/!\ read AN for context /!\

Hellooooo! I just got back and decided to get a tiny bit of writing in while cleaning my room. In case you are wondering, yes, I am working on chp7 of Resistant! Thank you to my friends out there who consistently read my stories and take the time to send me a message or leave a favorite/follow, or who just simply read and take the time to click on my stories. I appreciate it!

For context, this is the scene of Eric's execution. If you are having trouble figuring out where this scene was pulled, it is chapter 23 from Insurgent.

I decided to give another perspective of the tension between Eric and Tobias and Tris, down to Eric's last breath, from a different perspective, and I think Tori gives it justice, as she has no bias; she has also experienced the grief that Tris has over a loved one's death, and knows battle firsthand; she probably has the most experience out of the Dauntless crew, and I love her bold nature, and I was disappointed she wasn't developed in Allegiant.

For anyone confused as to why Tori refers to Tobias as Tobias, his actual name, instead of Four, it is because she is the one who registered his aptitude test, so she knows his real name, and knows the meaning behind his fake one, Four.

Hope you enjoy this!

- Ain

Tori POV

I grit my teeth when I hear Jack Kang's voice come into the loudspeaker. God, his blabbermouth is so annoying.

"Attention all occupants of Candor headquarters." I feel stunned, and instantly all thoughts of his annoying mouth left my head. What was going on? "

A few hours ago I met with a representative of Jeanine Matthews. He reminded me that we Candor are in a weak position, dependent on Erudite for our survival, and told me that if I intend to keep my faction free, I will have to meet a few demands." I can hear his exhaustion through his voice; he no longer sounds like the fierce man who fought, he is completely blatant and honest about his meeting. And clearly it did not go well.

"In order to comply with these demands, I ask that everyone make their way to the Gathering Place to report whether you have an implant or not," he says, his voice listing and without emotion. "The Erudite have also ordered all Divergent to be turned over to Erudite. I do not know for what purpose."

His announcement ends, and suddenly there is chanting, and there is screaming, and there are people calling for Eric's execution. With Eric dead, they will no longer be able to fulfill the demands of Erudite. He only listed one, but thanks to Tris and Tobias and their friends, we now know all three. Too bad for Candor that they can't fulfill their demands; they were the ones who accused me of being a traitor when really, I was the one who tried to save us all from Jeanine.

And then there is madness, and then there is screeching, and then a rush of noise that fills the room, as they shove their things into sacks, and bags, and packs, and our stream of Dauntless races out the door, and I step down and race after them. We are Dauntless. We are madness. But we are freedom, and it is wonderful.

We race down the hallway and the steps, spilling out everywhere, a sea of blackness. And then it is pandemonium, and we chase our way to the top. Somebody yells something about getting Eric, and I see as some waves of Dauntless crash and separate from us, heading to collect Eric, and collect him. The rest of us make our way through the staircases, with the Candor watching us closely with suspicious looks in their eyes.

I ignore their looks; rather, I lock them in the eyes and give them a cold smile. I notice Tris watching, and I pull her with us and we follow the stream of Dauntless up the stairs. Some spread into the elevator, some race up the stairs. I turn and put my foot in front of the other, running up the stairs.

I feel the cold breeze on the cheeks, and it blows in my hair, and it rushes through my ears, and I hear lightning, and smell rain. I don't feel the pain in my leg as I run, my shoes stomping on the cement stairs.

The Dauntless have opened the door to the interrogation room, and they are now pouring outside, into the burning rain, and I hear someone else scream about murder and execution, but I don't listen.

I breath in a deep sigh, of wet rain, and the coldness envelopes me, and everyone. Today, while it may not be Jeanine's death, it will be Eric's. And I will settle for avenging my brother through Eric's death. For now.

Somebody brings Eric's chair up, with Eric bound to it; I don't know who. Tobias brings out three guns, and the room goes silent. I try not to look at him, but my eyes urge for me to follow to his face, filled with piercings and colors and swirls and designs, my artwork that I branded on his face. His smile is disgusting and it is infuriating.

Behind me, the Dauntless have gathered in a semi circle, and I breath in a deep sigh.

His eyes are locked on Tobias, and there is a nerving stare in his eyes, and it looks evil. I try to take my mind off of it.

"Would you like me to list your crimes?" I ask, though not really looking for a answer. "Or would you like to list them yourself?"

His eyes scan the crowd and I watch where they are going to land. They land on Tris, and out of the corner of my eyes, I see Tobias clench his fists.

"I'd like her to list them." His smile is sickening. "Since she's the one who stabbed me, clearly she is familiar with them."

I understand what he is doing, and it is honestly incredibly smart. He is playing mind games. Seeing Tris list the crimes may lead to Tris's undoing, and where to strike Tobias, who he really cares about, the hardest, is Tris. I try not to look at her.

"Leave her out of this," says Tobias. His face is still a passive expression, something I have associated with him and his instructor face.

"Why? Because you're doing her?" Eric smirks, and I almost growl with impatience. "Oh wait, I forgot. Stiffs don't do that sort of thing. They just tie each other's shoes and cut each other's hair."

Tobias's expression does not change, and I applaud him silently for it.

"I want her to list them," repeats Eric, his piercings twisting his face with each word

Tris starts evenly and I hear nothing but her voice. "You conspired with Erudite. You are responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Abnegation. You betrayed Dauntless. You shot a child in the head. You are a ridiculous plaything of Jeanine Matthews." I watch Tris's face contort as she spits out the last words.

His smile falters. "Do I deserve to die?" he asks with a empty expression, his eyes blank.

Tobias opens his mouth to interrupt, and Tris cuts in. "Yes."

"Fair enough." he says, his eyes scanning the crowd, seeing everything but nothing, all at once.

"But do you have the right to decide that, Beatrice Prior? Like you decided the fate of that other boy—what was his name? Will?" I hear Tris's breath falter. I don't even understand the full story; all I have heard is that she had to kill her friend from initiation, Will, to save the rest of us from the mind controlling simulation. While she made the right decision, I can see it in her eyes that she is still struggling, and Eric can see it too, taking pleasure in it.

"You have committed every crime that warrants execution among the Dauntless," says Tobias, unable to take it anymore. "We have the right to execute you, under the laws of Dauntless."

I didn't notice until now that he had set the guns by Eric's feet. He empties the chambers of bullets and they clang on the floor, with me and Harrison watching him. One by one, he empties the chambers of bullets. He picks up the middle gun without looking up, and slides a bullet into the first slot and starts moving them around and around. He hands one to me and one to Harrison, and I feel the gun comfortably against my hand, like a glove.

"Wait," he says. "I have a request."

"We don't take requests from criminals," I say, unable to watch this disgusting scene anymore. I am done with this. The pain is creeping into my leg again, and I am restless.

"I am a leader of Dauntless," he says. I nearly snort out loud. Not anymore, not after this.

"And all I want is for Four to be the one who fires that bullet." Eric's eyes gleam dully with the words.

"Why?" Tobias asks, but he understands it, and me and Harrison catch on just as Eric says, "So you can live with the guilt, of knowing that you usurped me and then shot me in the head."

"There won't be any guilt," says Tobias, and I see the look in his eyes, the blackness and I have to give him the credit, he is a wonderful actor.

"Then you'll have no problem doing it." Eric's smile pulls at his piercings.

"Tell me," says Eric quietly, his eyes slightly closing, "because I've always wondered. Is it your daddy who shows up in every fear landscape you've ever gone through?"

I lean against another wall, watching. The rain thunders around us, and I can feel it soaking into us, the coldness spreading into our bones, just like the coldness in Eric's eyes, and it is sickening.

Tobias puts the bullet into an empty chamber without looking up. I watch him and the place is dead silent. Which is rare for Dauntless.

The instructor preforming the execution of the leader. The Stiff ranking above the Nose. The first ranked offered leader positions first. Down to the end, this was all down to Tobias and Eric, and with that, I have the conscience to allow Tobias to preform the execution.

"You didn't like that question?" Eric says, his eyes like steel, with no white in them. "What, afraid the Dauntless are going to change their minds about you? Realize that even though you've only got four fears, you're still a coward?"

I hold my breath, and I am ready to shoot him myself. But this is for Tobias, and this is between them. Tobias holds the gun out from his shoulder, and I can see him exhaling, closing his eyes.

"Eric," he says, not looking up. "be brave."

And then I hear the gunshot, and I hear nothing. And then I see blood, and I see him, and he has slumped, over the armchair. And then I don't see anything else.