a/n: I think I'm gonna stick with Lexa, Bellamy, Zona viewpoints mainly. If you want me to change that, let me know. I actually really enjoy writing about Bellamy.

Thanks for the favs and follows, as well. If there's anything you want to see in this, let me know and I could squeeze it in :)

Ah well, enjoy.

Takes place 2x02-2x03

Bellamy

He was surprised Murphy lasted as long as he did without talking. Walks through the lush greenery were incredibly quiet for fear of roaming Grounders.

"We need to stay quiet."

"We're not out of the woods yet," Murphy joked. A smirk crept up on his lips.

"Oh God." Monroe rolled her eyes and went back to scanning the trees for movement.

Bellamy took a quick look at Murphy and sneered. "Did anyone give you permission to speak?"

"Aye, aye, captain." Yet again, Murphy had failed to regress. They all ignored him for as long as they could and savored bits of silence.

Bellamy fought for position leading the others while an unprepared Sterling and Monroe guarded the rear. For a brief second, Bellamy considered what had happened back at the camp—Finn freeing Murphy and all so willingly. A little too willingly if you ask Bellamy. Not to mention the haste Spacewalker was in; his sole reason to even help.

Bellamy, somehow, found it necessary to bring it up.

"Hey, Finn…"

"Yeah?" He nearly startled Bellamy; his eyes were wide and distressed. His voice was hoarser than usual and dipped in automatic desperation.

"Did—Raven tell you to help us? I'm just a little confused…"

"What's there to be confused about?" Finn scanned the bushes. "She only reiterated what I already know: save our friends, find Clarke, and survive."

Bellamy was silent for a few moments.

Save our friends, find Clarke, and survive.

Save our friends…Find Clarke…

Find Clarke.

Bellamy was no expert on Finn and Clarke's relationship. It simply wasn't his business. He suspected maybe, just maybe, that part of it was one-sided. That the Princess agreed to be with him out of some innate desire they all had from time to time. Maybe she did care and just didn't know the circumstances with Raven. He can't say she isn't still bothered by it—Raven's little one-nighter with Bellamy also said more than enough.

He knew from the start Finn wasn't the kind of guy you wanted to hang around with romantically. He wasn't reliable and he didn't know what he wanted. The only skills Bellamy found useful were for manpower, reasoning, and someone to follow trails without being a total idiot. Finn happened to be all of those, so, he let him stick around.

The sudden desperation in Finn's attitude was incredibly unnerving to Bellamy.

"Hey." It was Murphy this time, whining. "You know, if the Grounders attack us, I'm left defenseless tied up."

No. Bellamy's automatic response for that bastard. He was trying to weasel his way into being free, holding a gun, and then doing whatever the hell he wanted. No.

Despite Bellamy's adamant reply, Finn sighed and cut the wire around his hands and kept walking as though it were unimportant. His face still held a considerable amount of annoyance, this time for the task at finding Clarke instead of Murphy's snarks. Bellamy saw the distraction. He was beginning to understand Finn a little better now.

"Thank you."

Bellamy caught up with Finn and nudged his shoulder. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"He's the least of our concerns right now. We have to find Clarke."

He outright said it. Bellamy had a hard time controlling his rising emotions.

"Look," he began, "I know you're just as worried about Clarke as the rest of us. But try to understand that there are still the others out there."

"You don't understand. I get that, but…forget it." Finn sighed and brushed him off, looking ahead frantically.

"I do understand." Actually, Bellamy didn't. He just didn't want to see Spacewalker do something stupid. "But let's just prioritize, alright?"

Murphy walked up beside Bellamy smugly, smirking and rubbing his wrists.

"So do I get a gun now?"

Bellamy quickly shoved Murphy as hard as possible in front of him; somewhat hoping the teen would trip and fall behind. Between Finn and Murphy, it was a long day ahead of Bellamy.

Lexa

Gustus opened the folds of the Commander's tent, breathing heavily and looking furious enough to kill. His eyes twinkled something dark, as if blame were to be taken in the form of dripping limbs.

"I want them out of here."

"Calm down, Gustus." Lexa shifted the weight on her throne, looking up at him expectantly. "Whom are you speaking about?"

"Des kru…they have no respect!" he bellowed. He hovered over one of her tables dangerously, fists balled so tight that they were white with strain. "At the dining hall last night, they made a scene. They think they are so clever with their advanced ways and useless history. Her second, that boy…he needs to be taught a lesson."

Lexa, however, remained unfazed. "You are obviously too distraught to be speaking coherently, so I will give you another chance to explain to me what the problem is."

Gustus paused for a moment then straightened himself. "…Problem? Heda, their problem is that they—"

"—I know who Jett is. She brought representatives and they are loyal to their Commander just as you are to me." Lexa tilted her head knowingly. "I presume whatever happened was irrelevant and that they were only speaking kindly of their leader. Don't tell me that offends you, Gustus."

Gustus took a deep breath and nodded. "I'm deeply sorry, Commander." He bowed at her mercy. "Do forgive me."

Lexa motioned to the flask on her table. "Have a drink."

"Thank you, Commander." Gustus bowed again before pouring a glass for the both of them. He changed the subject quickly.

"There was movement in the northern and eastern woods," Gustus announced. He took a longing gulp out of his glass. "It is being taken care of by Indra in the East and Visus in the North."

"Very good." Lexa received her cup and spun her finger around the rim. "Is there no word on Lincoln?"

"The traitor and the others are probably victims of the mountain at this point. Indra reported that a skai kru girl desires him."

Lexa nodded before finally taking a sip of wine. "Yes. Well, she won't have mercy for interfering. I know Indra all too well." She stared into nothingness. "We shall see what Lincoln chooses."

"He is too compassionate," Gustus spat. "Just like that sister of yours."

Lexa gazed up at him. Her green eyes went blank. "I have already created a backup plan in case she does what I fear she will do…"

"Double cross?" Gustus whispered. "If she does, you have no choice but to declare her and her people an enemy."

"If it comes to it, yes," Lexa nodded softly, closing her eyes. "Let's hope she understands just how important her information to me is."

Gustus nodded as well, making a soft buzz.

Another informer had appeared in her tent abruptly, also out of breath and disheveled. He got down on one knee and bowed immediately. Lexa motioned for him to rise and stared expectantly.

"Heda, movement in the north woods. Skai kru. They have guns. We are thinking they have made a camp."

Gustus slammed his drink on the table. "See?" he stormed over to the Commander. "Heda, don't you see? They are wandering our perimeters already. Your sister doesn't have much time. They must be looking for their people as we—"

Lexa stuck up a hand to interrupt him.

"It shall be handled. If they wander too far, we will capture them and I will force everything out of them myself if need be."

"What if they don't listen? What if our people are still in that mountain again in a week? Your sister cannot be entirely trusted!"

Lexa struggled to compose herself internally. Her head pounded, but on the outside, she remained stoic.

"Then we will slaughter them all ourselves," she hissed.

Bellamy

The old bunker suffocated any inhale of air and grabbed at any exhale. It all came down to a dumb, sentimental watch. Bellamy had enough experience in interrogations—the Grounder they captured just wouldn't budge. The scar over his eye was bloodied and scraped and threatened to tear open. Bellamy wondered if it was all worth it. Finn's screaming, his petulance over whatever anyone had to say, his relentless beatings on their captive. Then there was Murphy in the back, flinching at every smack their victim received. His grey eyes flashed with a dark appreciation over the Grounders' gashes and open sores. Had Bellamy not been in the room, he didn't doubt Murphy would brutally torture the man.

Slowly, deeply, mercilessly. A knife would have been twisted into every crevasse of his writhing body. He would die a slow death until finally breaking the same way: screaming out all he knew over the pain with racking sobs begging for it to end. Murphy wanted it more than anything.

There came a point when Murphy's blood-lust became transparent in Finn's own eyes. Bellamy had no idea one person could have made him crack. He tried to put himself in the other's shoes but—just couldn't understand. Clarke really must have some sort of magic on Finn. Ah, but there was more to it. Bellamy figured at some point, after all the death, the grief, crying, and stress, that there would have to be a point of no return. He feared what Finn would do.

It escalated unexpectedly. Bellamy never wanted it to happen. Certain death without a responsible cause was not a way to end their interrogation session. Despite all they've done, all they've yet to do, if they did it—Grounders were still people. They had a different way of doing things, but at the same time they were only trying to survive. The odds of the Ark making the decision to send 100 kids to his or her death were not in the cards. Frankly, no one was to blame. Despite all the pain they caused, Bellamy found no justification in executing the Grounder.

Finn was the last person Bellamy would expect to pull that trigger.

He was half expecting Murphy to take matters into his own hands and do something horrific. Turning around to see blood pouring out of the Grounder's head, pooling on the floor, struck Bellamy as a warning he didn't see coming. Watching Finn walk away, pining after Clarke again, he thought he'd had enough. He knew Finn was dangerous, already far gone into a place he wasn't coming back from. What if Clarke was dead? He didn't want to think that, but with the odds—Finn could do anything.

Watching the dead Grounder one last time, Bellamy had one sliver of hope left. With two different people fighting for the same thing… he hoped any sort of peace on Earth was still sustainable.

Zona

She saw the flash of blonde hair out of the corner of her eye. Looks like Jasper would have to make a rain check on that board game.

Zona searched around with darting eyes, suspecting someone to follow her and then ran around the corner with no problem. She wandered down the hall to an empty bedroom chamber where Jasper had previously been. They must have all been playing somewhere else.

Before entering the room, she saw Clarke looking around in haste. The blonde looked high and low before finally creeping around one of the bunk beds. She was now facing Zona, looking intently on a metal frame the bed rested upon. Zona could read what she was about to do.

"Hey," Zona said forcefully, stepping into the room and startling Clarke. The blonde was speechless.

"What are you doing in here?" Clarke managed, rolling down her sleeve and taking a few steps further into the room.

"I would ask the same thing," Zona deadpanned. She motioned towards the bed. "If you're looking to hurt yourself, that's not a safe way to do it. You could risk infection from the rust. If that gets into your bloodstream, that could cause major fever, and possible gangrene. I hope you want to keep two arms instead of one."

Clarke stared at her a long time. Her mouth was parted and her eyes squinted, looking for something in the other's eyes. Her brows furrowed and she leaned in with her shoulders.

"Who are you?"

"Isn't it obvious I don't belong here?" Zona said tiredly. Her posture remained tall and straight. "The real question remains in the air—who are you?"

Clarke broke the eye contact briefly, looking around at the floor, into an empty space, to gather her thoughts. "You're—a…Grounder?" Clarke blinked. "How is that possible? Where are the others?"

Zona was impressed by the accuracy of her intuition. And, with little explanation. Surely, Lexa would be more than surprised to see a little of herself in the blonde Sky Person. At that moment, Zona knew what she had to do. It was only a little more than perfect.

"It doesn't matter, because I'm here to make a deal with you." Clarke folded her arms unhappily at this. "Since you don't trust these people any more than the rest of us, I will spare you my duty to kill you as such: the Commander's people are in this mountain somewhere as well as a few of my own who had traveled and took refuge at her village. Find them, free them, and the Commander won't slice your pretty little neck. Truthfully, her word is not meant to be taken lightly."

Now, Clarke was beginning to catch on. Having some peace of mind that Zona was not part of the Grounders who murdered a few of her people, started fights, and overall torture, it made things a little easier. But trust would still remain strained until proof was shown.

"Okay," Clarke said. She tilted her chin upwards and looked back and forth into Zona's eyes. "You want to make a deal? Prove to me that they won't cause a massacre of my people…that there's a chance of peace. I'm getting the hell out of this place—to find my people!"

"If you ever have the pleasure of meeting the Commander, then mention my name. I'll help you escape, Clarke. But in return you will run into one of her people and you will deliver my message: tell them all there is to know about this place. Whatever you find out, do it." Zona turned on her heel, finding peaceful trust in the blonde's eyes. "If you mention my name, they will believe what you say."

Zona had some decency left to go and find Jasper and explain why she broke her promise. It truly was not important, but a des kru never broke a promise. Her people had too much respect for one another to say things that weren't true. If feelings had to be shown, they would act upon it. Words were as useless as the paper they were written on.

She heard a loud thump and a muttered 'ow' coming behind a door as she entered his room again. She approached the bathroom door and heard a mumbled profanity under someone's breath. Knocking on the door hesitantly, she waited for a response.

"Jasper? That you?" She asked blandly. There was a shuffling of a trash can and what sounded like a small gasp.

"Yeah, just a minute."

Jasper opened the door after that, his back was facing her and he covered half of his face in the mirror. Zona took a step closer and eyed him curiously. She laid an awkward hand on his shoulder and asked him to turn around.

"You alright?"

"Huh? Uh, yeah I just…" Jasper's voice was grim. "I wasn't ready for you to surprise me like that."

Zona shifted uncomfortably. "Sorry about that." She paused. "I wanted to come—and apologize for not playing chess with you a few hours ago. Something came up."

"Oh that? Pff, you don't need to worry. It's no big deal."

"…Jasper?"

"Uh huh?"

"Mind turning around instead of talking to me through the mirror?"

"Oh. Sorry." Jasper hesitantly turned around, never moving his hand from covering his face. His eyes looked at her nervously.

"Can you please talk to me without a hand covering your face?" Zona asked lightly.

Jasper began to sigh. He looked at her sadly and slowly removed the hand from his face. A few red dots were scattered across his jawline from shaving.

"I got a pimple on my lip." Zona hadn't even noticed the small blemish under his nose.

Her shoulders slumped and her eyes closed as her face relaxed. She almost let out a laugh. "Jasper," she began, "that is normal. We all have blemishes."

We all have blemishes, she emphasized. He needn't worry.

Jasper seemed to relax a bit more, yet his voice remained gloomy. "I know, but—you don't need to look at Mount Everest on my face when you're talking to me." Zona let out a genuine smile at the remark, earning a mutual one from him as well.

"Hey," he began, a bit more cheery at seeing her smile. "Can I be awkward and really truthful with you? I mean, uh, more than I normally am. Yeah, yeah." He motioned for her to go first and take a seat on one of the bunks.

She remained calm as he fidgeted with the sheets. "I know we haven't known each other very long but…" his eyes looked about nervously. "I wanted to say, thanks. You and these people giving us a home when we didn't is really awesome. Whatever you want us to do, we'll do it. It's the least we could do to repay you."

Zona smiled halfheartedly. She wasn't much of a liar, and having to do it to a genuine boy her own age was rough...regardless of circumstance.

"If you don't mind me asking, can I press you for more info? Just tell me about yourself. Since we're friends and all now-I guess."

"I, I'd rather not talk about it…" Zona said truthfully. She had not been prepared to concoct a string of lies for her persona. It was never meant to be taken farther than a phrase or two and no Sky Person was supposed to be talking to her about it, either.

Jasper nodded understandingly. "I understand. I won't pry."

"Maybe I'll tell you someday." She looked up at him with pleading eyes. Perhaps, if fate permits, they would reveal the absolute truth with one another rather than abstaining in a cruel lie.

He was a good boy, she decided. He did not deserve to be led astray. Not by the pangs of hurt in her eyes from visions of the past nor by the stretching of her sleeves to hide the tortured scars.

Jasper nodded faintly and looked at her a little longer than he should have.

"Well, I uh, better go find Maya." Jasper got up from the bed quickly and wiped his hands on his pants. He stood awkwardly in front of her for a few seconds. "She promised to show me something later."

Zona couldn't deny the faintest flash of hurt in her chest. She was not their friend, she was not a true person, she was not to stray from the mission. In fact, taking matters into her own hands barred a real answer she didn't even know herself. These were people everyone was proven wrong about. She, too, wanted to find a level of understanding with these skai kru.

"You better get going." She looked up at him and stood confidently, delivering falseness all too well. "I hope you have fun."

Jasper smiled and thanked her for understanding before backing up out of the room and waving goodbye. It wasn't shortly after that when she saw his best friend enter the room, staring at Jasper as he left.

He strode confidently up to her and waited until the door closed shut and no one else was around. She stood unfazed, standing eye to eye with her challenging counterpart.

She could see in his eyes the same look Clarke had mirrored not long ago.

"I know what you're on about," he said lowly. "Don't think for one second that you might get away with whatever it is you're trying to do."

She raised a brow, feigning surprise. "Yes?"

Monty pointed a finger at her. "Listen to me, Grounder. It doesn't have to be this way. Our people can get along. But whatever it is you're doing, do it and get out. We're just trying to live; same as you are." He searched her eyes angrily. "But don't you dare get my best friend involved in your little game."

Zona blinked, unfazed. She looked at him with a slight cock of her head.

"Alright," she said, "you will see my intentions are pure. The plan was not to kill. I have more power than you think and I do not intend to use it against you."

Somehow, Monty wasn't buying into it. His expression had changed over into a bit of disapproval. He, too, looked at her for a long time; searching for something that Zona wasn't sure of.

"Fine." He crossed and uncrossed his arms. "I won't tell anyone. But if I have to, Jasper will be the first person I tell." He turned to leave before pointing at her. "So don't think of trying anything."

A/N: Also, don't forget to review. Need to know if this is worth continuing or not. I might just delete the entire thing after this chapter.