This is a rewrite of the Eris fic Double Edged Knife. Even though I was told how in character they were, I hope this is more faithful to their characterizations.

The only things not owned by Veronica Roth are my OCs in this story.


"Let's see what we have here," I mutter when I take the results from this year's Choosing Ceremony from the printer. Seeing who and how many we get determines how many we'd keep and how many we cut. If it's a odd number, round it out to the closest.

Sort out the riff raff from those that fit within Dauntless standards. Eaton is just lucky that I raised the bar after our class. Except I was not the first one to raise the bar of expectations. Of course I don't tell Four that I found his plans impressive if had he not included the "take out the knife throwing" and all that other idealistic shit.

Also, if Erudite has a test the first day of initiation to root out the ones below a high average IQ, shouldn't we be the same? Shouldn't we only keep those that are physically strong as well as mentally and emotionally if we're the best? This faction was founded to protect the city from all threats outside the Fence after all.

Listed next to the initiate's names are their faction of origin, what they tested for, and what they chose. The Erudite keep the records, so there was no argument on that front. "No other leader does this," I'm told. But it gives me a rough idea how these kids might fare during all three stages of initiation.

Who to look for, as Jeanine would say. I just hope it's not someone I know or is related to someone I know. I don't want my sister's name on here. The last thing I want is Four's little brother or sister or both coming here. More for his siblings' sake than his. Can't give him more ammunition than he needs. It would bolster his paranoia that I go after everyone he cares about.

He'd never listen that it was my involvement that got Amar out of the city. Except the person that got him out doesn't know it was me that gave her the tip off. No one should know, as I wouldn't just be the only one dead if Jeanine found out what I was doing the opposite what she wants me to do.

The first thing I notice is the presence of five Candor transfers. Statistically speaking, Candor and Dauntless have a mutual transfer rate. It takes guts to speak one's mind and vocalize thoughts that one should keep to themselves, I give them that. However, I see that only two have Dauntless aptitudes while two have Candor and one has Amity. Four of the five could make it through stage one, though probably not stage two. Wasted potential if they prove to be good fighters.

Being prone to open one's mouth from time to time doesn't always mean they can face their fears. You just proved my point, I could see Four saying. However, if the one who tested for Amity miraculously scrapes by for stage one, chances are he might not be able to face his fears how a Dauntless would.

Elizabeth's name is not on here. Probably dropped her blood in the Erudite bowl. Made the right choice to remain in Erudite like our eldest brother, as father would say. I snort, why care what our old man thinks anyway? Faction Before Blood, right?

Of course, Naomi Eaton's name jumps out at me. I grit my teeth as I try to make sure I didn't misread it, but I didn't. If Four was more of a idiot then he shows himself to be from time to time, he'd probably go above and beyond to protect her from me. That would give away who he is, and I know it's the last thing he wants. Best to keep my distance and not signal her out. Four would be expecting that.

Though hovering over his baby sister would be another way to mess with Four, that would be asking for a death wish. I'm not that stupid.

I spy the name of one of Jeanine's triplets and that of said initiate's cousin, Allison Lord, on the list. Most likely of their own volition, as Jeanine never said anything about a initiate or two to work with this year. That doesn't mean that she'd do something about it when initiation is over. Who wouldn't want to take advantage of the opportunity of having a daughter and a niece in Dauntless?

I hope one of them does not point me out to whoever friends they make today. Especially Allison. That girl seemed to have a crush since forever. She's got a good head on her shoulders, and was in my same circle before I left, but I'm not interested in her the way she was probably hoping.

No one seemed to recognize me when I made the trip to Erudite for Visiting Day last year, and I hope it takes them a while to place me.

The last name Prior with Abnegation appearing in the same row twice catches my eye. So, that's two Stiffs that left the faction as I know of. I feel a tug on my lip ring as I smirk at the implications. I wonder how the Stiffs would be trying to play that one, especially with the report that had just came yesterday from my former faction. Even if the Stiff from the Abnegation branch of the Prior tree didn't leave for the same reasons, at least the younger Eaton junior's exit should give the Stiffs a idea that maybe their leader isn't all that wise and selfless as he makes himself out to be.

I check over the list three more times and right down three lists of their ranks based on projections how they might fare. For all of them, Dauntless-born as of now. For the transfers, I put the two Stiffs, and the ones who tested for a different faction in the bottom slots. The boy from Amity and the boy who tested for Amity being in the bottom two slots.

Nothing against the Amity, though someone born in Amity or someone testing for Amity is less likely to make it above the red line compared to the Abnegation. And initiates from both factions have a high chance of not going above the red line.

Though Four should be happy that I put his sister in the slot above the other Stiff's. Perhaps her volatile upbringing would give her a advantage. One that has been beaten upon for years might want a taste of that power. To be the aggressor rather than the victim. I know I would if that were me.

Then comes the mathematics for who gets cut. The size of the class depends on the number of spots available. There are fifteen transfers and sixteen Dauntless-born total, though there always that one who doesn't catch the train or dies trying to jump on the roof of the building. Or a combination of both, depending how many don't make to the compound.

So that makes it fourteen spots this year if twenty-eight manage to jump through the hole on the roof. More than last year, which was eight slots. Only half would be able to make it. Though it's been that way for a long time anyway from what little I heard.

Only the cuts just used to happen after the final stage until I came along.

It shouldn't be the same number of spots every year. It wouldn't help the gene pool any if there were ten slots every year.

I straighten the papers with the information and put them away in the top cabinet, so I know where to look for them tomorrow when I enter the names of those who made it here into the ranking system.

Those that made it should be in the mess hall by now. Just my luck, one of the initiates I'd be familiar with to a degree would be seated in the same table as Sean and Joss. The chance I see Allison there, I'd sit elsewhere. It would make things awkward.

All conversation stops the moment I step in after opening the doors to the mess hall. One hand, I revel in it. It reminds me of the reputation that I amassed for two years. Anyone who knows better knows not to say or do the wrong thing around me. On the other hand, it's irritating. As I don't come to the mess hall solely for the purpose of making people piss and shit their pants.

Conversation slowly resumes as I examine the tables before me. I see no sign of the Amity red and yellow among the mass of black. So, that boy must not have made it (it's not like he would make it past stage one anyway. Mia might argue, but still….). Though I do see two spots of grey a few tables apart, so the Stiffs did make it.

When I make out Four's face, I stride towards his table. Max wanted me to talk to him anyway to see if he changed his mind on the offer of leadership because of Four avoiding him. Which he'll refuse anyway, something that I'm counting on.

One of the Stiffs is seated across from him, which may or may not be his sister. She probably isn't as Four probably told her to keep her distance or she made the decision herself to keep her distance from him.

Probably a smart move to not let the other transfers know that your instructor is your older brother. Or that one of the transfers is their sister.

I don't have the chance to revel in his guarded tension when I notice Allison seated between a Candor girl and the Prior girl. Shit. Maybe this was not the best idea. Fortunately, she turns to speak with the Candor girl without looking at me twice.

I plop in the seat next to Four. I notice that the Candor girl is not paying attention to what Allison is probably telling her, for she and the Stiff are looking at me. Great. Just what I needed.

"Well, aren't you going to introduce me?" I ask him, nodding toward the three transfers sitting with him.

Four says, "This is Tris, Christina, and…" He drifts off, expecting for Allison to say something.

"Ally," she answers.

Ally. Not too bad. Sounds Dauntless enough. I ignore her and look straight at the Stiff sitting next to her. "Ooh, a Stiff," I note, feeling the ring in my lip tugging at the skin as I smirk and I'm pleased to see her wince. "We'll see how long you last."

It's for a few seconds that I see a glint of defiance in her eyes before she drops her head down in typical Stiff fashion. Hmm. Almost as if she thought about arguing but thought better of it. She's not stupid to the point of not reading the room, I'll give her that.

Four appears he might argue too. He's probably dying to tell them how he nearly beat me to a bloody pulp in our initiation. Part of me hopes he does, as it would contradict the image he's trying but also failing to project since last year. Like the Stiff sitting across from him, he keeps his mouth shut.

I tap my fingers against the table as I ask him, "What have you been doing lately, Four?"

It's not like I need to ask. I know he spends his free time either in one of the training rooms or the Fear Landscape when he's not in the Control Room. It's not like it's not a open secret. Though it's not like he doesn't converse with the Dauntless outside that limited social circle of his.

I'm surprised that Pedrad hasn't mentioned it to him how people know. With that big mouth of his.

Four lifts a shoulder. "Nothing, really."

Through my peripheral, it's like the Stiff is trying to read us. As if to guess what our relationship might be. Funny as I'd expect it out of Ally, who's just picking at the bread of her hamburger bun and not looking at us. She's flicking her eyes at us every now and then. Towards me, especially. I know she's dying to say, "I know him" or something like that, except she hasn't.

"Max tells me he keeps trying to meet with you, and you don't show up," I tell him. "He requested that I find out what's going on with you."

"Tell him that I am satisfied with the position I currently hold."

One of which you have proven to be incompetent at. Perhaps he hasn't pursued the leadership position because he knows how shitty he be at it just like he is with the transfer instructor position.

"So he wants to give you a job."

"So it would seem," Four says.

"And you aren't interested."

"I haven't been interested for two years."

"Well," I say, standing up. "Let's hope he gets the point, then."

I slap my hand against his shoulder before I leave. Nearly pushing him off the table, though it be satisfying to see him fall to the floor. That's the least I could do after he nearly beat me to death in initiation before he managed to restrain himself.

This conversation was a waste of time, as Four never had the intention of taking either Jackie's or Ross's place when they go. Hell, even if there were no slots available, Max would be offering my slot to Four anyway.

He's not that subtle in his dislike of me.

I pass by the next table with what looks like the rest of the transfers. Two Candor boys gaze at me before turning back to their animated conversation. Just seeing Violet Matthews whispering to the other Stiff (who I have narrowed it down to Naomi Eaton; it should take no scientist to figure out that Tris would be short for Beatrice) as she looks at me is enough to make me book it out of there. Can't give the other transfers the wrong idea the moment she broadcasts that she knows me.

"I saw you talking to Four after you walked in," Sean said as I slide in the seat next to him. "What was that about?"

"The same bullshit." I take his untouched apple from his tray. "The same waste of time."

"I don't understand?" Joss raises her pierced eyebrow. "Why not just take the job if he wants Dauntless to uphold the values he believes. He'd able to get some of what he wants in the initiation process if not all."

"Not if he's defiant enough to work with the system," I point out. "He couldn't do what I wanted last year. Stopping the fights before they could end how they were supposed to. If it weren't for Max's intervention, someone else would have been greeted the initiates with Lauren this year."

Maybe if Amar pulled him off of me, I wouldn't even implement the 'stop until one's unable to' rule in the first place. If Amar wouldn't pull one initiate off the other when it's clear the opponent was conceding, Four shouldn't be allowed to make such a intervention. However, that is only part of the reason. Well, maybe a big part.

The other is to prepare these kids that there will be fights where one would be unconscious or doubled over in pain to even continue. Uncomfortable, but that's part of our manifesto. Dauntless aren't supposed to live comfortably.

Sean shakes his head. "The way he acted last year, you'd think he didn't nearly beat you to a bloody pulp during the last day of our stage one. Amar didn't even pull him off you either."

Maybe Four gets it from his father about not practicing what he preaches. I wouldn't be surprised.

"So, who jumped first?" I ask. "Zeke Pedrad jumped first in our year, so I'm not surprised it be his little brother."

"Nah. It was one of the Stiffs," Sean answered.

"Which one?" Oooh, this is interesting.

It was Joss that answered that one. "The one named Tris. It was a shock, really. I mean, who knew that a Stiff would have guts. Yeah, we had one in our year, but still…."

When someone jumps first, they are often ranked high when the final ranks come in. Key word often. Pedrad jumped first and he was ranked down the middle in our small class of twelve.

If this first jumper ever makes it, most likely she might rank one of the bottom two slots.


I gather up all the transfers after dinner and lead them to where they will be sleeping. I don't tell them beforehand where they'll be going. It should be obvious where given the time of day, though some of them think I might chuck them off somewhere.

I know that Four is thinking that. As if I'd kill the initiates – especially his sister –before stage one starts. I'm not that barbaric, I don't think. Though I think he likes to imagine me as such.

As I stop at the door of their dormitory, I count them as they huddle around me. thirteen, hmm, came close. I heard that one of the Dauntless-born fell to their death when jumping off the train. Twenty-eight total, just as a calculated.

"For those of you who don't know, my name is Eric," I say. "I am one of five leaders of the Dauntless. We take the initiation process very seriously here, so I volunteered to oversee most of your training."

I so want to add in, because your instructor failed to do his job last year, though that would not help their determination. If they know their teacher is shit, then their performance would be shit too. I'm not that spiteful, even if I want to be.

"Some ground rules," I begin. "You have to be in the training room by eight o'clock every day. Training takes place every day from eight to six, with a break for lunch. You are free to do whatever you like after six. You will also get some time off between each stage of initiation."

I thought I see the two Stiffs exchange curious glances at each other. Of course, they never had to devote time to themselves in their faction.

"You are only permitted to leave the compound when accompanied by a Dauntless," I add. "Behind this door is the room where you will be sleeping for the next few weeks. You will notice that there are fifteen beds and thirteen of you. We anticipated that a higher proportion of you would make it this far."

"But we started with fifteen," Christina commented, and I thought I see one of the Stiffs close her eyes. As if she was waiting for me to give her a tongue lashing. The Candor smart-mouth should take cues from her Stiff friend, but that one statement is nothing to wind myself over.

"There is always at least one transfer who doesn't make it to the compound," I answer, picking at my cuticles. I shrug. "Anyway, in the first stage of initiation, we keep transfers and Dauntless-born initiates separate, but that doesn't mean you are evaluated separately. At the end of initiation, your rankings will be determined in comparison with the Dauntless-born initiates. And they are better than you are already. So I expect—"

"Rankings?" asks a dark-haired Erudite girl a few feet away from one of the Stiffs. "Why are we ranked?"

I can't help but smirk at her stupidity. She's heard how initiation is in Erudite, and she should have known better that Dauntless would have high expectations. Myra Hanson is it? Good thing she probably didn't get Erudite then, or she'd wouldn't have made it past the intelligence examination at the very beginning.

"Your ranking serves two purposes," I explain. "The first is that it determines the order in which you will select a job after initiation. There are only a few desirable positions available. The second purpose…" I pause, allowing myself to smirk wider, "is that only the top fourteen initiates this year are made members."

It's like a suffocating silence fills them until Christina demands, "What?"

"There are fifteen Dauntless-born and thirteen of you," I answer. "Four initiates will be cut at the end of stage one. The remainder will be cut after the final test. Half of the class never makes it to the top rankings anyway."

I read their faces to see their reactions. Christina is gazing at her Stiff friend – who is still as statue and not taking her eyes off me – while I thought I see the second Candor girl – Molly – give Four's sister – who doesn't look too much like him. People might have to squint to see any passing resemblance – a predatory glance. A glance that Four's sister returns with a glare. Almost as if she dared her to try and take her on.

A glare possessed by those whether they have the skill or not.

I might keep an eye on her. Though from afar. See if she proves me wrong.

"What do we do if we're cut?" asks one of Candor boys.

"Is it obvious, stupid?" Ally snaps at him, echoing my exact thoughts. She is probably afraid I might lose patience with the stupidity displayed by the Candor and that one Erudite. Immense stupidity wears my patience thin, I'm not going to lie.

"You leave the Dauntless compound," I point out to them, "and live factionless."

I don't pay attention to one of the Erudite becoming as pale as a sheet, but I pay attention more to the second Stiff's determination on her face. Good. That's what I want to see. The kind of determination that I am looking for, the kind that my system has bought out in the past year. Though let's see if she has it in her to make it through stage one. Yeah, she was the one who jumped first.

It doesn't mean anything all the time. Her odds are not good, as she's destined to rank below the red line.

Though, maybe it won't help but keep a eye on her as well. See, if like her Stiff companion, can prove me wrong. Naomi Eaton just rolls her eyes at me.

"But that's…not fair!" Molly protests. Sounding terrified and angry. "If we had known—"

"Are you saying that if you had known this before the Choosing Ceremony, you wouldn't have chosen Dauntless?" I snap. What is it with the Candor and their stupid mouths? Looking at her, she has a good build for a fighter but she just decreased her odds of passing initiation with that protest. "Because if that's the case, you should get out now. If you are really one of us, it won't matter to you that you might fail. And if it does, you are a coward."

With that, I push the door to the dormitory open.

"You chose us," I declare. "Now we have to choose you."