With giant leaps, Finnick and Sidney ran up the stairs side by side, Katniss and Peeta only slightly ahead of them. Sidney's speed staggered however, the moment she witnessed Peeta pull Katniss back by the back of her jacket and throw her to the ground.

Katniss barely managed to roll aside before Peeta slammed his gun on the ground mere centimeters away from her shocked face.

The two immediately sprung into action as Sidney latched onto Peeta's back with the help of Mitchell, while Finnick rushed to Katniss' side and hauled her back up to her feet again.

The black liquid started to creep closer up the steps again, closer to Sidney, Peeta, and Mitchell.

"Sid!" Finnick shouted as he tried to pull Katniss with him up the stairs. "We have to go!"

"You think I don't know that?!" Sidney looked at him, a panicked yet annoyed look on her face. Peeta thrashed in Mitchell's arms, and before anyone could predict what was happening, Peeta managed to twist around in the soldier's arm and with one strong push, Mitchell fell back in the black tar with a loud scream.

They expected it to be over right then and there as Sidney finally managed to control Peeta while she dragged him up the stairs, but they were proven wrong rather quickly when something pulled Mitchell's body up and strung him over the courtyard for everyone to see.

Sidney finally reached the group - a thrashing Peeta in her arms as they rushed up the last couple steps of stairs when the black liquid started to gain on them again, crashing against the stairs like waves on rocks.

"Go, go, go!"

Sidney watched as Jackson shot through a glass door of the nearest building and ushered them inside with curt instructions.

"Let go of me!" Peeta yelled, spit flying from his mouth.

"Calm down and please just walk!" Sidney shouted back at the brainwashed boy, but it barely stopped his attempt at escaping.

With much struggle, Sidney got him up the stairs, but their luck was already running out again as the stairs to the next level were completely destroyed, leaving them stranded as the tar kept growing closer and closer.

Luckily, one of the soldiers finally sedated Peeta as he went limp in Sidney's arms. She carefully lowered him to the ground before she let out a tired huff and slumped against the wall.

The air was filled with tension as they watched the liquid climb up the stairs and Sidney's breathing grew calmer with each passing second as she held tightly onto Finnick's hand.

"It's slowing down," Cressida observed as the liquid reached the top step, but it didn't move any further.

A large sigh escaped Sidney's mouth as she watched the liquid recede. "Gamemakers are still putting on quite a show." She lightly smirked. "They're dedicated, I'll give 'em that."

"451 to base. Over." Jackson spoke into the intercom.

"We better move." Finnick suggested calmly, "If Peacekeepers didn't know where we were, they do now."

"451 to base. Over."

"Those surveillance cameras caught us," Castor added thoughtfully while Jackson kept trying to get radio contact with the base.

"451 to base. Over."

"This is a bad spot."

"I'm with him. We need to move now," Gale urged only hurriedly, as he looked at the unit.

"I can't get a signal," Jackson announced in defeat before her gaze fell on the holo in Katniss' hands, "But I can get us back to base. Everdeen, give me the holo."

Katniss looked down at the black device in her hand, her eyes fixated on the small spot where some blood remained. She didn't make a move to hand it over.

"Everdeen, what did I just say? The holo," Jackson stated more forcefully. "Come on, let's go."

"Boggs gave it to me," Katniss countered.

"What are you talking about?" Jackson frowned.

"He did. He transferred security clearance to her. I saw him," Homes confirmed from where he stood, leaning against the wall.

"And why would he do that?"

"I'm on special orders from Coin."

"To do what?"

"To assassinate President Snow." Katniss stated calmly.

"I don't believe that for one second. As your new unit commander, I order you to transfer security clearance to me now." Jackson demanded, her voice unnervingly steady.

"I can't do that." Within seconds, everybody was moving as the commander raised her gun toward the Mockingjay. Both Gale and Finnick held up their own weapons while Jackson's soldiers pointed their guns at them.

"Hey!" Sidney suddenly shouted, down on one knee from next to the still sedated Peeta. She had her hand ready to take her spear out. "We've already had two deaths and it's still daytime, nobody is killing anybody!" She sternly spoke. "We're stuck together until this revolution is over, let's not lose our heads already."

"I'm not asking you again, Everdeen. Give me that holo." Jackson ignored the comment and kept her eyes trained on Katniss.

"She's telling the truth," Cressida stepped in front of the gun, not even blinking an eye. "Plutarch wants it televised. He thinks if we could film the Mockingjay assassinating Snow, it'll make the Capitol surrender before the casualties get too high."

"While we're arguing, there's a hundred Peacekeepers on their way here." Gale informed them.

Having enough of the situations, Katniss pushed the automatic crossbow Gale was holding up, down and faced Jackson again. "Boggs promised me that when the time came, you would help me."

Sidney's jaw unclenched when finally after a few more tense seconds, Jackson lowered her gun reluctantly before nodding once. "Alright soldier, the holo is yours."

Some of the tension finally left the air when everyone lowered their weapons and instead focused on the Leegs twins. Specifically the one with a messed up leg.

"She can't move like this"

"We have to evacuate her."

"I'll stay with her."

"Are you sure?" Sidney asked, eyes focused on the Leegs sisters with a worried frown on her face.

"Yeah. We are."

"As soon as we get back into contact with the base, we'll send someone to come get you." Jackson promised.

"I don't think we're gonna leave any footprints." Gale announced and everyone redirected their attention to him just as he retracted his foot from the black colored step, leaving no print at all. "We should leave now."

Sidney hesitated a moment as she looked over her shoulder at the Leegs. "Are you sure you can handle this alone?" She asked again.

"I got her." The woman held her gun up, a tight smile on her face. "Now you go and get Katniss to Snow alright?"

As Sidney got out of the building, she watched the scenery with wide eyes; everything was black besides some top parts of the building, some even hung from the lanterns and cameras like ice.

They all remained silent as they descended down the stairs, but Sidney couldn't keep her eyes away from Mitchell, whose body was still strung above the place, also completely black, and in a very odd angle.

"Come on, this way," Gale called over his shoulder when he spotted one of the buildings that was in a better shape before breaking the door open and usher them inside it.

Together with Finnick, Sidney managed to drag a semi-conscious Peeta inside the building and up the stairs and into a spacious, luxurious apartment.

Sidney's eyes raked over the room, to the grande chandelier hanging from the ceiling to the large television in the middle of the room while the others moved around her to shut the curtains. Carefully, they lowered Peeta back to the ground and placed him against the wall.

"You good?" Finnick whispered as he looked at Sidney next to him.

She didn't respond and instead peeked through one of the curtains when the sound of engines filled the air.

About a dozen jeeps came riding into the courtyard and Peacekeepers came spilling out in their shiny white gear with their guns held up as they positioned themselves strategically in front of the building they were in only moments ago. Where the Leegs still were.

Sidney jumped when they opened gunfire, bricks crumbling down while the twins fired back at them, but to no avail as one of the Peacekeeps fired a rocket launcer and a loud explosion rattled the windows.

Sidney clenched her eyes tightly shut, but she could still vividly see the flames behind her eyelids. She felt Finnick's hand on her back, rubbing soothingly before she tried to shake her emotions aside. A habit she still hadn't let go of since the Quarter Quell. "I'm fine. I'll live."

"Okay." Finnick nodded.

"Okay." She breathed out

There was a beat of silence, before the television in the room came to life and the familiar musical theme of the Capitol's news filled the air. Sidney watched as Caesar Flickerman's face came onto the screen, his normal flamboyant look slightly less than normal, but his purple hair and eyebrows still stood out.

"Good afternoon," Caesar spoke. "I'm Caesar Flickerman. Here with our continuing coverage of the defense of the Capitol. Today, as our Peacekeepers valiantly hold off the rebels, our story takes a surprising twist. Katniss Everdeen, our once favourite daughter, has infiltrated the city with some of the victors, whose names are all too familiar. Finnick Odair, Sidney Gage, and Peeta Mellark.

"Clearly, some alliances don't last forever. . . . Take a look at what happened just a moment ago, when our peacekeepers cornered Katniss Everdeen and her band of foolish rebels. Whatever arrogance brought this treacherous girl back to us, you are about to witness a great victory, not only for the Capitol, but for Panem." Everyone watched as footage played of the bombing that took place mere moments ago. "So there you have it. Katniss Everdeen, the Girl on Fire, a girl who inspired so much violence, seems to have met a violent end herself."