Chapter 8:
"What the hell have you done, Draco?" Effie was walking from one corner to another, massaging her forehead. Her voice was rasping and mascara was at a bare minimum. "When I saw you volunteer, I knew you were going to be trouble. Why the hell did you attack him? I knew you heard the rules that you can't attack other tributes during training!"
"Sorry." Draco shrugged, not really knowing how to explain his behavior.
"Your sorry doesn't mean anything! We are done for." Effie sighed, falling onto a couch. "You are either going to be disqualified or killed."
"It's not going to get that far," Draco stated his opinion.
"Why do you act like you know what's going to happen?" Effie mumbled, her anger fading away.
"I believe that President Snow views me as both a valuable asset and..." Draco thought for a second on the best way to put it. "...someone who he can show a good example of."
"What do you mean?" Katniss, who has been dead quiet, asked.
"I have been acting too arrogant," Draco said, his eyes looking up at the ceiling. "And I believe Snow doesn't really enjoy seeing a District 12 tribute act pretentious. Thus, the best outcome for him would be me dying in the Hunger Games, where everyone would see me lose. Killing or disqualifying me before that could make other people believe that Snow was intimidated by me."
"You...you thought of all of that just to punch Cato a few times?" Katniss stared at Draco, not sure whether to consider him a genius or a psychopath.
"It's not just punching." Draco stood up from the couch, facing both Effie and Katniss. "It's intimidation. Sometimes, hiding your strength makes you more exposed than not. Now, after seeing me attack four top tributes, they will be more scared of me than them. Hence, they would rather ally with me, no?"
"Didn't you also get punched in the head once?" Katniss asked.
"No, I don't remember anything like that happening." Draco shrugged, putting a hand on his jaw. It still hurt like hell and it was a bit swollen. He wasn't sure, but Cato's strength after being infected had to be around 7 minimum.
As Katniss was about to respond, the entrance to their hall opened, revealing a sweaty Haymitch. Grumping and limping, Haymitch lay down on the couch, letting the maids close their door. Haymitch caught his breath. "Hate those stairs."
"What did they say?" Effie asked, worry clear in her eyes.
Haymitch smiled, pointing at Draco. "You won't be disqualified. However, you are expelled from using the gymnasium, and you won't be receiving any more training."
"Oh, that's good," Draco smirked. The outcome was better than expected. He didn't really need that training anyway, so now he had more time to prepare his plans carefully.
"How is that good?" Effie asked, frowning. She turned Haymitch. "You are his mentor. Tell him something. Scold him at least a bit."
Haymitch shrugged. "I think he knows what he is doing better than me, Effie. I think leaving Draco to do his own things is better than hindering him." Then, he smiled. "By the way, Cato lost two of his front teeth. He is getting new implants tomorrow."
Draco grinned. It seemed like Haymitch had changed a bit during these days. It was like they were on the same page of a book now, and Draco was glad that Hyamitch was simply supporting him in whatever he was doing. Nodding, Draco started walking up the stairs. "I am going to take a shower."
Effie spared him one more hateful glance before relaxing and sighing. Her eyes softened, Effie added. "Dinner will be served in 30 minutes. Be sure to be down by that time."
"Sure," Draco mumbled, walking up the stairs. As soon as he was inside his room, Draco fell onto the bed, stretching his hands out in the opposite direction. He hoped that his actions today were worth it. Draco stretched his hands into his shadow, taking out a pair of headphones.
Truth be told, once Draco attacked Cato, he put that spy worm inside of his mouth and then punched him so that he would swallow it. Hopefully, because of the numbness, Cato hadn't felt anything sliding down his throat. It was quite funny. Cato now had two worms inside of him.
Anyway, Draco was hoping that Cato didn't accidentally bite it off. The worm could also very easily disintegrate in Cato's stomach fluids. Furthermore, Draco hoped that the description of soundwaves would be truthful, and he wouldn't hear a muffled noise. Yeah, there were a lot of possibilities, but Draco hoped everything was fine. Otherwise, all of this was for naught. He needed some intel.
Putting on the headphones, Draco listened intently. There was a buzzing sound and nothing else. He heard no voices. Since there was at least some sort of sound, Draco figured that it was working and Cato was just silent right now.
Deciding to wait a bit, Draco went into the bathroom to do his own thing. Then, Draco did a few stretching exercises and some yoga, since that used to be his usual daily routine before coming here. Eventually, Draco was finished. He approached the window, the buzzing sound coming from the headphones beginning to get annoying.
He never smoked, but, for some reason, Draco felt an urge to open this window and take a few hits. Sighing, Draco checked the time. A few more minutes and the dinner would be ready. However, at that second, Draco finally heard something other than the rhythmic buzzing.
A voice. At first, it was unclear, but it became more and more distinctive with time. Draco sat down in front of a desk, grabbing a paper and a pen, ready to write down any useful information. He closed his eyes, trying to imagine what was happening on the other side, for that made his focus better.
He recognized Cato's and Rue's voices, heard the sound of their steps, heard their breathing. The sound was much better expected, and Draco plunged into the world on the other side.
-
"That fucker." Cato shouted, punching the nearest wall. His hand hurt, but he cared little, for the humiliation was much more painful. "He must be a Mysthral Hunter. Let's abort the mission and just murder that bastard, we would receive many more points for doing that, anyway."
"The probability of being in one world with a Mysthral Hunter is around 0.3%. It's much rather possible that Draco Ashvale is actually from District 12. We don't know about him because he could have been bombed to death in the original story, but Arati's actions could have changed the plot." Rue answered calmly, her hand on her chin.
"Of course, Arati's always the one bringing issues. I was telling you we should have brought someone else." Cato grabbed his mouth, feeling it swelling. Anger came back.
"Stop it. Are you going to be mad at someone dead now? Arati was a bit dumb, but he was still a Myshtral." Rue glanced threateningly at Cato.
"I still don't understand. I was standing in the group. Why did he attack me out of all of them?" Cato asked.
"Probably because you look the strongest of them all." Rue shrugged. "He probably wanted to intimidate your group by beating you."
"He didn't beat me!" Cato suddenly stood up, roaring. A glance from Rue forced him back down like a puppy. "If I wasn't ambushed, I would rip him apart like nothing."
"Yeah, yeah," Rue mumbled, then got deep into her thoughts. "Anyway, the possibility that Draco is a Mysthral Hunter isn't zero. Furthermore, he is pretty strong for this world, so keep a watch over him."
Cato nodded. A moment of silence passed and Cato continued. "Anyway, when are we going to start doing something? I had like five opportunities to murder Katniss and be done with this world, but you are always stopping me."
"There is no need to rush or risk things," Rue stated, her voice becoming a scowl from this many questions. "Killing her in the gymnasium is simply impossible now. After Draco's attack, the surveillance increased. You know, it would take us around 20 seconds to kill ourselves and around 10 seconds to leave the body, and we would be completely defenseless during that time. Someone can accidentally shoot us in the back of the head or step on us once we are in our normal form. It's too risky."
Cato sighed. "All the missions are like that with you. Are we going to wait for the Hunger Games then?"
"Yeah, that's the most optimal solution. Once we are in the Games, it will be a piece of cake. I can befriend all the tributes from 11-7 and turn them against District 12, whilst you can threaten all the others into allying. It would be everyone against Katniss and Draco." Rue smiled, satisfied by her plan.
"I guess it does make more sense to wait then." Cato nodded.
"Besides, we might not need to do anything at all." Rue smiled. "I talked with Nachar earlier today, and he was really lucky this time. He said that he is going to try to finish this mission today."
"Who did he infect?" Cato raised an eyebrow, interested.
"Seneca, the Gamemaker of 74th Hunger Games," Rue stated and Cato fell silent. It was quiet for a few moments before Cato stood up. "How the fuck does he always infect such good characters?"
"Don't you know?" It was Rue's turn to be surprised. "Nachar murdered a Mysthral Hunter twenty-two missions ago and stole a luck artifact from him. He had been getting good characters ever since."
"He killed a Mysthral Hunter?" Cato asked in amazement.
"Yeah, though, his completion rate was 100% even before getting that artifact." Rue scoffed. "I guess he could become the Leader of Purples one day, considering that the spot is vacant now."
"Nah, that's too far-fetched." Cato stood up, stretching out his hands into the air. "If Nachar said he is going to try finishing the mission, then I guess it is as good as finished."
"Yeah, his success rate today should be around 95%"
Cato gave her a side-eye. "Why the hell do you always have to include a percentage? You are just saying random numbers. You don't even know math that well."
"Percentages show that you are intelligent."
"But your numbers are literally out of thin air."
"Shut up."
-
Draco removed his headphones, looking over the things he had written. Then, he dropped it, pushing his hair backward with his hands. The situation was even more fucked than anticipated. Seneca was infected? That changed everything.
"Wait..." Draco stood up abruptly, pushing the hair backward. They said Seneca would try to kill Katniss today, but how was he going to do that? He couldn't just send Peacekeepers to murder Katniss, he had no such authority. Wait, was he going to come here himself?
No, but that also didn't make sense. By how they were talking about him, he seemed like he was intelligent and he wouldn't do something as stupid as trying to assassinate her himself. Then...
Draco glanced at his clock, seeing that it was four minutes past the time he should have gone for dinner. Dinner. Fucking dinner. Before even knowing it, Draco was out of his room, rushing down the stairs. "Katniss! Stop!"
"What is it?" Katniss asked, her confused eyes meeting Draco's. Draco saw the glass of wine in her hand. Pointing at her glass, Draco asked, his voice slightly desperate. "Did you drink that?"
Katniss knitted her eyebrows, slightly opening her mouth. However, no words came out of her mouth. She grabbed her throat, seemingly even more confused, as she tried to say something. Then, dark veins rose along her neck, and she fell from her chair, holding onto her neck.
Haymitch reacted promptly, rushing up to Katniss. "Katniss." He put his hands on her face, staring into her eyes, which were crying for help. "She is poisoned."
Effie was already crying, looming over Katniss, her hands on her forehead. She was walking from one place to another, not knowing what to do, or how to help. Haymitch shouted at the maid standing by the door. "Go get help!"
Haymitch grabbed onto the back of his hair, staring at Katniss, seeing the life fade away from her. Lifting his eyes, Haymitch saw Draco zoning out on the stairs, staring into a blank space. Thinking that Draco perhaps went into shock, Haymitch lifted Katniss's head slightly.
He wanted to save her, help her, or at least lessen her pain, but there was nothing he could do. There is always nothing he can do. Katniss's pupils began to take the shade of darkness, and Haymitch felt his chest tightening in suspense. Was this how it was going to end?
At that moment, however, Draco appeared out of nowhere, basically pushing Haymitch away. Haymitch saw Draco take a strange tube out of his pocket and stick it into Katniss's forearm.
At first, nothing happened, but then, as Draco tilted Katniss's forearm so that the tube would be facing the ground, there was a change. A darkish purple liquid began pouring out from the tube, and then there was nothing but screaming. Katniss basically rose from the dead, trying to push Draco away, as she shouted like a frenzied animal.
"Hold her!" Draco held her forearm in place. Katniss, understanding that she wasn't getting her arm back, bit into Draco's shoulder, blood exploding from it.
Draco grunted, but Haymitch was already onto her. Pushing her back, Haymitch pressed his knees against her shoulders. Effie came from the side, holding her legs in place. Though, she wasn't doing a very good job.
"What the hell is happening, Draco?!" Haymitch shouted, seeing blood escaping from Katniss's mouth and tears spiraling down her face. Draco stayed quiet, looking at the tube, as then he suddenly plunged it out of her body.
This time there was no scream and Katniss simply passed out. Draco stored the tube in his pocket, pushing Haymitch off her body again. Then Draco pressed his two fingers against Katniss's neck, glad to feel that she was still breathing.
"Draco, you have a lot of explaining to do." Haymitch was breathing hard, his hands covered in Katniss's blood. "But whatever you have done, you have nailed it."
-
Katniss woke up to the sight of a white ceiling and yellow lights. She groaned, hefting her chest, no longer feeling the hellish pain. The place where Draco stabbed her with something remained hidden by bandages.
Taking a deep breath in, Katniss felt the air pass through her lungs. It was so scary breathing and not feeling any air actually entering you. She felt frightened, but she survived. Somehow.
"Finally up?" Draco came out from nowhere and Katniss slid back on the mattress, moving away from him. Katniss noticed that his shoulder was covered in a bandage as well, blood seeping through it.
"What happened?" Katniss asked, vigilant.
Draco heaved a sigh and looked around, spotting a chair. Grabbing it, he took a seat on it. "You were poisoned, Katniss. That feeling of not breathing came from that poison. Fortunately, I saved you just in time."
"How did you save me?" Katniss asked immediately.
"With this." Draco took out a tube from his pocket. It was thin, barely a few millimeters in width. Honestly, it would have looked perfectly normal, if not for the completely black tip. "It's a tool specifically created to take out poison from someone's body. Though, as you might have managed to understand by now, using this comes along with a great deal of pain."
"Where did you get this kind of thing?" Katniss shook at the mention of pain, her body trembling. At one point it was so bad that Katniss considered biting her tongue off and ending it all. "How did you know that my drink was poisoned?"
"Katniss, it's a long story, why don't-"
"Don't tell me that bullshit." Katniss interrupted him, her eyes full of fury. "Tell me what's real." Katniss's eyes softened and became teary as if she was directing all her will just to not break down crying."
Draco hesitated for a moment, then bit his lips. "I can't Katniss." Draco walked up to her. "The only thing I can tell you is that I am not who I seem to be, and I have enemies far more dangerous than you can imagine."
After saying that, Draco put a hand on Katniss's head and then turned around. He left without saying another word. There was so much on his mind - he needed some time alone.
Once he was back in his sleeping chambers, Draco took a seat on the same chair. He had almost lost Katniss - had almost failed the mission. He had spent another 10 coins to buy this failed tube:
-
[Equipment: Poison Extracting Tube]
[World: Code Geass]
[Rank: F]
[Description: A tube created to preserve royalty from being poisoned. However, due to the unimaginable pain brought to the user, it was deemed a failure, even though it could extract more than 99% percent of the poison. A prince, who had once been saved by this tube, ordered the death of the scientist behind this creation due to the trauma received from the incident]
[Cost: 10]
-
This was the best thing he could find in that short period of time.
'If only I had received one coin less than I did, Katniss would have already been dead.' Draco thought, a feeling of tightness surrounding him. 'She's just a character, but I feel like I got attached to her more than I did to my adoptive dad.'
Anyway, without the incident earlier, Draco had gotten a lot of intel. It seemed like spending his hard-earned coins wasn't useless. Now, he knows that Seneca is also infected, which fucked up everything. Furthermore, Rue and Cato were going to team everyone up just to murder them.
His earlier attack on Cato wouldn't intimidate them anymore either, as both Cato and Rue will probably just use that as an excuse to gang up on District 12. Especially now that Draco would no longer attend the gymnasium.
However, with bad news also came the good ones. He had learned that Mysthrals weren't how he imagined them to be. They act human and have consciousness - meaning that they could also be controlled. They also have some kind of hierarchy in-between them and earn some kind of points for completing missions.
Looking down at his notes, Draco grinned a bit. 'And...their weak spot is the back of the head. It seemed like, if he could strike there, then Draco would kill the worm together with the body, which was good information.'
Thinking about this, Draco opened his chatroom with Cal.
Then, he hopped onto the bed, groaning from the pain on his shoulder.
Katniss bit him well.