FINNICK HAD BEEN OFFERED the opportunity to join the propo team in their journey to visit to District Twelve. No one wanted to say he'd been offered it to take Aella's place but it was what they were all thinking. Truth or no. It was Coin's idea. To show face, she had said. That even though Aella and Peeta were still prisoners of the Capitol, Finnick and Katniss were still remaining strong in a time of such fear and uncertainty.

It was very, very, far from the truth but no one had any opportunity to argue against it. Katniss wanted to go to her home District. She hadn't seen it since Snow had burnt it to the ground. Finnick couldn't even bring himself to pretend to be enthusiastic about it. Everything within him resented the idea—taking Aella's place, that was.

He couldn't rally the Districts like she could and he had said as such but that wasn't the idea of the trip. It was to show the rest of Panem just how wicked and cruel President Snow could be. To show Panem of how he had burnt District Twelve to the ground. He wanted to say no, was about to say no until he had a vision of her leaning over the table next to Plutarch Heavensbee telling him to get up off his sorry ass and go above ground.

Above ground.

He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt the sun on his face—real sun, not the artificial light he'd felt in the arena. He'd forgotten what it was like to walk in natural daylight. He'd forgotten the smell of fresh salt water and smoked fish—something that had once been a home comfort to him...forgotten just like that. It had been too long.

He still grieved Aella, even though she wasn't dead—or so he hoped. They hadn't had any further contact from the Capitol to state otherwise, but he still grieved her like she had died. He still worried about her every passing second but he was desperate to feel the sun on his face again, to feel the wind blow in his hair. He knew she had been desperate for that, too. He knew it was, really, the main reason she got on that hovercraft to District Eight in the first place.

He had to get above ground, even to just help clear his head somewhat.

So he agreed to go to District Twelve and only for that reason. None of that nonsense Coin had rhymed on about and he'd be sure to tell her that when he got back.

Clio had agreed it would do him some good to breathe actual fresh air. She knew just how crazy Finnick was starting to drive himself—knew that he was falling back over. He'd become a shell of the man he was. He didn't even have it in himself to pretend to be Finnick Odair, Capitol Darling. That person didn't exist to him anymore. Only the real Finnick he was when he was with Aella. She was the one that brought that out of him. He lived for her, breathed solely for her and now that she was gone... he didn't know how to live anymore.

He couldn't quite figure out how he'd managed to live without her all those years they'd been friends. He had sailed through his life on autopilot—numb and unwilling to feel anything in fear of President Snow. But since he and Aella had been able to be them he felt like he'd found his purpose—she was his purpose. She was the reason he was breathing, the reason his heart was still beating.

Without her... he was nothing but a zombie, back living on autopilot again. He hadn't realised he'd become so dependent on her. That he'd learnt to only function when she was around. Little did he know she was exactly the same.

But Clio had grown to know Finnick well enough. She knew he was struggling and she was glad they'd reached that stage of friendship where he felt he could confide in her. Without her, she feared he'd of shut himself off completely. She seemed to be the only person he opened up to.

She hadn't said anything when he had confined in her, admitted to seeing Aella's ghost. It should've made her feel jittery but if anything it brought her a weird sense of comfort. Rebel or no, she was still Capitol and she believed that Finnick seeing Aella, hearing her speak to him, was all some higher power trying to communicate that she was still hanging on. That she was still alive and waiting for them.

Finnick figured it was more of a sign that he was going insane as opposed to Clio's theory. She was showing up more and more frequently and starting to become his voice of reason but he couldn't deny him seeing her made him feel more sane. She was his saving grace, even when she was being held captive a million miles away. She kept him going.

His first breath of fresh air when he had stepped off that hovercraft had been life changing and he wondered if that was how Aella had felt when she touched down in District Eight. To feel his feet against the ground was something he never thought he'd experience again. And the blue sky... it had brought him to his knees. Pollux had simply placed his hand on his shoulder in comfort and signed the words 'I know how you feel'. Finnick hadn't thought to question it. He merely nodded and had gathered enough composure to rise to his feet again.

He followed Gale and Katniss through the decimated District throughout the morning, listening to Gale's story of those pivotal moments leading to the bombing. He heard his version of events seeing the Games as an outsider rather than being there firsthand and watching Katniss fire that bow. Then, after Gale had finished, Finnick gave his own account of those horrific final moments in the arena when their whole plan had quite literally blown up in their faces. Though she had heard the story before then, Katniss listened to Finnick quietly as Cressida directed Pollux and Castor quietly on the angles of filming him.

They walked through the District for the rest of the morning, simply looking at the devastation that had been caused and paying silent respects to the thousands that had fallen. Finnick had loosed a staggering breath when he beheld the masses of remains on the once busy streets of District Twelve. He offered Katniss a hand in comfort, no words spoken between them.

Eventually they broke for lunch on the outskirts of the District by the only river that ran through the land. The shimmering blue water had enthralled him and Aella had appeared before him, daring him to jump in with an egging smile on her face. It had been tempting—far too tempting but he settled instead for sitting on the edge of the rocks, removing his socks and boots, rolling his trousers up and dipping his feet into the magnificent body of water. He closed his eyes, listened to the gentle lull and crash of the water against the smooth surface he sat on and pictured himself sitting on the beach at home... the beach he one day dreamed of taking Aella to and proposing on the golden sand under the summer sun.

They listened to Katniss talk about the Mockingjay birds and Pollux whistled them a tune. He asked her to sing for him and she did, a song Finnick had never heard before about a hanging tree and they made their way home.

The second he walked off the hovercraft he felt his mood dampen. The artificial light of the underground facility was just not enough to keep him going. He excused himself from the group as quickly as he could before he made his way back to his room—only leaving again that evening for dinner.

He found Clio and Daniel in the dining hall and joined them but it wasn't long before Daniel was called away by one of President Coin's messengers to command. Finnick didn't care to ask why. Instead, he and Clio ate their food in silence until the dining hall had closed and the tattoo of their schedule for that day had been washed off.

Neither were ready to part from the other, however. Even though all they'd done was sit in silence it brought them comfort. Finnick had suggested a walk and Clio had agreed instantly. They'd found themselves tucked away together, sitting on a rarely used staircase on the left side of the underground base where the living quarters were. Their silence had continued there until Clio cleared the lump in her throat.

"How are you holding up?"

Finnick glanced to her fleetingly. Like it had done since the day they'd been told Aella had been captured fear and sorrow shone in Clio's eyes.

Finnick merely shook his head and looked to his hands, "I'm not."

Clio's heavy sigh was an answer in itself. Neither was she.

"I keep thinking..." She started by saying, "Keep torturing myself wondering what the hell they're doing to her."

"I've been trying not to think about it." Finnick said honestly, "But when I'm lying in our bed it's all I can think about."

"It's awful." Clio whispered.

Finnick didn't know what to say, didn't know how to make it better. All he could think to do was reach out for Clio's hand and take it in hope it offered her some form of comfort.

"I just want her back." Clio's voice cracked as she squeezed Finnick's hand tightly. Her eyes glossed with unshed tears and she stared at the floor, "Where we know she's safe."

"I know." Finnick replied, feeling the same, "I know."

He was willing to give up absolutely anything to see her again, to know she was still alive. He would surrender himself to the Capitol in exchange for her safety, he'd sell his soul to the devil, he'd make a fools bargain—absolutely anything. He'd even settle for seeing her in an interview with the Capitol but he knew the chance of that happening was slim. She was as good as useless in Snow's eyes.

He was starting to lose his patience. It had been wearing thin since she'd been captured and while he'd been struggling to come to terms with her capture he hadn't pushed for Coin and Heavensbee to find her. He hadn't been able to, really. He wasn't in the greatest headspace but now that thick cloud that had impaired him for so long was starting to disappear. He could feel something other than grief.

It was time to push. He needed her back—not for even for himself but for her sake... and if Coin and Heavensbee weren't going to do it, he'd do it himself.

• • •

The District Twelve propaganda video had been released and had furthered their conquest even more. Ten Districts now allied as rebels and District Two was almost at it's turning point. The rebellion had found strength in numbers and allies in one another and they were ready to fight after seeing and hearing what had become of District Twelve.

The greatest number of rebels had come, unsurprisingly, from District Five. They stood unified and unwilling to bow down to Snow—just like Aella had in her interview. They marched for her, fought for her freedom and wrecked total chaos and havoc. Over the weeks since her capture they had regained control of the entire District since Peacekeepers had practically locked it down. They'd pushed and pushed and pushed until the Peacekeepers had been forced to take cover in the hydroelectric dam.

But then that night changed everything.

Finnick had gotten used to being called up to the higher floors of District Thirteen in the weeks Aella had been captive. Weeks...because he had been counting. Five weeks she had been gone. Thirty seven pain-staking days without her in his arms. He wasn't sure how he'd coped if he were being honest. He'd lost his purpose. He'd even lost hope.

He'd been called up to Command too many times to count and each time was the same as the last, 'I'm sorry, we have no news yet but can you do this..?'. He hated it—absolutely loathed it but he didn't dare say no incase Coin decided to pull back on the search. His hands were tied like they always had been, except this time the rope was tied in knot he couldn't quite figure out how to untie.

So he dragged himself up to the very top floor of District Thirteen, Clio and Daniel accompanying him. It wasn't often they were invited along. He couldn't lie and say that it hadn't got his hopes up. He thought that just maybe they had made an advancement, that Heavensbee had heard back from one of his contacts about where Aella was being kept.

He didn't know what to think but he walked into Command with his head high, ready to demand answers if he wasn't going to get ones he didn't like.

He noticed it was a lot more chaotic than he'd ever seen it before and he was guided into one of the conference rooms instead of into the control centre. He kept his face neutral, even as people ran past him coming and going in numerous directions. Like he expected, Plutarch Heavensbee was seated next to President Coin at the table and when Finnick entered they both rose to their feet. Clio and Daniel entered behind him—hand in hand, equally as nervous to find out what was going on.

"Come in, please." Coin wasted no time in saying, gesturing to the chairs seated opposite them, "Have a seat."

They did just that and once they were comfortable Finnick rose his brow, folding his arms on the table, "What's this about?"

Coin was perched forward in her chair, hands clasped together in front of her as she looked at them and said, "We've received word that the hydroelectric dam in District Five has collapsed."

Shocked silence seeped between them until Daniel broke it with a confused frown, "Collapsed—?" He shook his head in disbelief, "how?"

"The rebels blew it up." Heavensbee said, faint amusement shining in his eyes before he added, "It seems you folk from Five have a knack for making big and bold statements."

Clio loosed a staggering breath, "You think they did this for Aella?" She asked Heavensbee.

He nodded, leaning back in his chair, "I know they did it for her."

Daniel tapped his fingers on the table once and nodded, "District Five may be many of things but we are a District united. Always have been, always will be."

His words were truth. District Five had always been a close community. They had always looked out for one another and since the announcement of the Quarter Quell that sense of community had only amplified. Aella had rallied District Five for the rebellion long before it had been a thing. She could've led them to their deaths in hope for a better world and they'd of stayed at her back until their dying breath. They were the every bit of loyal and dedicated.

The blowing up of the dam was entirely because of Aella. It was their way of fighting back against Snow knowing fine well the chaos and carnage it would cause.

"But..." Finnick shook his head in disbelief, "Isn't that the main power source for the Capitol?"

"Try Panem." Daniel responded, looking at him.

Finnick's eyes widened and he looked around at the lights still working above them with a frown. Coin noticed his curiosity and met his gaze with a pressed smile, "District Thirteen has it's own power. Since we agreed to disappear after the First War we've relied on only ourselves."

He merely nodded, understanding her answer, but his curiosity wasn't sated. He looked at Heavensbee and arched his brow, "So the hydroelectric dam is gone. What does that mean? The rest of Panem has no power?"

Heavensbee nodded before saying, "We're yet to hear from some of our allies but, yes, it seems that way. Panem is without power...including the Capitol."

They straightened at that. Backs ram-rod straight Finnick, Clio and Daniel could do nothing but stare at the two in front of them. Any mention of the Capitol put them on high alert.

Hope must've shone on his face, on all their faces, because Coin placated them with a softening smile, "We're doing everything we can to find them but first Beetee has to get through their defence systems."

Heavensbee nodded, "We'll keep you updated."

"But for now?" Finnick dared ask.

They shared a fleeting glance—an unspoken conversation passing between them—before Coin eventually said, "For now go to dinner," she said, "if we hear anything we will send for you."

He couldn't say he was disappointed. He almost expected her to say that—especially after five weeks. He'd grown to not feel anything anymore apart from disappointment. But there was a nagging voice in his head that he hadn't heard in a very long time screaming at him to hold on. That this might be what they need. That it might be it. Then he was torn over who to listen to, his disheartened mind or his soul—reaching out after so long.

He dragged his hands over his unshaven face and blew out a ragged breath, running his fingers through his messy and tangled hair. He just didn't know what to do.

If this fell through he knew it would most likely crush him beyond repair. It would be the final straw. He knew himself he couldn't cling on to that small sliver of hope any longer. The worry and fear and dread over her safety had long since began to slice at that rope of hope. It was hanging by it's last thread and if it were cut... he didn't know what he'd do. He felt close to losing himself, never mind her.

He knew if that last thread of hope was cut it would be over. There would be no getting Aella back, or Johanna or Annie or Peeta, for that matter. That voice was telling him this was their chance—first and last and he didn't know what to make of it.

"Are you any closer to locating her?" He asked.

What he thought was hesitation crossed Heavensbee's face but it disappeared as quick as it came. He'd always been a man who'd struggled to hide his true expressions. So when Finnick sensed that hesitancy... he wasn't sure what to think.

"We're still reaching out." The man said, fingers drumming on the table. Finnick's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at him, at his fingers that continued to drum a tune on to the table. Something wasn't right—wasn't true, "But," Heavensbee continued, "we're hoping if we can get through the defence systems we can find some kind of information about where they might be, although I have a few good guesses of my own. We need concrete, solid, proof though before we even think about making our move."

Coin only nodded in agreement with him and said, "Go, we'll send if there's any news."

Dismissed. As easily as that.

Clio was the only one who mumbled her thanks and even then it was half hearted. They rose from their seats and saw themselves out, remaining silent as they walked through the top levels of the District. It wasn't until they descended deeper into the catacombs of the underground world did either of them break that silence.

The elevator came to a stop on the fifth floor where the cafeteria was. Dining hours had started twenty minutes ago and with nothing else to do and nowhere else to go the three made their way there when Daniel said, "Was it me, or was there something they weren't telling us?"

Finnick nodded in agreement, "I got that, too."

Clio looked side to side at either man as she walked between them, "What do we do now?"

Daniel sighed and looped his arm over her shoulder, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. It wasn't an action they usually did in front of Finnick. No, they normally kept everything to holding hands. They had been very courteous of his feelings since Aella had gone missing.

"We wait." Daniel said begrudgingly, "The power may be out across Panem but I have no doubt the Capitol have some kind of backup generator. It might only be for the main square of the city but still."

"I hate waiting." Clio grumbled, dropping her eyes to look at the floor once more.

Finnick nodded silently in agreement as they walked into the dining hall together. He got it. He understood. Waiting had been all they'd done and while they'd gotten very good at playing the game, they were beginning to grow very sick of it.

•  •  •

Aella wanted nothing more than for hell to swallow her up whole. Anything had to be better than what she was facing. Anything was better than her utterly broken body curled into a ball on a wet cell floor. She physically could not move. She couldn't speak, couldn't feel anything aside from the way her body trembled so ferociously.

She'd been awake for what felt like days. She knew it was days, too, because her friends had gone to sleep three times since this new cycle of torture had started. Each night one of them stayed awake with her, or tried to. After a few hours to starting into darkness they fell asleep and Aella didn't even have the strength to even use her voice to wake any of them up.

She had been trapped, locked in her own head.

Too many days to count had passed. She hadn't spent as nearly as long in the labs. In fact, they had been for her in the last two days but when they had brought her back from her last session they'd purposely dumped her on the far side of her cell, close to the wall, so she couldn't crawl to Peeta. It was torture in the simplest form. The small working part of her mind begged for her to body to crawl towards him but she physically could not move her limbs. She couldn't speak to any of them when they asked her if she was okay. All she could seem to do was blink once for no and twice for yes and it killed her.

They didn't take her down to the labs but the Peacekeepers came regularly, pinned her down against the cell floor and injected her with some concoction of drugs over and over again. They numbed everything, even her mind for the most part. Only when she felt the effects of it beginning to wear off did she come back into some sort of consciousness.

They'd turned her into a zombie. She didn't sleep, she didn't have the ability to move her body to eat and she knew it had to have been at least two days since she'd last drank any water.

Her eyes were burning so much from sleep deprivation they watered with each blink. She could feel herself beginning to break. The edges of her vision were beginning to blur. It was agony. She tried to fight, to thrash and scream but she only seemed to be screaming on the inside. Her mind had become a prisoner in her body.

She could vaguely hear Peeta's pleading voice calling to her but even moving her eyes hurt the best of times. She had nothing left in her body to give. The roaring in her head overwhelmed her so much that all she could manage was the occasional twitch of her fingers and an odd blink. Her body was on fire. Her fingers, which had barely healed from their first breaking, were once again swollen and bandaged.

She was slipping... ever so slowly she was falling towards the edge and she couldn't pull herself back.

Another day of questioning, another day of pushing for answers and receiving beating after beating in return for silence of defiance. Another day of them trying to break her and her trying so desperately to hold on. Her head was barely above the water. She was close, she was dangerously close to slipping and breaking forever.

Her thoughts had just started to drift back into her mind and she had regained some movement in her right arm. It was usually the signal that they'd be coming back soon to drug her up again. She hadn't had full control of her entire body in days. It was like she woke up from a nightmare for a brief second only to fall straight back into another—over and over again. The cycle was relentless.

The heavy metal door to the cells was retched open, the hinges squealing yet no light streamed in. Peacekeepers filled the cells, flashlights in their hands instead of turning the bright artificial lights on. They headed straight for Aella's cell and her three companions raged. They screamed and shouted and pulled at the bars separating them from her but nothing they said worked.

Four Peacekeepers entered and they all bent down around her frail and unmoving body. Her three companions could only watch in pain as she crashed back into the world the second she felt a gloved hand land on her body. That was the only time her body responded; when she felt them touch her.

Her foot went flying as she rolled on to her back and it slammed into the helmet of the Peacekeeper by her feet. She screamed louder than Peeta, Johanna and Annie had ever heard in their days of being captives and they cringed as it pierced their ears. The hoarse of her voice chilled them to the bone and even when it broke she continued. Silent screams tore from her lips while she fought them.

They begged the Peacekeepers to leave her alone. It had only been hours since they'd drugged her last. It wasn't fair they came for her again.

Aella reared her head back and drove it into the Peacekeeper behind her. The two remaining grabbed her arms and they pinned her to the ground so hard she felt bone in her forearm crack. The sickening sound echoed through the cells for them all to hear. She didn't give up though. She thrashed on the ground until the four Peacekeepers and the extra two that had to step in to help had her effectively pinned to the ground.

One on each leg. One on each arm. The fifth pressed their knee into her chest to keep her down and the sixth held her face down while he angled her head to the side. Still she continued to scream until the pinch of that needle pierced her skin and the rush of coldness slithered through her skin. They held her down and she counted to ten—like always—until she lost control of her body again and they released her.

But it felt different. Whatever they had given her wasn't what they'd been pumping her with over the last few days. She still felt alive—her mind wasn't slipping to a faraway place. Her body felt heavy but she could still feel everything. It wasn't numb like it usually became.

They pushed her on to her stomach and the shackles—her shackles—were produced again. She felt the bite of them against her raw and bleeding wrists as they were fastened and locked. They snapped them around her ankles and connected them with a chain before she was dragged to her feet and hauled out.

She felt fear pulse through her knowing exactly where they were taking her. She tried to dig her heels into the cold stone underneath her but it was no use. They were too strong and she was too weak. All she could to was push back the tears that threatened to rise and pray that she didn't break.

Her friends screamed after her as they watched her disappear. They created as much chaos as they could until the two remaining Peacekeepers lingered by Peeta's cell doors and surprised them all by unlocking it, dragging him out after her.

• • •

A/N; This chapter sucks and I know it does but it's already a day late and I don't know how to re-write it at the moment. I'll be posting chapter 31, too, so it's a double update. I came home from my holiday yesterday and this chapter was barely written. I only had 1100 words down & it was already late. I tried to stay up to write it but it was just rubbish so I tried again today. It's still not great but it's better than nothing.

But we are coming to the end of Mockingjay, part 1 and it gets very explosive from here...