Disclaimer: Anything you recognize from Allegiant is not mine. Pen and all original characters you do not recognize do belong to me. This Disclaimer is true for this chapter and all that follow!
A/N: WELCOME TO THE THIRD AND FINAL INSTALLMENT OF MY OWN DIVERGENT TRILOGY! I can't believe that it's already here! It'll be bittersweet and yet I'm still EXTREMELY excited to see the story continue and to see what you all think of it! But I must refrain for just a moment while we reiterate a few things that are pretty much the same that you've read before. It goes as follows:
- This is a mash-up of both the books and the movie, following the books a little more closely, with some of the movie changes thrown in. Hopefully it'll flow so you hardly notice it. This story more than the others is very much book based. Since the movie basically, well, if you watched it you know.
- Picture Eric as Jai since you can't have a good Divergent FF without him!
- The timeframe of this is a little skewed. I went with more the movie timeline. Ages were changed for the film and I went with Eric and Four being 24 to work my OC in better. So don't be alarmed!
- This story is rated M for a reason! If language, nudity, sex, abuse, or anything similar offends you than do not read past this point. There is plenty of all of it so if you can't handle it than don't read it. I will not be offended.
BE PREPARED AND YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! That's your warning so keep it in mind as the story progresses.
And just because I appreciate you all so much, I want to give a HUGE THANK YOU to all who read To Be Brave and To Stay Strong and to all those who will continue their journey with me in To Forge Forever!
Let me know what you think and I will be updating weekly so you'll never have to wait very long! Still on Tuesday's!
Okay, I think that's it. READ, REVIEW, but most of all ENJOY!
Now then, with much love, let's get this story started right now!
HAPPY READING!
Chapter One: The Fight Is Not Over
Life had not ended up where I had thought it would.
I never would have thought my life would have ended up like this.
Everything that had happened had been unexpected. From falling in love with Eric, to nearly dying in Erudite, only to take it and to have the city taken over by my non-blood brother's mother. Yeah, things definitely hadn't ended up the way I – or anyone else – thought it would.
Even now, I was in the once place I never expected to be. As soon as Evelyn had taken over, the loyal Dauntless were given a place to stay and free reign throughout Erudite. The city was officially in lockdown and those Evelyn had deemed as traitors were rotting in cells on the third floor. They were being treated more like guests but were still being kept in the dark on what Evelyn's plan was. No one knew what that was. Though it was pretty obvious that she had other plans then just putting them on trial. Something told me that the traitors wouldn't last long in the new world that Evelyn planned on creating.
Pacing the office, the metal desk looked dangerous, remembering the woman who once sat behind it. The window overlooking the city showing smoke in the air. The glass walls added a sense of freedom but I felt anything but free. Taking in the walls lined with full bookshelves, I imagined what it was like to be from Erudite. How different my life would have been if I'd picked them instead of Dauntless. Laughing at myself, I shook my head. I still wouldn't have it any other way. I loved Dauntless. I loved being Dauntless. I loved being Divergent. And if I had never been either of those things, than I never would have met Eric. And above everything, I loved Eric. Eric. The man I loved who I had been forcefully separated from, put into this fancy office, and now I was waiting for something to happen.
Pausing, seeing movement through the glass, Evelyn smiled as she unlocked the door and let herself in. I had been waiting for nearly two hours, wondering what the hell I was doing and why the hell they felt the need to lock me in. Something I hoped she would clear up for me, but form the look on her face she wasn't going to give me anything.
"What am I doing here?" I frowned at her.
"Pen." She smiled.
"Evelyn." I said putting my hands on top of the desk, the scabs on my right slightly cracking. "What am I doing here?"
"I need your help."
Frowning, I tried to figure out where she was going with this. "Why?"
"Because I trust you." She smiled.
"Why the fuck would you trust me?!" I bellowed at her. "I am not the one you should be trusting!"
"Why not?" She asked sitting down.
"What do you mean why not? What the hell are you up to?"
She pretended to mess around with some of the papers on the desk. "Everything is untouched."
"What did you think I was going to do? Did you leave me alone this long just to see what I'd touch? Evelyn! What do you want?!"
"For starters, I'd like you to sit down." She said motioning to the chair across from her.
"What? No." I said crossing my arms, starting to pace again.
She watched me for a few long minutes, a small smile on her lips that was making me far too anxious. "Please, Pen. Sit down."
Staring at her, I sighed, sitting down. "There, I'm sitting. Now tell me what you want."
"I want you to be my second in command."
For a moment I just looked at her, then I burst with laughter. My stomach and sides ached with the force of my laughter. All the while, that smile remained on her face. "Are you fucking kidding me?" I finally managed. "Evelyn, I wouldn't be your second if my life depended on it."
"What about Eric's?"
All humor drained from me and my eyes quickly darted to the pen on the desk, feeling the chair beneath me, assessing everything that could be used as a weapon. "Are you threatening him?"
"No." She replied quickly. "I am not threatening him. But none of us are out of the woods yet."
"He's safe and he will remain safe." I told her. "And I'll never work with you."
"Why not?"
"Because I have no allegiance to you."
"What about to my son?"
Eyeing her, I was starting to see where she was going with this. "Me working with you would do nothing for yours and your son's relationship."
"I don't know what you're talking about." She smiled.
Leaning forward, my elbows on my knees, I gently rubbed my hand. Pain was starting to set in, making the scabs itchy and my mood for being here only decline. Keeping her eyes, I couldn't help but smile as I saw a flicker of anxiousness. "My relationship with Tobias is ours and has nothing to do with you. I will not speak for you and if – for whatever reason – I work with you that would still have nothing to do with my relationship with him. It would have to do with me and what I believe, and right now, nothing you're offering has sparked one sliver of interest in me." She just looked at me. "Can I do anything else for you?"
"No."
"Then I'd like to return to my boyfriend." I said and stood, making my way to the door.
"He acted against me."
I froze, my hand on the handle, slowly turning my head toward her. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"He acted against me after the fight was over. He attempted to keep his weapon and use it against those who had clearly taken over."
"You're reaching." I shot at her, turning toward her. "And if you remember correctly, I did too. You will not manipulate me into working for you."
"You were defending Eric." She stated. "And I'm not trying to manipulate you."
"Bullshit." I shot at her.
"He's unpredictable."
"Evelyn."
"He's dangerous."
Letting go of the handle, I narrowed my eyes at her, "I'm dangerous." She simply stood there with that fucking smile on her face. "What did you do?"
"I had him arrested." She stated nonchalantly.
"Where is he?" I asked her through clenched teeth.
"In a cell." She smiled as if she were about to win something.
Crossing my arms, I squared my shoulders as I faced her. "Evelyn, I swear to god if you hurt him or make either of our lives hell, I will come after you."
"I'm shaking in my boots." She replied un-phased.
Narrowing my eyes at her, I took two steps toward her, "If you think you know me, I'd think again. And I'd definitely not seem as cocky as you do right now. Especially if you're thinking about threatening Eric."
"I know." She nodded, her smile falling just slightly.
"So what is your endgame here?" I asked. "Because all you're getting right now is a reason to look over your shoulder."
Her smile disappeared and she tilted her chin up, watching me closely. "Something tells me you could kill me with the few things in this office. And with all the training and experience in the med area, I'm guessing you could do it quickly and efficiently." I motioned my hand toward her, agreeing. "I'm not threatening Eric, Pen." She finally added. "You'll be escorted to his cell and he will be set free."
"So what was the point of arresting him?" I frowned.
"I wanted to see you react."
"And?"
"You were more than satisfactory."
I was itching to ask her what the hell that meant, but part of me felt like that's what she was waiting for. Instead I just laughed lightly, nodding, "And you still want me to on your team?"
She smiled again, "Yes, I do. And not because you're close to my son."
"Have fun, Evelyn." I told her going to the door.
"Let me know when you change your mind, Pen."
Laughing, I sarcastically saluted her and was out the door. Weaving through the shelves, I quickly left the library, Edward falling in step next to me with a shit grin on his face. Raising my brow, he nodded and led the way toward the cells, both of us stepping over the broken glass and holes in the walls. Erudite had definitely looked better. It was not nearly as pristine as they usually liked to keep it.
Moving down the last hallway, Four fell in step with us. "Hey." I told him.
"Opie." He said and pressed a kiss against my temple as he pulled me again him.
Turning to Edward, I raised a brow at him, "We can take it from here." He raised his hands, still smiling as he walked backward and out of sight. "Tobias." I said gripping his wrist and stopping him.
"What's wrong?" He frowned, glancing down the hall, anxious to get to Tris.
Crossing my arms, I waited for him to meet my eyes, "Your mother just tried to recruit me."
Now I had his attention. "For what?"
"For her second in command."
"What about Edward?" He frowned.
"I don't know." I said shaking my head. "But she had Eric arrested to see what I would do."
"That's why you're here." He nodded. "To get him out."
"He's being released. It was a ploy. What about Tris?"
His jaw tightened and he looked toward where she was being held. "You heard her."
"Do you really think she'll put her on trial?"
"Yes." He nodded. "And I told her I was coming here to end things with Tris."
"What?" I frowned.
"I'm already taking too long." He told me sounding annoyed.
Nodding, I wrapped my arm around his neck. "I love you, Tobias. After this is over we need to reconnect. I don't like the distance between us."
"Me neither." He hugged me tightly, momentarily burying his face in my neck. "Love you too." He told me, letting me go with a smile on his face.
Watching him walk away, I did not envy him. He had it worse than me and Eric. Tris was labeled a traitor and if Evelyn got her way, Tris wasn't long for this world. As soon as he was inside her cell, I moved to the other that had a guard in front of it, nodding for them to open it. Eric had been pacing, turning toward the door as soon as it was open.
"Pen." He said and swiftly took me into his arms.
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I pressed my face into it, my hand wrapped around his head with my other across his shoulders. "Are you okay?"
"Me? What about you?" He countered, pulling me away from him, taking my head in his hands.
Laughing lightly, I shook my head, kissing him deeply. "You're pacing in a cell and you're more concerned about me."
"I'm safe in a cell. I don't know what's going on outside of it." He frowned at me.
Smiling, I kissed him again, running my finger from one side of his face to the other, his five o'clock shadow scratching against it. "Have I told you that I love you yet today?"
He was smiling now, "Maybe. Either way you can tell me again."
"I love you, Eric." I whispered, kissing him passionately.
"Pen." He said with seriousness. "You're my favorite." Grinning, I kissed him slowly, slipping my tongue into his mouth. "Maybe we should keep the cell."
Laughing, I nodded at him, "That might be a good idea." He smiled and kissed me again. "I love your look right now too."
"I love you, woman." He said with his lips against mine.
"Pen." Four's voice interrupted us. "Let's go."
Eric sighed, letting me go, but kept my hand as we left the cell. Following Four, we went to the room that Evelyn had given to him, watching as he paced back and forth. All the rooms we were given looked the same. Four, along with Eric and I, had been given rooms on the outside of the building, giving us a wall of windows that overlooked the city. They were simpler than the apartments in Dauntless. A glorified cell. Something Evelyn had efficiently put us into when she locked down the city. It was shocking that she didn't have bathroom passes for us at this point. No one made a move without her knowing it. We were lucky she hadn't sent a few of her people to see why the three of us were meeting right now. Though we were all sporting the empty circle on our arms. Evelyn's symbol. The city was doomed. Though we had the luxury of still having our own bathroom but it was still half the space. Our cells full of a shit ton of books and writing material.
There was a small table with two chairs and I swiftly took a seat, momentarily rubbing my face in my hands. Eric took the other, moving his chair closer to mine, his hand moving to my thigh as he watched Four's pacing. He seemed anxious. Not that I blamed him. He was arrested for no reason in particular and now Four was looking like he was about ready to kill someone. Some plan was about to be put into motion and right now Four held all the cards. Looking at Eric with furrowed brows, he nodded, looking back at Four.
"Tobias." Eric said firmly but kindly.
Four stopped and looked at him. "She's going to kill Tris." He stated.
"No, she's not." Eric said standing and stepping toward him. "We won't let her." Four nodded at him, his hands on his hips. "We've been down this road before, Tobias. We've gotten her out of worse."
"Hold on." I frowned, standing. "The road you're talking about nearly left us both for dead. Tris nearly died as well."
"Exactly." Eric said.
"Exactly?" I frowned at him. "Seems to me that it's a good reason to not jump in without a better plan."
"We have a plan." Four told me.
"And are you going to share it?" I shot at him.
He looked at Eric, before taking a slow deep breath. "Tris will be put under the serum first and will push through it, lying to everyone to exonerate both Christina and Cara, along with herself."
"That's your plan?" I frowned at him, feeling anger start to boil. "Are you out of your fucking mind?!" I yelled at him. "How is that a plan!?"
"Opie, just calm down." Four told me gently.
Shaking my head, it was my turn to start pacing. Running my fingers through my hair, I tried to calm myself down. Eric put his hands on my arms but I shrugged out of his touch, glaring up at him. He nodded and took a step back, looking at Four who shoved his hands in his pockets.
"A million things could go wrong." I shot at Four. "What if she can't do it?"
"She can." Four replied with certainty.
"You don't know that." I replied harshly. "You have no idea how hard it is to push through that shit."
"I've been put under the serum too. I know what it's like."
I scoffed, "Did you try and fight it?"
He glanced at Eric before meeting my eyes, "No."
"Then you don't know. It's extremely difficult and it hurts like hell." I shot at him. "Not only that, but if she fails then we're all going to have a part in Evelyn's wrath."
"Not you." Eric replied.
"What?" I frowned at him.
"You don't know enough to be punished."
"And Evelyn is trying to recruit her." Four stated.
Eric looked at him before his head jerked toward me, "When were you going to tell me?"
"It just happened." I shot at him. Sighing, I ran my fingers between my brows. "I'm not going to do it." I told him calmly. "And this isn't about me. It's about a faulty plan that you two have once again concocted. One that could lead to a lot of trouble."
"It won't, Opie. I promise you." Four said trying to reassure me.
"Don't make promises you can't keep." I shot back at him.
"Baby, it's going to be fine." Eric told me as I continued to pace. "This is far easier than what we've faced in the past."
"That doesn't mean you should do it." I glared at him. "And you're just going to jump onboard with this, aren't you?"
He nodded, "Yeah."
Laughing, I shook my head, "And you're just going to let him." I stated looking at Four.
"We make a good team." He stated.
"You've worked together once and Eric nearly died!" I yelled at him. "I don't trust your plans."
"What about me?" Eric frowned, making me stop my pacing. "Don't you trust me?"
"Of course I do." I replied before he'd finished asking me.
"Then what's the problem?" He asked gently.
"The problem is that I love you more than anything and if you do anything that puts you at risk I will – and you will never – I will tie you to the bed – so help me god…" I rambled before trailing off. He was smirking at me now. Unable to suppress my own, I forced a frown on my face. "I hate you both."
"I know you do, baby." Eric smiled, his hands finding my waist.
"I really hate you." I told him but my resolve was already broken.
"I know you do, baby." He repeated before kissing me.
Wrapping my arm around his neck, I pressed myself against him, "God I love you."
"Hey!" Four yelled. "Not in front of me please."
Feeling a blush rise in my cheeks, I leaned against Eric, his arms moving around me as we looked at our brother. "Sorry."
"Okay, so the plan is simple. It's the plan B that we need if it goes wrong."
"Okay." Eric said going to the table again. "Let's plan it out."
And there you have chapter one! It feels good to post again! =)
Let me know what you think! But you know me, I do not run on reviews. I just appreciate them more than I'll ever say or admit to! Again, I love them like presents on Christmas morning. And I love Christmas. ; )