It was a few hours after the battle had ceased, and the valley was now filled with close to a hundred Divergents talking with each other. None of them had ever experienced anything like it before, and it was incredible to meet so many other people who had been through the same things as them.
After a while, Namjoon and Aeri went over to join Yoongi, Jimin and Tayeon, who were having a discussion with a group from Amity - a couple of enhancers, and an empath. Yoongi had never met another Empath before, and they were comparing their experiences.
"Guys," said Namjoon. "We should really think about where we go from here. It seems like we can camp out here for a few days, but we need a plan to start building our own compound."
"Tayeon was telling us you have a design for the new compound already," said one of the guys from Amity.
"We do," said Namjoon, reaching for his back pocket.
"He carries that thing everywhere," Aeri smirked at him, and Namjoon rolled his eyes at her playfully, as he opened up the map to show the others.
"We tried to incorporate elements from all the factions as best as we could, so any Divergent would feel comfortable here," said Yoongi. "But obviously we need input from everyone else as we're all from Dauntless and we're biased in that way."
"This is amazing," said the taller Amity-born of the group, glancing up to look at them. "Who drew this?"
Tayeon and Yoongi glanced at each other, the blonde sucking in her breath sharply.
"One of our friends," Yoongi stated quietly. "His name was Daehyun, he was unfortunately killed during the first attack when we were trying to escape Dauntless."
"He was one of my best friends," added Tayeon. "He and Iseul spent their whole lives together, and they died side by side."
"Oh," the Amity-born replied, a look of sadness entering into his eyes. "That's terrible Tayeon, I know how you feel. My best friend was killed yesterday in a similar manner."
"I'm sorry for your loss," Namjoon sighed. "I'm sure he didn't deserve it any more than Daehyun and Iseul did."
"We need to honour their memories now," said the shorter Amity born. "I'd love to give you some input for the new compound but I think everyone needs the chance to have a say."
"You're right," nodded Yoongi. "Maybe we can call everyone together to talk about it?"
"This faction needs a leader as well," said Aeri. "That needs to be decided."
"Hey, guys," said Ae-cha, joining the group, a look of worry on her face. "Apparently the leaders of the other factions are on the way. They want to talk civilly, or so we've been told."
"We need to sort this out quickly then," said Yoongi. "Namjoon, Ae-cha, lets try and get some sort of order happening here, so we can at least decide on a few representatives to speak to the other leaders."
The three of them climbed up to the edge of the ridge so they could have a better view of everyone in the valley, and Namjoon yelled to get their attention.
"I hate to break up the party, guys, but you may have heard that the other factions are sending their leaders in to talk to us. We need to decide on a few representatives to speak to them."
Everyone suddenly began talking at once, and Ae-cha shook her head.
"Guys!" She yelled. "This isn't helping, come on!" They suddenly went silent, and turned to look at her. "I have an idea, you can tell me what you think. But at the moment, we're still a little divided by our old faction groups since the people we know are largely from one faction. How about we each elect one or two people to go? That seems to be the fairest way."
There was general consent to this, and after a little more chatter, several people began making their way to the front of the group, joining Namjoon, Ae-cha and Yoongi on the rock. The first was a guy with dark hair, of about medium height, from Erudite, and he nodded amicably to the others. Namjoon and Ae-cha immediately recognised him, and they introduced him to Yoongi.
"This is Yeonjun," said Namjoon. "We used to be in the same study class at Erudite before I transferred to Dauntless."
"Good to meet you," Yeonjun nodded. "I know your name is Yoongi, I've heard a lot about you."
"You have?" Asked Yoongi, surprised.
"Everyone knows who you are, Yoongi," said a shorter, dark haired girl, who was joining them on the rock. She appeared to be the Candor representative, judging by her white clothing. "You've been on society's number one hit list ever since the Dauntless leaders put out photos of you lot everywhere saying 'Kill on sight.' I think it's a miracle that you're standing in front of me, to be honest."
"Charming," Yoongi rolled his eyes, with a chuckle. "You all recognise me from a mug shot. Well, I'm nothing special, I'm just an empath."
"JUST an empath," Namjoon rolled his eyes in amusement. "You're terrifying."
"Well, my girlfriend and boyfriend are my shield and sword, among other things, and my best friend is a healer, so that may have something to do with me surviving."
"Maybe," the dark haired girl smiled. "Well, nice to meet you in person. My name's Jennie, by the way."
One by one, the representatives collected at the front of the group, until they had Namjoon, Yoongi and Ae-cha from Dauntless. Yeonjun from Erudite. Jennie from Candor. Beomgyu and Soobin from Amity, who they'd already met in their previous discussions. And finally from Abnegation, they had Mihyun. There was eight of them in all, and after a brief discussion, they headed out the gate of the valley, preparing to meet the leaders. The rest of the Divergents crowded onto the valley ridge, wanting to watch what happened.
The leaders of Amity, Erudite, Candor and Abnegation arrived, escorted by several other members from those factions. No one from Dauntless was present, and Yoongi wondered for the first time how many members of his old faction actually remained.
"First of all, we come in peace," began the leader of Amity. She was a tall, kindly young woman, with thick, black hair. "I would like you to know that no members of Amity were involved in the attack that happened today, to my knowledge, and certainly not under my orders. The Amity believe in peace and kindness, and we believe you should be given a chance to demonstrate that you can live in harmony with the rest of our society."
"Thank you," nodded Yoongi, sensing the relief flooding the people he had around him. "I am part Amity myself, I understand where you're coming from."
"Which of you is the leader of your group?" Asked the Candor leader. "And what is your aim in coming out here?"
"We plan to build a faction of our own," stated Namjoon. "And we have no leader, as yet. We haven't had time to elect one."
"How can we be sure that you will not turn on us once you have established yourselves out here?" Asked the Erudite leader. "I've seen the kind of power you have at your disposal today, and you have to understand why people were afraid of it, and continue to be afraid of it."
"Look," said Jennie, stepping forward, with a glance at Yoongi. Yoongi nodded at her to continue. "I understand your need to protect your people, but we also have a duty to ours, now. We need an open environment where Divergents can learn to control their abilities, so we can avoid the chaos that an out of control Divergent can cause."
"We are planning to build a compound that incorporates the elements of all the factions," added Soobin. "We don't have any intention of turning on you, we just want to live our lives the way the rest of the people of the city do: without the fear that someone may try to destroy us because we were born different."
"That's all very well for you to say," said the Abnegation leader, nodding towards Soobin. "You're an Amity, or at least, partially. That kind of thinking comes naturally to you. But there may be others in your midst who do not think the same way as you."
"True," nodded Beomgyu, stepping up beside Soobin. "And no doubt there are those in your own faction of Abnegation who still harbour an anger towards Divergents, or the kind of fear that is completely unfounded. I would say to you, that we all need educating. We should not see each other as a threat, but as unique individuals with different life experiences."
"I agree with you," The Erudite leader nodded to Beomgyu. "I have never met a person whom I cannot learn something from. This is about changing our mindset, the mindset of the whole city."
"That won't be easy," said Yoongi. "But I believe we should try our best to make it happen."
"Well," said the Amity leader, "I would like to give my agreement to the building of the new Divergent faction, and if there's anything that I and my people can and do to help, I'd be more than happy to oblige."
"Thank you," nodded Ae-cha. "There is something we need to ask of you immediately. Are you able to provide us with livestock and grain so we can start our own farms?"
"I'll have someone meet you at the border to discuss terms first thing tomorrow," she nodded. "We'll definitely supply you with what you need to get your new faction on its feet."
"There is one other thing," said Yoongi, glancing around at the leaders. "I'm sure you all know that every faction has its strengths and weaknesses. I was born and raised in Dauntless, and although the Dauntless were the catalyst for the fighting and death that has occurred today, it has its own beauty, and I never want to see it descend into the kind of anarchy it was in when I left it. They need to elect a new leader, a worthy one, this time, and I would ask that you give them your support whilst they rebuild their faction."
"The Dauntless Divergents are the reason we're all here today," said Yeonjun. "If they hadn't been brave enough to stand up for what they believed in, every Divergent would be dead by now." He smiled at Namjoon, Yoongi and Ae-cha, as he spoke, and they returned it gratefully.
"I look forward to seeing your new compound when it's all built then," smiled the Erudite leader. "Would you allow us to visit it once it's done?"
"Of course," nodded Ae-cha, as the others murmured their consent.
"That's settled then," stated the Candor leader. "And whoever you end up selecting as your leader, I'm sure any one of you here would make a good choice."
A/N: the Bad news: that was the last chapter.
The good news: the epilogue is freaking massive.