Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author's Note: This chapter contains spoilers for the finale. So if you haven't seen it, don't read. If you have seen it, wow. What a ride. I definitely cried. It was so incredible bittersweet. Clarke's decision at the very end was utterly heart-breaking, but the worst past was that I couldn't be mad because it made so much sense for her. Just before she tells Bellamy her decision the camera shows her hugging Monty, and that led me to believe that she told him she was leaving. I think she probably told a few specific people, and I wanted one of those to be Octavia so they have a chance to reconcile after everything. This chapter deals with Octavia's feeling of betrayal over Clarke's knowledge of the missile and also of Indra leaving her in the tunnel, and then it ends with an original scene to wrap up. Hopefully it works. I'm still processing the finale, so the last bit is pretty emotionally charged. But I think it fits. The lyrics used come from a song called "Best Is Yet to Come", which I think fits perfectly with the ending of this episode. You should give it a listen if you haven't heard it. And now on to the chapter. Enjoy!


Octavia

Octavia's relieved when she sees that Clarke is okay. She's ashamed to admit that she hasn't really given much thought to her friend in the last several hours. She's been too busy trying to dig everyone out of the rubble to wonder if Clarke made it out okay. But now that Octavia knows she's safe, it's like a giant weight has lifted from her shoulders.

"I thought you were dead," she admits when they finally get a moment together. "I'm glad you're not."

"You too," Clarke says honestly.

Octavia has to leave then to help Indra, so that's really all the conversation they have time for. But it's enough to reassure Octavia. Clarke is the closest thing she's ever had to a best friend. If anything had happened to her... But it didn't. Clarke's fine. In fact, it looks like there's barely a scratch on her.

It isn't until well into the march that Octavia suddenly realizes how strange that is.

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It takes her a while to figure it out. Far longer than it probably should. Probably because she just doesn't want to know. But by the time they've made camp and she can finally sit down beside a warm fire, Octavia's pretty sure she knows what happened. She spent all day digging people out of the rubble. Nobody in that village made it out unharmed. Nobody. Even the best off have at least a few scratches. But Clarke looks completely fine. She and Lexa both do. And there's only one possible explanation for that.

They weren't in the village when the missile hit.

The implication of that deduction chills Octavia to the bone. They knew. Somehow they knew. But instead of doing something about it, they chose to slip out without a word. Over two hundred people died today. And they died because Clarke and Lexa let them. Lexa is one thing. Her choice makes Octavia angry, but she really doesn't expect anything less. Lexa is ruthless. But Clarke... How could Clarke have let this happen? How could she have just stood there and watched those people die? It doesn't make sense. Clarke would never do something like this.

But there's no other explanation.

Octavia says as much when Clarke sits down across from her. Clarke tries to act like she has no idea what this is about, but Octavia knows her too well. She can read Clarke like a book. She sees the way Clarke won't meet her eyes, the way she swallows and then licks her lips like she's trying to figure out what to say. That's all the confirmation Octavia needs.

But she asks anyway because Clarke is her friend, damn it, and some part of Octavia is still holding out hope that she's wrong, that she's somehow misread this whole situation.

"Tell me you didn't know it was coming," she says.

Clarke's strained silence is answer enough.

"You let all those people die," Octavia accuses as the truth sets in. As Indra's second, Tondc is her village now too. It feels more like hers than the Ark or Camp Jaha ever did. Which means those people that died today were her people. Clarke killed her people.

Then Octavia stands to her feet as a further implication hits her.

"You were gonna let me die," she gasps.

Clarke quickly fires back, insisting that she did it to protect Bellamy and to help win the war. But Octavia isn't buying it. Bellamy never would've condoned this. He would've figured something out. He would've found a way to save those people. But instead Octavia is stuck with Clarke desperately clinging to her own righteousness in an effort to justify her crimes. Turns out she's just like her mother.

"You'd have fit right in on the council," Octavia says coldly. Clarke looks like she's been slapped, but Octavia is beyond caring.

She's not stupid though. She knows she can't tell anyone about this. Too many lives hang in the balance here. Unlike Clarke, she's not willing to throw people away. She won't say anything. She'll keep Clarke's precious secret. But once this war is over, so are she and Clarke.

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The revelation that Indra knows about the missile comes as a tremendous shock. How can she handle it so calmly? It doesn't make any sense. Her village was just destroyed and over half its residents killed. And she's okay with that?

"Indra, they almost killed you," Octavia points out.

"They didn't do anything," Indra tells her fiercely. "The enemy did."

Octavia knows that's not enough to justify what Clarke and Lexa did. Not nearly enough. They made their choice. Nobody made it for them. But apparently it's enough for Indra.

"Lexa's a great commander because she's ruthless," Indra continues. "That's why we'll win this battle."

"That's wrong," Octavia says. No amount of justification could ever make this right.

"That's war," Indra says flatly.

She stalks off toward the front of the army, leaving Octavia to mull over her words.

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One minute Octavia has it all. Indra has claimed her as one of the Tree Clan. One of Lincoln's people. Who cares about Clarke and the Sky People and the horrible things they've done? Octavia's a Grounder now. A warrior. And not only that, but a chief's second. She's proved herself worthy. And once Bellamy's safe, everything will finally be right with the world.

And then it all comes tumbling down.

The horn sounds, and suddenly Indra's pulling back. All the Grounders are. Just like that, they're ready to pull out with no explanation. It doesn't matter that Lexa can't be trusted. It doesn't matter that Bellamy and the others will be torn apart by Reapers. They're just going to pull back like mindless drones and let the whole plan go to hell. Well, Octavia won't do it. Not with Bellamy still in. She's not leaving her brother. Not ever.

So Indra cuts her off. Demotes her. Casts her out. It's not death. Not a literal one, anyway. But just like that, everything she worked so hard for is up in smoke. It's all gone. And just like that, Octavia is homeless.

She says as much to Jackson before he goes. Her allegiance was never to the Ark. They wanted her dead just for being born. Her allegiance was to Bellamy and Clarke. But Clarke betrayed her trust. So Octavia went to the Grounders instead. She proved herself a warrior. Only now they've betrayed her too. And suddenly the only person who hasn't, the only home she has left, is trapped inside of a mountain where she can't get to him.

Never in all her life has Octavia felt as alone as she does right now.

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She's still waiting by the door when Clarke comes down the tunnel. She brings the news Octavia was expecting. Lexa betrayed them all, just like Octavia knew she would. And it's turned Clarke into a wreck. After everything she's done, all the people she let die, now she's just giving in? Octavia won't have that. Not now. Not with Bellamy still in there. He's all she has, and Clarke is going to find a way to save him, or so help her, Octavia is going to take Clarke apart.

"Bellamy's counting on you," she says fiercely. "Everyone's always counting on you."

"Well, what do you want from me?" Clarke demands.

"You trusted Lexa," Octavia accuses. "You let a bomb drop on Tondc. You let all of those people-"

"I am doing the best I can!" Clarke yells. She looks so broken that under normal circumstances, Octavia would feel sorry for her. But these aren't normal circumstances.

"Well, it's not good enough," she says, her voice dangerously low. She doesn't care about Clarke's little martyr complex. Clarke needs to get her butt in gear right now and help Octavia save Bellamy and the others. After that, she can burn in hell for all Octavia cares.

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By some miracle, they manage to get everyone out of Mount Weather. The cost is enormous, but Octavia is surprised to find that she barely even cares. They're safe. They're all safe. What's more, Lincoln found his way to them. Apparently he's going to try his hand at being one of the Sky People. And that's just fine by Octavia. After seeing the rest of the hundred safe, after seeing how they came together and fought for each other, she's decided maybe the Sky People aren't such a bad clan to be part of after all.

They head back before the sun has even come up. It's a long walk back to Camp Jaha, and nobody wants to be in the mountain any longer than they have to. So they pull together some makeshift stretchers and bandages and set out. They can send scavenging teams back later to go through the rest. Or maybe they'll just leave it alone, a giant graveyard with nothing but the wind whistling through the corridors. A silent testament to the horrors of mankind.

They've already covered a fair bit of ground when the sun finally comes up. It's the most beautiful sunrise Octavia has ever seen. Suddenly it feels like a whole new world. A fresh start. Like they're finally getting the beginning they expected when they first came to Earth. It got a little delayed along the way, but better late than never.

It's shortly after sunrise that Clarke comes up beside Octavia and Lincoln. Octavia grits her teeth. Clarke may have saved their people, but she's still not forgiven. Not by a mile.

"Can I talk to you?" Clarke asks carefully.

"What do you want?" Octavia says, her eyes still straight ahead.

"I need you to do something for me," Clarke says.

"Not happening," Octavia says. "I told you. When the war's over, so are we. It's over now. We are too."

She starts to speed up, but Clarke's hand catches her sleeve.

"Octavia, please," she begs. Her voice actually breaks over the last word.

"Maybe you should listen to her," Lincoln says. He comes to a stop, and Octavia instinctively does too. Damn him. He always did have a soft spot for Clarke.

"Fine," Octavia says, turning around with a huff. "What?"

Clarke swallows hard before answering. The rest of the column continues moving past them, and Octavia can't help feeling that they're wasting daylight here.

"I need you to look after Bellamy for me," Clarke says.

"What?" Octavia asks in confusion. That's not at all what she expects to hear. "Why?"

"Because I won't be able to," Clarke says softly. "I'm leaving."

"Leaving?" Octavia asks. "Leaving for where?"

"I don't know," Clarke says. "But I have to go."

"Just like that?" Octavia asks with a shake of her head. "You saved everybody, and now you're just gonna leave them? Nice work, Clarke."

"I can't be here," Clarke begins.

"So you're just running away," Octavia says scornfully. "This is wrong."

"So is murdering a bunker full of people," Clarke cries. Octavia is shocked at the amount of emotion in her voice. "So is letting a missile hit and destroy an entire village! So is killing the man you love to get an alliance with a woman who ends up stabbing you in the back anyway! But I did all of that, and I can't take it back, okay? You got what you wanted. Their blood is on my hands, and I can't get it off."

She trails off as her emotions get the better of her. There are tears in her eyes threatening to overflow. Suddenly she just looks so broken. The sight of it honestly comes as something of a shock to Octavia. She's always thought of Clarke as the strong one. But now she wonders if maybe she was only seeing what Clarke wanted her to.

"I know you hate me," Clarke continues. She's definitely on the verge of tears now. "But I was trying to protect you too. You and Bellamy." Octavia opens her mouth for a weak protest, but Clarke quickly cuts her off. "Lexa tried to have you killed."

"What?" Octavia asks in shock. She looks up at Lincoln, but he just shrugs. He has no idea what she's talking about either.

"When she found out you knew about the missile," Clarke explains. "She put you on sentry duty so Ryder could shoot you. By the time I found out, he had an arrow pointed at your heart. You almost died out there. So I put a gun to his head and I took him to Lexa and I told her that if anything happened to you, then the alliance was over. I was ready to break it for you. To keep you safe. That's why I wanted you at the back of the fighting. I was trying to protect you, just like I was trying to protect Bellamy when I let the missile hit Tondc."

Octavia stares at Clarke in shock. This is the first time she's heard of Lexa's assassination attempt. She can feel her anger steadily evaporating. If Clarke's telling the truth, and it's clear from her pained expression that she is, then Octavia just might owe Clarke her life. It turns out Clarke was looking out for her after all. And she values Octavia's life much more highly than Octavia realized.

But that knowledge is nothing compared to the utter brokenness in Clarke's eyes. She has finally come apart, and as much as Octavia told herself that's what she wanted, now she can't find it in herself to enjoy it. Because the truth is, she didn't want this. Any of it. What she wanted was an easy way to free their people. But there was no easy way. Clarke knew that. But she took the hard road anyway because that's who she is. And now she's paying for it.

"Everything I have done, I did for our people," Clarke chokes. Tears are beginning to run down her cheeks. "I let Tondc be destroyed for them. I wiped out Mount Weather for them. It wasn't right or good but I did it, because someone had to. And it worked and I saved them, but now every time I look at one of them, I see a Grounder villager or a kid from Mount Weather. And I can't live like this, Octavia. I sold my soul for you. For all of you. And I don't have anything left to give."

Clarke is crying in earnest now. It's too much for Octavia. She reaches out and pulls Clarke into her arms, hugging her as tightly as she can. Suddenly none of it matters. The missile, Lexa's betrayal, none of it. All that matters is that Octavia's friend is hurting and she has to do something about it. Clarke clings to Octavia as tears roll down her cheeks. It takes a few seconds before Octavia realizes that she's crying too.

"I'm sorry," she says into Clarke's ear. "I'm so sorry."

"For what?" Clarke asks in confusion.

"I should've been there for you," Octavia tells her. "I should've trusted you. I should've looked out for our people instead of trying to jump ship for the Grounders."

"You did what you thought you had to do," Clarke says. "Just like I did."

Octavia pulls away so she can look at Clarke. Clarke's eyes are red, but she's managed to stop her tears for the moment.

"You can't leave," Octavia says. "Our people need you."

"No, they don't," Clarke says quietly. "They have you and Lincoln. And Bellamy. And Raven. And Jasper and Monty. And my mom and Kane. Our people are going to be just fine."

"We'll look after them," Lincoln assures her. Octavia has almost forgotten he's there.

"Lincoln," she begins, looking over at him in the hopes that she can get him to back her up on this.

"When war is over, the warriors need time to heal," he tells her. Then he looks pointedly over at Clarke. "Not all wounds are physical."

Octavia turns to look at Clarke, and in that moment she knows there will be no arguing. He's right. And besides, Clarke's mind is clearly made up. And even stubborn Octavia knows you can't argue with Clarke Griffin.

"So I'm just supposed to stand here and let my best friend walk off into the woods alone?" she asks. There's a slight tremor in her voice, but she no longer cares. Clarke nods as another wave of tears wells up in her eyes. Octavia sighs heavily. "Where will you go?"

"I don't know," Clarke says honestly. "But coming up with a plan is sort of my forte."

She gives a watery grin, and Octavia chuckles a little in spite of herself. Then she throws her arms back around Clarke's neck.

"You take care of yourself," she says fiercely.

"You too," Clarke tells her. She pulls away and smiles reassuringly. "And take care of Bellamy for me. He'll be too busy taking care of everyone else."

"I'll keep him in line," Octavia says with a grin. "That's what little sisters are for."

Clarke nods her thanks. Then she turns to Lincoln and holds out her hand, but instead he pulls her into a hug. She returns it immediately. It's a far cry Clarke standing by as Bellamy tortures him. They really have come a long way, haven't they?

"Take care of our people," Clarke tells him as they let each other go. "And Octavia too."

"I will," Lincoln says. Octavia reaches up and socks him on the arm.

"I don't need anybody taking care of me," she says with a grin. Lincoln just chuckles.

"No, you don't," Clarke says with a fond smile. "You're a warrior now."

"A warrior of the Sky People," Octavia tells her pointedly. Clarke nods, and she looks close to tears again. Then she takes a deep breath and lets it out to get herself under control.

"May we meet again," she says sincerely.

"May we meet again," Octavia echoes.

Then Clarke turns and begins walking on down the line of people. She flags down Wick a short distance later, probably meaning to say good-bye to Raven. Rather than rejoining the human column slowly moving past them, Octavia stands still for a moment and watches Clarke.

"Do you think we'll see her again?" she asks quietly.

"We will," Lincoln says.

"How can you be so sure?" Octavia asks, looking up at him.

"Because I know her," Lincoln says honestly. "She's a leader. Someday her people will need her again. And when they do, Clarke Griffin will be there."

He's right, Octavia decides as she watches Clarke hug Raven. Clarke will always put these people ahead of herself. That's who she is. That's why she did everything she did. It's what makes her such a good leader, and in the end, it's what broke her. She may be leaving now, but Octavia has a feeling that Clarke will find a way to keep close tabs on the Sky People. Like their own personal guardian angel. It's a comforting thought.

And in the meantime, Octavia won't be alone. She has Lincoln and Bellamy and all the others. They'll need her and Lincoln to teach what they know about this world. These people are Clarke's prized possession, and she's left it in their hands. And someday when she does come back for it, Octavia is going to make sure she's proud of what they've accomplished.

She looks up at Lincoln with a smile as she slips her hand into his.

"Come on," she says, looking back out at the bright road ahead. "Let's take our people home."


Please leave a review and let me know what you thought. The last chapter will be up in a few days, and it takes a look at the development of Clarke and Lexa's relationship from the day they meet all the way up to that fateful moment in front of the door. Also, after last night's finale I wrote a one-shot centered around Clarke's feelings at the end of the episode to sort of explain her decision and try to give it a slightly happier tone. It includes a summarized version of Clarke's good-bye to Octavia, as well as her good-byes to some of the other key characters, so in a way it's sort of a companion piece to the end of this chapter. It's called "Exit the Hero", so give that a look if you're interested. Thanks for reading!