Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Twilight, The 100, or Vampire Diaries. Those rights are reserved for Stephanie Myer, L.J. Smith and Jason Rothenberg. I do own the original characters made up for this storyline. Thank you.
Writer's Notes: Thank you Roxhaall, Guest 1 and Guest 2 for your reviews! Clarke is a trip, that is for sure. I apologize for the delay, I wanted to upload this last night, but back-to-school for the kiddos and orientations and teacher meetings had me tied up a little. So here is chapter 12, and we have 4 more chapters to go! Thank you all so much for the support! I appreciate you all! Don't forget to follow, favorite, and review! Cheers!
[The Ark]
Kane was going for organizing an effort to get to where the kids could be located, but before he could Dax and Clarke stumbled into the camp.
"Clarke?" Kane said, going to her immediately. "What happened?"
"Grounders attacked." Clarke coughed out.
Dax was a little worse for wear too. The only ones that made it with them was Tyson, Clint, and Gin.
"What are grounders?" Kane asked, confused.
"They're people that have been surviving here since the nuclear fallout." Dax explained.
Abby came out of the Ark that they salvaged for shelter. "Clarke!" She exclaimed and rushed to her daughter. "What's going on?"
"There are people on the ground." Kane said to Abby. "Where are the others?"
"There were 22 of us coming here, but…. after the attack, the five of us were the only ones able to get here. I only hope the other half are okay back at the camp." Dax said, brushing a shaky hand through his hair. "We should have listened to Bellamy and Bella."
Clarke shook her head. "They could be dead for all we know. They could have been attacked too."
"You don't know that." Dax said. "Bella and Bellamy are strong leaders. They- "
"They what Dax? They're the ones who decided not to come to the Ark. They don't want anything to do with the Ark or anyone on it." Clarke spat back.
"Wait…Bella Swan?" Kane asked.
Dax nodded. "Yes."
Kane was quiet a moment. He tried to help Bella when she was younger. He thought that Jaha was out of his mind, putting her in the Skybox. She was just a girl and didn't deserve that, not for her father. Even then, Charles Swan was killed for trying to tell the truth. The life support system was failing long ago, but Jaha had to step in. He had to cause a big deal. After all these years, Kane has just gone along with things. Trying to be the best person he could be. He of course let some stuff kids did, slide, but if it was anyone else that caught them before he could, then the skybox was their new home. Kane originally tried to thwart the idea of sending the 100 to the ground, but he was overruled. Then he saw it as an opportunity for the kids to escape. Many of them were turning 18, and Jaha was not forgiving, and at least half would have been floated, including Bella. So, in a way, it was their saving grace.
"We have to find the others." Abby said. "If- "
"They don't want to be found." Dax said. "They don't trust the Ark. The only reason why I'm here, is because my girlfriend was on the Ark. If it wasn't for that, I would have gone with Bella and the others."
Clarke looked at Dax, appalled. "Are you serious? How can you follow someone like her? She's selfish, and- "
"No, she's not. You just don't like her, but it was Bella that saved your ass, more than once. It was Bella who went into the woods with grounders, poisonous fog, and wolves, and other crazy shit, and dragged your ass back. That was after you got 13 people killed doing whatever the fuck it is you think you were trying to do." Dax said.
Abby frowned. "That's uncalled for. You don't- "
"You don't get to talk to me however you like." Dax said to Abby. "I'm not on the Ark anymore, and I'm not in a skybox. Your daughter got 13 people killed. Your daughter is a hazard."
"I was trying to do the right thing!" Clarke yelled.
Dax snorted. "No, you were doing the opposite of what Bella wanted. Because you never agreed with her leadership from the beginning."
"She's reckless, heartless, and- "
"If she was, she would have let you die not once, but twice." Dax said. "Say what you will, but I won't let you dog Bella for being anything other than the best leader I have ever seen."
"Who am I kidding, you've probably fucked her too." Clarke retorted.
"Clarke!" Abby said.
Dax glared. "You watch your mouth." He said pointing a finger at her.
Kane held up a hand, cutting Clarke off before she could say anything else. "Dax, where did Bella and Bellamy go? How many are left at camp?"
"There are 22 people left at camp. Most of them are the younger ones. Bella and Bellamy moved locations. A location I won't share with anyone here with Ark. Bella and the others don't want the Ark survivors knowing where they are." Dax said, looking at Kane.
Abby shook her head. "That's absurd. You need to tell us where they are now or- "
"Or what?" Dax asked. "You're going to float me? I'm not your husband. Spare me the power act Abby."
Kane swallowed. "Let's calm down." He said, giving Abby a sharp look. "Dax, your girlfriend, what was her name?"
"Elena. Elena Gilbert."
Kane nodded. "Yes, she's been helping with dressing wounds. She's in the ship." He said and then Dax moved immediately jogging over to the ship.
"Elena!" He called out.
Elena stood, her dark hair was twisted up in a messy bun on her head and she was dirty and had a few scrapes. Her dark eyes found his. "Dax!" She said and then she propelled herself at him, his arms coming around her tight, tears coming for both of them.
"Oh baby, you're alive. I love you so much." He murmured, and then he was kissing her. "Listen, we have to leave here." He murmured.
"What? Where would we go?"
"I know where we can go. I don't trust it here."
Kane walked in. "You're safe here Dax. I won't let anything happen to you."
Dax looked at Kane. "Like I said. I don't trust the Ark, or anyone who had anything to do with throwing me in the skybox."
Kane nodded. "That's fair." He paused. "You're taking her to where Bella and Bellamy are."
"I am. It's where I feel the safest." Dax said.
Kane took something from his pocket, a small notepad and a pen. He scribbled something on the paper. "Give this to her." He said and handed it to Dax. "I sincerely hope you two are safe on your travels. I want what's best for you, and if I'm being honest…I'm not sure that's here either. We just crashed here. We're scrambling. Parts of the Ark is scattered. I'm not sure if there are others that survived and…I just don't know what to do anymore."
Dax swallowed, looking at the note.
Bella, we're safe, I hope you are too. I'm glad your plan worked.
"You knew about Bella's plan? This whole time? You knew that she would do everything she did on the ground?"
Kane nodded. "I knew that Damon was going to attack Jaha." He murmured low. "I helped him get away."
Dax looked at Elena and then back at Kane. "Then come with us. Bella will-"
"I won't upset what Bella has planned. I don't know what sort of plans she has in place now, but I do know that I don't want to be the reason for upset in your colony." Kane said.
"If you just-"
"It's okay." Kane said with a nod and looked towards the opening of the Ark. "Abby is too unhinged. She's not thinking clearly, and these people deserve a chance."
"Kane, there are grounders, several. But they're not your biggest threat. Mount Weather is occupied by people that the grounders call the Mountain Men. They are deadly. They release poisonous fog, and they have advanced tech guarding their entrance. So, they will see you coming if you attack. Bella knows where the entrance is." Dax explained.
Kane was quiet a few moments. "And your camp. There are 22 kids there still?"
Dax nodded. "There are. We have a wall up, and Bella and some others blew up the bridge that the grounders use to get across to our camp, but there is a long way around. It can take them 6 days to get to the camp the long way. It's already been 2 days, so we're assuming in 4 days, the grounders will be knocking on the front door. Nik rigged up explosives in the woods to trigger an alarm for their arrival, so we would know when to get in the drop ship to refire the retrorockets one last time to incinerate everything." He explained some more. "It'll incinerate everything, but that will take out the wall, and leave them vulnerable for the Mountain Men, if they decide to try and attack."
"I see." Kane murmured. "So, these Mountain Men, they are the ones we should try to take out then?"
Dax nodded. "I know Bella. Bella is trying to figure out a way to go on the offense. She'll figure out a way into Mount Weather undetected. Her tech skills are brilliant."
Kane smiled a little. "They should be. She's a Salvatore by blood." He said and then sighed. "Okay. Then I need to give you something else to bring to her. She'll be able to communicate with us. This has a 150-mile range, so if she's within that- "
"She is." Dax said.
Kane took a small palm pilot thing out of his cargo pants pocket and handed it to him. "I have the only other one. Abby doesn't know about it. But they do work. Tell her to contact me, when she plans on storming Mount Weather. I'll arrange what Guard I have left, and back her up."
Dax nodded. "Okay."
"Oh, and Dax?"
"Yes?"
"I'll distract Abby, while you and Elena leave." Kane said and walked out.
Dax looked at Elena. "Get your stuff." He murmured.
Elena nodded and moved quickly, getting her pack together to follow Dax to wherever he said would be safer.
[16 Hours Later: Drop Ship Camp]
Dax and Elena got to camp in the dead of night. Sweat poured off them from their 60-mile hike, where Dax and Elena booked it through the terrain to avoid having to stop and risk getting attacked by grounders.
Ashton opened the drop ship for Dax and Elena and closed it up after they got inside. "I didn't expect you guys back so soon."
"It's just us. We got attacked on the way there. Only Clarke, me, and 3 others made it to the Ark. Abby is unhinged. Kane is trying to take control of things, and smooth it out, but Clarke isn't helping. Elena and I are leaving first thing in the morning to go to Bella and Bellamy. I suggest you guys do the same. We can't stay here. If I move another group to the Ark like we did today…I just don't think it's worth it. They're worst off there than we are currently, and 4 days from now, it's going to be worse, if the grounders attack right on time." He explained.
Ashton nodded. "You're right, but the smaller kids. They don't want to go. They want to be with their families. We can't force them."
"You're right. You and Elena leave out in the morning to go to Bellamy and Bella. I'll stay here with Boone, and coordinate an effort to relocate to the bunker." Ashton said.
Dax frowned. "I don't want to leave you with all this."
"It's fine. Dax, we'll be fine. We have 4 days before the grounders come."
Dax hesitated, but finally gave in, nodding. He went over to his bunk, guiding Elena with him. She lay down with him, the quietness of the dark around them until they both fell asleep from exhaustion.
[The Bunker]
Bella looked at the wall of screens. Her and Jasper J had been up the past day working on the details of the security. The tech that they had, they were reworking it for a comm system to be able to communicate with the others as they did patrols, or hunting. Jazz happily accepted being head of security. Damon was their chief engineer, utilizing what they had to start some surface construction, but so far it was just plans. There was an abandoned city nearby that Lincoln said was not operated by any other tribe currently. The buildings there are partially in shambles, but there were some materials to be used.
Lincoln was their chief medical officer. They didn't like to label people as officers because they wanted to steer away from being too much like the Ark, but the others weren't sure what else you would call everyone. The conversation with the others went well, they agreed to the people selected for those leadership roles.
Caroline oversaw the inventory and food, so there were some people that went to her, and learned how to prep meals with the food that they did have.
Monty was a botanist, so he was taking volunteers and teaching them about botany and what to look at in the flora around nearby, for what was safe to eat, and what was not.
Jasper J was a chemist and a tech analyst. There were a couple others that excelled in chemistry as well, and they took up under Jasper J's wing. Niklaus and Raven were explosive experts. They worked with security with Jazz, but primarily to help teach about the explosives. Stefan was a mechanic as was Raven, so they taught the ones eager to learn, about mechanics whenever asked. No one was forced into anything. If they wanted to do something, they had that free will to do it. There was a watch rotation that people could sign up for, and to Bella's surprise, more people did sign up, wanting to be apart of sustaining the little colony they had. Everyone agreed that Bella and Bellamy should be co-chancellors. But they didn't want to call themselves chancellors. They were organized, and people typically did refer to them as 'boss', but they decided on Director. The people that were in leadership roles, were the mentors and supervisors, and then they decided that there should be a group of five, like a council. They were the commission, and those people were Niklaus, Bellamy, Bella, Damon, and Alaric. Alaric was the oldest one there. He was a teacher of sorts back on the Ark, and so he continued to take on that role. He was a good advisor, and very wise.
Everything was falling into place the way it should, and Bella was hopeful that they could sustain and grow their colony. The colony in which they called Haven. Because it was their Haven, their sanctuary, and their home.
Bella looked at the monitor when the boarder of the screen lit up red. She saw Dax and a woman walking towards them. "Jazz, Dax is here." She said, looking over at him.
Jazz nodded. "I'll go get them." He said and left the security room and headed topside. He opened the door to the bunker and looked at Dax. "You came."
Dax smiled, going to Jazz and hugging him. "I'm so happy to see your face." He said, and looked at Elena. "This is Elena. My girlfriend." He said.
Jazz smiled. "Nice to meet you. Come inside."
Dax looked around the bunker. "It's camouflaged. This is different."
"A lot has happened." Jazz said and led them inside and then shut and locked the door tight and guided them to the stairwell going down. "Bella discovered these stairs when we first arrived. This top bunker is just a decoy, the real bunker is under the bunker." He explained as they descended the stairs. When they reached the bottom, Dax's mouth dropped open as he took in the sight. "Welcome to Haven." He said and smiled at Dax.
Bella came out of the security room to greet Dax. She smiled. "You made it back."
"I did, and I have a message for you from Kane." Dax said, and pulled out the device and the note and handed it to Bella.
Bella took it, unfolding the note and reading it. She smiled. "I'm assuming this is for communication?" She said holding up the device.
Dax nodded. "Has a 150-mile range. Listen, Bella…getting to the Ark, we were slaughtered. Only me, Clarke, and three others made it to the Ark. I tried to convince Boone and Ash to come with us when we left out this morning, but some of the others still don't want to come. They want to reunite with their families on the Ark. The traps are still in place, and the plan is to still use the retrorockets. I talked to Kane about the Mountain Men, I tried to convince him to come back with us, but he didn't want to leave Abby in charge. She's…. not the best leader, and Kane said he owes it to the survivors."
Bella nodded. "I figured." She said and blew out a breath. "Probably best that way. Not too many people here are happy with Kane, despite his unwillingness to put people in the skybox. I know he tried to prevent many of them from going in, but many see him as a quiet follower."
Damon walked up. "Kane knew I was assassinating Jaha. We had to make it look good." He said crossing his arms. "He chased me to the shuttle, and watched me take off. The cameras on board would have recorded our conversation and actions, so it may have seemed like he was trying to stop me, but he really wasn't."
Bella nodded. "Kane knew that my inside man was Stefan. He knew that I would disrupt the coordinates. He knew the plan from the start."
Dax was just flabbergasted. "I can't believe that. He was head of the Guard."
"I know and very loyal to Charlie Swan. When they floated him and went against what should have happened, Kane knew then, that to stop it, and to help protect more people, he had to be compromising with the rest of the council, and with Jaha." Bella explained.
Jazz nodded. "Kane helped get me into the skybox to come to the ground. Helped make sure our key players were in the box before going to the ground. I'm technically 19. I should have been floated, but he fudged some papers, said I was 17."
"So, what's the plan now?" Dax asked.
"Well, settle in. There's a room for you and Elena. We're working on the tech we have, and Jasper J has hacked back into the satellite so we can use the imaging systems to keep watch on Mount Weather. We're going to infiltrate."
"How are we going to infiltrate?" Elena asked.
Bella nodded. "By getting captured."
Jazz looked at Bella, incredulous. "What?"
"Myself, Damon, Monty, Raven, and Murphy are going to get captured." She said. "Bellamy will stay here, with Haven. The tech I have, is more advanced than what the ground should have had before the nuclear fallout. Mine, Damon, and Stefan's ancestors built this bunker and left this here. My assumption is that he knew that one day we would come back to the ground, hoping his relatives would find it. We'll use the tech we have, to get out of Mount Weather, but we need to know what we're dealing with. Without having eyes on the inside, we can't launch an offensive attack."
Dax nodded. "Alright, makes sense. I'll go too."
Elena frowned. "What?"
Dax looked at Elena. "I know we just found each other again, but this is really important. I can help."
Bella shook her head. "Dax, you-"
"Bella, I'm doing this. Have Monty stay here. He's the only botanist."
Bella studied Dax a few moments. "Alright. You'll replace Monty. We'll have a full plan in place before going in." She said and then Bellamy walked up. "Hey."
Bellamy smiled and looked to Dax. "You made it." He said and they were hugging each other in a very brotherly fashion. "Bella filled you in?"
"She did." Dax said. "I'm taking Monty's spot."
Bellamy looked at Bella and then back to Dax. "Okay." He already felt uneasy about Bella going in. It was an argument, but he finally caved after Damon volunteered. The others volunteered too. They didn't want to send too many people in, because then it would become riskier than it already was.
"We have some planning to do, so let's get started." Bella said, and looked at Dax. "Go get settled in. Jazz, can you show him around?"
Jazz nodded, looking to Dax. "The showers are amazing." He said with a smile.
And they did have a lot to plan. The plan had to be perfect, before they headed into the lion's den.
