chlo☆

the corner of rhys' lips curl slightly before she looks away, fiddling with her hair. zephyr frowns before grabbing two small rubber bands. "stand still," she hums, grabbing the spray bottle and the comb. zephyr gently does two low pig tails with small braids intertwined, "there we go. rhys isn't rhys without her braids." rhys smiles softly, but zephyr can see the tears welling up in her eyes.

"yang.." zephyr pouts, gently wrapping her arms around rhys' trembling figure. rhys' hands cling onto the fabric of zephyr's jumpsuit, her eyes closed tightly as she silently sobs, "h-he r-ruined me.." she whispers, her words barely audible. zephyr shakes her head, "no, he didn't. you are so beautiful rhys. long hair. short hair. no hair. you are still rhys. and that is what makes you beautiful." rhys nods and gently pulls away from zephyr, wiping her tears.

the door opens, causing both girls to turn their heads. they see johanna slowly stepping into the room. rhys' eyes widen, "johanna..." she slowly steps towards her and wraps her arms around her, "i'm so sorry."

johanna weakly holds rhys, still sore and healing from the capitol's punishments, "don't start with that, rhys." johanna states sternly, gently pulling away from her to look at her, "you have absolutely nothing to apologize for, rhys. not one single fucking thing in the world. what you did for annie and i in there... there isn't enough words in the dictionary to describe how... grateful i am. you didn't and don't owe annie or i shit... and there is just not enough money in the world that i can repay you for what you went through."

rhys stares at her in silence, her voice caught in her throat. hot tears well up in her eyes, slowly skimming down her dry cheeks. "y...you've already been through so much, johanna. you and annie both, the least i could do was try to protect you.. you both don't owe me anything.."

johanna frowns, wiping her tears with her cracked and dry thumbs, "you shouldn't need to protect me. you're just kids. you're not supposed to be heroes." rhys can feel johanna's words sink in the pit of her stomach, the weight over everything making her physically ill. rhys inhales sharply, turning away to catch her breath. she shuffles over towards her bed, slowly climbing on and laying on her side. zephyr follows her, nodding her head at johanna to join them.

zephyr and johanna climb on zephyr's bed, giving rhys her space. they watch her carefully. "what're you thinking?" zephyr hums, taking a sip of water. rhys' eyes scan the room slowly, her eyebrows furrowing in thought. "i don't know what is real." rhys whispers, trying to piece her memories together, trying to see if any memories don't make sense.

"ask." johanna responds softly, fiddling with her fingers. rhys looks up at her, the two of them making eye contact. rhys can see the empathy in johannas eyes, even though the rest of her facial features don't show it. "what ever memory is in your head right now, ask us if it is real or if it isn't real," johanna adds, zephyr humming in agreement.

rhys lets out the breath she was holding and looks away. she shifts so she's lying flat on her back and staring up at the ceiling. "zephyr... y-you used to visit district 4 when we were kids and you would stay for a couple of weeks, real or not real?"

zephyr smiles, "real. we used to be at the beach from dawn til dusk. then when we got older, it was dusk til dawn. i visited every summer until mom get sick a couple years ago." rhys nods, rubbing her eyes.

"i think you should try to ask finnick some things." zephyr whispers softly. rhys opens her eyes and looks at her, "i.. i don't want to. not right now. not for a while."

"rhys... he was your best friend. he still really cares about you. seeing you like this and not being able to do anything about it is eating at him. he hasn't slept." zephyr says gently, "i'm not saying you need to go and marry him, rhys. just one short conversation of what is real and what isn't real. he deserves for you to remember some good things about him."

rhys looks away, "all finnick has done is hurt me, zeph." zephyr responds quickly before rhys could add anything else, "that's not totally true, yang. he may have said some things and he may have fucked up many times, but that's human. he is still finnick. he may have set fire to his whole world around him, but he never let a flame touch you."

rhys blinks slowly, digesting and processing zephyr's words. after a few minutes of silence, she slowly looks up at them, "i'm just terrified." she whispers, chewing on her dry lower lip as she fights back the tears.

zephyr stands up and slowly walks over to her. she climbs onto the mattress and wraps her arms around her protectively, "i know, yang. but you're safe. i promise you. i won't let anyone or anything hurt you. ever again."

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RHYS sits up, out of breath and covered in sweat. she takes a few minutes to catch her breath before she slowly slips out of the white sheets on the bed. her feet pad against the cold flooring as she tiptoes out of the room, careful to not wake zephyr and peeta up.

slowly, she makes her way around district 13. it's quiet and dim, the sound of machinery softly humming throughout the place. she gradually makes her way towards the cafeteria, hoping to be able to find something to drink. when she walks in, she see's finnick sitting at one of the tables, his head down. her tired and bloodshot blue eyes widen and she quickly spins on her heel and turns to leave.

"rhys?"

she stops in her tracks, freezing. "i'm sorry, i didn't think anyone was awake let alone in here.." she responds softly, her hands clenched to her side as she tries to remain calm.

"it's okay, i just can't go back to sleep." he whispers softly. she nods her head and takes a couple steps forward to leave.

"stay." finnick says loud enough for her to hear, causing her to stop in her tracks again. "please?" he whispers, his voice hoarse and cracking. she slowly turns around, seeing the tears on his cheeks as he looks at her.

their eyes meet, and his eyes soften. she looks away from him, her heart racing in her chest. she shuffles over towards the table thats across from him, sitting on the opposite side so they're facing each other from two separate tables.

she looks down at her fingers, fiddling with them in silence. after a few minutes, she speaks up, "why can't you go back to sleep?" she whispers quietly, still not looking at him.

"the nightmares," he responds quietly, his eyes still on her, "they're back. and worse than before." she nods and looks back up at him, her blue eyes meeting his tear filled hazel ones.

"i didn't mean to ruin your life.." he whispers, his voice cracking as more tears well up in his eyes, "i'm sorry, rhys. everything i thought i was doing to protect you... it.." he looks away, putting his face in his hands as he chokes back a sob.

she looks down, not knowing what to do. a part of the old rhys is trying to break through, trying to convince her to go to him, to comfort him, but the new rhys is staying put, fear holding her back.

"is... is it true? what zephyr told me? about you... taking my spot for snow's... business.. after my games?" she whispers, looking at him as his body trembles.

he slowly removes his hands from his face, wiping his tears as he tries to contain himself, "yes. it's true."

"why?"

"why what?"

"why would you do that to yourself for me?"

"ever since we were kids, all i've ever wanted to do was protect you." he whispers softly, "and i failed. so many times. and it kills me, rhys. it should have never been you in any of this. i promised myself and your family that i would do everything in my power to keep you safe from them, from snow, from the capitol... and i fucking failed."

she shakes her head, "you weren't the one selling me. you weren't the one making me fight to survive. you weren't the one putting me in any of those situations. everything that happened, was because of them. or because of me. i failed at protecting myself. you shouldn't have to protect me."

his eyes widen, "selling you? rhys.." she looks away, tears brimming her eyes. his heart practically completely shatters in his chest, tears skimming down his cheeks as he stares at her, "i'm going to fucking kill him." he whispers.

she looks back at him, not saying anything. the look in his eyes scare her, but not to the point where she's afraid he'll hurt her. she afraid for anyone who gets in his way now.

'y-you.." rhys whispers, she clears her throat, "you used to v-visit district four a-and we would play in.. in the water and co-collect seashells? real or not real?" she finishes, her eyes looking all around the dark room. zephyr hums, tightening her grip on rhys' body, "that's all real." zephyr smiles softly, "you and i have been attached to the hip since we were kids. you gave me a pin from the market before i went back home to district 12 at the end of the summer. it was of a mockingjay. our parents have called us yin and yang since we were children." rhys nods, listening to her, her eyes fixated on the flickering light out in the hallway.

"you were also close with finnick." zephyr says softly, "and i know. you're brain is just... messed up. but they're filled with thoughts that aren't real. and i need you to know, that the finnick they put in your brain, that finnick isn't real." rhys looks at zephyr, her hands trembling.

"just please tell me that you'll talk to him later? he doesn't need to come close to you, he can stand by the door. he just.. he needs to know that you're okay." zephyr says, looking at rhys. rhys closes her eyes, letting out a deep breath. she nods.

a few hours later, rhys lays in her bed, staring at the ceiling, her fingers fiddling with each other. zephyr nods at her, stepping out of the room. she hears finnick step inside, his breath shaky. "rhys?" he says quietly. she looks up at him, her eyes full of tears and fear. "finnick.." she whispers, shaking. he steps closer to her, causing her to gasp, "no. don't come close to me."

he stands there and holds his hands up, "okay, okay. i'll stand right here, okay? i promise." he looks at her with a soft, heart-broken gaze. she sits there, shaking and staring at him with wide eyes.

"i-im.." she starts but finnick cuts her off, "hey, shh, it's okay. j-just let me talk, okay?" he stares at her, waiting for any sign to continue. when she's silent, he continues.

"i don't know what they did to you, johanna, and annie at the capitol. i-i wish i could've replaced you, rhys, i swear to god. if i could go back in time and take all three of yours place, i would," he looks at her, watching her stare at the ground, seeing her whole body physically tremble in fear, "i don't know what they told you about me. but i swear on my life, rhys, i would never ever hurt you."

she sits there in silence, letting him talk. when he doesn't say anything for a couple minutes, she clears her throat, "i... i want to believe you so bad, finnick. i do. but whatever they told me and did to me... it's.. it's all i know. i don't know what's real or what is fake."

he watches a tears stream down her cheeks, causing him to clench his hands. he wants nothing but to be there for her and comfort her. to tell her he would do everything in his power to protect her. but he knows she won't believe it, no matter how hard she tries to.

"and i will tell you everything that's real if you'll let me. i know you don't believe it, but i care for you. you are my best friend, rhys. you have been since day one. without you, i wouldn't be here. you are so strong. and you will get through this. i promise." he whispers, fiddling with his fingers. she nods slightly, not knowing what to say.

before he can say anything else, zephyr shuffles in. "finnick, annie is looking for you." she says softly, glancing between him and rhys. he nods and slowly leaves the room, leaving zephyr and rhys alone. as soon as the door closes, rhys breaks down into tears, gasping for air. zephyr rushes over and wraps her arms around her, comforting her as she runs her hands through her hair.

"hey, hey, hey. shhh. it's okay. i'm so proud of you. you were so strong, yang. so strong." zephyr whispers into her hair.

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a few hours pass and everyone is asleep. rhys sits up quickly, out of breath and in tears. she glances over to see peeta and zephyr on the other bed sleeping. quietly, she climbs out of bed and tiptoes over to the door. she opens it slowly and steps out into the dim lighting. she presses her back against the wall and slowly sinks down. she covers her face with her hands and lets out shaky breaths.

she jumps when she hears a door slowly open. she looks up, seeing a restless finnick step out. her eyes widen and she freezes. finnick stops when he sees her, immediately holding up his hands. "im sorry, i didn't know anyone was out here." he stays over by his door and sits on the ground, bringing his knees up to his chest.

rhys looks away, trying to control her breathing. he hears her struggling to breathe and quickly looks up, concerned, "are you okay?" she closes her eyes, feeling the panic attack creeping in. she manages to whisper out a strangled, "yes" but finnick knows better. carefully, he slides over next to her, still a couple of feet away. without thinking, he gently slides his hand over and locks his pinky with hers. she tries to pull her hand away, still struggling to breathe.

"rhys, please, just let me help you. my pinky won't hurt you, i promise." he whispers, looking at her. she doesn't say anything, just tightens her pinky around his as she breaks down, sobbing and gasping for breath.

"it's okay. you're okay. you're alive. you're healthy. everything will get better, rhys, i promise." he whispers, trying his best to soothe her throughout her panic attack. he's dealt with these before. he knows how to help her, "breathe, rhys. in and out. you got it."

after a few minutes, she finally calms her breathing. with the tears drying on her face, she throws her head back against the wall, her eyes tightly closed. she slips her pinky out of finnick's. her door opens and zephyr peaks out, "you okay, yang?" rhys shakily nods, wiping her tears. slowly, she stands up and shuffles back towards her room, leaving finnick in the hall in silence.

the next morning, rhys slowly climbs out of bed. zephyr holds her hand as they slowly walk through district 13. finnick stands in front of her. they make eye contact before rhys looks away, stalking off in the opposite direction. she see's her mother sitting and eating with zephyr's. they make their way over and sit down. she can feel eyes on her. slowly, she glances up and sees finnick from the same spot he was standing before, looking at her with a confused and heart-broken gaze. they both look away and he saunters off.

zephyr watches the both of them and looks back at rhys, a small empathetic smile on her lips. rhys looks away from her and goes back to slowly eating her food, the thoughts of what could be real and what could be fake flooding through her head.

"when.." her voice scratches out, her throat dry, "when you told me a few days ago.. that all you have been trying to do is protect rhys from the whole world.." she stops, finnicks eyes meeting with hers, "was that.." she stops talking, just looking at him. she tries to think of the best way to ask the question. she scrambles for the right words in her head, her gaze not leaving finnick.

finnick stares at her, a few dry tears on his cheekbones, waiting for her to ask the question. he knows what she's going to ask. but he wants her to ask it.

"i guess what i'm trying to ask is.. did you take her place? when the capitol planned to sell her... did.. did you volunteer to take her place?" zephyr asks, her voice a slight whisper. finnick's eyes soften and he clears his throat. he nods.

"why?" she whispers, looking at him. he sets the rope down, running a calloused hand through his hair. "they wanted to start selling her and her body when she turned 13. it was a year after she won the games. snow was making his way into victor village. rhys and her family were out, doing something. i don't remember what it was. i ran outside when i saw him. deep down, i knew what he wanted. what he was going to make her do. i.. i couldn't let that happen. i told him to take me instead. that he could do whatever he wanted to me. he could sell me to whoever. but he couldn't lay a finger on rhys. ever." he stops, glancing at zephyr.

"i have... i have put myself through so much for her. and she can't stand me. she won't even look at me." he whispers, his eyes not leaving hers. "she could hate me forever. and i would still protect her. if i could go back in time, i would still do it. i would still put my life in danger for her. because she means so much to me, and to you, and to many other people around us. i would do it over and over again, with no hesitation."

zephyr looks at him, nodding her head, "and the tattoo you have.. is it for rhys?" finnick nods his head, going to speak, but he is cut off by haymitch storming into the room out of breath. "they're back."

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ALL four of them run to where the soldiers are. she see's johanna and annie with the doctors. johanna looks at her, her eyes tired but her face full of anger. the usual johanna look. finnick see's annie and his heart drops. he runs to her and instantly wraps his arms around her. zephyr watches them, ignoring them. she looks around for any sign of rhys. she keeps looking around, finnick turning around and noticing zephyr struggling to find rhys. he steps away from annie, searching around for rhys too.

he stops, seeing her in the room with about 3 doctors, her back towards the door. he freezes, going to step in, when zephyr shoves him out of the way, running inside. finnick stops himself, knowing that his face isn't going to be the one she wants to see right away. he turns around, slowly going back to annie to comfort her.

zephyr runs into the room, coming to a halt when she see's rhys' boney back being covered with a gown. "yang..?" she whispers, rhys slowly turns to look at zephyr, her face black and blue, her once long platinum blonde hair is now cut short. "rhys.." she says softly, her eyes brimming with tears, "i'm so sorry. it should've been me who got captured, not you. you didn't deserve this." she is cut off my rhys shakily bringing her hands out to zephyr, waiting for her to come closer to embrace her.

zephyr steps forward, gently wrapping her arms around rhys' waist. she sobs into rhys' shoulder, rambling on about how she is sorry and how it should've been her, not rhys. rhys weakily lets go of zephyr, putting her hands on zephyrs face, "zeph. it isn't your fault. i needed to get you out of that arena. and i did. that is all that matters to me. that you're safe." zephyr shakes her head, hugging her again as she sobs, her hands gripping onto rhys' hospital gown.

peeta stands there silently, watching the interaction. rhys brushes zephyrs hair as she holds her. she glances at peeta, "hi bread boy." she whispers weakily, a small smile on her bloodied lips. he laughs softly, not knowing what to say. he doesn't want to ruin the moment for zephyr and rhys.

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FINNICK sits with annie as she sleeps, his hand brushing annie's hair as her face is nuzzled into his chest. johanna glances at him, "how's rhys? did you tell her i say hi?" she asks as she watches the two of them next to her. finnick's eyes widen, realizing he hasn't gone to see her yet. he looks down at annie who's sleeping peacefully on his chest. he looks back at johanna, not being able to form words.

johanna scoffs and looks away, "rhys and i grew pretty close in there. we got so used to each others screams and cries that we can most likely mimic them perfectly." finnick doesn't say a word, he gently moves annie off of him and slowly stands up, going to walk to rhys' room.

zephyr sees him about to walk in, her eyes widening. rhys continues to sleep while zephyr steps outside, stopping him from coming inside. "finnick." she says softly, blocking the doorway, "you don't want to see her." finnick's eyebrows furrow in confusion, sadness flooding his features, "what? why?" zephyr sighs, looking around before locking her eyes with his, "you won't recognize her." finnick shakes his head, trying to get past her, "i don't care. i want to see her."

she stops him again, putting her arms out so he can't get through, "finnick. you can't. when she was in there... they.." she stops, causing finnick to look down at her, his eyes wide and angry, "what did they do to her, zephyr?"

"finnick. listen to me. i just need you to go. please. just give it a few days. if you see her right now, it will kill you inside. just.. just go back to annie for a bit, okay? please? for rhys." he nods at zephyr, turning around and walking back to annie. he sits on the end of annie's bed as she sleeps.

a day or two later, finnick wakes up and immediately goes to rhys and zephyr's room. zephyr lies in bed asleep, while rhys lies in her bed, staring at the wall. finnick quietly steps inside, looking at her, his eyes full of pain and heart break as he looks at her. her gaze snaps towards finnick, her eyes widening. she scoots back in her bed, afraid. her eyes show fear and anger.

"rhys.." he whispers, trying to get closer to her. all of the sudden she screams, immediately waking up zephyr. finnick jumps back, afraid and confused. "get out! get the fuck out! you left me! you left me there to die! all you have ever done to me in my life is try to kill me! get out!" rhys screams, thrashing around on her bed. zephyr stands up, shoving finnick out of the room while peeta runs in, trying to calm rhys down.

"finnick. you need to leave." zephyr says quickly, closing the door behind her as she stands outside with finnick while rhys is inside their room crying and yelling.

"what did they do to her?" he asks, ignoring what zephyr said. he looks through the window, his eyes full of anger and pain as he watches rhys have an episode. zephyr ignores his question, "you just need to go. finnick, go." he looks down at zephyr, "no. what did they do to her? tell me." zephyr lets out a deep breath, rubbing her forehead before looking up at him. "they.. they hijacked her with tracker jackers. they went through all of her memories while she was being stung with tracker jackers and they... they made all of her memories all messed up."

finnick starts to breathe heavily, panicking. "finnick." zephyr states, trying to make sure she has his full attention, "they made her scared of you. they made her think you're out to kill her."

finnick freezes, his eyes brimming with tears, "she's... she's scared... of me?" zephyr nods, watching tears start to slowly stream down finnick's cheeks.

"it's going to take some time. but, we will get her back." she states softly, watching finnick have a full on meltdown in front of her. "finnick. please. just go." she says softly, looking at him. he sobs, wiping he eyes and nods, walking away. as he walks back to his room, he sees johanna sitting on her bed, glaring at him. "nice job protecting her, finnick. she risked her whole life in their to protect annie. for you. and for what? just for them to hijack her?" finnick stares at her, looking away, and walking into his room, closing the door behind him.

finnick's eyes widen as he sees rhys looking so broken up on the screen. finnick and zephyr look at each other before they look back on the screen, hearing rhys' go along with the captiol, telling them to stop what theyre doing. gale scoffs beside zephyr, "i can't believe this. i can't believe she is on their side." zephyrs eyes widen, her eyes shooting daggers at gales face. finnick and peeta look at gale and then see zephyr standing up beside him.

"what? are you serious, right now, gale? fucking look at her. she looks like she is being tortured." zephyr states, venom laced on her tongue. gale rolls his eyes, "i don't care. i would never say what she just said if i was in her position. she is a traitor." without a second thought, zephyr grips gale's wrist and twists it behind his back tightly.

"who the fuck do you think you are? you don't know what she's been through. you don't know what they're doing to her. you haven't experience shit from the captiol. you haven't gone through anything like we have. so close your fucking mouth." zephyr spits, watching gale look at her with a shocked look on his face. she lets him go and nudges him, walking away from the group.

peeta gets up, following her. finnick stands up slowly, going to walk past gale when he grips his arm and leans in towards his ear, "if i ever hear you speak badly about any of them, and i mean any of them. zephyr, peeta, johanna, annie, or especially rhys, i will fucking kill you. do you understand me?" gale looks at finnick, nodding slowly as he looks at him. finnick looks at him one last time before walking away.

a few days later, rhys is doing another interview with caesar flickerman. beetee makes it cut in so that rhys will be able to hear the clip of zephyr singing the hanging tree, a song the pair would sing growing up together. rhys' eyes widen as she looks at the screen, "..z-zeph? are you there? is that you?"

tears brim in rhys' eyes as she can hear a small snippet of the song zephyr is singing. "zephyr. if you can hear this. if you can see me. please. stop what you're doing." rhys looks in the camera, a certain look in her eye. the song plays again.

"how will this end? what will be left? no one can survive this." rhys states softly as she stares into the camera, you can see her heart visibly breaking, "no one is safe now. not here in the capitol. not in any of the districts.." she glances to the side before taking a deep breath, "they're coming, zeph. they're going to kill everyone. and in district 13, you'll be dead by morning." she states quickly as the guards come to grab her and the interview is cut off.

zephyr looks around, sobbing as finnick and peeta stand on both sides of her, "oh my god. she's warning us." everyone heads down to the bunker, waiting for the captiol to stop firing at them. a few hours later, coin asks zephyr to make another propo to show everyone that everyone in district 13 survived. she climbs out, seeing the white roses scattered all over the ground. she freezes, her heart physically hurting in her chest, "he's going to kill her..." she whispers to herself, staring at the roses.

"so, zephyr. is 13 is alive and well, and so am i." cressida says, trying to start the propo. peeta looks at zephyr, his eyebrows furrowing as he can see her mumbling to herself as she starts to hold her chest, her eyes widening.

"zeph." peeta says, his hand on her shoulder as he looks at her, "zeph. hey. whats wrong?" he whispers, brushing her hair behind her ear as he notices the distraught look on her face and the tears sliding down her cheeks. "he's going to kill her. that's what these roses mean, peeta. he's going to kill her." zephyr panics, her breaths becoming ragged and sharp as she starts to slip into a panic attack, her vision becoming blurry and everyone around her going mute as they try to calm her down.

after a few hours, she calms down and haymitch sits down next to her, "i suppose you're just going to hide down here forever?" zephyr stares straight ahead, her eyes tired and bloodshot from crying, "i can't be the mockingjay." she whispers quietly.

"not the mockingjay. just zephyr. you know, you're the only real friend i have down here. i don't suppose they gave you any kind of medication?" haymitch says, nudging her. zephyr shakes her head and rolls her eyes, "haymitch. seriously?" she glares at him, running a hand through her hair.

he sighs and looks at her, "look, the real reason i came down here was to tell you that they're going to rescue rhys and the rest of the tributes." zephyr's eyes widen as she turns to look at him. "what?"

"the dam went down in district 5, took out most of the power in the capitol. knocked out their signal defense. beetee's inside their system now, wreaking all kinds of havoc. a window is open to us." he states, talking with his hands as he explains the situation to her.

"how much longer?" zephyr asks, straightening up as she looks at him, hopeful. "i don't know," haymitch shrugs, "i guess until the capitol can get the power back on."

"and president coin?" zephyr asks, starting to stand up. "you know, i can never fully support that woman in light of the prohibition they have going on around this place, but plutarch got word that rhys and the others are in the tribute centre. and with the power out, coin sees this as an opportunity. she knows that rhys is the capitol's weapon. the same way you're ours. and as opposed to having you two pointing at each other, she's going to get her." haymitch states, running his calloused hands through his hair.

zephyr stands in the room with coin, plutarch, peeta, haymitch and all of coins little henchmen. peeta's hand is intertwined with hers, his thumb rubbing small circles on the top of her hand. she watches as finnick shows up on the screen. "this is finnick odair. winner of the 65th hunger games. and i'm coming to you from district 13, alive and well. we've survived an assault from the capitol. but i'm not here to give you recent news."

zephyr turns to peeta, whispering to him, "why is finnick doing a propo?" peeta shrugs, looking back at finnick. "it's a lot more than that." haymitch says to her as he stands beside her. "beetee's commandeered the system." zephyr hears, she looks at beetee. "now that they're down to generator power, there's a more limited range of frequencies available to them. and i'm filling them all up with finnick. not many will see it, but whoever does will think it's another propo. what they don't know is this broadcast is jamming their entire system with noise. early defense warning, internal communications, everything. as long as the broadcast goes through, our team should be able to get in and out undetected." zephyr nods at him, turning her attention back to finnick.

"the truth. not the myths about a life of luxury. not the lie about glory for your homeland. you can survive the arena. the moment you leave, you're a slave. president snow used to sell me. or my body, at least. i wasn't the only one. if a victor is considered desirable, the president gives them as a reward or allows people to buy them. if you refuse, he kills someone you love. to make themselves feel better, my patrons would make presents of money or jewelry. but i found a much more valuable form of payment. secrets." finnick states as he looks at the camera.

zephyr stands there, listening to both finnick tell his story and what coin and them are saying.

"see, i know all the depravity, the deceit and the cruelty of the capitol's pampered elite. but the biggest secrets are about our good president, coriolanus snow. such a young man when he rose to power. such a clever one to keep it. how, you may ask, did he do it? one word. poison. he stopped every mutiny before it even started." finnick's voice echoes throughout the building as zephyr watches the soldiers, including gale, make their way into the tribute centre.

"there are so many mysterious deaths to adversaries. even to allies who were threats. snow would drink from the same cup, to deflect suspicion. but antidotes don't always work, which is why he wears roses that reek of perfume. help cover the scent of blood from sores in his mouth that will never heal. but he can't hide the scent of who he really is. he kills without mercy. he rules with deception and fear. his weapon of choice is the only thing suited to such a man. poison. the perfect weapon for a snake." zephyr stands there, paying attention to both screens as she watches, her eyes widening as she makes the realization.

"beetee?" zephyr looks up, watching the screen of the soldiers.

"im losing them." "powering back up." "ma'am, the capitol air defense system is rebooting. it's coming back online." "must be diverting power from another source. and filtering transmissions. another 60 seconds, and we'll be cut off."

zephyr's eyes widen, realizing what's happening.

"madam president, should we call back the hovercraft?"

zephyr steps forward, looking at coin, "broadcast me. if snow's watching this, maybe he will let the signal in, if he see's me. put me on air so he can see me."

coin nods and gets everything ready. "president snow? president snow. it's zephyr. i need to speak with you." zephyr states, looking at the screen as she waits and waits for him to speak.

"are you there? president snow, it's zephyr. zephyr marley. can you hear me? i need to speak with you." all of the sudden, president snow's glitched voice echoes throughout the room, "miss marley. what an honor. i don't imagine you're calling to thank me for the roses." he grins as he looks at the screen. zephyr's heart drops in her chest as she stares at him, anger flooding through her.

"i didn't ask for this," she starts, her fists clenched, "i never asked to be in the games. i never asked to be the mockingjay. i just wanted to go swimming with my cousin and live our lives, as the children that we are. please.. please just let her go. if you let rhys go, i will stop being the mockingjay. i will disappear. you will never have to see me again." zephyr says with tears in her eyes, her voice hoarse.

"miss marley," snow starts as he leans forward, closer to the camera, "you couldn't run from this any more than you could have run from the games."

zephyr lets out a deep exhale, blinking hard, "please. you've won. you've already beaten me. release rhys and take me instead." zephyr says as tears stream down her cheeks, causing her to quickly wipe them away.

"we're long past the opportunity for noble sacrifice." snow states, his eyes squinting slightly as he looks at zephyr. she lets out a strangled breath, "then tell me what to do. i've always kept my promises, haven't i?"

snow laughs, coughing slightly, "you said you didn't want a war. and that's just what's happened. i told you what a fragile thing peace was. and still, like a child, you took pleasure in breaking it. i know what you are. i know you can't see past your narrowest concerns. but please, miss marley. i doubt you know what honesty is anymore. it's the thing we love most that destroy us. i want you to remember that i said that." he stops, getting closer to the camera, "don't you think i know that your friends are in the tribute centre? cut them off." the camera cuts off and zephyr lets out a strangled gasp.

"oh my god. he knows that they're in there. it's a trap." zephyr states, shaking. "he knew. the whole time, he was taunting me. he knew we would go there."

"no, zephyr. we dont- we don't know that." haymitch says. zephyr slips into another panic attack, sobbing as peeta wraps his arms around her. she sobs into his shoulder, "did i lose her? did i just get her killed? i fucking killed her. oh my god i fucking killed rhys."

after what feels like hours, president snow walks in, a grin on his cracked and bloodied lips as he looks at rhys. johanna and annie look at him while rhys keeps her head down. "miss marley," his voice echoes throughout the large dark room, "i have a proposition for you." rhys slowly looks up, her blue eyes dark with rage. "i have a very wealthy man who would love to spend some quality time with you," snow smirks, his eyes glinting as he looks at the girl in front of him.

"how about you suck my dick?" she spits at him, her arms chained behind her back. snow chews his bottom lip, "very well then. guards, bring the whip." he states, turning to the guards. he then moves his gaze to annie, causing rhys' eyes to widen. the peacekeeper walks in with the whip, walking towards annie and lifting his arm up, ready to swing it at annie.

"no! stop! i'll.. i'll do it. just leave annie and johanna alone. don't touch them. only me." rhys states, tears brimming her eyes. johanna and annie look at rhys, their eyebrows furrowed. snow grins at her, signaling the guards to unchain her. she stands up, her bare feet slapping against the tile flooring as she walks out.

a few hours later, she is lead back into the room they're being imprisoned in. her gaze is empty and she sits back down as the peacekeeper chains her back up. annie and johanna turn to her, seeing the bruised fingerprints planted on her arms and legs. "what did he do?" annie whispers, looking at her with a sad gaze. rhys just shakes her head, tears slipping out of her cheeks, feeling disgusted with herself. johanna looks at her, knowing what happened without anybody needing to say a word.

a couple days go by, the three of them getting starved, beaten, and taunted by the peacekeepers, snow standing there and watching with an evil glint in his eye. they don't know what time it is or what day it is, but snow walks in, his eyes on rhys. "miss marley, you have a guest waiting for you." he states, waiting for her to look at him. she doesn't, she just closes her eyes, shaking her head no. "miss marley." snow states again with more stern and anger in his voice. rhys ignores him, not talking back, not looking at him, not even opening her eyes. she can feel snow signal the peacekeeper.

within a split second, she is grabbed, her tangled platinum blonde hair is yanked by the peacekeeper, and she hears a loud snip. she opens her eyes, seeing the peacekeeper standing in front of her with her once long hair tangled in his fingers. she goes to reach for her hair to feel it, but she cant reach. she shakes her head, feeling the short strands slapping her cheeks as they move. she looks at snow, tears in her eyes.

"you want to think you're so intelligent? that you're the captiols sweetheart so nothing bad can happen to you? that your actions don't have consequences? let's see how much the captiol will love and adore you now that your precious long hair has be cut off because of your rebellion against us. you're not the capitols sweetheart anymore, miss marley. you are just an ugly, unlovable, and disgusting little girl. you always have been. and you always will be." snow spits at her, his voice laced with anger and disgust as he kneels infront of her, blood spitting out of his mouth and landing on her face with each word that comes out. tears slide down rhys' cheeks as she looks back at snow, her jaw slightly dropped in shock.

he stands up, his eyes not leaving hers before he turns around and leaves, locking the doors behind him. she can feel johannas eyes on her, "rhys." she whispers, "do not listen to a word he says." rhys ignores her, tears streaming down her cheeks as his words sink in, her heart hurting as she feels a panic attack coming along. she gasps for air, her vision becoming blurry as her body shakes, her arms trying to slip out of the restraints. annie watches with wide eyes, never seeing rhys lose her cool like this. everytime she's seen rhys, she has never let anyone see this part of her. not even finnick.

"rhys." annie whispers softly, trying to calm her down, "it's okay. breathe. just focus on my voice, you will be okay. we will get out of this, we will get rescued." rhys can't seem to hear her, her voice muffled as fear, sadness, and worthlessness flood her brain.

slowly, zephyr steps forward, walking into the room ahead of her and seeing finnick, plutarch, haymitch, and peeta standing there. instantly, her fight or flight kicks in, "what the hell?" she yells, grabbing the nearest thing she could find as a weapon, haymitch shoving her against the wall gently, ripping it out of her hands. "stop, zephyr. just stop." she looks at peeta as he looks at her with soft eyes, nodding at her that it's okay.

she turns to finnick, "what the fuck are you doing here?" finnick holds his hand out, his voice cracking, "stop. just.. just listen, zephyr please." plutarch steps forward, explaining everything. the plan that they made before they even announced the quarter quell. everyone had known except for her and peeta. their mission was to get zephyr out from the beginning and get her to district 13. rhys had known the whole time.

zephyr's eyes widen slightly as she looks around, "where's rhys?" everyone goes silent. "johanna had cut your tracker out when the other careers had ambushed you. she didn't get to cut hers out in time. rhys had heard you yell in pain and went after you, getting lost in the forest right before you shot your arrow at the arena ceiling. her tracker also didn't get taken out." zephyr stares at plutarch as she stands there.

"so where is she?" zephyr asks, her eyebrows furrowing. "she's in the capitol.." plutarch responds softly, watching her eyes widen and anger flash through her eyes. she immediately lunges for finnick, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"you stupid piece of shit!" she screams, peeta wrapping his arms around her waist and trying to stop her from killing finnick, "you were supposed to fucking protect her! you killed her! you fucking killed her!" she sobs angrily, trying her best to get out of peeta's grip.

"as much as i want to go back for her, zephyr, i know that she is happy that we got you out safely." finnick states, his eyes full of pain. zephyr looks at him, anger and confusion all across her bloody and brusied facial features.

haymitch injects something into her arm, making her slowly become weak and lose her consciousness before she closes her eyes, peeta leans down over her, brushing her hair out of her eyes, "zeph, we will get her back. i promise. i promise you." she looks at him with tears streaming down her cheeks before she falls unconscious.

a couple days later, she wakes up and see's peeta next her, playing with her softly as he watches her. "hi.." he whispers softly as he looks down at her, a small smile on his lips. "how long have i been out?" she asks him as she looks around the room, the fluorescent lights hurting her eyes.

"a couple days.." he says softly, looking at her. "still.." she stops herself, choking on her words, "still no rhys?" she asks quietly. peeta looks at her, his eyes full of sadness and concern, "she's still in the capitol." zephyr nods and looks away from him, her eyes tearing up. "it should be me in the capitol. not her." she whispers as she stares at the wall. peeta climbs in her bed next to her, "hey.. look at me." zephyr turns to him, tears sliding down her cheeks, "we will get her out. i promise." peeta says softly, wiping her tears with his thumb.

a couple hours later, zephyr gets dressed and goes to walk around district 13. she stops at finnicks room, seeing him sitting there and tying his rope, his dry hands shaking. "finnick." she states in a stern voice. he sighs and looks down, still fiddling with the rope.

"i wanted more than anything to go back for rhys, zephyr. i sat there and i begged them. i was on my knees begging them to go back for her. but they wouldn't. they said it wasn't safe for us.. for you." finnick stops, looking at zephyr, "you have to know that i begged for them to go back, zephyr. i didn't leave her by choice. i would never do that to her. to you. or to myself." zephyr watches him, slowly stepping into his dim lit room.

zephyr's eyes soften as she looks at him, noticing that the knot he is tying in the rope is the knot that rhys taught him how to tie growing up. she recognizes it because rhys taught her too. "finnick.." she says softly, seeing how much this is also destroying him. he looks up at with tears in his eyes, "they have annie, too, zephyr. they went to district four and they took her too. they have johanna, rhys, and annie. i don't care that i'm safe. my whole life.. my whole life i tried my best to protect rhys. from the capitol. from everyone around us. i meant to protect her in that arena and i couldn't. i.. i failed." he puts his face in his hands and sobs, "i wish they were dead. i wish we were all dead.. b-because.. because it would be better than sitting here, knowing where they are, knowing that snow is an evil man, and there is nothing we can do to help them at this moment."

zephyr sits beside him on his bed, looking at him, "stop." she says softly, "we don't know what they're doing to them. we don't know anything. the only thing we can do is hope and pray to god that they're okay." finnick nods, glancing at her. "she's been through so fucking much, zephyr. you and i both know that. this was the last thing i ever wanted to happen to her. i wish i was in there instead of her." zephyr nods her head at him, watching peeta come into the room.

"zeph.. boggs told me to come get you. plutarch wants to speak with you."

"it's johanna." rhys says as she turns back around, "johanna!" she yells, seeing johanna turn around, "rhys!" she yells as they run over to each other. rhys goes to hug her but see's her covered in blood head to toe. "oh my god, what happened?" rhys asks, looking at her. johanna tells her about how they were in the forest and they thought it was raining but it was thick hot blood instead.

zephyr, peeta, and finnick jog over and catch up with rhys, watching beetee and wiress in the water washing the blood off of themselves as wiress is repeatedly saying, "tik tok." zephyr looks at her, confused, "what happened? is wiress okay?" zephyr looks at beetee, her green eyes full of concern as she starts to step towards wiress in the water.

beetee looks at her, sighing, "she's in shock. she'll come out of soon." he says, washing the blood off of his face. zephyr nods her head softly and walks over to wiress, "cmon. lets get you cleaned up, yeah?" zephyr helps wiress wash the blood off of her, trying her best to calm her down. "tik tok." wiress whispers to herself, staring out into the water as zephyr rinses the blood out of her hair. her eyebrows furrow together, "..tik tok.. oh my god.. wiress, it's a clock!" wiress looks at her with a goofy grin, "tik tok." wiress states out of breath. zephyr helps wiress out of the water and gently leads her over to the rest of the group, explaining how the arena is a clock.

as the group walks to the cornucopia, finnick looks at wiress, "wiress, you're a genius." rhys looks at wiress with a small content smile on her lips and softly winking at her, "great job, wiress." rhys states, following the group. as they sit all there, they try to figure out how the area works. all of the sudden, zephyr hears a gargled noise leave wiress' throat from behind them.

rhys gasps, turning around and lifting up her kusarigama and swinging it forward to the man who just stabbed wiress in the chest. more careers pop out, causing zephyr and rhys to grab their weapons, fighting while finnick uses his trident, stabbing a guy in his chest before ripping it out of him. all of the sudden, the cornucopia starts spinning in circles, causing rhys to fall back gripping onto the rock as she begins to fly off.

"no!" zephyr yells, gripping rhys' hand but shes not strong enough. rhys flies into the water, the cornucopia slowing down before stopping. zephyr yells in fear as she looks for rhys. she finally spots her trying to climb out of the water, out of breath. zephyr pulls her up and finnick jogs over but zephyr glares at him.

"we're fine. we don't need your help. we haven't needed your help for a long time." she states, eyeing him as rhys coughs up water. finnick's eyes soften as he hears her words, his heart aching. he slowly nods and walks back towards peeta, johanna, and beetee. johanna runs over, helping zephyr as she tries to pull rhys out of the cold water.

the group decides to make a plan with the wire and the lightning that strikes the tree. all 6 of them climb up to the tree, finnick watches rhys as she sits there looking at the plants all around her as they walk. "why do you hate me?" he asks her softly, glancing at her.

rhys looks forward, "i don't hate you." she whispers. finnick looks at her, "really? because ever since you've been around me you have done nothing but make comments and look at me like im a stranger." rhys looks at him quickly before looking away.

"i feel like i only exist to you when you need someone to fix you." she says, continuing to walk. finnicks eyebrows furrow in confusion as he watches her. "what're you talking about?" he starts, his eyes not leaving hers, "you've been everything to me for years. since we were kids. i've done nothing but base my life around you. i won the games for you because i didn't want to lose you!"

"that's such bullshit, finnick." rhys scoffs, "as soon as annie came into the picture, i was nothing to you. i didn't exist." rhys speeds up her pace, leaving finnick behind her as she starts to walk with zephyr and peeta.

as beetee wraps the wire around the tree, he tells zephyr that her and johanna need to go run it down to the beach. "why can't finnick and johanna go? and why can't peeta come with us?" finnick looks at zephyr, "is there a problem?" zephyr looks at him, her eyes squinting as she looks at him, the whole situation feeling really suspicious.

rhys glares at finnick, "knock it off." finnick scoffs as rhys turns to zephyr, holding her face in her hands, "it's okay. go with johanna, she will do everything she can to protect you. when you're done, just come back, okay?" zephyr nods, looking at rhys in fear. before zephyr leaves, she walks up to peeta, kissing his cheek before turning around and walking with johanna. rhys walks up to finnick and looks at him, "what the fuck was that? she doesn't know. peeta and zephyr dont know." she whispers in a hushed voice, glaring at him.

finnick ignores her, licking his teeth as he stares straight ahead, scoffing. as zephyr and johanna walk with the wire, they hear someone behind them. johanna and zephyr crouch down, looking. johanna immediately smacks zephyr in the back of the head, knocking her down and slicing her arm, ripping out her tracker and smearing the blood on her neck, "stay down. do not move." johanna whispers, looking at her before throwing her weapon at the other tributes and running. zephyr doesn't move as the other tributes assume she's dead and run after johanna, not looking at zephyr.

after a couple minutes, zephyr hears finnick running towards them, "johanna!" he whispers aggressively, running past zephyr as she hides behind the hill. zephyr quickly stands up, making her way back to the tree when she hears a loud explosion. she sees beetee twitching on the ground and no one else around. she sinks down, hearing finnick run towards her.

"zephyr! where are you?!" he looks around, seeing her aiming her bow and arrow at him with an evil glint in her eyes. he holds his hands up in defense, "zephyr..." he starts, "remember who the real enemy is." his words ignite a spark in zephyr chest. her green eyes widen and she reaches down, wrapping the wire around her arrow and aiming, the lightning about to strike.

"zephyr... zephyr get away from that tree!" he screams, watching her. "i need to get her out, finnick. i need to save her!" she yells screaming as she releases the arrow, the lighting striking the tree and causing an explosion, the arrow shooting the top of the arena and causing it to explode. zephyr and finnick fly to the ground, the world going black.

"i thought it was obvious, marley." finnick states, his voice husk and hoarse as he's out of breath. zephyr looks at rhys, and then back at finnick. rhys squints her eyes at him, "duck." finnick immediately ducks and rhys swings her kusarigama forward, striking the guy who was sneaking up behind finnick, slicing his throat in one swift motion before ripping her kusarigama back towards her and catching it in her hands.

"and i thought that it was obvious not to turn your back in the arena. if we're going to be allies, then watch your back. i'm not babysitting you the whole fucking time, odair." rhys states dryly as she wipes her face, the blood smearing on her cheek. finnick watches her, his jaw slightly dropping as he stands up again, starting to be more aware of his surroundings.

rhys turns to zephyr, "where's peeta?" finnick nods at them, "stay here and grab supplies. i'll go look for him." finnick jogs around the side, finding peeta struggling in the water, "over here! he's in the water."

zephyr and rhys run to the other side, seeing peeta fighting with a man in the water, before slowly submerging underneath. zephyr's eyes widen, as she braces herself, grabbing her bow and arrow and aiming at the guy. finnick jumps into the water with no hesitation, going to help peeta. rhys prepares her kusarigama, waiting. suddenly, peeta's head pops up and he swims to shore.

as he climbs out of the water, zephyr helps him up, brushing his wet hair out of his face, "you okay?" she asks softly, looking at him. rhys nods at finnick, "let's go." she states to the rest of the group, running forward to get away from the cornucopia. they run into the jungle, making sure they're far away from other tributes. as they get farther away, peeta leads them, slashing away plants that's in their way.

finnick looks up, his eyes widening as zephyr realizes there's a forcefield right in front of them, "peeta, no!" she screams, but it's too late. peeta flies back, landing on his back. they all immediately run over to him, zephyr falling to her knees as she brushes his hair out of his face, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"he.. he's not breathing! help him, please, he isnt breathing." zephyr sobs, her tears falling on peeta's face. finnick shoves her off of him, zephyr instantly reaching for her knife in her pocket, ready to lunge at finnick. rhys grabs her waist, "it's okay." rhys whispers, nodding her head at finnick who is starting to give peeta cpr. zephyr crawls towards peeta, dropping her knife to the ground and running her hands through his hair.

"please, wake up. please.. peeta please wake up don't leave me here. you're all i have, please." zephyr sobs uncontrollably, shaking as she continues to run her fingers through his hair. finnick keeps doing cpr, mumbling words under his breath, "cmon. cmon peeta." peeta sharply inhales, his eyes still closed as he takes a large breath.

"b-be careful. there's a forcefield up there." he whispers as he keeps his eyes closed. zephyr lets out a breath, a small giggle leaving her throat as she instantly leans down, wrapping her arms around him, "i thought you left me." she whispers into his neck. peeta lets out another sharp exhale, trying to regain his breathing, "it's okay. i'm here." zephyr helps him stand up. she immediately wraps his arms around him again, shaking in fear.

when she lets go of him, she slaps his shoulder, "you, idiot! you need to be careful." she says with a small smile, still hitting his shoulder. "ow." he winces, rubbing the area where she hit him, pouting at her. zephyr embraces him again, "god, you're so stupid." finnick watches them before glancing at rhys who is staring at them with a smile on her face. finnick's eyes soften, not seeing rhys smile like that in a long time. it warms his heart.

"okay, you two. come on. we need to find a base." rhys says, ushering the two of them forward. after a few minutes of walking, zephyr and rhys lead while finnick and peeta follow behind a foot or two. peeta stares at zephyr, his eyes soft and a small smile on his lips. finnick stops watching rhys and looks at peeta, "you love her, don't you?" he ask softly.

peeta turns to look at finnick who's watching the pair in front of them, mostly rhys. he nods, "she's everything to me. look at her. i'd die for her. i'd kill for her." peeta states softly, watching zephyr smile at rhys as they talk. he turns back to finnick who's watching rhys up ahead. "i have a feeling you feel this way, too." peeta states as he makes eye contact with finnick before looking at rhys and then back at him. peeta smiles softly before jogging forward to catch up with rhys and zephyr.

rhys turns around and looks at finnick, "you coming, playboy?" finnick looks at her with furrowed eyebrows as peeta's words sink in. he nods at her, jogging forward to catch up with them. they find a base and sit down, out of breath and dehydrated. they hear the buzzing of a gift and look up as it lands in a tree. finnick reaches up to grab it, handing it to zephyr. zephyr opens it and reads the note attached, "drink up. -H" zephyr smiles, "haymitch sent us a spile." she runs up to a tree, tapping it in and stares in awh as she watches fresh water pour out. they all get drinks before they sit down, catching their breaths.

rhys lets out a yawn, getting comfy. "okay," finnick starts, sitting up against a tree, "i'll take first watch." everyone nods, getting comfortable while zephyr still stays up, watching rhys and peeta slowly fall asleep, peeta laying next to her. she softly plays with his hair. after a bit, finnick notices zephyr still awake. he looks at her confused.

"why aren't you asleep? still don't trust me?" he asks, glancing at zephyr. zephyr removes her eyes from peeta and looks at finnick, "no, i don't." finnick adjusts himself so he's facing zephyr now, "all i have been doing is protecting you, peeta, and rhys." zephyr lets out a scoff as she looks at him, "you call this protecting? you call leaving rhys alone for years to drown in her trauma and fear protecting?" finnicks eyes widen, his lips turning into a soft frown.

"i don't trust you, finnick. not one bit. and i have perfect reasons as to why i don't. you're lucky i haven't killed you. if it werent for rhys, you wouldn't be here." she states distastefully, looking away from him. finnick sits in silence as he checks around them, "okay.." he says softly, "well.. if, uhm, if you're not going to sleep, then i will." zephyr nods her head, ignoring him as he lays down and gets comfortable. zephyr lays there, watching around them as she listens to the buzzing of insects above them and peeta's soft snoring beside her.

she hears a hiss, turning around and seeing fog pour down the hilltop beside them. she gently stands up, walking towards it. she reaches out and instantly screams in pain. she turns around, shaking peeta to wake him up. "we need to go, the fog.. it's.. it's poison." she gasps out, waking everyone up as they try to run away but the fog starts to move towards them faster. rhys hops up and runs forward, her foot getting stuck in an uprooted tree, her ankle twisting and spraining it.

"agh!" she yelps in pain, falling. zephyr and finnick stop, turning towards her. "rhys!" she yells, running back for her. finnick runs to rhys, "don't save me!" rhys yells in pain, "go protect peeta and zeph."

finnick ignores her and swoops her up and throwing her on his back, "you're not getting left behind." he runs forward, grabbing zephyrs hand and dragging her so they can get away faster. the fog emits and hits finnick and rhys, rhy's back and legs starting to burn. finnick lets out a painful scream as he tries to keep running. peeta's ankle rolls slightly, the fog hitting the side of his face and zephyr running back to grab his hand, pulling him as her right side starts to burn.

they finally make it to a safe spot, the fog disintegrating in front of them. they fall to the ground in pain as they struggle to regain their breaths. peeta lays there with his eyes closed while finnick lays in a ball in pain. zephyr crawls towards the water next to them, splashing some on her hands and face while groaning, "t-the water helps." she yells out, her voice hoarse. she gently grabs peeta's hand, trying to pull him forward. "it's okay. i can crawl. go get rhys." peeta says in a hushed and pained whisper, trying his best to crawl to the water.

zephyr climbs over to rhys, gently pulling her into the water, hearing her cry in pain before finally feeling better, zephyr rubbing the poison off of her. when rhys stops crying in pain she nods her head towards peeta who's struggling to get into the water. "i'm okay. go help peeta." rhys whispers to zephyr, climbing out to reach for finnicks hand.

"finnick, i can't drag you over here, my ankles sprained." she states, her voice strained. finnick lazily tries his best to crawl over to her. rhys' hand immediately grips finnicks as she tries to pull him into the water. he lets out a gargled yell as the water gets in his mouth. rhys rubs the poison off of his face, "it's not that bad, you big baby." rhys says hoarsely, trying to not smile at finnicks over exaggerated groans. they rub away the poison on their skin and sit there, out of breath.

"rhys.." finnick whispers, his eyes wide as he looks at something behind rhys. "what?" she asks, turning her head to see monkeys starting to line up on the tree branches, watching them hungrily. "zeph.." rhys whispers quickly, slowly grabbing her kusarigama. zeph lifts her head up and reaches for her knife in her pocket, watching them.

"peeta." zephyr states, not removing her eyes from the monkeys. "yeah?" he calls back, standing against a tree. "come here. slowly." zephyr says quietly. peeta lifts his head up and is met face to face with a monkey that growls at him, causing him to jump back. the monkeys start attacking them. rhys swings her kusarigama forward, slicing the monkeys chest before yanking back and turning to her right, doing the same thing. finnick stabs a couple monkeys with his trident. zephyr uses her knife, slicing a few monkeys throats as they jump at her before rolling on her back and landing on her feet out of the water, fighting with the monkeys.

as the group runs and fights, a monkey lunges at peeta, pushing him to the ground. a tribute that was hiding runs out, screaming and trying to help peeta before the monkey bites her throat. rhys swings her kusarigama forward, striking the monkey in the back and yanking hard. peeta carries the hurt tribute out with them as they make it to shore, finnick standing there towards the monkeys and holding out his trident. the monkeys end up walking away as peeta and zephyr are with the tribute in the water. peeta tells her to look up at the sky, trying to calm the her down.

as she takes her last breath, peeta looks up at zephyr with a frown. zephyr sighs, running a hand through her hair. they leave her body there in the water and walk back to shore beside rhys and finnick. they sit down, out of breath. rhys sits there, staring at the water as finnick repeatedly glances at her. as peeta and zephyr start walking back, he watches them. "they hate each other." he whispers to zephyr. she shakes her head, "no they don't. not really. they've been through a lot." peeta looks at zephyr before they continue to walk towards each other.

"are you okay?" finnick asks rhys, looking at her as tears brim her eyes. "im fine." rhys mutters, still staring straight ahead as she blinks away the tears. "you.. you don't look fine." he whispers to her, watching her with soft eyes. "then stop looking." rhys responds dryly, standing up and walking towards zephyr and peeta, leaving finnick alone with his thoughts.

rhys limps over to the two, almost falling. "hey. stop." zephyr says quickly, catching rhys. "sit down." zephyr orders, helping rhys sit on the sand. she observe her ankle, seeing it black and blue from being sprained. "okay. you sit here. i'll go look for stuff to make you a brace, okay?" zephyr says before turning to peeta, "stay with her?" peeta nods, sitting beside rhys. zephyr starts to go scavenge for supplies but finnick follows her, scaring zephyr. he holds his hands up in defense, "i'm not going to do anything, zephyr. i just don't think it's smart for you to go alone." zephyr looks at him and nods, starting to look for supplies. as they make it far into the jungle, peeta sits in silence beside rhys.

rhys stares at the water, "you love her." she whispers. peeta looks at her, nodding. "i do." he says back softly. rhys smiles, turning to look at him, "and she loves you. whatever you do. if something happens to me, please take care of her. promise me. she is the only thing i care about in this whole world." peeta nods at rhys, a small smile on his lips, "i promise." rhys looks away from him, "thank you, bread boy." peeta looks at her confused with a small laugh, "bread boy?" rhys nods, laughing softly.

on finnick and zephyrs end, zephyrs grabbing leaves and bamboo sticks. "we should have some thing rope that rhys got us at the cornucopia at the start of the games." finnick nods, watching out and looking around. zephyr stands up, her heart dropping as she hears peeta and rhys screaming. "rhys? peeta?" she runs, the supplies still in her hands as she hears them screaming. finnick runs after her, finally catching up. he looks at her softly, "zephyr. you okay?" he suddenly hears annie and rhys screaming. he runs after the voice, "finnick, no! it's not real. theyre just jabber jays!" he stops, "how do you think they got that voice? jabber jays copy."

suddenly hundreds of jabber jays swarm them. finnick and zephyr grab the supplies, trying to find their way back to rhys and peeta. they stop, the screams of their loved ones becoming to much for them, zephyr falls to her knees, crying. she looks up, rhys and peeta on the other side of the forcefield, their voices muffled as they try to calm them down. a few minutes later, the forcefield disappears and peeta takes zephyr in his arms.

rhys limps towards finnick, an emotionless look on his face as he stares at the ground. "finnick." she whispers but he waves a hand at her, tears brimming his eyes. after they all calm down, they make their way back to shore, making the makeshift brace for rhys. rhys looks up, her eyes widening.

"someones coming."

"there's my badass cousin." she winks at her, a small laugh leaving her lips. rhys grins, swinging around her kusarigama again as zephyr walks away, observing all of the other tributes, most of them glaring at her, when she see's beetee and wiress trying to start a fire. zephyr walks over, giving them advice while sitting down, a soft smile on her lips. as she continues to watch beetee and wiress, the two of them talking about the forcefield, she feels a presence behind her and a hand firmly grip her shoulder as she stands up.

her fight or flight kicks in, and she grips the persons wrist, twisting it and flipping herself over them, causing the person to flip over and land on their back. zephyr looks down, seeing finnick lying there out of breath. "what the fuck?" zephyr states, glaring at him, "why did you do that?"

finnick groans, "i didn't expect you to full on flip me over your shoulder." zephyr scoffs, "well maybe next time, announce yourself." rhys watches from afar, a small smirk tugging on her lips before looking away. peeta walks over, his eyes wide, "zeph, what happened?" zephyr looks at finnick lying there on the ground before walking away, peeta following her.

a day later, all the tributes sat in the room, waiting for their presentations. rhys' name gets called and she walks in, seeing plutarch stare at her and telling her that she has ten minutes to present her chosen specialty.

rhys smirks, grabbing a mannequin and standing it up, painting a beard and blood dripping from the mouth before writing, "snow lands on top" on the chest. she grabs her kusarigama and swings at the mannequin, the chain wrapping around the neck of the mannequin, strangling it and the blade slamming down into the chest.

she tugs back hard, the blade ripping out of the mannequin and unwrapping itself from around its neck, rhys catching the handle in her hands. she drops the kusarigama on the ground as she looks at plutarch before turning around and leaving as plutarch smirks at her.

the next day was the interviews. rhys was being styled as she stared at the wall. she was wearing a long red dress with red gloves and a thick red fabric around her neck. her hair is in a half updo, her bangs slightly curled. she steps into the hallway, seeing zephyr infront of her, wearing a long black beaded dress with fight flailing at the end with her hair in a loose messy half updo. zephyr turns to peak at rhys, a soft smile on her lips. rhys steps up, her interview next.

"now. today, we welcome everyones favorite sweetheart, the youngest winner of the hunger games ever, miss rhys marley!" caesar flickerman announces. rhys plasters on a fake smile, walking out as everyone cheers for her. she gives caesar a hug before they sit down.

"my, my, rhys. you have grown so much since we saw you last!" caesar says with a smile, "how are you? how's the victor life been?" rhys lets out a soft laugh, adjusting her hair, "it's been the best. i have never felt better." caesar makes a few jokes, some of them talking about how much she has grown over the years.

"now. it is such a shame that we have to say goodbye to our favorite sweetheart. you are the capitols sweetheart, rhys. you have been since you were twelve years old and you will be til the very end. what do you have to say, one last time?" caesar says, holding the mic up to rhy's lips. rhys lets out a small laugh, "you all have raised me into the woman i am today, and i couldn't be more thankful. it has truly been an honor being your sweetheart since i was twelve," rhys says with a bright smile.

in the back, zephyr laughs as she stands behind finnick, "she always has been such a performer." finnick glances at zephyr, nodding his head before turning his attention back to rhys as she waves goodbye to the crowd, making her way up the stairs to stand with the tributes.

"and now, everyones favorite darling boy, finnick odair!"

finnick steps out, waving to the crowd as they cheer for him. rhys watches up top, her face emotionless as she watches him. caesar grins at finnick as he looks at him, "finnick, i understand that you have a message for somebody out there. a special somebody. can we hear it?"

finnick grins and nods, turning his face towards the camera as a look of heartbreak shows on his face, "my love. you have my heart for all eternity. and if... if i die in that arena, my last thought will be of your lips." rhys lets out a soft scoff, glaring down at finnick.

after his interview, he walks up, standing beside rhys. she stares ahead, holding her hands infront of her, "nice show. almost fooled me." she states distastefully, feeling finnick glance at her. he scoffs and looks ahead, ignoring rhys' presence beside him.

a few interviews later, it was zephyr's turn. "and now. one of my favorites. the girl on fire, zephry marley!" zephyr walks out, waving as caesar yells, "oh doesn't she look absolutely stunning!" zephyr smiles and bows for caesar, sitting down next to him. "miss zephyr, you have only just been brought into our hearts. and soon, we will miss you. is there any messages you have for anybody?"

zephyr smiles, "it's truly been an honor. because of these games, you brought me love," she glances at peeta who smiles from the sideline, blushing, and the crowd awh's, "and you have brought me joy." zephyr says with a fake smile. "but there is really only one way i can thank you." zephyr stands up, spinning around so that her dress lights up on fire, causing the crowd to go wild once again.

when shes done with her spin, she blows a kiss to the crowd, but instead of extending her hand out, she flips the crowd off, "thank you." she states with a fake smile, hearing the crowd gasp as she turns and walks up the stairs, caesar standing there in shock.

after the interviews, everyone gets in their designated tubes, slowly being lifted up into the arena, the bright sun blinds everyones eyes. rhys looks around, seeing zephyr not too far away from her, she nods at her, getting ready to swim. rhys turns her head to the left, seeing finnick beside her, watching her. he nods his head at her. deep down, rhys knows finnick wont kill her. they may hate each other now, but he wouldn't. he doesn't have it in his heart to kill her.

the timer counts down and the alarm blares, everyone jumping into the water. rhys swims hard and fast towards the cornucopia. she climbs on the rock, feeling someone behind her, lunging at her. rhys ducks, sliding down and kicking her leg out infront of them, tripping the guy and grabbing the kusarigama next to her and lifting it up before slamming down on the back of the guys head. she rips it out as she hears someone yell behind her.

she turns back, swinging the kusarigama, the blade slicing right through the girls chest. she leans down and rips the blade out of the persons chest, blood splattering on her face. she wipes her face, the blood smearing. she looks up, seeing zephyr grabbing the nearest ninja stars and swinging them forward. they land smack dab in the guys forehead right between his eyes when zephyr feels someone behind her.

zephyr turns around, lunging for the guy before jumping and flipping in the air. zephyrs hands wrap around the guys neck as she lands behind him, twisting and snapping the guys neck. zephyr nods at rhys, walking towards her when rhys turns around, seeing finnick with his trident in his hand.

"good thing, we're allies, right?"