Chapter 24

Kazana has lived factionless her entire life, having been found by the rebels who strive to live without the faction system she becomes their new secret weapon. The plan is clear, choose dauntless, pass initiation, infiltrate the system, but what can she do when a certain leader sees through her façade? AU No War, One year after Tris' initiation.

Disclaimer: I don't own Divergent, if I did it'd be so chock full of our favourite leader you may as well call it 'The Chronicles of Eric.'

4 months ago

Sometimes the sound of her voice still came as a surprise to him.

It was often neutral, a cool withdrawn tone that she used as a disguise, for what he did not know. Eric still halted amidst a busy corridor when her laughter rung in his ears, Kazana had a very distinct laugh, simply because it was so rare. And when she laughed it was never just a simple giggle, you could hear it bubbling out of her core, contagious in its purity.

Then there was the odd occasion in which she lost her temper, and that he could admit was truly captivating. Because it was in that moment when the guard came down that obsidian orbs melted in to black pools, as though the rage had seeped in to her skin and transformed them. A delicious, red blush would travel oh so slowly up the pale expanse of her neck and infuse her cheeks. Eric could even swear he saw her hair crackle with energy.

But something he knew better than any other, simply because it was only ever directed at him, was her indifference. Kaz wore her dull façade like armour, and like any other challenge, Eric always sought to push through it. The result being a relationship in which anger and hostility was a regular theme, though it never lasted long before need and passion won out.

It almost became a game then to see who would break first; days following a fight would pass in tense resentment, a silent dance. Though he'd never admit it, Eric found it did not take long before he weakened, sometimes he thought she did it on purpose, taunted him with an irresistible magnetism.

There had however been one occasion, a time when he had been so close to breaking point that Kaz had gone as far as to interrupt his weekly meeting with the other leaders to draw him outside.

"Excuse me Sir but I'm afraid there's a problem."

"Can't it wait," he growled, unable to quell the unwarranted anger in his tone.

"I'm afraid not," she shook her head; "it's of the upmost importance."

Gripping the bridge of his nose between a thumb and forefinger, Eric exhaled in frustration and pushed away from the desk.

"Alright," he bit out, "5 minutes. Everyone wait here until I return."

Kazana disappeared back through the exit and Eric followed in to the shadows, shutting the door behind him.

"So what is it? This better be g-"

His words trailed off as he observed her leaning against the wall with a coy smile, delicate fingers toyed with the zip of her jacket before she pulled it down slowly to reveal a long expanse of pale skin.

"I'm afraid it's a bit of an emergency," she hooked finger in to a single belt loop and pulled slowly until he could see the absence of material against her hip.

"I seem to have forgotten my underwear."

Eric opened the door to the conference room and addressed everyone in earnest.

"Meeting adjourned until tomorrow. Everyone get out."

Tonight upon entrance to his quarters, he was greeted with a particularly disturbing sound. Pained grunts and wheezed breaths of exertion broke the usual quiet, groans that were undoubtedly Kazana's. Stripping away his coat, he rounded the corner cautiously; he had not been prepared for the sight of her lying across his leather bench, a 40 kilo weight balanced precariously on her palms.

Eric had already snatched the weight from her hands before she had time to complete one poorly executed rep.

"What the fuck are you doing?! Are you trying to rupture your spine?!" he demanded as Kazana sat up to glare at him, resentful of the ease with which he held the barbell like it was a toothpick.

"I'm trying to build muscle," she grumbled, "I'm sick of looking so scrawny!"

"You don't-"

"You told me I have the body of a child leprechaun."

Eric was unable to hide a smirk, okay so maybe she hadn't taken that one so well.

"Large biceps aren't going to help you reach the microwave," he drawled.

Kazana smacked him, too proud to admit that the impact injured her hand more than anything; it was like hitting a brick wall. Her indignation grew as she looked up from her cradled palm to his amused smile, typical that he should find such rare optimism in her pain.

"Alright," he rolled his eyes, Kaz watched as he placed the barbell down with a straight back and perfectly bent legs, thick muscles tensed in his thighs with the movement and she had to commend her own self-control as she looked away and tried to focus on his impeccable form rather than his…physical form. "Lie down," he instructed.

Kazana observed him with a suspicious eye but could hear now the seriousness in his tone; she lay back on the bench and allowed him to brush his long fingers up her arms. Eric gripped her wrists and closed her palms into firm fists before pulling both up to point vertically towards the sky. His large hands then travelled down to the soft skin of her inner elbow and bent them until the motion mimicked that of a bench press.

"Keep your back straight and complete the movement until your arms are completely flat against the bench, you'll activate more muscle that way." She repeated the pressing motion without any weight, breath halting in her throat as his light touch came to rest above her breasts.

"You should be able to feel it here," he murmured, pressing his fingers in to the pectoral muscle. "Think you're ready to add some weight?"

Having found her voice quite inactive, she opted for a simple nod instead and waited as he placed two small dumbbells in her hands. Kazana gaped up at him in disbelief, to which he simply arched an eyebrow.

"You'll get something heavier when you show me you can do this without snapping a wrist."

Pursing her lips, she exhaled noisily on the first push and found much to her irritation that the movement felt much more challenging when done with correct form. A light sheen of sweat covered her brow on the eighth rep and with four more to go, Kaz narrowed her eyes at Eric who watched with careful scrutiny.

"Eyes ahead," he snapped.

Grumbling her displeasure, Kazana fixed her gaze on the ceiling and blushed at the squeal which escaped her throat on the last rep. Both arms fell immediately to her sides, weights hung precariously down to the floor.

Her chest rose and fell in heavy pants as she looked up at Eric; the sight was far more intimidating from her submissive angle. Corded veins rippled in his forearms as he flexed his hands and smirked.

"That's set one. Now I want to see two more."

Her incredulous stare followed him when he reached down to pull her arms back in to position.

"Just wait till I have you doing the splits," she muttered.

"Not on your life."

Present

She relaxed. Stupid, stupid! A single second and her taut form shuddered in submission; muscle memory had felt him like a second skin and reacted accordingly. Eric tensed, entirely aware of her mistake and it brought for him an array of unwelcome visions.

Sharpened steel hovered dangerously against her flesh, Kazana's chest rose and fell in rapid motions, eyes darting to his whitened fist.

One swipe, all it took was one ill-intentioned sever and then it would end. It was truly the first time the thought occurred to her, all these years she had been searching for an escape, and why not in death? The others knew the plan; they had a way forward, why should she force herself any further.

Kaz squeezed her eyes shut as his cool breaths fell against her neck, just do it. She exhaled slowly, willing her nerves to solidify, unyielding steel the shade of his stare. Do it now, don't talk, don't make me watch.

"Please," she whispered brokenly.

This riled him further, the metal dipped in to her skin as he drew closer, heart racing against her back. Was it the thrill of the hunt that excited him more? Or the catch?

"It was all a lie, wasn't it?"

Did he want to hear her affirmation? A certificate, a gold encrusted badge? Yes.

"Do you mean the part about my past or your psychotic impairment?"

"I never hid that from you," he hissed, "In fact I think that's what drew you in, wasn't it?"

She smiled sadly, "That was never it Eric," she breathed, "It was always so much more."

His laugh was low and bitter in her ear, a cruel infliction on what little they had left.

"Of course it was, that had been the plan hadn't it?" he mocked, acidic words pricked her skin. "Ensnare him and then throw him away? That didn't work too well for you did it?"

A large palm rested unknowingly upon her wound.

"No it was nev-"

His firm fingers bit in to her flesh, she was unable to stifle a stuttered cry and the hand flew off immediately. He cursed his moment of weakness; Kaz looked down to his now clenched fist and raised her hands slowly to clasp over the knife.

She pried softly at his stubborn hand, reigniting his need for control, his desperation for indifference. The sudden force of his blade caused her to stumble back in to his chest; she scanned the room in a panicked frenzy.

What selfishness had possessed her to think it all ended here? She had a job to do. Her. It could not rest on anyone else, not when she existed as the only human to understand Toma's threat. It wasn't over yet. It couldn't be.

"Eric," she panted, "Eric stop. Stop please stop, I've been outside the city."

He froze, but did not yield.

"Impossible."

"My ankle," she supplied breathlessly, "I can prove it, there are people-"

His boot pushed her trouser leg up roughly, she fidgeted at the intrusion but his grasp was impenetrable. Eric's cold gaze surveyed the black device hooked around her leg, he snarled at her audacity.

"Try to remove it," she murmured.

"Oh so you can make your miraculous escape? I don't think so."

"Then unarm me," she spat, "Lock the doors I don't care but you have to listen."

"6 months in military op and you think I'm stupid enough to try that? I wouldn't put it past you to have poisoned it," he drawled.

It was an underhand compliment, but did little to her credit. Kazana's jaw dropped as she growled in frustration. There was nothing else for it; it was a shot in the dark, morbid hope.

"Then kill me."

"What?"

"It's over Eric. You've won. What's there left to do?" her heart felt achingly heavily as she spoke, throat thick with fear. "So kill me."

The metal cut in to her pale flesh, but broke no blood. It was a forceful pressure, his heart was pounding now and she could feel it in harmony to her own. He exhaled purely through his nose, loud shaky breaths against her temple, his fist blanched on the handle in violent pulses.

Kaz heard his final intake of breath; the knife was still now and taut. The air was thick with anticipation, she waited and waited, she could have sworn her heart stopped.

Eric launched his arm out and threw the blade at the opposite wall with a frustrated growl; it fell gracelessly against the surface and clattered to the ground. Its metallic echo rung out, bouncing off rows of glass in tremored waves.

"Fuck!" he snarled, Eric stalked away and ran a rough hand through his hair. Kazana remained frozen in place even as he turned dangerously on his heel and fixed her with a glacial glare.

Her traitorous thoughts barely registered the moment just passed, not even the week. She saw even in the hatred of his stare, glimpses and snapshots. They'd plagued her for days, nights.

It was unbearable, hearing the husked tenor of his voice as though etched in her skull. Every dream had been disgustingly accurate, right down to the broad sweep of his nose as it followed in to full lips. But that had been fantasy, and this was real.

And he was so cold.

"You have to believ-"

"I don't want to hear any more of your lies," he sneered.

"Then believe this!" she cried, forcing her trouser leg up once more to reveal the device in which a red dot blinked rapidly. "It's a tracking device! They know I'm here right now!"

"They being….?" He drawled irritably

"The people outside the city, they're controlling-"

"There is nothing outside this city!" he snapped, "It was destroyed, all of I-"

"Then why build the fence!" she roared. "What do you think it's there for Eric? All of this time you've known there could be something out there. But what it's really for is to keep us in!"

"Why did you come back," he turned from her. "Why did you come here alone?"

Kaz stared with open stupor; he was providing a clear target for her. All this time he had drilled it in to never give the opponent a chance to strike. Her voice softened.

"In two days they'll reset everyone's memories. The damage is too great now Eric. You know that. It can't be fixed."

He answered in silence, cool and threatening quiet.

"The system is broken," she sighed. "It has been for a long time…long before we…," Kaz trailed off.

Eric regarded her harshly, "It broke when you destroyed it."

She inhaled sharply; it did not escape her, his multiple meaning. But in regards to the city, Eric was almost strangely correct. Nobody knew that this had all happened at the whim of a man who was twistedly besotted with her, a psychotic scientist, a puppeteer. The Drosselmeyer.

Her gaze drifted to the dark liquid swirling within a large glass barrel, it had yet to be decanted in to smaller vials.

"You have to let me go," she whispered sadly, "there's nothing left for us here."

A muscle worked in his jaw as he took an incensed step forward, sharp eyes scrutinized her face. But then Eric paused, his gaze narrowed.

"The dreams…,"

"Were real, yes."

"And the lab," he added, almost to himself. "Your fear simulation..."

She nodded calmly; he had withdrawn. Cleared to a calculated mindset in which he perceived what others could not.

"They planted me in the city when I was four years old," she gestured to her ankle, "and now they want me back."

There was so much more he had to know. Did it make her fool? That she wanted to tell him? That he had been the first face she thought of when the revelation came, it sickened her how protected he made her feel.

Eric's eyes were locked on the device when he next spoke, his tone gravelly and barely audible.

"And you want to leave?"

"I have to."

He drew in a harsh breath and looked away, tense muscles flexed beneath his skin. Seconds ticked by agonizingly slow, Kaz wondered if he would even say a word. But eventually it came, and in his dismissal she felt her heart sink to shadowed depths.

"Then go."

"Wh-," she stopped, he possessed not a single weapon, nor a single intention of stopping her. To question it now would be the height of idiocy. Kazana stumbled back, hands grappling at the heavy tankard, sizzling liquid sloshed angrily within as she backed in to the exit.

Softly the flesh of her fingertips grazed the helmet lying haphazardly on the floor. She glanced up to see his dark silhouette flickering under the dimming firelight. His figure remained, stoic, still and unfeeling. Run, her mind screamed, Run now! But it was her soul that kept her fixed.

Kaz surged forward, desperate and impassioned. She pressed herself against his chest, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly to bring her lips to his ear. Eric stiffened beneath her touch, but did not pull away.

And it was enough for her; she just needed him to know. Because it had been there for months, it had been there for longer. Kazana had just refused to see it.

"You once asked me to tell you I was yours," she murmured softly, her small hands came up to splay either side of his jaw as she pulled away to look at him. Eyes shining as a salty tear grazed her lips, and though he remained statuesque to the touch, his darkened gaze bore heatedly in to her own.

"And I couldn't…but now I-" his skin was warm beneath her fingers, and his lips were pressed tighter than usual, an attempt she recognized well to retain composure.

"But now I know," she smiled brokenly; "I am yours Eric."

His palms enclosed her wrists roughly, ready to jerk them away and restore the distance. Eric's grip crushed bone in its tenacity but she could not retract, and neither, it seemed, could he.

"In a way I always have been."

They slipped away slowly, no more skin against skin but the simple bind of a look. Kazana brushed away stray tears with the back of her hands and clambered for the helmet. Tankard tucked safely under one arm she stole in to the shadows and did not stop until the exit lay far behind.

Eric remained frozen in place for what seemed like an eternity, it was only as a hand lifted to banish the fire's glow that his silvered gaze found hers. They stood, teetering on the edge of an invisible line, loathing and want, longing to forget, aching to remember. It was selfish really, the indulgence in that look. But just like selfishness, he had come to her as a rare bliss. She had been enthralled and he had been fleeting.

His long fingers projected on to the wall as elongated shadows until they finally sought out the heat.

And killed the light.

The fiery liquid crashed furiously against its glass confines as Kazana sprinted out in to the enclosed corridor. Rows of candles lining the walls had dimmed to a burnished glow that failed to illuminate the oncoming danger. A throng of bodies stood waiting for her on her emergence out of the caves; her gaze was immediately drawn to the lifeless form hanging from the shoulders of an armed guard.

They had found the body, which meant they knew she was the imposter. To draw her gun now would mean abandoning the tankard, and any degree of sense, she was far outnumbered.

The helmet was pulled violently off her head as a pair of hands enclosed her shoulders.

"Kazana Thomas, you have been found guilty of murder and treason. For associating with Factionless rebels and assisting in the downfall of the Faction system, your ultimate sentence is death. Have you anything to say to these crimes?"

Each face was indiscernible, just line after line of masks and guns.

"I…I-," she was truly lost for words. To come so close and yet fail, how could she possibly speak?

The voice who had addressed her belonged to a tall figure, he wrenched her forward, uncaring of the tub that continued to tremor within her shaking grip.

"KILL THE TRAITOR!" he roared.

"KILL THE TRAITOR!" they chorused.

A barrel was pressed in to her temple; it dug painfully in to her flesh. Each soldier has pushed up the windows of their helmets and stared at her with animalistic glee. She felt herself tense as the tall guard leaned in to hiss in her ear.

"Run, your highness."

Immediately The Pit was thrown in to chaos as a heavily armed Wes aimed his gun at the glass ceiling above and fired round after round of shots at its delicate surface.

A resounding crack echoed along the walls, alerting them to the danger that would ensue. A rippled line travelled along the transparent material, branching out into fresh cracks that were only seconds away from breaking.

Kazana had no time to think as she bolted towards the exit, black clad forms became a blur as they sought to flee the mass rain of shards. She was blinded in a moment as luminous headlights rounded the corner.

"GET IN! NOW! NOW! GET IN NOW!" Mia's harsh scream led her with stumbled steps to the monstrous vehicle; the ground trembled beneath its growling tires.

A massive figure looped his arm around her back and threw her in to the truck; Wes had barely slammed the door shut when the ceiling finally collapsed. Bodies parted like the red sea as the tank tore through the compound and shards bounced off the metallic surface like pebbles.

"Fuck! Kaz, don't tell me you designed this thing!?" Turf laughed a mixture of fear and adrenaline as he accelerated through the crowd and sped out on to the train tracks.

"Just the defence shields," she shook her head in disbelief, arms clutching the tank to her chest like it was her last lifeline.

"You're incredible," Vesper grinned, pulling Kazana in to a relieved hug, a rare show of affection on her part. The arms dropped from around her shoulders as her friend fixed Wes with a stern glare.

"And YOU!" she snarled, leaning in to Wes who had stripped off the helmet and backed away from his girlfriend with fearful eyes. "Don't you EVER scare me like that again!"

Vesper launched herself into his arms and buried her face in to his shoulder with a manic sob; Wes cradled her to his chest and showed in that unique moment, a complete seriousness, pure adoration for the girl in his hold.

Despite her smile, Kazana could not escape the pang of emptiness which became all too present as the distance grew between herself and the compound.

"Do you have it?" Mia asked and Kaz held up the tank in response.

"Think it'll be enough?" Vesper broke away from Wes to frown at the swishing fluid.

"I guess it depends if I even make it out, we have to keep them distracted."

Kazana observed the way Turf stiffened and Mia looked nervously to the ground.

"What? What is it?"

"Well the plan's great, I mean it's infallible really," Mia frowned, "But when Evelyn left she took at least half the Factionless rebels with her…they'll never let us leave the city without a fight."

Kaz rested her forehead against the window and attempted to find solace in the feel of chilled glass against her flesh. With a breathy exhale, she tried in vain to clear her thoughts, but found her memory burned with the gaze of dark grey eyes.

"Where is she?"

Vesper's brow furrowed in thought as she sat comfortably in her partner's embrace.

"From what we saw, they were heading towards Erudite headquarters…whether they're still there we don't know."

Turf jolted in his seat as a delicate hand came to rest on his shoulder; he looked up to see a pair of cunning eyes gazing back at him. Kazana nodded her head towards the gear stick and shifted to his side.

"Let me take it from here."

There were distinct footsteps in the freshly fallen snow as the group of five marched up to Erudite Headquarters, although judging by the smashed windows and discarded bowls outside, the name now held questionability.

"If you do that she could capture you guys too and then we'll be without the truck and without our only source of a solution." Kazana rolled her eyes at their disbelief.

"And if anyone's going to join me then let it be Mia-"

"Hey!"

"What about-"

"But I-"

"Enough!" Kaz cut them off and backed off towards the door, "Mia was Factionless for seven months okay? They trust her. I can't risk you guys getting hurt."

Nodding in agreement, Mia came to stand beside her and pushed open the door. Icy clumps of frost fell to the ground in a smattering of white powder.

"I want all of you to return to Amity and inform Cain and the others of the plan alright? We'll meet you back there in an hour."

The tell-tale light of dawn had begun to filter in through the clouds, alerting Kazana to what little time she had left. Eight hours, she shook her head in disbelief, how had time passed with such quick succession?

Mia had just begun to adjust the gun strapped to her back when Kaz tore it off and shook her head.

"No. I have a better idea."

Hushed voices remained a constant undertone to the rhythmic ba-doink, ba-doin, ba-doink of a rubber ball hitting the opposite wall. Tanya allowed it to snap back in to her hand for all of a second before releasing it once more, beside her Shia looked down at a thick hardback book in bafflement.

"What the hell is a covalent bond?"

"Beats me," Tanya mumbled tiredly as the ball missed its target and rolled back between her legs.

"It's a wonder these noses survive they're so bori-"

"EVERYONE DOWN ON THE GROUND!"

All heads snapped up in direction of the screaming voice, there at the entrance stood Kazana. And trapped in a fierce chokehold was Mia, Kaz pressed her gun viciously in to the girl's temple before addressing the group once more with a snarl.

"I SAID DOWN ON THE GROUND OR I'LL BLOW HER HEAD OFF!"

"Kaz what the f-"

She tore the barrel away for a split second to aim at the angry speaker, face contorted in rage as her finger balanced precariously on the trigger.

"NOW!"

Not one figure was left standing as they pressed themselves anxiously to the ground, Kazana could not quell her fury as she saw small children hiding behind their mothers for protection. Evelyn had brought them with her? Innocent children? Right in to Eric's firing line!?

"Where's Evelyn!?" she growled.

Mia whined theatrically as she shoved the gun further in to her head.

"Tell her!" Mia cried.

Fearful eyes gazed back at her, bodies hunched in submission, Kazana found it impossible not to give in to the guilt. With a false wrench of her 'victim's' hair she pointed her weapon at the silhouette rounding the corner.

"Peter?!" Kaz and Mia cried out in unison.

"What the hell?" he fell back against the wall at the odd sight that greeted him.

"I thought you were at the Bureau?!"

"He was at the Bureau?" Kaz asked in bafflement.

"Hold up," Mia shook her head and wriggled out of her friend's grasp, much to the dismay of the room's occupants. "What are doing here?" she approached Peter and poked his chest angrily. "Where are the others?"

"How do you know about the Bureau?" Peter frowned.

"Wait is Mia on your side or ours?" Shia scratched her head confusedly.

"There is no side idiot Kaz is the good guy," Tanya rolled her eyes.

"Then why was she pointing a gun at us!?" another voice piped up.

"Well technically she was pointing it at Amelia."

"Yeah but she asked to s-"

"QUIET!" Kazana roared.

The room fell in to dead silence, and she knew there was only a matter of time that their attentions would remain focused on her.

"We don't have long so I'm going to put this as simply as possible," she sighed. "In approximately seven and a half hours' time people from outside of the city and going to reset our memories-"

"How do you-" Peter began.

"Shut it!" Kazana snapped, fixing him with a vicious snarl, unable to forget the face of the man who had maimed her best friend.

"Our society is now considered damaged beyond all repair. We have less than eight hours to stop them from-"

This time Peter's voice rung out loud and clear,

"It's being stopped as we speak. Tris' brother agreed to help reset their memories instead. Four and I-"

"Four's here?!" Kaz asked incredulously.

"He's with Evelyn right now."

"But…why…," she trailed off, feeling heavy with the weight of everyone's gaze, wide eyed and curious. Suddenly it felt as though she herself was the victim in the room, and the gun in her hand was nothing more than a mirage, a faux feeling of defence.

Weaving through the bodies, Kazana passed Peter despite his protests and ascended in to the corridor. It was strange really, familiar almost to the worn down warehouse she had frequented in pursuit of her mentor. That same chase existed now, though in a far grander setting, judging by the towering windows and pristine oak floors, and with far greater hostility.

The door was shut when she reached it, again, a shut door. It was odd how something so simple could be associated with such a strong memory, the long wait she'd endured to discuss with Evelyn a brighter future.

Turning the handle, Kazana peeked in to the room and was met with the sight of two figures locked in a firm embrace. It did not take her long to observe how Evelyn held Four in a maternal hug, she noticed this because it was so very different to her own experiences, because it was everything she had always wanted herself.

"Let them have the city and everything in it," she murmured in to his hair. The words were barely audible but spoken with such fierceness it was impossible not to discern.

Kaz was struck once more that day with the realization of her own solitude, years had passed in much the same way, why then did it hurt so much? Why did she have to feel so weak? It wasn't fair…

"What's going on?" she mumbled, unaware of the desperation that had laced her voice until both figures turned to her in shock.

"Kazana!?" Evelyn gasped but backed away as the younger girl raised her weapon between trembling hands. Four faced her with his own gun cocked as he came to stand protectively before her ex-guardian.

"Move Four! She's not on our side you don't understand-" her chest rose and fell in furious pants as she closed one eye and aimed for Evelyn's heart. An eye for an eye, heartache for heartache.

"Stop! Kaz! She's with us! She's on our side now!"

"She killed Tori!"

"That wasn't her fault! Kazana listen! She's my mum! Stop! She's my mum!"

Her gun clattered to the ground as she stumbled back in to the door, it slammed shut under her dizzied form.

"W-what?"

"Kazana-" Evelyn sighed.

"You had a son?" she shook her head, "You had a child all this time and you didn't tell me?"

"I never-"

"All this time…all these years all I ever wanted was your a-approval," Kaz's word stuttered as hot tears threatened to spill. "ALL I WANTED WAS FOR YOU TO LOVE ME!"

And then the tears fell, fierce and uncontrollable like her own twisted form as she sunk down to hug her knees.

"You used me!" she spat, "You forced me to love him!"

Dark eyes glittered with rage as Kazana fixed Evelyn with a venomous glare.

"Was I ever anything more than a pawn? A means to an end?"

She received no answer, nothing but a loaded silence that only served to cut deeper. Kazana had always known of the hollow, Eric had told her once of its existence, but now it seemed only too present, and it …hurt.

Dragging herself shakily across the floor, she reached for her weapon and pulled it in. All this time she had thought herself a creature of reform and serenity, but it always came down to violence didn't it? Perhaps she and Eric weren't so different after all, had that always been the one thing to connect them? Destruction?

"You've been to the Bureau?"

Four nodded slowly, "Yes…how do you…?"

"It was them," Kazana sighed tiredly. "In the fear simulation. It's always been them."

His eyes widened in realization, but of course, he did not know the half of it.

"Peter says you're going to reset their memories…will it affect all of them? Toma too?"

"Toma?" Four frowned.

"Toma," Kazana insisted, "The leader of the RPTS, he's behind-"

"RPTS? What? Kaz, what are you talking about?"

She found nothing but honesty in his open gaze. Which meant she was alone, or crazy. Perhaps even both.

"You don't know?"

"Know what?" Evelyn stepped forward, nausea ripped through Kazana's stomach, finding it impossible to even look at the woman she'd once thought of as 'mother'.

But to obsess over such matters seemed almost trivial now. If they did not know, then that meant the danger still existed. Because before the Bureau, before the city's inception even, it had just been Toma.

And her.

"I have to go."

"Kaz wait-"

"I have to stop him!" she cried, incensed with the need to destroy. If she could not have love, then she would have this, it was all she had.

So quiet one could hear a pin drop, Eric ran his thumb over the jagged edge of a freshly fallen shard. All had abandoned The Pit, so vast and central in its former glory, he could not find in him in the fury to carry on. In such situations it had been his lifeline, a powerful source of energy, anger. But there he stood in the metaphysical representation of his soul, and it was empty.

'You have to let me go.'

It was evidential to him now, the raw truth of her betrayal. Eric considered it his revenge; to fight would have been proof, evidence that she had affected him. Letting her go had been the last sever, he had done it to hurt and nothing more.

It was impossible to even muster up resentment for the way in which Sloane swaggered towards him now, still so falsely confident, even amidst the chaos. The older man's jovial whistles reverberated off the walls like a creeping melody; he picked the most threatening piece of glass to pluck from the floor and twirled it in his fingers.

"You know I'm startin' to think this'll become the regular for us. Standing in the aftermath of what that bitch has done."

The absence of a reply came as no deterrent, Sloane pressed forward, poking a wet tongue out to slide across dry, flaked lips. He was entirely in his zone; there was an air about him, one of comfort, which could only mean one of menace.

Eric had always appreciated the older leader's brutality, despite their differences, but now it seemed misplaced when he could no longer find such violent desires in himself.

"I really thought you'd had her this time, what stopped you? If I didn't know better I'd think you have feelings for her."

This most certainly did get his attention, Eric's head snapped up to fix Sloane with a stony glare.

Holding his hands up with an abrupt laugh, Sloane simply shook his head and grinned manically.

"Hey man I'm kidding! Cold bastard like you doesn't know how to love, Right?"

The chuckling stopped when Sloane inhaled sharply and ran the shard's glinting edge across his scar in an agonizingly slow motion.

"Did you want something?" Eric's icy gaze slid over to him in distaste.

"What a guy can't enjoy the company of his friend and fellow leader?"

"We're not friends."

Sloane watched Eric's indifference with open interest before shrugging and flinging the glass over his shoulder.

"I dunno, I mean we still have the same goals right?" his voice dropped an octave as he leaned in with a twisted smile. "You do still want her dead…don't you?"

Smattered shards crunched under the heavy footfall of Eric's boots as he walked away, his voice a low growl in the empty space.

"I just want her gone."

The following silence determined for him that the conversation was thankfully over, but Sloane persevered, his voice rising to carry over the wide distance.

"That can be arranged."

Eric froze in his steps, turning slowly he watched as the other leader stared back with equal intensity. A glittering blue gaze that belied his animalistic need, it was too powerful a response, too desperate.

His mouth opened, questions clawed at his throat, yearning to escape. But to ask them was to show interest.

Whatever they'd had was over, Kazana was gone. Sloane did not need to be indulged any further. Eric's mouth snapped shut, breaking out from under the older leader's stare; he turned swiftly on his heel and walked away.

Hundreds had gathered in the Amity fields that had become nothing more than vast white planes. The dawn's early chill had crept in to their bones causing them to huddle together desperately in search of warmth. Only one figure stood alone, elevated upon the truck which now sat inches deep in snow. The supplies had been unloaded and prepared with meticulous insistence; Kazana looked out to the crowds and felt her lips upturn in the semblance of a sad smile.

Despite her earlier display, Tanya, Shia and the others had come to join them in what may be their last hours. Each person, Factionless, Allegiant, bystander, they braved the cold to stand before her now, and there simply wasn't a moment to waste.

Kaz opened her mouth to speak, but felt her throat thick with fear, moments passed in silence before she could finally muster the strength to begin.

"You all understand that when we do this," she called out weakly, "T-there's no going back."

There were no nods, no murmurs of ascent; they continued to stare up blankly.

"When's it's gone, it's gone," Kazana warned, her numb fingers trembled as she gazed down at the notes in her hand, messy scribbles much like those from Military Op.

"Y-you all have a-approximately 25 minutes to get out of the danger zone. That'll afford you at least 2 miles."

"What about you!?" a small voice shouted.

Kaz looked down to the source of the sound, a boy who came no higher than his mother's hip wiped a dusting of snow from his nose with a mitten clad hand. Mumbles of agreement rung out, their eyes wide in question as she struggled to form the answer.

"I-," she stumbled slightly on the truck's icy surface and clung shivering to Cain's shoulder as he stood beside the vehicle.

He gave her what looked to be an encouraging smile and nodded, she was reminded of their sessions together, the pride in his eyes when she perfected a move. With a deep breath Kazana straightened and addressed her audience with renewed confidence.

"If everything goes to plan then that gives me time to escape the immediate impact, I'll head in the opposite direction to the rest of you whilst the distraction is in place. It'll only be a matter of time before the Bur-" she stopped herself. It wasn't the Bureau. The Bureau was gone.

"Before they find out what's going on."

Had circumstances been different she might have rallied them, brought them together with fierce cries and confident chants. But her chances were slim, and every single person in the crowd knew it. To rally them now would be an act of deceit, and Kazana may not have been the best leader, she may not have been the strongest, but she was no liar. They deserved that much.

The footfall of Wes, Turf and five more Factionless soldiers was muted as they approached the group but Kaz watched as the crowd's eyes followed their movement. Turning smoothly on the tank's roof, she placed her small hand in Vesper's own to jump down in to the snow.

"The tracks are done?"

Purples waves had darkened to a tainted shade of brown, they rippled dankly as her friend nodded tersely.

"Finished, fucking hard to move though. Wasn't sure if we'd manage it."

Kazana grasped her shoulder in an expression of gratitude, though her fingers refused to curl as they vibrated heavily with the cold.

Breathing hot and heavy pants on to her hands, she elbowed a clump of snow from the truck's window and peered in to view the glowing clock. The train was due to arrive soon; she turned back to the crowd with an urgent gait.

"It's time! Everyone get back in to the city! That means everyone! Cain, lead the way."

They began moving instantly, a huge shift took place in which absolute stillness became a wave of melancholy movement. Only four remained as she revved up the truck and wiped away the remaining frost from its surface. Kazana found it difficult to meet their eyes, because to do so was to let them go.

It was only as Wes approached from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder that she felt the tears threatening, he wrapped his bear like arms around her own and rocked her gently from side to side. Suddenly Mia was holding her too, then Vesper and Turf. Five figures stood calmly in the snow and found solace in each other's arms.

When they finally released her, or rather, she released them; Kazana opened her mouth to speak. Turf held up a hand and shook his head with a smile, entirely prepared for the goodbye's to come.

"Come back soon," he said simply.

Kaz waited until they had all gone to drive the vehicle out past the cities guard. Parking it sharply she left the engine running and made her way along the tracks. There was nothing more she could do now. Only hope that 6 months of knowledge had not been wasted.

A nauseous wave curled her stomach as she saw Evelyn standing idly by the renewed path, the older woman twisted her sleeves between frail fingers, an act of nervousness Kazana had rarely seen.

She was greeted with a weak attempt at a smile and it took every iota of strength not to flinch away when the older woman took hold of both hands and looked sorrowfully in to her eyes.

"I know this isn't the best time to say this," she began, encouraged by Kaz's compliant silence.

"But I couldn't leave without telling you that it's been difficult for me too."

She tucked a limp strand of hair behind her ear and grasped the younger girl's hand once more with fierce tenacity.

"You have to know it wasn't easy for me, doing what I did. I..," she stumbled for a moment. "I'd never have asked it of you if I hadn't thought you were strong enough. Just look at you now."

"I wanted to fix this…fix us," she finished. "Will you forgive me?"

Kazana gazed back at the woman who had given her everything, power, knowledge and strength. Evelyn had saved her from destitution; she'd been her saviour, her mentor.

Kazana looked in to her former guardian's eyes, so dark and heavy with repent they almost mirrored her own.

She thought of the impossible highs to which she had been brought. She thought of the man she'd betrayed. And she knew that her so called 'guardian' had been the one to bring her crashing back down.

Evelyn had made her a woman before she'd even learnt how to be a girl.

"No," she replied. "I will never forgive you."

The train was fast approaching now, growling a deep rhythmic undertone that sent her heart beating in to overdrive. Kazana had made her decision; she ripped out of the older woman's grasp and pulled nervously at the straps of her backpack. It hurt to leave so many behind, but not her. Evelyn could rot in hell.

Sprinting towards the tracks she felt the first wave of relief as she held on to the first rung of the train's front carriage. A vicious stab of pain seared through her side at the impact of her jump but it was numbed instantly as adrenaline pulsed heavily through her veins.

The train groaned and rocked violently causing Kazana to lurch in to the wall, it was beginning the ascent on to new tracks, ones Vesper and the others had prepared earlier.

Ripping her bag open, Kazana pulled out the white compound which had been pressed firmly in to thick metal bars. There was very little time, she'd needed more, just mere seconds would have afforded some help. She could only consider it her own fault for allowing Evelyn to hinder her one last time.

The wire was longer than any she'd ever dealt with, but then everything about this mission had been scaled out to impossible proportions. Kaz's jaw throbbed as she opened her mouth and held the detonator between her teeth. With the light in her pocket she sidled out of the train's open door and clambered along the mild dents until she reached the front.

Icy wind howled in her ears and inky strands of hair flew around wildly, whipping her skin at the accelerated speed. Reaching out with her boot, she yelped as the train jerked once more and lost her footing. Kazana felt her pulse like a panicked drum, sickly fear churned through her stomach as she hung from the front railing with soaked fingers.

Flakes of snow were sharp needles against her flesh, and it was as though the blizzard was taunting Kaz as it screamed in her ears. Months of training had not gone to waste however as she pulled herself up to stand on a narrow rung.

With frenzied fingers she tore the match from her pocket and dragged it along the box's scratchy surface.

Nothing.

The flimsy card was beginning to wilt in the dank atmosphere but Kaz continued to pull out match after match, tearing desperately at the box. Her frustrated screams were muffled by the detonator and a continuous wind which burned her eyes.

Finally however her heart soared as the bud dragged sharply along the card and flared up in a flash of fire. Kazana hooked the device on to the train's front railing, it dangled dangerously and all it would take was one violent jerk for the box to fall in to the snow.

Placing the match between her teeth she tore off her jacket and wrapped it once twice around the detonator. Kaz held the wire up to her mouth and watched it ignite, not even the relentless snow could stop this now.

The wet clasp of her fist had the match dying out in seconds and white hot jolts of pain tore through her spine as she jumped from the speeding train and rolled towards the tank. Kazana dragged herself from the snow and clambered in to its warm confines, slamming her foot on the accelerator in pursuit of the fence.

There was a single opening which had been left, the speedometer reared to the right, trembling furiously in its glass prison as the truck soared through the snow and past the narrow exit. Seconds, she only had seconds, Kaz was halfway through the first whitewashed field when the tank groaned and came to a halt.

"NO! NO! NO!" she screamed her lungs raw from the impact. Kicking open the door with her foot she grabbed the barrel of dark fluid and fell face first in to the icy slush. Acidic bile burned her throat as she clawed through the slippery fields on her knees.

Kazana had only made it mere meters when the train found its destination.

It started with the smash, brutal perfection as the head carriage collided with a weakness. It was the same fault that she had tried to prevent only a month prior with the Dauntless soldiers. Solid steel crumpled like paper as the train toppled over, carriage after carriage, and slammed in to the teetering fence. The explosion was so sudden she hardly knew how it began, there was a momentous roar as the small spark flared out in to an atomic blast.

The sight had her frozen in awe before realization washed over her and she backed away clumsily whilst clutching the glass barrel in her arms. Waves of thick black smoke tore through the air and knocked her back in to the snow. She watched as the fence's first pillar collapsed and like towering dominoes, every single one followed. It was beautiful and terrifying all at once, the end of an era, the end of oppression.

It was only as she was lulled in to a faux sense of comfort that pools of petrol seeped out of the train's side and fuelled the fire in to renewed bursts. The following explosion was monumental, deafening as it seared through the snow, destroying all crops in its wake and sent the tank flying into the air as flimsy bits of shrapnel.

Kazana scrambled to her feet and tore in to a sprint, unable to stop until she was surrounded by signs marking the former Faction's end. The X's which warned her off might once have been daunting, but now they seemed almost laughable, it all meant nothing now.

Though she had little time to utilize her distraction, Kaz could not leave without casting one more look to the city. It was a Chicago that had existed long before the Bureau's regime, before they were kept captive.

The fence was gone.

Now nothing more than simmering flames.

It had been months since he last looked, perhaps even years. Eric hardly knew what stopped him, though if he had to pinpoint a reason, he'd say it's because it made him feel weak. The book brought forth in him a feeling of nostalgia, and to cling to something…someone so ardently from the past was illogical.

Slamming his door shut behind him, Eric punched in the numbers to his safe and peered at the contents within. At first glance it seemed to be nothing more than a jacket, a military style ensemble laden with badges that he had earned in his first year as leader. He grasped the material and flung it over his shoulder carelessly, looking instead to the book that sat solitary and gathered in dust.

His palm slid slowly across its surface, cool grey flakes fell away to reveal a crisp photograph. The papery edges had worn away due to excessive use, not at Eric's hand of course, but the girl's.

'A History of Martial Arts.'

In the past, it had been something he used to remind him of his humanity.

But as time passed and duty called, Eric knew that was the last thing he needed. Dehumanization was what kept him strong, cold and aloof.

Had he made sure to maintain that, she could never have affected him.

Because no matter how he tried to justify it, there was no reasoning with what they'd had, Kazana was hot headed and passionate, traits he worked desperately to avoid, it made no sense.

Carefully he pried open the first page, his finger went immediately trace over a familiar letter. It had always existed in the years since he had saved her, the rat. She'd been escaping a group of worthless Erudite scum when he found her, or rather found it. The book was all she'd left behind.

Eric's movements froze as he observed the jagged red K etched in to the hardback page.

'I am yours Eric.'

He'd seen this before, in the abandoned warehouse only months prior, a carved K that belied raw desperation in its depth.

'In a way I always have been.'

The pieces had always been there and yet he'd failed to make a connection. Even now, he stood still like a statue, unable to move, unable to speak.

But a new voice came, dark and dripping with venom from the recesses of his mind.

'She's alive, I know it.'

Sloane's scar. How long had he known? How long did she have left?

'And when I get my hands on that little whore I'm going to make her wish she'd died that day.'

It's her. His silvered gaze scanned the simple marking over and over again. He couldn't believe it and yet, he couldn't believe it to be anyone else. It's her, his fingers whitened as they gripped the page with fierce tenacity, it's always been her.