Redemption (Eric and Tris)

Redemption: Part 1

**I do not own Divergent or any of the characters. This is just me having fun with how I wished things had ended. **

The war was over. Everyone was still trying to find their place. New laws were put in action, factions were mixing. It was like nothing anyone had ever seen. There were still the 5 factions, people still lived in their homes, but it was less strict. We could now see family members from other factions. Celebrate that they were still with us. It had been a long road. Many had died. Tris was lucky. Her father was alive, her brother, alive. That was all she could ask for. Not a day went by that she did not yearn for her mother though.

Uncertainty of where she stood with Four was more difficult. She loved him, or what she had known of him, the man that he used to be. However, the more time they spent together after the war, the further apart they grew. There was now no reason for Tris to hide that she was divergent. In fact, a great many people, most very surprising, came out as divergent. One in particular put a strain on Four and Tris's relationship. During the post-war trials, Eric was put under truth serum at Candor to answer for his war crimes. Tris went expecting to hear for herself why he would commit such horrible acts, but his answers shocked her and everyone else in the trail room. Since the day of his aptitude test, where he had tested as a divergent, Eric had been under Jeannine's thumb. She had come in to kill him, but he begged for his life promising anything. She then told him to go to Dauntless so that she could have a member of the leadership under her control. If he did not do what she wanted, than his two younger sisters would be the ones to pay the price with their lives. His job was to become a hunter of his own kind, a hunter of divergents. He had managed to keep most divergents from gaining attention by smuggling them to Amity or Abnegation. However some slipped through the cracks. Two nights before the initiate class was to finish, Tris's class, Four and Eric had gotten into an altercation. In the hospital, they gave Eric what they told him was a serum for the pain. However it contained a new serum they were trying out on the divergent. Eric was the test subject unknowingly. Put under sim that night and not to wake from it until Jeannine was dead. His sole mission was to kill any and all divergents that he came across. This explained the killing in the weapons room that night, how he hadn't even blinked an eye. Tris was surprised that he had not killed her and Four in abnegation, but instead he hesitated and they were taken away. Tris has wondered why ever since. Even when he was chasing them through Amity and Candor he was still under sim. Relentless in his pursuit as it was his mission. Watching him at the trial, once it was over and the serum was wearing off, the haunted look on his face, the tears that slid down, Tris knew would stay with her.

Four still didn't trust Eric. He had so much hate in his heart for him that it was impossible for him to see past it. Tris was never able to find out the reason why. He would never open up about it. Life at dauntless went on much as it had before the war. Leadership had, however, changed. Eric having been cleared of his crimes due to the circumstances, was now the head leader at Dauntless. The only other leader left, that had not been taken to jail or killed was Veronica. She and Eric split the duties, she the face of leadership and Eric running the faction from behind closed doors. He was shutting himself away from everyone.

Tris made her was to the roof top. Breathing deeply as she stepped out in the crisp, nigh time autumn air, she noticed that she was not alone. A figure that she would know anywhere was sitting on the side of the roof, feet dangling off the edge. His shoulders were hunched and his head hanging down. Silently and with caution Tris walked to him. "Eric?" She said, her voice barely above a whisper. She watched as his back stiffened.

"What do you want Tris?" His voice held no malice, but it was void of all emotion. He never even turned around.

"Are you alright?" A small humorless laugh left his lips. Shaking his head he answered "No. I don't think I will ever be alright."Tris slowly sat next to Eric, her leg bent in front of her as she faced him.