Vincent and Frank started off the first fight of Stage One. No matter how much I disliked him, my money was on Vincent to win, even though I was rooting for Frank. The big guy was still trying to outgrow his awkward Stiff behavior, which was something that he hadn't had as much luck as Katrina in pulling off.

To his credit, Frank did look to be a very strong person. My guess is he must have worked out on his own, in secret. I doubted his Stiff parents would've been very receptive to their son working out. They'd probably say 'improving your body is self-preservation and is to be frowned upon' or something along those lines.

Despite Frank's size, Vincent was almost just as big, undoubtedly stronger and not as hesitant to beat his opponent to the ground. There was no way Frank stood a chance. The two large boys scuffled for a while, but while Frank seemed content to just stay in an eternal struggle with Vincent without fighting back, it was another story with the latter. Vincent got a few good hits in and within five minutes, Frank was wheezing profusely as he collapsed, sporting a black eye and clutching his bruised ribs. Ila made Vincent carry Frank off to rest and she put Lisa and Alyssa in the arena next.

When Ila signaled for the fight to begin, Alyssa wasted no time in making the first move, swinging a swift right-cross and nailing a hesitant and surprised Lisa in the jaw. It was a swift end for Lisa right then as Alyssa kicked out her knees, grabbed her around the throat and put her in a sleeper's hold. Before the two-minute mark was even up, Lisa's knocked out cold and a triumphant Alyssa dragged her off to lie next to Frank.

Now, I watch as Katrina and Robert step up next. Robert smiles at Katrina, presumably in what he assumes to be a winning fashion. Katrina merely growls, cracking her knuckles, clearly unimpressed.

"That's not a very nice expression for a girl with a pretty face like yours," Robert comments.

Katrina ignores him. Ila signals and as soon as the fight begins, Katrina makes the first move, aiming a punch at Robert's head. The latter ducks and lunges forward, unceremoniously kneeing Katrina in the gut, any chivalry he'd previously displayed extinguished in a matter of seconds. I wince as he grabs her head and slams an elbow down into the back of her exposed neck, forcing her down to her knees. He lands a kick in her side and Katrina flips over onto her back, coughing weakly. When he moves to kick her again, she suddenly rolls to the side and rushes to get back on her feet again.

"Come on, Katrina," Frank splutters weakly from where he sits.

Katrina lets out a cry of anger and charges at Robert, planting a solid kick at his torso, which sends him staggering back. Before he can react or protect himself, she leaps forward and kicks him in the groin while still in mid-air.

Robert lets out a yelp as Katrina grabs his head and slams it into her knee. He drops to the floor, whimpering, as Katrina kicks him in the side like he did her. She keeps up her relentless attacks on him until finally, he cries out. "No more! Please! I yield!"

Katrina pauses, casting Ila a wary sidelong glance. I see her bite her lip, as if thinking about something. Apparently, arriving at a decision, I watch as she grabs Robert's head and she slams it down onto her knee a second time, effectively knocking him unconscious.

Katrina pants, glancing back at Ila, who nods impassively, her face devoid of emotion as she signals for Katrina to take Robert out of the arena.

Soon, me and Bonnie have taken their place and Ila gives the signal for the fight to begin.

More than aware of the other initiates - with the exception of an unconscious Robert - watching me, I raise my fists lamely as Bonnie and I circle each other. She bares her teeth, glaring at me defiantly, as if to show she's not scared of me, but her being almost a head shorter kind of ruins the effect.

Without warning, she rushes at me. I see her pull her right arm back and it looks like she's aiming a punch at my torso, so I tense up, bringing my arms down to block my midsection. It's at that moment that I realize she's feinting, but it's too late for me to react. By the time I realize the Erudite-turned-Dauntless initiate's strategy, it's too late to stop Bonnie's left fist from connecting with my unprotected jawbone.

I curse, keeling back, and the precious few seconds it took for me to recover from her first attack has left me exposed. She launches forward, planting a kick in my back that sends me sprawling onto my knees. For someone so small, she deceptively packs a lot of punch behind her seemingly weak stature. She grins down at me, before she slams an elbow into my back, knocking the wind out of me as I struggle, getting to my feet. Winded, I desperately swing a fist at her. She's so short that she barely has to duck to avoid my mismatched attack.

We trade blows for a while. She's small, but that makes it easier for her to scamper out of my range of fire. I'm bumbling around, trying to hit her only to find that she's sidestepped and is standing behind me instead. Each time I miss a swing at her, she retaliates by attacking me in an undefended area. As ten minutes comes and goes, I've barely landed more than ten hits on her and she's reduced me to a dazed, blindly attacking mess.

I see Ila shaking her head in disappointment out of the corner of my eye. That's the last thing I notice before Bonnie knocks me right off my feet with a well-placed and surprisingly strong roundhouse kick.

*

I'm still groaning half an hour after my humiliating defeat. I sit - my head resting on my hand - at my table with Katrina, Frank and Brooklyn during lunchtime. Frank doesn't look in particularly good shape either. Vincent had been brutal in taking Frank down and Frank's black eye doesn't look like it will subside for at least a week.

"I still can't believe you lost," Katrina says smugly, eyeing me out of the corner of her eye as she takes a big bite out of her burger.

"She may have been small, but she was fast. And surprisingly strong," I say in defense.

"I concur," I hear someone say from behind me.

I turn to see Bonnie standing there, looking pleased with herself. "Don't beat yourself up too hard about it, eh? I'm an Erudite - or at least, I was. Strategy's more my thing than brute force."

With that, she hurries off to join her friend Lisa, who is waiting for her at another table.

"I have to commend her on that. Her strategy with feinting attacks and keeping out of your range was really effective - at least, for her," Katrina comments, looking at Bonnie as she scampers away.

"Yeah, well, I just hope my next fight goes better," I grumble.

"Relax, Markus. You'll get better. When I first got in a fight, I was kicked around like a plaything by a bunch of other girls. But the more they did it, the more determined I was to pay them back," Brooklyn says brightly. "It took a month of rigorous training, but finally I was the one doing the kicking around. They didn't bother me anymore - much. This is still Dauntless after all."

"I hope so," I mutter. "It's just embarrassing. Everyone thought I'd beat Bonnie."

I narrow my eyes at Katrina and Frank. "Don't deny it."

Katrina shrugs and Frank blushes. "Well, you were considerably bigger than her. I think it was a surprise to all of us when she knocked you out with that roundhouse kick."

"She must have been training in secret just like you did," Katrina says to Frank and he turns even redder.

"H-How'd you-?" Frank splutters.

"A Stiff doesn't get to this level of muscle without some form of exercise," Katrina says casually.

"I personally hope I don't get your big friend again," Frank says, looking across the table to where Vincent sits with a mortified-looking Robert at a nearby table.

"If anyone's going to be my 'big friend' around here, it's you," I say. "Not Vincent. And speaking of my fellow Candor mates..."

I turn to Katrina. "What was that with you and Robert?"

"What do you mean?" Katrina asks.

"Robert conceded. He'd begged you to stop. He gave up the fight. But you still knocked him out."

Katrina shrugs. "You heard what Ila said. Freeman was most likely going to punish anyone who gives up in the fights. So I decided I might as well finish off Robert, rather than let him walk away from the fight but have to face Freeman later."

She takes another nonchalant bite out of her burger and pauses when she sees me still staring at her. "What?"

"Just didn't think you'd do something like that for a Candor smart-mouth," I say. "I thought you hated us."

"I did, but can you imagine what Freeman would have done to Robert instead? Better me knocking him out than leaving him to deal with Freeman," Katrina argues. "That would just have been selfi- That would just have been mean of me."

"Brooklyn!"

Before I can reply Katrina, I turn to see Brett approaching our table for the second time in two days.

"Why are you here again?" Brett asks, now looking genuinely irritated.

"I didn't realize I wasn't allowed to sit wherever I want in my own faction," Brooklyn says, looking annoyed herself.

"It's just...most of the Dauntless-born are together. You're the only one who's...well, not. I'm starting to think you prefer associating with the company of Stiffs and smart-mouths as compared to your childhood brethren," Brett accuses, folding his arms.

Brooklyn lets out a humorless laugh. "Childhood brethren? Just cause you've been mad crushing on me for the past six years does not instantly make us friends, Brett. I've made it clear that I find you repugnant."

Brett scowls. "I see you've decided where your loyalties lie, Brooklyn."

Brooklyn rolls her eyes. "Jeez, Brett, you're making a big deal out of nothing. I'm just trying to make some new friends."

"Whatever. Alyssa can make up for your absence. She's twice the Dauntless you are." With that, Brett stomps off.

"Alyssa, Alyssa, Alyssa. That's all I've been hearing from my fellow 'childhood brethren' nowadays. 'Oh, Brooklyn, Alyssa's so amazing! Oh, Brooklyn, she's an amazing fighter! Oh, Brooklyn, come and kiss Alyssa's boots with us!'" Brooklyn scowls even more fiercely, looking indignant.

"She's making a lot of friends, isn't she?" Katrina asks.

"There's something about her. She's the most un-Amity like Amity transfer I've ever known. Amity transfers aren't common in Dauntless, and when we do get Amity transfers, most of them are just doe-eyed soft-spoken fools that usually don't make it past Stage One of initiation, let alone Stages Two and Three," Brooklyn says.

"And how do you know all this?" Katrina asks suspiciously.

"Berkeley. Best big brother ever. I was a curious child when I was younger and he fed me information about initiation. Don't worry, nothing that would give me an advantage that could let me cheat. I'm just as in the dark about the events of Stage Two and Three as you guys are," Brooklyn replies.

*

Next morning, the transfers return to the Training Center, where Ila has drawn up a new round of matches.

ALYSSA .VS. ROBERT
FRANK .VS. BONNIE
VINCENT .VS. MARKUS
LISA .VS. KATRINA

I groan as soon as I see it, but Frank looks relieved.

"She took care of me like I was no challenge! Why are you happy you got Bonnie?" I ask him.

"She's no Vincent - that's for sure," Frank says. "Sorry, Markus."

I groan again.