AN: So, I've had two unedited chapters of this story sitting in my doc manager for awhile now, and instead of deleting them to make space, I'm going to edit what I've written and publish this story. It may be a slow update process, but I find myself easily switching from this to my other two active stories all the time, so when the muses call me I guess I should listen. :)

This is a hybrid of book/movie/my own creations. Choosing age is 16 in this story. Since I imagined Eric and Four as 18 year olds, they are closer to the book descriptions (minus the greasy hair and absurd number of piercings for Eric, I imagine him attractive with a "bad boy" vibe), while Tris isn't the dainty little girl from the books, I picture her more along the lines of looking like an average 16 year old girl, maybe Shailene Woodley in her teen years.

The plastic chair was hard and uncomfortable and her long grey dress and sweater itchy and warm. She shifted nervously as she glanced around at the other dependents, all not so patiently waiting for their name to be called. She tried to make eye contact with the lanky, brown haired, green eyed boy sitting across from her, but her brother was lost in his own thoughts. She absentmindedly kicked her feet at the floor, scuffing her plain grey boots along the nondescript tiles, taking small pleasure in the unpleasant noise it caused.

"Beatrice!" Her brother hissed from across the room. "Stop fidgeting." He whispered.

She stuck her tongue out at Caleb, causing him to roll his eyes and turn away from her. She huffed out a breath, blowing the few strands of unruly hair out of her face. She should tighten her bun, but she couldn't be bothered with that today. Her nervousness over her pending aptitude test distracted her from being the perfect Abnegation sixteen year old for at least today.

Abnegation was her faction of birth and where she has spent the first sixteen years of her life being oppressed. Beatrice wasn't cut out for Abnegation, and anyone who met her knew it. It wasn't that she lacked selflessness at all, it was just that she was entirely too alive to spend her time being told that everyday things were selfish. She wanted freedom and she wanted to enjoy life and everything it had to offer. She was curious about all of the things she'd been told her whole life were selfish, like music, drinking alcohol, even sex. Beatrice wasn't a wild child by any means, but she also wasn't a prude, she wanted to experience and feel things that were almost prohibited by her home faction. She was also brave, and the fine line between her selflessness and bravery would serve her well in a faction where bravery is celebrated. For as long as Beatrice can remember she's wanted to be Dauntless.

Her brother Caleb, on the other hand, was selfless to a fault. He seemed to be the perfect Abnegation in every way that she couldn't be. She stole another glance across the small room at him, and she wondered if this might be their last night together. Caleb and Beatrice were close in age, they were only ten months apart, but their personalities were so different that they clashed quite often. Caleb was quiet, introverted and extremely logical where Beatrice was a free thinker, argumentative and reckless. She would miss her family terribly, but at least they'd be in Abnegation together once she was gone.

"Beatrice Prior." A woman calls from an open doorway. The girl stands up and quietly follows her into the room, noticing the mirrors on the wall immediately.

"Yeah, not sure why you Abnegation are so weird about mirrors." The woman sighs. She's wearing Dauntless black, has long brown dreds, almond shaped brown eyes and the most beautiful tattoos.

"Do you always do the aptitude tests?" Beatrice asks.

"I usually do, for some reason I always seem to get the Abnegation. I'm Tori." She replies.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Beatrice, but you already know that. What's this?" Beatrice asks, scrunching her nose up at the small glass of clear liquid.

"Curious, aren't we?" Tori asks. "It's for the test."

"What happens in the test?" Beatrice asks.

Tori shakes her head. "That's not how this works. Drink it, it'll be done in no time."

Beatrice drinks the liquid then settles down into her chair, relaxing into a sleep like state. Tori watches the monitor in front of her, absentmindedly picking at her cuticles. There's only so many times she can watch this damn dog either be fed or killed. Out of the corner of her eye, she catches something highly unusual. She watches in facination as she sees a war scene, where it appears her fellow Dauntless are attacking the Abnegation. She glances over at Beatrice, but there are no outward signs of anything unusual.

"What the hell..." Tori mutters. She thinks about getting someone in the room with her, but she immediately thinks better of it, knowing that whatever she is witnessing is a phenomenon she's never seen before. Tori knows better than anyone that anything that is considered unusual or outside of the norm can be extremely dangerous, and she makes an immediate decision to help protect this Abnegation girl as much as she can.

Tori recognizes the faces on the monitor, she watches in horror as she witnesses herself shooting innocent Abnegation citizens execution style. It seems as whatever she is viewing is through the eyes of Beatrice. She watches carefully as Beatrice appears to be following Four...how can this be? How would she even know him? They are confronted by two Dauntless leaders, Eric and Max, who recognize their divergence. Tori is horrified when she witnesses guns drawn, and she eventually watches as Beatrice shoots Eric and in their efforts to escape Beatrice is shot by Eric, leading to she and Four being taken prisoner by Jeanine Matthews from Erudite. She continues watching the scene play out in facinated horror, witnessing deaths of so many unknown Abnegation, seeing glimpses of herself and her friends carrying out murders in a zombie like state. She notices Beatrice is starting to become very animated in her place on the reclined chair in the room. Tori leans in closer and turns up the volume, watching in pure terror as Beatrice shoots a young man she keeps calling Will, and minutes later watches as she witnesses the murder of her own mother.

Tori glances at her watch and realizes Beatrice has been under for more than an hour. "I have to get her out of this." She says out loud, panicking for the first time.

Tori begins manually stopping the test, watching carefully for any signs of disturbance from Beatrice. Once the program has been stopped, she notices the younger woman stirring. She grabs a bottle of water and offers it to her.

"Why would you do that to me?" Beatrice exclaims, obviously shaken. "Why would the aptitude test show me a war on my own faction?" She asks. "Why would it show my mom being killed in front of me? What kind of test is this?"

"That shouldn't have happened." Tori responds. The Dauntless woman has never witnessed anything like what she just viewed through Beatrice's eyes. She is just as disturbed, if not more so than the young woman in front of her. Whatever this is, it's dangerous for Beatrice, and she feels the need to protect her.

"What do you mean? What were my results?" The younger woman asks.

"The test didn't work on you. Beatrice, I've never seen anything like that. It was almost like a vision." Tori shakes her head and rubs her hand across her face.

"That was real?" Beatrice asks, horrified.

"The people were, yes. As for the event, it's not something that's happened, but with the rumors I've heard about what Eric and Max are involved in it very well could happen." She replies.

"Who are Eric and Max?" Beatrice asks.

"The men who you and Four were pointing guns at." Tori explains.

"Four?"

"Damn, yeah you don't know. Ok, the man you were following, that was Four. He's an instructor for initiation and he also works in the control room." Tori responds. "The younger, long haired, pierced and tattooed man you drew your gun on is Eric, he's the youngest leader ever in Dauntless, he's also the one you shot in the foot, he's who shot you as well. And the older, darker man is Max, our head leader. I take it you've never met these people?"

"No." Beatrice responds, terror evident on her face. "What does this all mean?"

"I honestly have no idea. Beatrice, the aptitude tests are literally always the same - just a bunch of canned scenarios in which you need to make a decision. Those decisions are graded by the computer program and you fall into a faction recommendation as a result. I see the same exact thing, over and over. I've been administering these tests for years now and I've never seen anything like what I saw today. I can't stay holed up in this room much longer without drawing more suspicion. I need to manually enter your results as Abnegation."

"No, please enter them as Dauntless." Beatrice replies frantically. "Tori, I don't understand what I just saw, but if it's any indication at all of an event that could happen I need to stop it. You saw it, my faction, my own mother was being murdered."

"Beatrice, inconclusive test results are an indication of divergence. You have to understand how dangerous that is. In Dauntless especially, you can be killed for it. You cannot tell anyone, not even your family about this. Do you understand?" The older woman says. "I'm going to recommend that you stay as far away from Dauntless as you can, but I have a feeling you aren't going to follow that advice. If you choose Dauntless tomorrow, come find me. I work in the tattoo parlor. Now, you tell everyone the serum made you sick, and that's why you took so long to be released from your test. And remember, do not tell anyone about your test results."

"Ok, I understand." Beatrice nods. "I will be seeing you tomorrow Tori."

"I was afraid of that. Good luck." She replies, squeezing the younger woman's hand.

Beatrice walks home, head muddled with thoughts of the unusual aptitude test. It couldn't have been a dream, how would she have dreamed of real people whom she's never even met or heard of? Once she's inside her home she immediately is greeted by her brother from his spot in the kitchen.

"Beatrice, I've started dinner. Mom and Dad will be home shortly, they volunteered to help with the aptitude tests today. What happened with yours? You were in there for an incredibly long time." He asks, face twisted with concern.

"I got sick, it took me a long time to settle my stomach so I could leave." She answers, stepping inside the kitchen to help prepare the meal.

"What aptitude did you get?" He asks his sister.

"What aptitude did you get?" She counters with a smirk.

He sighs and shakes his head. "Fair enough, we know we aren't supposed to talk about it. Beatrice, I know it's in our nature to be selfless and think of our families when making decisions, but I think tomorrow we also need to think of ourselves." He replies.

Andrew and Natalie Prior walk through the door, greeting their children as they normally do. The family sits down for dinner, quietly contemplating. They all realize this could be the last dinner they share, depending on the decisions that are made at tomorrow's choosing ceremony.

"Caleb, Beatrice your mother and I will clean up. You both should go upstairs and rest, you have a lot to think about in preparation for tomorrow." Andrew says, his children both nod in agreement.

Andrew and Natalie hug their children tightly, and watch as they retreat upstairs. They clean in silence, hoping that both of their children return home tomorrow.

The next morning Beatrice and Caleb walk towards the line of grey waiting to get into the building that the choosing ceremony is being held in. She glances over her brothers shoulder at the other similar lines, all broken down by faction colors. Shouts and yells rise above the noise of the train and their attention is drawn to the blur of black running and taking their places in the Dauntless line.

Once inside and seated, Beatrice is numbly aware of Marcus Eaton rattling on about the importance of decisions made today. Her mother reaches for her hand and she relishes in the comfort the frowned-upon physical contact brings her. She watches her brother rise, unaware that his name was even called. Caleb ambles his way down to the stage, and the Prior's watch as he slices his hand and drips his blood over the bowl of water that represents Erudite. An audible gasp is heard in the large room, and Beatrice feels her mother squeeze their clasped hands. Her perfect Abnegation brother just chose the very faction that causes their father so much stress.

"Beatrice Prior." Marcus booms and she slowly rises from her seat. As she makes her way to the stage she is conflicted. Should she be selfless and stay with her parents, especially now that Caleb has left?

She picks up the knife and makes her slice. Blood pools in the palm of her hand and she hesitates, holding her hand above the grey stones of Abnegation. She glances at Marcus' cold eyes and moves her hand over the Dauntless coals, smiling as she hears the sizzle of her blood dropping against them.

"Dauntless!" Marcus booms, shooting her a look of pure disgust as she hears the cheers and whistles from her new faction mates. As she walks over to join their group her eyes lock with icy grey ones and she gasps. Tall, well built, tattooed and pierced, with pale skin and long black hair that is tied neatly in a ponytail that's flowing down his back. Her eyes move from his and travel down his tattooed neck and black clad body. He looks almost the same as he did in her aptitude test, except this time he's watching her carefully and not holding a gun on her.

Eric's never come to the two choosing ceremonies that have been held since he transferred, as Max usually leaves him on the roof of the initiate entrance to Dauntless. Today was different, Max finally gave up a slight bit of his control and allowed Eric to be a representative of Dauntless leadership at the ceremony.

She doesn't hesitate, she walks directly towards him and holds eye contact, daring him to look away first. He doesn't, instead he cocks his head to the side and furrows his eyebrows as he watches her come closer, scooting over purposely so she can take her place next to him. With the way they are watching each other, it's obvious there's a mutual attraction that neither of them expected.

He's intrigued, not only do Abnegation rarely transfer, when they do it's certainly not to Dauntless. Abnegation women are meek, with little self esteem and even less courage and yet here is this girl with fire in her eyes standing directly beside him. She's attractive, and she stands out, which is also something to note as she is swathed in the shapeless grey dress that all Abnegation women are forced to wear. Her light brown hair is naturally sun streaked, and pulled into the standard bun hairstyle of the faction. Her complexion is pale, and she has a nice body with just enough curves to be noticeable on a slightly taller than average frame, a smattering of freckles on her milky skin and her face free of any makeup. Her eye lashes are thick and surrounding some of the most beautiful large hazel eyes he's ever seen.

He doesn't realize just how much his focus has been lost until he watches people start to leave the building. He walks close to the Stiff, wondering if she'll even make it to the train. She's an observant learner, quickly falling into pace with the other Dauntless and deftly climbing up the railing to reach the train tracks. He watches as she falls into step with the others who are running to catch the train. He sprints ahead, as is expected of a Dauntless leader and he jumps into a car with ease. He watches as the Stiff and a Candor girl finally board the train, falling into each other in a fit of giggles. He surpresses a smile of his own glancing down at the floor, when he looks up again he finds her hazel eyes locked onto his.

She doesn't know where this boldness is coming from, but she feels the need to make an impression on this man she remembers from her test. She distinctly remembers shooting him in the foot, and based on their limited interaction during that vision she could tell they didn't like each other very much. However, one thing that stands out in her memory was that neither of them could shoot to kill each other. She searches her memory for the name that Tori called him and she comes up blank. She walks away from small group of transfers and makes her way towards the tattooed man. He once again shifts to make room for her, but this time she stops in front of him.

"So, Stiff," he rumbles in a deep voice, "what is it you're looking for?" He asks.

She can feel the heat radiating from her cheeks as she contemplates her answer. "How about your name for starters?" She asks.

No one talks to him. He's known to be cold, cruel and ruthless. People fear him, and in the compound anyone outside of the leadership bubble tends to avoid him like the plague. He's unapproachable, and yet here is a Stiff who is looking at him like he's the only person she can see.

"Why do you care?" He asks, his words cold, but his eyes betraying the obvious curiosity flowing through his thoughts.

"Interesting name." She retorts, not missing a beat. "Do you have a nickname or should I go ahead and call you 'why do you care'?" She doesn't miss the way the corners of his mouth twitch upward, even if it was just for a split second.

As much as he should ignore this woman, he can't help but be impressed by her courage. "Eric." He rumbles in a low voice.

"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" She replies with a smile. He narrows his eyes at her.

"You have my name now, are you going to tell me yours? Or should I just call you Stiff?" He asks.

"I'm certainly not a Stiff." She replies, showing her disgust at the offensive slang term used towards Abnegation.

"That's yet to be determined, Beatrice." He replies, emphasizing her name.

"I see you were paying attention during today's ceremony after all, but that's not my name anymore." She scoffs while blushing furiously. He emits a low chuckle from deep in his throat.

"Well, what shall I be calling you then?" He asks with just a hint of a smile on his lips.

She appears to be thinking about how to answer his question. They're interrupted by a shout of "Get ready to jump" that reverberates through the train car. He watches as her eyes widen and he smirks at her before pushing himself off the wall he was leaning against and taking a running start to leap from the train. She watches as he easily jumps onto the rooftop, his black ponytail trailing behind him.

She looks around and there are only a handful of people left, one being the Candor girl she jumped onto the train with.

"Together?" She asks the terrified girl.

"Together." She answers. They grasp hands and take a running leap from the train to the gravel topped building, both tumbling awkwardly.

They join the rest of the initiates who are gathered in a group next to a ledge overlooking a large opening. Beatrice notices that Eric has jumped up on the ledge and has taken his long black hair out from the ponytail he had it tied in, and it's now flowing down his shoulders and back. She's never seen a man with such long, shiny hair, and on Eric it's quite attractive. She can't keep her eyes off of him, and she notices he seems to be staring at her with the same intensity. She removes the pin holding her bun in place and shakes her head, letting her light brown hair fall down her back in waves, noticing that Eric's eyes remain on her.

"My name is Max, this is Eric." An older, dark skinned man yells from the ledge. She recognizes him as the man who was accompanying Eric in her vision. "We are two of your Dauntless leaders. There is only one way into the building and its down there." The older man gestures over his shoulder.

"We have to jump?" Someone asks.

"Is there water at the bottom?" Another asks.

"Guess you'll find out." Eric answers. "Who's first?"

She doesn't know why she feels it's so important, but to Beatrice the answers to what happened during her aptitude test all lie within the handsome young Dauntless leader. Now is the time to get his attention.

"I am." She calls out, slowly walking towards Eric. His face masks his surprise, but she can see the intrigue dancing in his grey eyes.

On an impulse he can't seem to fight, he reaches out his hand to help her to the ledge. She takes the offered hand and steps up onto the ledge, noticing Eric's slight hesitation in dropping her hand. She peers down, seeing nothing but the dark gaping hole. She shrugs off her itchy grey sweater.

"Oooo take it off Stiff!" A Candor boy yells. She glares in his direction, throwing the offending article of clothing at him.

"Today, initiate." Eric says in a menacing voice.

She takes a deep breath before stepping off the roof silently, falling through the hole and finally bouncing on a net at the bottom. A giggle escapes her lips as she lays on the net composing herself. She is quickly jerked down by someone tugging on the net, and she's met with outstretched arms.

The man is young, probably the same age as Eric. Dark brown hair, a slightly hooked nose, full lips and dark blue eyes. He's leaner, but obviously well built, and he's attractive. This is the person she was following in her aptitude test vision.

"Were you pushed?" He asks as he helps her off the net and onto her feet.

"No." She answers.

"Name?" The one word is posed as a question.

"It's Be..." She hesitates, wanting to have a new name that matches her new start.

"Is it a hard one?" He asks, a smile in his eyes. "You can pick a new one, but make it good. You don't get to pick again."

"My name is Tris." She replies.

"First jumper Tris!" He yells and is answered by whistles and hoots. "Welcome to Dauntless."