All characters from Divergent belong to Veronica Roth as well as all characters from Twilight belong to Stephanie Meyer. I own nothing except my version of events.

A/N: I know, I know, I'm late yet again. I caught a cold and so it's been really hard to focus my mind long enough to edit. I'm still feeling like poo but I wanted to get this out to you before christmas.

Anyway...

Really I'm just here to say thank you for sticking with me and I hope your holidays are filled with love and joy. I wish you all the best, and to those who celebrate it...

Merry Christmas!!!

Chapter 29 An Understanding

I try not to panic at the bottomless black overtaking my sight. My heart thudding wildly as my breath quickens far beyond normal. I bite my lip to keep it at bay, but it's hard to do so when the darkness takes me back to my last abduction. I'm only settled by the fact that this time I'm actively conscious.

I might not be able to see but at least I can still hear.

Shoes crunching over the dirty floor underneath my feet. The swish of clothes as I walk along. I can hear the others close beside me and I'm comforted with the knowledge that at least we hadn't been separated.

I'm not alone, I remind myself.

The smell of mold and mildew permeates the air so thick it seeps through the cloth placed over my head. It's an overwhelming smell but it's hard to think more of it while I'm being unceremoniously tugged by the arm by an unknown stranger. Pushed around and hauled roughly through an unknown building, or what I think must be a building.

My shoulder bumps into a wall... doorway? And I resist the urge to grunt in pain.

No way was I going to show these people any sort of weakness.

It's the unknown that has me the most unsettled. I firmly believe they have no reason to kill us but that doesn't make this any less unpleasant.

Finally what feels like hours later, though the logical part of me acknowledges it's only been minutes, the blindfold come off. I blink my eyes open and thanks to the darkness of the blindfold it takes my eyes no time to adjust to the lighting. It's dark in here too. No electricity running in this building. The only light available is that which filters through the filthy windows and destroyed walls.

I glance around myself and surreptitiously release a relieved breath when its confirmed we've all been kept together. My eyes immediately connect to Tobias' and I can see even from here the relief in his own expression. I see Alec too and he gives me a little reassuring nod before his eyes shift up front. I do so as well, spotting the small form standing in front of us.

She's short but strong, her hair just above her shoulders and dark as night. She looks to be somewhere around her 40's but I cant really tell all that well due to the poor lighting in here. She's also the best dressed here, standing stoically with her hands clasped in front of her surrounded by a group of worsley dressed men and women. There's only about six of them, but they all stand firmly by her side, just slightly behind to show their deference to her.

She watches us quietly, her eyes taking their time as she analyzes each and everyone of us.

"I thought I'd never see the day when the leader of Dauntless would grace us with a personal visit. I'm moved." She says, sounding so utterly condescending.

"It's been long overdue." Max says.

"Quite. Though I find it rather amusing that it isn't until the threat of imminent danger that you deem it necessary to do so."

"You're right." Max admits from the get go. "If it weren't for the looming threat to the city I might not be standing here in front of you today."

At Max's honesty she blinks back in slight shock, though she tries to hide it it's still visible. "You admit it so freely."

"You look like the kind of person who values honesty. And I don't have the time nor the patience to bullshit."

She arches a brow at that. "Is that so?"

"You are aware there's a war coming?" He asks instead.

"Yes, I'm aware."

"And what is your stance on the matter?" Max asks directly.

Camille purses her lips, mulling over the question, but I don't think she really is. It's more like she's pausing for dramatic effect, leaving us in suspense as we wait for her to answer.

I find it annoying.

"I'm not worried." She states brazenly.

"When Aro's army arrives they will attack everyone. They won't care if you're part of a faction or not. They're coming to destroy the city. Level out the land to make sure no one is left alive." Max informs her.

"I'm aware." She says simply.

From what I gather from Max's profile he's quickly approaching anger, annoyed by her patronizing answers. I'm annoyed by them too, I'm also annoyed that Caius is choosing to remain mute at a moment like this when he'd seemed so eager to speak for us earlier.

"Would it help if we offer something in return for your assistance?" I offer before Max reaches his limit.

Her eyes shift to me.

So does everyone else's.

She's got a good poker face but I know she recognizes who I am.

She evaluates my question, as if mulling it over in her head. "Are you that desperate?"

"More like ensuring our victory with the least minimal amount of casualties and destruction to our city."

"We already live in destruction." She states, widening her arms to her sides to display our surroundings.

I don't bother to look around, she's right. I couldn't imagine having to live in a place like this myself. And it's a shame that the other factions have allowed for this to happen in their own city for this long.

"We could change that." I offer.

I see the glimmer of interest in her eyes and I know I've finally made an impact.

"What kind of change?"

"Integration."

"Not good enough."

"Then stop wasting our time and tell us what you want." I say sharply.

Her eyebrows raise at my tone and I'm not quite sure if she's annoyed by my response or begrudgingly respectful of it. "We want to be established as our own faction." She finally counters.

I remain quiet for a moment as if I'm considering my response. I wanted to say yes but at the same time I didn't want to promise something that may not be able to happen. Especially if the faction system is dismantled after our victory, or loss, against Volterra. Though really I was trying to remain optimistic over the outcome. Still I wanted her to know the truth. My leaders would not be happy with me but I had nothing to lose.

"I probably shouldn't be telling you this. My leader will not be happy with me, but if we're being honest here… I'm not sure the faction system will remain in place once the war is over." I state bluntly.

This time she's unable to hide her shock as her eyes widen and she blinks back at me in clear disbelief.

Actually every single person in the room does the same.

I refuse to back down. I've already said it out loud and it was too late to go back on it now.

Honestly what was the point in hiding things now when we might not be alive in just a few hours? Days? We had no clue as to when Aro would attack. It could all end within the next minute while we're all stuck here fruitlessly arguing over positions.

"Is that true?" She asks, turning to look at Max.

I can see him grinding his teeth in disapproval but he begrudgingly answers all the same. "It's not a forgone decision… But we are aware changes will be needed to make moving forward."

She mulls over his answer. Analyzing him with her dark brown eyes to make sure he's telling the truth.

She had every reason to doubt it. We've never come her before to offer help or to ask for their support. Ultimately it was her decision whether her people joined us in the fight or not. There was no way the rest of the factions would have any other way to force their help.

She looked around herself, ending with a look back at the people flanking her sides as if they were communicating with just a look. Finally she turned back around and lifted her head up stubbornly and squared her shoulders as she prepared herself to speak. "Then we'd like to be included in that decision."

There's a long stilted moment while we all wait for Max to respond. It's an eerie silence that permeates the air. So much so it momentarily takes over the stench of rot and decay around us.

Max and Camille stare at each other, as if measuring themselves against their positions on the totem pole.

Finally Max gives his answer. "As the Factionless leader, only you will be included in the discussion making process."

"Wonderful!" She exclaims in victory. Though I have a feeling she'd already expected that precise answer. "Now that we've come to an agreement and since we're all being so open and honest, why don't I show you around?"

I can see I'm not the only one who is repelled by the idea, but we have no other choice. If we're going to be working together it's best if we start on a good foot. Refusing her generous hospitality would erase all that we have accomplished so far. And it was imperative we got along…

The sooner the better.

She raises her hand in the air and shapes an invisible circle into the air with her index figure.

At the action the men surrounding us move forward, untying the ropes binding our hands behind our backs.

As soon as they do, Tobias, Alec, and I gravitate closer to each other trading looks communicating our relief.

Camille is standing in front of us with a happy smile, so different to when she'd first greeted us… it was kind of weird.

She motions us to follow and we do, leading us to a set of stairs as she begins to descend down.

We all quietly do the same, avoiding the deep cracks in the concrete steps that look about ready to crumble through with even a single misstep. After passing a flew flights of stairs we begin to hear a commotion. The noise progressively growing louder the closer we get, becoming almost deafening by the time we reach the bottom floor.

It's then we see it. The end of the stairwell opening into a wide open space. Reminding me so much of Dauntless for a split second.

The place is filled with hundreds of bodies, many merely just hanging out, speaking to one another loudly, excitedly. It's strange to see them that way. I never expected for the Factionless to be so... happy.

But as the crowd notices our arrival they slowly become quiet. Quiet enough for us to hear Camille speaking again.

"It took us a long time to get here." She starts, "It wasn't easy. All of us having been banished to what felt like the lower pits of hell. To be left here to starve, to rot, to die alone and without anyone to care. It was a sad existence. Many of us had given up long ago but one day I woke up and looked around myself. Wondering if the nothingness would continue on until the end of time. And it didn't feel right… it didn't feel fair. Why should we all be left out in the cold for not meeting a fictionalized expectation from our society? It was bullshit." She states openly. "So me and a few others banded together and decided to change things. To find a better way to live. It was hard at first, felt almost impossible at one point, but we persisted. Fought against each other for power until everyone agreed it was in our best interest to join forces. After all, our society had banished us once and we couldn't continue to do the same to each other." She turns behind her then, looking up and out to the world she's helped to create.

I do the same and I marvel at what I see. It's messy and a bit grimy but it's a home. A hub of activity with tables and chairs and people milling about. As I look up I see more people. All of them huddled together at the edges of missing floor watching down at us in curiosity. It's all open, like a bomb had gone off in the middle of a building creating a perfectly crafted hole. A pit.

But it was clear what this was. This was what they had worked so hard to create. So successfully and with such little resources.

Honestly, it was awe-inspiring.

"We scavenged what we could and stole where we could." Camille starts again. "Everything you see here has been created by us. We've survived on our own. I understand why you've seeked us out." She states, turning back around to face us. "Though I know you would never admit it, I know you need us to win this war. We were already planning to come to you but decided a little groveling on your part would do you all some good. You might not think much of our home but to us," She trails off looking around herself again "this is home. Something worth protecting, something worth fighting for."

I have to admit I am low-key in admiration of their strength and willpower. The world left them in nothing but they made something out of it. Creating a place for themselves that they could all call their own.

She was right.

And it saddened me to think that our society had swept them all under the rug. As if they didnt matter. Kicked them out and left them to starve and die. I wondered who had been the one to think this was a good idea… whoever it had been clearly didn't care about its own people.

And it was a shame, really.

Our city was already so small. A miniscule population that had, what we thought, 'miraculously' found a way to survive against all odds. But within it they had abandoned their own. Forcing others to live in disparity because they couldn't conform to another's arbitrary standard.

And in this very moment I vowed I would fight to give them their place. They deserved it. Not only for agreeing to help us so easily but because the faction system had deprived them of a life they all deserved. The same right we all deserved. And I'm sure there will be those who have done wrong who deserved to be punished. But there were so many other ways in which we could deal with that.

Our city needed a reformation.

I felt eyes on me and I turned to them, finding Caius looking at me in expectation.

I realized then why he hadn't warned us about this before. Why he'd also remained silent as we'd come to an agreement. He'd wanted us to see this firsthand, to be awed by what humans could accomplish with what could seemingly be construed as nothing.

To give us hope.

Because as long as we had the will to survive, there was nothing that could stop us from accomplishing just that. All we had to do was band together. United as people who accept each other despite our disparate views. Because no one was perfect, no one could perfectly fit into that unrealistic mold set forth for all of us to squeeze into.

If only we could get Aro and the people of Volterra to see it the same way…

We'd decided to stay the night in the Factionless city after Camille had graciously offered to make space for us.

It had been a kindness she had extented, much more than I think we deserved.

Max had wanted to refuse but just one look from me he'd gotten the message it was a losing battle to even try. So he'd begrudgingly accepted, though he'd looked decidedly unhappy to do so.

I'd actually just left him in his small little room to advise him this was the best way to keep a united front. That by accepting the generosity Camille had extended to us was the diplomatic way to bring us all together. Because whether he admitted it or not, we needed the factionless on our side.

I was rounding the corner, trying to make my way discreetly to the other room they'd assigned for the rest of us and the soldiers when I spotted the silhouette of a small figure. She was looking down at the city below her feet, her critical eyes taking in everything from the miniscule to the big and bold.

I found the stairs she had taken to climb up there, trying to be as quiet as I could manage but I knew she'd heard me coming. Still she didn't turn or make any outward sign of acknowledgement.

I stood beside her, looking down below us too.

I understood what she was doing.

If I had been a part of building something so life-changing, I too would be standing up here admiring my own accomplishments.

"You've done something amazing here." I finally voice.

She releases a low breath, closing her eyes for a moment before turning her attention to me.

"It wasn't easy." She says quietly. As if speaking any louder would dismantle all that she's built.

"But you persevered anyway. You could have so easily given up, continued to live the way everyone else wanted you to, but you fought against it. That takes more than just courage."

Her head tilts slightly, as if analyzing me closely for the first time and seeing something she hadn't expected. "You seem wise beyond your years." She states.

I shrug my shoulders. "Life has a way of kicking you in the ass whether you like it or not."

She chuckles lightly, "True. But I don't think just anyone would have come out of it with the same openness as you have."

I look down at the hub of activity below us. It almost seems like this place never sleeps. Like there's always so much more to do that there's no time to waste on sleeping.

"My time in the outside world, it… changed me." I admit for the first time. "One day everything I thought I knew suddenly wasn't real. I'd been living a lie. Even the man I had thought to be my father turned out not to be… It didn't change how I felt about him, and to me that really wasn't the real problem." I say, because it was true. Charlie might not have had a hand at creating me but that didn't make him any less my father. It was the meaning behind that revelation, the real reason for why I had been created that had made the most damage. "Because finding out the truth transcended far beyond that... to an acknowledgement that where I had come from didn't really mean anything, and therefore, wouldn't determine who I was and who I would be."

I had no idea why I was admitting this to her. I didn't know her. I didn't know whether admitting this to her would give her an advantage over me. But at the moment I didn't really care. And there was something about her. Something about her determination to bring this place to life and the fight she had given to make this place what it was that resonated with me.

We were quiet for a long moment, both of us just thinking over my words.

Until Camille broke the silence.

"I went back home after I'd been kicked out of Erudite." She admits.

My eyes widen at her words.

When you're in initiation there's always the possibility you won't make it. I'd heard others from my class advise their failing classmates to go back home. Giving them hope that their parents would accept them back if they failed. It was ridiculous to think such a thing. I never thought anyone would ever resort to actually doing just that…

Guess I was wrong.

"I know it was stupid to go." She admits again. "But I was eighteen and scared. I didn't know what to do. My parents had always been loving, dependable. I thought they would help me. I thought they would find a way to help me from becoming factionless…"

I wait for her to finish, she looked so far off in thought, a pain seeping into her expression that even I could feel.

"Needless to say they did nothing of the sort. They rejected me, told me that they'd warned me it was safer to remain in my childhood faction then to venture out to another faction and that this was what I deserved for not staying home." She says in derision, scoffing at the ridiculousness of the situation. "It was a hard blow. But one I think I'd needed to move forward, to not settle into the expectations that everyone had envisioned for me."

"If the faction system didn't exist they would have never done that." I state bluntly.

"Maybe, or maybe because of it, it showed me the real kind of people my parents really were. And I would have never become the person that I am today. "

"You're thankful." I state openly, sensing it not as a resignation but more like with a 'It was meant to be' kind of mentality.

"Thankful and accepting. There's no point in dwelling on what could have been. It's a waste of time and emotion."

A waste of time indeed. Still it was hard to come to grips with.

"The outside world they…" I pause before continuing to speak, what I would say next might change the way she viewed our world. But looking into Camille's eyes I knew she deserved to know the truth. "They watched us through thousands of screens like some sort of entertainment. My time there was spent pretending not to care, to accept my fate until I figured out a way to get out of there. But everyday was like torture, not physically but mentally. I had people coming up to me, strangers talking about my life as if they'd known me from long ago. It was ridiculous." I say, shaking my head in disgust. "It made me feel like a prop, like my life had all been pretend, like a plaything that others could enjoy from their perch from far above. It's nothing I'd felt before. Sure I'd always felt a sense of lack of control over my life living in Abnegation and later in Dauntless, but it was nothing compared to living in Volterra. It was then I began to appreciate my life, the place I had come from. It was never perfect but it had been my home."

Camille watches me silently, her head tilted slightly in questioning. "Still it's not enough." She concludes for me.

I nod slowly. "I desperately wanted to come back home but I didn't want to live the same way I used to. Not when I knew there was a whole world out there and we were just limiting ourselves to what we know." I paused for a moment, looking down again at the people milling about in restlessness. "I want to dismantle the faction system." I inform her. "There will be strong opposition. People are complacent to remain in what they know, it's understandable. Change is scary. But I've been outside and seen firsthand how badly we've all forced each other to comply with a society that benefits no one. Not really. We can't just be one thing, selecting an aptitude and dedicating our lives to that one thing. It's too small a thought. And now that we know the world is much bigger than we once thought, it's time we learned to think bigger too."

We were silent again.

It's the first time I've said that aloud. Admitting that I wouldn't let the faction system continue on any longer. I had no real idea of how to do it but I knew I'd stop at nothing to make it happen. And to start, we needed to get rid of our city's bigotry against our own people. All the factions were going to accept the factionless whether they liked it or not. It was an old, imperious notion that would only bring us down, stop us from forward movement.

Because every single person in this city mattered.

No one would be left behind,

Not if I had anything to say about it.

"I agree." She finally says.

I turn to look at her, trading a look of recognition in each other.

I hadn't meant to find an ally with the leader of the Factionless, but somehow I had. And I would stop at nothing to end this war and move this city to a more prosperous way of life.

Even if it killed me.