The man on stage had done this a hundred times. Isaac could tell - the way the man was speaking, smooth and easy without stuttering. His gesturing hands weren't shaking and there was no sweat or signs of nervousness. To his right, Sage sat with her tributes on her other side. Akari sat to Isaac's left, followed by Matt, Vivian, Lolita, Shane, and Zira.

The man called out the names of the tributes. There was nothing to indicate how they knew; Isaac's first guess would have been that the Fire Lord gave them the information beforehand.

"What's the purpose in this? I just... don't understand." Sage glanced at him and there was sadness in her eyes, but a fierce determination in them too. Determination to save her family, Isaac deduced. She kept fingering a beaded bracelet on her left wrist, but it looked like it'd been made by a child.

"Neither do I, Sage. I just want to keep my family alive... and my tributes." Isaac glanced at them.

Matthew was mouthing to his cousin from another team. "Dauntless," Matthew mouthed.

His cousin shook her head.

"No, dauntless!"

One by one, Isaac's tributes were called, and they each made their choice. Akari, called first, chose Candor - Honesty. "That's a samurai for you," Isaac said, eyeing Matt.

"Just because my ancestors were samurai doesn't mean I am." Matthew was called next and he chose Dauntless - bravery. Isaac suspected that Matt, even with his PTSD - indicated by his shaking hands and the way he sometimes spaced out - missed combat in a way. Vivian chose Abnegation-Selflessness, Shane and Lolita chose Amity - peace, and Zira chose Dauntless.

When the Choosing Ceremony was over, a man directed the mentors toward the monitoring rooms. There, they would watch each of their tributes on a screen.

Isaac hated being in a position to watch, but unable to help.

*****

Vivian didn't regret her choice. She'd had her fun in the speakeasies, that was for sure, but so much illegal stuff had gone on. Some people would consider her to be a "bad person," just 'cause she was a bearcat who wore flapper dresses, and loved having a good time. Most people would assume she worked at a speakeasy for strictly selfish reasons - the money from smuggling giggle water. That's why she chose Abnegation - Selflessness. "Everything's Jake, Tut," she said to her white and tan Crups. He was a loyal creature, looked just like a regular old dog. The other initiates gave him strange looks as they were led out of the Hub and to the Abnegation section of the city.

"Droll place, isn't it?" Vivian murmured.

"I don't think it's so bad," said a girl to her left. The girl had black hair that she kept tied back. Behind her was a metal box that kept incessantly beeping. "Bop, be nice! It seems fine so far," she said.

"Is that a creature?" Vivian lifted an eyebrow. Her compassion for animals made her want to talk to it, but she wasn't even sure if it was really alive.

The girl nodded, smiling. "Sort of. It's a droid - more of a machine with a personality. He's a friend... I call him Bop."

Bop whistled loudly, making Vivian laugh. "You don't look so bad, huh?" Vivian knelt down in front of him, eliciting a soft whining sound.

The girl shook her head. "You know, I actually think he likes you. I'm Akalli, and you?"

"Vivian."

Two men and women, wearing gray clothing, offered gray clothes to the initiates. "Men over this way, women over this way," the man said, gesturing to two different buildings. Both were square-shaped, the same size, with the same type of plain gray stones on the outside. Vivian shrugged, clutching her bag tightly to her chest as she and Akalli entered the building with the other women. Bop trailed behind them, making soft cooing whistles.

Butch, Vivian's male Wampus Cat, poked his head out of her bag. "Get back in there." She shoved his head in and zipped it up, hoping he didn't do that again. Fortunately, no one saw him.

They dressed and went back outside to where everyone was gathered. The gray clothing made everyone seem the same, despite their physical differences. She could easily see how the Abnegation members could lose themselves.

Though she didn't mind helping others, Vivian wasn't so sure she wanted to lose herself entirely.

The men and women directed them to a part of the city where they would be working. They were designated into groups and fortunately, Vivian and Akalli got placed in the same group. As much as she loved talking, Vivian couldn't bear if she was placed in a group with people who didn't want to talk much. These Abnegation are quiet types, Vivian thought. Their group was assigned to picking up trash throughout the city. It was relaxing work in a way, and Vivian oddly found herself enjoying it.

*****

Now we can have some fun, Zira thought. Dauntless seemed like her type of place - lots of toughies; reckless people who didn't really think much about consequences. At least, that's what it seemed like on the outside. Zira didn't understand why the other tributes gave her plenty of space. The first few days were spent with loads of physical exercise. During running, Zira insulted the slower runners. Everyone left her to run by herself. When she and other initiates would fight hand-to-hand, Zira beat them and didn't stop when they tapped out. Eating meals, they left her to eat alone, and she found herself hating the quiet and despising the others who all talked - especially Matthew, who seemed right at home. She injected herself into the conversations but was always ignored, except for a few pity-filled looks from Matt.

"Excited for training today?" Zira asked a girl in the barracks one day.

The girl glared at her and walked toward a group of other girls.

Zira growled. "You fools think you can simply cast me aside? I'm more important, more powerful than any of you! I could kill you quicker than I could blink, you scrawny wretches!" she screamed at them.

"What's your problem?" the girl demanded. She had tattoos lining her arms, making her look like a newspaper.

Zira laughed sardonically. "My problem? My problem," she said, strolling around the girl, "is ignorant, fat girls like you who think you're better than me... When in fact, you're not. What, did you come from one of the other factions? Did you think you could possibly fit in here, with your size?"

The girl was chunky, making her a slow runner, but thus far she'd been keeping up surprisingly well. "I - " Tears fell from her eyes.

"What? Now the poor whiny cub is going to cry?"

The other girls walked forward and stood in between her and Zira. "Just get out of here!" The leader, almost Zira's height, pulled out a shiv and pointed it at her.

Zira laughed, throwing out her hands, extending her claws. Except... her claws didn't work. She had forgotten there was no magic in this realm, not here in this pitiful place called Chicago. "What?"

The girls all laughed as the leader charged toward her. Zira, taken by surprise, couldn't think or react fast enough. Since she was surprised and outnumbered, she ran, heading out of the lounge, toward the training room. She unleashed the fury of her isolation out on a few punching bags until her knuckles were raw and bleeding. How dare they!

Matthew entered, facing up against a brute of a man that Zira couldn't keep her eyes off of. They were the first fighting pair on the mats.

"Why do you keep looking at my cousin?" Matthew demanded.

The brute shrugged. "She's nice to look at. You got a problem with that?"

With that, Matt swung at him and the two went at it - furiously fighting each other. The brute had a mohawk which Zira found really attractive. He had muscle and he was so tall that he even towered over her.

"Get back to training and quit gawking!" one of the trainers yelled.

Zira glared at him. "What, you have nothing better to do then walk around and yell? You're not intelligent enough to come up with something better to do?" With a war cry, she pounded her fists into a punching bag. Insulting the man made her feel better after her encounter with the girls.

The brute slammed his leg against Matt's shoulder, making him groan as the brute viciously kicked him over and over again. Matthew finally tapped out, panting as he threw out several curses, rubbing his shoulder. "And I expected him to be stronger," Zira murmured.

The brute chuckled. "Stronger than me?"

Zira smiled and strolled over to him, swaying her hips as she tied her dreadlocked hair back into a ponytail. "Size isn't everything, honey, but you are my kind of man."

The brute grinned. "I'm Styryn. What should I call you, woman?"

Zira chuckled, circling around him on the mat. "If you win, then I'll tell you."

Styryn growled and punched toward her face, but she ducked and danced around behind him. He whirled around in time to catch her arm and spin her, but she twisted to the left, so that her back was against his chest. His heart raced against her back as his bulky arms wrapped around her, trapping her hands. With a chuckle, she slithered down, rolling beneath his legs to stand up behind him. She punched him twice in the back, but he whirled around, grabbed her, and slammed her to the ground.

Quickly, she planted a kiss on his lips, surprising him. "My name is Zira," she murmured in his ear, right before she tapped out. She shoved him away and he moved easier than she expected as she stood. Maybe being completely isolated and ignored by the others won't be so bad, Zira thought. Styryn's attention is all I need.

*****

Though Lolita didn't know the words of the song, the voices of all the Amity people harmonized perfectly. There were the sweet, graceful voices of the higher-pitched sopranos - their oohs and ahhs offered background music that the rest of them followed. The tenors and second sopranos sang the melody together, the notes whistling like fast movements. The altos dipped their voices beneath the others, adding balance, with the deep base singers creating a rhythm like drums pounding. The song itself was upbeat and peppy, making Lolita tap her feet.

She whirled and spun around the trees, picking the fruits from them, and then sashayed downward to reach the berries of a smaller bush. Underneath the bush, was a can of salt. Lolita frowned but picked it up. "Ai? Que es eso?"

A handsome man wearing a brown leather jacket and jeans, looking very out of place in Amity, grinned. "You might wanna keep that, sweetheart." He winked at her.

Lolita started to ask him what he was talking about, but he jogged off into the trees. The music continued, so she shrugged and stuffed the can inside the pockets of her jacket and kept singing.

She improvised, adding her own words on top of their song and it flowed together, creating a perfect combination of music. Even without being able to use her powers, it was beautiful. Lolita couldn't stop.

*****

Shane felt so out of place in Amity. He thought peace was the best choice, but he began to regret not choosing Dauntless. Everyone here hugged to greet each other, making his skin crawl. He didn't mind embracing others, but he only did that with his family. Shane never even hugged his friends in the tribe or anyone in his pack.

Lolita danced and swirled gracefully as she sang. Her voice was stunningly beautiful and Shane couldn't stop watching her body move to the music that the Amity voices all made.

Personally, Shane couldn't wait for it to be over. Hours later, they sat in a circle, holding hands, another thing that made Shane uncomfortable, and then each initiate was given an injection that took them through a simulation.

He stood in a dark alley where three werewolf children were being attacked by a demon. Nearby, a group of Shadowhunters watched without helping them. Shane killed the demon quickly, and then viciously beat the Shadowhunters. "You should have helped them!" Shane yelled.

Anger gripped him and flowed through his veins. He expected his bones to start breaking, and this time, he wanted the wolf in him to come out. These men deserved to die.

He snapped out of it, breathing hard. Everyone in the circle was staring at him. The leader shook her head at him sadly. "Shane, you didn't stay calm. You aren't a peaceful person and because of this, we cannot have you in Amity."

Shane's eyes widened. If he didn't pass, his children would be killed. "No! My children's lives depend on me passing this."

Lolita cleared her throat. "Why don't you give him one more chance, chica? Eh? For his ninos."

The woman nodded and they injected him again.

This time, no matter what anger he felt while watching the demon attack the children and with the Shadowhunters doing nothing to help, Shane stayed perfectly still. He would not let his children die. He had to pass initiation.

Failure was not an option.

*****

Honesty seemed like the best choice. Akari believed in bushido, in following the way of the warrior. Honesty, bravery, and loyalty were statues that she had lived for, even though her father had never wanted her to train. Hijikata, Saitou, and Kijiro had taught her the most important aspects of being a samurai and they had lived up to bushido, had died for it.

This was not it. For hours, a man had been relentlessly asking her personal questions and testing her using a machine that revealed whether she was lying or not. Akari was mentally and emotionally exhausted - they already knew most everything about her life story. Now, they were demanding more. Akari was unsure how much more she could offer.

There was a single chair in the center of a room that was crowded with other Candor members. The initiates were directed to sit in the chair one at a time, and they were injected with a serum that forced them to tell the truth.

Akari shivered and glanced behind her. She thought about escaping but knew she would never evade the Unseelie King. How would she return to her own realm? If she failed, Isaac's family would be killed. Could she really have their blood on her hands? Akari took a deep breath and held it. No. She could not be the reason why Isaac lost his family.

"What's your greatest fear?" the man asked as he strolled around the chair.

The tribute in the chair, Cadeyrn, breathed heavily. "I... Losing my kids... Never being free... " It seemed like it was a harsh effort to speak as the cruel serum forced the words from his mouth.

Akari's heart raced and her stomach clenched. How could they do this? How could she follow through with this? Isaac's family... Think of his family. You are responsible for them, Akari, she told herself.

"Last question," the man began, stopping directly in front of Cadeyrn. It looked as if he was enjoying this.

Panting, Cadeyrn glared at him.

"Do you honestly feel that you deserve to be free? You couldn't protect your brother, your wife, and now your children... You've been a slave. Maybe that's what you'll always be. Maybe that's what you deserve. Do you think you'll ever be anything more than that, Cadeyrn?"

A growl escaped Cadeyrn's mouth, echoing across the silent chamber. Everyone eagerly waited for him to answer. "I - I don't know. I have only done what I have had to do to stay alive. I have killed and done horrible things to survive and only to survive. I will continue to do so for my family. I don't deserve to be a slave - no one does! It's cruel people like you and the Gamemakers that deserve a fate like that!"

"Thank you for your candor," the man said. The people echoed him.

Akari just felt sick. She wanted to throw up, but as Cadeyrn was led off stage and Akari directed to sit into the chair, she could not. Instead, she bit her lip anxiously. The man injected her with the serum. Everything around her slowed down and she felt lightheaded, desperately wanting to lie down.

"Akari Kondou is your name, correct?"

Yes, she wanted to say, but other words poured out of her mouth without her control. "You must call me Kondou-dono! You do not have the right to call me by my first name." The words came out like growls - was she really that angry? Akari didn't know.

"Akari," the man said firmly, glaring at her. "We know that you were part of a group of warriors that called themselves the Shinsengumi and that they all eventually were killed. Is that correct?"

"I have already told you that it is!" Akari yelled. Something was horribly wrong; this was not how she normally spoke. Akari had never been this rude to anyone! Why was she saying these things?

"Tell us what happened, Akari."

She did not want to. These people did not understand what it was like - what had happened was not something they cared about. All they wanted was for her to squirm, to release all her secrets, and leave her bare. As much as she hated it, the words still came, unwillingly. She told them everything - the battle of Toba Fushimi and the Shogun's betrayal, Harada and Nagakura leaving, hearing of Harada's death, leaving her father behind and his execution shortly after, Souji sacrificing his life to save Hijikata, Saitou staying behind with the Aizu soldiers and then hearing of his death, Hijikata's death, Kijiro and Akari being captured, her release and then hearing of Kijiro's death. When she was finished, Akari was breathing raggedly and her body sagged from exhaustion.

"Do you blame yourself for what happened to any of them?"

"I - " Akari choked, unable to finish. She tried to stop the words from coming out, but to no avail; the words continued despite her efforts. "Harada-san and Nagakura-san left of their own choice! I tried to talk them out of it, but their differences with my father were too great. They just would not listen. I heard about Harada-san's death later... Perhaps if I had convinced him to stay, he would still be alive! I did not want to leave my father behind, but we had to respect his orders. I should have stayed behind! Maybe I could have fought to keep him alive. And Souji-san... He was so sick. I should have stopped him. He died protecting us, protecting me! I survived and they all died. Why did I live? It - It is my fault!" Tears fell from her eyes in thick waves as she released a horrible cry that sounded like a pained sob.

"Why didn't you save them, Akari?"

Akari shook her head, sobbing, unable to form words. "I - I -" She groaned, holding her stomach as if she was desperately trying to hold herself together. "I tried! I did what I could, but it was not enough! I failed them; I failed my comrades and I - I do not deserve to be the one who lived!"

"Have you tried to kill yourself?"

Akari shook her head. "I... I wanted to, but I - I could not. I could not commit seppuku."

"If you really feel this much guilt over being the survivor, then why haven't you tried?"

"Because I lost my honor when I failed them. Only honorable warriors deserve to commit seppuku."

"So why didn't you try to do it another way?" the man prodded.

Akari closed her eyes, biting her lip to clamp her mouth closed. She could not speak - these people would learn no more from her. Yet, the words still came, in between her broken sobs and horrible gasps. "Because I - I am pregnant! Kijiro and I, we have a child, but - I did not have a chance to tell him. We were married, so it was not wrong, but... Without him...I cannot do this alone! I am not a mother, and I have no desire to be. My way of life, my entire culture was ripped away from us when we lost the war, and I do not want to bring a child into a world where the samurai way of life is dead. And now these games... I just... I cannot do it!" Shame filled her as all the people in the room stared at her, hundreds of them, every single one of them listening and hearing her deepest secrets.

"Are you loyal to the Gamemakers?" the man asked.

Groaning, Akari shook her head. "I - I do not know! I am following their orders to... to keep Isaac-san's family alive!"

"If you had the chance, would you kill any of them? Would you kill the Unseelie King?"

Akari sobbed, nodding. "If I knew Isaac-san's family would be safe, then yes! I would kill that false king faster than he could blink. I would start with him and then slaughter the other Gamemakers! I would not hesitate!"

"Thank you for your candor," the man said and the crowd echoed him.

Akari sagged and her knees wobbled but Cadeyrn, who had suddenly appeared next to her, grabbed her arm and helped her. "You will be okay," he murmured softly to her.

Even though he was a stranger, they knew more about each other than they both cared to know. Akari could not help herself - she placed her head against his shoulder and quietly cried.

*****

So far, Matthew loved Dauntless. As soon as they had left the Choosing Ceremony, they had climbed a large metal sculpture, jumped onto a moving train, jumped off the moving train onto a roof, and then lept into open-air all just to get inside the compound. For the past several days, they'd been doing physical training - running, exercises, training combat - which was easy compared to the training Matt had done in the army. The problem was his shoulder. Not only had he lost to the brute who had been eyeing Kotomi, but he had only won a few fights against the lesser trained initiates. They kept a scoreboard and Matt was toward the bottom, one of the initiates about to be kicked out if he didn't get his score up.

When phase one was complete, on day three, they began what they called the fear simulators. Matt had no idea what to expect, but the initiates who had come out of the simulation room had come out looking traumatized. It had him nervous, tapping his fingers while he impatiently waited.

When Zira came out, she was quiet for once, which surprised Matt. Even the brute, Styryn, stared blankly into space. When Styryn saw Zira, he pulled her into his arms. Matt frowned but looked away. Hours later, one of the other tributes had a heart attack. The trainers tried to keep the woman calm, but they said she had a heart condition and shouldn't have gone inside in the first place.

Matt's name was called, so he walked into the room, already horrified. What if this simulator killed him like it did the girl? The woman told him to sit in the chair, so he did, as she explained that the serum would make him see his fears and that she was connected to it through the computer. She injected him and he took a deep breath.

Matthew held a rifle as he walked through an Iraqi village. He, Liam, and Haruto cleared each building as they walked by. At the end of the street was a young child, no older than eight years old.

"Bomb! Kid's got a bomb!" Liam yelled.

Matthew had his rifle out. "Drop the bomb!"

The kid's finger's twitched as they held the detonator.

Matthew fired. As the child's body fell, the environment shifted. Agony rippled through his legs and suddenly, he was on the ground. Both of his legs were broken as he was inside a warehouse. Firebenders grabbed this young girl and were about to burn her alive. Matthew tried to crawl to her, but he couldn't help her. She screamed and the whole place smelled like burning flesh. They kept killing innocent people and Matt couldn't do anything about it. The scene shifted again.

He was inside his house in Japan, wearing a traditional kimono and hakama. His mother knelt beside him, pouring tea. Matthew, unable to control his own body, clenched his fists and beat her. No, Matt thought, horrified. It was his worst fear happening right in front of him - his PTSD making him snap. He stared down at her dead body, unable to turn away. Once again, the house around him changed.

Chains rubbed his wrists raw as he was hung from the ceiling. Matthew struggled to take a breath as the terrorists walked around them. One of them began whipping him while another threw water on his body and electrocuted him. Matthew screamed, wanting the pain to stop, but it wouldn't. He couldn't tell how long - hours, days, maybe even years. Finally, the pain ended and a different scene appeared in front of him.

Matt walked out of the Dauntless headquarters, hearing a girl cry out for help. He kicked open the nearest door, only to find the brute slamming Kotomi against the wall, trying to force himself on her. "Matthew! Matthew, help me!"

Matthew darted over to them, shoving the brute off her. "Stay away from her!"

As soon as he met her gaze, it multiplied, becoming the gazes of his mother, father, of her parents and siblings. They were all kneeling in a row with soldiers around them, as Matthew was restrained by two firebenders. He couldn't fight them no matter how hard he tried. He was forced to watch as the Fire Lord and Unseelie King executed his entire family. The ground stained crimson with their blood.

Matthew snapped out of it, sitting up in the chair, panting roughly. "Wh - Wh..." He couldn't finish his sentence. His entire body was trembling so bad that he couldn't stand. The woman helped him up and the instant the door closed behind him, as Naolia took her turn, Matthew collapsed against the wall.

Across from him, a green-skinned man stared while clenching and unclenching his fists.

"Are you a tribute?" Matthew's voice was hoarse, but he had to talk. He couldn't stay in his head, where the fears kept playing themselves over and over again.

The man nodded. "Guess that's all I'll ever be."

"What do you mean?" Matt asked.

"This isn't the first 'games' I've been in. I've survived once, but..."

The bitterness in the man's voice almost scared Matt in a way. What other Games? The statement puzzled him, but rather than ask him, Matthew stayed quiet and stared at his green skin. "Are you an alien?" Matt asked after a short pause.

The man chuckled darkly. "A Mirialan, actually. Name's Kanan."

"Matt," he said, shaking the man's hand.

"Count Dooku said that after I pass initiation, I'll be placed on a team. A man named Isaac's team."

Matt's eyes widened. "That's my team."

Kanan nodded, running his fingers through his hair. "I'm really regretting Dauntless."

"I know. Me too."

The door opened and Naolia sagged.

Matthew reached up to catch her as she collapsed into his lap. Her silver hair cascaded down her shoulders. "Hey, you're okay... "

Naolia shook her head, rubbing her temples. "No, no, I - What I saw in there... " Her voice trailed off and her lips trembled. She rapidly blinked her eyes, as if she was trying not to cry.

Matthew wrapped his arms around her and gently pressed her face into his chest. "It's okay to cry," he whispered to her. "I know. I saw things in there too."

"You did?"

Matt nodded mutely. He didn't know quite how to comfort her, other than just to hold her. He knew in that moment, holding her was just as much a comfort to him as it was to her.

*****

Isaac hated watching his tributes and being unable to help them. Lolita seemed to be doing fine, but Shane nearly failed, Zira was being isolated, which Isaac knew would only make her cruel attitude worse, Akari was humiliated in front of all of Candor, and Matthew's shoulder made him score low during training, and he didn't seem to be doing well in the fear simulation. Vivian was the only one who seemed okay, doing community service in Abnegation.

While watching the last part of the initiations, Isaac glanced to his right. On the desk was a gladiatorial rudius. The day before, a man calling himself Spartacus had shown up and given it to him. Spartacus told him it was an artifact to help him, and that he'd been sent from the Unseelie King. Isaac knew his tributes needed all the help they could get, so he had decided to keep it. How Spartacus had gotten in, or where he'd gone after he'd left, was a complete mystery, even to Isaac.

Isaac stroked his beard, deep in thought. Even though it was trying, watching his tributes helped him understand much more about them. Akari's self-doubt and pregnancy, Zira's cruelty and her deep insecurities of being alone, the extent of Matthew's PTSD, Vivian's compassion for animals, Lolita's love for music, and Shane's anger issues. Isaac had even learned a little about his new tribute, Kanan.

Looking back at the monitors, Isaac sighed in relief. They had all passed. Finally, it was over.

Though deep inside, Isaac knew it was far from it.