THREE MONTHS LATER


RUBY ASHGROVE (27)

HEAD GAMEMAKER


Ruby was livid.

She paced around the perimeter of her office, fists clenched, taking deep breaths in a vain effort to control her emotions.

The news had broken just that morning, though Ruby had predicted it from the moment it was announced that those terrorists from District Four had captured the main Peacekeeper barracks in San Francisco.

District Four had broken free of the Capitol's rule and President Snow's forces had retreated back to the Capitol to rue their losses.

She'd expected a treatment not too dissimilar to that of District Thirteen, but for some reason, Snow's generals had refused to fight on, even after several of them found themselves dead by dawn. This newest batch seemed infuriatingly incompetent and Ruby suspected the rebels themselves may have planted them there to disrupt the Capitol's chain of command. President Snow had, after all, been forced to fire some of his top generals and commanders once the allegations of their 'crimes' had come to light thanks to those wretched video tapes. Ruby was certain it was that twinkle-eyed Avox who'd done the deed, she'd never liked him anyway, but Platrium Cardeau had insisted he was one of the tidiest cleaners in town.

And now, he was nowhere to be seen, a con artist vanishing into the misty mountains beyond the Capitol.

Ruby seethed, furious that she'd let such traitors slip under her watchful eye. The Victors from Four, she should've known they were up to something. Marina was, by no means a loyal ally of the Capitol, yet as the first ever Victor, she'd masqueraded as one, sucking up to Draco Hadley and his gullible, stupid self to dispel any suspicions from President Snow's right-hand man. Frankly, she didn't have a clue what President Snow saw in him, perhaps he'd once been a sharp, cunning young man, but age and a life of greed and gluttony had wasted him to the point of savagery. He was a liability to the Capitol's noble cause, and Ruby was sure she would be a much better pick for the top job than that imbecile Draco.

And then there was Iris, cheeky little Iris. That traitorous whore had somehow managed to endear herself to the shallow, misty-eyed Capitol romantics with that fraudulent marriage of hers with Caesar Flickermann, who Ruby didn't trust either. Ruby had vowed to wreak havoc upon whatever remnant of sanity Iris still had in her mind, to make an example out of her by tormenting her throughout the Games with anonymous notes, messages, reminders of her own time in the arena. When Ronan had betrayed the Careers, Ruby had seized on the chance to mock Iris for her own betrayals in her Games.

But Ruby should've known that Iris wouldn't be broken down so easily.

And now, she was back in District Four, guarded by a phantom army with technology so advanced, that not even District Thirteen had been able to compete with them. There seemed to be a sort of defensive bubble surrounding Four's main cities, a technology no District, not even District Two, should ever have had access to.

Someone else was sponsoring Four's terrorist activities, funding and supplying them with the goods to carry out their traitorous deeds.

Ruby scoffed at the mere thought of it. She couldn't believe the Capitol had fallen so easily for Iris's deceptions. If she truly loved Caesar so much, why was he still here, at the mercy of the Capitol and President Snow's whims and fancies, instead of being there with her, enjoying Four's newfound 'freedom'? And the same could be applied to Four's other Victors as well. If Coral was truly the sweet girl next door with a cute, clumsy demeanour, why was she in Four, shooting down Capitol jets with a murderous glint in her eyes? And if Mags was truly the charming, benevolent Victor she'd been paraded out to be, why was she masterminding the murder of Peacekeepers, many of whom had families to feed back home?

She glanced down at her notebook, now covered in scratch marks and crosses. The next Games were almost a year away, the Victory Tour had not yet occurred, but Ruby had already begun her scheming. She wanted to make the next Games even more harrowing for every single tribute involved, including the Careers from Districts One and Two, who were not to be trusted either.

The television screen in her living room continued to blare out scenes from Four's victory parades as their miracle defensive shield continued to deflect even the most sophisticated and potent of Capitolite rockets and missiles. Not even a nuke could penetrate that technological breakthrough. Ruby watched, grimacing in horror as a young girl with tanned skin and long, curly hair hoisted an ancient flag into the sky for the first time in centuries, a cheeky grin adorning her annoying face.

District Four was no more, the Republic of California had been proclaimed.


CECELIA RHEYS (15)

DISTRICT FOURTEEN RESIDENT


Cecelia was apprehensive.

She crossed her arms, a scowl forming across her face as Blight stared at her expectantly. "I don't think this is a good idea," she said flatly.

Blight sighed, rolling his eyes. "Come on, Cecelia, it'll be fun, besides, aren't you at least a little bit curious?"

Cecelia chewed on her lip, glancing at Hestia and Tia, who sat in a corner of the room, watching their interaction. She refused to back down, to relent to Blight in front of them.

But deep down, she knew that Blight was right. She'd spent months now here in District Fourteen and though she knew about a few things here and there, she'd known only scarce details about District Four's charge at freedom and she'd only just learned from Rune that District One had attempted to rebel as well, though that uprising was crushed by the Capitol. The people here were friendly and all, but Cecelia would be lying if she said she didn't long to know their secrets. There was an uncontrollable itch inside her spirit that yearned to learn what other hidden stories lay deep within the archives of Fourteen. Surely, behind those closed doors, Oakette Mason had to have something huge that could only be revealed to a select few of her most trusted associates. Rune had alluded to as much whenever Cecelia had spent time helping Rune out in the kitchens or the indoor gardens.

And Cecelia was more than a little jealous that Blight, being Remus's personal assistant, got to know far more than her, whose broad scope of knowledge was almost entirely restricted to the labs.

So, it was with a reluctant nod that she finally agreed to follow Blight's nightly escapades and sneak into the secret archives perched in one of the underground basement floors of Fourteen. She grimaced, knowing full well Blight was doing his best to hide a knowing smirk. She'd fallen right into his trap of spending more time with him, Cecelia was, after all, not blind to the advances Blight had been making towards her in an attempt to kindle a teenage romance. And to her utmost annoyance, she was starting to find him irritatingly sweet and insufferably charming. Heck, she found herself attending every single one of his band's weekly concerts at the Hearth. At first, it was simply to listen to Miri sing and Evan play one of his legendary guitar solos, but soon enough, Blight's drumming skills caught her attention- and her admiration.

Not that she was ever going to admit it to his face, though, the git didn't deserve to know how she truly felt about him.

Hestia raised her hand, piping up that she too wanted to tag along. Blight shrugged and agreed. Tia, on the other hand, drew back, clearly not up for the mission at hand, which was more than fine with Cecelia, she would have objected to Tia coming along anyway. Tia didn't need to be involved in anything funny, and Cecelia was going to make sure of that. Besides, Cecelia was aware that Tia still blamed herself for Ceri's untimely demise, believing that she had inadvertently caused Ceri's Reaping to be rigged against her. Joseph had assured them that there was no indication of such tinkering at work in District Eight, but Tia never could shake away the guilt. Tia didn't need additional guilt should Blight's little escapade go awry.

Cecelia reluctantly dragged her feet, following Blight and Hestia as they led her through the dark corridors of District Fourteen past midnight, the small night lights that illuminated the hallowed halls casting long shadows into the pristine carpet. Blight led them into a secret passageway behind a looming caricature of President Snow as a belly dancer, one that never failed to make Fourteen's residents chuckle every time they walked past it. The passageway itself was one of Fourteen's emergency tunnels, in the unlikely event that the Capitol invaded them and they needed a quick getaway from incoming forces.

After what seemed like an eternity of crawling through the dark, rusty tunnels, Blight pushed open a small hatch, and as Cecelia poked her head out, she gasped, realising they were in one of District Fourteen's fabled archives. The ceiling was painted vividly with red sparks, which matched the description of the Huntington Room perfectly from what Cecelia had heard from Joseph and Rune. As she stepped out, marvelling at the artefacts and files that lay before her in towering shelves, she let out a low whistle. "How did you find a way in here?"

Blight shrugged. "Evan and I have spent nearly every night trying to explore every inch of this place. I doubt even the higher-ups know of that tunnel, though, I think it's one of the older ones that was just forgotten after a while."

Cecelia wandered around, examining a curious set of documents in a hot pink binder. She flipped it open and her eyes began to widen as she read its contents. Apparently, the Capitol had long been aware of another empire across the vast oceans that flanked Panem, a nation called Imperium with its capital in Rome, wherever that was supposed to be. Long before the Dark Days, Imperium had begun its own version of the Hunger Games, which would go on to inspire Panem's iteration. They'd also expanded far and wide, dwarfing Panem and making the vast nation Panemians called home seem like nothing more than a geographical footnote. These were the invaders who had driven Rune's tribe across the straits and into District Fourteen's territory, and the document alleged that they were far more brutal than Panem ever was. Cecelia shuddered as she slammed the binder shut, hastily shoving it back into its place on the shelves. She wasn't sure she was mentally prepared to learn about the finer details of this seemingly ruthless nation.

She quickly moved on to something else, this time, what looked to be an ancient flamethrower, its metal exterior worn and rusted, but Cecelia wondered if it could still be functional. Suddenly, an overwhelming desire to set something on fire began to burn in her chest and she was overcome with the longing to test this beauty out on something- or someone.

Snap out of it, Cecelia, she scolded herself, immediately turning away from the flamethrower and striding off, fighting the urge that had always plagued her deepest desires from a young age.

Just then, the door creaked open and to Cecelia's horror, Dusk entered the room, the bored expression on her face turning into shock at the sight of the three children snooping around. Cecelia began to panic, beads of sweat dripping down the side of her face. Almost instinctively, she reached out to grab hold of something to keep her steady.

Which just so happened to be Blight's hand.

Blight stared at her, raising a weirded-out eyebrow. Cecelia blushed and quickly let go, her attention turning back to Dusk who was frowning at her. "What are you three doing here?"

Oh no, was she going to get kicked out of Fourteen for this?

She didn't know what punishments were like in Fourteen, she was content with not knowing for the foreseeable future but as Dusk stood there, Cecelia had a sinking feeling that she wasn't going to have much of a choice in the matter. She held her hands up apologetically, her legs trembling as she approached Dusk. "W-we're sorry, we won't do it again."

Hestia nodded quickly, her eyes brimming with tears. "Yeah! Please don't tell anyone!"

Dusk let out a quiet giggle. From behind her, Nell, Joseph's little sister, popped up, her eyes widening in awe at the sight of the Huntington Room. "Wow, you didn't tell me it was this big!"

A sudden realisation dawned upon Cecelia. She raised her eyebrows at Dusk. "Wait a minute, you're snooping around too, aren't you?"

Dusk sighed, shaking her head in defeat. "Yeah, Nell wanted to see this place since Joseph wouldn't shut up about it. Look, I won't tell on you if you don't tell anyone about us." She wrinkled her nose. "Especially not Dawn, she's my twin sister but I'm pretty sure she'll have me hung, drawn and quartered."

Cecelia smiled in agreement. "Sure can do, Dusk."


REMUS ECHOËN (22)

DISTRICT FOURTEEN STRATEGIST


Remus felt worn out.

He sat on a wooden log at the edge of the Hearth, scowling as he stared at the latest reports coming in from District One. The Capitol had sent in swarms of Peacekeepers to re-establish their firm hold over the gemstone district and reinstate the nobles in their esteemed lofts. Finn Ausztral had been captured and executed for his involvement in the cause, though Silver Faleoloa remained at large, her status as District One's most trusted psychiatrist saving her from the purges. Geneva and Cartier Cooper were being questioned by the Capitol, but Remus doubted they would be subjected to the same torturous means Mare and Franc had been forced to go through. The Coopers were still popular amongst the Capitolites, after all, and had scarcely shown any signs of rebellious intent. Remus himself had checked in with Crystal Montgomery the other day and she'd confirmed that so far, neither Geneva nor Cartier had been harmed.

That was a bit of good news for a change. District One's infrastructure had been almost annihilated, their resources and stockpiles depleted. And despite Remus's attempts to reroute some of the supplies initially meant for District Four to help the rebels in Billings, he'd discovered that the tunnels services by the Masked Merchants in District One lay in smouldering ruins after a bombing spree by the Capitol.

He sighed. The only positive he could take out of this was that he would no longer be pestered by One's rebels for priority shipments. They would have to lay low for now and he could proceed with his initial plans to break down the Capitol's influence in the Districts little by little.

Before One's uprising had gone up in flames, Finn had requested one of the Golden Domes that District Fourteen had been working on for the past decade or so. Thus far, they'd only ever managed to manufacture two: one in Fourteen and one in District Four. It was a complex process and required many years of planning and an already weak Capitol influence to construct anywhere, but once built, could effectively shield entire towns and cities from air raids and even nuclear bombings.
Unfortunately, by Remus's calculations, it would take them at least another decade before another one of the Golden Dome systems could be built.

He sighed, flipping mindlessly through several more reports from Haymitch in District Twelve, who bemoaned the lack of fighting spirit among the people. Remus couldn't blame them, the people of Twelve already had so little that if they were to even try anything rebellious, they would surely be left to die. Even the richest District, District One, had been left a mere shadow of its past self after it tried to rise up, so Remus understood District Twelve's concerns.

But that was the problem, people were growing impatient with District Fourteen. They wanted change or freedom and they wanted it now. What they didn't realise was that the conditions were simply not right, that it was too soon, that trying to rush things would only result in disaster. District Four had waited their turn and had followed through the procedures, which had earned them their freedom, Remus only wished the rest of the Districts could follow suit, it would certainly streamline Fourteen's plans.

As he sat there, deep in thought, he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. He glanced up, annoyed that his train of thought had been interrupted. But when he saw the serene, kindred face of Hestia Aelwyd, his anger subsided and he managed a small smile. "Want a marshmallow?" she offered, holding out a tray of colourful marshmallows.

Remus sighed. One stick of those sweet goodies wouldn't hurt. He took a stick and thanked Hestia, who nodded and sauntered off. As Remus toasted his stick of marshmallows over the warm fire, he looked to see that Hestia had returned, this time with a cup of steaming herbal tea. He watched as she set it down beside him, before she sat down on his log and watched the flames quietly. "Thank you," he murmured. "You didn't have to."

Hestia didn't turn to look at him. "I saw that you were upset," she told him. "I figured this would help you relax." She pulled out a small plush toy from underneath her robes. Remus recognised it to be Toahst, Joseph often let Hestia borrow it when he had a whole day of meetings to make her happy. "Cecelia and Blight's shift at the labs should be over soon," she said softly, but she wasn't talking to him. It was as though she was speaking directly to the Hearth itself, the eternally burning flame her trusted companion when she was alone.

"Are those two together yet?" Remus asked, feeling a little awkward. He had seldom been alone with Hestia, he wasn't one to make small talk with someone less than half his age.

Hestia smiled slightly. "Cecelia likes him but is too embarrassed to admit it," she told him.

"No, I'm not!"

Remus turned and coincidentally, Cecelia had materialised right behind Hestia, her lab coat stained all over in a flurry of chemicals. Her face was bright red as she huffed towards Hestia, a defiant look on her face.

Remus frowned. "What happened to your coat?"

Cecelia's face turned an even brighter shade of red. "Uhm, nothing," she stammered.

"Another fire incident?" Hestia guessed.

Cecelia glared at Hestia, who promptly shrunk into herself. "No! I mean, yes, but…" She sighed, shooting Remus a pleading look. "Please, let's not talk about… that, not in front of the Hearth."

Remus had no idea what she was talking about, but he didn't press any further. Just then, he heard a loud boom echo through the walls of the cabin. He scowled as he quickly rose to his feet, his cup of tea shattering on the floor as the ground began to shake.

So the radars weren't malfunctioning that morning after all.

He knew there was nothing to worry about, the Golden Dome would keep them safe.

But as he rushed to Oakette's office, Remus couldn't help but feel a looming sense of dread creeping through his veins. For the first time in his life, he hoped this was just an attack by the Capitol, one Fourteen could easily deflect without even breaking a sweat.

The alternative was far more terrifying.


A/N: So, perhaps not the best way to tie up all loose ends for the rebellion subplot, but this was originally going to be a segway for a planned sequel which honestly, looking at what the future holds for me, is likely not going to be fulfilled, unless I make a comeback and write SYOTs again in three years' time. Who knows. But there will be one more epilogue part: Jotham's Victory Tour, following which I have a few options on what I might do as kind of little pet projects to keep my writing juices going every now and then. An option is for a spin-off series on Imperium and how their 'Hunger Games' developed, another is a take on the other tributes of the 74th Hunger Games and how they would have won (with different, unique arenas) and another is some one-shot stories on certain characters that have proven popular over the years (e.g. Switch, Reyna, Cecelia, etc). Plenty of options, but I will continue to write more fics in the future on a more slowed-down scale. With that, that's all for my rambling tonight, hope you guys have a good day ahead and see you next time.