Author's Note: More upheaval for the victors across Panem in what is going to turn out to be a turbulent period for them all.

….

Destabilising

"We don't trust anyone else in the Capitol with Rosa," Charo said. "What are we supposed to do now Aloysius has gone? We've grown to like him and now there will be someone new."

"I can't think he wanted to go. He would have told us. He knows we trust him with her," Adan said.

"It's pretty clear he's been forced. Eight's escort looks like they're being pushed out and Trinket's going too. No matter what she says about getting a promotion, she's never been serious," Maria answered. "As for little one, I imagine poor Aria will be forced back so I'll spend time with her and Gem. Provided Rosa's goings-on don't unsettle her, she can stay with us."

"He must be finding this difficult. He had taken pride in trying to get to know Ten."

"I think that might be the problem, Charo."

"You don't think he's in trouble?"

"I don't, no. I just think the Capitol is trying to unsettle us. Mags has gone, it's the perfect excuse. Removing the ones we like and replacing them with worse models."

….

"Well, she's not happy about it. Didn't even get to choose her replacement," Haymitch said.

"Would she have been able to anyway, if she weren't our escort?"

"Course not. But it's Trinket. You know what she's like."

"Talking your ear off?" Katniss laughed.

"What do you think?"

"You did tell her we'll miss her, didn't you?"

"What's got into you, sweetheart?"

"Come on, Haymitch. I grew to like her and don't say you didn't!"

"We'll have to go for lunch with her," Peeta said.

"Make it special too."

"I don't do special."

"You do for Effie, Haymitch. Save causing trouble for the new escort."

"Already planning on it, don't you two worry about that. Think we can get rid of her by next year? How long do you think they'll put up with me?"

Katniss and Peeta both laughed, "Just don't get yourself into too much trouble."

….

"Aloysius and Trinket out and we still have to keep Vespa, the old bitch?" Johanna shouted.

"It's all part of the game, Johanna."

"Where's the fun in that? The decent ones have gone, and we're stuck with her!"

"I don't think we're supposed to enjoy it," Blight said.

"Finn told me he tried to request Trinket when he heard rumours, but his request was turned down."

"Of course it was. Trinket was too good, often nice to the kids, apart from the odd gaffe. But she was too close to the Twelves. Same with Aloysius, he liked the Tens and loved little Rosa."

"They're trying to shake us up," Linden added. "Good ones gone, and spies brought in. There's no wonder Diana Treasure is still in post and Finn and Noah both insist she isn't up to the job. Chloe and Coral have had to take on more at their ages whilst Treasure parties."

"It's hardly a difficult job is it, picking kids to die when you don't care about any of them."

"Johanna, remember they had Dora before. Nobody will live up to her for the Fours."

"Didn't we try to request her?"

"Yes. Mags put a stop to it."

"Can I at least try to get rid of Vespa this year? A bit of fun? If they're playing games with us, I want in."

"Oh, go on, Johanna. I think we've all served our sentences spending time with her."

….

"Did you have to have that latest row with Aria next door?" Cashmere asked her brother.

"I've had enough of Ermine. Aria knows that and she can't be protected from every loud noise. We'll be back in the Capitol before long."

"I know that and I'm at a loss for what to do. She is getting better but she won't be ready for them again. I am trying to get her in the best place possible and you having screaming matches every other day does not help."

"Well, I have my own problems to solve. Just because you're happy with Goldsmith!"

"So what? At least I thought about it instead of marrying the first person interested enough to say yes. We all told you that you could do so much better."

"Here we go again, Cashmere. All this I told you so!"

"I tried, Gloss. We always try to help each other but I know as well as you do that we can both be stubborn enough not to listen."

"I just wanted to get the job done," Gloss sighed. "Expectations managed and attention away from me. Well, I hoped."

"But we are still being sold, only quietly now and we have other people to manage."

"How does Goldsmith take it?"

"Hates it but understands, in a way. He was aware of it, anyway, being Theo's uncle and having connections to the Academy through his older brothers."

"You will be making us one big happy family when you're officially Theo's aunt!" Gloss laughed.

"It is rather awkward. I will be staying Theo's friend rather than anything more familial."

"I am happy for you, Cashmere."

"Thank you. But let's talk. What is actually going on with you and Ermine."

"We have practically split the house in two. We meet in the kitchen and for public occasions. I hate her jealousy, attention-seeking and spending. I am not what she thought I would be. She resents the Academy, you, the others, the fact that my life does not revolve around her and dropping all my money to give her everything she could ever want."

"Always knew she was not my biggest fan."

"Trust you to notice that she does not like you that much above everything else!"

"You are the same Gloss. We are District One. Ermine is too. But she has the worst of our flaws. Spending more than even Topaz could dream of, self-centred to the extreme-"

"Alright, Cashmere. I get the message! Stop trying to make things worse. The problem is that she wanted the life she thought a victor could give her, without the victor part of it. She has never tried to properly get to know me, or you, or understand any of us."

"I think she gets the message now."

"She has her half of the house. And half of my money each month. So, she is getting some of what she wants, without having to look at what she does not. She'll never properly understand the Academy and us funding half of it each year."

"But she went to the Academy?"

"She failed at thirteen," Gloss laughed.

"And I Imagine you like to remind her of that," Cashmere laughed in response.

"Every argument we have."

"So, every day then! But seriously Gloss, will you be able to divorce her?"

"The Mayor and our Registrar are not sure. Given the Capitol's interest in matters, it might be messy."

"They will not be getting the kid they want from Ermine, so I do not see why it matters to them."

"It's the Capitol. Their rules for us, I guess. And I am sorry about the children thing, Cashmere and what that does to you."

"I think they would have always tried to push me as the mothering type over you as a father. It is a good job that I at least want children, even with all of this. But I will figure that out."

"We can figure it out, Cashmere. I am still here, still your brother, much to Ermine's delight. I can help you with your problems and try to sort mine too. They can write an end date to the marriage on the district record if we want, but not the official one, for now at least. But it is something."

"Provided she does not create another argument over it, just do it, Gloss. Put the whole thing to an end. Tell them you were caught in a rush of excitement surrounding new love but sometimes relationships do not work out. They can guess at the rest."

….

The news coming from the Capitol about personnel changes for the next Games had washed over the victors in District Four. Shai died just weeks after Mags' passing, and they had to go through the same funeral rituals once more.

Shai had clung on as long as he could. But with decades of living alongside Mags, of raising their families together, relying on her and crafting her rebellion together, Shai knew he would not cope alone for long. He had his children and grandchildren to support him, but so much of his life revolved around Mags and he had lost his purpose.

He had wanted to stay around as long as he could, at least until he knew that everyone he was leaving behind would be okay. Shai wanted to be reunited with Mags and tell her that the sky had not fallen in on District Four and that their family of victors was striving forward in her memory.

So much of the heart and history of Four's Victors' Village had left and the remaining victors were doing their best to adjust. They knew it was inevitable. Mags was Shai's anchor, and he was lost without her around. As her health declined and Shai slowed down with age, they were at each other's sides almost constantly. Mags' death marked a sudden separation after decades in each other's company.

Four's victors were relieved to know that Shai passed peacefully. He had gone to bed and Rowan was sat alongside him, dozing as the night drew longer, until he realised Shai had stopped breathing. Rowan checked for a pulse, realised there was nothing there and hurriedly called for Coral. Shai was his mentor before the Games, Coral his mentor in the arena and he needed her alongside him as he began to process the passing of the first of Four's victors who took him to heart.

If Mags was the heart and driving force of the Village, it was Shai who provided the steadying hand in everything they had tried to do. He had brought with him an aura of peace at even the most trying of times. The entire landscape of the Village had shifted, and Coral knew that from the second she saw the look on Rowan's face.

For Chloe, it was time. Her guidance had departed, and she felt the weight of their rebellion squarely on her shoulders in a way she had not before. She had officially been the leader in the districts for several years, but Mags or Shai were always present to consult. Now it was her, with Coral's constant encouragement and support at the helm. Everyone would look to her in these changing times and now she did not have the fallback of her senior victors.

Beetee and Liev would have to be informed so they understood the weight of their collective position. She would write to Liev and Coral to Beetee and the four of them would reunite in the Capitol, cemented in their position as leaders. They would steady for ground for the districts as they knew that so much in the Capitol was going to change and leave the ground ready for their successors to tip them over the edge.

Mags and Shai had faith in Chloe. She knew they would not have chosen her to lead if they did not. It was easier to keep leadership in Four, but they could have asked Maria, Linden or several of the others to take the helm, but they had chosen her. Perhaps it was because they knew her best. They had spent the five years before Coral's victory together. Mags and Shai were growing their families and steadily involving Chloe in their cause. They had been building and growing together and uniting the district behind them whilst creating a loyal following in the Capitol.

Chloe knew everything there was to know about Mags and Shai's dreams so it felt fitting that she would carry the torch towards making them a reality. She knew at heart that Finnick would lead them into their ultimate victory because it would take time and Chloe knew her own was very slowly running out. She was healthy but she was also seventy-five and her job was to steady the ship and relight the fire so Finnick could allow it to catch once more.

….

"The Capitol will be different this year," Pluto sighed.

"There will be a missing piece," Beetee agreed. "This time Mags won't be back in her chair at all, and nobody will pass on a message from Shai."

"There will be a lot resting on dear Chloe's shoulders at the moment, and dare I say it, yours too."

"I feel the responsibility in a way I have not before."

"I will be with you in the Capitol this year. I trust you all implicitly, but I want to see for myself that everyone is okay to keep Mags' ship steady. I'm the oldest male victor and Gem is the oldest of us all. I feel a responsibility too."

"Gem will be hating it."

"I'm not," Pluto said. "It's a privilege and reaching a good age is not something that many of us district folk experience."

"That's not the District One way of thinking, is it?"

"That's why we're District Three, Beetee."

"It will be good to have you with us," Beetee acknowledged. "Wiress will appreciate the calm and I know Halley will love having you alongside us. She had to take on an awful lot last year in support of Finnick with Cashmere's upset."

"Of course. I will be keen to know how Gem and Cashmere are coping with young Aria. It's a dreadful shame. But of course, we know who's to blame and that they won't change. The poor dear will be back, she'll be sold again, and I dread to think how that will turn out."

"Gem and Maria will appreciate the support. We know Gem will call on Maria for help."

"That's a friendship I am pleased has endured. Such different backgrounds but they have connected so well."

"It's what it's about, isn't it? Fits with your grand ideas about unity and equality."

"They're friends, Beetee. Nothing grand about it. Well, there shouldn't be. The fact that two women of a similar age with decades of shared experiences could be friends is only a grand idea because of where we are. I'm yet to find another nation in existence today that splits its people like we do."

"Change will happen, Pluto."

"I know. It's just been painfully slow. But we have come a long way since my little book club of conspiracies. We are embedded across Panem now, and we have grown in numbers and strength. Winning is inevitable, but I just wish it would come around that bit faster."

"At least Mags and Shai died knowing that it would come, eventually. That their lives work won't be for nothing. We all believe so strongly and the ground has been laid. There is so much I can still do, that Finn is doing, that we will break them."

"We can't forget Mags' other work too. We break the Capitol, but we keep ourselves together. The strength in the Mentors' Centre is all Mags' work and we can't let that go to waste."

"It won't. Chloe and Coral together have everyone on their side. Seeder is a real unifying figure too and she won't be going anywhere anytime soon."

"I certainly hope not. She is a woman of incomparable strength. Even Mags never had a Chaff figure to manage, although in recent years I think Rowan could have been rather troublesome. But Chaff, the proximity to Haymitch, the darling little girl in the Seventy-Fourth Games, constant trouble in Eleven and Seeder is still quietly defiant and composed."

"She is an excellent asset. A friend too and a mentor to everyone. You will be pleased to meet Marshall again, Pluto. He has grown into himself. Much more confident. Snow still thinks he has him under his thumb spying on Chaff and Seeder, but Marshall enjoys the game now. Chaff will have brought that out in him, but Seeder will have created the balance. He has a good head on his shoulders."

"I'm looking forward to seeing him grow. The recent victors all appear to be coping. I'm sure that string of luck will run out at some point but this many well-adjusted young victors is a victory in itself. I hope to leave the Capitol with a sense of peace."

"You sound like you won't be going back."

"Beetee, you know this is a rare visit for me. You know I'm an old man too. Such a trip is tiring, and I imagine I will need a month to recover once we are home."

Beetee thought there might be something more behind Pluto's comments but decided not to push whilst Pluto was already in a reflective mood.

"I'm sure Halley will make sure you don't overexert yourself."

Pluto laughed, "Just watching Halley is exhausting. Brilliant and exciting but a lot is going on. So much action, so much potential. She is going to thrive at Finnick's side."

"Does she know that's the plan?"

"She's not blind. Finnick has asked her to stand alongside him now, and she'd never deny him, not when it's something she wants too."

"I think we're going to be okay. I will support Chloe and prepare to hand everything over to Halley. Three alongside Four as usual."

"And that's how it should stay. I know you won't forget that."

….

"We carry on as usual," Maria said.

"Keep Rosa close and know who to trust," Charo replied.

"It's the same game," Adan said. "Even if the players are changing."

It was a sentiment felt across the districts. The loss of Mags and Shai had shaken them all. Even those who did not feel the same connections knew that the Capitol would be different now. They would have to carry on, even though the person who had tied them together was no longer with them.

So many of them had followed in Mags and Shai's footsteps and sought connections amongst themselves that surpassed the friendships they had at home. They knew who they could trust, and they knew where they were going.

They had new leaders and change would come again before the inevitable happened and what Mags had tried to set in stone came to fruition.

The Capitol would continue to try to thwart them, and the latest round of antagonism had not come as a surprise. There would be new people to watch over, potential new threats to analyse, brought in when they were at a low to unsettle them further. The decades-long game they played would continue. No matter the district, rebel or not, they had survived the Hunger Games and the games continued. Most of them returned to the Capitol year after year bringing more ill-fated children to their deaths, unsure of what would face them too. The Eighty-First and then the Eighty-Second Games would be no different and so on until the system finally fell apart.

There would be new faces, more worry, and more danger but the victors would do as Maria advised and carry on facing the Games as they usually did.