Hey everyone, we're almost at the end of the story. Just one epilogue to go and the story will be complete. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

P.s. Just got my second dose two days ago. I feel normal, no side effects, so I hope this vaccine is the real thing. If not, we'll see...

Stay healthy and stay safe.

~~Three years later~~

Six words. Six insignificant words. Six utterly insignificant words are enough to change his life forever.

"We are delighted to inform you..." Bellamy's voice trails off, his eyes scanning through the flimsy paper, barely registering the words until one catches his eye. Polis.

"No." He states firmly, shaking his head. "I'm not going." Scrunching up the letter, he throws it into the bin.

"Bell-" Kane goes to pick it up, ignoring his son's piercing glare.

"No! What did you think I would do? Go willingly?" He stops his pacing, turning to them in disbelief. "Did you even think for a second that I would willingly leave my baby sister behind while I go off somewhere I never even wanted to go?!"

"I'm not going to Polis! I'm staying here in Shallow Valley with you, Diyoza, Hope and Octavia. Clarke understands and she'll be fine on her own." Bellamy protests, his voice unwavering.

"There's no way in hell that I'm going anywhere without my baby sister."

"Bellamy. This is a huge opportunity." Diyoza tries to persuade him. "It's a full ride to the best university in the country. ACC is nothing compared to Polis."

"I'm sorry. But no." He refuses, his mind already made up. He will stay wherever his sister is. She is his home, and if they think that he'll leave her, even for a day, they're sorely mistaken.

"Bellamy, Clarke helped you fill in the admissions form. She needs her best friend with her when she goes off to college, and you'll need her too. You've both been there for each other for almost all your lives. Don't let it stop now." Kane tries instead.

"Besides, Octavia won't be here alone. I'm here, and so is Diyoza. She'll have Hope too, and you're only four hours away. You could come back on long weekends-"

"No!" He yells out, his patience wearing thin. "You don't get it. I'm never leaving Octavia ever again. I already lost her once, and I'm not losing her again."

"You're not going to lose her, Bellamy." Kane sighs. "She's right here and she'll be safe."

"Yeah, because the last time I left her, everything turned out so great." His voice is dripping with sarcasm and it takes all of Kane's patience not to yell at the teenager.

"Bellamy, you are going, and that's final." His tone is sharp, leaving no room for further argument, but Bellamy doesn't take the hint.

"If I'm leaving, then I'm taking Octavia with me." He counters, just as sharp.

"No, you're not." Diyoza cuts in, her voice laced with fear and uncertainty. "You're not taking my daughter away from me."

"She was my sister first." He reminds them.

"But you left her all alone, didn't you?" Diyoza's tone is now softer, more challenging than anything. "You left her alone in that shabby place you used to call home. You left her in a tiny corner where people wouldn't be able to find her. You left her to die!"

"No, I didn't." Tears start to pool in his eyes. "I did what I had to do to protect my sister. My mom told me that if anyone found her, I'd never see her again. She said that there were bad people in this world, who would do whatever it takes to hurt others, including destroying their families."

"I never knew you were one of them." Bellamy delivers the blow, cutting her deeply.

"You are not taking my daughter away." Her voice gets deeper, a warning tone for everyone not to mess with mama bears.

"And I'm not leaving my sister behind." He matches her tone. "My sister. My responsibility. I promised her that I would never let anything bad happen to her. I broke my promise once, and I'm never doing that again."

"Bellamy!" Kane yells. "Do not speak to your mother and I in that tone. And you. Are. Going. That's final."

"She's not my mother." Bellamy shakes with rage. "She's only here for Octavia. She's never been my mother just like how I've never been her son. I'm sure she's just waiting for me to leave so that she can take Octavia back to their home and I'll never see her again."

"Bellamy, that's not true-"

"What do you mean mama's not your mama? What are you saying Bell? Why won't I ever see you again?" Tears are pooling in her eyes as her lips quiver. Her legs are shaky as she walks into the room, turning to each of the room's occupants.

"Octavia." Bellamy opens his arms for his sister. "I think it's time we tell you the truth."

"No!" Kane shakes his head, warning the boy before he can go too far.

"Diyoza is not your real mom and Kane is not your real dad." Bellamy rushes out before anyone can stop him. "Hope isn't your sister, but I am your big brother and I always have been-"

The slap echoes throughout the entire room, stunning the little family.

Bellamy clutches his cheek, looking to his adoptive father with shock.

"Daddy! Why did you hit Bell? Is he telling the truth?" She slips out of Bellamy's arms, backing away from them, as her eyes challenge them to tell her the truth.

A single nod is more than enough.

Tears blur her vision as she races out of the house. She doesn't know where she's going but she runs. She has to get as far away as possible. She can't stay there any longer.

Has her whole life been nothing but a lie? Her mama wasn't her real mama? Her daddy wasn't really her daddy? Hope wasn't her sister?

Nothing makes sense.

She feels dizzy, her legs are aching, but she can't stop. They're still too close. She has to get away.

Rain begins to torrent all around her, soaking her to the bone. Her hair is sticking to her face and her clothes cling uncomfortably to her skin. She wants to stop, but she can't.

Her heart is thundering out of her chest, her breaths coming out in short sharp pants. She can't breathe. It's too hard to breathe.

She heaves, bracing herself against the trunk of a tree before looking up.

It's tall, tall enough for her to get away from everything. Being high up has always helped her to feel calm. Maybe it'll help her now.

She reaches towards the lowest branch, pulling herself up onto the next. Left. Right. Left. Right. She climbs until she can go no higher and rests against the trunk.

Her head is pounding, her muscles are sore. Rain continues to pour and her legs begin to slip under her. She tries to hold on as best as she could.

But her best isn't good enough.

She falls.

Branches scrape her exposed skin. She feels the red rivulets racing down her arm and dancing with the rain before it comes to a stop.

She hears a crack as she lands on the ground but she can't scream; the landing having knocked all the air out of her. She tries to hold onto something, anything, but she soon finds herself tumbling down the slope and into a ravine.

The last thing she remembers is pain exploding from her knee.

"Octavia!" Bellamy yells after his sister's retreating figure. "Octavia come back!"

"See what you've done?!" His anger towards his "parents" is palpable and he doesn't spare them a second glance before rushing out the door after her.

She's only had a few seconds worth of a head start, but he can't see her anywhere. He runs up and down the street, calling out her name every few seconds, but it's to no avail. By the time the rain starts to pour, fear has his heart in it's vice grip.

He continues his search. He won't abandon her in the pouring rain. He can't.

He searches until he's clearly shivering - his teeth are chattering as each shiver races down his spine - but he won't stop. His sister was in nothing but her pajamas. If he's cold, she must be freezing. And in this rain, she'll get hypothermia.

That won't happen, not on his watch.

With a newfound determination, he surges forward. Even if his voice is drowned out by the thunder, he continues to scream, calling for her until his throat is raw.

Eventually his legs give way and he collapses onto the ground. The rain mingles with his tears as he curls up in a ball, the weight of everything too much for him to handle.

He caused this. It's all his fault. It's his fault his sister's run off somewhere. It's his fault she's lost in the pouring rain. It's his fault he can't find her.

It's all his fault and he's going to lose her again.

He's going to lose his baby sister. He's going to lose his sole reason for living. He's going to lose the only good thing in his life, the final gift he received from their mother before she was cruelly snatched from their lives.

He was going to lose the most precious thing in his life.

Once again he has failed his baby sister. Once again he has broken his promise to her. Once again he has failed to be the protector he said he would be.

He shudders at the thought.

His sister... His sole responsibility...

"Bellamy?" A small voice breaks him out of his thoughts.

"Octavia?" Hope fills his entire body. His sister is ok.

"No, it's Raven." The Latina crouches down beside him, extending the umbrella over them as she helps him up. "Why are you lying here in the middle of a storm? You're going to get sick."

"I need to find my sister." His eyes are glazed over, a sheen of tears coating his dark brown orbs, and unfocused. "I need to find her before it's too late."

He tries to get Raven to let him go, but she holds on tighter.

"There's no way you can find her Bellamy, not in this storm." She tuts at him, worry filling her heart for both him and his little sister. "Let's get you inside first and we can find her once the storm has passed."

"No!" He tries shrugging her off. "No, you don't understand. You're just like everyone else. Let me go. I have to find my sister. I have to find her-"

"Bellamy!" Clarke's voice cuts him off as she appears by his side. "Let's get him inside."

The pair drag him into the Latina's house, all but shoving him into a chair before Clarke tugs his shirt off and forces him to change into a dry one.

"You!" His anger is turned to her. "It's all because of you! You sent in that stupid application form and now we're in this mess."

"Bell-"

"No! It's your fault I can't find O. It's your fault she's out in this storm and I have no idea what will happen to her."

"She could be hurt... She could have hypothermia... She could have been kidnapped... She could be d... She..."

"Shh..." Clarke is quick to silence him, pulling him into an embrace. "Shh... She'll be ok. We'll find her once the storm has passed. We'll find her. She'll be ok."

"It's so stupid." Hope grumbles as she dumps her bag onto the floor, folding her arms beneath her head as a pillow. "My sister is missing, and they won't even let me skip school to go find her."

"We're thirteen, Hope." Gaia reasons. "How much help could we be if they'll constantly be worried about us going missing as well?"

"What happened?" Lincoln asks, taking his seat behind the two girls.

"Octavia found out the truth last night and didn't take it too well." Gaia informs him. "She ran out and they still haven't found her."

"Let's go find her, then." Lincoln announces, already picking up his bag and heading towards the door.

"Can't." Hope mumbles, not bothering to lift her head from the table. "I'm grounded if I even think of leaving school to go find her. Which is the STUPIDEST thing I've ever heard!"

"Mind your language, Ms. Diyoza, or I'm going to have to send you to the Principal's office." Mr. Pike warns as he walks in, beginning the day's lesson.

"We'll help you find her as soon as school's over." Lincoln whispers to her before facing the board, not wanting either of them to get in trouble so early into the school day.

Her head pounds. Her muscles are sore. Everything hurts. She tries to get up but she can't.She feels so cold, so weak. She feels numb. She can't even feel her fingers and toes anymore.

She can't- She can't... She can't breathe.

She feels her chest seize as she begins to shake. She can't control anything.

Her limbs spasm as her muscles twitch. She feels her head rocking from side to side but she can't do anything to stop it. Red begins to cloud her vision and she surrenders to her fate.

"What do you mean, 'stay here'?" Hope demands the moment those words left her mother's lips. "Like hell I'm staying here while everyone else is out looking for Taev. I already went to school even though you let Bellamy and Clarke skip, so why can't I go look for her now?"

"Hope, please." Diyoza begs. "Your little sister is missing and I don't know where she is. I'd feel much better knowing where you were."

"I can't lose you too."

"I promise, I'll stay with Lincoln and Gaia the whole time. The three of us will stick together." Hope pleads. "Just let us go."

"I'm sorry, Hope." The mother leaves, locking the door, and the three teens in the house.

"Mom!" Hope bangs on the door. "Mom! Let us out! Let us out, please! Don't leave me!" All her resolve leaves her as she slides down the door, her arms going around her knees as she begins to cry.

"Octavia! It's always Octavia!" Hope cries. "Why is it always about her and never me?! Am I not as important? Does she think Octavia is a better daughter than I am? I'm her real daughter, not her. Why doesn't she remember that?"

Gaia gathers her best friend in her arms, doing her best to assuage her tears, allowing her to let all her frustrations out before helping her make sense of everything.

Meanwhile, Lincoln stares out into the forest, wondering where the girl who had captured his affection has disappeared to. As if sensing his thoughts, Helios trots over to him, reaching for his arm, asking to be pet.

"Where do you think Octavia's gone?" He asks the dog. "Where could she be?"

The dog just scratches at the glass, his paws clawing the French doors, begging to be let out.

"I guess they forgot to let you out to pee, huh boy?" He unlocks the door, letting the dog out into the garden, but he retreats, heading towards the kitchen.

Following the dog, he finds him reaching for a pack of pills, Octavia's pills.

Realisation dawns on him. Those were her seizure medicines. If she had ran off last night as Hope had said, Octavia's missed at least two doses.

Those pills were to help reduce the chance of seizures, not stop them from happening. If she had a seizure somewhere out there, all alone-

Helios' bark breaks him out of his thoughts. Moving on a whim, he snatches the pills off the counter and follows the dog, barely glancing at Hope and Gaia before taking off.

Helios seems to know where to go, and he knows he can trust the dog to find his owner, so he slides the French doors close and follows him into the forest behind them.

They walk for a good hour, Helios pausing every few moments to sniff the ground before moving forward. Eventually, they reach a ravine.

Helios stops for a second and he almost expects him to continue onward when he barks, rushing forward.

Lincoln follows him, catching himself seconds before he could stumble off the edge where...

"Octavia!" He scrambles down the edge of the cliff, reaching her moments before she begins to convulse.

"Octavia..." He tries to hold her close, gently putting her down when her arm nearly smacks him. "Octavia, it's ok. You're ok." He runs his hand through her matted hair, only for it to come back sticky and tinged with red.

"You're going to be ok, Octavia." He whispers just as she stops seizing.

He waits for a few moments, waits for her beautiful blue eyes to open, but when they don't, he gathers her in his arms.

"Prime, you're freezing." He mutters as he notes her blue tinged lips and fingers. Shrugging off his jacket, he gingerly wraps it around her shaking frame. "I've got you now, Octavia. Everything will be ok."

He's about to call Diyoza when her eyes flash open. "Octavia?"

"Lincoln?" Her eyes are hazed over, unseeing. Her breaths come in shudders. Her voice is shaky and smaller than he's ever heard it. "I remember everything."

Her blue eyes roll to the back of her head, her body going limp, and he feels his heart stop. "Octavia? Octavia!"

And this has been an AngelFanfics productions.