"Kaya!"

Kayenne perked up, her antennae twitching, as she heard a familiar high-pitched voice calling her name. Little footsteps pattered lightly on the stone floor of the tiny room. She turned to see her little sister hurrying toward her–her sister was the spitting image of her, complete with little antennae on top of her head

"Ailya!" she cried.

The two sisters ran towards each other, meeting each other halfway and collapsing into a sobbing pile of hugs. Tears gushed from Ailya's black eyes as she hugged her sister tightly, her antennae drooping sadly.

"Oh, Kaya," wailed the little bug girl. "I don't want you to go! I don't want to be all alone!"

Kaya shushed her sister softly, stroking her black hair gently.

"It's okay," she whispered. "You won't be alone for long. I'll win those Games for you and be home before you know it."

"Really?" Ailya sniffled, snuggling closer to her sister.

"Mmhm. You know us Alrids have thing or two up our sleeves."

Kaya smirked, and her comment made a smile twitch on Ailya's lips.

"Just promise you'll be strong for me, okay?" Kayenne asked gently.

Ailya sniffed again, wiping her slightly-runny nose. More tears trickled down her dark-skinned face, and Kaya gently brushed them away.

"O–okay," the little girl promised at last. "I'll be strong, I promise!"

"That's my sister."

The two of them hugged again, Kaya kissing her sister's forehead gently.

In the room beside theirs, Enrique wrapped his little arms around Katrina and squeezed tightly, pressing his tear-soaked face into her stomach. The teenage girl patted her brother's back awkwardly but sincerely, smoothing out his curly hair comfortingly. Her parents engulfed the both of them into one giant hug, sniffling and crying as one.

"Mom, Dad, stop it," Katrina complained, unable to hide the hint of the smile on her face. "You'll make me cry."

Which was ironic, since she was already beginning to tear up anyway. And eventually, she couldn't keep it in any longer. Tears spilled from her brown eyes and fell down her face like a waterfall, plopping to the floor without a sound.

"I love you guys," she whispered as a heavy sob racked her shoulders. "I love you guys so much."

Her family replied by hugging her tighter, pressing soft, loving kisses to her forehead.

***

"Cara! Oh, Cara..."

Caravina folded her wings close to her back as her adoptive mother, Rosanna, pulled her close, crying into her shoulder. The dragon girl hugged her back, rubbing her mother's  back comfortingly and wrapping her long tail around her.

"It's okay, Mom," she whispered. "It's okay."

Tears rolled down Rosanna's cheeks as she pulled away from her adopted daughter, cupping her cheek gently. Cara reached out and brushed away the tears streaming down her face with a tiny half-grin.

"I'll try to get back to you," she vowed.

"I know you will," Rosanna breathed.

They hugged again. Cara unfolded her wide wings and wrapped them around the two of them, and they held each other like they were the only people left on Earth.

Meanwhile, Winter was crying uncontrollably as her mother and sister buried her in a sobbing mound of hugs.

"First your great great grandmother," her mother wailed. "Then your great grandfather, and now you?"

Winter's sister Abigail was crying the hardest, her eyes round and welling with tears. She flung her little arms around Winter's curvy waist, crying into her sister's stomach and staining her clothes with tears.

"Please don't go, Winter!" she cried. "I don't want you to die!"

Winter patted the little girl's head with a shaking hand, trying to appear calmer than she truly was.

"Don't cry, Abby," she murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of her sister's forehead. "I'm gonna try my very hardest to get back to you, okay?"

Abigail wiped her eyes some, still sniffling like mad.

"Okay," she whispered.

Winter's mother placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder, and Winter looked up at her.

"Normally, I could never ask you to kill someone," she said quietly, lowering her voice so Abigail couldn't hear. "But now? Winter...Abby and I need you to do whatever you can to come back to us. Do you understand that?"

Winter took a deep breath, giving her head a determined nod.

"Yes, I do. I'll try, Mom...I really will try."

***

Raphael gazed wistfully out the small window in his room, where he could just see the deep, beautiful green of the pine trees of his home. Rage and sorrow smashed his heart like it was nothing but a punching bag, and he let out a low growl of anger.

That stupid Capitol! They think they can just tear us from our home and force us to fight in their Games? Well, forget that!

With a roar of fury, he lurched to his feet and struck the wall. Pain rippled through his knuckles as his fist collided with the stone wall, and he let out a small hiss at the sting.

"Raph?" I tiny voice squeaked from the other side of the wall.

"Scarlet!" Raph whispered. "Is that you? Are ya there?"

"Yes."

"Oh, thank shell. You okay?"

"I–I'm fine. What about you?"

"Could be better."

A dreadful silence fell over the two of them. For a moment, no one spoke.

"I can't do this, Raph," Scarlet cried at last.
Raph could hear her tiny little sniffles through the wall. "I can't go into that Arena and kill everyone in it!"

"You won't have to," her big brother told her. "I'm gonna be right there with you the whole time. I'm gonna protect you to the end, little sister."

"Promise?"

"I swear it."

***

"Shelby!"

Shelby's brother Tyler pounced on his older sister, crushing her in a bear hug. His mismatched eyes, usually bright and exuberant, were now sad and wet with tears, his face drooping into a deep frown. The shirts girl hugged him back tightly, patting his back comfortingly.

"It's okay, Ty," she murmured softly. "It's okay."

"It's not okay!" Tyler insisted, pulling away with a jerk. "You could die, Shelby!"

"I'm perfectly aware."

"But I can't go on without my big sister!"

"That's why I'm going to try and get home to all of you."

Shelby's blue eyes locked with her father's; Chris stood by the door, his muscular arms folded across his chest.

"All of you," she repeated.

Chris scoffed, curling his lip in disgust.

"I could care less if you made it back or not," he grumbled as he turned away.

Hurt and anger swirled in Shelby's chest as she watched him, but it quickly faded as her gaze met Aiden's. Her other brother had stood silently in the front corner of the room the whole time, his eyes unfocused and still huge with shock. Shelby looked at him expectantly, and slowly her younger brother approached her, each step hesitant and sluggish. Finally, he halted before her. For a moment, there was silence.

"Why?" he whispered at last. "After I've been such a jerk to you all these years...why would you volunteer for me?"

For the first time ever, Shelby saw genuine sadness and remorse in his eyes.

"Because you're my brother," she replied. "I couldn't let them take you."

A small sniffle escaped Tyler as he buried his face in his hands, sobbing. Chris turned his head as two Peacekeepers appeared in the doorway nearby.

"Time to go," Chris said gruffly. "Come on, boys."

Aiden gave his sister one last look before he turned and trudged after his father, following him after the door. Tyler engulfed Shelby in another hug, crying into her shoulder.

"I love you, Shelbs," he whispered.

"Love you too, Ty."