalf because while it was Trap's fault that she went through the hell of being the pseudo-oldest in her house… For Rafa, the fault all laid with this man. Not even green and red hair dye, tats, and piercings, could make her not recognize him. He and Auri were their only hope at one point. And in different ways, both of them left. Val let out a small sob, the grief of losing her brother hitting her so hard as she covered her mouth. But if Rafa was gonna throw hands, she wasn't going to stop him.

"I'm sorry," Monty – Cyrus - said obediently.

"Be the bigger person," Shani said.

But it was hopeless as Rafa threw back a hand and gave Monty a bitch-slap right across the face.

"You LEFT us!" he said loudly.

"Rafa!" Shani said in shock, slapping Val's arm a little bit. "Help!"

"Mm," said Val. "One more."

"Ughhhh, why me?!" asked Shani, grabbing his hair for a moment.

"Not just me, but Felix! We loved you! We needed you!"

"I know." Monty put his face down and didn't even rub his cheek – he was used to not showing the pain, otherwise he knew it would earn him more pain. "Felix… Where is Felix?"

"He's in a stupid safehouse, don't get your panties in a fucking twist, I fucking raised him," Rafa said. "Because you weren't there."

"I know." Monty sighed a little bit as his eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry. I really am. I… Can't even fathom…"

"Yeah, of course, we all know! And of course you couldn't fathom because you didn't see how much worse it got after you left!" he said, throwing his arms up and ready to punch him for real this time but when Shani put a hand on his arm he dropped his fists. Only then did Val put an arm around him to support him and also keep him from more violence. "Just… Don't even look at me again until I tell you to," Rafa said, shaking his head. "Leave me alone."

Monty frowned. "Let me know if I can do anything-"

"Leave me alone!" Rafa said, and Shani gave Cyrus a look to drop it for now and he stepped aside to let the small trio through. He watched them sadly and shook his head.

Maybe… Someday.

"Hey." Stellan grabbed one before he was able to leave.

"Huh?" Kodi asked, looking over at him. "Oh. Hey Stellan. You need help unloading supplies?"

"No," Stellan said. "Actually, I need to talk to you. Well… We do."

Kodi looked at the other man standing there and wearing a beat-up Peacekeeper uniform and let out a nervous laugh. "Me? Wow, guess I'm special," he said. "Is it because of the dashing good looks of moi?"

"I mean… You could say that," Stellan said with a small laugh. "Something to do with looks anyway."

"Oh…Kay," Kodi said with a laugh as he looked at the other man. "Oh! Is this future me? Am I about to have a time travelling adventure?! Wow, I aged well!"

"…No." Stellan couldn't believe that was his first assumption. "You must have been spending too much time with Lizzie… Kiddo." He gave Kodi a wink.

"I'm… Kind of past you," Han said, getting nervous all of a sudden and giving a nervous chuckle. "No, don't take that too literally," he said quickly when he saw the look on Kodi's face. Oh he was like his mother.

"Okay?" Kodi asked, looking at them.

Stellan elbowed Han, so he cleared his throat. "I'm Haneul," he said, waving to Kodi. "I'm… Your father."

Kodi just looked at him, then Stellan, then him again, and Stellan again. More in shock to hear that than to hear about time travel… Definitely way too much time with Lizzie and Jun. "I'm sorry…?"

Han produced a small locket that had a picture of an awkwardly beautiful woman with curly brown hair, and an ugly baby with at least 100 fat rolls on his person. "And this is your mother. And that's you."

Kodi's eyes got a little wide as he looked at the locket. That looked like any of the few baby pictures he held onto. And he vaguely recognized the woman in the picture from growing up with his aunt and uncle. "What."

"I know," Han said, shaking his head and unable to blame him for his shock. "I met her in District Ten when I was a Peacekeeper. I left her when she was falling ill because I had no other choice. I didn't ever want this to happen to our family, I didn't want to lose my kid and there's so much for me to apologize for and so much to catch up on. It seems like you've had… Quite the life."

"Yeah," Kodi said, still blinking in absolute shock. "…Y-Yeah," he added as his past started to flood his memory once more.

"I know it's quite a revelation," Stellan said, seeing the shock on his face. "Han here helped your friends," he said, trying to smile at him. "He wanted to find you."

"All I ever wanted was that. I never stopped searching. And now… Here you are. Shining and so happy. That's all I ever wanted to know, really… But I want to know more, if you will…"

Kodi gaped at that for a moment. "I-" he said, looking behind his shoulder. He wasn't sure he wanted that now. He didn't want to learn about what he had lost. He wasn't sure he even wanted a parent. Not after all the parents of his past chewed him up and spit him out.

"Y-Yeah," he said, turning to start hurrying away because fuck no he wasn't having this discussion right now. And standing in the doorway to the mainstay was a figure he bumped into, pulling back a little back as his mouth fell open a little bit. "O-Oh, M-Mrs. McCarvill," he said. "Wh-What?"

"I saw them pull you back," she said, looking at his little face and reaching up to gently rub his cheeks. "I didn't want to leave you like that." She looked out at the two men, Stellan looking concerned, Han looking so… Sad. "It's okay to feel, Kodi," she said, looking into his sad little eyes. "Oh, poor boy," she said, pulling him into a hug.

"Oh," said Kodi. He still didn't really believe Shani when he said that she liked him… But for some reason this hug was more than he needed to feel that she really did. He teared up a little bit and hugged her back, burying his face a little bit and feeling a little vulnerable. Well, more than a little bit…

"I know this comes as a shock," Cheri said, looking at Han and Stellan. They both looked so nice. This boy was so sad. She could tell that Shani made him happy – Lester and Not Simon too – but that wasn't going to be enough to get him through every day… "But this is a chance to get to know more about who you are," she said, rubbing his back softly as he was gasping a little bit. "Oh poor baby, you'll be okay baby," she said as she rocked him side to side a little bit.

Cheri McCarvill always wanted a big family. The thing she missed more than anything when she was in prison… Was being a Mom. And that was one thing that they couldn't take from her.

"Thanks," Kodi said, sniffing a little bit. "I'm sorry," he said, because he didn't like breaking down in front of everyone, especially not an adult. "Please don't tell Shani. Please don't be upset."

"I'm not upset with you, honey," Cheri said, wiping his tears a little bit. "He has to know about this, it's a big deal," she reminded him, looking at Stellan and Han. "Oh but that man looks like a nice good man. You shouldn't just shut him out without giving him a chance. But only when you're ready." She let go of him and held his hands for a moment, patting his cheeks again. "Let me walk you back and see if Lester's there, she'll be happy to help you. She's so nice and good."

Kodi thought about that for a moment. He was just overcoming the running away phase, trying to grow… He looked over at Stellan with this man who was… His father. He looked… Gentle, and kind. He kept his picture in a locket even though he was a fucking ugly baby. He recognized the eyes that looked back at him as his own. He thought about that for a moment before smiling a little bit at Cheri and giving her another hug because she was just… So good to him. Even though he'd barely been part of the family for a few weeks, if you even counted Ryder… "Thank you, Miss Cheri," he said softly, before he took a deep breath and patted at his eyes before he went back over to Stellan and Han.

"If you'll excuse us," he said, looking at Stellan and forcing a smile, through nerves and tears already forming in his eyes.

"I'd like a moment alone with… my Dad."

~.~.

A/N: Three days, three chapters. Stockpile? I don't know her. Honestly it's just to get my responsibility to this story finished ASAP and then the readers can read and review whenever they feel like it. We're so close to the end and this story has been dragging on so long, I'm ready to get it finished.

And with that we move the counter down to two. Next chapter I might resolve the Rafa/Monty thing but it's already been done in 101-verse but better so who knows. If not, maybe deleted scene, maybe it'll just happen behind the scenes and I'll let anyone that cares imagine how the conversation went. Lol.

Next Chapter: The endgame.

One broken bond.

Four lost souls.

They THOUGHT they were doing something good.

They were LIED to.

But now…

THEY are given the chance to decide…

And change the world.