A/n: Exams suck!!

Ooooh and are you all team Peeta or team Gale?

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"SHE DID WHAT?"

"She ran away to the Capitol. More specifically, to the front lines."

A groan left my lips as I resisted the urge to face-palm. "Why does she have a death wish?"

"Well, what are we supposed to do now?" Finnick asked Coin, annoyed. After the celebrations had ended, Finnick and Annie were assigned to a separate cabin. A few days went by where all was happy and well before Coin called for an emergency meeting. When Finn walked into the conference room late, the light flush on his face and the glow that radiated off him was enough for anyone to come to a conclusion. "Oh piss off, the both of you!" He exclaimed, embarrassed, when Newt and I teased him about it. Coin called us all to her office to inform us that Katniss had sneaked out of 13, got onto a hovercraft which was transporting medical supplies to the soldiers at the front lines, with a mission to kill Snow at the Capitol.

We were watching the footage that was broadcasted from the Capitol where Katniss Everdeen stood amongst the soldiers, including Gale Hawthorne, as the people around her raised three fingers in the air, a symbol of rebellion.

"What is she doing?" Coin muttered under her breath.

"I don't know, it's so frustrating when she goes rogue." Pluratch replied, a hint of a smirk on his face.

"This isn't just adolescent, this is insubordination."

"Put her on the first hovercraft back." He shrugged.

"Don't be ridiculous, she can't come back now. She's mythic."

"At the frontlines, surviving a gunshot wound. Couldn't have staged it better myself."

"I know. She is going to stay where she is. And whatever she's doing, we conceived it. It was our plan all along."

I looked at Newt with raised eyebrows. Was she that desperate for credit?

On the huge screen, we saw Commander Paylor greet Katniss and welcome her into their troops, Katniss putting on a brave smile for the cameras to see.

Newt let out a sigh. "This could have many endings and most of it are not happy ones."

"If there is nothing else," Finnick turned to Coin "I'd like to go back and spend time with my wife."

"Actually, Mr. Odair, we may have other plans for you. And for Miss (l/n), too." Plutarch spoke up.

"What plans?" I questioned, pointedly.

"We are going to have to put you on the next flight to the Capitol. The filming crew will be going along with you. We will need to film the entire story Katniss is trying to write and we are going to need more popular faces along with her in that story."

Enraged at Coin's words, I nearly yelled, "You've got to be kidding me! Finnick just got married! Give him a break!"

"The war does not have breaks, Miss (l/n). I'm sorry that Mr. Odair has to cut short his honeymoon plans but we have to look at the bigger picture here."

I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to control the anger, knowing there was no point in arguing with them.

"Am I going along with them?" Newt asked.

"Unfortunately not. We will need you here, Newt." Plutarch replied. "Your specializations lay here with Beetee, we will send you to the battlefield only if necessary."

Newt let out a frustrated sigh, but did not speak further.

"When do we leave?" I grumbled.

"In an hour. Get ready for the mission. You're dismissed." The three of us stood up and were about to leave the room, when Coin said, "Oh and miss (l/n), can we talk for a moment? Privately?"

I gestured for Newt and Finnick to go on without me, while I turned around and walked back to where Coin stood.

"Since Katniss has taken matters into her own hand, now more than ever, it is your time to keep an eye on her. Make sure she is in line and does not drag the name of district 13 through the mud. And do inform me at the earliest if you have even the slightest doubt of whether or not she has any ulterior motives. We don't need a rogue public figure to go on and become the ruler of Panem, only to have her burn it down."

I scoffed at the fact that she asked me to be a babysitter again. Looking at her with a frown, I whispered. "You want to be president after all this is over, don't you? And you're scared that she will take your place."

"Becoming president of a country such as Panem and successfully ruling in a democratic way is a difficult and herculean task." She said in a final tone, making sure her statement will be the one to be followed. "I just need to make sure that the power of being president falls into the right hands. Can I trust you on making sure that happens?"

I stayed silent for a moment. Was she trying to secure my vote if and when we do end up in a political feud as to who leads Panem? She should be more concerned about winning the war at the moment and not about what comes after. If she indeed was desperate to have that much power, then she is dangerous. Probably even more dangerous than Snow. And letting her reach that position would be disastrous.

I needed to choose my words carefully. Not really promise my alliance to her, but at the same time ensure that she still trusts me. "I'll keep an eye on her." I said, a neutral expression on my face. Before she could inquire further, I turned on my heels and left the room, wanting to keep as much distance from her as I could.

Upon reaching the living quarters, I found Annie silently crying in Finnick's arms, Newt standing a few feet away, a frown on his lips.

"I'll be back before you know it, my love." Finnick said, holding her tighter. "Newt will take care of you till then."

Annie pulled away from Finnick and nodded while wiping her tears away. "Okay. Promise me, you'll come back safe and sound?"

He smiled before placing a kiss on her forehead. "I promise."

Noticing my presence, Annie rushed forward and pulled me into a hug. "You too, (Y/n). Promise me you'll be careful and you'll stay safe."

"Pinky promise." I chuckled.

"(Y/n), a word?" Newt asked, his voice soft.

"Yeah, of course."

"We're going to the lounge." Finnick said and took Annie's hand in his, before pulling her away from the room.

The moment the door closed behind them, Newt walked forward and placed a hand on my cheek before bringing his lips down to mine. My eyes momentarily widened in surprise, before I closed them and wrapped my arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. His grip on my waist tightened as we poured out our emotions into the kiss. A few blissful moments later, we pulled away and rested out foreheads together, breathing heavily, lips parted.

"Don't do anything stupid out there that will get you killed, okay?"

"I won't. If it means that I can come back and get kisses like these, I wouldn't dream of dying."

He laughed and kissed me again. "Keep a close watch on Finnick too. That klutz will probably trip on his trident."

"Okay." I nodded with a smile. "I love you, Newt."

"I love you too." He hugged me tighter and buried his face in my neck, and we just stood there, embracing each other and savouring every moment together.

A knock interrupted us and we turned to see Nat walk in, her eyes glossy with unshed tears, and Dylan trailing behind her, a box in his hand.

"This is goodbye for now, love. I'll see you soon." Newt said. With one last kiss, he left the room and I watched his retreating figure with a frown, wondering when I'd see him next.

"From what we heard, your team will not directly be fighting in the war." Dylan said. "You'll be 3 days behind the front lines, journeying to the president's mansion while shooting propos. There will be a lot of dangers and hurdles in your way, so I made this suit especially for a situation like this."

He opened the box and revealed a black suit, dark colours of green and blue patterns on the sleeves, while its material was made of metallic threads woven together intricately. "Bulletproof I assume?"

"Add fire and waterproof to the list of perks it has. I made Finnick one too. And just because it looks fancy and is strong enough to withstand a bullet, does not mean it makes you invincible. So be careful."

"I will. Thanks, Dylan, I owe you so much. And you too Nat. Thank you for everything you've done for us. I couldn't have gotten through it all without the both of you." I whispered.

"Oh, my darling." Nat choked out a sob and wrapped her arms around me. "Thank us by coming back home."

*****

I walked alongside Finnick and Boggs in the crowded make-shift base of operation in the outskirts of the Capitol. The journey from 13 wasn't very easy, we had to use one of the fastest jets to get here, the nauseating feeling still lingering around due to the heavy rumbling of the hovercraft.

"Scared, (l/n)?" Finn asked with a playful smirk. He had his trident clutched in one hand, while the other was lazily flung around my shoulders. I gripped my gun tighter as I looked at all the soldiers, arsenals and weaponry surrounding us, a shiver running down my body.

But I pushed it off. We were at war. There was no time to be afraid.

"Nah, you wish." I scoffed while shrugging his arm off of me.

"You don't need to be scared." Boggs spoke up. Did he see through that little white lie? "You have a good aim, soldier. Give you any weapon and you hit your target spot on. It takes natural talent to achieve that at a young age."

"Eh, it's nothing." I ducked my head down, embarrassed at the compliment. Finnick nudged my shoulder and laughed at my reddened cheeks.

"Finnick? (Y/n)?" A voice called out. We turned to see Katniss Everdeen, the girl on fire, looking at us with a curious expression. "Are you with us?"

"Looks like it." I said.

"That was a short honeymoon." She stated, looking at Finnick.

"Yeah, well. I guess we're gonna have to have one in the Capitol. After we take it.

"Gather around." Boggs said. "Meet your new unit."

A lady in her late 30's stood tall with her shoulders straight as she nodded at us. "I'm Lieutenant Jackson, and I wanna introduce you to your squad. This is second Lieutenant Mitchell, best sharp shooter in Panem." She said, pointing to a man with greying hair. She then gestured towards two young ladies, identical twins, each with a smile on their faces. "These are the Leeg sisters. First combat division. And this is Corporal Homes."

After the introductions were done, our camera crew, led by Cressida walked up to the table and Boggs stood beside her, his posture rigid and professional. "Gather around. Squad 451, you're my unit. Lieutenant Jackson is my second-in-command. Each one of you is elite in some form of combat. But we are a non-combat unit. So we'll be following days behind the front-line troops."

"You're to be the on screen faces of the invasion. 'The Star Squad.'" Cressida spoke up. "It's been decided that you're most effective when seen by the masses."

"Our instructions are to shoot propaganda footage on the battle-scarred streets of the Capitol. You were hand picked to intimidate their forces." Boggs said. "Even though we'll be working on abandoned streets miles behind the front lines, I guarantee you that whatever they put us through, it will not be safe. This is a war zone. It's likely that we'll encounter both active pods and peacekeepers. You're considered high value targets to the Capitol. In the event of a capture, you'll be given a nightlock pill. A poison that acts immediately." Oh, don't I know very well all about nightlocks. "Lieutenant Jackson, do the honours."

She went around the group and handed everyone a dark coloured pill, its size about that of a pea. Despite it's innocent appearance, this small pill would kill you in seconds. Finn and I looked at each other before shrugging and putting it in our pockets.

"I've already briefed you on the pods. I remind you, they are on every block. Our unit has been given a Holo." Boggs held up a weird box looking thing before placing it on the table in front of us, pushing a few buttons before a blue hologram was projected from the device . "A database that contains a detailed map of the Capitol and a list of every known pod. These pods can trigger anything from bombs, to traps, to mutts. We cannot move without this device. There's no guarantee that our database is complete. There could be new pods that we're not aware of. Because we don't want the gamemakers to know that we have this Intel, it has a self-destruct on it. You flip this switch, say 'nightlock' three times, and it blows itself and anything within a 10-foot radius."

"Guess we can't be making any nightlock jokes anywhere near the Holo, can we?" Finnick whispered loud enough so that only I could hear.

"Shush!" I swatted his arm, suppressing a laugh. This man-child needed to learn not to make inappropriate comments in the wrong place.

"Stay within our unit." Boggs continued, the environment around us suddenly turning serious. He looked at every one of us, his gaze sending chills down my spine. "Even with the Holo, it's likely that new pods have been set. Whatever they contain, they're meant to kill you." He ended with a weary tone. A sharp silence followed, giving everyone a moment to ponder upon his words.

I glanced at Finn with a grim expression, knowing that the mission we were about to embark on had a very high chance that either one of us could die. He pulled his lips into a tight line. "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the 76th hunger games."

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We trudged along the empty streets of the Capitol, and occasionally filmed propos for what felt like days, the crunching of rocks and pebbles beneath our feet breaking the eerie silence around us. Finnick and I shared small whispered talks along the way, never letting the other feel bored on our long walk into the heart of the city. We were in the middle of a debate as to whether fish would taste good with mayonnaise when the Holo that Boggs was carrying started to beep fast and loud.

"Got a pod. Let's take cover." The unit jogged towards a massive decorative structure at the conjunction of two long roads. Boggs pointed at two tall buildings on either side of one of the paths that led towards the tribute centre. "Shoot an arrow through them."

Finnick and I crouched to the ground as Cressida instructed the camera crew to take their positions. Katniss pulled out one of the arrows with a red marking on its tail, an explosive one, before lining it up with her bow. She took aim and let the arrow fly, and as soon as it passed the crossway, flames consumed the entire path, the source being on either side of the buildings.

A loud bang shattered through the tense atmosphere and I flinched at the sudden blast. We watched with wide eyes as the fire slowly died down and thick, black smoke filled its space, the threat of the pods now increasing tenfold.

"All clear." Boggs notified us. "Let's go find some shelter for a while, get a little rest."

We meandered through the city until we stumbled into an abandoned restaurant, the wide area giving us enough space to accommodate the entire unit. I plopped down next to Finnick and let out a sigh. "My legs feel like jelly from walking for so long."

"Take a nap, I'll wake you up when we need to leave again." Finn said while gently placing a hand on my head, making me lean onto his shoulder. The plan to get some shut eyes went down the drain when the sound of motor engines rumbled through the room.

"Are those peacekeepers?" Corporal Homes asked. I grabbed my gun and stood up, pulling Finn along with me.

"451 to base." Lieutenant Jackson spoke into her walkie-talkie. "We've got a truck coming in from the south. Over." The rest of the team walked out of the restaurant and saw a large black truck come to stop a few feet in front of us. "Stand down everyone." She called out. "It's friendly."

We watched with weary eyes as two guards opened the back doors of the jeep and my jaw nearly dropped when two familiar figures stepped out.

Newt and Peeta.

Katniss took her stance with her bow and arrow the moment her sight fell on the latter, the duo now walking towards us. Newt's face was void of any emotions while mine was full of confusion. I was about to step forward when Boggs placed a hand on my shoulder, silently telling me not to.

Peeta was muttering something in a low voice, his eyes averted to the ground as he kept walking without looking up. When he got within a few feet from us, Katniss lifted the bow and pulled her arrow back, but I grabbed her arm and pushed it down. "Don't shoot at them!" I hissed.

"Okay, Stop!" Gale warned Peeta.

"Hold up." Finnick said, moving towards the blond boy. "Everybody relax."

The atmosphere was tense as Boggs assessed the situation before turning back to face his second in command. "Jackson, cuff him." He said before walking back towards the restaurant.

Everybody put their defences down and I immediately jogged towards Newt, who wore a tired smile. "Hey." He said, pulling me into a hug.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, a bit of happiness and fear in my voice. Happy because I could see him again and the other emotion because Newt was now in the warzone. There was no guarantee for any of our safeties and if something were to go wrong, it would be out of my hands to protect the both of us.

"Coin wants Peeta in the propos. She sent me along to tell you all that and to monitor him."

"Did she send you or did you volunteer?" I asked, my eyes narrowed.

"A little bit of both." He winked with a smirk. "Couldn't let you both have all the fun now, can I?"

I rolled my eyes. "Only you would find guns and bombs fun, Newt. Only you."

"C'mon, let's go back in!" Gale called out.

"Give us a minute!" Newt said in reply. "Hey, O'dair, get your butt over here."

"Just when I thought I wouldn't see your annoying face for a few weeks, you show up here." Finnick said in a playful tone.

"Not everyone gets what they want." Newt chuckled. "On a more serious note, I came here to tell you guys something." His voice dropped low as he looked around us, making sure we weren't being overheard. "Coin sent Peeta here for a reason."

"It is a bit weird for her to send an uncontrollable and sometimes violent human to a place like this, isn't it?" Finn muttered.

"I think Coin wants Katniss dead." I furrowed my eyebrows at Newt's statement. "We are at the final stages of the war. And when we do win, there probably will be an election. And guess who is running for president of Panem?"

"Is that why she constantly bugs me to keep an eye on her? To make sure Katniss has no intention of being a competitor to Coin?"

"Yes. She sees her as a threat. Even if Katniss doesn't want to lead the country, her vote could sway the masses. And if Katniss is killed, not only is the threat eliminated, but it also adds fuel to the fire of the rebellion."

"We can't let Katniss die." Finnick said. "It could lead to chaos."

"This isn't like before. She's already done a major part as the face of the revolution and the rest of the propos can be filmed without her." He sighed. "All I'm saying is that if Peeta does try to kill Katniss, promise me that the two of you wouldn't sacrifice yourselves to save her. Just... don't put her life before yours." He looked at Finnick and me imploringly. "We have people waiting for us back home.