Author's Note: Hi there everyone! I'm back! If you're a fan of my other work, I'm really sorry I haven't updated in years. I was drawn away from fanfics for a long while, but I'm back... Even though I'm working on something new. I do hope you you enjoy this, and I would love some feedback on it. I still hate summaries - they're too short to capture the story... Anyways, I also am unsure of the title...
Disclaimer: The 100 is not of my creation and is owned by the CW network. I do not profit off this fanfic and anything that seems new, such as Nascha, is of my own creation.
Chanting. Even now, as she awoke, young Nascha could hear it. The words were jumbled in her head. Words she barely knew. They were foreign to her, but yet they seemed familiar somehow. They were spoken in an old language, one that only two people on the Ark knew. And those two didn't know much of it. She was one of them and her father the other. It was the language of the Diné, or Navajo as most called them. Nascha's father would never let her say 'Navajo' when describing 'her' people. But they weren't her people. Modern civilization destroyed their culture hundreds of years ago. The fact that there were only two people left with this lineage just proves it.
Nascha sat up from the small, firm bed that had been provided in the cell. She tried to recall as much of the strange dream as she could, even though it was quickly becoming more and more blurry. There was dancing, lots of dancing. People she had never seen before danced around a fire with as much soul and passion that they could muster. And she was dancing. Her limbs moved frantically, and rather messily, to a rhythm that wasn't there. There was also a man who was chanting and shaking some type of rattle. It seemed as if the ceremony was for her. She was somewhat by herself in the large group, but it seemed as though the people were making an effort to dance around her. Then they marked her. Some type of paint was used to create lines upon her face as the man continued to chant.
She was still trying to make sense of this dream of hers as she stood from her bed and stretched her sore back. The bed wasn't that comfortable. But, then again, what did she expect in a prison cell. She raised her arms above her head and stretched as far as she could, which earned her a few pops of protest from her spine.
Nothing came to mind as to what would bring on such a strange dream, "What did they slip into my soup last night?" she mumbled, as she went about combing through the knots in her hair with her fingers.
It was a tedious and rather vain thing to do, considering she was locked away – thankfully not in solitary though – but it was something that made her feel better. Combing her hair was something she did simply for the peaceful movements. And, let's be honest, she loved how her hair felt afterwards. As soon as most of the knots were out, Nascha threw her auburn-red hair into a messy braid, which eventually stopped below her shoulder blades.
As she popped her neck, she heard a noise from the front of her cell as blue lights turned on. In walked two guards, men whose names she had never bothered to learn. Nascha gave them a funny look. An eyebrow raised as she now tried to figure out what they were doing. Rarely did guards come into a prisoner's cell. Usually it was only for when a juvenile prisoner was about to be reviewed. She wasn't supposed to be review for another month or so. So, the question remained.
Why are they here?
"Prisoner seven-eleven, face the wall," one of the men ordered.
Nascha, though still confused, did as instructed, "Has Jaha decided to move up reviews now? Clear out some of the trash?" she asked, only half-jokingly.
It wouldn't surprise her in the slightest. In truth, what was the point of locking up teenager delinquents, when they'll only be floated anyway? It's rare for anyone to be pardoned; especially when, those who committed the crimes can't offer much that would benefit the Ark.
"Quiet," the guard ordered, "Hold out your right arm."
Nascha looked over her shoulder to see one of the guards opening a black box that seemed to house metal wristbands, "Aww, you're giving me a bracelet? How sweet. But, metal isn't really my style."
If she was going to die, why not be a bit sassy? As soon as Nascha was caught, she had accepted her fate that she would more than likely be floated. Well, maybe not at first. But, she's almost had a year to come to grips with it. She had made peace with her demons and her fears. She would hold her head high, and neither kick nor scream when they would drag her to the airlock chamber.
"Shut up," the second guard barked at her; apparently, he didn't find it nearly as funny as she did.
The second guard came towards her and shoved her into the wall, putting his full weight against her back as he held out her arm. The blue-eyed woman had to fight back the urge to ram her heel into his foot or her elbow into his nose. Neither of those options would have proved beneficial to her. But still, she was complying. No need to be rough. The first guard came over with the bracelet. Now that it was close enough, Nascha could see little prongs sticking out of it. She had a bad feeling about it, and wasn't too keen with the idea of it going on her wrist. The second guard held her in place as it was fastened onto her wrist.
She winced slightly, hissing at the momentary pain of the prongs sinking into her flesh. Now, she was even more confused. Guards had never done this for someone about to be reviewed and floated.
"What the hell is going on?" Nascha decided to voice her concerns as the guards all but dragged her out of her room.
They didn't answer her, which didn't surprise her. They weren't really known for talking so much as beating people into submission. When she was finally forced out of her cell, Nascha noticed that all of the prisoners in the Skybox – every single one of them – were receiving the same treatment.
They're gonna float us all, all at once, she thought with mild horror and surprise.
One of the guards shoved her, in order to keep her moving. Stumbling slightly at the harder-than-necessary encouragement, Nascha complied and began to walk to wherever the hell they were taking them. She began to look around, almost frantically, seeing if anyone might have a clue as to what might be going on. Suddenly, her eyes landed on a pair of goggles, and a smile broke across her tan skin.
"Jasper!" she yelled in hopes to get his attention.
It seemed to do the trick, because he began to swivel his head back and forth, trying to find the source. When his brown eyes landed on her, a matching smile stretched across his face.
"Nasch!" he called her by her 'nickname', "What's going on?"
"I was just about to ask you that," she called back, "Where's Monty?"
He shrugged his shoulders as his guards shoved him forward, "I don't know," he called over his shoulder.
Nascha was about to look for the Asian boy when the guards behind her shoved her through various doors and walkways. She honestly had no idea where they were going. But, it was definitely in the opposite direction of the airlock chamber that was used to float people. So, maybe they weren't being floated. Though, that still didn't help her in determining what was going on. She didn't recognize the corridors they were being lead down. But, wherever it was, it was apparently away from civilians. Nascha hadn't seen a single person outside of the prisoners.
When the mass of people reached a certain set of doors, it seemed as if chaos had erupted amongst them. No one could tell what was going on. Nascha had lost sight of Jasper and that worried her more than anything. She was alarmed, and though she would never admit it to anyone else, she was a bit frightened. Having Jasper and Monty by her side would at least make things easier for her. They had been her only true friends on the Ark. When she finally reached the doors, she realized the prisoners were being forced onto a ship. Her guards shoved her inside with the rest of them.
They forced her over to a wall and relief was evident on her face as she saw the two people she cared for more than anyone. There was an open spot next to them and that was where her guards shoved her. One of them went about strapping her into some type of harness. Nascha really didn't care, she had her friends. She was strapped next to Jasper and when the guards finished, they left without another word.
"Nasch!" both of them exclaimed, the same relief evident on their faces as well.
"Monty, Jasper," she sighed.
"Where are they sending us?" Jasper questioned, swiveling his head left and right to look at his friends.
Monty was the first to answer, "Where else? The ground."
"Seriously?" Nascha exclaimed, "They said it wouldn't be inhabitable for another one hundred years. Why now? Why us?"
Neither of the boys had an answer to that. Glancing around, Nascha realized that all the prisoners were strapped in and that all the guards were gone. Wherever they were going, they were about to leave. Nascha grabbed Jasper's hand tightly. He looked down at their hands, then back up at his friend's face. He smiled – trying to reassure Nascha – and squeezed her hand.
"Don't tell me you're scared," he teased.
"Shut up," Nascha grumbled, though a smile was still breaking across her face.
All the prisoners sat there for a moment – not that they had much of a choice anyway – albeit, not so quietly. Everyone was talking amongst themselves, trying to figure out what was happening. It was clear that no one was really certain as to what was going on. As Nascha looked around at all the young faces, she noticed a few she knew, and many that she didn't. It was then that she realized that there were a ton of prisoners. Just how many though, she couldn't say.
The ship began to shake somewhat, and Nascha suddenly felt the gravitational force acting upon her. They were moving. They must have just been launched from the Ark, because in a matter of a few minutes, the ship stabilized somewhat. Nascha shared a glance with Monty and then with Jasper. It was actually happening. They were going to Earth. Monty was right; where else would they send them? Nowhere else was even habitable. The Earth at least had a chance. A slim chance. Better than none, though.
Suddenly, there was a loud, crisp beeping noise that reverberated off the interior walls of the ship. Some didn't halt in their conversations amongst one another, but some did. The trio on the wall fell into the latter group. They glanced around, trying to find the source of the very harsh sound. It stopped soon after, but in its place, T.V monitors flickered on with Jaha's face plastered on them. Nascha hadn't even noticed the monitors earlier – then again, she had other things on her mind that preoccupied her attention. There happened to be a monitor above Jasper, and the auburn-red haired woman took a second to see if she could crane her neck enough to see the monitor. Alas, it was futile. So, Nascha, Monty, and Jasper went about trying to see another monitor. Nascha had to lean drastically to her left in order to see any monitor.
"You know I love you, Nasch, but isn't this a bit much?" Jasper joked, referencing how the woman was leaning upon him.
Nascha didn't even reply; she simply slapped a hand upon his mouth to keep him from talking. She wanted to hear what the Chancellor had to say.
"Prisoners of the Ark, hear me now," the Chancellor began, sounding grave and stoic, "You have been given a second chance and as your Chancellor it is my hope that you see this as not just a chance for you, but a chance for all of us. Indeed, for mankind itself."
What is he going on about? Nascha had to wonder as something wet and slimy was sliding across the palm of her hand.
She quickly remembered that she had tried shutting up her friend, and that he must have been annoyed and taken matters into his own hands. Nascha removed her hand from Jasper's face and she could see his saliva glistening in the fluorescent lights of the ship. The woman had a look that was a mix of disgust and incredulous and turned it on Jasper. The boy had a wide smile spread across his lips that caused the woman to roll her eyes. Monty had witnessed the exchange between his two friends and couldn't but laugh ever so slightly.
Wiping her wet and disgusting hand on Jasper's jacket, which earned her a 'gross' from the boy, Nascha tuned back in to what the Chancellor was saying, "We have no idea what is waiting for you down there. If the odds of survival were better, we would have sent others. Frankly, we're sending you because your crimes have made you… expendable."
"Your dad's a dick, Wells," some guy yelled across the ship.
Besides the Chancellor's words leaving an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach, Nascha was also surprised. Wells was on the ship heading to Earth? The Chancellor's son? Why the hell was he on a ship full of expendable prisoners?
The blue-eyed woman didn't have a chance to really think on the matter as she tuned back in to the Chancellor, "If, however, you do survive, those crimes will be forgiven, your records wiped clean."
Those blue eyes widened at his words. Their records would be wiped clean? Nascha could feel the eyes of her friends on her and she turned their way. Both of their faces mirrored the surprise she felt. The woman could see the excitement start to seep into their eyes at the mere thought of being forgiven. Nascha didn't feel the same joy as they did, though. Would they truly be forgiven? And if they were, did she want to be a part of a society that would have floated her for merely defending herself? In truth, Nascha didn't know how she felt and if she wanted to be 'forgiven' by the Council.
As the woman thought about what she wanted, she tuned back into the Chancellor, "The drop site has been chosen carefully. Before the last war, Mount Weather was a military base built within a mountain."
The flicker on the screen did not go unnoticed by the auburn-red haired woman. She didn't take it for much, seeing as the ship they were on was close to a hundred years old. It shouldn't be too surprising if the connection between it and the Ark was weak.
"It was to be stocked with enough nonperishables to sustain three-hundred people up to two years," the Chancellor continued as the ship began to shake ever so slightly.
Nascha tried to pay attention to what the Chancellor was saying if only to find out where to get some food. Alas, she couldn't concentrate as a boy in a green beanie began to float through the air.
Someone called out, "Spacewalk bandit strikes again," and the woman knew exactly who it was.
Finn Collins. Almost everyone knew everyone's business. Finn was the boy who wasted a month's supply of oxygen on an illegal spacewalk. The kid had style, Nascha had to admit with a smirk upon her lips. After mentally congratulating the boy on his style, she tried to listen to what the Chancellor was still rambling on about on Mount Weather. It was proving futile though. Everyone was talking now, many of whom gasping and applauding Finn. From Nascha's position, she could see two other prisoners trying to remove their harnesses in order to follow Collins' lead. She rolled her blue eyes at their antics and turned towards her two friends. At this point, her eyes nearly popped out of her head, like in an old cartoon. Jasper was also trying to undo his harness with a goofy grin plastered on his face.
"What are you doing?" she all but hissed at him as her hand lashed out and grabbed the safety straps, preventing him from removing them.
"What does it look like? Come on. It looks like fun," Jasper complained, trying to pull Nascha's hand away.
Nascha had always been stronger than Jasper and Monty – though, it wasn't necessarily her fault. Either way, Jasper couldn't remove the woman's hand and she simply glared at the man.
"Jasper, they're idiots. When the parachute-" she began, but was quickly interrupted by the boy on the other side of Jasper.
"When the parachutes deploy and the retrorockets are activated, you'll be sent flying. If you hadn't noticed, this ship's made out of metal. If you're flung at a great enough velocity, you could kill yourself," Monty quickly explained as he too held onto Jasper's harness.
Physics had always been a forte of Monty's, not Nascha, so she welcomed his interruption and explanation. If Jasper would listen to anybody about this, he would listen to Monty. And he did. His face fell slightly and he released his hold on his harness. His two friends shared a small smile, glad that he wasn't going to do anything stupid. Well, stupider than normal.
Nascha turned her attention back to the T.V. in hopes to catch the last of the Chancellor's message, but it was cut short. The television went black as the ship started to shake rather violently. The woman hadn't noticed during their conformation with Jasper that the ship had begun to rattle somewhat. That's probably why Nascha was able to ignore it so easily. The rattling was barely there, something she could push to the back of her mind. But now, she couldn't ignore it if she tried.
There was a jolt suddenly and nearly everyone lurched in their harnesses against the harsh movement. Nascha's eyes widened as the two boys, who had followed Finn out of their seats and the ringleader himself, were flung in front of her and straight into the wall of the dropship. The two boys had flown into some piping and tubing causing them to break. Smoke and steam were released from the piping and there were sparks flying. The trio against the wall turned their heads in hopes to shield themselves from the sparks.
Her hands latched onto her own harness as she began to breathe rapidly, "Why aren't the retrorockets kicking in?" Monty began to mumble to himself, as he gripped his safety harness tightly.
Nascha was never one to be frightened easily, but she could honestly say she was scared to death. Well, scared of death at least. The prospect of falling through the sky and either burning up in the atmosphere or impacting the ground at terminal velocity was very intimidating. The woman tried to focus on her breathing, anything to keep her mind off the possibility of death.
The first thing that came to mind was a song her mother used to sing to calm her when she was upset. The melody poured through Nascha's thoughts as the words were lost to her memory. As she hummed along to the song, Nascha could feel her heart slowing and her breathing coming in regular intervals. The noise of the other delinquents and the rattling of the ship faded into the background. The song always helped her. The woman hadn't noticed that her eyes had slid shut as she began to panic, but now, she opened them and looked around the dropship. Everyone was frightened and unsure if they'd survive long enough to make it to Earth. This time, it was Jasper's hand that reached out for Nascha's; he found comfort in being with his two best friends, even if it would be the last time.
Suddenly, the dropship jolted. It was a clear sign that the retrorockets had finally activated. It didn't seem to be enough to stabilize the ship though. It shook violently for a couple more seconds until it crashed into something solid. Looking around the interior, Nascha made a quick assumption that they hadn't been going too fast when they landed since there didn't seem to be any damage. It was right after she came to this conclusion that the dropship stood still and the machines powered down.
It was quiet for a moment as everyone got their bearings, until Monty spoke up, "Listen," both Jasper and Nasch turned to him, "No machine hum."
When his words sank in, the auburn haired woman realized how odd it was to not hear anything mechanical. All their lives they had lived on a metal space station where the hum of machines and equipment was all but common placed. The silence was odd. But, it comforted Nascha. She felt at peace now.
As Jasper glanced around the ship, confirming what the Asian boy had said, he chuckled slightly, "Whoa… That's a first."
Though everyone seemed to have their own thoughts swimming about their head, the girl noticed a few people nodding along to what her goggle-clad friend had said. Nascha took a few deep breaths as she calmed herself down. Echoing across the large hull was a symphony of clicks as she felt the straps of her harness loosen. When she looked down, the buckle in the center had un-fasten itself. Slowly slipping it off, she looked to her friends who cautiously did the same. She stood by them for a moment as she rubbed the side of her neck. She realized that she had tensed up for most of the re-entry and that the jostling of the ship had made her neck rather stiff. Nascha turned to look around the dropship as the other teenagers removed themselves from their harnesses.
Her blue eyes caught a blonde girl rush over to the two boys who had been flung into the wall. Nascha knew of the blonde. If she remembered correctly, her name was Clarke – she had always thought it a boy's name, which is the only reason she remembered it. Finn was already there, checking the condition of one of the boys. Nascha assumed they were discussing the two boys as she saw their lips move. She was no doctor, but she would guess they were dead. They hadn't moved or so much as made a groan since their accident. They were completely unresponsive. Nascha turned away from the scene and back towards her friends as she came to the same realization as Finn and Clarke.
Before she could say a word to the boys, someone called out across the hull, "The outer door is on the lower level. Let's go."
She saw her friends' eyes light up with excitement at the prospect of stepping foot on Earth. A goofy grin was on Jasper's face and Nascha couldn't help but laugh. The three began to follow the crowd towards the ladder at the back. Behind them, she could hear the girl from before, Clarke, yelling on about not opening the doors. The auburn haired woman didn't pay much mind as she followed Monty down the ladder. The boys were waiting for her on the ground, but Nascha decided to hang onto the ladder.
The woman wasn't the tallest girl on the ship, and she knew she wouldn't be able to see all the way in the back. So, she used the height advantage from the ladder to see over everyone. From there, she could see a tan man ushering everyone away from the door. Nascha stared him down for a while, but in the end, she couldn't place him in her memory. Nearly everyone in the Skybox had at least some contact with each other. She didn't want the brag, but the blue-eyed woman had a great memory – at least compared to Monty and Jasper's – and she had never seen the boy at the front before. Add in the fact that she could see he was wearing a guard's uniform only supported her theory that he wasn't a delinquent like them.
Before she could figure anything else out, Clarke came down one of the other two ladders, shouting for them to stop. Everyone turned to look at her as she shoved her way through the crowd.
"Who put her in charge?" Nascha asked snidely, before realizing she actually said that rather loudly.
She wasn't always aware of how loud she was, and apparently this time, she wasn't that discrete. Monty and Jasper tried to stifle their laughter; they were used to Nascha's blunt, and even harsh persona and they, for whatever reason, found it funny when she would make a slip up like she just did. With a small frown in place, she gently nudged the two with her foot in order to shush them.
"The air could be toxic," Clarke continued as she marched forwards to stand in front of the man with black hair, which was slicked back.
The man didn't back down from the confrontation, and answered rather calmly and confidently, "If the air is toxic, we're all dead anyway."
He does have a point, Nascha thought with a small shrug.
It wasn't a point she necessarily liked, but it was true. Whether they stayed inside or not, if the air was toxic it would begin to seep in through the minute cracks and crevices of the ship. A small movement below her caught her eye, so Nascha turned to see what it was. It was Monty shrugging his shoulders slightly. That was usually a sign of his when he thought through what was said and agreed with it. So the two had come to the same conclusion.
It looked like his words had stumped Clarke, and he went to open the door once more, "Bellamy?"
The man turned his head, along with everyone else on the ship. Everyone was looking for the source of the voice. The man, Bellamy apparently, looked over his shoulder to the woman on the last of the three ladders. As Nascha looked over to her, she was a little taken a back by the other. Even she had to admit the woman was gorgeous. She would even bet that she could have any guy – and probably a few girls – that she wanted. She had dark brown hair that fell to about her collarbones and tan skin that matched Bellamy's. Nascha could only see the woman's profile, but she had sharp, yet graceful features.
She watched curiously as the woman climbed down the ladder and walked towards the man. People seemed to part for her and watched in wonder as she stood before him. The auburn girl heard someone mention that she was the girl that was hidden beneath the floor. She gasped ever so softly at that. Nascha had remembered hearing about that incident a month or so before she was arrested. It was quite the scandal and controversy. The biggest one in the time she had been around, and possibly since the Ark had been in orbit. This caused her interest to be piqued as she watched on.
"My god," the man began as he looked upon the brown haired woman, "Look how big you are," he finished with a friendly smile.
Nascha couldn't see the woman's face, but she saw the hug and realized the two had to have known each other. And obviously well since hey seemed very close. When they finally broke the hug, she could hear them talk about the guard's uniform and how he borrowed it. Nascha raised an eyebrow at this and looked down only to make eye contact with both of her friends. They wore similar expressions that questioned the validity of that statement.
The auburn haired woman looked back up as Clarke spoke again, "Where's your wristband?"
Nascha rolled her eyes and groaned out, "Ugh. Can't you just give them a minute?"
With a slap to her shin from Jasper, who was again trying to contain his laughter, Nascha realized that wasn't as quiet as she originally intended. Some heads around them turned to look at her as well as the dark haired woman up front – who even offered up a small smile - and she simply shrugged it off.
"Do you mind?" the woman began rather hotly, "I haven't seen my brother in a year," she finished, somewhat snarling at the blonde woman.
It was then that everything really clicked and she remembered. Bellamy and Octavia Blake. The only set of living siblings that were onboard the Ark. They had hid her under the floorboards for most of her life because she was an illegal child. Nascha remembered that their mom had been floated, because it occurred only two weeks before she was arrested.
As she worked things out in her head, she heard someone exclaim, "That's Octavia Blake! The girl they found hidden in the floor!"
It would seem Nascha wasn't the only one who quickly came to that conclusion. As soon as the girl voiced her knowledge, Octavia reared around with fire in her eyes. She went to lunge at whoever said it and was barely held back by her brother. A snarl came upon her lips and her eyes searched frantically for whoever spoke.
Bellamy tried to calm down his hot-head of a sister, "Octavia, Octavia no. Let's give them something else to remember you by."
Nascha was curious as to where this was going, and apparently so was Octavia, "Yeah? Like what?"
"Like being the first person on the ground in a hundred years."
That seemed to calm her down. At this, Nascha descended the rest of the ladder and stood by her friends. If they were about to open the doors, she wanted to be ready for it. She grabbed both of their hands and weaved them through the crowd so they stood closer to the front. She wanted a front row seat to this. From this view, she could even see the smile that stretched across the tan woman's face at the idea her brother offered up. And with that, Bellamy turned to face the door as he pulled down on the lever that operated it. As the door lowered to the ground, a bright light temporarily blinded Nascha –as well as everyone else. She released her friends' hands as she went to cover her blue eyes.
It took a few seconds and probably a hundred blinks later before her eyes began to adjust to the bright world. As soon as they did and she could see clearly, she stood in awe. Never had she seen so much green in her life. Trees reached like fingers towards a clear and blue sky. Grass covered most of the ground and the rest was covered with dirt. Nascha never thought she'd be so excited to see dirt, but here she was. She could hear the calls of birds that had been startled by the ship's landing. If she closed her eyes, she could pick out different and distinct songs as well as other wildlife scampering across the ground floor. Ferns and shrubs probably stood as tall as her hips. Nascha took a few deep breaths of the clean air – though, for all she knew, it could just kill her. Her lungs soaked in the fresh air greedily and begged for more. She hadn't realized how stale the air on the Ark was until she compared it to the fresh and natural air on Earth.
"We're home," she uttered under her breath.
As she looked around at her fellow delinquents, she realized they were all doing what she had just done. Even Octavia who stood at the front of the pack. As she walked down the ramp, Nascha noticed that Bellamy had his arm out ever so slightly. He was keeping others at bay so his sister could be the first one to step foot on Earth, just like he told her. Since they couldn't move forward, everyone simply watched as the tan woman slowly made her way down the ramp. As she stopped at the end of it, she took a confident leap and jumped onto the solid ground. Nascha could feel her own heart start to race at the prospect of being able to walk on solid ground for the first time in her life. As Octavia turned her head slightly to look around, the auburn haired woman could see the giant smile on her face, which in turn caused her to smile.
After a moment of silence, Nascha could hear the sharp intake of air over the silence as Octavia raised up both of her arms, "We're back, bitches!" she all but screamed.