A/N: Thanks for the reviews everyone :) I really appreciate them. Discordant will continue!

Chapter 2

Are You Ready?

Musa opened her eyes the morning of the Faction Suitability Test, feeling a knot in her stomach that she could not untie. The results of today's exam would tell her where her future lied. It was to tell her more about herself, her nature, one hidden beneath her skin or standing in plain sight for her entire life. She wasn't sure what the results would indicate but she knew that that for her future to start she needed to get out of bed.

After serving breakfast to her parents and then sitting down to eat her own her mother asked, "are you nervous?" Jarad nodded his head a little, making Hoboe's eyes narrow.

"What are you nervous about?" He joked, placing his hand firmly on Jarad's right shoulder. Jarad's smile seemed hollow. Musa expected it to be beaming. She was sure that Jarad's results would tell him that Harmony was indeed where he was destined to live and serve for the rest of his life. Selflessness came so easily to him. He never questioned the good acts he did but did his duty unwaveringly, what Musa struggled to do herself. Taking a sip of water from her glass, her mother's eyes flickered in her direction. "What about you, Musa?"

Musa swallowed the cool liquid, feeling it travel down her throat. She put the glass down on the table slowly. "A little I guess," she admitted. "Were you? For your test?" It was another question. Her mother replied regardless, she must have found it reasonable enough. "Nervous is not the word I would have used… terrified is probably more accurate," she smiled a little and Musa didn't find one word of it reassuring. "I'm just saying that it's okay to be frightened, this is a big step, for both of you. But it's a necessary one and if you remember to act on instinct you will be perfectly fine."

I nodded and smiled before standing to wash my dishes.

The cement cracks below their feet created new pathways for the grass to grow through. It defied the confines it had been subjected to, broke down the cement barriers that were holding it and had fought for its own freedom. Musa found herself transfixed by the way it moved in the breeze as she waited for the bus. As usual, they were far too early. They stood together, leaving the chair vacant for anyone else who may have come by and needed to rest their feet. "Are you okay, Muse?" Jarad spoke, obviously trying to break the nervous tension that had been building between the two of them.

"Yeah, fine," Musa shrugged, "just a little nervous about it." She wiped her hands on her dress.

"Understandable," he replied, looking distant for a moment.

"What about you?" she asked in return.

"I'm fine, it's just a test right? I don't know what we are getting so anxious about. It's not like we could have studied for it." He made a good point and Musa replied with a nod and knowing sigh. It was a test without any prior knowledge, one organised for the shire purpose making you act on instinct so they could get a true measure of your character. This test was not about memorising facts or training the body or mind but identifying the inner soul of those who undertook it.

Perhaps it was the fact that you could not study for it that had Musa so scared, a fear of the unknown and of being out of control, but she guessed everyday they lived was one not of their own choosing – at least, not yet.

The airship docked before the two and they walked up the ramp and into the main hold, taking a seat with all the other Harmony sixteen year olds from school who were about to take the test. The ship rose into the air and Musa looked outside the window at their world, it looked less bleak from above as the ship soared into the sky.

"Getting ready for hyperspeed, fasten your seatbelts."

Musa did as she was told before the world below her turned to a blur. Her body was pulled so far backwards into her seat she feared it would break. The pressure on her chest, thankfully, lasted only about thirty seconds before they slowed and were floating in space. She looked at the stars and couldn't help but smile before catching her reflection in the glass of the ships windows. She had aged since she last managed to sneak a look; her facial features had finally matured and turned her into quite a beautiful young woman. Her eyes were a beautiful blue, her mother's eyes, and she smiled before seeing another ship, coloured green, floating beside them – Zenith.

Their ship was larger, more sophisticated, and highlighted with green decal. The symbol of the district, that of an all seeing eye was silver against the ships surface and she caught the gaze of a young woman opposite with bright pink hair. No one would have thought such a thing was possible and it was fascinating for Musa to think of. She absent-mindedly played with her long dark locks and imagined herself with the same colour, laughing at the very idea.

"We're about to descend everyone, just letting the other factions dock before we do."

Typical. Musa's eyes rolled a little as the Zenith ship descended onto the planet below them.

After an hour of floating in the same patch of space, Musa was more than happy to be on solid ground again. She stepped off the ship and smiled as the suns warm rays shone against her face. Magix had a beautiful quality about it that she loved with all her heart. It was a place where their tests would occur, where they would select their futures, and where others after her would do the same. It was the one place where all five of the factions would meet together and combine, where Zenith, Solaria, Linphea, Quantum and Harmony would gather on equal ground.

The mixture of colour from the yellow of Solaria to the green from Zenith and the purples from Linphea it all mixed together in a way she had never seen before. Colours that she had known existed but had only seen before on television all came together in one rainbow.

"You ready for this?" Asked Chris, one of the siblings friends from school. He hooked his arm around Musa's shoulders and smiled confidently.

"Yeah, I suppose so," she replied.

"It will be great, I wonder what the simulation will be, I hope it's something exciting."

Chris was a nice guy, he was selfless and a little reckless. He was born into Harmony and was destined to always live by it. He volunteered to help feed the poor, collected money for charity, attended school functions to brainstorm ideas for us to branch out to help the other districts, attended the weekly committee meetings where political discussions took place and Musa's father adored him. But not for the same reason all the other girls in the faction would. He had beautiful light green eyes, a kindness that knew no bounds and short blonde hair. Her mother had invited him over to the house on several occasions and his sister, Sally, too. She had long brunette hair and took more after their mother than their father and the not-so-hidden-plan was to eventually make Musa and Jarad share feelings for the siblings in the hopes of new romance sparking.

Any other girl would not have turned down a nice guy like Chris but Musa was not interested in a relationship at this stage of her life. Though, she supposed, she could do worse than him should her test tell her that Harmony was to be her safe haven as well. She doubted it would be the case though.

The doors at the front of the testing centre were full with Zenithian, Linphean and Solarian entries. All of them aiming for the elevators while Harmony abnegated the space and aimed for the stairs. It was slow going, especially for the good seventy or so of them to climb up and while Musa waited with Chris talking to her about his latest community project and how much he would have loved for her to join him, a loud screaming and yelling filled her ears.

Musa turned her head to see another ship approaching, it was black with red streaks; it belonged to Quantum – The Brave. The hundred or more of them leaped from the ship in mid air as it hovered, not bothering or even looking to land. Each landed on their feet or dodge rolled on impact, running as fast as they could to the door, screeching and yahooing at the top of their lungs. It was a sight to behold. To see such happiness in their faces and she couldn't help but smile as they ran past and through the doors, ordering themselves into the main building. Their bright coloured hair waved in the wind as their leaders followed behind, punching one another in the shoulders or jostling as they walked. The only way to tell a leader from a recruit was the black reversible cape. Red on the inside, and black on the outside. Piercings in their faces, tattoos on their hands, anyone else would have called it barbaric but Musa preferred the word 'intriguing'.

"Hooligans," Chris scoffed, making Musa turn to look him in the eye. "All they care about is running around and yelling and hitting one another, what kind of life is that?"

'A free one' Musa's mind replied silently and she was glad that he couldn't hear her thoughts. "I'm not sure, looks like a bit of fun."

"Fun?" Chris laughed, "I wouldn't call it that but it's their choice. They stay out of my way and I will stay from there's. They are nothing but dangerous and troublesome."

Her father had always talked about the other four factions and outlined their faults. Other than Zenith and Solaria, his other grievances were always with Quantum. He could not see their usefulness and believed that their kind was as selfish as it came. "All they focus on is bettering themselves and not thinking of others,' he had stated during another dinner table rage. But they certainly didn't look like they were trying to do anything for themselves. They moved as a group, were happier than she had been for a long time and she was captivated by their movement, the way their flung their arms behind them as they ran, the way they moved at their own pace and didn't worry about taking things slow, it was the kind of life she envied.

"Muse?" Jarad spoke, placing a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see the staircase free and she walked towards it. Jarad placed his hand before her, stopping her in her tracks and she looked back to his eyes. "It doesn't matter what happens today, it's just a test, it doesn't mean that it is our only choice."

"I know," she replied, "But don't tell me you aren't beginning to question your decision."

"I can't really think about it without the results of the test."

"But you are, aren't you?" Musa asked. "I'm starting to feel like I am the only one who is actually thinking of transferring to another faction."

"Trust me, you are not the only one. Plenty of people from school want to swap out and change their future."

"Do you?" The question seemed to his Jarad a little hard. He didn't reply at first with a direct 'yes' but didn't reply with 'no' either.

"I don't know what I want," he finally answered, "but I'm hoping this test will help me decide." Musa nodded with understanding before she started for the stairs and they ran, two at a time, to make sure that they were not late.

Finally entering the building they all joined together inside the waiting hall where each faction remained in their designated part of the room. Five different people wearing white blue lab coats would call names forward from each one to be taken to rooms to sit the test. Musa's hands shook and she wiped them on her skirt again to keep them dry while Jarad reached his hand over to hers and he gave it a reassuring squeeze.

The first group walked away and then later returned, a young girl had tears falling from her eyes and down her cheeks while a boy seemed to be shell shocked by whatever was inside. If anyone in the room wasn't feeling nervous they sure as hell needed to now.

"Jarad Melody," called a woman and he stood, seemingly in control though Musa noticed his shoulders rise with a lungful of air.

"Musa Melody," she called again, looked like the two of them were heading in together, at least in the same group.

"Follow me."

She walked down a series of corridors, past other closed doors were 'do not disturb' signs were present before she halted.

"You will be sitting your test inside one of the following rooms," she paused, "Aria you are in room five, Jarad will be in room six, Musa you will be in seven, …" Her voice faded to nothing as Musa stepped before the door and took a breath of air. She looked to her left at Jarad who gave a smile.

"Good luck." Upon the woman's final remark the doors all opened at once, slowly sliding away behind the wall and they stepped inside.

The door closed and Musa stood a little shocked just behind it. The room was quite large with a giant silver chair in the centre, reclined in a similar way to a dentist's one. Next to that was a machine, no doubt to help run and record her simulation results and, making her way over to her, was a woman from Quantum. She had long black hair shrieked with blue and wore a black singlet and pants. Her belt was notched with pointed silver spikes and she had knuckle gloves on her hands that were red. She adjusted the glasses on her nose which were horn rimmed at the edges and make her look fierce.

"Musa, my name is Du Four," she greeted, stepping forwards, "have a seat." Musa walked towards the chair and noticed her reflection in the mirrors on the walls. For a moment she took in her reflection for the first time from head to toe. 'I look tall, thin, pale and grey,' she noted.

Du Four ushered Musa to the seat and she sat down, swinging her legs around and resting her head against the rest. The chair reclines further and tilts backwards as Musa's hands clutch each other over her stomach which fills with butterflies. "Do not worry, this won't hurt."

She busies herself with the machine to Musa's right and the young sixteen year old tried not to look curious, though a particular tattoo on Du Four's left shoulder caught her attention. "Why the tiger?" she asked.

"Strange," Du Four chuckled, "never met a Harmonite who asked questions before." Musa didn't reply but the older woman felt the need to respond, if anything to help take Musa's mind off things.

"It helps me to remind myself of what's important, of where I have been and where I am heading now. The tiger is a totem animal, it represents courage and strength, and uncontrollable forces. It helps me to remember the fears I've overcome."

"You were afraid of courage?"

"Of things being out of my control." She turns with a shot glass of clear liquid and passes it into Musa's shaking fingertips. "Drink this," she smiled, "and the simulation will begin."

She attached a glowing headband to Musa's forehead and then another to her own before flicking a final switch on the computer screen and turning back. "Are you ready?"

Musa nodded, still a little unsure, but she closed her eyes, swallowed the bitter tasting liquid with one gulp and felt the world around her fade into darkness.

AN: Thanks for reading and please review :) the simulation test will be next.