"There's nothing simple about this." — Marcus Kane, "Watch the Thrones"

The back door of the rover opened and everyone looked at the new additions to their group. Abby's eyes met Octavia's as John Murphy climbed into the rover. Bellamy and Clarke were talking in low voices in the front as they watched him. A Grounder girl stood outside, looking around the confines of the rover. Her eyes fell on Benja and a curiosity took over her face. The boy scooted closer to Abby and took her hand.

"Who's the kid?" Murphy asked as he sat next to Octavia. He patted the seat next to him and the girl climbed in and sat down. Kane pulled himself into the rover, Abby tried not to see the pain on his face, she tried not to let it bother her.

He should have been better by now, but he never slowed down, he didn't rest enough to give his body the time it needed to heal. She saw new bruises on him every day from the training sessions with the Grounders, she knew he hadn't been taking it easy like she had told him to. She knew he never would. If he did, he wouldn't be Marcus Kane.

He shut the door behind him before sitting next to Benja. A smile tugged at Kane's lips, erasing the pain that had been there, as he replied, "He's ours."

"Ours?" Murphy asked, a smirk on his face as he looked between Kane and Abby. Murphy glanced at Octavia who shared his smirk as she looked at the floor, he jabbed his thumb in their direction as he asked her, "So these two finally—"

"That's enough, Mr. Murphy," Kane snapped, glaring at him.

The smirk didn't disappear as John Murphy pressed, "I'm no expert on human reproduction, but that seems a little fast and he seems a little old."

"Funny," Kane said, eyes narrowing. He sighed and ran a hand over his weary face before he asked, "Where have you been, John? Where's Thelonious?"

Murphy shared a look with the Grounder girl before meeting Kane's eyes as the rover took off again. "Jaha and I had some disagreements about our destination."

"Meaning?" Abby pressed when Murphy fell silent.

"Meaning the guy went crazy, okay?" He said simply. Abby and Kane glanced at each other; they both knew that Thelonious hadn't exactly been stable in his final days at Arkadia (then Camp Jaha), but they hadn't expected anything like this when they finally heard something about him again.

Murphy continued, "He locked me in a bunker for three months and claimed he was doing me a favor. He's obsessed with the City of Light, but it's not real. He took some damn chip and thinks he's a god now. He tried to get me to take it too, but I'm too smart for that."

"What's the City of Light?" Clarke asked from the front, turning in her seat to look at him.

"Hello to you too, Princess," Murphy mumbled as he looked at her. "I don't really know. Jaha meditates and he comes back all enlightened. He thinks he's going to save the world with his AI friend."

He was met with several blank stares. Murphy sighed before continuing, "There's this chick, a lady in red, she controls the show. She's the one who ended the world a hundred years ago."

A deafening hush fell over the rover as they bumped along the uneven road. Abby wondered what had changed for Thelonious, it couldn't have been Wells' death. She thought he had accepted it, but she knew that if Clarke died, she would never be okay. She would go on, yes, but there would always be a pain in her heart that could never be sated. Was the City of Light Thelonious' way of taking away the pain?

"Everyone in the Dead Zone searches for the City of Light," the Grounder girl said quietly. Everyone looked at her. She met Kane's eyes, understanding that he was their leader, as she said, "I'm Emori, by the way; John has a problem with his manners." She looked fondly at the boy before meeting Kane's eyes again. "Jaha took my brother into the City of Light and he…changed. He was willing to hurt me to get what he wanted. Otan would never do that."

"Thelonious said he was coming back to save us all," Abby said, looking at Kane though she spoke to everyone. His face was hard and she could see the wheels turning in his head, formulating a plan of action.

"Yeah, well, it's not saving in my opinion," Murphy said quietly.

"What is it then?" Octavia asked, frowning as she looked at him.

His eyes met hers as he said quietly, "It's mind control."

The rovers came to a stop at Niagara's city limits. As everyone ambled out of the rover, Kane walked to the radio and went to press the button but Abby called, "What are you doing?"

"I'll meet you outside," he said quietly. She looked at him curiously, but followed Benja out. He pressed the button and called, "Arkadia, this is Rover 2, come in Arkadia."

He was met with static for a moment before he heard, "Rover 2, this is Arkadia. Is there a problem, Chancellor?"

He brought the receiver to his mouth and pressed the button as he replied, "Gina?"

"Yeah, no one else was free to man the radio. I guess that's what you get when you're just a grunt, huh?" She sounded so indignant.

"You're not just a grunt, Gina," Kane said quietly. He could feel the girl's skepticism through the radio, like it was the static itself that crackled as he awaited a response. When she didn't give one, he pressed the button on the receiver and said, "I'm sorry about Bellamy."

It was quiet on the other end before she whispered, "I don't need your sympathy, Kane. What do you want?"

"I need you to tell Sinclair something for me," he said, moving passed her apparent brushoff. "Tell him to put Thelonious Jaha in the stockade if he comes to camp."

"Why?"

"Just trust me, Gina," he replied. "You don't want him loose in camp."

"Okay…" she said and he knew he had lost her interest. "If that's all—"

"Gina," he said quietly into the receiver. He paused, trying to formulate the words in a way that would make her actually listen. Finally, he said, "If you need to talk — ever, about anything — I'll have the portable radio on me at all times."

It was silent on the other end and he thought she had left. But her voice crackled through the receiver after nearly a minute, "Isn't the signal on those things shit?"

Kane smiled and replied, "Wick and Mel worked on the tower and they've been fixing the radios, strengthening them." Almost as an afterthought, he said, "They've been building a few new ones, you could have your own if you wanted. So you don't have to use this one. Tell them I sent you."

"Thanks, Kane," she replied after a moment's silence. He smiled and hung up the receiver on the radio.

"What was that about?" Abby asked quietly as he emerged from the rover. He placed his hand on the small of her back as everyone looked at him and he whispered, "I'll tell you later, just trust me."

She smiled and nodded. "I always do."

He couldn't stop the smile as it passed over his lips. It faltered when Roan barked, "Chit hodon bilaik, Chansla? | What's the delay, Chancellor?"

"Nou diyo | Nothing," he said, motioning for Roan to lead the way. The king stared at him hard for a moment before he started toward the tree line.

The twenty-three of them set off down the path that led into the city. Benja walked next to Roan, asking him about the Falls and, to Kane's surprise, Roan told him everything he wanted to know. Abby and Clarke walked just behind them, talking to each other in low voices. He wondered if Clarke knew she was the reason Bellamy had broken up with Gina, he wondered if that was what the two Griffin women were talking about so secretively.

"You went full native," John Murphy commented, falling into step with him. "I didn't see that coming."

"Why is it so surprising?" Kane asked, tearing his gaze away from his family to look at the former delinquent.

"You locked me up, twice," Murphy said dryly. "You're not exactly a man of peace."

"You set fire to a guard's quarters!" Kane shot a glare at him. He was learning that the boy had a way of getting under his skin in an unsettling way. "And you were involved in an altercation the second time—"

"Always by the book, huh?" Murphy asked with a smirk on his face. "Now look at you, a family man — it's laughable, Chancellor. What makes you more deserving of a family than the rest of us after everything you've done?"

"Lay off, Murphy," Nate Miller spat, walking nearby with Harper. "The guy had a lot of us arrested, but you don't see us bitching about it still."

"It's not like you were ever going to be floated for your crime, Miller, with your dad as chief guard." Murphy snapped. Nate stopped in his tracks and Bryan glanced back at him, slowing, looking like he wanted to provide some sort of comfort though he knew it wasn't his place anymore. Their eyes met, but Nate looked away quickly and stalked off. Harper shot Murphy a glare before hurrying after him. Murphy glanced at Kane and asked, "Something I said?"

"His dad was killed two weeks ago," Kane said, his eyes on John Murphy though he wasn't really seeing him. He was seeing David Miller's final moments, remembering how their eyes had met just before Pike raised the gun to his temple. Pike had asked him for any last words, something he hadn't allowed Gabriella Sinclair, and Miller had asked exactly what Kane expected: Look after Nate.

"Shit," Murphy mumbled, his gaze shifting to meet Nate's back.

Kane looked hard at the boy as he said, "A word of advice, Mr. Murphy: don't be such an asshole."

Murphy smirked and was about to retort when Benja shouted from ahead, yelling for Kane. He gave Murphy one last look before walking swiftly toward his son. They had been walking through too many crumbling buildings to count, some with curious faces in the blown out windows — clearly they were used as housing now for Ice Nation. But the buildings stopped abruptly and a bridge stood before them. Across the river, he could see dozens of buildings in better shape than the ones on this side.

Benja grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the bridge, not stopping until they were halfway across. They stared at the Falls, the others slowly catching up to them. Kane's eyes couldn't keep still as he took in the boats bobbing in the water, tethered to shore, the small waterfall to their left, and the much larger one straight ahead.

"It's beautiful," Abby commented as she stood next to him. "I didn't expect this of Ice Nation."

He nodded.

"Roan said we're staying there," Clarke said as she leaned against the railing on Abby's other side, pointing toward a tall building next to the Falls. "That's his tower. It used to be a place people paid to stay on visits. Imagine how expensive that was, good thing it's free for us."

Kane glanced at her before staring at the building. "Don't think this isn't going to cost us anything, Clarke."

Roan's tower was called Arrio, after the large letters placed along the rooftop. There were dark marks where others letters had been, he assumed the name of the hotel. He told them the numbers to the rooms they were allocated, before he disappeared into the tower.

"Kane, can I talk to you?" Clarke asked, grabbing ahold of his arm as he headed for the door leading into the tower. He glanced at the group heading inside before he met her eyes again and nodded. She asked, "What's the plan?"

His brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what are we doing here?" She asked. "Ontari's not. Shouldn't we be where she is? Stopping her?"

"It's not that simple," he said, shaking his head. "Lexa and the others will stop her from doing too much damage in the South. She'll be herded here and we'll be waiting. It all leads to Niagara, Clarke."

"It makes no sense," Clarke argued, her brows knitting together. "Why would Ontari return here? She wants the Coalition, she wants our people dead. That's all hundreds of miles south of here!"

"Clarke, don't act like you know anything about keeping people alive! This is what's best for our people!" He spat. He felt a coldness spread through his chest and his chin dropped to his chest as he released a breath. "I…I didn't mean that, Clarke. I—"

"It's fine, Kane," she said, blinking back tears.

"Marcus, are you coming?" Abby called, standing at the door with Benja. From the look on her face, he knew she had heard him. He ran his hand along his jaw and called, "I'll meet you up there."

She nodded and looked at him with that same wide eyed stare before she led Benja into the tower. Kane ran a hand through his hair before he met Clarke's eyes again and found the tears collecting in the corners, threatening to spill over any second. He breathed, "Clarke—"

"Don't, Kane," she interrupted. She shook her head as she stared at the ground. "You're right, I don't know anything about keeping people alive. All I do is kill people."

He watched as the tears slipped down her cheeks. His arms were wrapped tightly around her before he could stop himself and, to his surprise, she hugged him back, burying her face in his shoulder. He stroked her hair as he whispered, "Hey, you did what you had to do. That's all we can ever do, okay? It's not easy being the leader, is it?"

She shook her head and tightened her grip on him. Kane softly ran his hand over her hair, listening to her breaths slow, knew her tears were subsiding. Finally, she said quietly, "Can I ask you something?"

He nodded.

"Why did being apart of Pike's punishment bother you so much?" She whispered against his shirt. He stiffened in her arms and she pulled back to look at his face. He couldn't meet her eyes.

"Clarke, it's…complicated," he whispered, looking at the ground as he pulled away from her. She gripped his hand in hers and he finally met her eyes. He sighed, seeing the determination there. She was so much like her mother, it was unnerving. "He used be my friend. I took no pleasure in what I had to do."

"My mom said that you don't like what you have to do to keep us safe," she said quietly. "Do you not like this plan? Siding with Azgeda?"

He shrugged. "I would rather keep us out of a war we have nothing to do with."

"What was that with Clarke?" Abby asked as soon as the door shut behind him. She had been pacing, waiting for him to arrive. He glanced at her but didn't respond. He walked toward the blown out windows, making sure not to get too close. They were floor to ceiling, spanning the whole two stories their room was. Wind whipped through them and brought a chill to the room, but there was a fireplace and a pile of logs at their disposal.

He slipped his backpack off his shoulders and tossed it onto the nearest chair before he crossed his arms over his chest and looked out the windows. They had a view of the large waterfall and it would have been spectacular if he couldn't feel the anger rolling off of Abby as she stalked toward him.

"Marcus," she snapped, grabbing his arm and pulling him around to look at her. "You can't talk to my daughter that way."

"What way? I was telling her the truth," he said quietly, too worn out to fight.

"Clarke is not stupid!" Abby spat, squeezing his arm tighter. "She knows what war costs."

"That is not what we were arguing about," he said sharply. His face softened as he replied, "She's a smart kid, Abby. She's very opinionated, like her mother."

Abby stared at him hard for a few more moments before her face warmed and she took a step toward him. "It's important to me that she likes you. For now, she does — I don't want you to screw that up."

He smiled and pulled her against him. "How would I screw it up?"

She leaned her head against his chest and wrapped her arms around him as she whispered, "I'm sure you could think of something, you idiot."

He chuckled quietly and nodded. He pulled away from her as he said, "Probably, I'm great at messing things up."

She balked. "I didn't mean it that way."

He grinned as he glanced over his shoulder at her, picking up his backpack from the chair. "I know, Abby."

He shouldered his pack and started up the stairs to their bedroom. She called, "What are you doing?"

"Laying down, I'm tired," he said, his eyes meeting the large bed that awaited. "You could join, it's hours until dinner at sundown."

He fought the smile as he heard her feet on the stairs a second later.

Reviews are always welcomed and appreciated! :)

-Lauren