The Rhodes Back To Hell [Harbinger One-shot]

It was a journey to even get here. Leaving the Capitol before riding on a hovercraft like the one that transported me to and from the games, and finally I land on the ground. It didn't take long, but right now I have a purpose in mind. Many times at home I find myself visiting his grave and talking to him, but his life has ended, and he'll never respond to me again. I hope he's proud of me. I hope he's jumping around in the afterlife saying he's proud I'm his brother because I'm proud he's mine. Crusader was always strong and brave, and he always pushed himself to the limits, but his ultimate demise happened the moment he dropped his sword.

For a while I was angry at him. Each time I heard his name, I could only think about the chance he had to win the games, yet his heart got the better of him. Patricia walks through the halls of the Capitol every single year, and I want to hate her for what she did to my brother, but I can't find it inside me because I know the pain she went through. I've walked in her shoes, but I don't know what her life was before her games.

Sighing to myself, I finally walk into the open. Using a lantern to guide my path in the midst of the dark labyrinth. The fear lingers inside me. Every step of the way, I wonder what it was like for him journeying through the games in the dark. Watching Animus and Kirk die at his side, and then watching the tiny girl from ten die in his arms before throwing her over the chasm. It was a sight I'll never forget. Seeing the tears in his eyes broke me, but what hurt the worse was seeing him wail over the loss of his district partner. I know how I felt when Annora died, but that isn't why I decided to come.

Throughout my life, I wondered what it was like in the arena he fought in. Each step of the way the darkness engulfs me surrounding me, and it's almost like I can hear the sounds of the beasts echoing in the dark. And I feel myself falling apart. Taking a deep breath, I shake my head and keep moving through the winding maze in front of me. Until I'm finally standing in front of the mercury lake.

Dropping to my knees, I reach toward the lake part of me hoping and praying Crusader is somewhere inside, but I know I'm wrong because he's dead, and the only way for me to see him again is to reunite with him in the afterlife, and hopefully that doesn't happen any time soon because I want to live my life despite the void growing larger inside me.