Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Twilight, Vampire Diaries, Divergent, or Shadowhunters/Mortal Instruments. Those rights are reserved for Stephanie Myer, LJ Smith, Veronica Roth, and Cassandra Claire. I do own the original characters made up for this storyline. Thank you.
Writer's Notes: Thank you Roxhall, and delia for your reviews and welcome to Ascendant! I'm so happy to see you guys are enjoying the story so far! I hope that everyone loves the Multiverse, since this was a big request to do another Multiverse. You'll see some cameo appearances of random characters from the four different series. This is the largest multiverse that I have done so far, and I hope that everyone enjoys! As always, I appreciate all the support and look forward to writing this story with you guys! Don't forget to follow, favorite, and review!
Bella and Beatrice were ushered outside with the other Dauntless, and the train could be heard, rattling the tracks. They watched others climb up to get on the platform above, and so Bella and Beatrice followed suit. They got up on the platform and watched as the train flew by them, and then everyone was running. They lifted their skirts on their long dresses and started running, the frontrunner getting on the train, hitting the button to open the compartments on the train. Bella was a faster runner than Beatrice and hopped up into the train first, nearly out of breath, and then reached out and helped her sister on the train. They fell back onto the train, laughing with each other, something that they never did out loud at least.
"Hi, I'm Caroline." A blonde, blue eyed Candor girl introduced.
Bella smiled. "Hi."
"I'm Clary." A red head introduced. She was from Erudite.
"They're jumping," Caroline suddenly said.
"Wait what?" Beatrice looked out the window. "They are. They're trying to kill us." She said and then the four girls stood, prepping themselves to jump.
"Together?" Caroline asked.
Bella nodded looking at her sister. They waited until it was their turn and then the four of them lept from the train, hitting the rooftop and doing a slight roll. They laughed some, gathering themselves up, and gathering over at the far end of the rooftop, where the rest of the Dauntless were waiting. There was a couple guys standing over near the ledge.
"Listen up. There is one way into Dauntless, and this is it." The man that spoke was a brawny guy, he had a piercing in his face, and his hair was shaved on the sides, and long on top, and also a dull blonde color, "Who's going to go first?"
Another Candor spoke up. "Is there a net at the bottom or something?"
The guy stared at her, not amused. "I guess you'll just have to find out."
Bella and Beatrice looked at each other. "I'll go first." Bella said, and Beatrice nodded to her. She walked to the front, glancing over at the man, and then shrugged her sweater off, before climbing up on the ledge. She looked over the edge, the darkness obscured the bottom. She took a breath, and then stepped off, the wind flying by her fast and then she was landing in a net, bouncing up a couple times. She smiled, looking up at the opening, seeing the bright blue of the sky above. The net dipped, and she rolled to the edge, and came face to face with another man. His hair was dark, short, but had a bit of shag to it. His eyes were a dark blue color.
"First jumper, what's your name." The man spoke, his voice was a deep rasp.
"Um. Bella." She introduced, and then his hands gripped her hips and helped her out of the net.
"Bella." He called and looked at her. "Welcome to Dauntless."
The next jumper was Beatrice, and she looked around, spotting Bella smiling on the side.
"Name?" The man asked, studying her.
Beatrice looked around. "Its…. Tris."
"Next jumper, Tris," the man announced and then looked at her. "Welcome to Dauntless.
Once all the jumpers had made it to the bottom, they were moved to another room, issued clothing from Dauntless. They all had to change in the open, didn't matter if you were male or female.
Bella and Tris dressed in the tight leather-like pants, the black ribbed tank top and a black dauntless jacket. They then lined up, and tossed their old clothing into a fire, burning away their previous faction.
They moved into an open area, the walls a rugged stone. There was a balcony up above, made of the same stone, and metal bars lined the edge, like a wrought iron fence. It was loud until someone appeared, a man standing with the man from the roof, and a few others.
"Welcome, to Dauntless. You were either born here, or you came to us from another faction. Today starts a new journey for you." The man's voice reverberated through the large room. He was shorter than the blonde man from earlier by a little and had dark skin and eyes. His Dauntless jacket had a special patch on the side. It indicated that he was a Dauntless leader, and that he was important. "You will be put through more tests, training, to be Dauntless. I'll let your team leaders explain the rest to you. For now, enjoy your first night here." He said and then he was gone.
The blonde man looked out over everyone, walking down the stairs to stand before them. There was a board over in the front. "Pay attention. I'm not going to repeat myself." He said, his voice harsh. "This board has all your names on it. At the end of the first round, if your name is in the red, you're out."
"Out of what?" One guy asked.
"Out of Dauntless."
"Why weren't we told this before?"
"Before what? You joined? You get to pick us, but now, it's our turn to pick you." He announced.
Bella and Tris looked at each other. They were in for a whole new world of experiences. Bella was worried now. She knew that she wasn't the best athlete there was, and she looked around at some of the Dauntless and they seemed to be in descent shape. She wondered how long of a period it was for the first round and how many rounds there were. They were dismissed to go eat some chow, and there wasn't much of a selection. Bella, Tris, Clary, and Caroline stayed close together, finding a spot at a table, next to the man that greeted them at the bottom when they jumped.
Bella was quiet as she listened to Caroline and another girl Cristina chat about their old faction, and they were laughing and deliberating with another boy, who Bella found out was named Al.
"Stop talking about your old factions. You're here in Dauntless now. You're Dauntless." The man quipped, looking a bit grumpy. He picked up his tray and moved away, leaving the cafeteria after dumping his trash and sliding his tray in the dish pit.
He wasn't wrong. They weren't in their old factions anymore. They had become part of a whole different faction, and it was time to adjust and get serious about being here. At least Bella knew she had to be serious. She couldn't afford to be on the bottom. If you were kicked out of Dauntless, that made you factionless, and that wasn't where anyone wanted to end up.
"That was Four." Caroline leaned in to tell Bella.
"Four?" Bella asked. "That's an odd name."
"Yeah, well he's odd. He's one of the best. He's been offered leadership several times, and he's turned them down. Not wanting to get into the politics of things, and whatnot." Caroline waved away.
Tris nodded. "What about the evil blonde?"
"Eric. He's not friendly. He's the toughest on all the recruits." Clary supplied.
"How do you guys already know all of this?" Bella asked.
Clary nodded to some of the Dauntless born kids. "Already pulled it out of the Dauntless born."
That made sense, Bella realized. They hurried and finished the rest of their dinner before being herded into what would be their bunks for the first round. They were cots, all lined up in rows. Bella and Tris took cots next to each other, and then Clary and Caroline on each side of them, and then they added Cristina to the mix.
Night fell fast and morning would come faster, so everyone hunkered down for the night. Bella was exhausted so it wasn't hard for her to get to sleep, even with how uncomfortable the cots were. There were some low murmurs as some people talked to each other, until finally the night was quiet.
[5 AM, the Next morning]
"Everyone up," Eric's loud voice boomed into the room. "In the training hall, ten minutes." He said and then he disappeared.
People shuffled out of their beds and pulled on their boots and their jackets. There were some yawns, and then people gathered their toiletries and brushed their teeth quickly before everyone crowded into the training hall. Bella's stomach growled from the hunger, but she didn't say anything.
"Alright, you'll be tested to see where you fall on the list, but first, you'll be placed into three different teams." Eric said. "I'll take Dauntless born. Four, you and Magnus split the rest." He said.
Four nodded, crossing his arms, and talking to another man. He was exotic looking, his hair was dark, like pitch and situated like a mohawk on his head, but the sides of his head were shaved. There were some stripes of red in his hair, and his eyes were a dark brown, and Asian. He wore some darkened liner around his eyes, and he had an earring that drooped from one of his ears, a red feather attached to it. Even his clothes matched him. The leather pants hugged him tight, and his black leather tunic showed off his arms, but the neck obscured his neck. Eric had referred to him as Magnus.
Magnus looked at the crowd. "Okay Four, straight split?"
Four nodded. "Sure."
"This side, you're with me, that side, go with Four." Magnus said, his voice was smooth, lilted slightly, adding to his exotic nature. His mouth was curved in a grin. Bella moved to the side that would be part of Magnus' team, while Tris and Clary got saddled with Four. Bella looked at Caroline and smiled. At least there was someone friendly with her.
Four took the others off to a different section of the room, while Magnus kept Bella, Caroline and the others right there.
Bella looked around at her group. They were more of the weaker looking ones she noted. Most of them were also female, except for Al, Will, and another boy who Bella wasn't sure what his name was. He was quiet since they got here. He looked like he could be strong. His eyes were an amber color, and his hair was a dark blonde and shaggy, to his shoulders.
"Okay, I'm Magnus Bane, I'm your trainer for round one of the trials. Don't fear, don't stress. Yes, some of you will be in the red, but it's my job to hopefully keep that from happening. I'm not one for the bully type like my colleague Eric, but I am stern. Don't let my looks fool you." He said with a cat-like grin. "Take a good look around you." He said, pausing.
Bella looked around again. She was trying to remember each face, so later she could put a name to it, and who she should watch out for.
"These are your brethren. They are the ones you will rely on when on duty, or in the event you are dispatched to contain Factionless. They are also your opponents during this round. You are being graded on everything. You may be thinking, hmmm, I'm not the strongest, or I'm not the fastest." Magnus was doing a slow pace as he monologued it front of them. He stopped right in front of Bella, his eyes staring at her. "You don't have to all of those things. You do have to have strategy, and you have to be smarter." He said, grinning at Bella, before moving on. "I'll teach you some skills, that the other two won't. Unlike Eric and Four, I was Dauntless born." He smiled. "So, pair off. There's an even number of you." He said with a clap.
Bella faced Caroline and smiled at her. Once everyone was in pairs, Magnus went around.
"You're going to fight. Each other. Don't hold back. I don't care if they're your mother, brother, sister, best friend, or pet fish. You are going to fight one another and learn each other's weaknesses. And…go." Magnus said, standing off to the side, crossing his arms and watching.
Bella didn't like to fight against Caroline, but she did it anyways. They struck at each other. Caroline was shyer about her movements, and Bella noticed that Caroline was unsure of how to really fight. Bella wasn't entirely sure either, but she knew that she had to do something other than dance around. She caught Caroline good in the face, and it was shocking to both of them. They wore each other down, until Caroline tapped out.
Magnus nodded. "Okay. Where are my eight winners." He said and made them all stand in a line. Bella, Will, Al, the quiet guy, Cristina, and three others, two girls and a guy were lined up. "Okay, you," he grabbed Bella's arm. "You fight him." She placed her in front of one of the guys at the end. He was about the same height as Bella, and had dark hair, and dark eyes like she did. Magnus went down and faced off the four groups. "Okay, go."
The fight started again. The guy that Bella was against was shy, not sure about hitting at a girl, she realized, so she used that weakness against him. She struck at him, knowing her punches were messy, but she had the upper hand. He quickly tapped, to get out of hitting a girl, Bella surmised, and she watched as Al got his ass handed to him by the quiet boy. Al was not the best fighter, and he was afraid to get hit. Another weakness.
Bella, the quiet guy, Cristina, and Will were left.
"Okay, you," Magnus pinned Cristina and Will against each other, and Bella looked at the guy in front of her. He was not afraid to hit, and she knew from watching him fight with Al, that he was right-handed, so that would be his dominant hand, and his left would be weaker. "Okay. Go." He said and stepped back and watched the four tangle.
Bella was just trying to avoid getting hit at this point, not looking forward to how hard the guy could hit. She stayed away from his right hook, but his left caught her by surprised, and it knocked her backwards. She avoided another attack, and but ultimately, he put her on her knees, and she had to tap.
Cristina won against Will, but Bella suspected that Will just didn't want to hurt Cristina. Now it was Cristina against her old opponent, and Bella watched as the guy crumpled Cristina. She winced as Cris fell to the floor and tapped.
Magnus nodded. "Good. Jasper, you were Amity?"
Jasper nodded. "I was." He spoke. His voice was calm, kind sounding, and it was shocking that this guy used to be Amity. Amity were kind, and peaceful.
"Alright. You all know where you stand. You know what your weaknesses are. When you get pitted in that ring," Magnus motioned over towards the center of the training hall. "Eric will not let you tap. I'm warning you now. You will go until someone is unconscious. He shows no mercy." Magnus didn't agree with that. It was a new rule that the Dauntless leaders came up with this year, and that bothered not only Magnus, but it bothered Four as well. "You fight your hardest, and you train your hardest. Don't give up. Dauntless never give up."
"Why did you let us tap?" Cristina spoke up, her face was already bruising.
Magnus nodded. "Because I wanted to see who would give up. Will, Al, you can't be afraid to hit a girl. Enemies do not care whether or not what your gender is. Caroline, stop being unsure of yourself. You came from Candor; I understand you appreciate honesty. Suck it up. Everyone here has a goal, and that's to stay out of the red. Don't be the person that goes Factionless because of your own uncertainty." He looked at Bella. "You gave up when your body gave up. Dauntless push past that burn. They push past their limits every day. Don't give up." He looked around the room again. "Training is going to be hard. You're going to put your bodies through something it's never been through before. Outperform the Dauntless born. Don't give in. Trust me. After today, I may not be as nice, or easy going. There are times for me to have to be strict, and to the point. It may hurt your feelings. I don't care." Magnus said, his smile gone now. "I said I'm not a bully, and I'm not. I'm not going to intentionally put you in danger. That's not how I operate. I don't goad you into doing what I want you to do, and I don't result to name calling to lower your morale. I cannot promise you won't get bullied. My advice is to grow a thick skin and grow one fast." He said and glanced over to Four walking over, his cat-like grin appeared on his face again. "Coming to spy?"
Four shook his head. "No, but I need your posting. Board needs to be updated." He nodded to the board. The names were rearranged.
"Ah, yes. Of course." Magnus said and pulled a square device from his back pocket. There were points involved. The board shifted, and the names rolled.
Bella looked at the board. She was above the red, she felt relieved that she wasn't in the red, but she spotted Tris' name, 38th, and she was in the red. She swallowed, feeling the pain in her heart.
"Thank you." Four said and looked around at the sixteen of them that Magnus had on his side. His eyes landed on Bella. "You. You're Tris' sister?"
Bella nodded. "I am. Is she okay?"
Four studied her and looked at the board. Bella's name was 17th. There was a vast difference in them. He looked at Magnus, and just made a hmm sound and then walked away.
Bella frowned. "He didn't answer my question…" she murmured.
"Bella, your sister is probably fine. He's simply confused how you two are sisters." Magnus said with a slight smile.
"I'm adopted." Bella said, blinking. Caroline's name was right above Tris' and was in the red too, but Bella was more worried about Tris. She couldn't lose her sister. She was the only family she had here. There were 48 names on the board, so at least Tris wasn't dead last, but it still worried her.
Magnus nodded. "Alright, chow time. Make sure you eat to keep your energy. Dismissed." He said and watched as his group shuffled, some of them holding their jaw, or favoring their arm. Bella grabbed her jacket from the ground and shrugged it on when Jasper approached.
"I'm sorry." Jasper said simply.
Bella raised a brow. "IT's unnecessary to apologize. I'm fine."
Jasper nodded, falling into step with her as they walked towards the dining hall. "I know, but. I'm still sorry. I just wanted you to know that. I don't hold back when in the ring, but I am not a monster." He offered a smile.
"Thanks," Bella muttered. She found Tris, who had a bruise on her cheek. She frowned. "What happened?"
Tris sighed. "I'm never going to survive Bella."
"Sure, you will, we just have to work on it."
"That's easy for you, you're seventeenth. I don't even know how." Tris muttered.
"I don't know. How is Four as an instructor?" They got their food and sat down.
Tris sighed. "It wasn't him. It was Eric. He hijacked Four's speech, and then had the grand idea to pit us against Dauntless born. Of course, most of us got our asses handed to us. What about Magnus?"
"He's okay. He had us fight each other to gauge or weaknesses." Bella said. "I fought Caroline."
Caroline smiled. "And she kicked my ass. I'm dainty. I have to work hard, I have almost no muscle mass." She said with an exaggerated sigh.
Bella smiled. "Yeah, we'll work together. We can make sure you two are on top of the red at the end of the round." She was confident that they could make it, together. It would be a long, hard road, but she wouldn't let Tris fail, or Caroline, even if it meant taking a few beatings herself.