I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "The 100". Now that Bellarke and Maddi are reunited with the people in the bunker, let's see what plan they come up with. Maybe Octavia has other ideas about what they should do concerning Drake? As always, thanks for reading.
Chapter 10
Opposing Forces
Bellamy stands between Clarke and Octavia in the middle of the decimated city. He turns to his sister, who's just taken her first breath of fresh air in nearly seven years. Bellamy knows how that feels having just done it the day before. "Tell me about this Drake guy." He shakes his head. "He ransacked our ship and stole most of our fuel. Drake also left a bomb onboard and nearly blew us all up." Bellamy watches his sister's eyes grow darker. "How many men do they have?" He takes a moment to notice the differences in Octavia. She's definitely changed, more in control and hardened than she was before going into the bunker. There's no doubt that she's the leader and the person that makes the tough calls. He's sure his sister not only had to earn their respect, but also had to do things that she wasn't proud of. Bellamy can only imagine how hard it must have been to keep the warring factions at bay. "There's about twenty of them." Octavia nods at Clarke's words. "Have either of you come up with a plan yet?" Bellamy shakes his head. "We haven't gotten that far yet, we figured we'd find you and then come up with a plan." She turns to look at Clarke and then at him. Her shorter hair, now just below her ears, catches him off guard a little. Bellamy realizes that the change in her hairstyle reflects the mental change she's undertaken over time. "All my people are trained, if Drake won't negotiate, we'll declare war." Bellamy shouldn't be surprised, it's the grounder way to battle it out, if a solution isn't agreed upon. However, he still doesn't like the idea of declaring war. It would be uneven and an absolute bloodbath.
Bellamy knows better than anyone how that turns out, considering he had slaughtered those grounders with Pike. He had somehow convinced himself that it was the right move, but the truth was, it had eaten him up alive, leaving him carrying the guilt around with him. "War is the last resort, it's an unfair fight." Octavia's eyes connect with his and he can see the anger brimming within them. "It's only unfair, if he's not willing to see things my way." The tone of her voice causes an uneasiness to wash over him. "Slow down there, O, let's try to radio them first and set-up a meeting." He watches the anger leave her eyes and she turns to Clarke. "Can I use your radio?" She nods and waves Maddi over. Maddi is a short distance away, talking with Clarke's mom and Kane. Despite everything going to hell, he can't help but smile at the memory of Abby and Maddi meeting earlier. Abby had initially been surprised to see Clarke with a fourteen-year-old daughter, but the shock wore off, as Maddi gave her a big smile and a hug. The two clicked and it was like Abby had always been her grandmother.
Bellamy watches Maddi run across the rubble and over to Clarke. She stops right in front of her. "Can I have the radio?" Maddi nods and hands it over to her. "Other radio broke." Clarke nods at her words and Bellamy remembers Kane telling them earlier that the radio in the bunker had been severed by one of the opposing factions. Apparently, there's been a group trying to usurp Octavia as their leader, undermining her any chance they get. Severing the radio only proved that she wasn't a strong enough leader to keep her people in check. "Don't worry Maddi, I already took care of that group, they won't be bothering anyone anymore." Bellamy turns to look at his sister, as Clarke hands her the radio. "What did you do, O?" Octavia's eyes lock with his. "I did what I had to do Bell, you should know that better than anyone." Bellamy stares into her blank eyes and he doesn't recognize her anymore. It's as if the rest of her humanity has disappeared and all that's left is a heartless leader. "I do O, but there's a difference between doing what needs to be done and having a choice in it. You didn't have to kill those men, you could have found another way." Octavia takes a step forward, her glare growing more intense by the second. "I'm in charge and there was no other way, now let me do this Bell." He watches Octavia turn on the radio and hit the clicker. "This is Octavia, I know you're there Drake." She releases the clicker and waits for a reply.
Bellamy hopes that they can reach some kind of agreement, as Clarke comes over to stand beside him. He feels a little more at ease with her by his side. "Well, well, look who decided to join the party." His sister turns to him and Clarke, her expression growing more serious. "Listen here, you need to release my people or I'll be forced to retaliate. It's your call." Another silence follows and Bellamy knows that this won't go over well with that jerk. He turns to Clarke and he can see the same knowing look in her eyes, they're definitely heading towards another disaster. "I don't take orders from anyone." Octavia shakes her head. "This is our land and I'm in charge. If you don't let them go by sundown, you'll regret it." Bellamy finds himself holding his breath, waiting to find out the fate of his future. "I'm not afraid of a little girl. If you want your friends back, you'll have to bow down to me as leader." Octavia looks at him and Clarke with a frown. "I'm sorry, Bell." She turns away from them. "I won't bow down to you, you've just declared war." Everything is silent and everyone's eyes are focused on them. Bellamy can feel the stifling tension in the air and it unnerves him. "May the best leader win then, see you at sundown." Octavia turns to her people and takes a confident step towards them. They all gather around her and she raises her sword in the air. "It's time for us to fight for what's ours, who's with me?" Everyone around them yells in unison and Bellamy shakes his head. So much for a peaceful future with Clarke and Maddi, he has a feeling that Drake won't go down that easily.