Ignis Moto

Age 17

District 6 Male

"We should bring the tributes back to the Cornucopia for the finale. People always love a good full circle moment."

Magnus's mouth clamped shut as the very suggestion he was about to make came out of his new co-worker's mouth instead of his own.

"An excellent idea, Mr. Snow," Dr. Gaul replied as a twisted smile disgraced her features. "I do have some ... pets that I've been wishing to test."

Magnus's brows furrowed and he had to turn away briefly to keep the other two Gamemakers from seeing the way his nose flared with annoyance.

Ever since that pretty boy Coriolanus Snow came along, Magnus had begun to feel like he was being pushed out. Now that Dr. Gaul had a fresh set of eyes and a new young mind to mold, it was as if his opinions didn't matter anymore.

Magnus did take pleasure in one thing, however. His suggestion to name the supply pile the Cornucopia stuck, and architects were already putting design suggestions on the table for next year.

Still, every other idea he had was either struck down or fucking Coriolanus suggested it first ... or a second time in a way that appealed to Gaul.

It felt wrong and petty to be jealous of a University student, but Magnus found himself missing the days where it was just him and Gaul against the world. She was like a mother to him, the only mother he had ever known, and losing her favor stung, as much as he hated to admit it.

Of course, Coriolanus wasn't entirely blameless. Magnus had gone and gotten married to a Capitol girl, which caused such a huge scandal that Magnus had to lay low until Dr. Gaul assured the public that Magnus wasn't truly district, not anymore.

(Apparently, he had good ol' Coryo to thank for that one too.)

Now that his wife was pregnant with their first child, Magnus suspected he was going to be pushed out even more in favor of this fresh face once he went on paternity leave, and Magnus was determined not to let that happen. He loved Cynthia and his unborn son to pieces, but he also loved his job and the place in the world that it gave him, and he was going to fight to keep it.

Dr. Gaul snickered as the hovercraft hovering above Survival Island began to lower. The hatch opened, and monkeys with wings began descending on the island, their strong sense of smell drawing them to the remaining four tributes, who immediately began booking it. Gaul stared intensely at her screen, regarding it the way any mad scientist would regard their pet project, controlling the mutts and making sure the tributes were being herded towards the Cornucopia.

The ones who were too slow, however...

Magnus felt a surge of pride as one of the monkeys swooped down and plucked one of the tributes off the ground, right out of her district partner's hands. The monkeys were his idea, given to Gaul a few years back after he discovered an old book in the archives.

The district partner in question, the boy from Six, screamed out her name but could do nothing, and was forced to go on without her. The girl was hauled into the air, and then dropped into the ocean, where the electric eels deployed there to keep the tributes on the island swarmed her. Gaul laughed as the girl writhed in pain before going limp and sinking into the waves.

Magnus risked a glance over towards Dr. Gaul, hoping for some sort of praise for his idea.

It never came.

Magnus pursed his lips and turned back to the screen, where the boy from Six had just reached the Cornucopia, followed by the boy from Eight and the girl from Twelve.

Gaul had the monkeys pull back, and the tributes were left to battle it out.

The boy from Eight, whose muscles were impressive considering where he was from, snatched up the girl and snapped her neck effortlessly.

That left him and Six. The cameras zoomed in on them both circling each other, fists raised and scanning each other for openings.

"I think Eight is going to win," Magnus mused. "Six has those brass knuckles, but Eight is stronger."

"I don't think so," Coriolanus replied. "Look at him. He's got no fight left. He's washed up."

"Mr. Snow is right," Gaul said. "The boy from Six, however... He's got that spark in his eyes. He's been a caged animal for too long. He's about to strike back. He's just waiting for the right moment."

Sure enough, the boy from Eight stepped and swung. Six ducked and was able to avoid the swing. Eight stepped again. Six ducked. The swing missed.

Coriolanus is indeed right... Magnus mused bitterly. Six is fighting smarter. Eight is fighting harder. Dammit, have I learned nothing?

It took a while. Gaul was already considering sending some of the monkeys back down to put a little pressure on the two, when the boy from Eight started to slow down. He was getting tired. He wasn't learning.

Six, however, was just getting started.

He rained down blow after blow, breaking ribs, cheekbones, jaws, and eventually, the boy from Eight was on the ground, twitching and groaning.

The boy from Six drew his knife and calmly slit his throat.

It was over.

"Isn't it wonderful?" Gaul said with a smile. "That's the moment the people anticipate the most. The moment a tribute becomes a Victor. The most important moment in the Games, in my opinion. Six will serve his country well."

"I told you," Coriolanus said to Magnus. "Fight smarter, not harder."

Magnus turned to look at Coriolanus. He stared into those bright blue eyes in an attempt to intimidate the younger man, but what he saw instead shook him to the core.

He saw the same look in his eyes as the boy from Six. Someone who had been beaten down for too long. Someone who wanted something back, who wanted to take control, and was simply looking for an opening.

Magnus cursed internally as he remembered Coriolanus's background, how he got here, how he was adopted by the powerful Plinth family after their son's tragic death, and how Dean Highbottom died shortly after his return. Funny how convenient it all was for Mr. Snow.

He knew bringing his concerns up to Dr. Gaul would not end well for him. Snow was her new golden boy after all. Hell, she probably had something to do with it, meaning once again, Magnus was being pushed away.

Magnus and Snow stared each other down for a moment, smug blue eyes meeting frustrated brown.

Fine then. Let Coriolanus have this win.

Magnus won one Hunger Games. He could survive another.

This is not my fault! I blame Justice and Pipes and Verses and everyone but myself lol. *sighs* I have some catching up to do, and I don't know if I'll be able to do it daily, but the wonderful ClearedPipes made a Viccember, and because I am a fool and never learn, I'm going to try and get a Survivors chapter out daily to follow the prompts, especially because some of them line up with certain victors. Go check out Pipes's story, Victorious: Viccember 2024 btw! It's really good! Today's prompt was "The moment a tribute becomes a victor," and well, you know how ... creative I tend to get with the prompts lol. So enjoy! I sure will...and then I'll hate (/affectionate hate) myself after because I might do another one in January too.

Why am I like this...