Although many members of the squad had been reluctant to trust him, Peeta had been given a gun to complete his look for the next propo. However Boggs, who seemed to have drawn the same conclusions about Coin's plan that Dahlia and Finnick had deduced, ensured the magazine was emptied of all its ammunition before handing it over. Then the Star Squad gathered their own weapons and were on the move once more.

The Odairs had taken up position at Peeta's side as they travelled to their next filming location. He asked them some questions and they tried their best to answer, filling in as many gaps in his memory as they could. But they knew, just as Haymitch realised with Dahlia and Finnick, that the person he really needed to talk to was Katniss. She was the best person to help him through this trauma, yet she was the one keeping the furthest distance from him.

As they strolled through the abandoned Capitol streets, Peeta was given a speech to learn and memorise for the propo. However, the boy was struggling enough with recalling his own memories and now he was being forced to cram more words into his overwhelmed mind. The situation felt very similar to Peeta's experience in the Capitol, where he was told exactly what to say in front of the cameras and pressured to spout words that weren't his own. The resemblances between Coin and Snow were growing by the second.

Though Dahlia and Finnick weren't happy about the arrangements, Peeta seemed relatively willing to comply, so they were determined to help him. "'To the citizens of the Capitol, our war is not with you.'" Finnick read out from the paper gripped in his hands while Dahlia held his trident.

"To the citizens of the Capitol, our war is not with you." Peeta repeated back, his tone monotonous and mechanical with little passion for what he was saying.

"'You will be a vital part of the democracy that follows our victory.'" Finnick continued as Dahlia tried her best not to roll her eyes at the words written for him.

"Be a vital part of the democracy that follows our victory." Peeta mumbled almost inaudibly after him, managing to stumble his way through the uninspiring speech.

Finnick grinned in triumph, patting Peeta on the shoulder and assuring him, "You got it."

"Okay." Peeta nodded, not seeming at all eager to go through with the propo.

After handing Finnick his trident, Dahlia held her hand out for the speech. "Can I see that?" She asked quietly, furrowing her brows in discontent once Finnick passed the paper into her awaiting palm. "I bet Coin wrote this shit. Only she could make an inspirational speech sound like the most boring lecture you've ever heard." Dahlia's grumbling complaints never failed to make Finnick snort with laughter, and it seemed her displeasure for Coin could even bring a faint smile to Peeta's face too. The sight made a grin stretch across Dahlia's lips and she placed a reassuring hand on his arm as she murmured, "You'll do just fine, Peeta. Even an illiterate child could do this speech with more life than Coin."

As they ventured through a sheltered avenue and set foot into the plaza of a circular ring of buildings, Cressida called out from the back of the group, "Boggs. This is a good spot." She brushed past the column of soldiers to stand at the top of the steps overlooking a grand marble structure. "Through there, in the courtyard."

"Okay, let us clear it." Boggs replied gruffly, leading the squad down the stairs with the Holo stretched out in front of him. Dahlia and Finnick filed after Cressida, keeping themselves close to the front where they had a perfect view of Katniss and Peeta. If something went wrong, they were there to intervene.

They passed under the smaller of the two marble archways, halting before going under the second as the Holo beeped rapidly in warning. "Got a pod." Boggs announced, focusing the Holo on the dangerous minefield awaiting them under the archway. "Split. Take cover."

The soldiers leapt into action, separating into two and heading for either side of the marble wall. Finnick placed his hand on Dahlia's back to lead her to the right, nodding for Peeta to follow on with them as they settled behind Boggs. Crouching down low with Peeta sandwiched in between them, Dahlia sent a reassuring smile over her shoulder to Finnick and he nodded back comfortingly. This was Peeta's first taste of war and no knew how he would react, but the Odairs were positioned around him as a safeguard. Like sandbags used to soften the blow of a bomb.

"Stay back." Boggs warned the squad warily after collecting a small chunk of rubble from the ground. Peeking carefully around the corner, he launched the rock into the path and darted back into place just as the pod was activated.

The rapid fire of machine guns were heard as the squad sheltered behind the wall, the force of the bullets shredding the concrete slabs paving the ground. Dahlia flinched back at the intensity of the gun fire, watching the shots weaken the columns of the archway they had just walked through to near collapse and take large wedges out of the building they were cowering behind. The onslaught carried on much longer than she would've liked, dust and smoke clouding her eyes as she was forced to turn her head the other way.

The aggressive bombardment finally ceased after the small archway had crumbled away into a chaotic mess of ruins and wreckage. Boggs was the first to risk breaking cover, stepping out from behind the wall to check if the pod was fully deactivated.

"All clear." He declared to the squad, making everyone breathe a brief sigh of relief. "Gale, Homes, with me. Leegs, take the wings."

As those who were called rushed into position, Dahlia finally noticed Peeta's incoherent mumbling. Turning to the boy in concern, she placed her hand on his shoulder and tried to get him to look at her. But it was as if he was stuck inside his own head.

"Peeta." She mumured softly, glancing quickly to Finnick as the boy's muttering continued. "Peeta, it's okay."

If he was able to hear her, he ignored her words. His breathing grew heavy and laboured as he hit his head repeatedly on the handle of his gun. Dahlia's heart clenched in pain as she was forced to watch the mental turmoil Peeta was going through. With every moment Peeta suffered, she felt her hatred towards Coin and Snow grow even more. No one deserved to experience such anguish and torture inside their own heads. Except perhaps the presidents themselves.

So focused on checking up on Peeta, Dahlia was startled by a sudden explosion from around the corner of the building where half of their squad were scanning the area. Boggs' scream echoed back to their position and prompted Katniss to sprint into the danger zone despite the protests from Jackson.

Peeta recoiled even more at the loud bang, his whimpering becoming more shaky and uneven. "What was that?" He asked desperately, clutching onto Dahlia's arm with a bruising grip as his eyes widened in fear.

"It's alright." Dahlia attempted to reassure him unconvincingly, glancing around as the rest of their squad scrambled to discover what had happened. "It's alright. You're okay."

Finnick knelt down next to them, hooking his elbow under Peeta's arm to help hoist the boy to his feet. Body still trembling, Peeta allowed them to guide him over to the other squad members without much fuss, leaning heavily on Finnick as he briefly seemed to wake from his daze. "What happened?" Peeta asked weakly as they joined the film crew in watching the devastating scene from afar.

"It's Boggs." Dahlia replied mournfully, noticing the terrible condition their commander has been left in from the blast.

"He's not gonna make it." Finnick remarked in a sorrowful voice, instinctively connecting his hand with Dahlia's as they witnessed the final moments of a noble man. The pair wished they could be wrong about his fate, but Boggs' body went limp in Katniss' hold and the life left his lungs. Their honourable commander had met his end.

Struck by grief for such a sudden and tragic loss, Dahlia almost missed the other casualty of the explosion. One of the Leegs was loudly groaning through gritted teeth, clutching her injured leg as she cried out in pain. Distressed by her sister's agonising screams, the other Leeg surged forward desperately to reach the girl and help her. But she froze halfway there when her foot landed on a trigger. Glancing down in horror, the squad watched as the slab she had stepped on slowly sunk into the ground. And then the gates began to shut.

The gap in the buildings in front of them became blocked by large grey barriers. The gap in the buildings behind them became blocked by large grey barriers. They were boxed in with no escape. Mere rats trapped in a maze for the Capitol to torment. No... They were tributes in an arena for the Capitol to kill. And they wanted to make their deaths as entertaining as possible.

Dahlia's eyes widened as a black tar substance poured in from above, like a monstrous cloud eager to claim them as its victims. And it wasn't wasting any time. The river of darkness rapidly swept towards them, swallowing up everything in its path and... Heading straight for the squad.

Oh shit.