It was not just the different sounds that alerted Clarke to the fact that she was not where she last was when she'd been drugged but the feel of the floor beneath her as she slowly begun to open her eyes.

The ground she was on was a little damp and the sunlight was peeking through the canopy above. At seeing the trees around her Clarke shot up quickly so she was sitting now instead of lying down and realised that she was outside in the forest.

"Clarke?" Came a voice to her left causing her to look that way.

To her surprise and relief she saw that it was Octavia who had called out her name. She looked like she probably could have done with some more sleep but otherwise looked the same as always as she made her way over to Clarke.

Both girls looked at one another for a moment, as if they were deciding if the other one was actually in front of them before they embraced each other in a tight hug.

"Oh my god, it's so good to see you! I didn't think I'd see anyone again after what they did to me," said Octavia, unable to contain the relief in her voice.

"What did they do to you?" Clarke asked in earnest, wondering if what she went through was the same as what Octavia went through. Letting go of the hug, Octavia stepped back so she could fully take in Clarke.

To her, Clarke looked tired and without any visible signs of suffering but the toll it had taken on her could be seen in her eyes. She was still dressed in the same outfit that Octavia had always generally seen her in, except it looked as though her clothes had been cleaned. 'If there's anyone that could have gone through that and still look pretty it'd be her,' she thought absentmindedly.

"There was this guy," she began, "who'd ask me things…show me pictures of our friends, of Grounders, of Bellamy. There was always pain…so much pain…I just wanted it to stop," Octavia finished as she looked down and away, shaking her head briefly from side to side as if to rid her head of those thoughts, looking anywhere that didn't have her looking at Clarke as she didn't want her friend to see her feeling so weak.

She didn't want a girl who she'd become friends with over the course of their return to the Earth's surface to see her so vulnerable. She shivered at the memory of being struck repeatedly each time the image changing to someone she cared about. Clarke moved forward and hugged her friend once more before keeping her hands on Octavia's shoulders to let her know that she was there for her.

"The man…was he dressed to impress?" At Octavia's puzzled look she clarified, "Was he wearing like a suit but without the jacket?" Octavia shook her head,

"No. He wore these brown robes and a mask." She knew that when she closed her eyes the next time she went to sleep voluntarily that she'd see that mask. She couldn't quite describe it any other way as being demonic. A face associated with all kinds of horror, of evil.

Clarke quickly relayed her version of events to her and it was afterwards that Octavia realised something from her own experience.

"Not once ever did they show me your face Clarke." She couldn't understand why they did that considering they'd tortured her in the "presence" of all her other friends, family and even foes. She pushed Clarke lightly on the chest as a weak smile returned to her face,

"At least you're in one piece though right?" The light push made a crinkling sound on Clarke's chest and she reached into her pocket to find a folded piece of paper. Looking up at Octavia with slight confusion she turned her attention back to the note unfolding it to see that a message was scrawled on it which read,

'Dearest Clarke,

I hope you enjoyed our time together as much as I did. You should have woken up alongside a friend of yours. I imagine she'll be more than thrilled to see you. By now you're probably wondering why I let you go, don't forget that tale I told you about. Only you and your friends have the power to put an end to the infestation that plagues the surface.

I will be seeing you again very soon Clarke, providing you're still alive that is. My last parting gift to you however is a head start.

3…2…1…Run.

Yours in blood and death,

X'

Clarke quickly handed Octavia the note to read but before she even got a chance to read one word, a small group of Grounders pushed through the tree line and spotted the girls. The Grounder closest to them yelled something out pointing at them and with horror, Clarke watched as they got their weapons out to attack.

She looked at Octavia who only nodded at her knowing already what they had to do as they took off, sprinting in the direction opposite the Grounders. The sounds of a hot pursuit following them as they whipped past branches, desperate to get away. These sounds were accompanied by the heavy footfalls of those Grounders who were ravenous in their desire to spill the blood of any sky people they saw.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Her pulse begun to race as the adrenalin shot through her veins as Raven pursued the spy through the dense thickets of forest that surrounded the Dropship. Once she had spotted said spy she only had one thought on her mind and that was to capture them.

The forest that surrounded her was silent except for the frenzied pursuit that took place as plants rustled when whipped past and the ground crunched underneath each stride. Raven was steadily gaining ground until the spy used a branch to fling herself around so she landed on her feet behind Raven who skidded to a stop as she turned around to face the spy.

The hunt continued as they covered varying terrains until the spy dropped out of sight suddenly. Coming to the edge of a ledge, she saw the spy on the ground below getting even further away. Thinking on her feet as she often did, Raven took a running start and flung herself onto a nearby vine using her momentum to drive it forward to fling herself in an attempt to close the gap.

She landed with a roll launching into a sprint once more and the chase was back on. The section of forest became thicker now as she had to duck in and out constantly to avoid collision. Hearing a muted but strangled cry, she honed in on it to find the spy who had gotten her foot caught in an animal trap and it was now that Raven got her first good look at the spy.

The spy was a girl in her early teens who was thin and had lightly tanned skin. She was of average height with long black hair and a greenish shade to the colour of her eyes. Eyes which were looking frightened around the edges as Raven approached her. It looked as if her attire was made from animal pelts, which was a common attire worn by some Grounders.

"Why were you spying on us? Did they send you?" she asked as she loomed over the young girl, now more frightened than ever dude to the tone of Raven's voice. She started to scramble back,

"Did who send me? I was seeing if you had any more of our people," she replied.

Raven looked at the girl quizzically now. She didn't appear to know whom Raven was referring too, so in all likelihood she wasn't affiliated with the group that took Clarke and the others. Even more puzzling was what the girl had stated about her purpose for spying on them.

"What do you mean, 'If we had more of your people'? We weren't exactly running a POW camp back there."

Blood had begun to dribbled from the cuts on the ankle of the girl spy caught in the trap and Raven crouched down eager to get to the bottom of all this.

"Why don't you tell me who you are, where you're from and we'll sort this all out," she continued diplomatically. "Besides," she pointed at the girl's ankle, thereby drawing her attention there, "you probably want that thing off your ankle, so help me help you."

Raven waited patiently for a few seconds as she could see the girl take her offer of sorts under consideration. It didn't take her long however to come to a decision as she begun to speak up about what she knew and could share with Raven.

"My…my name is Amitis," she sucked in a laboured breath, wincing in pain and discomfort, "I come from a settlement not far from here; not far from where your people from the sky live." She shifted her position so she could lean against a tree as she was seated before continuing.

"Our people were in conflict about the disappearance of my people. The arguing, it went on for days. Indra was so very angry."

"So is that why your people attacked the Ark? To get your people back?" Raven asked her patiently, hoping to fill in the blanks. She took a seat, crossing her legs as it was starting to get a tad uncomfortable crouching.

Amitis nodded vigorously, "Yes! Indra said we had to make the people from the sky pay. An example had to be made. We went to take some of your people as well as getting our own back but it spiralled out of control," she shuddered involuntarily as she thought back to that day. "So many lives lost on both sides…" she looked away as that thought trailed off as Raven begun to process this new information.

So the Grounders had eventually attacked as they ran out of patience with those from the Ark, holding them responsible for the disappearances of the Grounders. It then hit her with horror that because they hadn't gotten back in time to explain what had really happened her and her friends had cost the lives of many innocent civilians of the Ark. Looking back at the girl,

"Tell me everything you know!" She demanded as her guilt was being expressed in the form of anger. When Amitis failed to respond, she shook her shoulders garnering her attention wholly,

"Did your people kill everyone on the Ark?"

Amitis shook her head, "Some of your people got away, some we caught & you and your friends weren't there. Indra found none of our people there so she turned the place upside down looking for a girl named Clarke."

Raven's eyes widened at those last words an odd feeling settling in the pit of her stomach. She was grateful that Abby had the foresight to send Clarke and the rest of the group away as she knew an attack was imminent. But the gratitude was only short lived as she had no idea what had become of Clarke since her capture by the underwater colonists.

"Is that why you were spying on my friends and me? You were hoping to find Clarke?"

"Yes! Only part of the reason though. A few days ago some of our people starting turning up mysteriously but not all of them and some were barely alive. I was sent to see if you held anymore captive."

She gestured frantically at her ankle, "Now can you get this thing off my ankle please?" She responded with exasperation. Raven held up one finger to indicate that she was going to ask one last question before granting this request.

"What does Indra want with Clarke anyway?" She crawled over and begun to loosen the trap around Amitis's ankle.

"She wants to use Clarke to get her people back and if she can't have that then her death will suffice."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Clarke could feel her lungs beginning to burn as she continued to run as fast as she possibly could through the forest. Alongside her and keeping pace with her stride for stride was Octavia whom she had miraculously woken up alongside unknowingly only moments ago.

The phrase 'Any where will do' came to mind as she paid little attention to where she was running exactly, as long as it was far, far away from the Grounders who were hot on the trail of the two of them.

"Why are they chasing us for? We haven't done anything!" Octavia cried out between breaths.

She was puzzled by these turn of events for a number of reasons. Not only because of the fact that she enjoyed an amicable relationship with the Grounders with whom she'd forged a connection with through Lincoln and Nyko his friend who was the Grounder healer, but also because they genuinely hadn't committed any wrongdoing.

"Doesn't seem like we can stop and ask now is it? No one chases anyone this hard if they're innocent of something," replied Clarke as best she could given the circumstances and increased demand for oxygen.

Octavia looked over her shoulder at the moment quickly, in an attempt to get a good look at those pursuing them when she saw that a Grounder had an arrow in place and ready to fire at Clarke's exposed back.

"Clarke! Look out!" She yelled but there was little Clarke could do on her own to prevent getting hit.

Moving with only a split second to spare, Octavia dived across, tackling Clarke to the ground as the arrow whizzed past the two of them. The arrow itself would have lodged itself into Clarke's back just underneath her shoulder blade if it had been allowed to make contact.

The force of the last ditch tackle sent both girls to the ground, but given the incline of the terrain, they rolled down the slope bumping into the hard ground feeling each rock press into the sides of their abdomens, causing lacerations as well as leaving a bruise or two.

Eventually both girls ended up in a heap on the bottom of the slope with Clarke lying flat on her back and Octavia on top of her. Octavia's face was quite close to Clarke's, her lips mere inches from hers and there was an awkward pause as the girls looked at one another before they realised the situation they'd found themselves in.

Scrambling to their feet, they started to take a step in the direction that they had been running in when they saw two Grounders standing there with weapons drawn. These Grounders were soon joined by those few who had been chasing the girls and they fanned out to surround them. One of the Grounders spoke up after a moment of silence,

"You, the blonde, this is you correct? You're the one called Clarke, yes?"

Clarke turned around to face the Grounder who had spoke to see that he was holding up and A3 sized piece of paper which had been unfurled and now facing her. To her surprise the picture was a skilled rendering of her face and she almost forget where she was for a moment whilst looking at it. She nodded as she took a defiant stance and Octavia positioned herself alongside Clarke's flank,

"Yeah that's me. What do you want with us anyway?" She asked in response, definitely curious about the fervent chase that everyone had just been through.

"The leader of the people of the Ground, Indra wants you Clarke to answer for the crimes your people from the sky have committed against us."

The tone of his voice was authoritative and left no room for non-compliance. Clarke analysed his words and couldn't help but noticing the omission from what he had said.

"You said that Indra wanted me…" she indicated to Octavia, "but what about my friend here? What happens to her?"

The Grounder merely shrugged, everything about his body language suggesting he couldn't care less, "Nothing was said about her. There's no reason to take her back with us."

At his words a few bows were drawn and pointed it Octavia's direction as she let out a brief whimper. Clarke moved to stand in front of her to block any shots made, hoping that Indra wanted her alive to have her 'answer for those crimes' in person.

Unfortunately Clarke could only cover so much of Octavia's body. Octavia slid her hand into Clarke's as she waited for the inevitable arrow to pierce her body. She shut her eyes as she heard the sound of an arrow being shot.

This was followed by another and another but she hadn't been shot. Peeking one eye open slowly and then the other she looked around at the scene surrounding her and Clarke. All those Grounders who had a bow drawn were lying sprawled on the ground each with an arrow put into their now lifeless bodies.

The remaining Grounders were looking up into the branches high up to see if they could spot who had fired these arrows. Another arrow hurtled down from high up, smacking into the Earth right at the feet of those Grounders who took off in the direction they came from with their tail between their legs so to speak.

Clarke and Octavia looked around wondering if this archer was going to show themselves. Soon enough a figure leapt from branch to branch and landed smoothly on the ground in front of them.

"Whoever you are thank you for saving us," Octavia said as the relief flooded through her voice as she finally released Clarke's hand.

The archer nodded and remained crouched on one knee for the moment. The archer's face was obscured by a hood, somewhat reminiscent of a cowl. The clothes that the archer was sporting were light and to Clarke's surprise it reminded her of the tunic and pants combination that she'd seen archer's wear when she'd been pouring over old stories in her free time when she'd wanted to look at something that wasn't medical related.

The archer then stood up, long bow in hand and quiver across their back, speaking now for the first time,

"Well it's not everyday that you get saved by a ghost right?"

The archer pushed back the hood to reveal a boy, one who Octavia instantly recognised, unable to believe who she was setting her eyes on.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After her successful pursuit & capture of the Grounder spy, Raven thought that the little chat that the two of them had had was productive. True it didn't lead to her finding Clarke or any of the others who had been captured, but it was a promising start.

Immediately afterwards, she hauled the spy, a girl named Amitis to her feet and marched her back to the Dropship. She was instantly inundated with the relief, smiles and hugs of her friends who had tried to follow her but ultimately hadn't been able to keep up with her given the head start she had.

Shortly after, she'd gotten Amitis to retell everything she'd told her to the rest of the group as she started to think ahead. She so desperately wanted to go and retrieve Clarke, but with not much to go by, she decided to stick to an outcome she could control for the time being. Which was getting the people of the Ark that the Grounders had taken hostage back.

It was then that she came to the decision all by herself to force Amitis to take the group to the Grounder settlement where those people from the Ark were being held. Raven wanted to free those people and to be given the chance to explain to the Grounders who was really responsible for the disappearances and murders.

It was in this way that she hoped that they could come to an understanding once more so that they could not only get some answers as well as their people back, but also so the Ark could go back to the way things were.

Raven secretly admitted to herself selfishly though that even though she wanted to see those hostages freed and an end to all the violence, all she really cared about for the moment was getting Clarke back. Or at least she cared more about that than the other reasons if she was being 100% honest with herself.

Along with those selfish thoughts, she was being plagued with the knowledge that the group's failure to return quickly enough led to the deaths of all those innocent people. She found herself often zoning out, just putting one foot in front of the other as they made their way towards the Grounder settlement.

"Raven…Raven!"

She lifted her head to find that it was Finn who had called her name.

"Are you okay? I called your name a few times and you didn't respond," he continued as he looked at her.

She could see the concern for her wellbeing in his eyes, nothing but sincerity there. She was glad that the two of them had still managed to remain friends despite the difficulties that were there in the beginning when Raven joined 'The 100' on the ground. She brushed some hair out of her face as she answered him,

"It's just been hard you know, with Clarke gone and now knowing that those people are dead because of us." Finn was a little annoyed at Raven's reaction and he made that clear to her,

"Hey! No! You don't get to do that. You don't get to break down now. Not you, not the strongest person I know," he lightly shoved her shoulder. "It's all our faults that we didn't get back in time to stop the Grounder attack. You don't have to bear all that guilt alone."

He pulled her into a hug which was how they stayed for a few seconds. The rest of the group had discreetly gone ahead to give them some semblance of privacy. She stiffened but eventually relaxed into the hug and put her arms around him as well.

"As for the situation about Clarke being gone, I know a thing or two about that you might remember. I'll be here to talk with about anything whenever you need me okay?" He added as he pulled back to look at her now.

He really wanted to tell her how he admired her fiery spirit that blazed through the careful erected armour she wore as part of her tough girl routine. But he also liked seeing her softer side which he'd experienced himself. He knew that Clarke was a good match for her as she often tempered Raven's fire with her cool, calm soul.

It was right in that particular instance that he felt a twinge of jealousy about what the two girls felt for one another. Along with that feeling he knew that he still possessed strong feelings for Raven and his thought surprised him when they started going off on the tangent labelled 'getting back together with Raven'.

Ever since the day that Clarke & Raven had come to save Finn and the others who had been caught whilst ironically looking for Clarke and he'd discovered that the two girls were now a couple, he'd seen Raven blossom into this stronger more heartfelt person who he now wanted to be with.

"Thanks Finn that means a lot. You've always been a good friend to me," she said with a smile as she walked past him to rejoin the others who were waiting.

The smile dropped off of his face as he felt bad for thinking what he had been a moment ago. If he tried anything and it didn't work out then both girls would probably hate him. Or at the very least, he'd crush the heart of Clarke who he didn't realise until now that he harboured some resentment towards.

'If only she'd waited that little bit longer then it would have been me in her arms and not Raven,' he thought to himself quickly.

"All's fair in the heart and the blade," he muttered quietly to himself as he strode after Raven as the group continued the march to the Grounder settlement.

A/N:

Music that inspired the chapter

As part of the writing process, I've found that music often helps spark the creativity that leads to how certain scenes/scenarios will play out. In some cases, it helps generate an idea or a different way of approaching a scene. In other cases, I imagine the music in the background setting the tone for what is to come or the emotion/s felt by those characters or even just to lend some insight into what they would be feeling (e.g. fear with a darker macabre piece of music).

I decided to share the music that allowed me to bring to life my fanfiction and I hope you'll see what I mean if you listen to the songs. If you'd like to hear exactly in greater detail as to why these songs were chosen feel free to inbox me!

Songs:

Fast Ambience - Jesper Kyd (When Clarke reads the note from her interrogator)

Flight through Jerusalem - Jesper Kyd (When Raven chases after the spy)

Dark Pursuit - Dan Graham (When Clarke & Octavia are being chased by the Grounders)

Infinite, Immortal - Mark J. Petrie (When the archer saves Clarke & Octavia and reveals their identity)

Congratulations you've reached the end of the chapter! Liked what you read? Didn't like it? Leave me a review as feedback is encouraged! I have lots of ideas swirling around in my head for this story but if you have a suggestion I'd love to hear it!

It's always nice reading reviews and each time I see that I have a new person follow or favourite the story or both it never fails to bring a smile to my dial so it's much appreciated because it makes it worthwhile knowing that there are people out there in the big wide world who are reading and enjoying what I've written.

Now for a bit of shameless self promotion. I have another story which I work on every now and then usually when an idea pops into my head. The story is called 'Octavia Blake: Girl on a mission.'

It's a story with a slow burn and may take awhile to get into especially seeing as there is only a couple of chapters in so far, but it was largely born out of a combination of seeing how distraught Octavia was when her and Lincoln got separated on an episode of 'The 100', watching a lot of the TV show 'Arrow' and the movie 'John Wick'. So if you've got a moment or two and have made it this far why not give it a look and tell me what you think.

Thanks for reading!