Hello, everyone!

This is my first fanfic and thanks for checking it out. I wanted to try something different so here it is! I hoped you liked it! :)

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Hunger Games. Anything you see and read belongs to their respective owners. I own nothing. (This will follow for the immediate chapters that follow.) Pop culture and other media references are not mine and go their respective owners.

This story was originally posted on March 18, 2014. I was at least 15 years old when I first began this. It has been under revising and under construction of newly corrected chapters made to suit understanding for your benefit.

At last, I hope you enjoy the revised version of The Knife and the Mockingjay.

_oOo_

Prologue

Rue looked up at the sound of a booming cannon. The pouring rain splashed onto her small, dark frame, making her shiver slightly. The Capitol's seal appeared in the holographic sky and Rue watched in utmost horror as Thresh's picture showed, then faded along with the following Capitol anthem.

Thresh had been like a big brother to her, even though she didn't know him that well. He'd wanted to protect her and let her win. "Young children should not be reaped," he'd mumbled one day at the training center, glancing at the Career Pack, who were hacking away at dummies. "That just adds more fuel to fire."

Rue began to weep into her sock-encased hands, grateful for the fact that it was raining and the Capitol couldn't see her cry.

Katniss.

Peeta.

Cato.

Rue.

Rue admitted that she liked Katniss and Peeta. Even though Katniss was completely oblivious to the fact that Peeta actually did -

BOOM!

BOOM!

The silence was shattered by the sound of two more cannons. The hidden mockingjays nestling in the tall trees in the arena whistled her familiar 4-noted lullaby; the one she'd taught Katniss. Rue craned her neck to see just in time to know whose cannons had gone off: the "Star-Crossed Lovers" from District 12 were no more.

Rue sucked in a shaky breath, raising three fingers in the air with her left hand, saying her goodbyes to Katniss, Thresh, and Peeta.

But then Rue remembered: Foxface. The girl from 5 was clever and still out there. How could've she forgotten?

A sudden shriek pierced the air, and Rue was on her feet, alert. She wanted to climb up the tree but after all it was a thunderstorm, lightning and all. The screams got closer and closer. Mutts, it had to be. Sure enough, there was a flash of red; Rue let out a grunt as she flew to the ground, the weight of a body of top of her. She looked up into a pair of green eyes. Foxface as Katniss called her, but Rue recalled that the girl's name was Finch. Finch scrambled off of the tiny District 11 tribute, then did something Rue did not expect. Finch pressed her hand to her own mouth and swallowed. A cannon shrieked into the air, and looking more closely, saw a handful of familiar berries in the pale, now lifeless hand of Finch. The girl known as Foxface had committed suicide with Nightlock.

But why? When she was so close to winning?

Rue couldn't think about that anymore as a loud growl interrupted her thoughts. As quickly as she could, she dashed towards the silver Cornucopia. Rue climbed on top of the large structure with some slight difficulty, then turned once she got to her feet. Cato stood behind her, bloodstained, his favorite silver sword in his hands.

Rue knew that she was going to die. She had no weapons. Her slingshot had disappeared. Rue was no match for this large, sadistic Career from District 2.

She closed her eyes. "Make it quick," she whispered. Rue felt the metal underneath her feet shift under the weight of the Career coming towards her. She felt Cato wrap his hands around her neck...then nothing. Rue opened her eyes curiously. Why wasn't Rue dead yet? She saw Cato staring at her.

"I can't kill a little girl," he spoke for the first time. The dark brown eyes met with the blue. The sword in the brutal Career's hand clattered to the floor. "I'm already broken," he continued, an insane giggle - or was it a laugh? - escaping from his thin lips. "They've killed them, killed her, killed me. Except for you. You can, you can . . ."

Cato stepped towards her, and Rue immediately took a step back. "I'm not gonna . . . See, they've turned us. Made us into killers. Clover, she - she was mine, you see? And they took her. They took her. But I've been thinking: one more kill and it'll all be over. But who am I to fathom what they want?" Cato looked up at the dark sky. "YOU WANT A GAME?! FINE, THEN! I'LL GIVE YOU A SHOW!"

Rue had no time to react as then the sword was in his hands, Cato leapt forward - "WE'RE ALL JUST PIECES IN YOUR GAMES!" - and then the mockingjays sang the final note in her lullaby.

This was the end. The Grand Finale they all were waiting for - so everyone thought.

Because everything was just getting started.

A huge white aura blasted between the last two remaining tributes, sending them flying off their feet, off the Cornucopia. The mutts growled with glee, then for some unknown reason, began to retreat back into the forest until they were all gone. Cato slammed back into a tree; Rue seemed to fly for a brief moment before she came in contact with the hard ground. Her eyes fluttered. A shadow entered her blurred vision.

"Sorry, little bird," the deep, rumbling voice said as then Rue felt herself being carried in strong arms before she completely blacked out and became oblivious to her surroundings.

Special thanks to:

AllieClifford1995, BlackRabbit148, bsinger95, courtney 44, CWFANDOM8, DepressedAleera, foxgirl98, , KatnissxPeeta724, lewisrachel39, 1, MissEnigma, THGgoddess4ever, wouldratherbeaunicorn, chloejohanna, Cinnanmon Buns, Lislizzy, Mkrazy11, Storyspinnerbah, SuckYourBlood, fluffytardis, leoandkatnissinchicago, Danielle, Emy Dagger, CombinationsofClato22, Lya200, Gelato, sshhiippeerr, Ariana, and Adela-Elli.