Tobias concealed the gun as he walked through the compound. Most people were used to his demeanor and the determined pace at which he moved, but he still received some glances as he strode through the hallways. He threw the door open to David's office without a second thought to see him sitting behind his desk, anticipating his arrival.

"Sit," he ordered. Tobias scanned the room, narrowing his eyes when they landed back on David. He pulled the gun from his waistband, his arm falling heavily against his thigh from the weight. David's gaze never faltered as Tobias took a seat, placing the gun on the edge of the desk, just out of David's reach.

"I gave you an opportunity—"

"You didn't give me shit," Tobias snarled as he sat up straighter, towering over David even as they sat.

"If it weren't for me, you would have died out there. Starved from lack of food or ravaged by the elements. Or perhaps you would have gone crawling back to your father."

The words set Tobias off, and the gun found its way back into his hand with ease. He held it as steady as before, aiming it at David's head. "It's time to pull her out."

"And how do you propose I do that? Just waltz in there, introduce myself and politely ask for her back?" He leaned forward in his chair. "Beatrice is in the position that she's in because she was careless."

"Keep telling yourself that," Tobias said bitterly. "You put her in that position. If it weren't for you—"

"If it weren't for me, she'd be doing God knows what with her life. Who knows if she'd even be alive given the turning attitude inside the city." The words stung, but Tobias kept his aim steady as they sat, daring each other to make a move. "I don't have all day for this nonsense," David finally said. "Either shoot me or get out."

Tobias clenched his jaw, his hand steady, David's eyes locked onto his. A snarling grin formed over David's teeth, sending a cold shiver down Tobias's spine. "That's what I thought: all bark and no bite. Take him away." Tobias had been too consumed with his hate to notice Amar standing in the doorway, Jones and Ruby and a handful of others behind him. Amar wore an apologetic look as he disarmed Tobias and placed him in cuffs.

Amar was kind enough to take him the back way, keeping him away from prying eyes and gossiping mouths. "Just what the hell were you thinking?" he hissed in his ear as they walked. "In what way could this have ever worked?"

"You let me go," Tobias countered, feeling combative even though he knew Amar was right.

"You had a gun to my head."

Amar tightened his grip as they walked, not tolerating any of Tobias's shit. He was tired of putting himself out there, saving his ass or pulling him back from the brink of anger or despair. Amar knew he'd had a rough life, but a part of him wished Tobias would just get over himself and be the man he knew he could be. Now, thanks to Tobias's impulsivity, he was going to be stuck babysitting and giving updates on Tris. And if something did happen to Tobias, the burden of informing Tris of his fate would fall squarely on his shoulders. He shoved him roughly into a cell, angry at the circumstance he was forced into, only taking the cuffs off after Tobias wiped the glare from his face.

Hours passed before anyone came to let him know what was happening; Tobias half-expected his memory to be wiped by one of the scientists, or that he'd be shipped off to some city so far away he couldn't even dream of finding his way back. Instead, he was face to face with David. He stood completely still as David paced back and forth.

"You know, I actually had high hopes for you," he began. "You were damaged, but you were still different. It would have been quite a feat if you could have proven everyone wrong, showed them that your damage didn't have to be your defining characteristic."

"Yeah, well, you had a funny way of showing it."

"The pieces were all laid out in your favor, but it was up to you what you did with them. I extended my trust by giving you an important position of power and allowed you to make decisions that would benefit both yourself and the Bureau. And they were generally well thought out and not impulsive — until today, that is."

Tobias clenched his jaw. He knew he had messed things up, and not just for him but possibly for Tris, too. The fact that he was in a position of power had worked to his advantage so well over the years that he never stopped to think of the consequences of losing it. David walked out of sight, only to return a moment later with a tablet. He carefully plugged it in then propped it up, just out of Tobias's reach. Having a gut feeling, Tobias turned his head, refusing to watch what David intended to show him. His defiance was pointless, though; her screams echoed through the empty cells, and Tobias felt his heart drop.

"I haven't decided on your punishment for your insubordination yet," David said, a smile crossing his face. "But this should do in the meantime."

Tris had never felt weaker. Every inch of her body ached and her throat burned. Her eyes were heavy, but every time she closed them and drifted off, her mind immediately shifted into a manufactured fear or one of her own. They were more vivid after all the injections she had received, and Tris was having a hard time discerning between reality and what she was being forced to endure.

Sometimes, before she drifted off to sleep, there was something that called to her from deep in the back of her mind. She couldn't tell if it was real or not, but it gave her a pleasant feeling so she held onto it, hoping it would spark something inside of her, something that would help her stay grounded in reality. It started as a single note, followed by another, and another. She hummed the notes in succession, forming a melody to keep her awake when she was too fearful to sleep. Sometimes, she tried to keep it going in the back of her mind while she attempted to ignore the traitorous face in front of her, the face that injected her over and over and over. It felt familiar, right, and the more she embraced it, the more pieces came to her.

It wasn't until she lay there, unmoving, her body wounded and starving, that she realized what it meant: she couldn't give up the hope she had that he was out there, somewhere, fighting to get to her. She repeated the words she remembered often, trying to keep her moments of sanity from fading when she felt them slipping from her grip. The words weren't always easy to remember, and sometimes they stuck with other memories, just far enough out of her grasp. But when she did recall them, it triggered a small surge of happiness, one that she was able to hold onto, even if only for a few moments.

It helped for a while, but Jeanine broke her down, day after day by pushing her body to its absolute limit. Jeanine would then spend her nights in the labs, adding or subtracting components from the formula, trying to perfect her serum. Though her body and mind were weak, Tris repeated the words to herself and fought as long as she could, finally giving up when it became too much. The line between what was real and what wasn't had become so blurred that she wasn't sure if she would ever be able to discern between the two again.

Tris wept openly in her cell, uncertain whether it was better to be left completely alone or to have at least a little human contact, even if it involved her worst nightmares. She had no idea how long she had been held there: keeping track was no longer an option. She hadn't showered in days, she was sure, and she had no memory of her last meal. For the first time since she arrived, Tris was certain she would not be leaving Erudite alive.

It took her a moment to process that Caleb was standing in front of her. She turned her head, away from both the bright light and the person she no longer knew. "Beatrice." His tone was soft, assuring. He hesitated, hovering over her, watching her tuck into herself as she tried to hide from him. "Please," he pleaded.

Tris looked up slowly, taking in the worry and hurt she could see in his face. It was the first time in days that she felt anything other than fear or sadness: she was angry. "You can't possibly feel guilty now, can you?" Her voice sounded weak, broken. He sighed, then motioned for her to follow. She stood slowly, looking over his tall frame, noticing more and more just how different they were. She looked past him to see other Erudite in the hallway, waiting for her. "But 'faction before blood', right?" She bit her lip, trying to stop the quiver, while Caleb looked on helplessly.

She was surprised when they led her to the showers. They let her take her time, even provided her with a brush and a fresh change of clothes. This was it, she thought. They were done with her, and this was their last act of kindness, allowing her a shred of decency before they disposed of her.

Her arms were weak, both from the serums' toll on her body and from disuse. She struggled with the matted mess that her hair had become before finally giving up.

"Here," she heard. She looked behind her to see Cara, hand outstretched. She stared for a moment, blinking, before handing the brush over. Cara was gentle as she worked her way through the tangles, cooing softly to soothe Tris the entire time. "You know, Caleb loves you," she whispered, "But he's torn. He wants to help you, but he wants to help the city, too."

"What do you mean?"

"You can fix that, Beatrice. You can help us help them. All you have to do is stop fighting and cooperate. It'll make things so much easier for you, and your brother."

She pulled her head away, and Cara stopped. Tris looked around the bathroom for a moment, suddenly unsure of her surroundings. She recalled leaving her cell, but she didn't recall the trip to the bathroom, only that she had arrived. "Is this real?" she asked, touching her face and her surroundings. "Are you real?" she screamed, pulling on Cara's jacket, shaking her, repeating the question over and over.

Jeanine was furious as she hovered over Tris. Looking around the room and feeling the straps on her arms, Tris realized the bathroom had been a simulation. Her eyes filled with tears when she saw her brother scoot out of the room quickly, and she thought it must have been his idea — to try and use their connection as siblings to get her to see things his way.

Caleb leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes, relieved to finally be out of the testing room. The heels he could hear rapidly clicking towards him came as no surprise. He let his head roll to the side and opened his eyes to see Cara's mouth flattened into a perfectly straight line.

"Have you had enough yet?" She leveled him with a glare when he didn't respond. "This is not what I signed up for."

"You technically didn't sign up for anything," he countered, offering a weak smile to placate her. "It's for the best, Cara. You and I both know—"

"Nothing! We know nothing except what she has told us," she hissed. "This is not what we were meant to do. Did you see her face, Caleb? She can't even tell what's real anymore! That is your sister being tortured in there. Are you just going to stand by and watch while Jeanine kills her? You can't possibly be that heartless—" Cara cleared her throat and took a step back from Caleb when she heard voices coming closer. "I am going to do something about this, with or without you," she whispered. Caleb frowned as he watched her walk away.

Jeanine stomped out of the testing room, coming back moments later with three vials: two full of truth serum, and one full of fear serum. "I have given you every opportunity to do this the easy way, and now I am done. I will get results out of you, even if it kills you." She jabbed the first syringe into Tris's neck: she fought its effects while the second dose was administered. It was easier to do when she wasn't run down and weak, but the double dose pushed her over the edge, and she found herself losing control.

"Tell me how you were placed in Erudite." Tris struggled, the pain of fighting the serum twice as intense. "Tell me, or I will stab you with the fear serum, too."

"I… can't."

The piercing pain of the fear serum was instant, and quickly reached an unbearable level even though it was a small dose. The combination of the two wreaked havoc on her system, her screams echoing all around as her mind went into overdrive.

"Tell me how you were placed in Erudite," Jeanine repeated. Tris found the memories coming to the front of her mind, though she did not actively recall them or say them out loud. Images of Tobias and Amar; driving into the city through the tunnels; the memory serum used on Karen. Tris couldn't stop the onslaught of thoughts running through her mind or the fire coursing through her veins.

"Yes," Jeanine whispered, watching Tris's memories unfold in the same way that she monitored her fears. "Show me that building again. The place you came from." Tris grunted as images of the Bureau popped up, as well as visions of the monitors and meetings she had sat in on. "What were you doing there?" Tris's time spent at the Bureau flashed on the screen in small snippets, showing everything ranging from the mock Dauntless training room to the Erudite labs, to going through her landscape as well as Tobias's, to their time spent alone together.

Jeanine was ecstatic as she pulled it up on another screen, slowing the images down as they flashed by. "There," she said, pointing to the quick flash she saw of Marcus. "How do you know Marcus Eaton?" Her childhood flashed past, and Jeanine realized she needed to refine her line of questions. "What is this image from?" She held the tablet in front of Tris's face; it was a blur at first, but then it came into focus: she went through Tobias's fear landscape again, the image of Marcus, his hands around Evelyn's neck, clear as day. Jeanine was pleased with the revelation: she had never had this sort of leverage before, and she was more certain than ever that nothing could stop her from getting what she wanted.

"One last question. Who is the boy?"

"No!" Tris screamed as Tobias's face flashed in her mind, as well as their time spent together. Images of his funeral came, too, only to be replaced with one of Evelyn's. Satisfied, Jeanine gave her another injection, negating the effects of the fear serum. Though Tris had been unable to fight anything, she had been trying, and her body ached from head to toe.

"Secrets always find their way out," Jeanine sneered as she unhooked Tris. She was too weak to stand on her own, or to fight the tears that had welled up, and simply broke down.

Tobias watched helplessly from his cell. He couldn't see what Jeanine saw, but based on her line of questioning, she seemed to know he was alive, which meant that soon enough, his father would know, too. The past week had been his own personal hell: watching and listening to them torture Tris for information and testing whatever concoctions they had come up with on her. He had never felt so powerless; at least when he was younger, he had been free to help his mother. Amar hadn't even been down to see him: only faceless nobodies showed up to bring him food or let him out for a shower, their guns trained on him the entire time.

When Marcus walked through the entrance of Erudite, he held his head high and put a proud smile on his face. Jeanine had contacted him, wanting to offer a truce and set aside their differences to finally work together. His smug smile endured as he was escorted through the lobby, thinking he had won as he was led to her office where she was waiting.

"Marcus," she said. "So glad you could join me. Please, sit." He bowed his head and took the seat across from her, his best Abnegation face in place. "If you don't mind, I'd like to be blunt. Erudite and Abnegation have been at odds for as long as I can remember, and I'd like to change that."

"I'm glad you're finally realizing this is no way for the city to thrive," Marcus said. "And I'm more than willing to work together. What did you have in mind?"

Jeanine's lip curled as she slid a tablet towards Marcus: playing on it was footage of him killing Evelyn. His eyes flitted to hers for a brief moment, then back down. There he was, strangling Evelyn, the light leaving her eyes right in front of him. "What is this?" he asked, disgusted. "Is this some sort of cruel joke?"

"I can assure you it is no joke. Tell me Marcus, do you have any idea how I procured that little piece of footage?"

He slid the tablet back towards her and stood. "I have no need to sit here and be assaulted with your deluded ideas of what you think happened to my wife. I loved Evelyn, and I could never do such a thing."

"Which is why she left you, right?"

"I don't know what possessed her to leave her faction," he corrected.

"You still didn't answer my question," she called out as he made his way to the door. "Do you know how this information came into my possession?"

"One of your little lab rats concocted it, I'm sure." His face was hard, giving no indication of there being any truth to the footage. He excused himself, and was promptly escorted to the elevators.

"I've got it from here," he heard a young man say as they stood there, waiting. A gentle grip guided him into the elevator, and when the doors closed, Marcus was surprised to see Caleb Prior standing next to him. "Do you remember me, Sir?" Marcus raised an eyebrow, and gave a slight nod. "Do… do you think you could help me? I know this won't make any sense, but there isn't much time. You remember my sister, Beatrice?" Marcus nodded again. "She wasn't murdered. She's here, alive. Could you get a message to my parents to let them know? And perhaps gather the council together to force Erudite to release her?"

The doors opened, and Caleb's grip tightened on his arm. They walked through the lobby, until they were standing in front of Marcus's car. Marcus gave no indication to anyone that he even knew Caleb, let alone that they had been speaking. He sat in the car, out of view from everyone, and gave a single nod.

Caleb was relieved as he watched the car drive away. He had felt nothing but betrayal when he found out his sister was alive, and initially had supported Jeanine's attempts to perfect her serums. He had managed to reason with himself that it was for the greater good, because that's what Jeanine had told him. But as the weeks passed and the testing became more and more brutal, he had started to feel uneasy.

Caleb looked up at the building he called home and sighed. Cara had been right: he couldn't stand by and watch it happen any longer. He couldn't deliver his own sister to her death. He didn't know what the consequences would be for defying Jeanine — though he imagined they wouldn't be good — but it was a risk he knew he had to take.

Tris had given up. She allowed the tests to continue and answered the questions she was asked. There wasn't any point in fighting when everything was going to be revealed no matter how hard she tried. She wasn't even sure if it was really happening anymore or if it was all in her head.

"I have a surprise for you," Jeanine said as Tris walked into the room that had become synonymous with torture. Tris shrugged, but was curious when Jeanine stepped in between her and the chair. "Today, I'm not going to strap you down."

Tris had to admit that she was mildly interested when Jeanine held up the amber serum, a flare of curiosity in her eyes as the needle pierced her skin. Tris felt no different from when it was injected the last time, but she knew that was the point: for it to be undetectable. She watched as Jeanine tapped on her tablet, expecting something to happen, but there was nothing discernible.

"What is your name?"

"Beatrice Prior," she answered immediately.

"Stand on one foot." Tris complied, immediately lifting her knee. Jeanine examined her, looking for any sign that things weren't as they seemed. Satisfied, she barked out, "Clap your hands." Jeanine snickered as Tris clapped. She tapped on the screen again, then watched as Tris obeyed her spoken commands to set her foot down and stop the clapping. Tris looked around the room, waiting for some sign that the testing was to continue; she was surprised when she was immediately escorted back to her cell.

Tris smiled as she sat on her cot. She knew Jeanine wouldn't stop until she had her perfected serum, and a split-second decision and a bit of luck had allowed Tris to give it to her. She did it partly to save herself from more testing, but also to hopefully prevent any other Divergents from becoming test subjects, or worse: being mind-controlled to participate in whatever Jeanine had planned for the future. If at least one person who wasn't a part of the corrupt leadership in Dauntless could fight back, then it was worth the risk to lie.

When Marcus was summoned to Erudite again a few days later, he debated on whether he would give in to Jeanine or brush her off. But the desire to know exactly what she knew and how she knew it turned out to be greater than his sense of pride. He hadn't spoken to Andrew or Natalie yet, unsure what would happen if they all showed up on Erudite's doorstep demanding the return of a deceased faction member; he and Andrew would surely be removed from their positions, and would run the risk of jeopardizing the entire faction's integrity. In the end, keeping control of their power was more important than anything.

He was escorted back to the same office and seated across from Jeanine again. "It was wise of you to take me up on my offer," she began. "I thought our last meeting might have ended our little… relationship. I know the terms have changed over the years, but I promise that this time will be different, Marcus. You have something I want, and I have something you want. It would be in both of our interests to make a deal."

Jeanine was never close to anyone, though that never stopped her from using what looks she did have to get her way. Marcus knew this game all too well; she would play coy, then take him to her place for a few hours of enjoyment, only to kick him back out again. He wasn't in the mood for her games, though, so he shut her down with a cold stare.

"What is it that you want, Jeanine?"

"The video."

Her request was so blunt it took Marcus a moment to recall that he had confided that information in her a long time ago. It struck him as odd that she would request it now. "And in return?"

Jeanine slid a tablet to him again: this time there was footage on it of a young man locked in a cell. He watched for a moment, unsure of what he was supposed to be viewing, until the man looked directly into the camera. "No," Marcus whispered. He snatched the tablet off the desk, watching as the young man spoke to whoever was filming him. Though there was no sound, Marcus could tell he was angry. He studied the features: the ears that stuck out just a little, like his, and the hooked nose and full lips that looked exactly like Evelyn's. But it was the eyes that assured him that it was indeed Tobias.

"It seems as though your son is very much alive, Marcus. Were you aware of that?" Too stunned by what was in front of him, Marcus shook his head. "Well, I know where he's being held. Your son's return in exchange for the video."

Marcus didn't hesitate in his reply. "No."

"No? I thought you would be overjoyed to learn that your son is alive after all these years. What a shame that a father doesn't want anything to do with his only child."

"You will not fool me, Jeanine," Marcus said, his voice slowly rising. "I buried my son years ago. This is some trick again, some computer manipulation."

"Is it?"

The words ate away at Marcus. Not only did she have the evidence of him killing Evelyn, she also discovered that Tobias was alive, as well as where he'd been all these years. He watched his son who was yelling, angry, fists white-knuckled around the bars of where he was being held, and wondered how it could be that she had found him.

"I'll bring it," he said reluctantly. "In exchange for both my son and the footage you have."

"Wise decision," she said, the possibility of her newfound power intoxicating. "Care to take a trip downstairs with me before you head home?" Though he wanted to tell her to go to hell, the thought of taking his anger out on her excited him, and he graciously accepted her invitation.

Hours later, his anger thoroughly fucked out on Jeanine, he was again escorted by Caleb through the lobby. The memory of their previous conversation was sparked by the look of hope on Caleb's face. "I'll be returning in two hours," he said through gritted teeth, his mouth unmoving. "Be ready."

Although he would be giving up something he was sworn to protect, Marcus was ecstatic to have the opportunity to screw Jeanine over, in every way possible, starting with a secret that she also valued.

A/N:
So, FFN was being weird, and everyone's reviews from last chapter didn't show up for me until this morning. I have to say, reading through them just now was great. I LOVE reading all of your reactions! I really am glad you guys are enjoying this story. Makes it all worth it. So as always, thank you for your reviews! :D