The Righteous and the Unrighteous | Finale

She did not breath, because the very thought of it made her feel like she was going collapse under the pressure that had been exerted on her since the day she was reaped.

The expectation that she was going to come in here and soar.

She would not fall, because her father willed it, but day after day, she saw through the bullshit that was the arena. She wished for so much more, but got tossed aside again and again, at least in her mind.

The moments that she lost people, she lost apart of herself, and the moments she stole lives, she hated herself even more.

No one deserved to die here, but that wasn’t her choice.

It would never be her choice.

The only thing that could convince her that she was doing right by herself was surviving.

Surviving this hell that she was placed into.

Surviving this nightmare that wont end.

Going home to a place that did not feel like home anymore.

Hoping that something, anything, would happen in the blink of an eye and it would be all over.

But no.

It wouldn’t, because it was obvious that Annie was apart of a bigger plan that she realized for herself.

---

She watched as the flaming knife flickered through the air, and Annie only hoped that it landed on its target.

She couldn’t waste time on the result, as much as she wanted too. Waiting would give time to Bette, who could show her the constant fury that she had shown her before.

Except, Annie wasn’t sure if she should be spared from such a thing. She wasn’t sure if she deserved to go home, because according to everyone else, Annie came in here to win. She came in here to because she wanted the glory of being a victor.

But no one really understood that Annie was not here to win.

She was here to be free.

Free from a world that she did not want to be a part of anymore. Free from her father, who did nothing but put her through unspeakable torture.

Who harmed the one piece of family when he felt like it.

Who did not understand that Annie wanted to be a regular girl instead of a trained killer.

But he didn’t care. He forced her into this life because he never got the chance to go into the games.

And when she heard her name called, she found her ticket out of this hell hole, that is what she told herself.

But then she realized that Angel would be left there if she disappeared, and she would not wish any sort of hell like that on him.

Her father would ruin him, just like she was ruined by him. And there would be no chance for her to save him if she died here.

So she needed to stop thinking about her death, and instead, think about her life.

Think about what was waiting at home for her.

The life she wanted to save, from the life that she wanted dead.

---

And so she focused on Bette Subino, the girl that stood in her way of getting home.

A knife already slipped into her hand. She had a sword, but she was not ready to change her weapon yet.

After all, her knives and her aim hadn’t failed her yet.

She watched as another knife had come towards her, a spear in Bette’s hand following just as quick as she threw the knife, and Annie had to be ready for anything.

She twisted full circle, moving to the right of Bette and the knife. The knife whizzed right past her, and she could feel a tension of relief lift from her for a moment.

Bette must have been off her game.

But this wasn’t the time for Annie to wait.

No.

She needed to act fast if she was going to claim the victory that she longed for since she got to the arena.

---

Annie wanted to say something. Anything to break the sound of fire crackling in the distance. The smell of burnt flesh was permeating the air around them, but Annie didn’t focus on that either.

Instead she thought about home.

The smell of salt water brushing up against lush sand.

The sounds of birds squawking ravenously around the harbor.

The feeling of freshly caught fish wriggling in her hands.

That is where she wanted to be.

”Tell me Bette. What is waiting at home for you?” Annie said as she thought about what was waiting at home for her.

If it was just them, then there was no point in being silent anymore.

And if she didn’t want to answer the question, that was fine with her.

At least Annie could say that she tried.

”Janet, play me Green Light.” Annie changed the theme music, because she felt like it made more sense at this point.

They both longed for so much, but they had to let go of the people they were in order to get what they yearned for.

With the beat of the music coming on through Janet, Annie finally acted on the actions that she had been dreading.

She leapt back with the green knife in hand, and as she did, she threw the knife through the air, hoping that this would not be the time for her aim to fail her.

Because at this point, it was life or death.

And Annie wanted to live.

Plain and simple.

Annie could not breath.

Emotions tangled up her fragile soul, and instead of her being able to untie them, they constricted her into submission every time her mind wandered to the idea of going home.

She was starting to convince herself that this will be her burial ground, and just like that, she would be immortalized in a land that made no sense to her.

Because this wasn’t home.

Nowhere near it.

And her thoughts got more twisted the more that she thought about it. There was no hope for her here, because she felt like she had already signed her life away to the people who now owned her.

The people that claimed her bones before she even had a chance to break them.

A society that broke them before she was even hit with a weapon.

Countless deaths that didn’t even register, because they were shadowed by dark greed that plagued the elite of the elite.

And it was just all bullshit in the end.

But here she was, doubting herself again and again.

---

And the knife that she threw did impress her.

The force was enough break through the wooden shield that Bette carried with her, and then pierce the armor behind it.

With a crunch, Annie snapped out of her despair but fell into another.

She couldn’t help think about the death that she had just caused the day before she got to this point. Angel de Costa.

She wished this took place by the sea.

“Is the sea in the Four the same as the one we saw a few days ago? The endless grayness was rather unpleasant but I loved how the breezes carried across it smelled. So fresh, so pristine, with a hint of salt, and it reminded me of the soft winds through the trees back in Seven.”*

Annie could help but smile for a moment. They were kinda, except, bigger and more vibrant. A color of blue that would have put tears in his eyes. A kind of blue that Annie prayed she could have shown him.

But instead she took his life, and he didn’t even get a chance to experience the nostalgia that he deserved too.

And it broke her heart, to pieces, but that tenacity, that willingness to be so curious about anything and everything about this world was what Annie needed to cling onto right now.

Sure, right now the world might be coming down on her, but that did not mean that she was signed away to die here.

She knew that she had to keep fighting, for his sake, that is what she told herself.

---

But Bette and her walked around each other like lioness’s circling pray.

Except they were pray to each other, the smell of skin still wafting in the air from where Denali Lyons fell.

Her eyes couldn’t falter, as much as they wanted too. She had to remained focus on this fight, because if she didn’t, she might as well forfeit, let Bette Subino stab her in the neck and die with so much left to live for.

But for the sake of Angel, and now Denali, she had no intentions of dying here.

And then Bette attacked, a spear launched into her thigh, a bittersweet tingling feeling as it found its home right through the bandages she had placed before. The bandages that she had wrapped over the wound that Angel de Costa gave her the day he died.

Wounds caused by desperation and lost love.

The worst kind of wounds, because no matter how much they heal, they never completely go away.

“I don't know why I volunteered, Annie. It was selfishness, childishness, and curiosity, and in the end, the cost was an existence and a boy who I loved more than myself.” *

Words echoed in her mind as she pulled her leg away from the spear. The temperature shifted around the wound as blood pooled around it. She gritted her teeth as she remembered the silence that came from Angel before they had to fight to the death.

He was as silent as her father, and as much as she hated the silence, she could at least separate them from each other, because Angel was someone that she grew to care about, and her father was someone that she wanted dead.

There was so much she wanted to say in that moment to her, and there is even more she wanted to say now that she was so close to going home. So close to tasting the real air and experiencing the ocean water nestle between her long blonde hair.

The difference before Angel and her was like night and day. He chose to come here, and Annie was forced. Not by her father, but by obligation to uphold an honor that Annie wasn’t ready to bear by herself.

But now that Annie was here, she had to fight.

Freedom tasted like fresh salmon caught from the ocean of four and roasted in a fire as the sun set right there on the beach.

Freedom felt like being able to embrace the one person that you loved more than anything, whether it be friendship or more than that.

Freedom is a concept that existed if she tried to make it out of here alive.

And a stab in the thigh would not stop her from giving it her all.

---

And her hand was already on another hilt, the pain searing but she moved slightly to the left and tested the waters as she moved on the wound.

She gritted her teeth, realizing that she was just fine more or less.

She listened to Bette speak, a rarity here, but maybe that was because Annie did enough speaking earlier for both of them.

Annie knew that at this point, that the silence between them could have continued until the very last stroke. The words of the song that was playing off the weird thing called JANET could do the speaking for them. Was that enough for them though? Was any of it enough for them? The murder over the last two days? The constant bickering? The threats that they both promised to act on if they ever saw them again?

Yes. All of them were valid to keep the silence. But this was there last chance to say anything that they needed to say before they died. Annie figured that both of them didn’t want to have anything to say here, and even if it was just small talk, it was enough to create a conversation that would open up to something more.

The reason why they were here.

Why their existence mattered here.

”The real smell of the ocean. My cousin who has already lost so much, and a villain that needs his flames extinguished.” Annie spoke clearly through heavy breathing.

She meant every word of it.

”Well then, I guess were gonna have to give it our all now aren’t we?” she smirked even though she was in a bit of pain.

The pain did not stop her from gauging her next attack.

However, another part of the day before did.

“Your goal is to make it home, Anatalia Morrisen, and I promise to do the same. No matter the odds, no matter the blood, get yourself out of here. Home clings to you like skin. Don't lose it.”*

”I promised Angel I would make it out of here Bette.” she said as she pulled a knife out of the holder, the yellow one, stained with blood and ash from being lit multiple times over the course of a couple days.

”So I’m not going to hold back.” She jumped back and aimed her knife at Bette, throwing it against the breeze that picked up as she spoke. Her conviction carrying it now instead of her body.

”And neither should you.” She added as she created more distance between them.

Because this would never be a team effort.

It was them for themselves.

Promises.

They didn’t last here, or at least, that is something that Anatalia was starting to realize.

No matter how much she tried to make them, there was always a chance that they could blow up in her face, and she hated it.

Because there were people here that she told she would protect.

Parson, stabbed in the neck.

Hellion, stabbed in the eye.

Angel, stabbed in the eye.

Wander, disappeared into the night.

She wasn’t sure if any of them felt remorse for her actions, and truth be told, she wouldn’t blame any of them. She always seemed to fall short of herself, and that was inexcusable, even by her own standards.

Of course, only one of them could go home, and Annie longed to be immersed in the water of four. She craved the salt seeping into her hair as she pulled herself through the water. The feeling of floating across it on a surf board. The feeling of being a regular girl.

That was enough to kill for. At least to her.

And Bette was standing her way of that, so as much as she regretted breaking so many of her promises, she had to learn how to let it go.

Something that they didn’t teach her at the career academies.

---

She responded to Annie’s quip about not holding back, and Annie couldn’t help but smile. There had to be an understanding here. Something that was agreed upon in silence at first, but spoke volumes as their launched weapons at each other.

The crunch of armor was a sound that Annie could have went without, but she had to endure it, because at the end of the tunnel, she would be home. Away from this place. She would be laying in the sun trying to soak it up but burning herself in the process. She wouldn’t care though because it was a way for her to feel something.

Hollow was the best way to deal with something like this. Murdering.

Even though Annie had trained for this her entire life, she never thought she would be in this situation, no matter how much she hated it. She thought she would age out before she got reaped, but that was not in the cards for her.

She was here, trying to prove that she could do exactly what her father taught her to do.

But she hated every moment of it.

---

The moment she watched the knife hit Bette’s skin, she took a deep breath, wishing that there was more damage that could have been done. She should have been thankful that at least it didn’t touch a piece of armor on her body, but that just meant she was going to have to work that much harder to take out her only competition at this point.

She tried to gauge what was going to happen next, watching Bette’s movements closely and a hand close to the hilts of her knives. She watched as Bette looked back to the two bodies that already laid in wake, and Annie wondered why only one cannon had gone off instead of two. Which one of them had been holding on to dear life here?

Annie wasn’t sure, and when Bette looked back, Annie twisted around, getting ready to throw another knife.

However, Bette was on her tail, and she heard a large crack in the wood armor that she had acquired from Angel the day before. She could feel a small sting from the spear, but nothing that she couldn’t handle. The armor fell to the side, and as much as Annie wanted to get frustrated, she couldn’t. She didn’t want too. There was no need for that anymore.

This was between her and Bette now. No one else could steal that chance to go home from them, except for each other.

And that thought shattered her heart just a tiny bit.

---

She pulled away from the spear, feeling a hot trickle down her back as she pressed her dress into it to stop the bleeding.

She looked at Bette, who seemed to ask a question about the one person that they both knew.

Wander Sibley.

”The smell of the ocean is nothing like the one that is in this arena.” Annie said as she turned to face Bette, a small smile on her face, as they might have finally found common ground just for a moment.

It wasn’t saying much, as both the girls continued to move mountains with each attack they laid on each other.

”The real smell of the ocean is calming, a breeze so gentle would waft past you and you would simply look out to the vast sky as it met the water and feel all of the problems you could be facing, wash away. Like they never existed.” Annie spoke fluently, because this was important.

Wander Sibley was important.

To both of them.

”In Four, the water always feels like a second home. There is nothing but you, the fish, the fresh air, and the smell of salt lingering as you walk further in. It relaxes you. Calms you to the point where you feel like you are one with it. It does not judge unless great harm has been caused to it, and even then, the ocean can be very forgiving. To anyone.” Annie could go on for days about how much she missed home. About how much she wanted to get out of here just to feel the water take her again.

The tainted water here would do nothing for her, except remind her of the people that she had lost.

”I think that is what Wander meant.” She offered a smile. Something that she hadn’t done too often. Not since she started losing people she loved.

And in that moment, she realized that none of this could stop for any of them.

She needed to continue on if she even remotely hoped to come back to the water that she missed. To her cousin that she cherished. To the father she wished to prove wrong. To the fallen mother she did want to make proud.

And so she pulled out another knife and made eye contact with Bette, moving back a bit before locking onto her target.

This was do or die and Annie really had no intention of dying here.

And when she had enough room, she turned around again and hurled the knife towards Bette, realizing that she could only do so much at this point.

She had to keep holding onto hope, something that she lost a long time again.

But was learning to find it again.

Nothing could prepare Annie for the death sentence that she had just witnessed.

She missed.

Something that hadn’t happened in a quite a long time.

She was starting to become distraught in a sense, and as much as she tried to calm herself, all she could picture was a spear going through her beating heart. She was bare chested sans the dress, and that meant that Bette could rip through her skin like carving the meat off a well cooked animal. Annie didn’t want to think of herself as an animal, but she couldn’t help it. While wild life didn’t really exist on the land in four, that didn’t mean they could hunt for fish.

Annie’s father made it a point to teach her to hunt. He said it brought out the inner demon’s in people. They became survivalists when they learned to hunt, and he did not stop at her. She also subjected Angel to it as well. However, Annie did not mind that Angel was also subjected to it, because as much as he failed, Annie was able to help him learn. Eventually he became skilled, but still lacked the tenacity that Annie had when it came to the task. That was fine though, because Annie was expected to be nothing but cutthroat. Angel was not, and that was why Annie was so connected to him. Because he was the connection to the life she wanted, but it was the life she couldn’t have. Not back then.

But maybe now if she made it out of here alive.

---

But a miss couldn’t dictate her will to survive.

She needed to keep going, and as she focused on Bette, she heard the song end and start to transfer into some guitar melody, and Annie could tell what this song was.

Of course, Music was scarce in the districts, but that did not mean there wasn’t a way to hear it. Annie didn’t grow up with it, but when you walked around in a place like four, it was always lively and bustling with life, and music was something that Annie always seemed to have an ear for.

She would stop in many places, often just to take in the fresh air and listen to the sound of music in the distance. She never went searching because she knew that she wouldn’t be able to find it. She wasn’t going to participate in child’s play just like that.

Instead she would find a little café that made some of the best seafood that Four had to offer, and she would partake in a couple pieces of shrimp that were cured over an open fire. The smoke came off them as you popped them in your mouth.

And she would sit back and just take in the scenery.

She didn’t get to do that often, but when her mother died, she made it a point to do it at least once a month. She didn’t care what her father said about it, because at the end of the day, he owed her that much.

It was just another way she was able to remember her by.

She promised herself that she would always live for her, because that way her mom knew she could pass on without feeling like she missed out on anything in life.

And while Annie wasn’t sure if the games was something her mother wanted to live for, she had to think about her watching over her anyway, because it gave her the piece of mind she needed.

Something that she was losing with each attack.

---

”Janet, play Promises.” Annie announced as she looked back to the boom box, and then the bodies that laid there in the distance.

Annie wondered how much longer one of them were going to last.

But then she heard another crack of her armor, and Annie could feel a cool breeze shock her arm. Small amounts of blood coming out of the orifice that was freshly cut into her.

She took a deep breath and looked back to see that Bette was very close to her, and she said something as she pulled her spear back.

"Ve cared about you. A lot." she said, and it sounded like the heavens shot thunder across the sky.

”And I ver.” Annie said as she stepped back for a moment, trying to regain her composure and think about her next attack. Three knives left meant that she might have to switch to the sword that she had been carrying for quite a while now.

She hadn’t found a use for it though, seeing as her knives haven’t failed her up to this point.

But now she wasn’t so sure.

”Ve was the last person that could remind me of home. A place I miss dearly. Just like Yusei mustve done the same for you Bette.” Annie was quick in her words, the sound of the music inspiring thoughts that she usually didn’t want to have.

”This arena might be so small, but there is always room in the ocean for two titans. If you get out of here, you should visit the ocean in four.” Annie finally admitted to herself that there is a chance she could not make it out alive. ”For both of us.”

She offered another smile, but that faded as the song crescendo’ed into the chorus. ”Tell me, what is One like?” Annie inquired while she stepped back again, gaining enough distance from Bette.

She was trying to avoid bumping into the smoldering body that lingered in the distance, but also keep herself safe.

Something that would never happen as long as she was fighting the girl before her. ”What is the most beautiful thing there? To you? Not to anyone else.”

Annie stated plainly before grabbing the red knife from her holder and prayed that this one would do the job she needed it to do.

She was down to her last few, and that meant her prayers were also few and far between as well.

So she twisted around and flung the knife in the girls direction, just hoping that it would strike true.

Annie did not know what to expect from this point on. The sound of the song took over her thoughts, but she did not let go of the tension that was started to build in her body.

She was starting to crack. However, she would not let people see that side of her.

And while it might have been just Bette and her, she felt like there was a million other eyes on her, ready to judge her for each and every mistake that she had made so far.

And while she tried so hard to be perfect, for the people that would look at her differently, she knew better.

Anatalia Morrisen was far from perfect, and even rejected the idea of it.

She wanted this to be over, and while it might have been easier for her to take a knife and plunge it right through her neck, she knew that would not be the way to go.

She wanted her death, if she was going to die here, mean something.

Something more than her being yet another statistic.

More than her just falling short of the gold.

More than her being obliterated into nothingness, a figment in the arena complex that would never move.

She would blend in with the rest of the people who died here in vein, and Annie wasn’t sure, no, she was not ready for that.

And she never would be.

So she needed to go home.

She needed to snap out of it.

She needed to prove to everyone that she was worthy of this title, even if she was tired of being called a career.

It killed her on the inside, but she was already dead.

Dead and gone.

---

And her knife flew right into Bette’s leg, and Annie took a deep breath.

There was nothing to celebrate here.

This was cruel in every way, and Annie didn’t want to be a part of it, but she wanted to go home even more.

And so she was already grabbing another knife when Bette attacked her with her spear. A quick jab in her arm, nothing that she couldn’t shake off.

And then Bette began to speak.

”That sounds lovely.” Annie pulls her arm away from the spear and begins to move backwards, watching as the sun starts to shift in the arena.

She wasn’t sure how much time has passed since this fight had begun, but that didn’t matter. The game makers did not care how long it took as long as they were giving a show, and as much as Annie hated the fact that they had to participate in such debauchery, they were still doing what needed to be done.

Less they both wanted to be blown into the sky, neither one of them ever hoping to make it home.

”But lets not make any more promises to each other Bette. There is nothing to gain from saying things that we aren’t sure that we can keep? Right?” Annie at least offered a smile, knowing well that this was going to end one way or the other. One was going to leave this place, while the other blended into the greenery that surrounded them.

”The stars are gorgeous though, I wish you could see them.” Annie says plainly, not hiding the fact that she knows that she could fall here.

That she would never have the chance to find what she is looking for.

Just like Annie would never have that same chance.

Except Annie was willing to fight for what she needed.

And while Bette was also willing to fight as well, Annie knew that her will was stronger.

That is what she had to prove here.

So with a knife in hand, she took a deep breath, stepping back a bit before locking eye’s with Bette.

”I wish there was another way.” Annie spoke, honestly, for the first time in her life.

But there wasn’t.

And so she let that knife fly, the thought of the ocean and being submerged in the water, and a life that would be lived for not only the people she loved.

But for the people she lost too.

Annie grunts as she moves around the battlefield, trying her hardest to keep up with Bette, who seems to have so much more energy that she will ever have.

That knife flew towards Bette, but it was like she was expecting it, and the tip of her spear knocked it right off its path, flying towards the ground behind her.

Annie took a deep breath, realizing that there were so many missed opportunities here, and she was not going to let this one get away from her.

She moved forwards, her muscles screaming in agony as she ran for the knife. The orange one laid there in the grass, not finding a home in a warm body, and that was not going to fly in her book.

A spear came for her, but she sidestepped it, using the momentum to do an ariel around Bette, the feeling of being weightless bringing a smirk to Annie’s face.

With her free hand, she grabbed for the knife, clutching it hard and pulling it up to her chest. She was now behind Bette, and the moment was just right, and so she flung it at the girl, showing her that trying to escape fate always came back to bite you in the ass.

And the knife found its home in her back, and Annie let out a sigh of relief. Almost panicking because this was so close to her last moments. She didn’t know how to continue from here, but she was tired, and it was obvious that Bette did not care anymore.

They were going to end this, one way or the other.

---

”No. I don’t want to make anymore promises Bette. That is the point.” Annie said, catching her breath after performing acrobatics that she didn’t realize she had in her.

”Im tired of making them. Im tired of breaking them. Im just tired Bette.” Annie admitted to the girl, and even though she knew better. That she should have shut her mouth before she said anymore, Annie didn’t want to.

This was going to be her last stand after all.

”Arent you as well? Or is the idea of going home also guiding you to do what needs to be done?” Annie spoke plainly, standing on her feet, a weight being lifted off her shoulder.

Her arms flexed back as she waited for the next move.

This was a game of chess, two queens on each side of the board, toppling over so many pawns to get here, and yet, they were pawns themselves.

Annie felt sorry for both of them.

And as much as she shouldn’t, knowing damn well that there was nothing she could do now to make any of this better, she did.

And she wouldn’t apologize for that.

---

And then Annie felt the spear rip into her cheek.

But she did not flinch for a moment, instead, she took a moment and took a deep breath, counting many seconds between each time her face moved up from the blade that was lodged in her cheek.

The blood was something that she didn’t mind at this point, like it was almost refreshing on her hot skin.

She wished it could rain right about now.

And when she was free of the blade that was in her cheek, she stepped back and tried to make sense of this in her head. She didn’t know how much more she had in her, and she didn’t know how much Bette had in her.

If she had to guess, they both felt like they were tired, but Annie couldn’t speak for someone. Not anymore.

Instead, she had to let Wander’s and Angel’s words guide her to the absolution that she knew she deserved.

And if she had to die here, then so be it, but she wasn’t going to let Bette Subino walk all over her.

Because that was not in Annie’s wheel house.

---

She wanted to wipe the blood from her face, but battle scars were nothing to be ashamed of no matter how much one didn’t want them.

Annie learned that at a young age, as her father told her that career wear their scars like a second skin. There was nothing to be ashamed of in receiving blows that would make you stronger.

Except, Annie wasn’t sure if she was getting stronger with each attack.

She felt like she was falling to the wayside, and that was just begging Bette to come in and take the victory for herself.

But Annie would not allow that to happen.

She wanted to feel the salt water in her hair again.

She wanted to go home and ride the waves that the ocean had to offer her, just like her mother used to take her to do.

She wanted to be a normal girl again.

Even though, if she won, normal would not be an option for her.

But a life of servitude is better than no life at all, and that is what Annie had to keep telling herself.

”Maybe we just don’t understand each other Bette. Maybe we come from two different worlds.” Annie spoke, blood mixing with her saliva. ”Or maybe we do, and we just don’t want to admit it.” Annie turned her cheek for a moment, showing the clean side of her face. ”Maybe we are just monsters and we haven’t been able to realize it till now.” Annie offered a very honest view. One that she never thought of saying in her life.

But it all made sense at this point, like the dots are being connected right in front of her.

And Bette simply tells her to ”Move forward.”

But Annie doesn’t know if she can do that.

”I will.” Annie agreed but not on Bette’s terms. ”But not for you.” Annie spat words like daggers at her, even though the only one that really mattered right now was the last one that was in her sleeve.

”I will do it for Wander, and Angel, and Parson, and Hellion, and even for Denali and Shy.” Annie pulled the knife from the holder and looked at Bette in the eyes.

”But not for you.” Annie announced, like a revelation that she had been waiting for ages to come too.

And now that she was here, she felt like she could be comfortable in her own skin.

She stared down the opposing queen, staring at the pawns that were captured in death, and thought about how the world could be so infinite, just like the pain she felt.

And she launched her knife, herself.

Because a queen did what needs to be done on a chess board.

Just like her.