A/N: I know; this must be a surprise. But the next few chapters are the most intense of the story. I didn't build up all this drama only for it to never be resolved. There's a little recap at the beginning if you need a reminder.

Most of this chapter was originally written in December 2022.

Last time, in the 140th Hunger Games…

The Feast had just ended. Zeph (D12M) was captured by the Star Alliance, after Nevaeh (D10F, killer of Zirconia) redirected Clarke's (D9F, Zeph's "ally") brick into Zeph's head. Azolla (D4F) and Ellis (D8M) managed to escape by holding the Star Alliance at dart-gun point, though Azolla suffered a leg injury. Neveah and Ilithyia (D2F), the leaders of the pack, blame each other for the Star Alliance's poor showing.

While the others were at the Feast, Eros (D2M) returned to the courthouse, only to find Sostonio (D10M) and Ven (D1M) standing over an unlit bomb. Eros is convinced Ven is manipulating Ilithyia and about to blow everyone up, so Sostonio is stuck trying to placate him.

Adair (D7M) seems rather pleased at the Star Alliance's recent chaos.

Navarro (D4M) is somehow still alive, after a brutal wound in the abdomen that has recently reopened. He patiently waits for Azolla, but only because she promised to be back in twenty-four hours. Once time is up, he will not be patient any more.

Oh, and Rusk (D9 Victor) is trying to bring justice and avenge his friend's murder.

Day 9, Part 2: Noon

In the meeting room of the Mentor's Center sat a ring of maroon armchairs around a low glass-topped coffee table. The dim lighting barely reached the dark mahogany walls, which receded out as empty voids. Despite the cloud-like cushions, Rusk sat straight up, like a schoolboy trying to avoid the teacher's scolding.

Darah gave him a smile from the armchair at his right. "Relax. It'll go well."

"Maybe this is a bad time." His mouth was dry. The glass that had once held lemon water now sat empty on the table. "Her kid's still alive. If we mess her up…"

"She's been through worse."

"Just remember that she doesn't know yet, alright?"

"Ay… I'll be careful. And gentle." Darah sighed. "Any idea why they haven't been told?"

Rusk shook his head. "To be fair, we're not supposed to know either."

"What's the point of hiding it?"

"Maybe they don't want Four up in arms—"

The ID scanner beeped outside, and Darah hushed him. The door clicked open. Avisa entered. Her weary eyes were narrowed; she sat down abruptly and rested her hands together on the table. "What's this about?"

Darah smiled. "Howdy, I don't believe we've been formally introduced. I'm–"

"Darah Sommers, District Ten. Let's get on with it."

Rusk raised an eyebrow, silently pleading for her cooperation.

Thankfully, Darah's demeanor remained as smooth as always. "I'm so sorry for your loss," she said. "Having to come back so soon after it happened too—it must be difficult."

"You don't say." Avisa's voice softened. Just a little. "Thanks."

"Rusk already mentioned it, but would you mind if we asked some questions about her?"

"Ask away. I'll decide if I want to answer."

"I know this is a lot to ask."

"We're also trying to figure out what happened," Rusk added, hoping to reassure Avisa. "She deserves it. It's ridiculous that they haven't said anything." To Darah, the District Four Victor couldn't have been barely more than an acquaintance. He might've thought similarly a month ago, but Avisa had trusted him that night in the Tribute Tower. Rarely did people trust him with much. He wasn't about to throw this one away.

Avisa nodded at Rusk. "I… appreciate it. I wish I could be out there, but I can't just leave this kid to die. Pike and Myrddin and the others won't let me do nothin' either."

Rusk smiled back. Darah began.

"Did Faridah spend a lot of time in the Capitol?"

"Not too much, no. More than you would've—" Avisa gestured at Rusk. "—but just the week around big events. The winter festival, Panem rebirth day, the Games."

"I've definitely seen her a few times," Darah said. "She seemed popular with the sponsors."

Avisa let out a sigh. "She was popular with everyone. Too popular. That's why she wasn't here too much."

"Too popular?" Rusk said.

"I didn't mean it like that. Everyone wanted to meet with her. Couldn't get any time to rest. It would've been too much for her to be here all the time."

Perhaps this was part of the reason why Avisa always treated Capitol people as if they were below her. The less they wanted to be around her, the more freedom she had. Of course, he had never had any problems with too many Capitolites. He supposed that coming from the problem-child district of Panem had its benefits.

"No rest?" Darah asked, genuinely sounding concerned. "At all?"

"That's what I used to say. But she and her bleeding heart couldn't say no to anyone if she could help it. She was always going on about this person or that person."

Yet even in that busy schedule, Faridah had taken the time to come be with him. Rusk had never quite figured out why she'd ever bothered. Now it made even less sense. He'd long accepted that this was simply the way Faridah was.

"Like who?" Darah asked.

Avisa rubbed her temple. "I don't remember names… some senator's wife, a florist, a caterer at this party we were at. All sorts of people. I think she mentioned you at some point, Rusk."

Rusk raised an eyebrow. "What'd she say?"

"Don't remember. You were just another name; it didn't matter to me then. Oh, and a lot of prep team people. Even former ones."

"She kept in touch?" Darah said.

"Oh, for sure. They were like her best friends here in the Capitol. Tea parties and coffee chats. Even house visits."

"She was allowed to do house visits?" Rusk said.

Avisa gave him a funny look. "Oh… That's right, you're District Nine. You're not missing out. She dragged me along once and I made sure she never did it again."

He chuckled. "That bad?"

"Don't get me started."

"Hmm…" Darah said. "Pardon me, but do you think she was visiting someone when… you know."

Avisa took a long, deep sigh. "That's what I've been wondering. I can't think of another reason why she'd be in the Aureola Sector, but… I also can't figure out why someone would kill her either."

"She sounds like an angel."

"Exactly. So how could anyone do this to her? It doesn't make sense. Nothing makes sense. I'm trying to figure it out, but I need to know what happened and they won't tell us anything and…" She gulped. "It's… a lot."

Darah gave her a sympathetic look. "That's why we're here to help. We need to figure out the truth," she said. "Can you think of anyone she might've visited?"

"None of them live in Aureola."

"At least it's a start."

"Fine." Avisa bit her lip, deep in thought. "She visited those prep team people a lot."

"Can you think of any names?"

"It couldn't have been them; they treat her like a god."

"It'd be better than nothing."

"She was really close with some of this year's team. Rullia and Aeson especially. But mostly former members, like… Guiliana… Herodias… I think maybe even Acacio…"

Rusk gulped involuntarily. He could see the crazed man's face all over again. "Really?"

"What's up with Acacio?"

"N-Nothing specifically. I just heard that something weird happened with him years ago, so I didn't expect—"

"You're lying to me." Avisa narrowed her eyes. "Something's up with him."

Massive regret immediately overwhelmed him. He hadn't meant to speak; the image had just been so real and the word had left his mouth before he'd even realized it.

"Look, we're lost too," Darah interjected. She frowned. "If you know anything—"

"If you know something I don't…" Avisa gave Rusk a hard stare. He looked away. "You do know something."

"Avisa—"

"I deserve to know."

Darah butt in. "You have to trust us. We'll tell you when the time is right, but—"

"So both of you know." She glared at Rusk. "And here you are, pretending like you're just as lost as I am. What else do y'all know?"

He swallowed. "Please, Avisa—"

"Don't do this to me."

"But—"

"Don't do it, Rusk."

He looked back and forth between the two of them before he stared back down at the table. He wondered if he'd regret this. "As far as we know… Acacio killed Faridah."

The courtroom was lit by muted sunlight. Adair poked his head out the door; the clouds above seemed closer than ever, hovering barely above the top of the concrete tower a few blocks down by the Cornucopia. At this rate, they'd all be swimming in cloud soon, but he didn't mind. Some parts of District Seven were that humid year-round.

He re-entered. Ilithyia sat at one end of the room; Nevaeh was at the other. Neither had said anything to the other since the Feast. They'd tried to figure out what to do with the Twelve boy, but that had quickly devolved into the two girls pointing fingers at each other all over again and Sostonio had broken it up, declaring that they'd continue the discussion when both parties calmed down, but the naive kid hadn't considered how long it might take for just one of the girls to swallow their pride. Not to mention how Eros, Ven, and Sostonio had spent a better part of the afternoon staring nervously at each other.

All for the better, though. This last point had been Adair's own contribution, but he could hardly have anticipated that Ilithyia's poor judgment would spice things up so much more in his favor.

He slipped into the hallway, closing the door behind him. The Twelve boy looked up, his face as expressive as stone save for the inquisitive glint in his eye. Adair didn't like the kid. He couldn't immediately tell what the kid was thinking.

Still, Adair offered a smile as a peace offering. "Holding up okay?" he said, voice low.

"What more?"

"Nothing more. Just checking in."

"In case I escape again?"

"In case you've passed out or something, and I can't count on you for tonight."

The Twelve boy smirked. "What makes you think I won't escape?"

"Who's going to help you?" Adair chuckled, though still quietly. Best to avoid arousing suspicion in the main room. "No offense, but that Nine girl…"

The glint disappeared, replaced with coldness. "I know."

Adair put on a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry."

"You're not."

"More than you think."

Twelve swore. "You Careers…"

"You don't know a thing about District Seven," he said, feigning insult. "We're just doing what we have to to survive."

"Yeah right. Then why'd you volunteer?"

"Couldn't let the little thirteen-year-old come instead, could I? I was the Designated Volunteer."

Zeph snorted. "I know more about you than you think."

Adair bit his lip, pretending to be hurt. "So you believe everything Liat said."

"I don't not believe her."

He sighed. That girl did more damage to District Seven's odds of winning than she ever could've realized. "Look—we didn't get along. Stuff happens. But me and you? We still have more in common than you think."

Zeph looked thoughtful. Adair considered it a win. The more "friends" he could make outside of the Star Alliance, the better.

"I'll still hold up my end of the deal tonight," Adair said. "Guess I'll just have to trust you with yours."

When Ellis awoke, it was almost dark. The thick cloud cover made it impossible to tell how far the sun had left before it disappeared under the horizon. All was silent. He shot up in a panic, only to be reassured by the sound of Azolla's rustling nearby.

"Did you nap okay?" she whispered.

"Yeah," he said. "Are they nearby?"

"I don't know, but I'm not risking it."

"How's your ankle?"

"Better. It doesn't hurt as much." Azolla crept closer; she pressed something into his hand. "Some jerky from the Feast. Take a sip of water if you need."

"You sure? What about—"

She gave him a smile, barely visible now as the darkness accelerated. "If you just take a little, we'll have enough left over."

His stomach growled, so he obliged. As the lukewarm water passed his lips, it took every last bit of self-control in him to put the bottle back down. But Azolla had spared him when she could've easily killed him. It was the least he could do to leave some for her district partner. He hadn't thought through what would happen once the two of them found the guy—Navarro, according to her. Last they'd met, Navarro had tried to kill him. He hoped it'd go better this time.

"You want a little more?" Azolla asked.

"Doesn't he need it?"

"There's only one bottle. Once we split up…"

Ellis bit his lip. He should've kept in mind that they hadn't discussed what would come next. "I'll go with you."

"I really don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"I don't know how I'd explain this to Navarro," she said. "Don't you remember? He almost killed you last time!"

"Maybe he'll feel differently if he knows I saved you."

"We're this late in the game, Ellis." Her voice had a sudden firmness. "We can't go around making friends like this anymore."

"Is that what Navarro says?"

She sighed. "No, but… I promised him I'd do whatever it takes to stay away from everyone else. It's safer this late to split up, especially with the Careers still running around in a pack. And I have to get back to him."

Her reasoning was sound. Even Ellis had to admit that he himself sounded petty; Azolla had zero obligation to help him, and it had been silly of him to hope that she would, especially beyond everything she'd already done for him.

Besides, it was probably better for them that they didn't let him in. He had no way of knowing for sure, but past experience told him that his presence alone might lead to both of their deaths. Just like it had for everyone before them.

"A-Alright…" His voice was croaky, like he barely had any air left in his lungs. "Would you like to rest a little bit before you go?"

"Can I trust you to wake me in a few hours?"

"I'll do it."

She hesitated; he could sense it, even in the dark. "Promise?"

"I promise."

"I might be making a huge mistake."

"I'll wake you up."

She took a deep breath. "Okay. I'm counting on you."

He gave her a smile, and then he remembered that she couldn't see it in the dark. He hoped she knew he was being genuine.

He sighed. These could be his last few moments with a friend.

This was a selfish decision on her part. Fewer people would mean more food and water for the both of them, without Ellis' presence. Still, he could hardly fault her. She'd already saved him twice. That was more than he could ask.

She'd even bothered to tell him in advance that she was leaving. He listened as her breathing slowed into the regular rhythm of sleep. If he wanted to, he could abandon her right now—take everything and go. It wouldn't even be hard.

But he wouldn't. He couldn't, not really. Though nine days had passed in the Arena, he still couldn't play the game.

He hoped he wouldn't ever.

The floorboards creaked under Eros' footsteps. He came up to a wall; he turned around and paced the other way for the thousandth time. His gaze wandered around the floor; they flitted up again, watching Ven's every movement. The One boy now sat in the doorway. If the guy wanted to do anything, he could flee the scene before anyone could catch him. Eros was determined not to let anything of the sort happen.

Eros yawned. He pinched himself. No rest allowed, not when one of them—certainly Ven—had just tried to blow them all to smithereens earlier in the day. And there laid the problem. He'd tried to talk to Ili in secret after the three returned from the Feast, Twelve boy in tow, but she'd been too busy arguing with Nevaeh. Now both girls weren't talking and they still had a prisoner to deal with and this all gave Ven more time to do whatever he was trying to do and—

Enough was enough.

He sat down beside Ili and whispered in her ear. "We need to talk."

"About what?"

"About what I found when I left early."

She gave him a sullen look. "Thanks a lot for not being there. It's not like we could've used another hand."

"I'm sorry, okay? But this is serious."

"Not right now," she said, pressing her hands to her head. "One crisis at a time. I can't do this right now."

He looked back into the room, from where Ven watched him with narrowed eyes. He turned back to her. He needed her up and running as soon as possible. "I can't believe how mean Nevaeh is being about all of this."

"Exactly! I'm trying my best out here."

"She should be more sympathetic."

Ili took a deep breath. "I knew you'd understand."

"Are you ready to deal with Twelve? I'll call everyone."

She shot him a grateful look.

He rose and turned towards the room. "Guys, we have to get on with this."

Adair nodded. Ven glared, and Eros glared back. Nevaeh acted as if she hadn't heard. Sos just looked concerned, but that was nothing new.

"Let's figure out what to do with Twelve," Eros said. "We've got—"

Sos shot him a sudden stern look.

"—more important things to do."

Steadying herself against the doorway, Ili reached inside her pocket. "I'll draw the marbles; we'll do the trial right now."

"That's such a waste of time." Nevaeh cursed, shooting her a dirty look. "I'll give him a few good stabs and we'll be done with it."

"We've used the marbles every time."

"And it's been a waste every time."

"No—"

"It's stupid, it's pretentious, and it's a total waste of time."

"It's more fun," Ili said, crossing her arms.

Nevaeh breathed out sharply. "Is that all you ever think about? Having fun? No wonder you're so incompetent."

Eros took a deep breath. There they went again.

Ili flew to her feet. "You take that back."

"It was a simple job. You literally had one job and you still messed it up," Nevaeh said, rising as well. "Explain it to me."

"I said I was sorry! At least I'm thinking about the alliance. You're just trying to tear us all apart."

"Excuse me? You hacked up the Three girl limb by limb. You're screwed in the head."

"You're a shallow—"

"Y'all!" Sos' voice rang out. "Pull it together—"

"Don't you defend her," Ili snapped. "What's you guys' plan, anyway? Don't think I can't see through your good-cop-bad-cop routine."

"Don't you dare pull Sos into this—"

"I'll do what I want."

The Ten boy bit his lip; his face flushed red at the accusation. "Ili. Listen to me." Sostonio's voice held gravitas; it trembled, but the bubbling anger below did not surface. "I want the alliance intact just as much as you do. But there's something serious we need to talk about, and we need to figure out what we're gonna do with Zeph first."

Ili crossed her arms. "There you go again."

Eros' heart sank. Last time Ili and Nevaeh had argued, it'd blown over after a day. This was different. She wasn't just angry at Nevaeh; she now had it out for everyone on the Ten girl's side.

If he brought up the bombs now, who would Ili blame other than Nevaeh's district partner?

He opened his mouth. He closed it again. For the first time in his life, he didn't have the words to fix his problems.

Sostonio bit his lip and forced himself to breathe as Ilithyia glared at him, as if trying to bowl him over with the disdain in her eyes. Thankfully, he didn't bowl over easily, but it didn't make things any more pleasant.

In the corner of his vision, Nevaeh opened her mouth, an accusatory finger half-raised. He shot her a look. Don't you talk. You've said enough.

She was just trying to defend him; he knew. But trying to out-argue Ilithyia was like trying to fight fire with kerosene. It would never end well for anyone.

Especially not with the bombs lying around.

Clearly, Ilithyia could not have been the one to plant the bombs. If she wanted them all dead, she'd be more likely to try and take them all on directly, as foolhardy as it would've been. He'd talked it over with Nevaeh too; she'd promised him to high heaven that she knew nothing. It was inconceivable that Ven would do such a thing.

Eros could've done it. He could've planted it and returned to frame them in the act. But as far as Sostonio knew, Eros hadn't brought the bombs up yet, which meant that for all his whisperings, the Two boy wasn't trying to blow the alliance wide open. Not yet.

It could've been another tribute. There were still four of them out there; one could've taken a bomb from the Cornucopia and planted it while they weren't looking. But no other supplies had disappeared, and the bomb was cut so that it couldn't be lit, not easily. Whoever had planted the bomb had intended for it to blow up relationships, not to blow up buildings.

That left one candidate alone. He raised his gaze at Adair and narrowed his eyes. The words shot up his throat, but he swallowed them again.

Somehow, it didn't seem wise to throw a bomb into a raging fire.

But then Adair spoke.

"You guys, this is all beside the point. Let's deal with Twelve and move on to more important things." He paused, looked around, and stopped at Sostonio. "Because one of us is a traitor. One of us has been working with the other tributes."

Kill Counter:
Ilithyia Aella (D2F): II
Ace Invidia (D3M): II
Adair Ryder (D7M): II
Clarke Brioche (D9F): II
Adora Noble (D1F): I
Ven Piersson (D1M): I
Eros Worshire (D2M): I
Virginia Bedford (D8F): I
Nevaeh Jiminez (D10F): I

A/N Welp. Here goes nothing. This is a bit of a short chapter, but future POVs will be shorter (closer to Sos' in this chapter), and it would've been a little awkward to have a few long POVs and then a whole bunch of short ones.

Get ready for absolute chaos.