All characters from Divergent belong to Veronica Roth as well as all characters from Twilight belong to Stephanie Meyer. I own nothing except my version of events.

A/N: Get ready for some serious drama. I've been anxiously waiting for you all to get to this point and I'm more than excited that it's finally here.

Chapter 22 Let it Unfold

"I love you."

I smiled at the tender tone in his voice, you'd think I'd be used to it by now. Those random declarations of love that so easily slipped out of his mouth on a daily basis. But every time I heard it, it always felt like the very first time.

I opened my mouth to say it back but he stopped me with a kiss. I smiled into him, chuckling when he smiled against my lips too. He pulled me closer, lifting my body to straddle me on top of his lap. I squeezed his sides with my knees and wrapped my arms around his neck, leaving no space in between us.

I loved to feel his strong, hard body pressed up against mine. To feel his strong arms wrapped around me, holding my tightly to him as if he never wanted to let me go. To feel his hard muscles flex and tense at my touch. It was both wonderful and exciting all at the same time. It was almost unbearable, this desperate need I had for him. Especially when the hands that had been once wrapped around my waist began to move, sliding lower and lower until he reached my round bottom. He squeezed tightly, pushing my hips forward and hard against his.

I released his lips with a moan at the feel of his hardened cock against me. So ready to burst out of his jeans to seek its way inside of me, just like it always did.

"Eric…" I moaned lowly, asking him to do something to assuage the need taking over my body.

His eyes took me in, continuing to move his hips against mine. He removed one of his hands from my bottom, gliding it along the length of my body until he gently cupped my face, lovingly caressing my cheekbone with his thumb.

"You're so beautiful." He whispered almost dreamily. I began to smile, feeling a sudden warmth full of emotion taking over my being… it died on my lips at his next words. "It's such a shame I have to kill you." He admitted sadly, his hand sliding down to wrap itself around my throat in a vice grip.

My breath left my body and I choked, my nails instinctively clawing against his to relieve the pressure.

"You were a good fuck, Bella, I can't deny that." He said coolly, his eyes penetrating my own and with it taking the warmth I had once felt. "But did you really think I could love you?" He said humorously, scoffing at the thought. His face taking on an emotionless façade as he looked upon me, one I was not used to receiving from him since I met him. It was like seeing a completely different person. Someone I did not know.

I opened my mouth to say something, anything to convince him to stop, but he only wrapped his other hand around my throat to get it done quicker. I released a strangled gurgle from my throat, resulting in his smile widening even further at my struggle.

"Sorry, Baby." He mocked, pouting slightly in pretend regret. "But it's your time to go."

"Bella!"

I gasped desperately trying to fill my lungs with oxygen, my hands automatically moving towards my neck. I could still feel Eric's vicious hands wrapped tightly around my throat, the ghost of his fingers digging into the delicate skin of my neck.

"Oh, thank god." The familiar voice said, pulling me into its arms.

I blinked back rapidly, trying to focus my vision but it was so bright it was painful to even try.

The person holding me pulled away and I felt them cupping my cheeks. "Bell, tell me you're ok."

My breath was slowly coming back to me and I blinked back again, trying to focus on the face I knew was anxiously waiting for me to recover. Finally after a troubled minute my eyes focused and I could see him clearly once again.

"What happened?" I croaked out, my voice coming out raspy as if someone had literally just tried to choke the life out of me.

"I don't know." Tobias said in worry. "I don't know where we are or how we got here."

I was immediately confused by his words. I pulled away from him then, taking a careful look at my surroundings. We were trapped in an all-white room. There were two doors with only one of them with a visible handle, no windows or any other type of displays on the four plain white walls currently caging us in from all sides. When I looked down I realized I was on a plain white bed, beside me three more identical beds to mine with Tris trying to comfort her brother in the bed next to me.

What the hell was Edward doing here?... Where was here? We weren't in Dauntless anymore, that much was strikingly clear to me.

"Are we in Erudite?" I asked, fear quickly seeping into my veins. That was the only place I could think of that would look as clinical as this room did. Not to mention that Eric had betrayed me. He'd been working with Janine all along and now he'd brought me here to be tested on. He knew I was Divergent. He must've convinced her to test on me first before finally killing me, but how did he know Tobias was Divergent too? He knew about Tris and I but what was Edward doing here as well? As far as I knew, he wasn't Divergent. What the hell was going on?

"I don't know, maybe."

"Did you get attacked too?" I asked, moving on to the next question.

He nodded solemnly. "They came out of nowhere. Tris and I were lying down in bed and then a group of armored figures burst in. We tried to fight them off but there were too many of them."

I turned to look at Edward, who appeared to be more alert now. "Edward." I called to get his attention. "What about you?"

He looked at me then. Frowning and looking confused as he tried to think back. "I don't know, I don't remember... One minute I was walking along an abandoned building, heading back to Erudite like you'd told me to do and the next thing I knew I was waking up here. I don't know what happened." He said in worry, lifting his hand up to nervously brush his fingers through his hair, making it look even more disheveled than before.

"It has to be Erudite." Tris finally spoke up. "Look at what we're wearing."

I glanced down at my body, noticing I was wearing a cotton white shirt and pants set. "She's right…. They're probably going to test on us."

Her eyes widened and so did everyone else's.

"What do you mean?"

I released a defeated sigh, I didn't want to be the bearer of bad news but this was happening whether we wanted to or not. "Remember all of those rumors about Erudite taking Divergents?"

Tobias and Tris nodded, Edward simply looking down not needing an explanation for something he was more than aware of.

"It's true." I admitted. "They've been taking people suspected of being Divergent and experimenting on them. I'm assuming we're now part of their collection."

Tobias grasped onto my hand tightly. "How do they know we're Divergent? We've been so careful."

I swallowed thickly, knowing again I'd have to be the one to tell them the truth. It hurt just to think about it and I knew it would be even more devastating to have to say it out loud. "Eric told them."

"What?!" Tobias exclaimed.

I looked into his eyes and tried not to let the pain show as I made it clear. "Eric has been working with Janine this whole time. I was confronting him about it when I got attacked."

Tobias abruptly stood up, pacing the length of the room. "No that can't be. There's no way."

I scoffed at his denial, sounding so similar to my inner thoughts. "I thought the same, but that piece of shit has been lying to me this whole time. He's been working with Jeanine for who knows how long. Edward overheard Janine ordering Eric to kill me, it's why he had been caught walking outside in the city late at night. He'd gone to Dauntless to warn me about Eric."

Tobias stopped his pacing to look at me, his eyes widening in shock.

I looked away. I couldn't handle his reactions or admitting to Eric's betrayal so openly like I just had.

"I'm sorry, Bella." Tris spoke up then. "I really thought he loved you."

"So did I." I said, rolling my eyes at my naiveté. I looked down at my hands to try to get my emotions under control. The least I could do now was to hold onto my unwavering self-control and not give Eric the satisfaction of seeing me in pain, but it was hard to call upon my hard shell exterior when I felt like I had been broken beyond repair. I felt the bed move underneath me and I looked up just in time to see Tobias pulling me into him again. I closed my eyes, breathing him in, taking his scent to find at least some sort of semblance of peace.

I so clearly remember, not long ago, that had once been Eric. His unique scent always settled my mind and centered me like no one else could. Filling me with love and a sense of comfort and safety only he could provide. My heart gave a painful squeeze at the thought, and I pulled away. What was the point in reminiscing? He'd fucked me over. Not only me but my brother, Tris, and Edward too. It filled me with unsurmountable anger once again. I would've preferred him to have gone through with my murder like he had originally planned because this was so much worse. He could've done anything to me and I wouldn't have cared. But no, he had to go and take it a step further, as if what he had already done to me hadn't been enough.

"There's no escape… is there?" Tris finally asked after some time.

I looked up at her and then beyond, remembering the plain white door with no handle and the other across from us. "Have you tried the doors?"

"Yes. I checked both of them after I tried to wake you up the first time. The one with the handle is the restroom and shower, and as you can tell, the second one has no handle. We assume it can only be opened from the outside."

I nodded in understanding, until something he'd said suddenly clicked in my brain. "The first time? How many times have you tried waking me up?"

He frowned at my question, "A few times. You looked almost dead, but you were still breathing. It was the only thing keeping me from completely losing it." He admitted, and I could still see the ghost of his panic clear in his eyes and the visible tension and worry he still wore on his face.

I squeezed his hand in reassurance. If I had been in his position I would've probably freaked out too.

"So what do we do now?" Tris asked.

"There's nothing left to do." Edward finally spoke up, sounding resigned to his fate already. "We just wait for them to come and take us."

"I forgot how fucking pessimistic you were." Tobias commented with clear annoyance in his voice.

Edward's eyes zeroed in on his. "It's the truth. We might as well accept it now and make peace with it."

Tobias narrowed his eyes in anger. "We're not accepting anything. You might be willing to give up but I'm not."

He snorted at Tobias' declaration. "Not accepting something that is an actual fact? That's ludicrous."

"We don't know that yet."

"Look around you!" Edward shouted. "There's nothing left for us to do!"

Tobias stood up then, readying to attack Edward. I grabbed his wrist before he could take a step forward. "Stop it, Edward." I ordered, turning my head to the side and narrowing my eyes on him. His eyes shifted to mine and he blinked away from my stare, preferring to look down instead. Tris held his hand in silent comfort. "We need to stick together. This isn't the time for conflict between one another. Don't give them the satisfaction." I said, reminding them of who the real enemy was.

We all remained silent after that, neither one of us willing to voice our fears. We moved around the space of the room. Tobias and I always remaining within reach of each other. If I got up to pace, he stood up too, remaining a sentry nearby but not close enough to get in my way. If he sat down to get closer to Tris, I would too, taking the nearest bed to them while facing the handleless door. Time seemed like such an abstract concept. There were no clocks or any windows to notify us of the time of day, and so it all just felt like one endless void of white.

We were all startled when we heard a warning beep. We all stood and moved closer, Tobias and I placing ourselves in front of Edward and Tris as we watched the wall nearest the door with no handle shifting like tiles. A transparent box pushed out of the wall and the top slid open, revealing four servings of food. Because of the transparency of the box, I could see four sandwiches placed on separate paper plates and four paper cups holding a clear liquid. No utensils or any other material that could be used as a weapon present.

I snorted at the realization. "Smart." I commented. If they would've supplied anything other than paper I would have easily turned it into a weapon. I moved forward and took a hold of a sandwich, taking a casual bite.

"Bella, wait!" Tobias yelled at me. "It could be poisoned!"

I rolled my eyes, speaking with my mouth full of food. "If they wanted us dead they would have done it already." They had plenty of time to do just that as we all lay unconscious. Still, Tobias held onto the bridge of his nose as he watched me. "Mmm, it's yummy." I commented to ease his worries.

Seeing I hadn't dropped dead in front of their eyes, they too moved forward to pick up their own, but as I took the second bite I choked and spit it out. Their eyes widened at my reaction, immediately dropping their sandwiches back into the box. "Ew, it has pickles. Who the fuck puts pickles in a sandwich for god sakes." I complained, lifting the slice of bread and removing the offending ingredient to throw it back into the box.

They stood there frozen, staring at me in clear disbelief. Until Tris burst out into a loud laugh, laughing so hard she had tears streaming down her face. Edward didn't laugh as hard but he did release a low chuckle, shaking his head at me in exasperation.

"I hate you so much, Bella." Tobias grunted, but I could see his lip twitching in slight amusement, fighting with himself to remain stoic.

I smirked at their reactions, continuing to eat and lifting the cup up to my lips to take a sip and finding instant relief at the feel of cool water sliding down my throat. At least they weren't trying to starve or dehydrate us to death… that was something at least.

We all ate quietly until the food was all gone and the endlessness of time resumed.

We were all startled when there was a sudden beep and the handleless door opened, revealing a handsome blonde man in its doorway. He stepped forward and right behind him two guards followed, dressed in all black with their faces covered, holding guns in their hands as if ready to point and shoot within seconds.

Again Tobias and I took point as we all stood up in unity.

"Hello, my name is Carlisle. I apologize for leaving you here for as long as we did, but we needed to be assured you were cleared from all toxicity you may have contracted during your transport."

I frowned at him as he spoke, turning to look at Tobias but he looked just as confused as I did.

"What do you mean 'transported'? Transported where exactly?" I asked.

The man smiled politely before speaking. "I cannot believe it is really you." He commented, a sense of awe mixed into his voice and expression.

I arched a brow at that. "What the hell does that mean?"

He shook his head at my question, as if trying to shake away his reaction. "I apologize. I realize how confused you must all be. We are very sorry we brought you here in the manner in which we did. We didn't mean to frighten you, but unfortunately we were left with no other choice."

"Where is here exactly?"

"You are in the outside world, beyond the fence." He said bluntly.

I froze in shock, my eyes widening in surprise. "The outside world? Beyond the fence? As in not in our city?"

He smiled pleasantly as he nodded. Meanwhile I was so confused I felt like I was having a hard time processing his words. I must be hallucinating.

"You're lying." Tobias spoke up finally.

The man, Carlisle, chuckled then continued to speak. "I realize how unbelievable this all might seem to you. This must come as such a surprise when you've lived your whole lives in Chicago, but I speak the truth."

"Show us." Tobias baited, still looking disbelieving and suspicious, but I also knew what he was trying to do.

"Of course. Follow me." He said casually, and with that he turned to leave, standing just outside of the entrance to our room as he patiently waited for us to follow with a smile.

Tobias and I traded looks. We hadn't thought it would be that easy to convince him. We took the opportunity nonetheless following after Carlisle. As soon as I stepped out I realized why he'd seemed so calm and casual. There were six more guards waiting with him just outside of our room. Once we had all stepped out, Carlisle moved forward. Four guards taking their place in front of him while the other remaining four guards took the rear as we moved. I could tell they were all purposely keeping a bit of distance from us.

We walked silently together. The only sound was the pounding of our footsteps echoing in the empty hallways. I tried to remember how many turns we'd taken and in which direction, but it was hard to keep track. So then I tried to use my surroundings to at least remember the route through physical descriptors, but everything was plain white, no decorations or other signs to give me an idea of where we were. I had to wonder how the hell Carlisle knew where he was headed.

After a few more minutes I could see sunshine filtering through up ahead. When we finally reached it the soldiers up ahead turned towards it, leaving enough room for us to pass by them. What greeted us had my eyes widening in stunned surprise and wonder. It was a giant room, all sides made of complete glass, allowing us to see the world outside.

Carlisle had been right. We weren't home anymore. The city before me looked nothing like it.

The soldiers guarding us took their positions near the entrance and Carlisle motioned for us to continue further in, giving us free rein of the room. I walked closer to the glass wall in front of me, my eyes taking in every detail of the outside. I also realized how high we really were. The scenery in front of us displaying an expanse of the single building we were currently in. It was huge though, all white with a weird shape that gave it an alien feeling. It took up practically the entirety of the space until you could see a wall keeping it protected from the outside world. Similar to our home. Except, in contrast to our home, this place looked nothing like it. Everywhere you looked there was something made of fine material: fine glass, shiny reflective surfaces, and fine steel, everything surpassing that of our home. The trees here were more vibrant green and I could see the splashes of color through the slits of the structure which I could only assume were flowers. Everything was clean and neatly put together. Nothing compared to what our city looked like. If anything I would say our city looked more like the dilapidated buildings lining their borders on the other side of their wall of protection. I could tell they were empty, several of the roofs partially or fully collapsed on top, whole sides of buildings missing. Giant pieces of destroyed buildings crumbled to the streets below, it was all a mess. It was striking to see the stark contrasts.

"Welcome to Volterra." Carlisle suddenly spoke behind us. I turned back to look at him, searching his face for more answers. "I apologize but I am not allowed to say more."

"No good your numerous apologies do for us." I told him, regarding him in annoyance. "We need answers, not a good view of the city. So how about you direct us to the people in charge who can actually give them to us."

Someone else would've been offended by my disrespect, but Carlisle looked absolutely thrilled, as if honored to be at the receiving end of my frustration. So much so that he chuckled with a bright smile in my direction, "Of course. I just thought you might like to take a look to ease your mind, but I understand why it has only left you with only more questions. Come along then, I will take you straight to them. They are eager to meet you in person as well." He said, in a friendly manner, motioning for us to follow after him again.

I wondered who 'they' were whom he was referring to, but I figured I would soon find out, all I had to do was follow after Carlisle.

Having no other choice Tobias, Tris, Edward and I resumed our previous positions, and so did the accompanying guards. They led us to a set of elevators, Carlisle pressing the button beside it calling it to our floor. It arrived just a few moments later and we all entered, fitting only three of the guards that had been with us on our journey. Again, the opposite wall of the elevator was made of glass as well, displaying the other side of the building. This side looked much like the other, except on this side there was an expanse of black concrete filled with what I first thought were vehicles. Until one of them suddenly lifted off the ground and continued its trajectory through the air. I had never seen anything like it before. I heard Edward gasp and watched as he almost plastered his face against the glass as if that would guarantee him a better view.

"What are those?" Edward finally asked with clear wonder in his voice.

"Aircrafts." Carlisle answered simply.

"Where do they go?"

"To other cities."

We all turned to look at him at once. "There are more?" I asked.

Carlisle looked incredibly apologetic as he answered. "Unfortunately I am not allowed to say more."

"Why?" Tobias asked.

"It is a privilege I do not hold, I'm afraid." He answered, looking disappointed at his inability to tell us everything.

If I would've had the time I probably would have berated him again for his lack of answers. Lucky for him the next moment the doors to the elevator opened and we all filtered out into a large open atrium with a high pointed dome at center of the glass ceiling, bigger and higher than I thought possible while being as high as we already were. Our group tightened as we walked, seeing three men standing on the raised dais up ahead, more guards taking up the sides, also heavily armored and packing heat. We remained by the door, nervous to get closer to the three figures waiting for us up ahead, until I felt a hard object nudge me forward from behind.

I turned and glared at the guard who had dared to poke me with the barrel of his gun. "Don't fucking touch me." I said coldly, feeling Tobias get nearer and feeling the heat of his body close to my own. "I'll take my time if I fucking want to."

"Jane." Carlisle called in warning. Huh, so it was a woman behind all that armor. "Keep your distance."

At his voice the guard didn't move, and I decided to move closer, pressing my chest against the barrel of the gun, daring her to do something about it. From her body language I could tell she wanted to, but then an authoritative voice called out from behind me.

"Now, Jane." It said, ringing out loudly into the open space.

At the sound of the next voice the guard took a quick step back and away from me, simultaneously lowering her gun.

"You said you wanted answers, Bella." Carlisle reminded me calmly.

And he was lucky I did because I was eager for a fight. This place was making me anxious, and though I was close to the people that could give me said answers, my body still felt the effects of my discomfort. It wasn't until I felt Tobias gently tug on my arm that I turned back to the scene before me.

Seeing me continuing on, Carlisle moved towards the figures signaling us to follow. He stopped just fifteen feet away from the dais and spoke to the three figures above, bowing his head.

"Thank you Dr. Cullen for guiding our esteemed guests to meet us."

"It was my pleasure Dr. Volturi." Carlisle said in humility, moving to the side and taking a stand next to the bottom steps. He turned back around to face us with a placid smile plastered onto his face.

Our attention was shifted to the three standing on the dais before us, their hands primly clasped in front of them wearing expressionless faces, except for the one in the middle. The man, who Carlisle had called Dr. Volturi, looked down at us, an excited smile appearing on his face. It could have been misconstrued as a welcoming smile, but I could see another emotion hidden behind it. Unfortunately I couldn't quite identify exactly what it was.

He regarded us each individually, and so did the other two standing on each of his sides. "It is such a pleasure to have you here with us. You cannot comprehend what a momentous occasion this is for all of us." He said in greeting.

"Wish we could say the same." I commented dryly.

At my reply, his smile widened. "Oh, Bella." He said cheerily. "There are no words to describe what a privilege it is to see you in person. You are as beautiful in person as you look on screen, possibly even more so."

I narrowed my eyes at his words. "What screen?" I asked.

He shook his head as if he were ashamed he had slipped in such an important detail so soon. "Forgive me. It is still surprising to have you here in the flesh that I've let my tongue speak ahead of me. I will get to that in a moment, but first, we would like to introduce ourselves. My name is Aro Volturi, and these are my two associates. Marcus Crassus," He introduced, pointing to the right of him to the man taller than him with longer black hair than his, and then pointed to his right. To a man with shoulder-length blonde hair and a serious almost sad expression on his face, "and this is Caius Coulter. We are in charge of everything that lies inside these walls separating us from 'the Fringe'."

"Why are we here? Why did you take us from our home?" I asked, wanting to get the answers as soon as possible.

"You're here because our plans were foiled sooner than we expected." He answered with a bitter taste in his mouth, glancing at Edward unhappily looking not at all pleased with him. "We weren't planning on bringing you here until we were ready, but alas, one cannot predict how an experiment will turn out. So many external variables that cannot be accounted for… we did the best we could but still it wasn't enough." He sighed unhappily, as if it pained him to admit it.

I was starting to get very annoyed. This creepy man kept talking in riddles and not going anywhere, acting like we knew what the fuck he was talking about when in reality we had no fucking clue.

"What do you mean experiments?" This time Tobias asked, he looked just as angry as I did but was obviously better at controlling himself.

Aro exchanged looks with the men standing next to him before turning to look at us again. He sighed in exhaustion, as if it would pain him greatly to waste his time answering our questions.

"In the early part of the 21st century, scientists first discovered a way to map, then edit, the human genome to perfect humankind. But what started as an attempt to erase humanities faults, almost erased humanity itself. Genetic modification deepened the rifts between people. And as they got more entrenched, the world began to tear apart until humanity crossed a line from which it could never return from, creating wars between each other that destroyed the world as we knew it. In the ashes of civilization, a small group of genetically unmodified individuals established the Volturi Bureau of Genetic Welfare, here in Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Our mission is to oversee a grand experiment, to purify the human genome… That experiment is the city of Chicago."

Experiments... that's all we were. All our lives, the struggles we went through, the pain this world had caused on us was all just a giant joke. It broke my heart to find that my life was never mine to begin with and as I looked at Tobias, Tris and Edward I could see they felt the same way. Not only that but the man telling us this had sounded completely apathetic. Like he could care less about what that meant for us. He'd also sounded so much like an Erudite it was actually terrifying.

"I can see we have shocked you. I understand if you are conflicted with the news we have now presented... And you have every right to be." He said, attempting to sound empathetic for the very first time. "It must be difficult to hear the world you lived in is not what you thought it was, but unfortunately it has been left for us to reveal the truth."

I refused to let him see how much his words pained me… how much the truth pained me. I may be breaking inside but there was no way in hell I would let it be shown. "You said we were an experiment, so what exactly did you expect to happen?"

His eyes looked at me again, losing all the care he had attempted to show not a second ago. "We took people from our own genetically damaged population and put them in a place where they could flourish under a different system. To see if the rules of the faction system had a positive or negative effect in its world. We were also hoping you would all evolve in a secluded place with no outside interference to see if the genetic damage would continue to be carried on through generations in a controlled environment. We have watched your city from its creation, and we have seen the faction system flourish for over 200 years. Unfortunately, for the past fifteen years, the new leader of Erudite had begun to pose a threat to the way of the faction system. Influenced by her predecessor, Jeanine began to believe she was helping to eradicate the tainted, the damaged... the Divergent." He finally said, looking at all of us as if he were speaking directly about us. My eyes slightly widened, I knew Tobias, Tris, and I were Divergent, but this must mean that Edward was too. "It was incredibly disappointing when we realized that Victoria, Erudite's prior leader, was beginning to suspect the existence of genetically evolved individuals, different from the greater damaged population. Because of this, we were forced to interfere for the very first time. We loathed to do so, but you see, we would have lost everything if we had not stepped in when we did. We began to see the future systematic destruction of the faction system, but before it came to fruition, we decided to make one last-ditch effort to save what we have worked for. We thought that by eliminating Victoria we would eradicate the chaos she was bound to bring down upon the city, but unfortunately it had not been enough. Fortunately, our plan provided us with an opportunity and we took advantage of the situation, and so we decided to implant a few of our own. Unfortunately, at the time, it would've been almost impossible to just put anyone inside. We couldn't transplant an adult into the system and expect people to just accept their sudden appearance there. We were tempted to place babies inside but that too didn't guarantee the people of Chicago would just accept random babies suddenly appearing out of thin air. So we decided to take a much more drastic approach." He said, this time pausing with a deep frown on his face. He turned to his companion to the right of him as if lightly dreading what he would have to say next. His companion slightly nodded at him, silently communicating to continue on with his story.

Aro turned back to look at us, but more specifically his eyes shifted between Tobias and I while his companion's watched Tris and Edward closely. He sighed once again but this time he actually did sound like he felt sorry for what he was about to declare. "As head scientists of this experiment we decided that it was our duty to make the sacrifice to save the years of dedication we have spent all our lives on, and that which our fathers and forefathers had started. We decided that since we were unable to implant genetically perfect humans into the faction system, we would have to modify someone genetically inside. We implanted four women with partially ungenetically modified embryos, impregnating them with children that were not biologically their male partners..." He said, trailing off as he watched to see if we would understand what he was trying to say, but my mind was all just a jumble of thoughts and not a single one making any sense. "Those children we implanted... Are you." He finally stated.

It was dead silent at his pronouncement, not a single soul daring to even take a breath as if the building would collapse with it. Meanwhile my world was already collapsing inside of me.

"W-We're n-not...?" Edward started looking in shock, until he shook his head as if trying to get his own thoughts in order. "Are you saying our fathers... aren't our real biological parents?"

Aro sighed sadly, "I'm afraid not." He said simply.

I remained silent, still trying to understand what the hell was going on. I took a step back getting closer to Tobias without actually physically touching him. I knew I couldn't touch him, if I did I knew I would break and I couldn't do that infront of these strangers, but I just needed to find some type of comfort.

"If the fathers we grew up with aren't our real fathers then... who are?" Tobias asked cautiously.

Again Aro turned to look at his companions before answering our question. "Ours." He stated simply again.

What?!

I think we all turned to look at each other at the implication of his words, two of us were in love and the other two had crossed some boundaries that no one remotely related should ever cross.

Watching our growing panic Aro and the brown haired male lightly chuckled, shaking their heads at where they suspected our thoughts had gone. "You misunderstand. Edward and Tris are Marcus's biological children, while the two of you," he said, turning his attention back to Tobias and I, "are mine."

My head snapped towards Tobias, him mimicking my movements as we stared at each other in complete surprise. "Tobias is my biological brother?" I whispered, fearing he would take back what he had just admitted.

"Half-brother, but yes, Dear One. Tobias and you are true siblings, and my children." He stated.

It felt like we had finally received one good news in the middle of all of this chaos. I held onto it for dear life, like it would lead me to my salvation after all these damaging truths had been revealed. I would need it. I knew he wasn't done and I still had so many questions.

I turned to look back at Aro, unable to stop myself from curiously asking the one question that seemed to have been left glaringly unanswered. "You said, 'our children', you included Caius but you didn't declare any one of us his children." I stated, forcing him to explain that little bit of extra information.

"So bright," He commented with glee, "and absolutely right. Caius also had his child born into the faction system. Unfortunately when that child was born, Caius couldn't bear to leave his biological son with another family and forced us to remove him from the experiment not even a full day into his birth. Marcus and I were greatly disappointed at Caius' lack of dedication to our cause, but alas there was nothing we could do to change his mind." He said with clear disappointment in his face and voice as he looked upon Caius, as if he had been selfish to not have left his own child to be raised by a stranger.

Meanwhile, our fathers had given us away without a single thought. Abandoned us as if we didn't mean anything... and I guess to them we didn't. We were all just experiments. If anything, whoever Caius' kid was was actually the lucky one. His father had loved him enough to keep him by his side. I looked around me, wondering if his son was present now, but watching Caius simply frown down at the ground quickly squashed that thought away.

"As a compromise," he continued, "we agreed that in the future. If we were to ever find a way to implement him into the system, he would agree to let his child go without complaint. Fortunately for us, we found a way to do just that by using a newly developed serum to modify human memories. Before he was seventeen years of age, we were able to implant Caius' son into Erudite before the required age for choosing." He said happily, as if taking away his partner's son had been a great accomplishment, but it sounded more cruel than anything else. "Of course his child had been more than willing to leave his little home and implant himself into the world he'd grown up watching. Oh," he said as an afterthought."I do believe you already know him." He said with a smile on his face as he turned to look in Caius' direction. "Do come in, Eric."

My head snapped faster than I thought possible, silently watching the man I had carried a relationship with for months walk in just as coldly as when I had first met him. I clenched my jaw so tightly I thought it would snap off, but what I really wanted to do was to throw myself on the floor and cry. I refused to let him continue to break me though. I'd already endured so many truths in the last ten minutes that this would just be one of the many added to the pile.

He looked up at me then, feeling my intense glare upon his form. His expression never changed but I did catch the barest of flinches as he watched the anger boiling inside of me. I shifted my focus away from him and onto my so-called father, really not knowing what to do with myself for the very first time.

"Eric was sent in to infiltrate the system. We had expected all four of you to choose Dauntless since we had forced those results into your aptitude tests but of course there are always outside variables that can unfortunately affect the predicted outcome. Edward chose to go to Erudite instead while the rest of you went where we had originally wanted you to go. We were forced to modify our plans a little but nothing unmanageable since the rest of you had complied with our predicted outcome. We have all watched you grow and flourish into four uniquely wonderful human beings, defying the nature you were all raised in and becoming your own persons. Eric was sent in to placate Janine while also testing your limits, to force you to face situations you had never faced before back in your childhood factions." He said, then signaling with his hand a screen appeared behind him. Video footage of our lives flashed before our eyes as if our lives had been all a really long movie... it was sickening. "I have to admit that we are all so very proud of you. You've defied all odds and we are honored to have been able to witness all that you have accomplished in your short lives." He said happily, as if our accomplishments had been all due to him. "And if Edward hadn't discovered our plans ahead of time and told you, Bella, about Eric's involvement with Jeanine we would have left you there longer." He admitted sadly, truly disappointed that his experiment had been cut short.

It was ridiculous, all of it was.

I couldn't really believe everything I was hearing or seeing, it all suddenly felt like it was a dream... Or more accurately, a fucking nightmare. And as I watched the screen display all of our lives in multiple videos playing all at once, I realized that really that's what our lives had been all along. A nightmare that everyone here had been able to watch like some sort of sick and twisted entertainment. A choked sound came from beside me and I turned, witnessing the look of pain taking over Tobias' features as he looked upon one of the many screens in front of us. I turned to see what had produced that unbearable look of pain on his face only to find video footage of the violence Marcus Eaton had inflicted on my brother when he was a child.

The breath left my body as my vision began turning red, my entire being vibrating with the rage quickly building inside of me as I watched it unfold before my eyes... before everyone's eyes. And what made it worse was that no one around was reacting to it as they should have. Not even our so-called father.

"You watched Marcus Eaton do that to your own son and you did nothing to stop him?!" I screamed at Aro, my voice shaking with the anger that was quickly consuming me.

"It was the course of his life, Bella, there was nothing I could do for fear of ruining what we had worked hard for, for so long." He said simply.

And then I snapped.

My vision blurred in a fog of red and I ran. Wanting nothing more than to kill him with my bare hands for what he had left Tobias to endure alone. I realized there were guns now pointed in my direction, but not a single part of me cared as I ran towards my soulless 'father'.

"Wait!" I heard Eric's voice yell, trying to prevent their soldiers from shooting me on the spot.

I ignored it all though as I ran. I was preparing to catapult myself over the stairs to reach Aro when I felt two strong arms wrap themselves around me. Squeezing me into their body and using their weight and strength to keep me in place. "Don't." The voice said, forcing the fog of anger to blink away from me for a second, just enough for me to register who was speaking to me now, but I still fought against him. All I could see was Aro in my line of sight. I wouldn't rest easy until I could inflict Aro with the same pain he had caused my brother to suffer through all these years. "Stay with me, Bell, I need you with me." Tobias whispered in my ear, begging me to stop before it was too late.

Within an instant, those words forced my body to sag in defeat just as quickly as it had moved. I felt his hard breath against my neck, his arms tightening around my chest in an embrace and no longer a restraint. I felt him slowly pulling me back to our previous positions, moving us closer to Tris and Edward, but refusing to let me go. I could see now that the screen behind our 'fathers' had shut off and the guards surrounding us had dropped their weapons to their sides but I refused to acknowledge a single person. Instead I closed my eyes, trying to center myself and keep it together... If not for me then at least for Tobias' sake.

"I am deeply sorry for upsetting you, Bella. It was not my intention." Aro spoke again with pretend regret.

I tensed again in Tobias' arms, my breath starting to accelerate once again with the need to take action. I felt his grip on me tighten in response. Aro was apologizing to me instead of the one person who truly deserved it.

"Edward." I heard Tobias speak firmly. I could hear Edwards' quiet footsteps as he neared and I felt myself being moved into another pair of arms. "Hold her." He ordered.

Edward did as he was told, holding me tightly against him but I knew I could easily slip out of his hold. Tobias knew it too and so he kept his back pressed against my front, his firm hand holding onto my waist to keep me behind him. I could hear his throat clearing before speaking again.

"I think it's best if we take a break." Tobias spoke up firmly this time, his grip on me not loosening for even a split second. "This has all been too much and we need some time to digest what we have learned today." He said, I could hear the clear anger in his voice though he hid it well. Much better than I did, it was one of the many things he could do better than I.

I didn't move a single muscle. If I did I was afraid I would retaliate again and there was a strong possibility that I would be shot for it this time around. I could hear Aro sigh dramatically but I refused to reopen my eyes. There was no way I could see him and not feel the urge to kill him. I was breathing heavily just with the force I was using to restrain myself, to not slip out of Edwards arms to go after him again. The only thing keeping me sane for now was knowing Tobias needed me alive.

"Of course," Aro said finally, "you are absolutely right. It was inconsiderate of me to give so much away in such a short amount of time and not expect you to have some sort of feelings on the matter. Please, let my guards direct you to your room and we can reconvene to discuss things more calmly at a later time."

I could hear footsteps coming towards us and I was switched again into Tobias arms. I felt him practically lift me off the ground as he pivoted to the side. I finally decided it was safe to open my eyes now knowing Aro would no longer stand in my field of vision. I tapped Tobias on his arm, letting him know I was ok for now. He shifted me to his side, one of his arms continuing to hold me to him as we walked out of the room together. My fists were clenched tightly at my sides as I walked stiffly beside him, taking everything in and using it as a distraction to keep my anger at bay until I got the first opportunity to release it. I tried to memorize everything around me. There was no way I was planning on staying here for long, I'd make my escape as soon as I could.

Finally reaching the room we had been chosen to stay in, Tobias led me in first without letting me go until the door shut ominously behind us. And when he released me I finally unleashed my anger out on the room. I screamed in fury, turning towards the wall and punching and kicking aimlessly, imagining it to be Aro. I felt the pain and following blood splatter from my hands caused by my rampage. I barely registered Edward and Tris screaming my name, begging me to stop. But Tobias was blocking them from reaching me, preventing them from interfering. If they got too close, I was sure I would hurt them, and Tobias knew that more than anyone.

I just couldn't control myself any longer. It had been too much. The answers I had once seeked only made me hurt worse because not only had Eric been a complete lie, but my entire life had been one too. Everything had been stripped away from me so suddenly. Charlie wasn't my real father... And both my mom and he hadn't had a single clue. The world I had been born into hadn't been real either. Nothing had been real.

The only thing real now was the utter pain and devastation I felt in my heart.

I was out of breath, hoarse from my screams when there was nothing left of me. I desperately held onto my head as if I could will this nightmare to end. "This isn't real." I finally whispered out, feeling as though I would never be able to hold myself together again.

Faster than I could realize I felt a pair of strong arms wrap themselves around me, holding me tightly against a hardened chest. I inhaled his scent. The same scent that always soothed me when I was so close to the brink of destruction. "I'm right here, Bell." Tobias whispered brokenly into my ear. "I'll always be here. You and me. Always." He promised. I could feel his own tears dripping down onto my clothes.

His words finally broke my tightly held emotional dam and I released all the pent-up anger, the pain, the devastation of my world collapsing in on itself. I cried for it all. My sob's taking up the space of the entire room, I could hear other cries besides my own for some time until suddenly more arms slowly wrapped themselves around us.

And I realized then that even through all the destruction of my life and everything I knew… at least I wasn't alone.