Jessica wondered how people could still laugh and drink and eat when twenty three children had been sacrificed.

Then she remembered that this was the Capitol where things were shiny and bright on the surface yet dirtier than the mines of District Twelve deep within. She looked around and saw the men wanted her for her body, the women who eyed her enviously, fingers set in a claw like motion as though wanting to scratch her face from her skull. The scents were overwhelming, nothing like the arena she just escaped where bodies littered the ground and war was evident in the broken homes and buildings.

(Sometimes, Jessica woke up disoriented, wondering why the ground she was sleeping on was so soft and why Tiffany was there comforting her and why her face was wet.

Sometimes her nails will be caked with blood, arms scratched and torn, throat sore from screaming all night.

Sometimes, Jessica wondered if she ever left the arena.

If she will ever leave it without Tiffany’s constant care and comfort.)

Tiffany was to a corner, serving a group of children who were talking animatedly at her, still young enough to realise that Tiffany was different but fascinating and thus not as cruel as the adults who gave Tiffany the side eye. The Avox routinely raised her head to find Jessica, eyes smiling briefly before returning her attention to the children. Jessica smiled to herself and directed that smile towards the people surrounding her, all wanting just a small portion of her notice.

Twenty three children were dead and these people only cared about themselves.

Then came the time when Snow would make his speech and congratulate Jessica in front of the crowd, where people would throw their adoration at her, maybe a confession here and there. The previous victors will be lined up, waiting for Jessica to join their ranks and they too will congratulate her. District One and Two will tell her that she has given such honour to her district, Finnick would probably smile that side smile before ducking away, maybe another suitor calling for his attention. The smaller districts, poorer districts would probably understand her the most, congratulating her not on her win but her ability to survive.

They will celebrate her getting out of the arena.

But all these will happen after Snow saw her, the man smiling viciously at the blonde, eyes hinting at the event that happened just hours before this elaborate party just for her. His face reminded Jessica of how cruel he sounded as he whispered in her ear, the expression he had when Jessica had scraped across the floor just to cradle her sister’s dying body, the suffocated wails that escaped Jessica’s throat before he savagely had her taken away, promising with a wicked smile that their bodies will be sent back to District Four for burial.

An accident would be a nice cover up, wouldn’t it, Miss Jung?

But these reminders were pushed to the back of her mind, her face blank as she stared Snow down, Tiffany’s words on repeat at the forefront of her brain.

(No weakness, no breaking down.

No showing him that he has broken you because that’s what he wants.

If he gets what he wants, Jessica will lose.

And losing is never an option, not when it came to the Games.

And Jessica understood then that she escaped the arena but never the Games.)

Snow’s smile faltered before it was fixed back, the expression just as fake as the one Jessica gave when he kissed her cheek and sent her off towards Caesar, the man’s hair dyed a deep sea green in honour of Jessica.

The blonde caught Snow’s facial countenance as she sat down beside Caesar, an easy smile making its way towards her lips as the camera turned to her. Snow did not look happy and the men guarding Snow were receiving a soft lecture (which she wished to hear). But Jessica had to pay attention to the interview and she answered the questions with the same air of mystery she did before the Games, the attending screaming their approval and love. Her eyes roamed the room and she found Tiffany easily, the Avox placed near the ice sculpture of a mermaid.

Tiffany’s eyes curved again and she nodded slightly, the brunette silently giving her support from meters away.

Gathering that strength, Jessica continued her interview with a light manner, a stance she found getting easier as the night went along and Snow’s face continued to darken at the sight of a light hearted Jessica.

He wanted her to break.

She will show him that the ocean broke for no king.

*

The squads were sent to the Capitol to take it down from the inside, various segments of the city conquered by various pockets of soldiers.

Katniss and her squad were sent to a suburban area, Plutarch unwilling to let the Mockingjay to actually come to any harm yet could not deny the anger filled girl the fight she so sorely needed. The Gamemaker’s eyes often slid over to Jessica, perhaps hoping to change her mind with the power of telepathy, Jessica studiously ignoring his gazes by listening to her commander's instructions.

Her squad was placed near Snow’s mansion, their success hits being the main reason that they are one of the three squads to take Snow in.

If the Capitol was an arena like Finnick and Katniss so graciously supplied, then would that make Snow’s mansion the Cornucopia?

If so, then does that mean Jessica would be participating in a bloodbath?

These were not the thoughts that she should have tracking her way towards Snow’s mansion. Her attention should be forward, thinking about her squad’s survival and their mission.

And these thoughts were often interjected with images of Tiffany, of what Snow’s men were doing to her, whether she was still alive, whether she has been tortured silly like Peeta. Maybe Tiffany wouldn’t recognise her, maybe she will strangle Jessica on sight or maybe she will lure Jessica to a trap like bees to honey.

And so at the earliest opportunity, Jessica broke away from her squad, her rifle heavy on her back and her spears hitting her thighs lightly as she scaled the wall of Snow’s mansion.

(Later she will find out that her commander issued an order to find her because Plutarch told him that every victor that was alive was needed during the final surrender (if it ever happens). She will find out that her squad will be killed by the pods that Snow activated immediately after her departure, the snake observing their every movement through arena cameras, each hidden from sight and out of reach.

Later she will realise that this was exactly what Snow wanted.

That Snow and Plutarch were actually of the same kin, that they both thought that they could make use of Jessica, Plutarch thinking of her as a backdrop for Katniss, Snow knowing that Katniss valued her other victors above any other human being in Capitol (except for her sister) and that Jessica’s death would break Katniss just like how knowing the other Quarter Quell tributes died for her.

In Snow’s head, if Snow couldn’t get the Mockingjay then maybe he could kill the girl who couldn’t be broken to break his worst enemy.)

Her path through the mansion was suspiciously quiet, Jessica finding her way towards the dungeon easily. The metal barricade was exactly like how Johanna described it, heavy and thick and immobilizing. It served as a physical force field that the Gamemakers favoured in the arena and the thought alone crippled Jessica, the blonde digging deep into her pocket and the mask that was snuggled against her abdomen.

Deciding against blowing the door up, Jessica doubled back the corridor, opting to find another way to get through. This time, she was not as lucky, Peacekeepers showing up around corners and attacking her, Jessica forced to kill them on sight. But the emergence of the enemy did alert Jessica to an underground passage, the girl sneaking down and closing the opening behind her to avoid being attacked from the back. The tunnel was long and wide and the slight wind in Jessica’s face notified her that there was at least a ventilation system.

Despite a few run in with mutts, Jessica made her way to the dungeon relatively unscathed, the blonde feeling more and more uncomfortable by how easy this was going, as though someone was once again deciding her route for her (just like the arena).

And just like the arena, she was soon greeted with the bright lights and the smell of death, the many tortured prisoners of Snow shackled against walls in their prisons, the whiteness of the place completely out of place with the story that went behind every single person in there.

(Pure. Delicacy.

Things that were not synonymous with pain and suffering.)

“Hello, Miss Jung.”

Her right hand slid up the staff of her spear, the weapon pointed towards the voice. She let out a low growl when she was greeted by the sight of Snow, the growl turning into a sharp inhalation when her gaze fell on the girl shackled to the wall. Tiffany’s hung low, a odd gagging sound escaping her heaving chest and the girl raised her head slowly, eyes dull and blank as she stared at Jessica. Jessica’s grip on her staff tightened when she saw that Tiffany  recognised her, the brunette’s lips moving slowly as though calling for the blonde.

A flare of anger rose within Jessica.

“Snow!”

The president chuckled, his posture relaxed as he sat safely behind a shatterproof glass wall. He reached out to caress Tiffany’s face and laughed again when Jessica came forward furiously, the tip of her spear scratching the glass.

“You only have yourself to blame, Jessica.”

Jessica pushed her spear into the glass, her hands taut with strain as the glass held strong.

“I thought of doing many things to your Avox. But after that clip of you cutting down one of my soldiers to save Miss Everdeen, I thought that maybe I should do something nice.”

Jessica's eyes travelled over to Tiffany, her heart stopping when Tiffany gagged again and coughed, a drop of blood dripping from her lips to the floor.

"Did you know, Miss Jung, that the most painful thing for an Avox is to have their tongue unfused? We don't really cut them, as you should know, too much blood and they die so quickly."

Jessica screamed loudly and drew the spear back, ing it hard against the glass, bouncing back from the sheer force coming from the impenetrable barrier. The blonde was thrown towards the opposing wall, her bones cracking loudly and she fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Snow laughed again.

(Unbeknownst to both of them, nothing was really impenetrable. Like BeeTee has once told Katniss, everything has its weaknesses. Like the force field with a weak spot and the constant need for electricity.

The wall started to crack slowly, the force of the spear's attack overcoming the barrier's strength.

Immovable object.

Unstoppable force.)

"But this method, it really is a work of art. See, Miss Jung, the nerves' regrowth alone is pain upon pain. But together with the body's rejection of a foreign body once lost? The person suffocates on their own tongue."

Jessica got up from the floor quickly and switched her spearhead, throwing her weapon against the glass barrier again, ignoring the sharp burst of pain from her right shoulder. The spear bounced off again like it was a toy and Snow jeered at her, the only louder than his voice was the sound of Tiffany suffocating.

"What are you going to do now, Miss Jung? You will never reach me in time to save your Avox. And even if you did break the wall, can you stop her from suffocating on her own tongue?"

His voice was telling her to break, to shatter into a million pieces like she hasn't already. Her mind shut down and all she could was stare, eyes wide and mouth shut tight because she can't cry in front of Snow but she can't save the one person who mattered most to her.

"I was so focused on the Mockingjay's weaknesses that I did not think to see anyone else's. But when I saw you on that screen, one of the many protectors of Miss Everdeen, one of those in her inner circle, I knew."

What is Snow going on about?

Jessica's fingers found her spear and she wrapped her palm around the staff, allowing the weapon to ground her.

"And I found your Avox easily. Did you know she was waiting for you in that apartment that you call home when you're in the Capitol? Such a loyal pet."

Jessica snarled viciously at the moniker Snow gave Tiffany.

"Don't call her that!"

Snow merely smiled serenely.

"And now I have you in my grasp. And I cannot wait to show your broken mind and body to Miss Everdeen. Tell me, Miss Jung, how do you think she will fare, this time greeted with the solid proof that your death was merely a ploy to stop her forces?"

Katniss will break.

Katniss will break because she's already fragile and because there were already too many lives sacrificed for her and Jessica's death will be the one to tip hag scale. Katniss will be destroyed, mentally useless to the rebellion because she cannot shoulder another death on her conscience, another death for what they all thought was a useless cause.

(Because Coin was just as unworthy of leadership as Snow.

She was just more subtle about it.)

"I will rip the Mockingjay's wings off with your death, Miss Jung. Rejoice because you will stop the rebellion."

Snow laughed and laughed, coughing as he did because Finnick's stories were true, that he was sick because of all the poison he had consumed.

(Maybe they poisoned his mind, his sanity.)

But Jessica's attention was no longer on Snow or her looming death that would be used as the final piece in the breaking of Katniss.

No, her attention was on Tiffany, the still choking girl struggling against her bonds to stand up straight. The brunette leant against the wall behind her tiredly and looked up again, her eyes wide and imploring.

opened slightly and even though it was soft, she could hear the word Tiffany spoke.

Jessica.

And suddenly her mind was clear.

Her eyes caught the thin lines webbing through the glass, nodding once to Tiffany before jerking her head, a silent request for the girl to move back. She was unsure if Tiffany did but there was no time, the fighting on the outside growing louder, Snow dipping a little further into insanity. Gripping her spear tightly, she locked the spearhead into place and prayed that this would work.

Whilst Snow was laughing at her helplessness, she threw the lance hard, this time her shoulder cracking audibly and painfully from the amount of power she put behind the toss. Snow stopped laughing slowly, eyes widening when the spear connected with the glass, shattering an area easily with an explosion. The weapon continued to whizz through the the air, Snow gaping widely and his face contorted with pain when the tip made contact with his abdomen, blood spluttering from his lips.

(She will find out later, much later that the rebels healed the wound superficially, the inner damage left alone because Snow would be found guilty no matter what.

She will find out much later that Katniss will be executing a man who was already dying.)

Kicking the glass through the opening, Jessica reached out to Snow and yanked out her spear, the man yowling in agony, blood splattering against Jessica’s face, the walls and Tiffany. Detaching the weapon, Jessica raised both her hands and brought them down heavily, BeeTee’s invention cutting through the chains easily, Tiffany slumping to the ground with the lack of support. Ignoring the groaning behind her, Jessica reattached the spears, one shoulder slotting underneath Tiffany’s right arm, the limp girl’s weight entirely on the blonde.

The rumble outside grew louder steadily.

She slowly moved Tiffany out of the cell, the prisoners inside making more of a racket than before. Jessica tuned them out, her focus entirely on the barely breathing Tiffany, one arm around Jessica, the other hanging uselessly by her side, manacle weighing the thin appendage down.

“I’ll take that off for you later. Come on, we have to go.”

Tiffany’s head rolled forward.

They made their way out slowly, the Peacekeepers scarce due to the fighting that was happening outside. Jessica caught wind of the Mockingjay’s presence, Katniss was not dead as they presumed (She was dead for a bit? Just how long was she underground?). The roar that was dimmed underground silenced the world, the screams of children and adults alike the soundtrack to Jessica and Tiffany’s trek out of Snow’s house.

Their escape was blocked by a tall concrete wall, something that was not there during Jessica’s infiltration of the mansion. The blonde looked around quickly for another way out, a safer way when her ears caught the sounds of children behind the wall, her eyes scanning past the heads of small beings. Her heart seized when she realised that the barricade hosted children, mere tiny humans that were between the rapidly winning rebels and Snow.

That despicable human being.

Tiffany roused slightly and Jessica was brought back to the situation at hand. Torn between getting Tiffany to a safe place and breaking down the barricade to let the children go, Jessica’s decision was made for her when she saw a hovercraft over the square, her heart lightening when she realised it was the Capitol’s ship.

Surely they were here to get the Capitol’s children out of there?

It seemed that way until silver parachutes were let out of the base of the plane, Jessica’s alarms going off when she realised that they were the same boxes that sponsors sent to tributes. Somewhere within the cries of happy children, she heard a familiar voice, unable to place it when the parachutes went off with a loud bang.

The wall shielded Jessica and Tiffany from the worst of the explosion, the smell of burning flesh choking Jessica, the rapid screams that followed after deafening her. Beside her, Tiffany was shaken awake, the Avox’s eyes reflecting the carnage in front of her blankly, opened to breathe properly. Jessica shook her head roughly and proceeded to drag Tiffany away from there, knowing that there will be more fireworks to follow.

If Snow was willing to sacrifice children to shield his escape, then he will definitely make a crater to stop the rebels from taking him.

They were almost a safe distance away when Jessica heard Katniss screaming for Prim, the blonde’s head whipping around to see the rebels’ medics swarming the area, each of them taking care of the injured and shielding away from the dead.

What happened next was in slow motion.

The remaining parachutes go off slowly in Jessica’s eyes, her body twisted around to protect Tiffany from the blast. The children, both Capitol and rebels, burned like kindling and the Girl on Fire continued to scream for her sister, Katniss’ own body lighting on fire.

“Jessica.”

Tiffany’s hand was splayed across Jessica’s back, alerting her to the pain that spread through her spine and legs, the explosion catching directly on her behind. Her face pressed against Tiffany and she whispered softly, both of them dropping to the ground slowly.

“Tiffany.”