"ALL REBELS AND REBELLION.."
--¤☆¤--

Aching pain, that was the first thing Finnick felt when he opened his eyes up; nothing but numbing pain. Pain in his chest, pain his his ribs, pain everywhere in his body. That's all he felt. The aching pain of knowing that only him, Katniss and Beetee made it out of that damned arena. Three out of the five of them.

The mission was simple: keep Athena and the 'star-crossed' love pair from twelve alive. If injured use any and all supplies on them. They were hungry? Hand over your last piece of bread. Keep them alive. That's all Haymitch and Heavensbee ask from him. Keep them alive. Keep them alive.

Keep them alive. That phrase wasn't just words that came from Haymitch and Heavensbee's mouths, those were an order. An order where he would have to put his life on the line for them. Keep them alive. That would be hard to keep true to. How could he keep them alive, when they were trapped in an arena that is just as unpredictable as the people trapped inside it? Maybe luck, or a small prayer would do for now.

Keep them alive. They seemed to forget that he didn't just walk into that arena as a tribute, but he walked into that arena with his Mentor. His only family. The woman, who took care of him since his parents death. Keep them alive. How could he save the 'Star-crossed lovers', when he is forced to relive every second in his mind of Mag's slowly crawling her way to her death?

Keep her alive. That was a promise he made to himself. Not to Haymitch. Not to Heavensbee. Not to Johanna. Not to the god damned Rebellion. But to himself. Keep her alive. That was a promise he made, on the night that Snow announced the Games. That was the only thing he thought.

Keep her alive. With tears streaming down his face, Finnick promised himself that she would live. No matter the cost. No matter what he had to do. That was his one job. Keep her alive. To think that these simple words had such a great effect on him. They were just mere words weren't they? Keep her alive.

Taking shallow breaths, pain bubbled up in his ribs as he breathed; sharp prickling pain, almost needle-like. The heaviness of his eyes wouldn't go away, no matter how many times he blinked; they just got heavier and heavier with each second. The struggle was real, from the achiness of his body to the heaviness of his eyes; Finnick Odair was slowly losing the battle with staying awake.

--0--

"WHAT?!" A loud voice screams, followed by a loud banging sound.

Snapping his eyes open, Finnick tensed up at the sound of the yell, every fiber of his body was telling him to run away. Reaching out for his trident, he found that it wasn't there anymore. Looking around frantically for his weapon, he found himself in a helicarrier, all weapons out of sight. Turning his head to the side, Katniss laid next to him, eyes shut with a breathing mask covering her mouth and nose.

Were they safe? Did Plutarch get them out? Sitting up, he winced in pain as his ribs felt like they were being crushed together making it harder to breathe. Reaching out, he grasps the side of one of the metal chairs, shakily pulling himself up. Squinting his eyes, he could see that a few feet away was a door; on the side was a keypad.

"Hello?" He whispers, hesitantly walking to the door.

Walking to the door, he reaches out to the keypad and finds that the key code was written above. He was safe. Snow wouldn't be caught dead giving tributes an advantage. Typing in the code, he looks over at Katniss, now spotting Beetee on her otherside. Contemplating on whether or not he should leave them. He knew he had to protect her. But, he also knew that he wanted to know what the hell was happening.

Biting his bottom lip, he clicks the red button, letting the door slide open. Standing on opposite ends of a large table, Haymitch and Plutarch were silently glaring at each other. Thank god it was them. Feeling some relief, he furrows his brows in confusion as Haymitch continues to glare daggers at Plutarch. What happened?

"Haymitch? Plutarch?" He mutter's, confusion painted all over his face.

Glancing back and forth between the pair, he studies the glaring pair. Haymitch's eyes were bloodshot red, but it didn't look like it was from alcohol or restless nights. Plutarch's face was a mix of stress and anger. His hair slightly messed up from what looked like running his hands through it.

"Something happened." Haymitch spits, glaring at Plutarch.

"Don't Haymitch." Plutarch snarls, shooting him a look.

"What happened? Is everyone okay?" Finnick asks, stepping further into the room.

Shutting behind him with a creak, Finnick watches over his shoulder as the door locks automatically. Leaving Katniss on the other side. Limping his way over to the table, he holds his side as he takes a wrong step. God that hurt. Like a sharp punch to a bruise.

"You may want to sit down for this, Finnick." Haymitch mutters, running a hand through his hair.

"Why? How bad can it be?" Finnick asks, frowning at Haymitch's odd behavior.

"I'm not going to bullshit with you Finnick. We lost Johanna and Peeta. The Capitol has them." Haymitch says bluntly.

"Are they alive?" Finnick asks, nodding his head as he takes in his words.

"Yes. There's⎯They⎯The Capitol also has someone else. Um⎯There is no easy way of saying this but Athena is alive." Haymitch stutters, earning a glare from Plutarch.

Feeling his heart stop completely, Finnick's legs give out on him for a second, forcing him to lean on the table for support. Looking at Haymitch then back at Plutarch, the Gamemaker doesn't meet his teary eyes. Instead he keeps his head low, eyes trained on the table. Coward. Fuckin' coward. Looking back at Haymitch, the older man was harshly wiping tears from his face. His hands were shaking. Was it from anger? Sadness? Who knows.

"She⎯What?" Finnick stutters, feeling as if all of the air was knocked out of him.

"He's not lying. Finnick, she's alive. Snow has her, along with Johanna and Peeta. They are in the Capitol. Our last report says that they are alive. We have to assume that Snow is going to use them as some kind of leverage." Plutarch explains, his voice low and slow.

"Bu⎯But⎯no, she died. I⎯but⎯her cannon. Her heart⎯I couldn't feel her pulse." Finnick stutters, tripping on his words.

"Apparently she still had one. It was faint, but still there. They found one in the Helicarrier, but before we could get her. Snow found out about her heartbeat and put her in lock down." Plutarch explains, sighing as Haymitch paces back and forth.

Running his hand through his already messy hair, Haymitch stops pacing and points at Plutarch. The table rattles as he accidentally bumps into it. Everyone could feel the anger radiating off of Haymitch. Thank god, there was a table separating the pair. If not, Plutarch would a hundred percent be on the ground getting choked out by Haymitch.

"Thanks to Plutarch here, we don't know where she is⎯" Haymitch starts, but is cut off by Plutarch.

"It was not my fault that Dr.Page informed Snow. Let me remind you Haymitch, Snow was the one to tell me. And even if I could get her, it would have risked the entire mission. One person is not worth the life of others. It's not worth the life of the rebellion." Plutarch argues, making both Haymitch and Finnick scoff.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Finnick could feel the lump in his throat thicken even more than before as he listened to Haymitch begin to mutter curses under his breath. Clenching his jaw, he bites down on his bottom lip. Shifting his weight on each leg, he couldn't help but fidget from where he was standing. So many things were happening that he didn't know what or who to focus on.

"That's bullshit and you know it, Plutarch! You were the one, who asked everyone to put their asses on the line for Katniss and Peeta! For the Rebellion! She's just as important as the both of them! Katniss needs both Peeta and Athen⎯" Haymitch rambles on, his voice getting quieter at the end as he choked up with tears.

Falling into a tense silence, everyone let out a shakily breath as emotions brewed together. Anger. Sadness. Fear. Happiness. Disbelief. They brew together into a tense feeling. One that made their hairs stand up. 

"How long? How long have you known?" Finnick asks, filling the silence.

"I found out two hours before I left." Plutarch mutters, drifting his eyes away from Haymitch's intense stare.

"Oh my god." Finnick mutters, warm tears falling.

"Great! Brilliant! So what should we tell, Katniss?" Haymitch questions.

"Haymitch.." Plutarch sighs.

"No, what are we going to tell her? Huh, that they have the boy? That Athena is not dead? That she is very much alive? Huh..?!" Haymitch asks, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he glances between Plutarch and Finnick.

"The truth. She deserves to know, Haymitch. We can't lie to her⎯I won't lie to her. Not anymore." Finnick argues, running a hand through his hair.

"I understand your frustrations, but look if we can-" Plutarch starts, but is cut off.

"I don't care. You find my daughter and you bring her back." Haymitch orders, his voice shaking with anger.

Hearing the door creak open, it opens up to reveal a wide-eyed Katniss, a syringe grasped tightly in her hand. Turning their attention to her, everyone tensed as her knuckles turned white from how tight she was holding it. Gulping, Finnick felt guilt build up as she gave him a look of betrayal. Drifting his eyes down, he refused to look up at her, as it would only make him feel even more guilty to see the pain in her eyes.

"Good morning, sweetheart." Haymitch says, with a sarcastic tight lipped smile.

+++++

QUICK SUGGESTION! Listen to 'Achilles, Come Down'  by Gang of Youths, and re-read the chapter! I was told by my friend that the chapter, and song go well together!

Back on track! I am done with the chapter! Stay safe out there guys! I hope you all are doing okay emotionally and physically in quarantine! I love you all!

I hope that you are enjoying the book so far! A quick reminder to comment below about the story of what you think so far!