Hi guys we're getting the ball rolling here.
As always, please review. I love to hear your feedback and again PM me with ideas or theories you might have for this story. I won't spoil much, but I can answer a few questions.
Song recs:
Otis – Jay Z and Kanye West
Gold, Guns, Girls – Metric
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Clarke opened her eyes and she was surprised to see that she was back in her cell on the Ark. She breathed heavily and she looked around the room in sheer confusion.
The room was the same six by six square it had always been, but now there were various drawings on the walls of the room. There was one of everyone she knew.
Her mom, Raven, Octavia, Bellamy, Roma, Anya, Wells, Tris and there was even one of Lincoln.
She put her hand on one of Bellamy with a snarl on his face and she was surprised as she felt the feeling of being transported somewhere.
Bellamy's face twisted into an expression of disgust before he said,"You know Clarke when we first got here I thought you were many things annoying, privileged, brave, smart and even a leader, but this is the first time I ever thought you were weak."
"If I'm so weak,"said Clarke coolly as blue light radiated from her hands,"Why don't you prove it?"
Bellamy cracked his knuckles and said,"Fine by me."
Immediately after the words left Bellamy's mouth there was a flash of blue and Bellamy felt something smash into his stomach sending him flying through the air before he hit the ground and rolled to a stop.
Bellamy looked up at Clarke who still had her hands extended towards him and said,"Is that all you got?Stop pulling your punches."
Clarke let go of the drawing and she realised the drawings must represent her memories. She put her hand on one of Octavia with her hands aloft and she smiled at the memory.
"We're back bitches!"
Clarke frowned as she saw one of the Exodus ship and despite knowing what it would show her she pressed her hand into it.
Of course, you had a plan of attack. This is why you send out the pawns first,"said Diana cryptically.
The others were confused by what that meant until a green laser similar to Jasper's own beam of energy went straight through Roma's chest directly over her heart.
The beam had been so quick and sudden that Clarke was unable to get close enough to Roma.
Roma fell down and everyone knew instantly that she was dead.
Clarke pulled away from the wall and she breathed heavily as she felt sweat gather on her brow.
It felt like the room was closing in on her and so Clarke ran out leaving the haunting images behind her. However, her confusion only grew as she made it out into the walkways of Alpha Station which was far, far away from the Sky Box.
Clarke looked behind her and she was shocked to see that there was no door behind her. The hallways were dark and Clarke felt on edge until she saw some of the lights overhead begin to turn on.
Clarke walked in the direction of the lights and she knew where she was being led having made the trip a few times when she was younger with Wells.
Therefore, when she stood in front of the Chancellor's office she took a deep breath and she was finally able to put a face to the voice that haunted her mind and dreams.
The woman was busy typing at a computer and Clarke watched as the woman didn't even seem to notice Clarke's presence.
Finally, the woman looked up and a small smile came over her face as she said,"Hello, Clarke. So nice of you to drop by."
Clarke felt her ire raise and she said,"What do you want, Darah?"
Darah ignored the question and sighed slightly,"Wow, did they get rid of manners on the Ark too. In my day, you had to respect your elders. How far has humanity fallen."
Clarke wasn't going to play this game, though, and she lifted her hands at Darah,"I don't Carr about manners. I want to know why you've been in my head. If you don't..."
A small ball of fire began to form in front of Clarke's hands and yet Darah barely reacted as she said,"Wow, no wonder Raven and Octavia looked so horrified. You're a little monster, aren't you? If you want to do this the long way then fine. Do it. "
The small ball grew larger and Clarke's anger grew with it. The relaxed posture and calm look on Darah's face annoyed Clarke, but it was her words that were doing the trick and Clarke was sure she was going to burn this woman to a crisp if she didn't keep her mouth shut.
"Oh, what's wrong?"said Darah as she noticed Clarke's arms begin to tremble,"Are you upset? I suppose no one likes to hear this, but face it Clarke you are a monster. How many people have you killed since landing? I bet you don't know. If I were your friends, I'd be scared too. You were so willing to offer, Mbege or whatever his name was, to that tribe. You say you're not like the Chancellor and yet there you were playing God with people's lives."
The flame reached the size of a basketball and it was steadily rising.
"I don't know why people bother being close to you anyways, "added Darah as if she wasn't facing a giant ball of fire,"Anyone who ends up close to dies. Wells. Roma. Your fath–"
Clarke let out a scream of pure anger as she shot the largest stream of fire she has ever made at Darah. The sream of fire zipped through the air, but it was stopped cold by a red barrier that appeared just in front of the woman.
Clarke knew her face was showing just how confused she was as a red barrier identical to that Clarke sometimes made with her psionic powers, but red in colour appeared in front of Darah.
Clarke stopped the stream and she was surprised to see Darah holding her hand out and there was red light rolling off of her exactly like when Clarke used her psionic powers.
Darah's eyes were also emitting red light and Clarke felt a pit form in her stomach at the sight.
"You didn't really think I would let you in here if I didn't have a way of defending myself, did you?"said the woman and Clarke ignored the incredulous tone of the woman as she made her way to the chair on the other side of the desk.
Darah raised a brow at the change of approach by Clarke, but Clarke didn't let it affect her as she stared at the other woman.
"We're in my head, "said Clarke finally and Darah's eyes lit up.
"Oh, you're a smart one,"said Darah jovially before her tone shifted,"Yes and no. This interface was created by the AI inside the Novus Darwin nanobots."
"Why are you here?"said Clarke as she saw that Darah was finally serious,"You died over a century ago."
Darah nodded and said,"I suppose that's what everyone thought. You see I knew that eventually humanity would return to Earth. In fact, I strongly suspected that there were still humans on Earth. You know the human genetic structure is amazing. Perhaps we don't have the strongest or fastest bodies, but we're the jack of all trades. We can adapt to any sort of environment given time and this isn't just from an evolutionary perspective. Every single species of animal on Earth was always affected by their environment. Polar bears fur turned white. Birds migrated during winter and so on and so forth."
Darah paused and now she was looking at Clarke directly, "However ,humans are different. We were the first to adapt our environment to us. That's how you survive. Action not reaction. It's why our population grew while those of animals fell. As amazing as animals are, they simply didn't have the intelligence, foresight or vision to be the apex predator that the humans are. "
Clarke bit back her annoyance at the woman's lecturing and said,"I understand all that, but what does any of that have to do with you being in my head?"
Darah sighed and said,"Excuse me, evolution is one of my passions so I apologise if I get sidetracked. To answer your question, I didn't die that day of the rebellion. In fact, you could say I never died at all."
Clarke's brow furrowed and she said,"They found your corpse in your lab. Your body either got floated or eaten by the people of the Ark. You definitely died."
Darah smiled despite the dark nature of the question and said,"So you say, but yet here I am. As a child my parents had always encouraged me and my siblings to learn up on various things. Economics. Politics. Medicine. They wanted to raise world changers and for the most part yes they were successful. The three of us certainly left our mark on the world although ironically we ended up distancing ourselves from each other due to a few unfortunate incidents so we never the unified power family that my parents so badly wanted. Anyways, one thing that I had read up on from my youth was existentialism and I won't bore you with the specifics, but I wouldn't say I'm dead. "
"What are you then?"said Clarke intently as she focused on everything the woman had to say.
"I simply am. There had been massive unrest on the Ark due to my experiments and I knew that my days were numbered so I engineered a way to upload my mind onto the Evolutionary Artifical Network or EvAN. That's the AI that runs the Novus nanobots in your body,"said Darah idly as if she were speaking about something mundane.
"You uploaded your mind, "said Clarke incredulously as she looked at the woman in front of her in awe,"You didn't commit suicide. You just uploaded your mind and left your body behind knowing people wouldn't look too deeply into your death."
"Yes,"said Darah,"Let me tell you it wasn't easy. I knew years in advance that soon someone would come for my position and so I made sure that I'd have an out. The Darwin nanobots will be the key to human survival and I had to be there to see it."
"You sound mighty sure of yourself?"said Clarke as she scoffed,"The American government already mimicked what you did and after the Blight I doubt many Arkers who take your serum will activate powers so it's not likely you'll be as revered as you think."
Darah's eyes turned icy,"I don't care about being revered. Everything I've done has a purpose. Your people call me a monster or evil or cruel, but I do not regret what I had to do and you will see that what I did was necessary. If I had to choose between allowing humans to survive and being popular, I'd take the former every single time. I'm used to being overlooked and dismissed and even so I shouldn't care, but with my knowledge it would have been a waste if I had not been able to invent the Darwin nanobots. They are the keys to the survival of the human race as are you Clarke. "
Clarke felt unsettled by the anger in the woman's voice, but didn't let it show as she said,"Me? What do I have to do with this?"
Darah looked at her and said,"We're more alike than you'd care to admit. We're both willing to sacrifice all we are for the betterment of others even if they don't deserve it. You think you're better than me, but just yesterday you burnt over 90 people to death and the only person who wasn't afraid of you wasn't your friends or fellow delinquents. It was some woman you met a few days ago. "
A loud, metallic groan echoed out from below Clarke's hands and the girl realised she had bent the metal arm of her chair in frustration as she listened to Darah's speech.
"Shut up."
"We aren't meant to be loved by others,"said Darah,"That's not our destiny. "
"Shut up."
"We're doomed to lurk in the shadows so our people can play in the light,"continued Darah as her eyes glazed over,"Hatred and scorn will be the only payment we will receive for saving everyone and once it's all said and done we'll fade away into the shadows never to be seen aga–"
Darah was cut off as Clarke threw her chair into the side of the wall. It impacted with a loud crash and Clarke breathed slowly to control her anger.
"We are not the same,"said Clarke slowly," I don't know what delusions you have, but we never have and never will be the same. I actually care for people. You say these nanobots were humanity's key to survival, but the truth is that humanity would be here with or without your inventions. You say being human is to adapt your surroundings, but you're wrong. Being human is to endure. Being human is to love. Being human is living with your mistakes and trying to repent for them. You don't care that you killed or experimented on hundreds of people. You don't care that you caused an era of living so dark it had to be scrubbed from history. You don't care. That's why we're different and why we'll never be the same."
Clarke took a few breaths to calm herself from her tirade and she relished in the look of shock and annoyance across Darah's face.
"You remind me of someone I used to know,"said Darah finally as she stared off into space,"She was always on about love, penance, self-sacrifice and all of that. I hated her so much sometimes and yet I still loved her more than I've ever loved anyone before."
Clarke was surprised to see a downtrodden expression come into being on Darah's face. She supposed that even people as harsh as her must have had people close to her.
"You know, Clarke,"said Darah finally, "They say that there is inherent darkness in every human, but that's wrong. The world itself is evil and covered in lies, deceit and betrayal. You can try to fight it, but in the end it will swallow you whole and you'll become the very thing you hated the most."
Clarke didn't say anything to indicate that she had heard Darah, but they both knew that she had taken that to heart. There was silence for some time before Darah spoke again.
"Well enough depressing stuff,"said Darah,"You're waking up so we'll have to cut this chit chat short. The last thing I wanted to tell is to stop using your powers."
Clarke raised a brow and said,"Why would I do that?"
Darah sighed and said, "We both know that Novus is damaging your body. You've been hacking up blood for weeks now and sooner or later it's going to be harder to hide. You activated a lot more powers sooner than expected and so the acclimatising process of Novus hasn't fully completed. It should be done within a day at the most, but until then don't use your powers unless it's extremely dire. You can get away with using Instinct, but anything else would be bad for you. Both our lives hang in the balance if you don't need my warning and besides who'll volunteer to be the Commander's slave if you're gone?"
Clarke ignored the jibe and said,"Acclimatising process? Is that what I saw when I used Insight on myself?"
Darah nodded and said,"Yes and it really should have been done a while ago, but you hardly ever rested. Your body should have collapsed days ago from the sheer strain you've been putting it through. You're lucky to be alive that stem cell regeneration capability you stole was able to mitigate the worst of it. "
Clarke raised a brow and said,"Stem cell regeneration?"
Darah nodded and said,"Yes, as you know the Novus improves the capabilities of any power you happen to steal and as you know accelerated healing would be pretty terrible if the chance for imperfections were as prevalent as they are in how humans normally heal. Your cells aren't splitting whenever you injure a part of your body. They're regenerating and the same goes for your tendency to heal other people."
"That's...great,"admitted Clarke as she realised just why her healing was better than those of the Grounders if Tris was to be believed anyways.
Clarke began to fade away and Darah didn't look surprised as she said,"Well Clarke, this was rather enlightening. I only have one piece of advice for you."
Clarke's body had almost fully disappeared, but she still heard Diana's words clearly.
"Sometimes, the devil you know is better than the devil you don't know. "
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White.
That was the first thing Clarke noticed about the room she was in. She looked around and saw that she was in a medical frock. Her skin felt faintly irritated and Clarke could smell the distinct scent of disinfectant soap coming off of her.
A blinking light in the corner drew her attention and she was surprised to see a camera in the corner of the room. Clarke felt her hackles rise as she recalled the last events before she had fallen unconscious.
The reapers' skeletons surrounding her in the burnt down remains of the camp. Octavia and Raven and all the other delinquents looking horrified at the sight of her...The pieces of the Ark coming down and then Anya's horrified look as she said just one word.
Maunon.
Mountain Men.
There was only one significant mountain in the area around the dropship and so Clarke deduced that she was probably inside Mount Weather. The place they were already supposed to have made their way towards once they had landed if it hadn't been for Mason smashing the monitor inside the dropship.
The sheer horror in Anya's eyes, of all people, let Clarke know that she and all the delinquents were in danger. Clarke rose from her feet and she looked through the window of the door.
The room opposite her was empty and Clarke felt frustration and anger boil inside her. Clarke was about to kick the door off it's hinges, but she hesitated as she remembered Darah's warning. Clarke instead looked up at the camera and shouted,"I know you can hear me. I swear if any of my friends are hurt, I'll –"
Clarke was cut off by the sound of her door opening and she was surprised to see an old man enter the room. It might have been the lighting of the room, but the man seemed to have a rather pale and unhealthy skin tone.
"Hello, Clarke,"said the man with a small smile on his face,"My name is Dante Wallace and I am the President of Mount Weather. "
"How do you know my name?"questioned Clarke as she felt her danger senses ticking.
"Your friends told me," said Dante before adding,"I believe their names were Jasper and Miller. They were rather relieved to hear that you were fine. Don't worry they're all safe. You're safe."
"How long have I been unconscious?"said Clarke as she noted the heavy feeling in her limbs for the first time.
"It has been a day and half since we retrieved you from your camp, but we can talk more about that later,"said Dante before he called for someone outside the room,"Maya, please bring in some clothes for Clarke. You must be feeling rather uncomfortable in that. We'll give you some privacy to change and then we can go have a meal. You must be famished."
A girl around Clarke's age entered the room and she was pushing a miniature wardrobe in. She had black hair and also had the characteristic pallid skin that Dante also had.
Maya smiled at Clarke before she followed Dante out the room. Clarke picked out a pair of blue jeans, a pink shirt and a light blue tracksuit top. She put on a pair of sneakers along with socks and soon she was ready to go.
Clarke spotted a pair of stilettos and she felt tempted to break off the heel, but at the last moment she remembered that she was under surveillance. She closed the wardrobe doors and made her way to the door.
She pushed on it and wasn't surprised to see that it opened now. She saw that Maya was waiting for her and the girl spoke up saying,"I'm here to lead you to lunch. All your friends and President Wallace are waiting for you."
Clarke eyed the other girl, but said nothing as she followed her to a lift. The elevator ride was rather tense and despite still having many questions Clarke kept quiet as she waited for the elevator to finally finish it's trip.
The elevator finally stopped at the correct floor and Clarke followed Maya towards the sounds of laughter and clinking cutlery. Clarke turned the corner and she was surprised to see her fellow delinquents seated at the various tables.
A quick headcount showed that everyone that had been there when the gas canisters had gone off were here and so were Jasper and Monty who had been presumed dead or at the very least caught by the reapers.
A gasp drew Clarke's attention and she turned to the source of the to see Monty looking at her with surprise written all over his face. The boy rose from his feet and ran up to Clarke before sweeping her into a crushing hug.
"Clarke!"said Monty as he lifted her up,"You're alright. I haven't seen you since you left with Finn and Raven. Where's Finn and Bellamy? Maya said that the patrol hadn't pulled anyone in with that name."
Clarke sighed and said,"They wouldn't have. Finn is still with Anya's people and I sent Bellamy after the people that ran away from camp."
"Wait,"said Octavia and Clarke was surprised to note that the girl and a few others had moved closer while she was speaking with Monty.
"You're the reason Bellamy died?"questioned Octavia with more than a touch of anger as she looked angrily at Clarke.
"Bellamy's what?"said Clarke as she felt dread and denial well up inside her,"There's no way he's dead. No reapers had followed him after I sent him in the woods and I know I killed all of the ones in the camp."
Octavia's voice rose as she said,"Well, you must have missed some. Those monsters killed him. The other delinquents were all there in those monsters nest except for Finn. They hadn't seen anyone matching his description yet. He'll probably pop up dead sooner or later. You did leave him with the enemy after all."
Clarke felt as if her chest was closing in as she listened to Octavia's onslaught. The fear that Octavia's face had shown back at the dropship was gone and was replaced with pure anger. Clarke knew that she should have sent Bellamy inside the dropship, but she couldn't leave the escapees without anyone to protect them.
"The Grounders aren't our enemies. Anya and I made a deal and if Bellamy's dead,"said Clarke emphatically as she stared at Octavia, "It's not my fault. I sent him away knowing he could handle himself and we would go look for him. I didn't expect for all of us to get gassed and when I tried to fight the gas, I got shot with a tranquilising dart and ended up abducted to some bunker inside a mountain. "
"Well, well, well, Princess,"said a vaguely familiar voice that practically dripped with sarcasm,"You getting cozy with those savages. I don't know or care whether it's your fault or not, but what I do know it that he's dead."
Clarke turned to the voice and she was surprised to see Murphy in better health than she had ever seen him in. The others– all seemed surprised at his sudden appearance and Clarke voiced her disbelief as she looked at a person she had thought long dead.
"Murphy?"said Clarke as she eyed the beige uniform he was wearing,"What are you doing here?"
"Well,"said Murphy sardonically,"After you guys framed me for murder, tried to hang me and then exiled me for beating up the person who tried to kill me, I wandered the forests for a bit and I got attacked by the fucking Grounders and they kept me in some shitty outhouse where they tortured me for three days before knocking me out."
The looks of horror on the delinquents and surrounding citizens' faces either didn't register or matter to Murphy as he said, "Yeah, they were really welcoming especially that Anya lady. Ripping off my finger nails. Cutting me with a knife, constant whipping and my personal favourite getting hung by my arms from a tree. Anyways, after they knocked me out and I found myself laying outside the doors to here. Apparently, I was being used as bait to lure the guards in here out, but that didn't work out since there was a cell of reapers that attacked and in the confusion, I got taken inside here."
Clarke – along with the other delinquents – were horrified to hear what had to Murphy supposedly under the orders of Anya. It was only now that Clarke could see the faded bruises and scars that littered Murphy's arms and face. She imagined they must have continued beneath his uniform. The uniform in itself raised even more questions.
"You're a guard?"said Miller as if he read the mind of Clarke,"Why the hell would they want you as a guard?"
Murphy smiled wryly and said,"In case you forgot, we all got shots from the Ark. I don't want to get into it too much ,but let's just say that we all have our skills and leave it at that."
Clarke's brow furrowed at that and she realised that in all the time she's been awake not once did the Mountain Men ever mention anything about their powers. If they were at war with the reapers and Grounders then they would definitely know about the powers and considering the fact that they knew about Murphy's powers then well–
"To answer your question, "said Murphy and Clarke made eye contact with him for the first time ,"Bellamy's dead. I was sent out to help with the reapers that were still lingering and trust me I'd recognise that face anywhere. He put up a decent fight, but it didn't last. It's a shame he would have probably been safer in the camp, but you're pretty comfortable sending people out of it. We found another camp and they were all killed by Reapers too. I'm guessing you had something to do with that?"
Clarke ignored the pang of guilt and instead focused on Octavia. The girl was glaring at Clarke and there was a blend of anger, grief and pain in the girl's eyes.
"Look Octavia, "said Clarke in a placating manner, "I doubt Bellamy's dead. Murphy must have been mistaken or something. There's something off about this place and we need to get out of here and look for the survivors from the Ark."
"Why should we?"said Octavia and it seemed as though Clarke's comforting words had done nothing to curb the girl's anger,"They sent us down here to die. We were all going to get floated once we turned 18 and now we should go look for whoever survived that crash? I hope the Reapers and Grounders kill whoever made it out alive if anyone. That's what they deserve."
Clarke's hand clenched into a fist at Octavia's cruel words and despite knowing that the girl was projecting her anger and grief at Bellamy's supposed death onto everyone else that didn't excuse the things she was saying. She sounded a lot more like Mbege or Murphy rather than the smart girl she actually was.
"That's not who we are,"said Clarke calmly to the younger girl,"We're not monsters. They're innocent people on the Ark and they had nothing to do with us getting sent down here. Coming down to Earth was a chance for us to be better and do better. They can't survive Reaper attacks or clashes with the Grounders for long. We need to get them inside here as soon as we can or they'll all die."
Her words only seemed to affect the more level-headed delinquents like Monty and Miller and so it was easy for Clarke to see that the delinquents weren't buying into what she was saying especially as Octavia spoke up just as Clarke decided to walk away from Murphy and everyone to get some food and clear her thoughts.
"You know if you hadn't killed all those Reapers maybe that speech would have had more impact. "
Clarke had grabbed onto a glass to pour juice in, but Octavia's words struck chord deep within Clarke and she crushed the entire glass in her left hand.
The shards dug deep into her hand and the pain she felt radiating through her body made her remember Darah's warning about using her powers. So once, dark red, almost crimson, blood began to ooze from the various cuts that Clarke had inflicted on herself ,she had to consciously stop her healing powers from activating as Maya rushed to her side in a hurry from the opposite end of the dining hall as she moved through the crowd that had gathered at the argument.
"Oh my gosh,"said Maya as she took in the shredded form of Clarke's hand,"We need to get you to Medical. Keep pressure right at your wrist to–"
"Slow the bleeding,"said Clarke as she did as instructed and she walked through the crowd of delinquents that had gathered during her and Octavia's argument as she heard Maya speak into a radio she had.
There were looks of disgust and concern as they took in the state of Clarke's hand, but Clarke ignored them all.
"You good, Clarke?"said another voice and Clarke was greeted by the sight of Raven who looked just as clean as the other delinquents and was decked out in new clothes as well.
However, when Clarke looked at Raven , the mechanic had flinched back just slightly. It must have been no more than an inch at the absolute most and yet it drove a spike straight through Clarke's heart.
"I'm fine,"said Clarke brusquely.
Clarke was guided into a wheelchair with an IV attached by two nurses who must have been summoned from Medical by Maya. She ignored the looks she was being sent by the delinquents as the IV was hooked up to her and zoned out because Darah's words were ringing in her head.
"Hatred and scorn will be the only payment we will receive for saving everyone.
"
At the time, Clarke had thought the woman to be jaded and wrong, but maybe Clarke had been the one who was wrong.
Perhaps, she would fade into the shadows now that all of her work was done. It's not like anyone would miss her.
Maya had caught up to Clarke and she began to speak,"Hey, we have to knock you out for the surgery we'll do on your hand. Those shards are in there pretty deep so it might take a while."
Clarke nodded slowly as she began to feel drowsy from the blood loss. As she was falling unconscious she listened a conversation between the two nurses and Maya.
"Her blood is getting everywhere. We may need to hook her up for a transfusion. "
"Yeah, she's definitely nicked a couple of veins and maybe even an artery. Maya, why don't you go pick out our donor. Prep one of the universal donors. President Wallace and Lorelei would grill us if we let something happen to her."
"This girl must be made of stern stuff. I'd be in absolute agony if I were her, but there's just one tear leaking from her eye. Talk about hardcore."
A slap and a laugh was the last thing Clarke heard before she fell unconscious yet again for what was the third time in two days.
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Gravity sucked.
That had been Abby's first thought as she had climbed out the wreckage of Alpha Station. The thrusters that kept the Ark spinning, thus providing a gravitational field for those inside the Ark were obviously not strong enough to mimic the exact gravitational conditions on Earth and so Abby felt as if some giant hand was pressing down on her just enough to feel discomfort.
The communications on the Ark had been fried beyond repair and the status of the 100 and the Exodus ship were completely unknown. The pessimist within Abby had feared the worst and that the 100 had been wiped out by Diana and her people.
Her more optimistic side, on the other hand,had told her that she had nothing to worry about and that all would befine and well with Clarke, Raven and the delinquents once they got to Earth.
If only that side of her hadn't been ruthlessly crushed by the young man in front of her.
"What do you mean they're gone?"questioned Kane as he looked at the tired and haggard forms of Bellamy Blake and Finn Collins.
The Chancellor's pin was gleaming on Kane's shirt and the sight if it sent mixed emotions through Abby. On the one hand, Thelonious had floated Jake despite Abby practically pleading for him to save her husband.
On the other hand, Thelonious had not only given Clarke the best chance of survival with the Novus serum, but he had also exposed the dark history of the Ark and had stayed behind to disengage the 12 stations from the Go-Sci ring.
She knew, though, that the position of Chancellor had taken it's toll on Jaha. He had gone from the fun-loving and cheery man who would watch soccer with Jake, Clarke and Wells to the stern and strict man he was now. Especially after his wife had died of an unexpected disease that had rapidly reduced her brain activity to that of a vegetative state.
Despite popular belief, the medical rationing applied to everyone and Thelonious had been forced to pull the plug on his wife so that she wouldn't drain any more resources. It had happened not even a month after Thelonious had become Chancellor and though he still kept contact with Jake and Abby – it went without saying that the event had changed him.
This was before the stress and strain of being Chancellor of a dying ship had taken its toll on Jaha and perhaps the final nail in the coffin had been Wells forcing his father to send him down as one of the prisoners and then never even getting the chance to speak with him once Raven had established contact with the Ark because his son had been murdered in some twisted revenge plot by a girl whose parents had been floated by Jaha and the girl herself had been sentenced to the Sky Box by Jaha.
She could see why he would want his last act as Chancellor to be a good one. That position had warped Thelonious into a different person and Abby was certain that Thelonious would have never taken the position in the past of he knew what it would cost him.
"I don't know what's so hard to believe, "snapped Bellamy as the irritation that had been bubbling beneath the surface finally broke free,"Some of the delinquents separated from our camp and during the meeting Clarke was having with one of the leaders of the Grounders. The Grounders didn't want anything to do with is after that and basically declared war on us. "
"This leader's name was Anya?"asked Kane as he tried to inculcate the whole story. They had been over this already, but Kane wanted to make sure he knew absolutely every detail before deciding on a course of action.
"Yes,"said Finn in place of Bellamy,"Clarke, Raven and I were trying to find her so we could come to a compromise. Clarke and Bellamy came up with the idea of selling out the delinquents that had been responsible for the attack at the bridge so that the Grounders could exact justice and we could reach an understanding. "
Bellamy had scoffed when he heard Finn talk about 'selling out' Mbege and Diggs and there was an undercurrent of annoyance in his voice as he said,"That sure is a nice way to talk about the guy who saved all the delinquents and you from that Tristan guy."
Finn seemed nonchalant by Bellamy's words and said,"I'm just saying it as it is. In a way, I could see why Mbege and his goons left. You and the Princess were always preaching about how this wasn't the Ark and we would do better down here and then you guys go and kill a bunch of Grounders. It's pure hypocrisy. "
Bellamy grabbed Finn by the scruff of his collar and slammed him against the wall.
"Blake,"said Kane as sternly as he could,"Stand down."
Bellamy ignored Kane and instead spoke to a now bewildered Finn,"Say that again. I dare you."
The table in the centre of the room moved up off the ground and was rising higher as the boys standoff continued.
"That's enough,"said Kane as he wrenched the two boys apart and the table fell to the ground with a loud bang,"Bellamy, you ignored a direct order from the Chancellor. That's one warning. Do it again and you'll have earned yourself 20 shock lashes. "
The two boys had calmed down after Kane's admonition. The three of them retook their seat and Abby decided to try and get the conversation back on track.
"Tell me, Finn. "said Abby in a questioning tone,"You, Raven and Clarke had gone for a meeting with Anya and after being attacked the three of you were separated with you being taken prisoner and according to Bellamy, Raven was brought not too far from the site of the dropship and you aren't sure where Clarke had been taken?"
Finn nodded at Abby to confirm that she was right so far and he waited for the inevitable question.
"So, how is it that Anya went from trying to kill you guys to helping you against those monsters? Is it possible that she and Clarke made an alliance?"asked Abby. She knew that for them to know for sure they would need to speak to Clarke or Anya.
"I don't know honestly,"said Finn before adding,"I guess Clarke and Anya may have reached an agreement, but if what that Tristan guy said to me and Bellamy is true then Anya isn't even in charge of the war anymore."
"This Tristan was acting under orders from the Commander?"said Kane with a thoughtful look and after he received two nods in answer to his question he continued on speaking to say,"Okay then. I'll fetch Tristan from lockup and he'll take me to speak to the Commander. If he was able to build a Coalition amongst 12 warring clans then he must be willing to negotiate with us."
"Are you crazy?"questioned Finn and he was undeterred by the stern gaze Finn had, "We need to find the other delinquents. For all we know, they're being held hostage by the Grounders and you want to negotiate with them? I say we take the fight to them. They respect strength. Let's show them we're not to be messed with."
"So much for hypocrisy, "mumbled Bellamy before he spoke louder,"I hate to admit it, but Finn is right. Lincoln said strength is what the Grounders respect above all else. Let's show them we can't be messed with. If Clarke and everyone are being held somewhere then I'm sure they'll find a way out. Clarke is smart and strong. I wouldn't bet in her being locked up for much longer."
They all conveniently ignored the possibility that she and the delinquents might be dead as it was better left unsaid.
Marcus still seemed unconvinced, but he eventually decided on a course of action as he unsnapped the Chancellor's pin from his shirt.
"We need to do better. This isn't the Ark and death shouldn't be something we should even consider,"said Kane with a serious expression,"However, we need to be prepared for any situation. Bellamy and Major Burns will be in charge of organising the Guard. The construction of the wall had been very quick thankfully so I'll need you to organise guard patrols and you need to get Sinclair to use the hydrazine to make grenades. They have a numbers advantage so we'll need to be able to take down more of them than they can of us."
Marcus then turned to Abby and held out the Chancellor's pin,"In case I don't return then I want you to be Chancellor, Abby. Everyone in this camp trusts you and between the two of us you're more popular than I am. The days ahead might be dark especially if I die and our people will need someone they can look up to."
"I don't like you going deep into their territory, but it's our only chance at this ending peacefully, "said Abby as she took the pin and attached it to her shirt.
"What about the delinquents?"spat Finn as he looked at the two adults,"Are we just going to abandon them? Wherever they are its because you guys and the mighty council thought we were expendable. Is this how we do better?"
Despite himself, Bellamy agreed with Finn. His sister was amongst those missing as well after all. As strong and smart as Clarke was, it had been four days since the attack on the dropship and they still hadn't found even a trace of where they could have gone. It's like they all just vanished into thin air.
Abby looked conflicted especially as she took in the furious expression on the two boys' faces ,but she kept silent as Marcus said,"We'll deal with the delinquents later. You said they were attacked by some other people that weren't like any of the Grounders you've. They might not be Trikru at all maybe they were those traitors that had attacked you guys when you first landed."
Bellamy shook his head and said,"They definitely weren't those traitors. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they were actually Trikru."
Abby looked intrigued and said,"What makes you think that?"
"Their tattoos, "said Bellamy, "The traitors had tattoos, but they were disfigured like someone had tried to burn them. Lincoln said people that were exiled from the Trikru had their tattoos burned of. Those freaks didn't all look the same probably from different clans, but I know for a fact that the tattoos of those who had them were not damaged in anyway. "
"That's enough,"said Kane as he stopped their train of thought,"We don't know anything for sure yet. Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."
"More stupid than trusting a Grounder that's actually brought an army here to kill us?"challenged Finn, but a disapproving look from Abby stopped any further arguments.
"That's what he said he would do, but his 'rangers ' aren't anywhere nearby according to our patrol. It's likely he would have first relieved Anya before summoning them,"said Kane undeterred as he stood up and took his shock baton and pistol off of the desk, "In any case, you're right. I'll go with Hudson and Tim as guards. Tou should also prioritise finding the Ark survivors. Alpha Station had the most people on it and we know for sure that Arrow and Hydra blew up, but the status of the other stations are unknown. Mecha Station is likely to have survived and it's the biggest that came down beside Alpha Station and Farm Station. Get Kyle Wick on establishing contact with the other survivors. We need to find them before the Grounders do. We already had an encounter in the woods earlier today, but whoever it was retreated after we connected with a shot."
There were no more disagreements and Kane made to leave, but before he did he turned to them all and said,"May we meet again."
The greeting was echoed by the other occupants of the room and so Kane left the room and made his way over to where he knew he'd find his quarry.
Tristan hadn't moved since he'd been restrained and thrown into the airlock. Bellamy had found him dragging a bunch of delinquents ,including Finn , that were tied together by a rope. Bellamy had apparently slammed him into the ground hard enough to knock him out and had used the rope that was on the delinquents to tie him up.
Luckily, Hudson and Tim were both there guarding him and Kane spoke drawing all three of the men's attention, "Open the airlock. "
"Sir?"questioned Hudsonas he looked at Kane in confusion, but he began to press the buttons that would open the doors of the airlock.
A hissing noise echoed out and Tristan looked intrigued almost as Kane stepped through the doors and pulled out the gag in his mouth.
Marcus stood tall and looked down at the man and said,"Take me to the Commander."
"Or what?"said Tristan with a smile plastered on his face.
Marcus withdrew his pistol and turned off the safety before pointing it at Tristan. Hudson and Tim behind him also took out their rifles and were pointing them at Tristan as they surrounded their prisoner.
"Or you die,"answered Kane.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"This is stupid, Finn,"said Bellamy as the two boys made their way around the fence,"Bullets aren't going to help you much against the Grounders and them not being able to touch you can only go so far."
Finn had a pack on his back and it made a slight clinking noise as the magazines for the rifle he had bounced around. He also had enough rations for at least a week(two if he pushed it) and that would hopefully be enough.
"We've been over this,"said Finn, "One of us has to go and Kane definitely won't let the one with useful powers go so it has to be me. I'm the one who is best at tracking between the two of us so I should be able to find stuff where you couldn't. "
"I still don't have to like it,"muttered Bellamy as his thoughts turned to the delinquents. He suspected they were alive and although a large part of him was worrying about how Octavia was doing there was a larger part that told him his sister could take care of herself. She was a far cry from the girl that lived beneath the floor.
Finn just waved him off and they approached a section of the electric fence where they were secluded. Wick had been on board with the plan having known Raven and Finn from the Ark and so he was going to shut down the electric fence for 30 seconds once he gave the signal.
As if on cue, static flares on Bellamy's radio in four successive beats before the radio went silent.
"Okay, Finn. You might be an ass, but I don't want you to die. Your job is reconnaissance, not combat. If things go south, get of there,"said Bellamy before he grabbed onto other the boy's shoulder,"Go get them back."
The radio flared to life again signifying that their 30 seconds was almost up and Finn scrambled through the fence before giving a nod at Bellamy and leaving.
Bellamy watched as the boy ran into the surrounding woods and despite himself he couldn't help, but feel dread well up inside as he watched the boy make into the woods.
The boy had been off ever since Bellamy had found him being held captive by Tristan and Bellamy wasn't sure of what it was that had caused the change, but whatever it was could not have been good.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"President Wallace, I have to conduct more... There wasn't much I was able to do with the amount I was given and yet the results were astounding! Her blood shows an amazing ability to... We should take the chance to..."
"Absolutely not, Lorelei... we've already reached a compromise on what to with the ... and we've... volunteers willing to...We need to integrate her into our people naturally and not alienate her. It is far too risky to do anything else. "
Clarke's mind began to stir as she felt the last vestiges of sleep leave her body. She woke up to find her hand wrapped in thick bandages that prevented movementand she could feel the sutures and stitches that were sown into her skin.
The conversation Dante was having with a was lady with a deep caramel complexion drew her attention once she was fully awake. She was dressed as doctor with her pristine white coat on and she seemed to be rather put off by whatever it was she and Dante were discussing.
Clarke sat up fully and saw she was now dressed in a medical frock, but to her relief she saw a folded up pile of clothes on the bed adjacent to her. It was different from the previous set she was wearing which were probably pretty saturated in her blood.
Her movement seemed to have drawn the attention of Dante and the doctor as they both looked at her bed when they heard the sounds of the sheets shifting.
"Ah, Clarke,"said Dante as he smiled warmly at her,"I heard there was a mishap of sorts and I'm glad to see you're okay. This is Dr Lorelei Tsing and she is the head of Medicine here at Mount Weather and if there's any further more accidents that you may encounter she's the woman you need to go to. "
The woman held out her right hand to Clarke and Clarke shook it with her non dominant right hand.
"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Clarke,"said Dr Tsing as she eyed Clarke. The look in her eye unsettled Clarke and it was one of extreme curiosity as if Clarke was an anomaly. The scrutinising look made Clarke feel as though she were a lab rat being examined.
She didn't like it.
"Likewise,"forced Clarke and she practically wrenched her hand from the woman's grip,"How long was I out?"
"One day,"said Dante as he took control over the conversation, "The glass shards had nicked an artery and you had lost a lot of blood, but we were able to give you some of our O-negative blood supply to compensate for your loss. I'm sure you must be famished. A nurse will bring you food from the dining hall and afterwards you can change and meet me in my office so I can give you an orientation of sorts on what is expected of you and your peers."
Dante graced her with a smile before turning and leaving and Dr Tsing too followed suit with a disarming smile of her own, but again it was the older woman's gaze made her feel like a specimen under a microscope.
It was perhaps five minutes later that Maya walked in with a tray of food and even from where she was Clarke could smell the heavenly odour of the food. There was a bevy of fruits, grains and meats and for the first time Clarke felt just how hungry she was as she hadn't eaten since venturing out with Raven and Finn to find Anya.
Maya smiled at her and was about to leave the room, but Clarke spoke up saying,"Thank you. For this and for getting me here on time. I don't usually get that angry, but it's a just what Octavia and Murphy said pushed me to the edge."
Maya looked surprised at and said, "That's okay. I was just doing my job. You really damaged your hand there. From your frame and muscle size, you shouldn't have been able to break the glass the way you did. Your powers, they...excuse me, but I need to go."
Maya trailed off and jerked back violently at the end of her response as if she were about to say something that wasn't meant for Clarke's ears. It piqued Clarke's curiosity and she called after Maya just as the girl began to leave.
"Maya, please wait. What about my powers?"said Clarke as she looked into the eyes of the other girl,"Why can't you speak about my powers?"
Maya looked troubled, but she eventually decided to stay and said,"Dr Tsing and President Wallace, they know you're different. I've heard rumours from the patrollers and John that you control some blue energy and move at high speeds and apparently you created a massive fireball from nothing."
Clarke wasn't entirely surprised that the residents of Mount Weather had found out about her powers, but she was inside of just how much they knew. The thing that put her off, though, was the curious and amazed glint in Maya's eyes. It wasn't as cold and calculating as Dr Tsing's gaze. No, Maya's gaze was that of almost childlike wonderment and curiosity as if she didn't quite believe what she was being told.
It made Clarke wonder why she was so amazed. Surely, the residents of Mount Weather must know about the Darwin nanobots especially after Project Everyman had essentially been designed to bestow powers on everyone.
Project Everyman was a governmental project and Clarke knew that Mount Weather was obviously also under the ownership of the American government. Did the Mountain Men have some genetic defect that prevented the powers gifted by the Darwin nanobots from manifesting ? If so then it would make sense why they stay sequestered in the Mountain and didn't try to push for more land around the Mountain.
Their guns and weapons were all well and good, but Clarke knew that if say for instance Octavia hadn't been blindsided like the rest of them then it would have been a hassle for even 20 of the Mountain Men to put her down given how sturdy her amour was.
A flash of inspiration ran through Clarke's mind and she quickly looked at Maya who thankfully didn't seem to mind Clarke spacing out on her all that much.
Clarke instead looked at Maya and said,"I guess you can say I'm different. All of those things are true by the way. I did do all of those stuff."
Maya's eyes flashed in amazement, but before she could post more questions Clarke said kindly,"Wait Maya, I'm sorry to cut you off, but I need to eat this and change before meeting with Dante. I'd really appreciate it if you stayed."
"Sure,"said Maya,"I'm on a break now."
Maya's easy acceptance almost made Clarke feel guilty for what she had in mind.
Almost.
They remained in a mostly comfortable silence and once Clarke was done eating she placed the tray on the side table beside her.
Maya moved to help Clarke out of bed and Clarke accepted it despite feeling as if she could stand on her own without any assistance. The nurse let go once she felt Clarke was capable of standing on her own and thankfully gave Clarke the privacy she needed to change.
A pair of jeans, a grey shirt and a black hoodie were to be her clothing of choice as well as a pair of underwear and a bra. Luckily, everything was in the right size and the clothes felt comfortable on her body and Clarke grabbed the trainers and socks off of the floor before she sat down on the bed to put them on.
Maya had turned around at the sound of the bed creaking and she grabbed the medical frock Clarke was wearing before pushing it down a chute in the wall.
Maya looked at Clarke and said,"Let's go, President Wallace has probably been expecting you for a while."
Clarke didn't really respond, but she followed after Maya as the girl guided her out of Medical. They walked towards the elevator and Clarke followed after Maya as the girl pressed a button and the elevator began to move towards it's destination.
Finally, the elevator stopped and Clarke followed after Maya as she began to walk down a winding path of corridors. Clarke knew that she was running out of time for her plan.
Clarke knew that she had to leave it to the lat minute and once they'd made one last turn, they were outside the office of Dante. The wooden door was closed and there was a large eagle in flight emblazoned on the wall. There was a plaque that said Commander-in-chief below that in uppercase letters.
"If his door is closed at this time then President Wallace is probably in a meeting at the moment so we should sit here and wait while he wraps up his meeting,"said Maya as she gestured towards the chairs in the corridor that were lined up opposite the door.
Clarke knew now was the time to act so she turned towards Maya and gave her a hug saying,"Thank you so much for everything, Maya. It's been hard to adjust, but you've made it bearable. I feel so...alone..."
Maya was shell shocked to say the least and she did practically nothing as Clarke hugged her tightly. In the end, she decided to return the hug and said,"You know what? I know this cool place that I think you'll like. I've already taken Jasper there and he said you would like what was there. How's that sound?"
Clarke slowly stepped away from Maya. Tears were streaming down her eyes and she said,"I'm sorry. It's just been a lot. Bellamy's death and the reapers and just everything."
Maya looked like she was going to console Clarke, but she stopped when Clarke said,"It's fine I can wait out here by myself. I just need some time to think and process everything on my own before I go inside for my meeting. Haven't had much time to do that."
Maya nodded sympathetically and she gave Clarke a small hug before stepping around the other girl and walking away from the office. Clarke sat down on one of the chairs in the corridor and she allowed the tears to fall until Maya finally turned the corner.
Immediately, Clarke's face changed from one of sadness to one of sheer confusion. The acclimatisation period appeared to be over and the tears that Clarke had pulled from her tears ducts using her water control were wiped away quickly.
Insight was an amazing gift. It gave her a clear understanding of the makeup of whatever she used it on. She had used it for the most part to check for the powers people had, but that was simply scratching the surface.
The Mountain Men had gotten the short straw when it came to evolution. That's what Insight had shown her while she had been hugging Maya. Maya's body couldn't process radiation at all and it wasn't a disease or anything. Her scan had shown her that Maya was perfectly healthy. This was probably a result of the Mountain Men presumably staying in the Mountain since the war.
This was why they hadn't expanded their territory. They couldn't leave the Mountain for fear of dying from exposure to the ambient radiation on Earth.
The other strange thing was that Maya had Nanobots in her system despite being amazed by the images of Clarke's own powers, but they were completely inert. It was almost as if they had been shut down completely from an external force similar to what the Ark had done after the Blight with gene editing machines.
That was what confused Clarke the most however. If they had access to gene editing methods, why haven't the Mountain Men used them to cure them of their extreme weakness to radiation. Surely they had a way to counteract such a debilitating condition.
The door to the office opened and Clarke's eyes were drawn to see Dante along with a young man with pale skin and brown man exit the room. Their conversation was cut short as Dante looked away from the other man and saw Clarke looking at him expectantly.
The other man had fallen silent too and he followed the gaze of Dante to see him looking at Clarke.
"Ah, Clarke,"said Dante before he gestured to the man next to him,"This is Cage, my son. Cage, this is–"
"Clarke Griffin, "said Cage as he held out his hand for Clarke to shake,"It's nice to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you."
Cage seemed like a very charming and articulate man. He smiled disarmingly and Clarke returned his smile as she reached out to shake his hand. His gaze held curiosity, but unlike Dr Tsing it didn't put Clarke on edge.
Quite the opposite actually. It actually reminded her more of Maya than anything.
The thought of Maya made Clarke remember what she had learned about the genetic makeup of the inhabitants of Mount Weather and she decided to use Insight on Cage. Her suspicions were confirmed as she detected the Mountain Men's weakness to radiation, but it also told her something else she didn't quite understand when she contrasted it to Maya.
Clarke let go and after Cage bade her and Dante farewell and she followed after Dante into his office. They were traces of something in Cage's system that somehow boosted the activity of the nanobots in him.
She hadn't had the time to detect how many or even what powers he had, but Clarke was certain that his powers, however many he may have, were active.
Clarke put those thoughts out of her mind as she sat down opposite Dante. The office had many paintings in it and they all drew her eye as she looked over the intricate sketches and paintings.
"We have quite the collection of paintings in Mount Weather, "said Dante after he allowed Clarke to admire the paintings, "Centuries ago, this facility had been built as a bunker for the president in case of war and also to protect various paintings in national museums. "
Clarke didn't say anything in response, but she had turned to Dante to indicate that she was giving him her full attention.
"This was just one of various bunkers across the USA that the president was meant to occupy,"said Dante as he looked around the office,"Unfortunately, the president and the vast majority of high-ranking government officials had not made it here on time. The people that are here today are a mix of the descendants of Mount Weather's staff at the time of the bombings and also those that were lucky enough to be let in."
It went unsaid that there were people who had been turned away from the Mountain.
Dante seemed to have noticed the look on Clarke's face as he said, "It was harsh of them, yes, however we weren't even sure if the resources we had were sufficient for those already inside Mount Weather. We only took in people that gave us a chance to survive. Engineers, mechanics, doctors... anything that would allow the human race to thrive even once the radiation dialled down."
Dante paused before he looked at a picture of a landscape,"That had been painted by my 5th grandmother. She had been President at the time when we had begun to suspect there were people who had survived the radiation. "
Clarke paid rapt attention as Dante continued the story of Mount Weather's past. There had been barely any mention of the Grounders and Clarke had been constantly fighting to remind herself to not ask about Anya. The fact that she had only seen delinquents and locals of Mount Weather didn't exactly ease her worries.
"She had thought that the ground had finally become habitable, "said Dante and he sighed before continuing on to say,"We were wrong. Ironically, the very same people who had been rejected by Mount Weather ended up developing immunity to the ambient radiation of the Earth now. The doors were opened and many of our people had died as our bodies had not adjusted to the radiation levels of the Earth thanks to us being sequestered in here."
Clarke could hear just a tiny bit of longing in Dante's voice and she couldn't blame him. On the Ark, almost everyone spoke of one day returning to Earth and she couldn't imagine how it must have felt to be on Earth yet be trapped in some cold, dank mountain for your entire life. It must have been maddening for the residents of Mount Weather.
"At the time, it had been rather close to a century since the war, but the immunes or surface dwellers had seemingly been warped by the collapse of society, "said Dante and this time there was a touch of disgust in his voice,"Sprawling tattoos, ritualistic scarring and endless fights. We had gone to them with our arms open ready to work together to restore order and civility to the lands, but they refused. They killed everyone who had been sent to the capitol of the nearest clan except for one. He had been sent back to tell us that we were at war with the surface dwellers and ever since then we haven't been able to resolve things."
"If that's so why should you risk your men to get us inside if you're at war with the Grounders?"questioned Clarke before she added,"As a matter of fact, we've been on the ground for weeks now. Why did you only get us then?"
Dante seemed to have expected the question and he said,"If it had been up to me, I would have gotten you guys in here as soon as we can. However, we first needed to do some research and it was only once John came into our hands that we began to plan for your retrieval. It is rather hard to coordinate a search and rescue in hostile land when everything – including the air– is trying to kill you."
It was a fair enough point to be honest. The logistics involved weren't simple, but even then there was still more questions she had.
"What happened to the second camp and the people from the Ark?"said Clarke and she saw a flash of something in Dante's eyes as he heard her question.
Dante sighed and he looked Clarke dead in the eye before saying,"They're dead. The second camp had unfortunately been close to the territory of the cannibals and they got involved in a three way battle with the clan nearest by and the reapers. There had only been reapers left and we had been forced to retreat from there. As for the Ark, we have sent out hourly distress signals across the various frequencies that Raven had said the Ark used. We've received no response so far and our patrols we sent out yesterday reported that the stations were obliterated upon landing. "
"You're lying,"said Clarke as she scanned the man for any signs of deceit. There were none whatsoever however and Dante appeared to be genuinely upset at the news.
"Those space stations were never designed for re-entry, Clarke. Some had exploded in midair. I wish I could tell you otherwise, but I'm afraid I can't do that,"said Dante, but his soothing words were rolling off of Clarke like water on oil.
First, Roma then Bellamy and the other delinquents and now everyone from the Ark. Whatever slim hope she had of her mom being alive were slowly being drained away. Diana had said she had been killed during the mutiny, but Clarke had held out hope just in case.
Clarke didn't even have a guarantee that her mom hadn't been on of the stations that had exploded in midair. She could have been on any one of those and Clarke might never know if she was truly dead or not.
"I'm sorry President Wallace, but I don't believe you. The Exodus ship had been in even worse state the majority of the Ark Stations and it's retrorockets and parachutes activated late,"said Clarke defiantly as her mind scrambled to make sense of everything, "There had still been survivors. Hell, Raven made it in a 200 year old pod just fine. Something as big as Alpha or Mecha Station should have been just fine. You're lying. There's no other explanation. "
The more Clarke spoke, the more it made sense. Surely, the Ark would have had just one survivor even in the worst of cases. Some of the stations had landed perfectly despite others having exploded. The landings were probably rough, but Clarke knew that some of the stations were strong enough to weather the blow they had been dealt. The problem was that if Dante was lying why would he lie about this? It was as if hr didn't want to let the Arkers into Mount Weather.
"Clarke,"said Dante patiently,"I understand that this is not an easy time for you with everything you've been through. You're all just children. Some of you may have been gifted with amazing powers, but that doesn't..."
It was then that Clarke realised what was going here. The inquisitive looks from Dr Tsing, Cage already knowing who she was, not to mention Dante personally seeing to her wellbeing despite being in charge of so many people and at war with the Grounders.
They wanted her.
It was only now that Clarke realised that they definitely knew more about the delinquents than she expected and it was for one simple reason.
Darah's journal.
They knew the delinquents had received shots of the nanobots and thanks to someone –probably Murphy– they knew Clarke had been given the Novus serum and now they also knew all of Clarke's capabilities which was why she had been given universal blood.
Clarke's mom had told her that the Arkers were all O-negative as it had something to do with the ability to filter out radiation better, but it was also the rarest blood type by a large margin. If Mount Weather were willing to pump gallons of O-negative blood into Clarke then it was clear they wanted her for something.
Dante had still been talking while Clarke had had her epiphany and so she decided to get right into the meat of things.
"What do you want from us?"
Dante looked surprised at being cutoff by Clarke. He clearly hadn't expected the huge shift in topic and he had to take a few seconds to calm himself, but Clarke was having none of it.
"You said it yourself, "pressed Clarke,"It was a massive waste of resources to go after the delinquents, but you still did anyways. You left us alone, but you began to plan when Murphy got in here. You've given us free food, shelter, clothes, but you haven't said what you want in return."
Dante had regained his cool as Clarke was in the process of losing her own cool. He could feel the temperature in his office rise ever so slightly and so he decided to appease Clarke.
"As I'm sure you have figured out,"began Dante as he reached into his deal's drawer and pulled out a very familiar book,"We have come into the possession of Darah Sydney's journal and despite us knowing virtually everything about the Duos serum we knew next to nothing about the Novus, but even in my wildest dreams could I not have expected this."
Clarke remained silent as she regarded the President of Mount Weather. His body language was as confident and calm as always, but it was in his eyes where she could find the excitement that had leaked into his voice.
"You can completely alter the genetic structure of anything. It's fitting, wouldn't you say?The last invention of Darah Sydney – the pioneer of genetic editing machines – is the best genetic editor that has ever been created,"said Dante as he placed the book down between them,"Some of the delinquents told us you had a way of gauging what powers one had and if they had the potential to activate any. In fact, Jasper said you had the ability to steal powers and take them for yourself. An amazing ability that accompanies the bevy of powers you already have at your disposal. "
Clarke felt vaguely annoyed that the delinquents and Jasper had spoken so freely about her powers to the Mountain Men, but it appeared as though she was the only one of her peers to be suspicious of their abductors. The looks and glances she had been given during her argument with Octavia and Murphy was proof enough if that.
"I know all of that already. I read the journal too, but I asked you a question, "said Clarke impatiently as she felt her anxiety rise at what Dante may want from her.
"Clarke, of the 390 residents of Mount Weather not one of us has had the chance to feel the ground beneath our feet or smell the scent of a rose or swim in a river,"said Dante wistfully, "I thought we would never get the chance to ever reclaim the surface, but then you fell into my hands. You can make my people immune to the radiation and that combined with the power of you and your peers and our sheer military power will force the Grounders to finally stop their endless battles and we can rebuild an actual society instead of the pitiful world we live in now."
Clarke was reeling from the sheer passion in Dante's voice as he explained the plan. She understood why he would want this. The Mountain was just as dreary as the Ark if not more so. At least on the Ark they had truly believed the Earth to be uninhabitable. The Mountain Men had been robbed of any chance of living on the Ground and had to barricade themselves in a dark Mountain.
It was understandable why they would want her to help her and she would probably do the same if the situation was reversed. Hell, she might have agreed if she wasn't so suspicious of them. Anya's absence was something to worry about. If they knew Anya was close to the Commander, they might be torturing her right now as Clarke sat in Dante's office.
She had made an alliance with Anya and it was Clarke's fault that she was now missing in action, but could she really abandon Anya to help the Mountain Men?
"I accept,"began Clarke and she saw elation rise and then just as quickly disappear on Dante's face as she added,"However, I want to join a patrol and see if they truly are no more survivors from the Ark."
Clarke wasn't actually sure if she was going to go through with helping the Mountain Men, but it was Dante's reaction to her demand that convinced to not go through with it. She recognised what flickered in his eyes right at that moment after being on the receiving end of the looks of the delinquents after the reaper attack .
Fear.
The Mountain Men were clearly hiding something from her and it had to do with the people from the Ark.
"I can't do that,"said Dante,"You're too valuable to risk on a patrol mission. If you were to die, the consequences would be catastrophic and I'd have no choice, but to remove the delinquents as I'm sure they would d have a problem if their great leader died."
A threat.
"You couldn't beat them,"said Clarke confidently and that was exactly how she felt,"Their powers are a lot more destructive than some guns."
Clarke was confident she had the high ground in negotiations which was why Dante's sardonic smile set her alarm bells ringing.
"You think we would let people we couldn't beat inside Mount Weather?"said Dante ominously and Clarke felt her trepidation rise as Dante responded to her boast.
"You will help us,"said Dante sternly,"Or all of the delinquents will be killed and trust me when I say their powers aren't something I need to be worried about should we have to fight."
"What are you talking about?"said Clarke as she rose to her feet.
"You know exactly what I'm saying,"said Dante and Clarke knew he was right.
The Mountain Men had a way to take away their powers.
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Earth Skills had been helpful.
That was one of the many thoughts swirling in Finn's head. They had been forced to attend thise stupid lectures, but Finn had been interested in tracking and despite only having book knowledge in it, it was enough for his task today.
For example, the four sets of footprints in the mud showed that there had been a party of people through here not long ago.
One of the sets of footprints were more close to each other as if there was something restricting the feet of whoever made the prints.
The past few days had been chaos. Taven dumping him, Trikru capturing him and then he woke up to find himself untied in the cabin and his power had been reactivated.
He had turned intangible and ran through the walls of the cabin before trying to make his way to the dropship. A large twister of fire had peaked above the treeline and he had gone towards it to see what it was.
Sadly, his body had given out on him and he hadn't made it to what he now knew was the dropship site and as he fell unconscious he saw various streaks of light and fire in the sky.
The Ark had come down.
He had been awoken by a familiar voice screaming and he had discovered newfound energy as he ran to the source of it only to find Tristan standing over the corpses of some of the delinquents.
Finn had barely been time to understand what was going on before he had once again been poisoned with that power cancellor. It had made him groggy and exhausted, but when he collapsed to the ground the tiredness left his body as he came face to face with a girl that was dead from a throat slash.
Tristan killed Fox.
Finn had been in a daze as he'd been dragged by Tristan and then eventually rescued by Bellamy. However, Bellamy had been accompanied by some guards from the Ark and so Tristan had been taken.
He hadn't told Bellamy that Tristan had killed Fox. He told no one, but that wasn't important anymore.
Finn adjusted the fully loaded rifle he was carrying as he traced the path he was sure Kane, Tristan and the Guards had taken that would take them to meet the Commander.
The delinquents didn't matter. Bellamy didn't matter. Raven didn't matter.
All that mattered was that justice would be served.
The Commander and Tristan were to blame for Fox's death. They took her away from Finn.
And so Finn was going to get his revenge on them or die trying.
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Hey guys
I tried to incorporate some more of the world and I quite like the way it all turned out.
I've been busy with university so this is a little late and had a bit of writers block about midway through, but I hope you enjoyed it.
As always, please PM me with your ideas and leave your reviews. They're basically my fuel to write quicker .
The 100 is drawing to a close and we have to wait for the next and sadly final season, but don't worry I might not compare to the actual thing, but at least you can read this while we wait for the next season to drop.
