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Victory	By : Spleef Category: G through L > The Hunger Games Trilogy Views: 5021 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Hunger Games does not belong to me and I make no profit off it.

Chapter List
- 1-One
- 2-Two
- 3-III
- 4-Four
- 5-FIVE
- 1
- 2
- 3
Victory
II
Wow, this has been really fun for me to write. I've never done a story quite like this, and it was really nice to branch out into a new fandom. Please let me know what you thought of this, I have tried to remain true to the Hunger Games books and to the canon the author set while making up my own details to fill in the gaps. (yes, I do admit, I am something of a canon Nazi, lol) If you enjoyed this, please review!
o0o0o0o
“Are you nervous?” her Mentor asked her when they were sitting in the privacy of her room, away from their chaperone and the boys. There was time to eat and explore the apartments that have been assigned to her District, as the Tributes from the further-off Districts have not arrived in the Capitol yet.
The young Tribute wants to say no. She had volunteered for this, and she went through training knowing what happened to those who participated in the Games, even Careers. But her mentor's question stirs up unwelcome memories. The sight of that unwilling Tribute from the 50^th Games. The Tributes from her district that despite their skill, simply did not make it to the end of the Games, for whatever reason. The deaths of 23 children every year for the chance at forgiveness for something they never did...
“Yes. A little.” she admitted. Her Mentor gave her a brief nod.
“Good.”
She doesn't have time to ask why before it is time to get ready for the Tribute Parade.
o0o0o0o
Every year, it has always been fun for her to see how similar – or different – the costumes could be. Sometimes the designers do a wonderful job of capturing the feel of the District, other times they take the meaning too literally.
The Tributes from District 7 are again dressed as trees. They don't look too happy about it as their crew fusses over the final details. The District 1 outfits are usually over the top, and this year there is no exception, both of the outfits are white and seem to have been dipped in diamonds. The stylists for District 10 have decided to dress their charges as a cowboy and cowgirl, with sparkly hats and fringes. Well, better that than a cow or some other sort of livestock, she supposes. It's been done before. The ones from 12 are dressed as a coal-miner and lump of coal, respectively. Better than last year, when the tributes from that district had been near-naked and covered in coal dust.
The costumes for District 4 are clever, a mermaid and a sailor. Instead of being dressed as loaves of bread, the District 9 Tributes are dressed in golden-brown tunics and pants, their heads and shoulders festooned with stalks of grain that have a metallic sheen to them.
The ones from 8 are what impresses her most. Being the textile district, there has been an interesting collection of costumes through the years, depending on how creative – or literal – the stylists are. This year, whoever was in charge was really creative, at first one would think that the pair was dressed in what appeared to be multicolored silk sacks, but as one of the stylists lifts the girl's arm, she sees it, a 'wing' of more silk with a rainbow umbra effect. She can see that this will make for quite a effect on the Parade runway when the pair waves at the spectators.
She observes all the other Tributes as she is being fussed over, obligingly lifting her face for a touch of eyeshadow, feeling a hand tuck a loose strand of hair back. Some of the Tributes look nervous. One looks like he will throw up. Already she is thinking about her strategy, and which ones she should pick off first.
o0o0o0o
For her interview with Caesar Flickerman, she is calm and collected. Typically, Careers tend to be arrogant, smiling and posing for the camera, even winking or blowing a kiss. She does none of that. She is dressed in a black dress with silver sparkles along the top and hem, she had argued with her stylists over what to wear, she wanted something less gaudy than the dress they had originally wanted her to wear, and she won the argument.
She knows the other Tributes will be assessing her as she assessed them, so she keeps her responses carefully controlled.
…Yes, Caesar, I want to win. No, I'm not nervous. My mom and dad and brother and sister. Why thank you, black is my favorite color. Well, I plan to do my very best...
o0o0o0o
Through the training days, she observes all the other Tributes, including the Careers. She has studied the videos of previous Games enough to know to not underestimate someone just because he or she was not an Career. Just a few years ago an unassuming-looking girl from District 3 won, partly because of her technological know-how, something that could cause a Tribute from that District to advance well in the game, provided they were given tools, either at the Cornucopia or from sponsors, or if they found something in the arena to tinker with, like one of the cameras or traps.
Most Districts offered some sort of advantage to their children the others didn't have. 1 and 2 had better resources, food and weapon-wise, offering up a steady stream of Careers that ensured that they won the games more than the other Districts. 4 had its children swimming from a young age and learning how to make nets, hooks, and harpoons. 5 was close to 3 in access to technology. 7 often turned up Tributes who could climb or throw axes, which was a huge asset in the Games.
8, depending on the arena and what supplies could be gleaned, could put together tents, makeshift bandages, or repurpose clothing to fit their needs. One District 8 tribute had won by strangling the other remaining Tribute with a noose made of the sleeve of his coat. 11's Tributes could advance well enough if the arena was fertile, if they could identify what was edible, medicinal, or not.
She pays attention to what stations the other Tributes go to. Some of the Tributes from poorer districts focus on weapons training, thinking this the best way to stave off the obviously more skilled Careers. Since she has had training over the last six years, she knows that one week of training won't be enough for them, but she doesn't tell this to the others, of course.
She eschews the weaponry in favor for more practical pursuits that were not previously available in her training. She learns to start a fire, to identify different kinds of plants, how to build a water-trap, and even camouflaging herself. She knows all of these skills are vital to the game, she has seen too many Tributes die from natural causes in the videos.
At least, natural in a manner of speaking. She not only has the other Tributes to contend with, but the Gamemakers themselves.
o0o0o0o
It is the night before the Games are about to begin. Despite the confidence she tries to maintain, she can not help but be nervous. She will not only need to keep an eye out for the other Tributes, but the Careers she shares her alliance with. Eventually, she will have to fight them as well.
The food before her is the finest she has ever had in her life. She remembers the Capitol propaganda all the Tributes were subject to in the beginning. On the train, her escort – really, chaperone – had glibly commented that she and her partner would get to enjoy all the nice things the Capitol had to offer. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity, he said. Literally, she adds mentally, at least for 23 of the kids.
Hmph. Granted, she had never tasted such good food, or had nice clothing, or such a soft bed to sleep in, but that doesn't mean she was miserable before. She pauses before taking a bite of her food, wondering how the Tributes from the poorer Districts must feel about the sudden comfort they have been put in. Are they enjoying themselves? There is a lanky, gaunt-faced boy from District 10 who doesn't look as if he has ever had enough to eat in his life, is he gorging himself? Never having been truly hungry before in her life, she can only imagine what starvation feels like.
o0o0o0o
Eleven Tributes are now dead after just a hour into the game. The Career alliance remains. They have been able to secure most of the food and supplies around the Cornucopia.
She and one of the Career boys decide to go hunting; the sooner the other Tributes are killed, the better, and it also means less Tributes to worry about.
They chase the pair of District 6 tributes to a cliff. The boy can't be older than thirteen, the girl a bit older. The girl had managed to grab a backpack during the Bloodbath, it doesn't seem that the boy was able to get anything.
They plead for their lives. The girl offers her backpack. She is rewarded with a slashed throat when the Career boy closes in with a deceptively friendly look on his face, as if he will accept the deal the girl is offering. The boy screams as the girl's blood spills down her shirt and on the backpack, but within two seconds, he meets the same fate. The sound of cannon fire fills the air, first once, then twice.
As the Career boy preens himself over having made two kills in such a short amount of time, he does not see his partner approaching. As he leans down to pick the backpack, he feels a sharp jab to the back of his neck, and collapses from the well-aimed blow. She takes his knife and does to him what he has just done twice. The cannon fires again.
When she comes back to the Cornucopia, she tells them that the District 6 tributes killed the Career boy, and she killed them in retaliation. They will never find out the truth.
o0o0o0o
She has managed to survive on the skills she learned during her training in the Capitol. One of the other Tributes, either 3 or 5, managed to destroy the carefully-hoarded Career food supply by taking several of the mines from the platforms and rearming them, binding them together before lobbing it near the Cornucopia, destroying over three-quarters of the pyramid, and killing her District partner as well.
Part of her is relieved that she will not have to face the possibility of killing her partner, the boy she has trained with through the years.
One of the other Career girls got killed when she chased after the Tribute responsible for the damage. At first, the remaining Careers think that the cannon fire is from her killing the other Tribute, but when the names of the fallen appear that night, the Career girl is the only casualty for that day.
Now there are only seven Tributes left, three Career and four others. The girl from 3, the boy from 5, the girl from 9, and the boy from 10.
o0o0o0o
The remaining Careers have divided the remaining supplies between themselves, carrying it in their backpacks, belts, or otherwise. Now it is time to hunt. They still have enough food to keep them going for a while, so they bound through the sparse woods. The low amount of trees gives them good visibility for many yards around.
After a while, the ground becomes more rocky, and she sees a bit of smoke coming from between two large rocks. There is a fire, and she sees two figures huddled in the safety of the shadows.
One of the Careers lets out a loud whoop, and advances with the other remaining Career. She sees the two other Tributes peer out from the shadows, recognizing the ones from 3 and 5. They look oddly... calm, even expectant.
She stops herself, but the other Careers run forward, eager to eliminate two more from the game and bring it closer to its end. An explosion fills the air.
o0o0o0o
She has to admit, she admires the cleverness of the trap. The smoke starts to clear, revealing the mangled bodies of her allies. She cautiously moves forward, and manages to see the faces of the other Tributes through the smoke. Now they look afraid, seeing that she is alive. This means there are no more hidden mines. But she is not taking any chances and maintains her distance, pulling out a shuriken and throwing it. It catches the boy in his throat.
o0o0o0o
Where there once was twenty-four, now there are just three. She is certain that the girl from 9 and the boy from 10 have teamed up and are waiting for her. She takes and eats as much as she can from the supplies of her fallen allies. The ones from 3 and 5 had nothing but crackers and a bit of jerky on them, so she eats that as well, no use in weighing herself down with extra baggage at this point while she can have a feast right now.
If the game goes on longer than she anticipates and she eats what is left in her backpack, she is certain that a sponsor will send her food, but she is still determined to ration what is left after her feast. Just in case.
She remains near the site where four Tributes have died, resting, sipping some water, thinking about her next course of action. She has managed to stay alive thus far by paying attention to her surroundings. She has to wonder if there are more mines hidden around the arena, she takes great care to look for tracks and disturbed spots. The Gamemakers are doubtlessly thinking of something to bring the remaining Tributes together. So far she survived a thunderstorm, an earthquake, and a pack of wild dogs. She has suffered injuries, but nothing life-threatening, and a well-timed Sponsor gift helped to alleviate the pain and make sure infection or complications doesn't set in.
She fingers the pack of shuriken at her belt, one of the items from the Cornucopia. They have come in handy, she used them to injure another Tribute and close in for the kill. Some Careers pride themselves in their skill in hand-to-hand combat and she certainly has not skimped on that part of her training, but she does not eschew the practicality of attacking from a distance.
The smell of something burning fills her nostrils. She looks up, seeing the glow of red on the horizon. The grass on the veldt makes for excellent fuel for the fire, and after quickly looking around to make sure there are no predators lurking, she climbs out of the tree and jogs in the other direction, not too quickly so she can keep an eye out for any traps on the ground.
o0o0o0o
She sees the other two Tributes in a more wooded area, the fire having stopped its pursuit. The boy from 10 looks up, his eyes widening as he sees her. He and the girl from 9, who had been sitting around a fire, split off in opposite directions. The boy trips, and she decides to close in on him first. However, he recovers quickly and runs for his life – literally. He is a good runner, she has to admit, and after her jog, it is harder to keep up with him than it could be.
She throws one shuriken, but misses, she is running out of breath and it is hard to keep aim when she and the target are both moving at a frantic pace. She throws another – her last one – and it hits him in the leg.
She is on him in a second, taking out her knife. He looks up at him with hazel eyes full of pleading, his mouth opening, but no sound comes out except for a whimper. She is reminded of her first impression of him as she sees the gauntness of his cheeks.
For a moment, she hesitates. District 10 is one of the poorer districts, and if this boy won, his district would probably welcome the Parcels more than anyone in her own district ever did. She remembers her own Parcels; it was nice to get them, but she was already fine without them. For many in the poorer Districts, a Parcel could make the difference between starvation, and having just enough to get by. This boy, without a doubt, is one of those who signed up for tesserae.
Then he hits her side. For such a thin person, he is surprisingly strong, and she berates herself for her moment of weakness. She has to be strong. Before he can grab the knife, she sinks it into his shoulder.
o0o0o0o
There was once twenty-four. Now there are two. Soon to be one. She had found the District 9 girl, and severely wounded the other girl.
She looks down at the dying Tribute. She is tall and big, but not in a fat or overfed way. If she remembers correctly, this girl said she was fifteen in her interview. If she had lived in a Career district, she might have qualified for Career training, she had to be smart on top of her muscle to make it this far. She remembers back to the Bloodbath, the girl had simply grabbed the backpack that had been luckily close to her platform before making a dash for the woods.
Her hair is the color of wheat, the same thing her district is known for, and her eyes are a tawny green color. She knows she has lost, the resignation is clear in her eyes. Still, the soon-to-be winner respects her. She was a good fighter, the throbbing of the older girl's jaw is evidence of that.
“You played a good game.” she acknowledges. A lopsided grin appears on the other girl's face and she gives out a short, bitter laugh.
“But only one can win.” the younger girl manages to whisper.
“Only one can win.” the Career girl repeats.
The cannon fires, and Seneca Crane's voice fills the air, declaring her the winner of the Hunger Games.
o0o0o0o
She is calm and poised during her interview. She had come out of the Games looking almost a wreck, her hair and clothing disheveled, her face streaked with dirt, her underarms and crotch smelling as they had never smelled before despite her efforts to stay clean. Taking a shower felt like a return to humanity, to civilization... which figuratively and literally, it was.
While she was being prepped for her interview, she dwelt on her time in the Game, silent as they exfoliated, manicured, pedicured, waxed, and scrubbed her. The Capitol had watched her kill several other children, cheering for her and sending her gifts. If she had killed someone in her own District, the consequences would be entirely different.
She thinks back on her time here before the Game. How all the children were fed, fawned over, dressed up and trotted out before the spectators as if they were putting on a show... which they were. The costumes in the Tribute Parade, the dresses and suits for the interviews...
23 children die every year, sometimes in prolonged or horrific ways, all for the Capitol's entertainment. Sure, the Capitol says that these tributes have a chance to earn forgiveness, and resources for their districts, and if they win, they're set for life. But isn't there a better way to earn forgiveness?
She is tempted to ask this in the interview. But instead she takes her Mentor's advice, saying what her mentor says will please the Capitol most.
...Yes, it is incredible being the Victor! I want to thank the Capitol for its generosity and forgiveness, it is such a honor to earn that privilege...
And inside, deep down inside, masked by the thrill and relief of being a Victor, she feels hollow as she looks out at the gaudily-dressed people of the Capitol, clapping and cheering for her as she smiles at Caesar Flcikerman before she turns to the camera, blowing a dignified kiss.
o0o0o0o
She is not sure what to expect from the mentors of the other Districts. Would they be angry at her, hate her for winning, for the fact that their own charges lost? She thinks of the mentor from District 9, a redheaded woman, and how excited she must have felt when the District 9 girl had made it to the final two.
And the Mentors who lost their children in the Bloodbath, how difficult it must have been for them. Being a Victor does not mean you are free of the Hunger Games. You are still expected to be part of it... just in a different capacity. She looks around, seeing the other Mentors scattered through the room, looking at her. She was already warned by her own Mentor that this happens with every Victor, but it still feels weird looking at them, meeting them, knowing that she will be seeing a lot more of them in the future.
She makes her rounds, starting with the ones from District 1, and working her way down. She admits to the District 3 and 5 mentors that their charges were clever, and they smile sadly at that. She certainly is not going to speak ill of the dead.
When she gets to District 9, she is unsure of what to say, but the woman speaks first.
“I heard what you said to Emmer in the arena. You're the first person to tell another player that.”
So that was the girl's name, she thinks. “Really?” she asks with surprise. The Mentor nods.
“It just... seemed the right thing to say.” she admits, now blushing. “I wanted to... do something nice for her.” She pauses, realizing how stupid that must sound, since she is the one responsible for the girl. The other woman saw that. She wonders if the older woman will get angry at her for saying what sounds like a callous thing to say, and she starts to turn away.
But the District 9 Victor touches her arm. She looks back, and the woman looks at her understandingly.
“I should have said that myself when I was in the Game.”
o0o0o0o
Back in the suite for her District, her Mentor is scolding her for what she said to the District 9 Mentor. She is not supposed to show weakness to the other Victors. There will be next year, and the year after that, and so on. As a Victor, she will be expected to ensure the best chances of survival for all future Tributes from her own District.
She wants to argue, but she keeps silent. She understands what her Mentor is saying. She can see herself being a friend to the District 9 woman, but ultimately, they will both be mentoring children who will be forced to kill one another if it comes down to it.
That is the dilemma all of the Victors face, she realizes. They all share a unique bond, of having gone through the games and surviving the ordeal. They all wanted to win, and they did. They all also want their own charges to win, which of course is a lot easier said than done.
The Hunger Games truly are diabolical, she realizes. Not only are the Districts pitted against one another, hoping their own Tribute will win, but even the Victors are forced to turn against one another every year, so the struggle never truly ends. It is an insidious level to the Hunger Games to make sure that the Victors, despite any friendships they might form with one another, remain in competition, trying to gain the rewards for their own District.
“I understand.” she said. In more ways than one.
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Victory