TOBIAS

When we reach the outer limits of the city, it begins to snow again, large, light flakes that swirl in front of the headlights. I wonder if Tris is watching it sweep across the pavement and gather in piles by the airplanes. I wonder if she is living in a better world than the one I left, among people who no longer remember what it is to have pure genes.

I wonder.

We walk through the abandoned security checkpoint without stopping. On the other side, I see Cara. The side of her face is badly bruised, and there's a bandage on her head, but I barely even notice it. The smile on her face is shining so brightly, I know everyone must have succeeded.

"We did it!" She said joyfully. Christina grinned and tackled her in a hug. I smile, but there's still one person missing.

"Where's Tris?"

But, then I see her. I see her rounding the corner, her eyes bright and her cheeks flushed and her small body full of power and strength, standing in a shaft of light just as she was in the atrium, when I last saw her.

And at that moment, I know I will never love anyone as much as I love this girl standing before me.

She runs up to me and presses her lips against mine, and I can't help grinning while I kiss her. My arms snake around her back and I pull her closer to me.

She breaks away and smiles. "I can't believe it actually worked."

"Of course it did. You knew it would."

She laughs carelessly. "Yeah, that's true. So. . . how did it go for you?" Her smile morphed into a more guarded frown. "Your mom. . . or your dad?"

A small smile crept back onto my face. "Neither."

"But, but how?"

"I talked to Evelyn, and I told her she had a choice. If she let the whole crusade go, then I could "be her son again". And Tris, she chose me!"

I expect her to be happy, but her expression is still guarded. "Are you sure you can trust her? I'm not so sure I would."

Of course Tris wouldn't trust her. I can't expect any other reaction from her. "We'll see if she keeps her word, I guess."

Tris nods solemnly, and then we hear Cara and Christina calling us. I grab Tris's hand and we walk back toward them.

They have me explain how I got Evelyn to comply, and they are both astonished. Frankly, I am too, but I'm glad that she finally chose to do her job as a mother again.

Then, they ask how Tris did it. I turn toward her, since I am wondering that myself.

Tris clears her throat, and then begins to tell her story. "Well, you all know that I went into the death serum instead of Caleb."

I frown. "No, I didn't." How could she? Tris wouldn't go in instead of Caleb.

No, of course she would.

She shrugs. "Well, I did." And she continues to tell the entire story of how she single handedly saved us all.

TRIS

I feel the serum clinging to my skin like oil, but the darkness recedes. I slap a heavy hand over the floor and push myself up.

Bent at the waist, I shove my shoulder into the double doors, and they squeak across the floor as their seal breaks. I breathe clean air and stand up straighter. I am there, I am there.

But I am not alone.

"Tris!"

I hear my brother's voice behind me, and his heavy footsteps echo on the tile floor. "Tris, I'm here."

I turn around in astonishment, and I see his innocent face staring back at me. "Caleb! What are you doing? You could be killed!"

He shook his head. "The death serum already wore off, after it thought it killed you. So now you're alive, and I'm alive, and the chances of us winning are now in our favor."

A single tear of happiness drips down my cheek. I love my brother, I have made the right choice, and he is here, and we will survive.

But then, I hear another voice behind me.

"Hello, Tris."

We both turn around slowly, and I see David's sadistic expression staring back at me. "Wow, your brother came back to rescue you, how touching! But I'm afraid you still will not be able to succeed."

"What are you talking about?" I mumble. I was so sure five seconds ago, but now doubt and fear clings to me like the serum that almost killed me.

"Tris, how can you steal four virus devices while I have you at gunpoint? I'm very smart, you know."

Confusion sweeps me over. How is he here? And he must think that I am here to steal the virus devices. I use this to my advantage.

I step toward the black device that will release the memory serum, and away from him. "I know what you did." I say accusingly. "I know you designed the attack simulation. I know you're responsible for my parents' deaths- for my mother's death. I know."

"I am not responsible for her death!" David says, the words bursting from him, too loud and too sudden. "I told her what was coming just before the attack began, so she had enough time to escort her loved ones to a safe house. If she had stayed put, she would have lived. But she was a foolish woman who didn't understand making sacrifices for the greater good, and it killed her!"

I frown at him. There's something about his reaction- about the glassiness of his eyes- something that he mumbled when Nita shot him with the fear serum- something about her.

"Did you love her?" I say. "All those years she was sending you correspondence. . . the reason you never wanted her to stay there. . . the reason you told her you couldn't read her updates anymore, after she married my father. . ."

I turn around and see Caleb's confused expression. He opens his mouth as if to say something, but I shush him.

David sits still, like a statue, like a man of stone.

"I did." he says. "But that time is past."

That must be why he welcomed me into his circle of trust, why he gave me so many opportunities. Because I am a piece of her, wearing her hair and speaking with her voice. Because he has spent his life grasping at her and coming up with nothing.

"My mother wasn't a fool." I say. "She just understood something you didn't. That it's not sacrifice if it's someone else's life you're giving away, it's just evil."

Caleb takes a step closer to me and takes my hand. I smile graciously at him. "She taught me all about real sacrifice. That it should be done from love, not misplaced disgust for another's genetics. That is should be done from necessity, not without exhausting all other options. That it should be done for people who need your strength because they don't have enough of their own. That's why I need to stop you from 'sacrificing' all those people and their memories."

And I know, in that moment, that there are always options. Tobias must decide between his mother and his father. We must decide what action to take every day of our lives. How to make the world a better place for all of us. We must decide whether the city can be run by factions, or if we must be set free. We must decide if it matters whether we are genetically pure or damaged. And I know that my friends and leaders need me. I have learned so much from the people I love that I must help make decisions for the rest of them. And Tobias, he has given up so much for me. Not thinking of him would be selfish of me. Finally, I have realized that I have so much longer to live, and so much more to do. I am selfless, I am brave.

David stares at me for what seems like a lifetime. His expression is hard at first, but then it softens. "You have her eyes." He murmurs. "Hard and unyielding, but they do soften. I can see it in you. I loved your mother for her bravery and her wisdom that she inherited at such a young age, and I see you've done the same."

He stands up, a little shakily, and for the first time, I see the hint of a sad smile grow on his face. "I have done many things that I regret, Tris. I have not learned from others, but instead I have stuck to what I believe a little too firmly. And it caused your mother to die, and many people to be treated wrongly because of how they were born. Humans are not an experiment, and I've always known that, but look what I've done anyway!" He hangs his head and takes a deep breath. "I have made myself a monster. But if my last act is a brave and selfless one, can I be forgiven for all I've done to get here? I want to be." He breaths shakily. "I can." He raises his gun to his forehead.

"I believe it."

The bang was the last thing he heard.