A/N: This is a gift for the beautiful, beautiful ladies over at the Metastation podcast. Seriously if you're a fan of the 100 and you haven't listened to their show, what are you doing with yourselves? Nowhere else will you find the perfect mix of insightful discussion and unabandoned squee. I love these ladies very dearly, please go check them out.
Anyways, they requested a reunion fic with a hot slice of Bellamy saving the day, ask and ye shall receive. Enjoy!
Madi knew she shouldn't be here. Clarke was going to kill her if she found out. She wanted to check out the prisoner ship tomorrow, in the light of day and properly prepared. But Madi couldn't wait. She had to know. Had to see. It was worth the inevitable lecture. Besides, no one would see her. Hiding was what she did best. She would get a quick look and head straight back to the rover. She leaned a little closer into the bush she hid behind, aiming for a better view as people starting coming out the giant ship. She had seen the door open like a ramp, and now people were ferrying boxes back and forth, three of them were holding guns. On guard.
Madi suddenly felt the branch underneath her arm give way, and she fell right into the clearing. There was a flurry of light as people swung their headlights and torches in her direction, spooked by the sound. She lay there, frozen in the glaring spotlight.
One of the men with guns was the first to recover, he looked to either side, then motioned to the others to carry on, making his way slowly towards her. He looked relaxed, but Madi saw his hand hovering just over his gun.
"Hey there, little girl," he said cautiously, "What's your name?"
Clarke was definitely going to kill her. Probably slowly, with a knife, after yelling at her for an hour straight. Madi said nothing.
"Where'd you come from?" the guard said cautiously, scanning the trees, "anyone with you?"
Madi stayed silent. Clarke didn't trust these people, so neither did she. She would say nothing. Feign ignorance. She noticed that the other people had slowed down, as interested as the guard in her answer.
"Hey, kid!" He said a little more aggressively, "Hey kid; I'm talking to you!"
"Maybe she can't understand you Fred," One of the other guards called out, staying back. She gripped her gun tighter. "We don't know what the radiation's done down here. They might not even speak English anymore. Or be able to talk at all."
Madi tried to look innocent and dumb, Fred still looking at her curiously. He opened his mouth to ask another question when there was suddenly a loud bang, and the sound of fighting and yelling started coming from the open door.
"Jesus Christ," Fred muttered. "They got loose! The prisoners are loose! Thompson, quick, get the door!"
The guard who had spoken before rushed back inside and jammed her finger down on a button just beside the entrance. She did it again, and again. Nothing.
"It's jammed, sir! They must have rigged it somehow!"
"Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, Thompson, Barker! Delta formation quick, Thompson you take the front. We need to be ready for them. The rest of you, build yourself a barricade. Hurry!"
Madi tried to slip away in the commotion, but Fred snaked out his hand and grabbed her tight. "Oh no, you're not going anywhere." And suddenly his eyes were full of suspicion. "You were a part of this. You were a distraction. You were in on this, weren't you?! Weren't you?!"
His face was livid, and Madi felt real fear as she shook her head frantically. She just had time to see his eyes widen as he realised she understood him before there was an almighty screeching and they both looked up to see the door soar upwards, far faster than it should. Thompson, who had been positioned on the door itself, disappeared, and they heard a sickening crunch as she fell on the other side. The door stopped just short of closing, leaving a small gap, and the others were left gaping in shock as there was a great scuffling and shuffling of many people, dozens, maybe hundreds of people, running around. And then … silence.
Madi counted four terrifying long seconds of silence, and then a voice rang out, reverberating against the great metal door that hid it. Gruff, but entreating in its command.
"Listen to me. Lay down your weapons. Let us pass, unharmed. No one here needs to die; no one needs to get hurt. We can do this peacefully. There are more of us than there are of you. Just let us pass."
And for a moment, Madi thought it had worked. Then the other guard, Barker, yelled back.
"You already hurt Thompson! How many others are dead and bleeding out, you lying filth! Get back in your box, or come out here to die!" And he shot at the closed door. It ricocheted off, and they all ducked as it buried itself into a tree.
Barker looked fearfully at Fred, who looked murderous, but Madi was watching the door. The silence stretched again, and then there was a sigh.
"So be it."
Without warning, a spray of bullets spat themselves out the gap, and Madi screamed as Barker fell, a pool of blood slowly bleeding out. Fred moved back, changing his angle on Madi's arm and that was all she needed. Madi dug her elbows back into his stomach, and twisted around, grabbing his arms and pushing forward, flipping him to the ground. She scrambled on top of him, trapping his chest between her knees. Fred caught unawares, the gun went flying and landed just out of his reach. He stretched for it, but Madi's hands had crumpled into sharp little fists, punching his head back and forth with all her might, trying to knock him unconscious. The initial shock was over, however, and Fred rolled over, taking her with him, and then she was the one trapped under him. She wriggled and squirmed as she tried to get out from under the cage of his body, one of his hands struggling to keep her down, the other reaching for the weapon. His fingers just brushed the metal, Madi pushing anywhere, everywhere, just to get away from him, when there was a loud bang, and the pink of his brain fell with him as collapsed on top of her, dead.
Madi fought not to retch as she got out from under the corpse, getting to her hands and knees before looking up to her saviour.
He stood above her, the dawn light igniting up his long dark curly hair from behind like fire. His own gun in his other hand, as he knelt down, reaching out to help her up. As she grabbed gratefully onto his arm, she noticed the dark contrast between them, and the freckles covered his body like he was living night.
"Yu ait?" he asked, face concerned. All she could do was nod. Did his voice always sound like that? She wondered. Or was it hoarse from disuse? Did he have a cold? She looked past him to see others, many others, in the same grey uniform he was, spilling out of the door. Most were running away as fast as they could, but a few others lingered, watching them. Madi counted six.
She ran. She couldn't help it, couldn't handle it. It was too much. And if these people were who she thought they were, if that man was who she thought he was. Well, they were smart, weren't they? They'd either follow or they wouldn't. She just had to get away. She had to tell Clarke.
"Hey! Hey! Where you going?"
She heard him call after him but didn't stop. She raced through the trees, passing through them effortlessly with the ease of long practise. That would slow them down, give her more time with Clarke. Give her more time to prepare.
She heard them crashing through the trees she had sailed past and smiled. So they were smart. She sped up.
Madi burst through the clearing calling out to her.
"Nomon! NOMON!"
Clarke was where she usually was at early morning, washing her hands and face at the bucket they used as a wash station. She smiled fondly at Madi, calling out, before switching to English, distress in every word as she saw the gore spattered over Madi's jacket.
"Sha, ai nitblida – Madi! What happened to you?!"
"Nevermind, nevermind," Madi raced, switching to English as easily as Clarke – her lessons were not only in self-defence. "Clarke, I found them! I know I shouldn't have gone, but I did, and it's a good thing too because they were there and I found them! They're right here!"
"Found who? Ai strik Nitblida, you're not making –."
"Clarke…"
Madi grinned as she felt her mother, the woman as good as her mother, freeze against her, looking up at the man who had just crashed through the forest. He looked as locked in place as she did.
"… Bellamy."
And suddenly he was running, running full pelt towards her, with such force that he knocked her right over and they fell together down on the hard ground of their camp, but neither seemed to mind. He was clutching her tight, so tight Madi thought it must hurt, but Clarke didn't seem to mind at all, stroking the back of his head, as he whispered in her ear, whispered, whispered, whispered, so soft that Madi couldn't hear him, buried face down against her. But she heard Clarke, whispering back, in a soft voice Madi had only heard once before, when she was very sick with fever, rubbing small circles on his back, as she whispered back at him. "I'm here, I'm here, I'm here." And there was such need, such emotion, as they pulled themselves into each other, that Madi had to look away.
Bellamy could feel her against him, her hair against his hand, her chest against his own, yet still couldn't believe it. She was here. She was alive.
"You're here." He kept saying it like it was a spell that could break any second. "You're here. You're here. You're here."
And she would respond "I'm here. I'm here. I'm here."
He pulled himself back, just far enough to see her, foreheads all but touching, and couldn't stop smiling down at her. Her smile just as bright, tears leaking from her eyes. He reached down to wipe it away, and she held his hand there, with both of her own, leaning her cheek into it. "You're here, she whispered, and she watched him watch her, and then watched him get distracted, looking to the side of her as if he'd just noticed something.
"Your hair. It's shorter," and he said it with such genuine puzzlement that Clarke let out a watery laugh before she could stop it.
"Yeah, I cut it. Yours is longer," she said, carding her fingers through the unruly curls. "And the beard's unexpected." She tugged cheekily on his whiskers, "You look like Kane." She giggled, watching as he blushed and ducked his head. She pushed herself onto her elbows and bobbed her head to catch his eye again. "Hey,"
"Hey," he murmured back.
"I didn't say I didn't like it." She said, and he grinned.
"I like yours too."
And Bellamy honestly believed they would have laid there grinning on the cold hard ground forever if Murphy hadn't come crashing through the trees at that very moment.
"Slow up Bell, not all of us have your – Clarke?!" Murphy stood there for a moment, then yelled behind him. "Guys, GUYS! He's found Clarke! HE'S FOUND CLARKE!" And Clarke and Bellamy had only just managed to get themselves up before they came hurtling down again, as Murphy, Monty, Harper, Emori, and Raven all came rushing in to touch too. To confirm. To feel.
Madi and Echo stood apart, seeming intruders in this overflow of joy, but Clarke saw Madi through a gap in the mess of arms and legs, and beckoned her in, face shining. Madi, who had been barely holding back as it was, hurried in, squeezing herself between Monty and Harper, beaming. Echo turned to leave, but Bellamy raised his head and held out his hand to Echo, "Come on, Echo," he said, imploring, "You're part of this too." Echo held back a moment more, but grabbed his hand and came in, an uncertain smile curving her lips. Clarke saw Raven and Emori roll their eyes at each other, saw Murphy and Monty, looking closer than brothers, felt Bellamy round her shoulders and Madi on her waist, and knew she was home, at last.
A/N: So how are we all? Are we good? Are we okay?
Comment n' subscribe n' stuff if you're into that. I love hearing from you.
Also if you would like to know how the MötleyKrü(TM) planned their escape - how they even ended up on that prison ship - maybe you should tell me in the comments, idk?
Anyway, lots of love always and good luck through hiatus, I know we'll all be needing it xx
