Hi everyone, I just wanted to give a little extra info about my story as it's slightly AU. In this, the choosing ceremony takes place at the age of 17 and initiation and basic training goes for about nine months. Four takes the first stage but hands it off to other trainers after that.

Maggie and Ro are 18 by the time the story starts. Uriah, Tris & co being 19. Eric, Four and Zeke are 21.

As I write this story, I picture the characters as seen in the films but feel free to imagine them as you wish.

Because there is a strong focus on the conflict with the factionless, divergence is not perceived as a threat in this story

Prologue

It had been 20 long years since the factionless had begun their uprising. Every way the people of Chicago turned, they were being terrorized by the rebels who didn't belong in the system. Ruthless attacks caused the deaths of countless innocent lives and it seemed that the factionless were winning their war. When Thorin Ivor rose in the rankings at dauntless, he all but abolished the factionless with his leadership. His faction would follow him anywhere. Until four years ago. Something changed dramatically in the factionless sector and they grew more ruthless and smart. And they decided to put an end to Thorin Ivor.

. . . . .

Maggie was dreaming sweetly when she felt herself being shaken. Sleepily, she opened one eye to see her brother, Caden looking at her. It wouldn't be the first time he roused her from sleep but something was different. There was a panicked look in his eyes and before she could question him, he covered her mouth with his hand.

"Get up. Quickly." Maggie tried to sit up, although Caden hadn't quite taken the pressure off her shoulder for her to do so.

"Are you ok? What's going on?"

Caden paused and crouched down. Even though he was only three years older than her, he was so much taller. Clearly taking after their father. He would be monstrous one day.

"Maggie," he started, his words barely a whisper "I need you to hide. Go to the closet and stay there. Don't come out no matter what you hear..."

Light, footsteps sounded from the hall and Caden jumped up, guiding Maggie into the shadows before the door swung open.

"Here's another one" a deep voice casually called toward the open door. He grabbed Caden by the arm and shoved him out of the room, Caden struggling and fighting the whole way. Still groggy and confused from sleep, Maggie ignored Caden's instructions, instead, padding quietly out of the room, clinging to the shadows and following the voices she could hear beyond the hallway. They were muffled and she couldn't quite make out what they were saying.

As she got closer, Maggie could see four burly men and a woman standing in a semi circle. They wore the ragged scrappy clothes of the factionless. Motioning threateningly towards three figures, kneeling on the floor...her family. Her mother and Caden were looking to the floor and Maggie could see the tears of her Mother, rolling silently down her face while her brother, her protector and friend, her sweet Caden sat motionless, his eyes glued to the carpet. Maggie could see her father being prodded with something. The woman inches from his face.

"ANSWER ME!" the interrogator backhanded her father and flipped a knife over in her hands. Her Daddy sat unmoving. He didn't bat an eye and stoically regarded his captors, each in turn. Maggie inched forward silently, too afraid to breathe in case one of them was to hear her. She caught her father's eye and saw the barest of shakes of his head, stopping her from moving.

The air in the room was think with tension and Maggie was sure her thundering heart would give her away. Without warning, two of the men dashed forward, bringing blades upon her mother and brother, cutting their throats, leaving Maggie and her father to watch on in horror as they bled out over the floor. Maggie gagged, tightly covering her mouth and nose to keep herself from retching, her breaths coming out in shallow gasps. She could see her father breathing heavily, the anguish palpable on his face as he knelt helplessly, unable to save them.

The sound of merciless laughter filled the room as the leader and interrogator took slow, predatory steps toward the last remaining family Maggie had. She stooped down, looking her Daddy in the face but instead of looking back, he looked to Maggie. He held her eye with a look of intense love and even as the blade sliced his skin, his gaze never wavered. In his final moments in this world, Maggie could feel him willing all his strength to his little girl.

Chapter 1

"You are now members of the warrior faction, tasked with the defence of this city and all of it's inhabitants. We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, and the courage..."

"Damn, Max is looking sexy as hell today" Ro leaned in to whisper to Maggie. They had made it. Newly initiated and fully fledged members of dauntless. It had been a long and difficult 10 years for Maggie. Even after all this time, there was a struggle within her between the person she was and the empty shell she was fighting to not become.

They were sitting in the pit, amongst the rest of their initiation class looking towards the makeshift stage that Max and the other leaders stood upon. Maggie had been successfully blocking out Max's eloquent if not overused speech. She had heard it all before in previous years and caught on early to the recycled content. Those were the ideals her father, Thorin stood for. The old ways of a once great faction. It wasn't like Max hadn't done a fine job of running Dauntless since her father's murder; He was a good man and great leader but Maggie couldn't help but notice the differences in the two men. He just didn't seem to have Thorin's heart. She couldn't be sure if it was because he was pushed into power so suddenly and at such a young age or if he just wasn't the man their faction needed him to be.

When Maggie had been found after the attack on her family, she was a broken rambling mess of blood and tears. Max had seen to it that she was placed with a good family who would care for her and help her to heal from her traumatic experience. He checked in with her regularly to make sure she would be ok and because of that, Maggie held an affection for him and she truly hoped that given the chance, Max could grow into the kind of leader Dauntless really needed.

Looking around the Pit, Maggie spotted Tam and Beau, the couple who raised her from 7 years old watching on proudly along with her neighbours and loving friends, the Pedrad brothers. Zeke was not much younger than Caden had been when Maggie met him. He was so much like her brother that it was both wonderful and painful to be near him the first year. He seemed to understand though and never pushed her, simply choosing to be there. Her silent rock in such a dark time. Where Zeke was the earth grounding Maggie back to life around her, Uriah brought the sunshine into her darkness, his easy happiness bringing her joy. Maggie wasn't sure she would have made it through the first years following the attack without them and was so grateful they were still together in the faction of their birth, going through life together.

Maggie's attention was caught by Ro as she very unsubtly checked out Max. It came as no surprise to her that she would be drawn to an amity transfer. She would have chosen their peaceful way of life herself if not for the war waging in the city and her own tragic past. Maggie knew from their first meeting on the train on their choosing day that Ro was special. Maybe because she held the same light in her eyes that Uriah did. They didn't train together during the first stage of initiation but in their free time, the girls sought each other out. Two girls so opposite from each other that they just worked as friends. Of course Ro, the carefree flowerchild had a way of keeping Maggie from dwelling on darker thoughts. Maggie just wished Ro would find someone else to gush to about her obsession with the much older leader.

"Yeah, he's really changing up his look today. As you can see, Max has chosen to wear...dauntless standard issue black. I've never seen him dressed like that before" Maggie quipped, earning a snort from Ro. She nudged Maggie in the arm.

"But look...Eric has developed a new expression. Today he is pissed off AND bored" Ro is all too happy to join in the banter.

"I wonder if that narcissistic glare is something he was born with, or do you think he practices in the mirror each morning?" Maggie's comments being overheard by a few of the nearest initiates, earned a round of snickering. The disruption didn't get passed Eric who began scowling in their direction. Ro bumped her leg against Maggie's as they tuned into the end of Max's speech.

"...respect that. Do us proud." Cheering began rising up within the pit as Max spoke the last words and Maggie turned to Ro, beaming. They laughed whole heartedly and embraced each other in celebration.

"We made it!" Maggie could feel her eyes well up. The girls were congratulating their fellow initiates when Maggie was lifted up into a bear hug and swung around. When her feet were back on the ground, she looked up into the ever cheerful face of Uriah.

"Nice work M. I knew you'd do awesome!"

Zeke stepped in front of his brother to give his own hug "Great to see you are a permanent member now. I'm really proud of you."

Maggie could feel her heart tighten at his kind words and before she had a chance to tear up, Uriah hooked his arm around hers.

"Drinks tonight, ladies? I think it's time we get the gang together."

"I'm in!" Ro piped up, looking enthusiastic. Maggie couldn't help but smile. Ro was always up for a party. "I just really need a shower first. Maggie and I will get ready and meet you at 7."

"Sounds great. See you in a bit." Zeke and Uriah went off to their own apartments while the girls headed back to the transfer initiates dorms. Being dauntless born, Maggie stayed in a different dorm to Ro but spent a lot of time with her in the transfer dorms. They were a good group of people this year so the locale was fun to her. The girls took turns to shower before Ro set to work on their hair and makeup. She chose to let her thick blonde hair fall loosely in slight waves down her back. Her brown eyes looking best with barely there makeup. They chatted happily all the while and Maggie couldn't help but muse how naturally adorable Ro was. She was a tiny little thing with a mega watt smile and sweet little button nose. That paired with her cheeky fun nature and at times, big mouth meant that it was difficult to miss her in a crowd. Maggie could picture how Ro was before their choosing day, running wild and free in the fields of Amity.

Even looking at the girls, it was easy to see how different they were, inside and out. Maggie was taller, with an athletic build thanks to her years of training and early dauntless lifestyle. Her skin a rich olive tone that didn't seem to fade even though she spent most of her days underground. Her hair long, light brown and her eyes a deep chocolate. Ro decided on styling Maggies hair in a bit of a wave, pinning the top half up away from her face. She refused makeup however, never being able to stand the feel of it. After Ro was satisfied with her own outfit, they headed to Maggie's dorm to pick a change of clothes for her. Being such different builds meant they couldn't share each other's clothes.

It was a little before 7 when they were ready so they decided to head out to the local hangout, the Black Crow, located just towards the edge of the pit. It was the only bar in dauntless so it was always crowded at this time of night. The girls looked around the bar area, not spotting their friends yet so they decided to take a booth off to the side. Ro cast longing glances off towards the back corner, where she noticed Max and some of the other leaders sitting. They always seemed to be so serious and on their guard that Maggie couldn't help but wonder if they ever had the chance to enjoy themselves. It was so out of place compared to the rest of the patrons of the pub.

"He's always looks so worried. I wonder if the situation out there is getting any worse." Ro mused, always with her eye on Max. Maggie didn't need to ask her what situation she was referring to. The war against the factionless had been going on since well before either of the girls were born. There was little luxury for the leaders to think about much else.

"I don't think it'll get any better anytime soon." Maggie frowned in their direction, "The factionless have been quiet lately as far as I know, but I'll bet that means something bad is about to go down."

"Do you ever worry they'll come back here to the compound?" it wasn't the first time Ro had tried to get Maggie to speak up about her past. It didn't come as a surprise that the entire city knew all about her and her family. Thorin's death was a shock to everyone and the hope that was lost along with him was bound to be the topic around many dinner tables. Usually it bothered Maggie when people tried to get her to open up about it but she was just too tired of it all to hide it from Ro. Maybe because she could tell it wasn't just to learn some juicy gossip, or to benefit from Maggie's pain. She genuinely seemed to want Maggie to heal.

"I don't know if I'm worried they will, or if I want them to. Really, they have been one step ahead of dauntless for so long that I doubt anything is being done to take them down. I'm pretty sure half the leaders here are more interested in their pay packets and sleeping on the job than actually protecting the city."

"Wow, sounds like in the two hours you've been an official member, you're an expert on the topic. Maybe you need to take over my job." The deep voice dripping with sarcasm and contempt sounded from behind Maggie, although she didn't need to turn to know who had overheard her conversation. She looked up to see Eric with that look on his face that always meant you were in for it. Really it was hard to tell if he was amused or pissed. "Do you have a game plan, Ivor? I mean, from the way you're talking, it sounds like you've already had a part in the fighting. It's funny, I don't recall you being there for any of it." He leans forward getting in her face. His menacing glare making her swallow loudly.

"I didn't mean anything by it. It's just..."

He cut her off, leaning in to growl lowly in her ear "Don't think just because of who your daddy was that we're all going to fall at your feet. Everyone else had to earn the right to be dauntless."

Maggie huffs, insulted by his insinuation. "I have as much right to be here as anyone else. Nobody pulled any strings to get me where I am!" her pointed stare clearly strikes a nerve in Eric and he clenches his jaw tightly. She can see he wants to retaliate but she isn't done with her rant. "Do you really think you could come here from your sheltered, privileged, fancy glass towers of Erudite and expect to be even half the leader my father was? You've got nothing on him. It's a wonder your arrogance hasn't run this faction into the ground! I may not have been old enough to fight until now but I can see it on everyone's faces that you haven't got their respect. No one wants to bleed for you."

"I think that's enough," Max's authoritarian voice interjects, having been alerted by how worked up Maggie was getting. "I suggest you take a step back, Maggie. We'll discuss this tomorrow when you come in with your unit application." She takes a breath before nodding her agreement, seeing Eric's rigid posture from the corner of her eye. Max nods to Eric to get him to move toward the leader's corner booth as Ro calls out a flirty farewell to Max. He pauses briefly, chuckling and continues away.

The girls hear a whistle and look up to see Uriah with an incredulous expression. "Woo, you got some balls, girl! Have fun every time you see Eric now for the rest of your life! He knows how to hold a grudge."

Maggie looks behind Uriah to see Zeke and their circle of friends. Amongst them are Four - who took Ro's initiation class, as well as the simulation stage of training – his girlfriend, Tris, and their other friends Christina and Will.

"That man is such an asshole" Christina pipes up, sliding into the booth beside Ro. "I think we could use a round, Pedrad" she suggests to Uriah.

"Sure, sure. What'll it be ladies?" Maggie thinks for a moment, dragging up memories of their rebellious youth.

"How about a round of the Uri special?" he grins wickedly at her suggestion and heads over to the bar.

"Well that sounds like trouble in a glass." Ro smiles at the thought as the rest of the group take seats around the table.

"Ah, you must be the only one not to have experienced it yet, Ro! Take my advice and sip slowly." Zeke tells her with a wink. His suggestion brings a round of laughter from the group.

"That's good advice I wish they had shared with us when we first tried it." This time, Tris joins the conversation. "Will, Chris and I spent the entire next day confined to the bathroom floor. I don't remember ever feeling that sick before. It was awful."

"Gross! Sounds like a great way to get to know each other." Ro was now chomping at the bit to try it for herself.

"That's one way to think of it. I couldn't look Will in the eye for days I was so embarrassed. It was a little too soon in our relationship for him to be hearing me hurl my guts up!" Will just smiled at Christina, patting her on the leg. "He didn't seem to worried though." She winked at him and he pecked her on the cheek.

Maggie looks over to see Four sitting quietly, taking in the conversation. "It's good to be able to have a drink with you now, Four. Zeke always speaks very highly of you." He nods and smiles in return as Uriah approaches the table with a tray of drinks and passes them around. Once everyone has a glass in their hand, he speaks up.

"To Maggie and Ro. You're part of the faction now. Be brave. Welcome to Dauntless." The table erupts with sounds of cheers and glasses clinking and the group all take a drink, beginning to chatter comfortably with each other.

A couple rounds later, Ro is admiring one of the tattoos Christina wears on her arm. Its a moth which Christina explains is to signify one of her fears.

"It's really great" Ro says while grabbing a napkin and a pen "but what if you added this.." and she begins drawing an intricate design that would look striking around the outside of the moth. When she is done, Christina looks on impressed.

"That looks awesome! You draw really well."

"Thanks." Ro replies "it was always my favourite thing to do in amity.

"So if you enjoy artistry so much, why did you transfer?" Four looks on curious.

"My aptitude test for one, but I wasn't really sold on the idea of transferring until Max made the speech on choosing day."

At that Maggie starts to chuckle. "Love at first sight Ro?" she teases her friend affectionately.

"Romantic as that sounds, no. I just really felt moved by his interpretation of what it means to be Dauntless. It was inspired and I just knew that it was the right choice for me. And it helps that Max is sexy as fuck.." the end of her statement is met with a chorus of disgusted groans.

"Ew! Vomit!"

"That's just wrong.."

"He's so crusty and old.."

Maggie is thoroughly entertained by their reactions. "Save your breath guys. I can tell you right now she won't listen. This girl is smitten with the boss man."

"You know, Ro, you can be an artist and a badass here. It is Dauntless after all." Ro looks towards Christina in confusion. "I'm one of the tattoo artists here. I get to have fun for a living and if there is any call for help, we down our needles and join the fight. It's the best of both worlds. And being the faction of the bold and crazy, you will never be bored." Ro sits up interested.

"Is there a position available? How does it work?"

"Well, we will start by talking to Tori. It's up to her who is worthy of beginning an apprenticeship. I'm still going with mine but the place is always really busy so I'm sure she'll be happy to hire an extra set of hands.

"That sounds amazing! Where can I find her? Is now a good time? Or should I wait until tomorrow..?" Christina laughs at Ro's enthusiasm.

"Easy there tiger. She's not working tonight. I'll speak to her tomorrow and let you know what she says," satisfied with that answer, the girls fall into easy conversation with Will and Uri while Maggie chats with Zeke, Four and Tris.

"What about you, Maggie?" Four asks "we could always use more good workers in the control room."

"Thanks, Four but I was actually thinking more along the lines of working with the patrol squads. I have been listening to Zeke talking about them for the past few years and it sounds like really interesting work." Zeke nods at this, deep in thought. She notices the frown lines appear on his forehead "What? You don't think its a good fit?"

"It's not that I think you wouldn't do well there, I'm just worried you have other reasons for joining us." As much as Maggie doesn't want to say it out loud, she knows Zeke has seen her reasoning straight away.

"Finding the group who killed my family is the only thing that gave me a reason to get up in the morning for so long. I know things have been better lately but that doesn't mean they have the right to be free to go on like nothing happened."

"I know that M, I really do get where you're coming from." Zeke sighs, and rubs his hand down his face, trying to find the right words "it's just that I'm worried. You have had all this time letting that anger build up that I'm afraid at the first sign of them, you'll get yourself killed."

Four and Tris sit watching the exchange silently but Maggie can see the wheels turning in Four's eyes. "Maybe that's the best reason for her to join the squads."

Zeke narrows his eyes at Four, as if daring him to continue. "All I'm saying is that you've got a willing recruit here. She has pretty strong reasons to stay focused while out there. I trust in the training we put her through to have taught her to keep her emotions in check. Who knows, maybe after all this time, a fresh pair of eyes might even figure out how to flush the Factionless out."

"Finding them is exactly what I'm afraid of" Zeke mumbles, more to himself that the rest of them.

"Maggie was one of the most capable fighters in her class and she made a lot of progress in her sims. She might surprise you." Maggie can't help but smile at Four, grateful for his speaking up for her. He gives her a small smile back in reassurance. After a brief pause, Zeke lets out a heavy sigh

"Fine. You're in Ivor. But if you get yourself killed, I'll never forgive you for it." Not wanting to push her luck, Maggie flashes Zeke a smile in thanks and decides to change the subject.

A couple hours and few more of Uri's specials later and most of the group are in full swing out on the dance floor. With the exception of Four and Tris. Maggie can't help but think how much their abnegation upbringing has affected their ability to have fun. She can't help but like the both of them, however. She has never met two more genuine people in her life. Shaking off all thoughts, she lets herself be in the moment, dancing happily with Uriah. He is such a dork and one of the worst dancers she has ever seen but it makes their time all the more fun.

Her eyes are drawn to the back corner of the room briefly. Most of the leaders left long before but Eric remains, dancing with a scantily dressed woman with a wild mane of fiery red hair. She can see his hand slide under her skirt and it's pretty clear they should be getting themselves a room. He lifts his head up and smirks at her while dipping his head and biting down on her breast through her shirt. Rolling her eyes, Maggie turns her back to him and focusses on her friends, enjoying the music and feeling free and happy.