looking for heaven [day6: Stitch/Ollie/Andy]

Stitch thought about how he wished he could have gone home in this moment. Right now. While he was still feeling relatively part of this humanity.

But that was something that he would never be able to do again.

Not if he didn’t pull through this fight and rise victorious over the other two that he was fighting.

Stitch had a feeling that they were just as strong willed as he was, but that did not crush Stitch like people thought it did. Because at the end of the day, they did not know what Stitch was willing to do to bring himself home. To freedom. To something that he wanted more as each slice carved into the twelve year old in front of him.

Ollie did remind Stitch of a girl named Cordelia back home in Eight. She was a girl that Stitch met in a weird circumstance, but one thing that he remembered was just how rambunctious she was. The amount of passion in the girl made Stitch question his own resolve a couple times, but she wasn’t here right now.

He wondered what Cordelia might have done if she were the one in this situation? Would she have forced her way into their psyches and ripped them to shreds? Would she rip down their walls and make them listen to her? Would she have already killed both of them? Stitch did not know because Cordelia wasn’t here. Stitch hoped that Cordelia would never have to be here actually.

This place changed people for the worst, and unfortunately, Stitch noticed that in himself with each thrust of his weapon. With each small cut into Ollie that he did. He felt like he was shortening her life with each attack, and unfortunately, that is what they wanted here.

They wanted them to become villains.

---

Stitch shook his head, realizing that both of them seemed to be at wits end, but Stitch’s mind was starting to clear up. His resolve to finish this was starting to take over, and if he was going to die here, then he was ready for that. He wasn’t going to let sour words or sharp blows stop him from trying to achieve the one thing that he wanted more than anything here.

And while Andy might have had a point, Stitch did not care. What he was here for was different than anyone else, because he knew that he could have taken his own life into his hands.

He could have ran the day before the reaping, but he chose to give it one more day. To give the formality that he would be reaped a chance to at least try its luck. It sucked that it became a reality, but that was something that he was going to have to get over.

He was so close to making it out of the arena that he could taste the real air of the outside world. And that was more than enough to keep him going through all of this.

He looked at Andy for a second.

”You call it selfish, but I don’t see anything wrong with wanting to go home for myself.” Stitch pulled his glaive back, listening to the words that they both uttered. Stitch wasn’t sure if he was willing to talk anymore, seeing as both of them were just going to poke holes in his statements like Swiss cheese.

It was the plight of near death talking. Stitch was sure.

”You haven’t walked a day in my shoes. Just like I haven’t walked a day in yours.” Stitch said to him, words coming out like knives that fall flat halfway between them. Stitch wasn’t here to trade vocal blows because at the end of the day, that wasn’t going to decide who was going to be the victor at the end of this.

It was the blades that they were holding that was going to end this, and that was the way that Stitch wanted to keep it.

---

And Stitch watched as Ollie went for Andy’s shin, and with the force of the universe, she cracked it magnificently.

Stitch could not fathom what else was hiding inside that tiny body. Maybe she was a bit like Cordelia in a sense. She was willing to do whatever it took to take care of the things that she held close to her. But in that vein, so was Stitch.

However, Stitch always had a hard time figuring out who cared about him, and there were days where he would try to jog his memory. He couldn’t have come here for just himself.

Sure, he had people that he wanted to prove wrong, but that couldn’t be his driving force.

He stood there for a moment, watching Andy fall to the ground as he lashed his spear around, and in that moment of not knowing if it landed or not, he realized that there was someone that he wanted to return home for.

Jaime Bowman.

However, he did not want to utter his name, because at this point, Stitch wanted to hold onto some secrets. It was enough that he had already shared so much. Stitch had gone from the silent type to the one with loose lips in less time then he thought, and no one needed to know what Stitch was willing to fight for.

He would rather be seen as a villain at this point, a monster with a staff that could do nothing more than cut a twelve year old to death.

---

He took a deep breath, his glaive steady in his hand as he looked at the girl from ten and realized that she was trying so hard to keep up with them. And when she pleaded about wanting to run away, Stitch couldn’t relate more to her statement. ”I think we all wish we could run away from this.” Stitch said to her, trying to see the world from her perspective. ”But unfortunately, nothing is fair here.” Stitch sighed, his blade true in his hand.

”And it’s a damn shame.”

He looked at her for a moment and then Andy, and then back to her, and he realized what he needed to do.

So he pulled his blade up, and back down on the girl from ten.

Hoping that they could find the absolution they were looking for.

---

griffin

And while he pleaded with the people that he was surrounded by, he realized that everything was falling around him again. The rain had become an after thought, but he lightning was starting to become deafening. A cacophony of sounds started to flood the boys mind, and before he knew it, he felt like he was going death.

He could see the faces of people that he knew in this arena, Stitch prayed that he wouldn’t have to see them until he walked out of this place. But life never played fair for Stitch, and he realized that as he watched friends die repeatedly. Day after day, people fell around him like stars that died and fell out of the sky. However, they didn’t collide with the earth in random places. No. They collided in places that Stitch could get to easily. And when they appeared next to him, he watched in horror as he realized that he recognized the faces that they had.

Ping. The shape of Jupiter.

Neela. Matching in Venus.

Lavina. Angry as Mars.

Wynter. Strong as Saturn.

All of them faces that he knew way to well. And he wasn’t ready for any of it.

No.

Because at the end of the day, these were people who died to make sure that Stitch got just a little bit farther.

And now it was starting to come together in the blackest of ways. Stitch could feel himself turning into a black hole again, and he knew that he could capsize at any moment.

And that thought scared him more than anything.

---

But the hot air cut through his fantasy for a moment, and the sound of lightning crashing made it harder for him to concentrate. He heard his blade cling on Ollie’s Helmet, and he watched it crumble in front of him. It was something that he never thought he would see, that is, the breaking of armor. It was like breaking off a piece of skin that no one wanted to let go of. The sound of metal crunching was something that Stitch wanted to forget. But there wasn’t time for that. He was just one step closer to achieving the freedom that he wanted out of this.

And as malicious has he has been this entire experience, he could feel that they were wanting the same thing as well.

And Stitch did not blame them.

---

And then he heard Ollie talk about rocks, and for once, Stitch was starting to understand the girl that came so far from where she began. She was strong. She was someone that could earn the respect of anyone. She was someone that Stitch would regret to put down, but it had to be done.

Stitch was sure that she was going to haunt him in his sleep.

”I met Dove, and Cesare when I was in the training center.” Stitch said to her. ”They were strong people Ollie.” Stitch offered to her, knowing that she put her faith in the right people after all. ”You were right to trust them with your life.” Stitch said, a smile on his face for once.

”I wish the people who put their trust in me were still here as well.” Stitch was remorseful for a moment, looking at her and then looking at Andy. ”Except for Florence, wherever she may be, everyone else died around me.” Stitch looked at them with concern in his eyes. ”Am I death?”

Stitch never thought about it, but it was all starting to make sense at the end of story. He hated thinking about himself in such a negative way, but it was a reality that set in while he pulled his blade back for a moment.

---

Stitch was counting his breaths, and then, a crack of lightning struck through the sky.

“wait, Stitch, I-“

Words were shared by Andy for a moment, and Stitch froze in his tracks. Stitch wasn’t sure if this was a trick, or something genuine.

Stitch could not tell anymore with the boy from Four. Anything was possible after all.

”Yes Andy?” Stitch vocalized through the lightning, realizing this could have been their chance to try to reconcile over whatever they were fighting about. Even though it was just a kiss, it still meant the world to Stitch that they found each other, and maybe it was because he fell for men way too easily, but that was something that Stitch wasn’t ashamed to admit.

They were human after all.

And then a cannon shot through the arena.

Before he knew it, he watched as Ollie swung her flail behind Andy and he fell to the ground. Lifeless.

Ollie had done the fatal blow.

---

it was like watching Neptune fall out of orbit.

The ice giant that was only known for the pretty shade of blue that came with it. It was a desolate frozen wasteland that no one knew about.

Except for Stitch and Ollie.

And Stitch wished that he could have stopped it. He wished he could freeze time in that moment and pull Andy into his arms and watch the flail only hit air.

But Stitch, as remorseful as he was, knew that there was nothing he could do.

Tears though started to form around his eyes, as he realized that he never got the chance to say a proper goodbye.

As much as Andy didn’t want to remember what they had shared, Stitch would keep those memories with him until the day he died. ”Ollie…” Stitch started. He was speechless, as he watched the twelve year old take something from him that he would never get back.

---

Stitch watched as Neptune fell right next to him, and he wished he could have stopped it. But gravity did not care about what a person wanted. Gravity was finite. Tacit. Its own being.

And Stitch just had to stand there and watch as he watched another boy he loved die right in front of him.

Love would always be the relative term, but it was the easiest thing to cling onto at the end of the day.

Love was all they had left in here.

---

Stitch looked at Ollie for a moment, thinking about how much he wanted to exact his revenge on the girl from ten. How much he wanted to vindicate the death of Andy. How much he wanted to say goodbye to him.

But none of that would happen, because he was gone.

It just made Stitch’s choice that much easier.

”You are strong Ollie. Remember that.” Tears were forming in his eyes, ”If you want fairness? I can grant you that wish. As long as you are fair to me as well if I meet the fate you think you are going too.” Stitch offered her a smile for a moment, and then he held his glaive up.

This was his swan song.

His chance to take what he wanted.

His freedom was in sight.

”Rest easy Andy.” He said outloud. ”And Ollie, here I come.”

And he pulled his glaive up and struck.

---

griffin

Stitch thought about how much he wanted this to be over. How much he knew that this was going to kill both of them at the end. But right now. Right here, all he could feel was nothing.

Nothing moved around him. No space. No time. The feeling of rain hitting his temple did not make him flinch. The sound of lightning did not scare him.

He was starting to become numb inside, and that was something that he was just going to have to live with.

After all, he did just see a boy that he thought he wasn’t going to have to see again die, right in front of him. He wished he could have stopped it, but there was nothing he could do now. Andy was gone, and that was the truth of the situation.

No matter how much he pleaded with death to bring him back, he wouldn’t be able too. He was now going to be buried in whatever they thought would have been best for him to be in, and he was going to become a forgotten memory.

And it caused nothing but pain for Stitch.

But maybe that was because he thought he loved him.

Not because he did love him.

After all, Andy was not the first boy that Stitch claimed to love. Love was always such a nuisance of a word. A word that never really stuck to him, and now it could float away, because Stitch Gabel had no one left here that he could love.

Except death itself.

---

And he watched as Ollie cried and pleaded with a corpse to come back to them. However, Stitch knew that this was futile. There was no use begging with death because he did not release the people that he captured. He held them captive forever, in his clutches like they were toys for him to play with. He wanted so bad to find death and force him to give back the people that he stole, but at the end of the day, they would never be the same.

Everyone changed the moment they crossed over to his realm. They became darker versions of themselves, hollow and emotionless. They would never be the same people, even if Death decided to have mercy and spare them.

They were scarred and maimed no matter what.

And Stitch wanted to tell Ollie that it was okay. That this was going to be over for one of them soon. They didn’t have to kill anyone anymore.

Stitch just had to get used to the fact that he was probably going to die here.

And that thought made it easier for him to choose what he did.

---

He was going to be the villain and he was okay with that.

He didn’t have a choice in the matter really. Andy had forgotten him, and Ollie was the target. He was going to be known for almost killing a 12 year old, and that was going to have to be something that he was going to have to try to do now that Andy was gone.

He needed to be avenged.

---

Andy was a brave soul, and Stitch needed to remember that.

He was someone that was willing to go the distance for anyone of his friends, and that made it all the better for Stitch to think about him as somewhat of a lover. He was a boy that cared, and that meant the world to Stitch.

But he was gone.

And he wasn’t going to come back. And he could tell that Ollie was starting to come in her own.

That’s when he started to worry.

---

A sword came out of nowhere, landing a blow on his thigh that made Stitch flinch for a moment. He could feel that he was close to death, and for once, he wasn’t scared. He wasn’t scared to be shown the light. The error of his ways.

He took a deep breath and realized that Ollie Brooke was trying to survive just as much as he was. And it broke his heart just a little bit more.

”I understand Ollie. But there are people I have to get back too as well. So as much as I want to run away, I don’t think I can. I need to stay…” He looked at Andy’s body and wondered what would come of it. ”I need to fight.” Stitch held his glaive up and thought about how much it meant to him that he made it this far without even killing someone.

But that all might change for him.

And so he looked at Ollie with eyes that streamed with tears. ”Itll all be over soon for one of us.” Stitch held up his glaive and mounted his feet for an attack.

This was his time to prove that he could take his life in his hands. For all of Panem to see.

And the sad part about this, Stitch had a feeling that his mother wasn’t watching.

That she was too busy doing whatever she needed to do to keep on surviving.

And the thought broke his heart for a moment, because he wished that he was cared for enough by her. But that was never going to change for him.

He was always going to be the boy that was forgotten.

The boy that was never going to be remembered because to her, he was a dime a dozen now.

”Just promise me if you win, youll take my scarf back to eight. Take it to Jaime Bowman. He want a piece of me to remember me by.” Stitch looked at her with a sorrowful look, accepting the fact that he was going to die here.

And he was ready for it.

”And please, if you see my mother.” He looked at her with a stern look in her eyes, ”Tell her to go fuck herself.” Stitch smiled for a moment, relishing in the thought.

This was his saving grace, and he hoped that he could make this attack count.

Or die trying.

And so he looked at Ollie for a moment, brought his glaive up.

And then down.

In one single motion.

---

griffin