Author's Note: Changes for the victors and Panem at large are abound.

….

Dynamics

Barley noticed that Mona's house was unusually quiet one morning as the worst of the winter began to lift. She was always an early riser, but he noticed that the curtains remained shut, and the lights switched off. He went about his early morning routine with his wife who had also noticed the quiet until he decided that something was off.

Mona left her doors unlocked so Barley was able to walk straight into her house without difficulty. He never enjoyed Mona's sense of confidence in her safety, he had deemed it complacency. But on this morning, when deep down Barley knew what would greet him, he was grateful not to have the stress of breaking in.

He saw it in his wife's eyes when she noticed the quiet and Barley knew she knew too. He just had to go through the motions of his early morning routine before facing it.

Barley made his way through Mona's house, checking every room downstairs before moving upstairs to check the bedroom. He found her lying peaceful and pale. He gently put a hand to Mona's face and found her cold. He checked her wrists and neck and found no pulse.

He turned around to see that his wife had followed him into the house and was standing behind him.

"I didn't want you to be alone," she said. "Call the doctor. I'll call her girls."

Later that morning after the doctor had completed the formalities and Mona's daughters were saying goodbye to their mother, Barley sat on the doorstep in the quiet of the Village. He had informed the others, but Barric and Maizey were spending the morning with Ryan to ensure he was going to cope with the latest change in the Village.

Barley had wanted to be alone, his wife checking in on him periodically, but he needed time to think. They never had the formal structures of District Two and Mona never wanted to lead in Mags' style, but they all knew that what she said in the Village went. But now, she was not here, and those duties would fall to Barley. Mona had reached her eighties, an impressive feat for someone from District Nine, and the Village without her presence was going to be different. None of them knew life in the Victors' Village without her.

Barley was in and out of excessive drinking, a constantly recovering alcoholic who had kicked a gambling habit for the sake of his wife. He did not have the clarity of judgement that Mona seemed to have, and he never wanted to be a leader in any capacity.

He supposed Barric and Maizey did not need direction from him. They were old enough to make their own decisions. They knew life as a victor in the Victors' Village as well as he did. Ryan would look solely to them when he needed help too. There would likely be no need for Barley's input, and if he were honest with himself, he had been planning on quietly giving up on life. He just needed to make sure his wife would be okay first.

Typically, a victor's family had to leave the Village when their relative died. Barley did not want to test whether the Capitol would force an ageing woman out onto the streets of Nine because he knew what the answer would be. Maizey was practically living with Barric by now, but her house remained a home and Barley would have to discuss with her whether his wife could move in when he joined Mona in death.

So, Barley would plan his way out and live the quietest life possible until it was his time. Mona had started to become forgetful as age crept up on her and Barley knew that his years of alternating between drinking and cutting himself off entirely had done his body no favours. District Nine's victors had been an ailing and ageing group, so it was no surprise that the Capitol had forgotten about them until Ryan came along.

He hoped there would be another victor before long, so Ryan did not have to endure alone. He hoped that his emerging friendships with his fellow younger victors in the Mentors' Centre would develop too. Barley had remained friends with Sawyer even as he converted to the rebel cause and Barley refused to entertain the idea. But he knew what the other victors had been planning and it was seeing Ryan come home alive that made him gradually re-think his ideas. He was not about to join in the rebels' plans, he was not foolish, and he was no leader or inspiring figure. But Barley hoped, for Ryan's sake at least, that they could make something work and that he could have a better life than what had been foisted upon him.

Barley had realised he was tired of living. He could not play the games that Barric and Maizey were having to entertain in taking care of a new victor. He wanted out but for his wife's sake, he didn't think he could take the initiative. Mona had managed to leave in the quiet way she lived her life and Barley found himself hoping he would soon meet the same fate.

….

Poppy was alone in the Victors' Village. Since she came home from the Eighty-Second Games after delighting in Linden's victory, her life had taken a more solemn tone as she moved into Max's house to care for him.

It became clear to them both that his latest deterioration in health would be the last. Max would not recover. He lacked the energy; his lungs were too tired, and his body could not cope with whatever this final illness was. He had asked Poppy not to consult Pluto. Max did not wish to know what his last days had in store for them both.

Poppy was devoted to him. She saw Max as her father, having very few memories of her own, biological father before the mining accident took both of her parents. She spent almost every moment she could at Max's side. They had employed a carer for when Poppy had other commitments to attend to but otherwise, she tended to Max's needs and made him as comfortable as she could.

Poppy coming home after the Fifty-Fourth had brought a new joy to Max's life and Poppy had in him all she had longed for. Now she sat alone once more after she had buried Max. The mining accident left her an orphan and sent her to the Community Home to fend for herself. A friend took her in when she was sixteen, but Poppy left for the arena and then the Victors' Village. She had found a new family in Max, Claudia and Levi and their two children, but now they had all been taken and Poppy was alone once more.

Max had died peacefully, with Poppy at his side and now she sat in her own home, looking out to Max's house which she had needed to clear on the Capitol's orders. Nobody was about to move in, so it felt all the more cruel. Poppy had to ensure the house was empty, so she could be assured of her loneliness once more.

She held onto the small pendant on the necklace Max had given her in his final days. It bore each of their initials so Poppy could be reminded of their presence and impact on her life as she faced the new, long days ahead of her.

But Max had made her promise that she would continue, and Poppy had sworn that she would never give up. She was in too deep in Six's plans to give up, instrumental in their plans to fight when the time eventually came around once more and she had ideas of her own.

Even in the quiet of the Victors' Village, Poppy had lists of tasks to attend to. She had re-started her interior design business, borne from her victor's 'talent', so she could find people in Six gainful and safe employment. It worked to deepen her connections in the Capitol too, so she had plenty to do during the next Hunger Games, regardless of the tributes.

Then there was the problem of her fellow victors' former dealers to attend to. Max was an infrequent user, but still, it meant that someone peddling clean morphling would lose out on a profitable deal and be more drawn to the cheaper, dirty option where the profit margins were more favourable. So even though she would never use the drug herself, she agreed to keep on buying it and storing it safely in her basement if the need arose in the future.

She would continue leading her cell's meetings and would try to fill the gap Max had left in his group too. There were dangerous trips across the district on the horizon and immediate matters to attend to at home.

The other victors had rallied around as much as they could from a distance. Gem in One had sent a surprisingly heartfelt note. District Twelve's victors had sent a message written by Katniss and Haymitch along with cakes from Peeta that he knew could withstand being smuggled across district boundaries.

Cecelia had of course kept Poppy in her thoughts. Her husband had made her a pendant with a photo of Poppy and Max. Cecelia had made Poppy another scarf and jacket for Six's cool spring weather.

Three's victors targeted their concern towards Poppy's safety and security as the sole inhabitant of the Victors' Village. Poppy could rely on Halley for sympathy and kindness in person, but at trying times, Three's woman was one for the practicalities. They had sent her security cameras that could link to a watch which would alert her whenever someone else accessed the Village boundary. Poppy was not about to remain housebound so she knew this would come in very useful.

Lyme was also thinking of Poppy's safety and sent her a new knife. It was obvious that she had put thought into her gift as Poppy realised the knife fit her hand and fighting style particularly well. This was not a standard Institute-issue knife and Poppy appreciated the thought behind a gift that would ordinarily have been predictable for a woman from Two.

A note from Seven's victors followed containing details of their remembrance rituals and a packet of acorns to be planted in the hope they would grow into an oak tree. Individual parcels containing hand-crafted photo frames followed from Linden and Blight before Six's primary train conductor arrived with his arms full of heavy packages which contained different parts of a bench, crafted in Max's memory.

A long-time ally of Poppy and Linden, Six's conductor managed to sneak in a further note from Seven's man with the message that he hoped to join Poppy in Six one day where Max and his memory could continue keeping their relationship secret from the Capitol.

Hope was what Poppy had been left with. She was alone and what she had to keep her going was the hope that she could live some of her remaining life freely with Linden and that Six could be transformed and her people's lives improve. It was what Max believed in, what Poppy knew he wanted for her and despite her newfound loneliness, Poppy was not going to fade away.

….

"We need to talk, Beetee," Pluto said.

"I know we do. Things are changing."

"They are, and they will be here too. I'm sick."

"I know."

"You know?"

"We all do. Pluto, you surely didn't think you could hide it from us?"

"I didn't want to worry you."

"So, it's serious?"

"I think so."

"That's why you've been taking those tablets that make you so tired. It's why you're so pale. You couldn't hide that from us. You'd need all the make-up they put on you in the Capitol for us not to notice."

"That might be the bleeding too."

"Bleeding?"

"Yes. At the very least I've got stomach ulcers but there's more there too. I can feel it now—a tumour of sorts. I'm trying to shrink it. I could hardly operate on myself and there's no way the Capitol would agree to it. So smuggling tablets it is."

"Are the tablets working?"

"Well, I can't feel the growth in quite the same way, so possibly. I hope so. I want a few more years yet."

"How do you know you're taking the right tablets? You've self-diagnosed. I presume your best guess from your new reading?"

"I should have realised that Halley would have figured out that my reading material had changed. She's here enough to take notice."

"Of course. Obviously, she told Wiress too, who managed to trace what you had been taking from the factories. We wondered when you were going to tell us."

"When I felt ready, I suppose. It has been a lot to get used to. Nice to see your data access project has worked if Wire managed to trace me."

"All in line, Pluto, don't you worry. We can see what's being made and exactly what the Capitol is taking and for where. Halley will want to talk to you about this though, you can't hide it much longer from her."

"I don't want to hurt her. But then I suppose by not telling her I'm not helping. I know she will be upset, and she doesn't need the distraction when she's gearing up for a big shift in responsibilities. Wire won't thank me either. She's smart enough to have figured out what I'm taking, I should tell her why."

"You should. But she understands why you've kept it quiet for now, although anything that hurts Halley, she won't be best pleased about."

"I get the message, Beetee. I'll confirm things with them both."

"We're here to help you, Pluto. We don't want you to go through this alone."

….

As the final snow of the long winter lifted, and changes across the Victors' Villages were felt, President Snow died too.

His assistant found him slumped over the table in the dining room during breakfast. He had choked on the blood he was coughing, and his airways had seemed to give up. He was holding a blood-soaked handkerchief in one hand, the other having fallen to his side as he fell forward. The guards outside Snow's private dining room had heard the entire episode but stood firm outside and did not raise the alarm. When asked, they claimed to have not heard anything. Their President's final struggle must have been silent and composed.

It was not long until the vultures descended over the space left by the newly deceased President and Plutarch Heavensbee could not believe his luck. He had been on the way to the Presidential Mansion when he received the message, and he deemed it too late to turn back. He was due to deliver his first briefing to Snow on the summer's Hunger Games that morning and now he must figure out how to present himself.

He would have front-row seats to the power struggle and Plutarch knew he was going to have to hide his excitement. It was not the right time for the districts to move which was particularly unfortunate. But he knew they could have some fun and their share of the carnage during the Games that year.

Out of sheer arrogance, Snow had refused to nominate or entertain the idea of a successor. He wanted everyone fighting in his wake and Plutarch knew he would have his final wish in what was about to unfold. There were egos and ambitions abound and even though his were not presidential, Plutarch must throw his weight behind the correct candidate. He could not afford to be caught in the crossfire.

….

Haymitch had deemed it an occasion for his best whisky. He poured himself a glass and waited for Katniss and Peeta to join him, as he knew they would. They would want to know their next steps.

Much to Haymitch's irritation, their plans would not lead immediately to revolution. This would have been the perfect moment but Twelve was not ready. Ten was too slow to come back to life, Nine and Five remained in the doldrums and Two would never turn at this moment. Prominent politicians would be grappling to show command of Panem's defences, and their home would be under the spotlight.

Eight and Eleven were ready. Poppy could stew up a riot in Six, the peacekeepers could be bribed in One and Seven could be persuaded. But even with Three and Four's readiness, it would not be enough.

Haymitch was roused from his thoughts by Katniss and Peeta letting themselves into his house as they usually did at any hour when they wanted to talk to him.

"I'm in a generous mood," Haymitch said as he poured his victors a glass each. "My best, so don't you go wasting it."

"It's as good an occasion as any," Katniss replied.

Peeta raised his glass and encouraged Haymitch and Katniss to do the same, "To our esteemed President," he said, laughing as they joined in his toast.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while before Haymitch gestured at them to put on their coats and go outside.

"Time to think about our next move," Haymitch started. "As much as a full-scale uprising would be fun, we aren't all ready. We know what it's like here. There just aren't enough people. It's the same across half the districts too."

"Gale would disagree. I can hear him now, talking about how it's the perfect moment, riling people up down the mines."

"Hawthorne would get us killed and you know that sweetheart. You might have to pay a calming visit to him and make sure he gets the message. I know it would be the perfect time, and I'm annoyed we can't take advantage of them when they're down. They kick us when we're down often enough, would be nice to do the same to them. But it would only end badly, for us especially. You can bet they'd pin it on us."

"So, what do we do instead? I know you Haymitch, you won't let this pass without doing anything."

"It's time for you both to step up. You've both come along nicely. With Snow dead, what better opportunity to show the Capitol you're still strong than by having your way with them."

"The casinos?" Peeta asked.

"Exactly. You've been dipping your toes in nicely the past couple of years, but you're ready. You've had enough practice with me and Chaff. Get round that poker table and rinse them, boy. Take 'em for what they've got and run with the money. Work your way up to the big ones; politicians and Gamemakers are no strangers to poker. Sweetheart, you can play the concerned wife worrying about him gambling away all your money or you can carry on trying your luck at roulette, no acting that way."

"We're ramping up the fundraising?"

"More money in our coffers won't harm us, Peeta. Katniss, you're going to have to get making friends. I'll ask Effie who she doesn't like, and you can invite them on a night out where you can take their money."

"Effie would help us?"

"She enjoys those kinds of games. But if you're talking about whether she would help us, I'm working on that, and you can both help me too. If you get her talking, she unknowingly feeds you all kinds of good stuff. We just need to get her in the game."

"So, whilst they scramble about, we get stronger," Peeta said.

"We'll show them what happens when Twelve finally gets some money behind it."

….

They had a party in District Seven. They had to show some restraint and hold it a couple of nights after the announcement to avoid peacekeeper attention. But the victors opened their drinks cabinets, brought their favourite foods and played music until morning. Blight had to force Johanna to refrain from a celebratory banner and fireworks, but she was able to enjoy herself all the same.

The next morning Blight and Johanna went on a walk to clear their heads and to get themselves looking presentable for the public mourning events the victors were forced to take part in.

"Remind me why we aren't armed to the teeth and digging trenches right now?"

"Because we'd all die. Chloe, Liev and Beetee want to avoid that."

"Are we sure we'd all die because this seems like a damn good opportunity to miss?"

"It's been deemed too high risk. Liev knows the numbers best, so we have to trust him. He thinks we have enough for sustained riots here but by a second batch of Capitol reinforcements, we'd be on our backsides."

"And they'd know we were involved."

"Exactly. We're not the type to stir the pot and then wait it out while everyone else fights. So, when we go, we're all in and at the right time."

"It's gonna be years, Blight," Johanna complained. "How am I not supposed to go mad in that time?"

"You find a way to have your fun. I'm thinking of ideas so let me know if you have any that won't get both of us killed."

"You know I'm not any good at that!"

"That's why I'm doing the thinking, Johanna."

….

It was even better than Plutarch had expected. The Finance Minister had appeared to make the first move and attempt to take control only to be poisoned by the Defence Minister who was then outmanoeuvred by the District Affairs Minister, Lucian Elda.

He was an unofficial, interim President, trying to sure up his position whilst the fighting remained ongoing. Almost every cabinet ministry had put forward a candidate for the scramble and a new pecking order was being established.

Plutarch thought that Elda had a chance of staying put so he arranged to meet him. First to flatter him by giving the briefing he intended to provide Snow with on the morning of his death and then to talk of his own ambitions. Plutarch had made no secret of his apparent love of the Head Gamemaker role but spoke of wanting to branch out and explore new scientific potential in Panem at the heart of power.

Their likely new president was not a man of science, so Plutarch was able to present some half-cooked plans involving the use of Gamemaker technology in the scientific commercial and research sectors for the benefit of the Capitol. Elda seemed taken in and intrigued. Plutarch thought it might be the start of another job well done. He had always been able to move smoothly through the chaos and people in government were used to his presence, so he hoped to continue using it to his advantage.

Now it would be a matter of positioning himself to depart from the role of Head Gamemaker. He would need to weave himself a story of moving on from the job in favour of Panem's scientific advancement. It would be a selfless move, inspired by patriotism at a time when his country needed stability to pull them through the upheaval of their long-time President's passing.

He could present the Capitol with a positive route forward, a journey towards greater prosperity in honour of their fallen President that they would all eat up whilst he carries on in pole position. It was going to be risky for Plutarch, moving even closer to the heart of the Capitol's power, but nobody suspected him yet, and if they did, he could deal with them as he had done before. He had to be the calm voice in a time of instability. He was one of the longest-serving Head Gamemakers, a personal link to Snow that he could make work for him.

He would need to update Chloe as to his plans. He respected her leadership enough to work alongside her and he knew they both had enough common ground to work together whilst they had to. They were both beholden to Mags, loyal to her ambitions and her memory. Plutarch knew their differences aside; they could keep the ship steady for their future victory.

….

"Seeder! Remind me why I'm supposed to be mourning again?" Chaff shouted.

"You're just going to have to act. We've managed it at all these district events, you'll just have to behave when we're in the Capitol."

"At least Haymitch is being dragged there too."

"That's what I'm worried about. You'll need to guide Marshall."

"Marshall can guide himself. He's a grown man."

"I probably can trust him to behave better than you, Chaff. I ought not to worry about him. It's thanks to his good sense that you'll be properly turned out in the Capitol too."

"What was wrong with orange? They're Calico's designs anyway!"

Seeder laughed back at Chaff, "You know exactly why that wouldn't work. The colour and the designer. Thankfully Marshall brought you both a job lot of black outfits for the next few days."

By now, Marshall had joined Chaff and Seeder as they were preparing to leave for the Capitol, "I'm sick of all these events, Chaff, as much as you are. But it's like you said, it's all part of the game. I'm looking forward to seeing what this Elda is like. I'll have to check in with Victors Affairs to see if my job spying on you is continuing."

"I'm pleased some of my wisdom has come off on you, boy. You're better at playing mourner in chief than I am."

"That's because nobody believes you're actually sad, Chaff!"

"I'm a better actor than Haymitch's girl, Marshall."

"Not a high bar is it. There was a reason Peeta was front and centre during Twelve's memorial."

"And why do you think we made you the face of our party?"

Marshall laughed, "That was great planning by both of you. A secret party in celebration, masked as that unity dinner, mourning in support of the Capitol. I'm sure everyone loved hearing my fond memories of my conversations with old Snow."

"We just distracted them with a good meal," Seeder said.

"There wasn't much for me to say anyway. The old man was practically incoherent last year. I'm surprised nobody bumped him off earlier."

"We've got to bump off this next one," Chaff said.

"Let's not have them hear you say that in the Capitol," Seeder said. "We meet with the others who are going and find out what we can about Elda. We'll have a way forward soon."