Thanks to critixu, Dani H. Danvers, Very New To This, & AlexFalTon (major thanks!) for the reviews! One chapter left and we're almost at 400! Who's going to get it?!
I'm ready to be done. We're almost there! Enjoy!
Chapter XXXV The Victory Tour - Districts 4 - 2 & Capitol
District 4
The Monaghan family was nothing but smiles for the cameras as Victor Rothschild arrived, having decided to greet him at the train station rather than wait at the Justice Building.
Victor Rothschild was stunned to see them there. So stunned he couldn't hide the expression from the cameras as Maddie's parents embraced him and welcomed him to District 4.
"It is an honor to meet Panem's newest Victor!" Maddie's father said. The rest of the family agreed and Victor Rothschild stared back at them in shock.
"Thank you." He merely replied.
The Monaghan's weren't put out by the lack of receptiveness. This was all a show for the cameras and their future. Mrs. Monaghan wrapped her arm around the Victor's and escorted him from the station, where they had already arranged for throngs of "fans" to greet him. It was a far different cry from the somber moods of the other Districts and it was clear the Victor was having trouble calibrating to this new reality.
The Monaghan's weren't heartless. They were enjoying watching Maddie's killer struggle to adapt and look a fool for the cameras. But at the same time… they needed him. To help keep the Monaghan name first and foremost in the Capitol mindset. The Capitol couldn't be allowed to think of Victor Rothschild without thinking of Monaghan.
After Maddie's death, the Monaghan clan had been heartbroken. Their dreams killed by the brat from 1. Maddie had come so far and was so close to victory, but the Games were cruel and Maddie – they came to admit to one another – never was enough. Still, the Games and sponsorships they had provided to her had given the Monaghan's some ins into the Capitol. Even though the 59th Games were the shortest in over a decade, the recovery period for the Victor was lengthy and the Monaghan's seized upon the Capitol's need for entertainment in the mean time.
Before long, they were back in business and Maddie was made into a star. The recap had made sure of that.
Just as they always wanted for the Monaghan name.
They took Victor Rothschild to a nice part of the Districts where crowds and cameras waited for them already. Victor Rothschild had gotten control of himself mostly but looked as though he'd been slapped again when he saw the newly constructed object.
In front of the Career Academy, a statue of Maddie stood. It was fifteen feet and on a pedestal surrounded by flames that would never extinguish. She looked poised, eyes firmly fixed forward, with a look of determination on her face that she only exhibited for the end of the entire Games.
She was an icon, fixed in stone and now myth.
"Isn't it wonderful?" Maddie's grandfather asked the Victor. "A small gift for the District to forever remember Monaghan, hmm?"
The Victor was silent, which was fine with the Monaghan's who were now monopolizing the cameras time, extolling Maddie's virtues and - by extension – the virtue of the Monaghans. They looped the Victor back in shortly once the cameras were off, making an announcement to him and the District folk who were assembled.
"We're also offering full sponsorships for future Academy candidates." Mrs. Monaghan informed Victor Rothschild. "In fact, we have one candidate right now we like very much. He's a prodigy really! Excellent with a trident and net. He'll be following in your footsteps in no time."
Victor Rothschild finally broke, the atmosphere too much for him. "I hated your daughter." He told them.
"Don't be a child." Mr. Monaghan told him, while Maddie's grandparents scoffed behind them. Victor Rothschild said nothing further, gazing up at the statue of Maddie and reminiscing on the fallen girl.
The Monaghan's were already moving on, enticing the Victor to other sights in the District.
In all the excitement from the Monaghan's, the Forebays had been simply drowned out. They stood on the Victory Tour stage feeling alone while the Monaghan's basked in the spotlight. Not everyone in the District was as gung-ho about their new Victor as the Monaghans though. District 4 had come close this year and there were many who were proud of how far Maddie had come.
Nicola was mostly forgotten, it seemed.
When the speech was done, Mr. and Mrs. Forebay stood behind as the Monaghan's lead Victor Rothschild off with the cameras. As had it been since the Games, the Forebays were alone with their grief over Nicola. Sure, there had many friends of Nicolae that were grieving too. Nicola had always been popular and well liked. Everyone in District 4 always expressed their sadness over their passing when they saw them.
But people who had truly known him beyond the surface and the Academy? Neriah had been able to find any.
Even they struggled to connect. It had grown harder as Nicola immersed himself further and further into the Hunger Games. But they had tried to brush it off. He was at the Academy. He seemed to have friends. He seemed to be happy. He was serving the District. All good things.
Now he was dead and they had nothing.
The Monghan's hadn't even bothered to say anything to them. In time, they feared Nicola would be lost to history.
As lost as they were.
District 3
The world of Panem was full of forgotten children. Boys and girls who faded into the shadows, lost to a myriad of horrible things without the interference of the Hunger Games. Such an effect was even more pronounced in District 3. There, swarms of unknown children tried to make their way through life. Some succeeded.
The Victory Tour reminded the people of District 3 that most didn't.
The Tour also needed a lot of coordination with the Capitol. Reporters and camera operators, a Gamemaker to make sure things were on schedule, and a few Avoxes. The Capitolites were strictly quarantined though to insure they had little interaction with the citizens of the District.
Still, like all rules, there were ways around that.
The streets of District 3 were empty, most of the people at the Victory Tour. Only a few vagrants, not worth the Peacekeepers time to round up, prodded about. But they wouldn't remember him anyways. His clothing was bright for someone in 3, but a heavy cloak and hood obscured most of it. He also taken the steps to remove the hair dye from his hair, washing out the blue and returning it to his natural dark color.
Since most of the District was urban or factory filled, there wasn't a good place to put a graveyard. The standard for 3 was cremation upon death, but the Capitol insisted on traditional burial for the dead Tributes. Thus, in between apartment buildings, a large plot of land had been set aside for the graveyard. Darkly, the area was one of the nicer and more expensive places to live.
The man swung the graveyard gate aside and entered. The place was empty and he made his way through at his own pace. He walked past grave after grave, reading off each name. By the time he hit the thirties, the names were all familiar to him. His job had required him to be.
Then, the graves for the 59th Hunger Games. They were fresh and the stones not worn down yet. He kneeled before one of them, taking in the sight and words engraved on the stone.
"Hypatia Diaz, Age 17, Tribute of the 59th Hunger Games, Placed 17th"
A gentle breeze passed through the graveyard. There was even some sun above. What a strange and awful way to meet one's daughter, the man thought. He saw her face clearly, her mother less so. It had been almost eighteen years since his summer in District 3. He'd been assigned to monitor lab progress with mutts. Hypatia's mother had been lab tech. Man meets woman, they fall in love, man is forced back to the Capitol.
He gave her a ring. That's how he realized who Hypatia was. He had hoped that she would sell such an expensive piece of jewelry to make a life for herself. As a way to remember him. They'd never be together, obviously. But it was something to remember him by and make some money off of.
'Why didn't you sell the ring?' he thought. Was it love? That felt… silly.
'Did she love me?' He thought.
He touched the grave, curious if he felt anything. The stone was smooth, made from the best from District 2 no doubt. He held his hand there for a full minute, waiting.
He felt nothing.
Did that make him a monster?
"Goodbye, daughter." He said.
He left the graveyard and returned to the Victory Tour. He'd be back in the Capitol the next day.
And he wouldn't return to District 3 ever again.
The Victory Tour was quick, though not exactly painless. The Osborn family stood on the Tour stage before their entire District, listening to the Victor enunciate on the glory of the Capitol and the Districts relationship. Nobody in District 3 really felt anything towards the Victor except acceptance of the inevitable. Of course a Career won. Those with privilege always did.
Henry Osborn was listening intently though, if only to stop thinking about Web. Six months later, Henry still hadn't found peace with his older brother's decision to volunteer in his place. All it had gotten Web was the mockery of Panem and a Bloodbath death.
And what did Henry have to show for it? Tense dinners with the family. Sleepless nights. Failing grades.
'Look what you died for, Web.' Henry cried.
Everyone clapped once Victor's Rothschild was done, including Henry and his parents. They met with the Victor inside the Justice Building afterwards, forced to congratulate him on his victory once more. The Victor accepted the praise with polite curtesy, hardly the response of an egomaniac that Henry pictured him as. Was it all an act for the camera, Henry wondered? Did he go to bed every night thinking a bout the Tributes who didn't come home?
Henry never got a chance to ask as the Victor was pulled away after the curtesies, never to speak with them or return to District 3 again.
The Osborns took a cable car back to their apartment complex, silent the whole way. It broke down with only a couple blocks left – another piece of infrastructure the Capitol would never splurge on fixing – so they had to walk the rest of the way. It had been a relatively easy winter for 3 so far and the Mayor was proudly reporting that hypothermia linked deaths were at its lowest in fifteen years.
'Go us.' Henry thought miserably.
Once home the family split off: Henry to his room, his mom to do laundry, and his dad to start their dinner. "Some stew and corn bits tonight." His dad told him. Henry nodded. So they weren't talking about the tour then. Great…
An hour later there was a knock on the door. Henry and his parents already knew who it was so they let Henry answer it. Outside, Web's friends were waiting.
"Hey, Henry!" Zero said, a little too much happiness in his voice. Next to him, Norm jabbed his ribs lightly while Matilda made the standard offer.
"Do you want to go for a walk?" She asked.
"Not really. I'm tired."
"Fresh air will help. Come on!" Norm said, dragging him from the apartment. This was the arrangement these day. Panem might had forgotten Web but his friends didn't. They'd still be there for his younger brother, especially on a day like the Tour.
It was dark as they began their walk, only the orange street lamps and lit windows for light. A couple beggars were settling in for the night between the apartment buildings, which would cut off the the cold wind that flared up in the District at night. Nearby, a group of smaller kids were playing some game they had obviously made up, laughing.
"Today sucked." Zero said as they began their walk.
"You did well on stage." Matilda told Henry. "I don't think I could have been up there."
"It wasn't fun." Henry replied.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Norm asked.
"No." Henry immediately replied. They always wanted him to talk about Web. Henry had begun to think that he preferred his parents way of just burying their emotions. They'd already lost their son once when he went off and ruined their dreams. Henry would often wonder if it was easier for them now that Web was dead.
"I think you should." Matilda pushed.
Henry shook his head. "Why?" He asked. "It won't change anything."
"But it's helpful." Matilda said. "Or… that's what people say. And we want you to be ok. For Web."
"Because he killed himself for me?" Henry replied.
The boys backed off, letting Matilda handle Henry. "Yes." She said bluntly. Web had always preferred blunt answers, she gambled Henry did too.
He responded to it. "I haven't done anything to be worth it." Henry admitted.
Matilda was quick to correct him. "Web didn't volunteer to save you so you could do something. He just did it so you'd live. And you are."
"But there has to be a point to me living!" Henry insisted, getting angry.
"Why?" Matilda demanded.
Henry blinked. "Why is there a point to life?!" He asked, shocked by the question.
"Yeah. Why?" She repeated. "There doesn't have to be a point to everything."
"So you think my brother died for nothing then?!" Henry shouted. Norm and Zero shifted uncomfortable, subtle signaling to Matilda to backtrack. She plowed forward though.
"Did Web ever talk to you about the simplicial sphere?" Matilda ask.
Henry shook his head. "No." He said, then thought about it. "Maybe. I don't know. He was always smarter than me."
"Smarter than us too." Zero confirmed.
"Well, he told us about it. Or, tried to. I don't know what he was saying but the gist is this." Matilda explained. "There's supposed to be a sphere that forms when you put polytopes together. Well, apparently, they aren't suppose to form like that. Like, they don't know why that's the case or why it works in higher dimensions or something. I'm not sure, I'm not crazy like your brother! But, without reason, it still exists."
"So?" Henry demanded.
"So… it just exists!" Matilda told him. "And people haven't figured out why. And yet, it just goes on. I think there's something beautiful about that, right? So, why does life have to have some sort of meaning too, huh?"
Henry processed that. A fuse was acting up somewhere, the static in the air. Behind them now, one of the kids was accusing the other of cheating at the game while the others played on. Henry shook his head.
"Did… did you think that was a good metaphor?" He asked Matilda.
"I mean… did it work?" she asked him sheepishly.
"No." He said. And then, Henry laughed. The first time in months. Matilda was laughing too and soon Zero and Norm joined in. "Web would have hated that analogy." Henry told them.
"Eh, but he would have loved that you're still alive." Matilda shrugged. "That's all that mattered. Just live your life. That's how Web wanted to live before the Hunger Games. He gave it all up to be himself. Or, well, as much as you can in 3. Don't overthink it."
The group kept walking, the boys doing most of the talking while Henry and Matilda were silent.
Henry felt more comfortable than he'd ever been. Somehow… at peace.
District 2
When someone thought they were being clever, they'd comment that the people of District 2 were as sturdy and stubborn as the mountains they lived around and in. Tradition and the continuity of it was important in 2. For decades, the tradition had been to give a Hunger Games Victor their chosen weapon made in gold to be hung next to a statue of them.
Pietyr's father decided to modify that tradition.
After Pietyr's body was returned to the District, it was laid to rest in the Tribute Graveyard next to Amaya's. The graves were simple, a sturdy gravestone with their names, age, the Games they competed in, and their ranking. Maura had visited the site many times on her own and with her parents, who wept deeply for their son.
Then, one trip, their father came with a gift. He unfurled it and laid it atop the grave, fashioning it so the elements – or Peacekeepers – couldn't remove it. Atop Pietyr's grave rested the golden saber dad had made in honor of Pietyr's would be victory.
Two weeks later, Maura's father returned to the graveyard with a golden machete and laid it atop Amaya's grave.
He kept going, crafting golden weapons that each of the fallen Tributes in years past had used. Soon, the graveyard was a small armory. Some tried to push back, but Maura's dad wasn't one to be deterred and he kept on. When the families of the Fallen Tributes came out in support, the Mayor and Peacekeepers wisely backed down.
The day of the Victory Tour, Maura's dad was working at the forge as he often was those days. She watched him through her bedroom window working in the backyard, stamping out the impurities of the metal as he put the finishing touches on a morning star. Maura thought the whole thing was a beautiful expression for the Fallen.
'Shocking that Pietyr could motivate something so sympathetic.' She thought.
Her brother had been… difficult. That was how she put it whenever someone asked about him. Pietyr was difficult, but he was strong. He was difficult, but he was capable. He was difficult, but he was going to be Victor.
'He was difficult for nothing.' She thought. 'And I put up with it for nothing.'
Maura wasn't an idiot. She knew her brother hated her. She'd obviously known for years because everyone – who wasn't her mom and dad – commented on it. Maura would always brush it off, knowing that Pietyr would be chosen as District 2's volunteer. Even at a younger age, she'd known. Why try and build discontent towards him?
'He did enough of that on his own.' She thought.
But still… she couldn't hate Pietyr herself. She loved him. He was her twin. But everything she had done seemed to backfire. There were some days she thought that if she disappeared, Pietyr would still find ways to be miserable about her. Now, he was gone and she remained. Maura still missed her brother, but she would be lying if she said life wasn't easier without him. She had a future now as a trainer at the Academy. She's make a few Victors out of the candidates and dedicate the effort to Pietyr.
'At least mom and dad will like that.' She thought.
Outside, her dad kept hammering away at the metal. Life went on.
Having produced the most Hunger Games Victors, District 2 knew how to put on a good Victory Tour – even if they hadn't won. The Capitol demanded it and District 2, always eager to please them, complied in dutiful fashion.
Everyone was in their best clothing as District 2 stood in front of the Tour stage and listened to Victor Casanova Rothschild give his speech. There wasn't a terrible amount of animosity towards the Victor. The rivalry between District 1 and 2 was strong, but a victory from 1 was easier to swallow than losing to another District. Victor Rothschild had gotten on well enough with Amaya too. Of course him and Pietyr butted heads, but Pietyr was difficult, everyone knew that.
The Kalashnikev and Alyec families stood on the stage besides Victor Rothschild in stoic silence. The families weren't close – one from old money and the other Dust – but for their District and the cameras they were pleasant.
After that, the Alyecs would return to the Dust. Eki was ready for it. She wouldn't have come if her mom hadn't insisted. Mom had been furious with Amaya the month after her death, angry that her innate feeling that Amaya wouldn't become Victor had been confirmed. Afterwards had come acceptance that there was little that she could have done to stop her second eldest daughter from volunteering. Nor could she had blamed her daughter for dreaming big and trying to escape the Dust.
Eki was a different matter.
After the speech, the families met with Victor Rothschild. He was polite to the Kalashnikevs but obviously didn't have much to say about their son Pietyr. He lingered with the Alyecs though, making Eki's mom feel good about her lost daughter and giving her compliment after compliment.
"I'm upset that so much of the Capitol seems to think that burning the Sour Island was my idea." Victor Rothschild said. "I tell everyone that it was all Amaya's idea."
"I'm… I'm glad she's recognized." Amaya's mom said, a lump in her throat. "And remembered by you."
The Victor spoke with Eki as well. "Your sister was a great person." He told her. He even sounded honest. "And I'm glad I was the one who put her killer down."
"You were also the one who endangered her in the first place." Eki responded, malice in her voice. She could tell that the Victor was surprised by it and she enjoyed the discomfort. "The Capitol may have also forgotten your schemes with Elegance, but I don't. If you hadn't pushed Maddie she wouldn't have come back with a vengeance and killed Amaya while she was clearly aiming for you."
Victor Rothschild had no answer for that, something that was becoming a theme for him on the Tour, and he left shortly after that. Eki left the Justice Building feeling very smug.
No transportation waited for them to return them home so the Alyec's had to catch a ride on the back of a loader and then walk the rest of them way. They returned hovered in dust and bits of rock. Eki's mom had reprimanded her for speaking ill towards a Victor and Eki promised to never do it again. They left it at that.
Dinner was served later and they made small talk. The winter weather was good, mom's job would had a light shift that weekend, Eki would work hard her next semester in school. The typical nonsense. Afterwards, Eki helped clean up and then went to her room. She used to share it with Enara and Amaya. Now it was just her.
'We're dropping like flies.' Eki thought about the Alyec girls. Would she be next in her new job? Not that she had any qualms about what she was doing. She was following her sisters now. They'd been foolish to try and do something else.
Amaya had learned lessons from the death of her older sister and now, Eki learned lessons from the death of hers. Amaya had been foolish. Brave, but foolish thinking that she was anything besides Dust. Nothing was ever going to change and Eki had to learn how to live in the Dust instead of doing what Amaya had. All it had gotten Amaya was being targeted by a rich kid while being played by another rich kid, and then being killed in the middle of their rich kid spat.
A truck pulled up in the night. Eki took her que and snuck out, making sure her mom was fast asleep first. She stepped outside and rushed over to the truck. In the front seat was Cosmo, Amaya's old gang affiliate and now Eki's fell gang member. He smiled at her, a few teeth misshapen.
"Ready, lil' killer?" He asked her.
Eki didn't hesitate to jump in the open bed of the truck and into the life the District had forced her into.
The Capitol
The penultimate stop on the Victory Tour was the Capitol, where Cas was immersed with throngs of his fans, all wanting a piece of him. Cas' day in the Capitol began with him making appearances on morning shows and games shows, popping up at popular restaurants and venues, and enjoying cocktail hours with the District elite behind closed doors. The finale of it all was a lavish garden party at the Presidents Mansion, where Cas was the center of all attention.
At the moment, Cas was entertaining them with a show. On one end of a bright green, well manicured lawn was Cas surrounded by fawning Capitolites, the other side a couple Avoxes holding up targets. With flourish, Cas would hurl chakrams at the targets while broken Avoxes remained still, unable to react to the steel blades being hurled at them.
At the final target – with no misses and no injured Avoxes – the audience cheered and were quick to compliment Cas. "You'll have to give us a private showing of your skill soon." One Capitolite with bright pink hair whispered to him. Pink was all the rage in the Capitol at the moment courtesy of the Games.
"Just tell me when and where." Cas played along.
"Will you be back for next years Games?" Another asked, grabbing hold of Cas' arm. He smiled and looked at the Capitolite dead in the eye. He was finding a lot of Capitolites had no problem touching him and pulling him close.
"Of course! I've already been assured I'll be a mentor for the 60th Hunger Games." He informed the man and all others around. "In fact, I know someone who might even volunteer. Would anyone here have an issue with a back to back District 1 victory?"
A lots of cries "no" just for their new Victor. Cas had to laugh at it. In that moment, Cas felt like he could say the most outrageous things and all the Capitolites would agree. It was far more an intoxicating feeling than the endless amounts of Rothschild wine the party had.
As the night wore on, Cas felt himself grow more and more tired. The Victory Tour had been a wild experience and he was eager to share it with Ambrosio and his friends. It had been fun seeing the other Districts – even the pathetic ones like 9 and 12 – but home called to him and he was eager to sleep in his own bed again.
Before the night was over, an Avox approached and delivered a letter from the President, requesting Cas' presence. Cas politely excused himself and followed the exotic looking Avox into the mansion. Cas was quickly learning that customs around Avoxes in the Capitol. The key to their "worth" came from how little they had to raise their eyes and look at people. All the Avoxes at the President's Mansion never raised their eyes once, capable of performing complex tasks without glancing fully at the items. They also seemed barely human, their outfits not only covering their mouths but eyes as well.
The Avox lead him into a study and left him with a simple bow. A minute later, President Snow appeared. The man was too self-serious to wear pink clothing himself, but the color did make an appearance on his tuxedo with a carnation pinned to his lapel. Even at a distance, Cas could smell the flower. The President clearly liked his colognes and smells, Cas concluded.
"Mr. President." Cas said.
"Mr. Rothschild. Do you have my answer?" He asked immediately.
Cas had been prepared for this. He knew how to reason. "My brother doesn't see our point of view yet."
"Oh? Is that so?"
"He's… stubborn. To a fault. I don't want to bore you with the family drama but it's something I can overcome."
"He refused my order?"
Cas shook his head. "No, sir. He refused me."
"Did I not tell you I wanted the vineyard? He understood from my letter to him and your presence that it was an order from me."
Cas felt like the conversation was getting away from him. "I'll make sure he understands. Something just got lost in communication."
The President was giving him a hard look. Cas wasn't sure what to make of it. "Yes, clearly there is a lack of understanding with someone…" the President said, trailing off at the end though his eyes remained buried into Cas.
"I don't want you to worry sir, I'll make him come around." Cas continued.
"When?" The President asked.
"Soon." Cas promised. "I don't want to be presumptuous-"
"Then don't be. Speak plainly."
Cas swallowed hard, but appreciated the gesture. Speaking as equals made this easier. "My brother blames me for our father's death. He has an absurd theory that my biological father murdered ours." Cas told him. The look in the President's eye made it clear he didn't care about this, so Cas moved on. "The point is, sir, that I can make him come around. I've known him my whole life. I'm sorry for the difficulty."
"If you prefer, I can involve myself." The President said.
"Oh, no, sir. You have way more important things to handle than brother's fighting."
There was a twinkle in the President's eye that Cas wasn't able to figure out. It vaguely reminded him of the look a teacher gave him during a difficult quiz. "I think I've already told you how important this is to me."
"I know, sir. And I'm just asking for a little more time."
The President nodded. "Very well."
Cas sighed, relieved. It was difficult talking to the President but, as his own father had taught him, speaking plainly and as equals could change the outlook of anyone. "Thank you, sir. You'll have the vineyard shortly."
"That I will." The President replied as the slinked out of the room. The smell of the tulip had become suffocating and Cas didn't realize he had started to sweat. Why was the room so hot?
No matter, he left the room and returned to the party, greeted by adoring fans and acclamation, celebrating his victory.
Soon, he'd be home.
Last bits of unused story lines:
1. Another unused mutt design was based off the Axolotl. It was supposed to shoot an acid that caused annoying pimple burns on Tributes exploring the Southern Island. Too Jurassic Park though so it got cut haha
2. The marshmallow bed in the gingerbread house turned into a red herring, but originally Ophelia was supposed to find the house, lay down to rest, and got caught in it while the fire burned down the gingerbread house. I mixed that idea because 1) it seemed too cruel and 2) lol Ophelia sleeping properly in a bed
3. I considered having a setting in the arena where it rains chocolate or some other kind of candy. But we had a enough going on and I wanted to keep things short at two days.
4. Originally I considered having a "secret tunnel" (*musically cue plays*) between the islands. Maddie found part of it but went towards the gummy bear mutt. That would have been fun with a longer Hunger Games as a great way for the Tributes to get between the islands.
Up Next: Epilogue with our Head Gamemaker & Victor's Return Home