I think we deserve some longer chapters now, don't you?

Clarke explained Mount Weather once they were inside. When she finished, the others shared their stories. Raven had still been under the Dropship when the Mountain Men showed up, trying to salvage the explosives. When she'd emerged, her, Murphy, Finn and Bellamy went in search of them till they found the Arkers.

After, Octavia went to explore the camp and Raven returned to work. Bellamy probably had something to do, too, but Clarke asked him to stay while the Council discussed.

"You were shot."

Clarke shrugged. "It was only a graze. To be fair, I was covered in mud and with a Grounder."

"Anya? You were really with the Grounder princess?"

"She made it onto the dropship during the battle and was taken to Mount Weather like the rest of us. When I escaped, I found her and brought her with me. She planned to talk to the Commander, convince her of an alliance so we could take on Mount Weather."

"And the guard shot her." She nodded. After decades of a clenched fist, Clarke had hoped for freedom on the ground, but it only squeezed tighter.

Her mom arrived, telling them the decision was to focus on investigating Mount Weather and finding Kane, but to forget about Finn and Murphy.

"No. You can't just cut them loose."

"Sweetheart, we don't have the manpower to send out two separate rescue missions and protect our camp-"

"Mom." Clarke interrupted. Behind her, Bellamy was pacing again. "They're in trouble. They're either gonna get themselves killed or they're gonna make things worse with the Grounders, who we need to get my friends out of Mount Weather."

"I know you feel this is unfair. Our priority has to be Chancellor Kane if there is any hope for peace."

"If you wanted peace, you shouldn't have killed the only Grounder who was gonna help us. Your policy shouldn't be shoot on sight!"

"I'm sorry. The decision's been made."

Clarke scoffed, Bellamy called from behind her, "you're sorry? Finn and Murphy are out there looking for Clarke with the guns you gave us, and now she's home, you're just going to abandon them?" Abby had the decency to look ashamed. "If you can't spare the guards, Clarke and I know the terrain better than anyone else. We can do it ourselves."

Abby's shame vanished with a glare and a vigorous shaking of her head. "Absolutely not."

"Mom," started Clarke.

"I just got you back!"

Clarke couldn't argue that. Jackson, Abby's second in the Medical bay, came running in telling Abby she was needed. Abby left, giving the order to Bryne that no one is to leave camp. Clarke turned to Bellamy, crossing her arms to match his stance.

"I take it the Princess doesn't like being locked in a tower?"

"My mom can lead the Ark Camp, but Finn and Murphy are our people."

"Let's find Raven and O, then."

The supplies for an overnight trip were assembled and packed quickly. Raven handled the guns and the fence. Bellamy and Clarke packed the bags, grabbed Octavia. It was decided someone had to stay behind, and Raven had a radio to play with, so she elected too.

It was a late start for a hike, so they had to make camp. They agreed to rest for a while, and then start up again. Clarke tried to sleep, but her eyes kept searching for Bellamy to assure herself he was alive. Eventually, Bellamy turned in her direction and she shut her eyes to avoid being caught. After a moment, Clarke opened her eyes, meeting Bellamy's. He didn't look away.

"I thought the last image I'd see of you would be you closing the dropship door. I'm glad it wasn't." Clarke looked away. "It had to be done."

Clarke looked back. She didn't have to verbalize her regrets, or an apology. Those dark eyes saw through her every time.

"I couldn't pull it again," whispered Clarke. She didn't know what that meant, but knew it was true. Bellamy looked down at his shoes, nodding. Clarke sat up, deciding she was never going to rest anyways. "Did you get any sleep?"

"I'll sleep when we find Finn. You haven't seen him, Clarke. Loosing you, the others, the war, it changed him. He executed the Grounder that drew us the map. Pulled the trigger without even blinking and walked away. I saw what he was capable of and still I let him go with Murphy and two automatic rifles."

"I'm sure that had to be done, too," pointed out Clarke.

Bellamy's eyes had such an intensity to them when he looked at her. "When we got back to the dropship and no one was there, when I realized you'd been taken, we assumed it was the Grounders."

"Of course, you did. You couldn't have known it was the Mountain Men."

Bellamy shook his head, Clarke saw he held too much responsibility, but she wouldn't be able to talk him out of that. After getting their people back, he'd be ok. They all would be together and be ok.

"How long until chocolate cake turns into being hung upside down and drained for their blood?"

"I don't know, but we don't have much time," admitted Clarke. It bugged Clarke that she couldn't be in the mountain, protecting her people. That she'd run away. But she was with Bellamy, they'd figure something out.

"Ok. First, we get Finn and Murphy. Then, we get our people out of Mount Weather."

"And Lincoln," said Octavia. They turned to the girl still laying down, staring at them from across the fire.

"And Lincoln," agreed Clarke. She tried a smile and a shrug, "It's the three of us, we can manage all that." Octavia shook her head and stood up, breaking camp.

They hiked through the night. By the time the sun had risen, they'd reached the end of the map. Standing at the foot of a massive statue, Bellamy asked O which way, but hadn't gotten an answer.

Clarke had picked up on it first, and moved to Octavia's side to embrace her. Octavia buried her head in Clarke's shoulder while Clarke rubbed her back.

"I couldn't save him, Clarke," cried O.

"Hey, hey," shushed Clarke. Bellamy stepped up and placed his hand on his sister's back, running it through her tangled black hair. Clarke glanced up at him from behind O's shoulder. "We'll get Lincoln back, Octavia. We'll get them all back."

Clarke calmed Octavia down, and O pointed them in the direction of the village. Bellamy let the girls lead, protecting the rear. He was doing a shitty job at keep his eyes peeled because he couldn't take them off Clarke.

He knew she cared about Octavia, and that O cared about her. From the beginning, Clarke had done what she could for O, and it continued to amaze Bellamy. Bellamy realized that these two girls -two women- were the most important people in his life.

A gunshot punctuated this realization.

"Finn!" Murphy's scream could be heard over the bullets. "Stop!" They broke through the trees. The village was small, a little bigger than the Dropship camp, with no defenses. The rumble of an automatic rifle came from the center of the village.

Finn shot at anyone that moved. Children, elders, women. Murphy was behind him, trying to pull him away, yelling to stop. He didn't until Clarke stumbled to a halt next to Bellamy.

Octavia ran past, heading for a man clutching a child to his chest. Bellamy and Clarke followed at a slower pace. Murphy left Finn's side for Bellamy's, mildly holding his gun up for protection. His eyes were wide and horrified.

Clarke wouldn't take her eyes off the bodies littering the ground. When she finally stopped next to the pin Finn had kept these people in, Bellamy nodded to Clarke's right side and Murphy got the message.

"I found you," breathed Finn.

Clarke shook her head and opened her mouth, but nothing came out. The boy took a step towards her, but Clarke stepped back and Bellamy stepped forward. Behind Finn, Octavia was kneeling by a dying boy. Clarke stepped forward to help the healer, but Murphy caught her arm.

"I have to help them," whispered Clarke.

"We have to go."

"Murphy's right," said Bellamy, replacing Murphy's hand with his gentler touch.

"I have to help them." Clarke walked to Octavia and the Grounder. Clarke crouched to put her hands on the wound, but was roughly pushed off.

"Don't touch him!" cried the man.

Clarke fell backwards. Finn leapt forward, but Murphy and Bellamy did as well. Murphy restrained Finn and Bellamy pulled Clarke away. The Grounder was yelling at them while Octavia tried to calm him down.

"Leave! All of you!"

"Nyko," tried O. Bellamy had an arm on Clarke and O's arm, pulling both out of camp while Murphy pushed Finn.

Retaliation for Finn's massacre was coming in the form of a Grounder army attack unless Arkadia left within two days. The message was delivered by Nyko, the healer from TriKru. Abby and the council were considering the warning. Everyone was grateful to hear Kane was alive and had negotiated those terms -was still negotiating.

So far, Arkadia wasn't going anywhere. Their people were still in Mount Weather. This was just another obstacle in the way. Clarke wanted to focus on both problems, but the council wouldn't let her join the meetings. There was only a moment she had to be upset about this, before Bellamy dragged her away to the Dropship.

"What are we doing here?" asked Clarke, following Bellamy to the third floor.

Her answer came in an animalistic snarl and chains rattling. Bellamy steadied her as she jumped backwards, away from a red eyed Lincoln. "Easy, Princess. It's okay, he's been restrained."

Lincoln had his arms chained. Held by the same chains that had held Clarke for months, by the chains that had held him weeks ago. "I can't believe we're back here again."

"Can you help him?" Octavia was curled on the floor, just out of reach of Lincoln's kicking. The poor girl winced with every yell and snarl from her boyfriend, looking miserably heartbroken.

Clarke wanted to comfort her friend, but she didn't know where to start or how to comprehend it. "I don't know." She stepped forward and Lincoln tried to get her again. Bellamy's presence at her back kept her steady. "I knew Mount Weather controlled the Reapers. I had no idea they were creating them."

"If they can do that to Lincoln, what're they doing to our friends?" Clarke dragged her eyes away from Lincoln to meet Bellamy's. They were leaders of a detained population, and every day that passed was another way he and her had failed them.

"If we can help Lincoln, maybe he can help us."

Clarke didn't approach the Grounder/Reaper, only observed. Lincoln bit at the air between them the whole time, pulling on the restraints. Clarke eyed them and Bellamy, hoping he trusted those chains.

Lincoln stopped growling suddenly, "he's convulsing," observed Clarke.

"So, what does that mean?" asked Octavia.

There were a hundred things it could mean, but Clarke didn't say that. "What happened to his leg?"

Octavia hesitated, "I- I shot it."

"He's lost a lot of blood, Princess, we've got to do something."

Clarke nodded. She took a step forward, Lincoln jerked and wildly yelled. Octavia shifted in agitation, her light flickering on Lincoln's neck. "There's needle marks on his neck."

"You think he's been drugged?" asked Bellamy.

Clarke turned to him, "Maybe, I-"

Lincoln's right restraint broke, flying out of the wall to hit Clarke in the head. She ducked, but Lincoln's free hand was already wrapped in her hair.

"Lincoln, no!"

"Clarke!"

Clarke pushed on Lincoln's chest to keep his mouth from biting into her neck. Octavia rushed forward, but he swung his chains to hit her as well. Bellamy started punching Lincoln's arm, but he didn't seem to feel it, instead he head-butted Bellamy. Bellamy grabbed Clarke on his way down, pulling her away.

She didn't think they'd be able to control the Reaper again, till Octavia took a metal pole and hit Lincoln in the head with it, instantly knocking him out.

Once they felt the new restrictions were secure, Clarke said, "We have to stop the bleeding and get the bullet out of him. Hold his leg down."

Before she could start, Octavia tried to give him water, but Lincoln woke up and attempted to bite her. Visibly shaken, Octavia left to get more water and calm down. Bellamy tried to comfort his sister and Octavia didn't take it well, neither did Bellamy. He crouched back down and focused on Lincoln's leg.

Clarke hesitated, but said "She'll be okay."

Bellamy glanced at her. "We keep saying that, about everyone. What if none of us are ok, and that's how it's going to be from now on."

"Then that's how it's going to be. We'll adapt, and not being ok will become the new normal and we'll then be ok." Bellamy chuckled, not really smiling, given the situation, but no longer looking so miserable.

Bellamy from a year ago would think he'd lost his mind. Bellamy from three weeks ago probably would, too. Leaving Octavia alone with a Reaper and a Grounder was not something he thought he was capable of doing. Somehow though, it was the lesser of two evils.

Almost as surprising was that Abby Griffin had agreed to Clarke's insane plan and gone to the Dropship to look after Lincoln. This left Clarke heading for Arkadia's gate with the intention of walking, alone, to meet with the Commander, who was located in the middle of the army encampment.

Yeah, Clarke needed Bellamy a little more than O did at the moment.

"Clarke." Bellamy caught up as she reached the gate.

"Bellamy, I already said a guard unit can't come with me. I'll never make it to the Commander, and I have to make it to her, Bellamy. Lincoln is our only shot here. I can handle myself, Anya talked to me about the Commander, and about how the Grounder's operate. If I show up with a guard detail, they'll take us out and then the camp and it'll all be for nothing."

"You done?" Clarke crossed her arms. "You're out of your mind if you think I'm letting you walk out that gate alone. It's our people, our responsibility."

Clarke's lips parted in surprise, but her eyes lit up, unsettling something in his chest. When she reached forward to take his hand, that something clicked into a new place.

The Grounders met them at the edge of their camp, spears aimed but not thrown. Unsurprising, Clarke managed to be granted an audience and they were escorted to the Commander's tent. A woman with equal fierceness and of equal age with Clarke sat on a throne.

He stayed a step behind Clarke, eyeing the woman at the Commander's side. He hadn't been stripped of his weapon, but didn't think they saw him and Clarke as a threat.

"You're the one who burned 300 of my warriors alive." Bad start.

"You're the one that sent them there to kill us." Clarke wasn't fazed by the woman on the throne toying with a knife, and Bellamy had never been prouder.

"Do you have an answer for me, Clarke and Bellamy of the Sky People."

"We've come to make an offer." The woman at the Commander's side growled out words in Trigedasleng. Bellamy strived not to move towards his knife.

"This is not a negotiation."

"We can help you beat Mount Weather," said Bellamy. The Commander leaned back, moving her knife to the side. He knew if they said the wrong word, she could throw hers faster than Bellamy could reach for his.

"Go on."

"Hundreds of your people are trapped inside Mount Weather, kept in cages. Their blood is used as medicine."

"How do you know this?" asked the Commander, dripping with suspicion.

"Because I saw them. My people are prisoners there, too. I was one of them."

"Lies. No one escapes the mountain," cried the other woman.

"I did." Clarke stood her ground. "With Anya. We fought our way out together."

"Another lie. Anya died in the fire. You killed her!"

Clarke reached into her pocked for Anya's braid, the others in the room shifted into defensive positions. Bellamy stepped closer to Clarke, but left his hands free. "She told me you were her Second." Clarke pulled the braid out, after glancing at the guard that had threaten to slit her throat outside, she stepped forward to hand the braid to the Commander. "I'm sure she'd want you to have this."

"We don't even know it's hers."

The Commander silenced the woman. "Anya was my mentor before I was called to lead my people. Did she die well?"

"Yes," lied Clarke flawlessly. "By my side, trying to get a message to you."

"What message?"

"The only way to save both our people is if we join together."

"I'm still waiting for an offer, Clarke," mused the Commander.

"The Mountain men are turning your people into Reapers. I can turn them back."

"Impossible," said the woman. She turned to her commander and began talking quickly in Trigedasleng, but Clarke cut in.

"I've done it with Lincoln."

The woman unsheathed her machete and angrily approached Clarke. Clarke, trying to give Bellamy an early grave, didn't move. He stepped in front of her. The woman glared at them both. It was a test of self-control refraining from unsheathing his knife. A delicate hand placed between his shoulder blades helped.

"That traitor is the reason why my village was slaughtered by your people-"

The Commander stood and yelled at the woman in Trigedasleng, apparently ordering her to stand down, because she angrily moved to the side.

The Commander stepped off her throne and stood in front of Bellamy and Clarke, glancing between them. "You say you can turn Reapers back into men."

"Yes."

"Then prove it. Show me Lincoln."

Posted pretty quickly, but would really love to get some reviews to encourage another long chapter.

I know some of the minor changes haven't been interesting, but I wanted to show the ripple effect. They'll be getting bigger from here on out until the complete break from cannon in Season 3.

Also, interested in a Beta, never had one before, think I could use it