"a big part of who i am is who i am not."
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in which grey spectral was a name finnick odair had long forgotten until the 75th hunger games.
[catching fire - mockingjay]
[a grey spectral stand alone]
[plot belongs to @mikaeIsons]
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It was fifteen minutes until midnight when Grey exited the elevator and the doors slid smoothly shut behind her, she peered around, finding not a soul in sight on the small roof as she walked further away from the sleek door, the soles of her slippers making a shuffling noise beneath the concreted ground.
When she stopped at the ledge, she gazed from her spot that overlooked the disgustingly beautiful city that was Panem in contempt.
Beneath her, citizens of Panem partied in the streets, either celebrating or weeping over the upcoming slaughter of the Capitol's most beloved of Victor's and Grey's lip curled in disgust as, in the distance, she could see a large screen replaying the reapings and as District 12's ended, District 1's began.
Ten minutes to midnight and Grey sighed as she pulled herself onto the ledge, careful not to touch the forcefield that surrounded the building and continued to look out beyond the city to the outskirts where she knew her family to be, terrified for the fourth time because of The Hunger Games.
Grey's heart yearned to be in her home, with her family more than she ever had in her entire life.
She had been cocky during her games, she won because she was vicious and arrogant and quite frankly, none of the other tributes were at her skill level. This time was different, sure she was older and wiser, but the people she was up against, her mentor and some of her friends that she'd made, even Finnick bloody Odair, and everyone was up at her level, maybe even better.
She had made a promise to her baby sister that she would find a way to win, she had made a promise to her father that he wouldn't lose her, and she wasn't all that sure she would be able to keep either of those promises.
Five minutes to midnight and the elevator door dinged, signalling the doors to slide open and Grey turned her head away from District 2 in the vast distance to look cautiously at the two men who stepped out of the elevator.
'Find Haymitch Abernathy.' Her father had whispered that to her, the last words she may ever hear him speak to her, but it seemed that Haymitch Abernathy had found her, alongside Plutarch Heavensbee which caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand and her gaze to become rather distrustful.
"We come in peace." Haymitch joked as he raised his arms in defence before he gestured to Plutarch, "He's with me."
"The camera is currently going through a loop of you sitting out here alone." Plutarch informed the blonde when her eyes flickered about the rooftop suspiciously, "We have a bit of time."
"What do you want?" Grey asked as she hopped off the ledge and continued to watch the two men with suspicious eyes, making no attempt to move any close as her fingers twitched, ready to curl into a fist, itching to be ready for anything.
"How much are you aware of the rebellion, sweetheart?" Haymitch asked and Grey frowned in thought as she stared at the surprisingly sober man.
"Just that there was a riot in 11 after that girl died and another in 8 a few weeks ago," Grey answered cautiously, now understanding why H.A. wanted to see her but still incredibly cautious as to why the Capitol's new gamemaker was with him.
"How would you like to get out of the games alive, Miss Spectral?" Plutarch asked with a serene smile, even as Grey's expression didn't change when she turned her attention back to Haymitch, her eyebrow raised slightly.
"I know you'd want one of yours winning this." She finally spoke, "And there is absolutely no way in hell that Snow would allow two victors again, so what's your angle?"
"We want to get as many of you out of that arena alive," Haymitch answered and Grey's expression turned rather doubtful as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"What's the catch?" She asked cautiously, not allowing the hope that bloomed in her chest to grow before she had all the facts behind the question asked, she couldn't let that happen.
"You need to form an alliance with Katniss Everdeen and keep her alive," Plutarch responded as though it would be as simple as it sounded and Grey snorted in amusement, looking between the two as though awaiting them to crack up into laughter and assure her that they were pulling her leg and when their faces remained utterly serious, she looked at the Gamemaker in disbelief.
"How in the hell do you expect me to do that?" She chuckled, "On top of the fact she seems to be the most stubborn person alive, she looks at me like I'm a monster every time she sees me."
"Stubborn is an understatement." Haymitch muttered with a chuckle, "You get to her through Peeta."
Grey laughed again, "Yeah, I threatened him thirty seconds after we met."
"Doesn't surprise me." Haymitch responded and Grey's lip quirked in amusement, "He's much more trusting and forgiving than he appears so you join the alliance, protect Peeta and that's how you gain Katniss' trust."
"Even if you can't gain their trust before the arena, we want you in the alliance and we want you to be apart of this rebellion," Plutarch told her and Grey rose an eyebrow in surprise.
"What's in it for me?" She asked after she took in the information the two men had already given her, "Aside from staying alive?"
"You get to be apart of taking the games down once and for all," Haymitch responded, the same haunted look in his eye that Grey knew was in hers, in Blaze's, in the Victor's of her District and her friends from others, in the eyes of Nolan as he drew his last breath and the eyes of all the tributes she had mentored and couldn't save.
Nolan.
Blaze.
Her twin siblings had been forever changed because of the only two times she had attempted to defy President Snow's orders.
"I want my family safe." She told them, clearing her throat before they could hear the break in her voice, "I join you and Snow descends on my family the second he figures it out, I want no harm to come to them."
"Done, when it becomes obvious that we're rebelling, we'll keep them safe," Plutarch responded after he and Haymitch shared a look she couldn't decipher and Haymitch took a few steps forward and stopped half a foot from where Grey hadn't moved and he held out his hand, an intricate gold bracelet resting in his palm.
"Think it all over but take this." He told her gently as Grey reached out and took the jewellery from him, "If you're in, put it on and we'll know and if you're out, give it back to me the night of the interviews but we'll trust you not to blab to anyone, not even the other Victor's from your District."
"Thank you for coming here and hearing us out, Miss Spectral." Plutarch told her with a smile, "I look forward to hopefully seeing you on the right side of the rebellion."
Grey said nothing as the two men turned on their heels and made their way back to the elevator, disappearing when the sliding doors opened and leaving Grey with many things to think about.
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i wasn't initially going to leave it without grey giving an answer but it seemed really out of character for her to immediately give them one and j want to go into the next chapter with grey contemplating this decision.
anyway, leave a comment about the chapter and i hope you are all staying safe!!
