Disclaimer: I not own the rights to Twilight or Divergent. Those rights are reserved for Stephanie Myer and Veronica Roth. I do own the original characters created for this storyline. Please support the official release.
Writer's Notes: Hope everyone is having a great day! Here is a double update for everyone! Enjoy!
It was a test of willpower and patience sometimes with Dauntless. Bella was waiting for her fear landscapes. She knew that this was going to be the biggest test. Everything that Tori told her was that this is where Divergents were found out. Everything she did, she had to do it as if she were Dauntless. She was every bit Dauntless and more, but the trick was to not show that there was more.
Eventually, Eric popped out of the room, Jasper leaving a little disoriented. "Bella." He called her name, Bella got up and walked towards Eric. He had been quieter the last week. Thoughts of Bella being his sister was distracting. Why wouldn't his mother tell him that Bella was the one that she was talking about? Maybe his mother didn't know. It didn't seem to matter now since see was dead as well as Charles. "Take a seat." He said once he closed the door behind them. The room was small, setup much like the rooms for the aptitude tests. There was a monitor in front of him and a keyboard and the chair was reclined just enough to make you uncomfortable while you entered your fear landscapes.
Bella took a seat in the chair and her blue-green eyes danced over to Eric. "So, how does this work?"
"I'll give you the serum, you'll go into a dreamstate into your landscape. I'll be able to see what's going on in your mind here on the screen." He said and starting hooking some wires up to her. One went over her chest to gauge her heartrate. Two others went to her temples and then there was a sleeve attached to her arm. "You'll wake up as soon as the landscapes are over. " He relayed, then looked at the monitor and looked at all her readings. She was nervous he could tell. Her pulse was higher and she fidgeted a little. "It's going to be okay." He reassured her.
"I'm fine."
"Essentially you're hooked up to a lie detector." Eric said, arching his brow. "Is something bothering you?"
"No."
"Hmm. Another lie."
Bella sighed. "I just don't know what my fears are okay. This is… different." She muttered.
Eric smirked a little. "Relax. We all have fears. You'll sail through it." He said, then he picked up the serum in and drew it up into the syringe and then went over to her and injected it into her neck.
Bella's eyes drifted closed and her fear landscapes began.
Darkness. Only Darkness. Anything can happen in the dark confines of your mind. Darkness can be a solace, but for some, it's not. Bella opened her eyes, looking into the pitch. Her heart sped up in her chest. Something about being deprived of your senses was terrifying. "Hello?" Bella's voice echoed then that echo, echoed back to itself and it seemed to go on until it faded. Confusion filled her as she moved her hands around her. She couldn't' see them, but she knew they were there. She hesitantly took a step forward. She felt the ground beneath her still, so that was a good sign. She moved through the darkness carefully, searching until she felt a surface. "Hello?" She said again and it didn't echo. She ran her hands over the surface until she felt a knob. She opened it and light blinded her, making her shield her face. She looked behind her, seeing that it was just a small closet. That it felt like she had traveled so far only to have moved two feet. She saw her house in Abnegation. Everything was as it was. Natalie and Andrew had a simple home. She continued forward into the empty space of her old home until she found the front door and she opened it. She walked outside and looked around. Everyone was going on as if she wasn't there. It was like a haunting memory as she watched a small Tris run and play with a smaller version of herself.
"You hide now!" Tris called to Bella. Bella giggled and ran off to hide. She ran past Bella and into the house and that forced Bella to turn and follow. She didn't know what memory this was. When she walked back inside the house she found her mother and father. Andrew was yelling at Natalie. Natalie had tears on her face.
"She's just a little girl. How was I supposed to put her out on the street." Natalie cried to her husband. But when Bella looked closer it wasn't her father at all. It was another man.
The smaller Bella hid, careful not to say a word, but she knocked something over and it drew attention. "What are you doing inside?" Natalie's voice called to Bella. "Isabella, you should be playing with your sister."
"I was playing." Bella murmured, but her words were lost. The man looked at the smaller Bella. He had the same dark hair Andrew had, but his eyes were dark, like round dark stones that looked like they were black, but it was just a darkened grey. He had facial hair, a mustache, but his face was shaven everywhere else. He wore black and had a red patch on his arm. "She's the girl…"the man murmured, kneeling down to look at the smaller Bella.
"I'm Bella."
"Isabella." Natalie corrected.
The man smiled a little. "I know who you are." He said. "I'm Charles."
"Charles, she's fine here. I-"
Charles put a hand up to stop Natalie from talking. "Renee told me she was pregnant." He said and he studied little Bella. "How old are you now?" He asked.
"Seven."
"Do you like it here?"
The smaller Bella shrugged. "It's okay. The clothes are itchy."
"Isabella!" Natalie said.
Charles smiled again. "They are… aren't they." He said sand then he rose and looked at Natalie. "She belongs with me." He said to her.
"No. Renee was specific. She didn't want her to know about-"
"I am her father." Charles said, his voice sharp.
Bella looked at her smaller self. She wasn't afraid, she was just curious.
"I'm okay here." The smaller Bella said and Charles turned to look at her. "My mommy and daddy are nice to me." She said with a nod. "Not like Tobias's dad."
Charles knelt down again. "Bella… I want you to know… I love you very much."
"You do?"
"I do." Charles said with a nod. "One day, we will meet again… when you're much older. Where you can understand. You are a brave little girl. Braver than anyone could ever be."
The smaller Bella smiled. "I know! I love climbing up really high and it doesn't scare me at all! I also picked up a snake once."
"Isabella!" Natalie said again.
Charles chuckle and then he rested a hand on little Bella's head. "You are more than Abnegation." He murmured and then he kissed her forehead and stood.
Bella didn't remember this memory. She was confused as it happened. "I don't understand." Bella spoke outloud and Charles turned and looked at her.
"You are not the daughter I wanted you to be." Charles spoke.
Bella felt her skin run cold. "What?"
"You're pathetic. You're not strong enough to carry my name."
"I am strong enough."
"You're not." Charles said with a venomous tone.
Bella shook her head. "You don't know me!" She screamed at her father. "You left me in Abnegation. I am not the weak one… you were." She said as the world around her shattered and fell apart like a mirror shattering.
Bella shot up in the chair, her heart racing and Eric's hands were there to hold her back. "I-"
"You're not in the simulation anymore." Eric said and started taking off the wires quickly. "Calm down. Take deep breaths."
"I don't understand."
Eric grabbed water and handed it to her and she took it, drinking it down. He was trying to wrap his head around what he just saw.
"What am I afraid of?" Bella asked.
Eric shook his head and looked back at the monitor. "You're Divergent." He murmured.
Bella froze. How had Eric figured that out. Did she do something wrong? All her talks with Tori leading up to this moment… she was supposed to handle her fears like she was Dauntless, but there were no fears presented to her. Is that how he could tell?
Eric looked back at Bella. "You're confused."
"I know what I am." Bella said and stood and backed away from Eric, going into a defense position.
"I'm not going to hurt you. God. Will you just calm down."
"I was told not to trust you."
"From who? Tori Wu?" Eric asked, raising a brow. "Because I killed her brother?"
Bella narrowed her eyes. "How did you know. There were no fears presented."
"That's how I know." Eric said. "Sometimes… the serum unlocks memories that you didn't know existed. It blocks the serum's real goal in inducing fears."
Bella shook her head. "That doesn't make sense."
"I know it doesn't." Eric said. "You blocked out some memories and the serum made you remember. I can put you under again and-"
"No. You'll kill me."
"I'm not going to kill you."
"You killed Tori's brother."
"I didn't kill George." Eric said and sighed. "Max killed George." He ran a hand through his hair. "I'm… I'm your brother." He said, coming out with it.
Bella didn't know what to think right now. "What the fuck."
"Charles Swan was my father. It's not a secret that he was either. I am his prodigal son." Eric explained.
Bella shook her head. "I would know if you were his son…"
"Well. If you spent more time focusing on Dauntless instead of… all your other issues, you might have found that information out. You're only getting your information from Tori. She's not going to tell you I am his son because Tori thinks I killed George. Which. I'm fine with her thinking that. I don't need her respect and I don't have to explain myself to her. Which I have said as much to her."
"Charles Swan is your father."
"Yes." Eric said. "He's your father too. Makes you my sister." He said and sighed. "Listen. I don't have a desire to kill Divergents. I don't want to kill Divergents. I am… I am Divergent. So if you would just please… sit down."
Bella felt the weight of Eric's words like it was a dark blanket falling around her. "What?"
"Sit down." Eric ordered her again.
Bella moved mechanically now. She went to the chair and she sat. "How are you still alive?"
"Because I'm smart." Eric said and moved to put the wires back on her. "I need you to go back in the simulation. You triggered a memory. You have fears we just have to get past this part first." He explained.
Bella wasn't sure she understood. "I know I am terrified of the world finding out what I am… who my father was. Eric, if… those come out in my simulation."
Eric paused and thought about it. "You're right." He said and sighed, throwing the wires down. "Okay. I'll find a way to exclude you. If you make the top three, you don't have to do this final test in front of everyone."
"What do you mean?" Bella asked.
"It means if you place in the top three on that board, you get automatically moved to the next stage. You have to be in the top three… you have two weeks to get there." Eric said and ran a hand over his hair again.
"Who all knows about you being Divergent?"
"Just Tori." Bella said.
Eric frowned. "You haven't told Lukas?"
"No. Why would I tell Lukas about that?"
"I just figured." Eric murmured. "Okay. This is what we're going to do. You're going to spar Peter, Jasper and Uriah. Lukas is number one on the board. Uriah is number two. Jasper is three now, and Peter is four. You're going to have to take all of them out. No Mercy. Max has the sparring games starting in two days. That's where you'll be tested the most. You can't lose a spar. Not a single one. Getting to the top three is going to be the most important thing you've ever had to do."
Bella nodded. "Wait. I haven't beat Jasper in a spar yet. I've never had the chance to spar him."
"I know. You're just going to have to figure it out. Do you trust Lukas?"
Bella trusted Lukas wholeheartedly. "I do. But Tori told me never to tell anyone about being Divergent. I don't even know how to feel about it. Why me? What does this mean?"
"It means that you're a threat to the system. We all are. We don't conform or at least that is what Jeanine Matthews says. We obviously have the ability to conform. But shit is about to get worse around here. Jeanine personally wants to destroy Abnegation and she will use Dauntless to do it. She just needs a reason. You being the illegitimate child of Charles Swan is enough for Jeanine to get her way. So no one can know that you are his daughter."
"Lukas knows."
"I know. I overheard." Eric said.
"Wait what?"
Eric sighed. "I heard you talking about it. That's not important. Keep this information to yourself and if anyone out there asks about your fears… you have one and it is… the dark. Do you understand?"
"I understand."
"Do you trust me?"
"I don't have a choice." Bella said with a snort.
Eric sighed and pulled his shirt off and turned for Bella to look at his back.
"What am I looking at?" She asked as she saw a symbol. It wasn't like any of the other faction symbols.
"Divergent. No Tori didn't tattoo that on. George did." Eric said and turned to look at her, his shirt still off. "I won't ever lie to you. I won't lead you astray. I will protect you with my life Bella. You get that right?"
"Why would you…"
"Because you are my little sister." Eric said and pulled his shirt back on and nodded to the door. "Go. I'll settle this in the system. I need Edward next." He said.
Bella just nodded and went to the door. She paused and looked back at Eric. "Eric."
"Yeah?"
"Thank you." Bella said and he nodded before she opened the door and walked out.
