The next ten minutes went past in a blur for Cross. Him and Nick were dragged off of the stage and away from all their district members to a large building that was always purpose built for this event before being pulled back down again.

They were bustled into separate rooms and then they were left, without any indication of what would happen next.

Cross paced back and forth nervously, his eyes darting around the scarcely furnished room. What were they doing? Had something gone wrong? Maybe they were just preparing.

At the sound of the door's lock clicking, Cross whipped around to see a guard push his mum and Chara in.

"You have three minutes."

Immediately Chara ran forwards, tears streaming down his face as he hugged across tightly and hid his face in his chest. "I-I'm so sorry!"

"Hey, don't be sorry." He whispered trying to sound as strong as possible, though his voice wavered. "It's not your fault."

Chara sniffed, only hugging him tighter. "You h-have to win... Stay alive..."

"I'll try." He rubbed his back softly, glancing up at Jakei who was silent.

"No, promise me." He shook his head, pushing back and glaring up at him.

"I've kind of proved my promises don't work though, haven't I?" He said softly, forcing a weak smile.

"I don't care." He clenched his hands into fists.

"Alright." Cross sighed, resting a hand on his brother's head and ruffling his hair fondly. "I promise I'll stay alive. I'll win for you Chara..."

Even though he knew Cross was almost certain to die and he was only saying that to comfort him, Chara smiled. He looked up at his brother and gently hooked the heart locket off from around his neck. "Take this, you need the luck."

"Chara I..." He trailed off as Chara hung it over his head, letting the cold metal hit against his chest. "Thank you..."

The smaller forced another smile before stepping back and glancing over at Jakei silently.

She still hadn't said anything, staring blankly at her two sons.

Cross bit his lip, letting go of Chara and walking over to her. "You can't be like this anymore. I'm not going to be here to help you now, you need to look after Chara and be an actual mother to him. Do you understand?"

She stared at him blankly, giving a small nod. "Yes."

He shook his head. "No mum I'm serious, you can't space out again like you did when dad died. Chara needs you." He gripped onto her shoulders, having to physically restrain himself from shaking her.

"I know Cross, I'm sorry." She offered a weak smile, the smallest bit of light showing in her
eyes.

"Good." Cross jolted, whipping round as the doors suddenly swung open and two guards marched in.

They grabbed hold of his mum and brother, roughly jerking them out. "Times up."

Chara cried out in protest, trying to grab onto his brother. "Cross!"

The small skeleton stood there helplessly, his brother's name dying on his 'lips' as the doors slammed shut once more. "Chara..."

He stood there in silence for around another minute before the doors were suddenly pulled open again and he was dragged into a strong embrace.

"H-Huh? Epic?"

His best friend looked down at him, his face showing nothing but guilt. "I'm so sorry, I should have volunteered for Chara, not you."

"What? No!" He shook his head quickly. "I-I would have volunteered for you right after!"

"That's not allowed Cross." He sighed, hugging the smaller tighter to his chest.

Cross hugged him back tightly, horribly conscious that they only had three minutes to give their last goodbyes. "Epic p-promise me they won't starve. You know how to set my snares, s-some of it can go to your family but please make sure they have food."

"Cross they'll be fine, I promise." Epic cupped his cheek with his hand gently, staring down at him. "And you will be too."

"You don't know that." Cross whispered, gripping onto his best friend tighter as the guards suddenly came back in.

"Times up."

"Look after them please!" Cross gasped, watching as Epic was dragged out of the room roughly.

"I will!" He called. "Don't worry!"

——————

Cross shifted uncomfortably on his train seat, staring at the figure of Nick sat opposite him.

The boy hadn't said a word. He'd stared at Cross for a bit when they were both pushed onto the train, but then he'd just looked away and stayed silent. Not a single word was shared between the two of them. Nothing.

The smaller of the two coughed awkwardly, looking at him. "Hey..."

No response. The boy didn't even glance at him, keeping his head turned and looking at the forests flashing past outside of the train.

He swallowed, his mouth feeling dry. "Nick?"

Nothing.

"I know you c-can speak, you called out to volunteer less than an hour ago." He flinched as Nick suddenly looked at him, wishing he'd never said anything.

"Only one person wins this, kid." He growled, staring at Cross. "What's the point in making friends if you're just going to kill everyone?"

The smol went silent, shrinking back in his chair. "S-Sorry..."

An incredibly uncomfortable silence washed over the two, and for five minutes the only sound audible was the gentle rumble of the train rolling down the tracks and Cross' embarrassed shifting.

But then the silence was broken by the same skimpily dressed man from before waltzed into the room. "Sitting in silence are we?"

Cross glanced up at them, giving a weak shrug.

Nick ignored both of them.

The man sighed, walking over to the table full of little snacks and drinks and pouring himself a glass of water. "I'm aware you don't know my name, and to make this hopefully less awkward, I'm Lust."

Cross offered a weak smile, shifting in his seat. "Nice to meet you, Lust."

The man smiled taking a sip of his water. "I thought you were both very brave, volunteering for those two. I know that little boy was your brother, Cross. But who was that kid to you, Nick?"

Cross and Lust stared at Nick, watching as he glanced at them irritably.

"Does it really matter?" He growled, sounding like he was in a foul mood.

"Well it would dampen my curiosity."

Nick stared at the two of them for a moment before his gaze settled on Cross. The smaller looked so curious and innocent in the moment. "You'll be ripped apart in that arena."

Cross blinked, looking at him in surprise. "That's not exactly what either of us wanted to hear."

"Don't care."

Yet another awkward silence washed over the room and Lust let out an uncomfortable cough. "I'll go get Horror, yes?"

Cross gave a small timid nod, thinking that anything he said would just piss Nick off even more.

As far as he'd been told, Horror would be their mentor. The one to train them for the Hunger Games. He was the only winner District Twelve had ever had. The only one out of seventy-three. He hadn't been born when Horror won.

He sat there in silence as Lust trotted out of the room, wringing his hands tightly between his fingers. He forced himself to stare at the floor, not wanting to meet Nick's cold stare. He knew the boy was staring at him, he could sense it. He could practically feel his eyes burning into his very soul.

Squirming a bit, he made quick eye contact with Nick, only to look away instantly. The intimidation he gave off was immense.

Just as Cross was about to burst from how uncomfortable he was, Lust strutted back into the room with someone trudging along beside him.

Both Cross' and Nick's attention turned to the two men as they walked in. Cross immediately sat up straighter, smoothing out his creased and stained clothes. Nick seemed to slouch down even more, crossing his arms over his chest.

Stood next to Lust, a tall skeleton stood, his expression only half awake. He was quite broad, wearing messy casuals clothes that really didn't contrast well with Lust's eccentric attire. His shoelaces were undone, and everything about him seemed scruffy and messy. What Cross' eyes were drawn to predominantly though was the massive chunk missing from the top left of his skull. Jagged shards of bone stuck up around the empty hole, looking like something out of a horror movie.

"So..." Lust glanced between the three of them. "This is Horror--"

————————————————————————

Mmmmmmxjxhhsjshxhs more characters in ayayayayayyaya

Now Epic is gone, thank god.

Honestly I don't really like him as a character and having him interact with Cross was sad to write cuz ahahahah we all know only Nightmare can hug Cross.

Oh and if you're wondering, Nightmare will come in soon

uwu

-Jess-