I hope you enjoy this one, guys. It's a long one so I hope it makes up for the wait at least a little bit.
Song Rec: Dillon Francis – Anywhere
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Clarke wondered how she could have been so stupid.
Of course, the Mountain Men had a way to switch off the delinquents' powers. Why else would they allow everyone to roam freely throughout the Mountain without fearing what havoc the delinquents could wreak?
The Grounders themselves had their own way of shutting down powers with some sort of poison or plant so surely with the technological advances of the Mountain Men then they too had a way to affect the nanobots.
Whatever it was, though, Clarke was fairly sure that whatever the Mountain Men used to disrupt their powers might have something to do with why the nanobots within Maya were essentially dead.
Clarke couldn't be sure if whatever it was had been used on the delinquents or not, but even if it had Clarke knew that it didn't affect her own powers and that was all she needed to know.
"What's stopping me from killing you and everyone else in this mountain?"said Clarke as she finally broke the silence in the office. Clarke's anger was palpable and her eyes began to glow a dark blue.
There was a tense silence in the air and it stayed like that until Dante finally spoke,"So this is the power John was speaking about? I see why he had been rather terrified of it. Regardless, I'll make this simple Clarke. You may be strong, but right now your friends are under guard and if I don't give my men the all-clear they will all be shot. They're floors between you and them and yes you could make it on time to save some, but the ones you don't save? Their deaths would be on your hands and I'm sure the last thing you want is to be responsible for more of your peers' deaths."
Dante's rebuttal threw cold water over Clarke's anger and the light emanating from her eyes turned sky blue before vanishing entirely. Clarke stared at the man and said,"They're hostages, aren't they? You knew you couldn't shut my powers off when you read Darah's book, but that's where they come in."
Dante didn't even deny Clarke's accusations and nodded,"This facility is an installation of the USA military. It has had some of the world's best engineers and mechanics and some of the greatest technology ever made, but those nanobots have always been beyond our understanding even all these years later. We've discovered ways of shutting them off through various plants, technology and concoctions, but they were a heavy drain on our resources. Finally, a few years ago we stumbled upon something that changed everything. However when I had heard you had crushed tempered glass in your left hand, I knew that you weren't affected by the negator so I had to do what any leader would do. Ensure the safety of my people at any cost."
Clarke had to breathe slowly to control her anger and she eventually pushed it down though it was simmering just below the surface. Clarke looked at Dante and with a voice devoid of any emotion said,"If even one of my friends get hurt, I'll kill all of your people. No amount of guns or bullets will stop me from getting my revenge and that is a promise."
Dante didn't appear fazed by Clarke's threat and said,"Things don't need to go so far, Clarke. All we want is to escape this prison and finally return to the outside. No one in this bunker has felt the wind blowing through the air or the grass beneath our feet. You could make the dreams of everyone inside this mountain come true. "
Clarke felt anger spike within her and she glared at Dante as she said,"I don't owe anybody inside this mountain anything. I took care of the reapers on my own and we were about to get peace with the Grounders before you messed that up so don't think I care about whatever the hell you want for your people. We didn't want or need your help."
Dante looked perturbed by Clarke's harsh words, but before he could get a word in the girl spoke up again,"I'll heal your people depending on your answer to one question."
Clarke paused and when she saw that Dante was willing to negotiate she finally asked the question that had been at the back of her mind,"Where's Anya?"
"That is a discussion for another time, I'm afraid Clarke,"said Dante with finality in his voice and Clarke knew she wouldn't get the truth out of him yet,"I want you to think on my offer. I know you'll do the right thing to protect your people. "
Clarke glared at the man opposite her and she said,"What is best for my people? If I heal you then my people will definitely be enemies of the Grounders. They are way more of them than they are of you. There's no possible way for you to beat them all."
It was the truth. The Grounders had many times the amount of warriors than the Mountain Men did. Perhaps, the technology disparity between the two parties would be a factor, but due to the fact that the Grounders had powers that were capable of wreaking havoc then the Mountain Men's chances were grim at best even if Clarke gave them their freedom.
Dante, however, didn't seem to be worried as he said,"Clarke, you may think that the surface dwellers are powerful, but I can assure you that with you by our side then we can definitely wipe them all out. They would bow to our rule. The power of the Novus–"
Dante was cut off by a harsh laugh from Clarke. He looked at the girl and despite the laugh her face didn't show any signs of genuine amusement. The girl's eyes began to glow and they flickered between various shades of blue before returning to normal.
"You,"began Clarke as she tried to control her breathing,"You expect me to heal your people and then fight the very people I had just achieved an alliance with before you had abducted me and my friends who you're holding hostage so I can't retaliate? "
Clarke looked down to Dante's desk and her eyes caught the sight of Darah's journal. Dante noticed her gaze and he began to reach for the book, but there was a sudden blur before the book vanished and was now held in Clarke's hand.
Dante was about to reason with her, but the words died in his throat as flames burst into life on Clarke's hand. Darah's journal turned to ashes within seconds and Clarke deactivated the flames as she said,"I'll heal your people, but that's it. Furthermore, I'll only heal them once you let me go on one of the patrols for the survivors of the Ark."
Dante sighed and said,"There are no survivors at all. I've cancelled all patrols because the surface dwellers and cannibals seemed to have become more aggressive after you burnt 100 of those monsters to death. The surrounding areas have become impassable. I will not risk any of my men on this futile endeavor of yours. Your people are dead, Clarke. Once the fighting dies down then I can promise you that you'll be on the next patrol group, but until then I can't help you. In any case, I feel as though we have discussed quite enough for today. Perhaps we can reconvene tomorrow and try to reach a better agreement?"
Clarke knew that there was no room for negotiations at this time so she nodded and so she rose from her chair and swiftly exited the office all while thoughts of the Ark being dead kept swirling in her head.
This was the first time that Clarke had been given free reign of the Mountain and she relished the silence that came with it. She had barely had a minute to herself to orientate herself or come up with a plan of action and yet it seemed that unlike with the Grounders or reapers there was no way out of this one.
Clarke walked up to the elevator and she pressed on the button that she knew would take her to her destination. The elevator stopped and Clarke walked out as she began to survey the area for Maya.
With all that has been going on it only occurred to Clarke rather recently that she still wasn't sure where she was supposed to sleep. It was laughable really, but Clarke had spent all of her time sleeping in either quarantine or the medical wing so she didn't have much of a choice.
Clarke probably could try and ask one of the delinquents, but truthfully Clarke didn't feel like speaking to any of them at the moment. Her argument with Murphy and Octavia had really reduced her wish to speak with any of the delinquents.
Clarke turned a corner and she bumped into someone. Clarke had braced herself for impact and so she didn't even move back an inch, but the other person fell backwards onto the ground.
It was only when she got a proper look at the other person she realised it was Maya who was on the floor. Clarke felt somewhat guilty and she held out her hand to Maya who took it after she recognised who was standing in front of her.
"Sorry about that,"said Clarke apologetically as she helped the other girl to her feet,"I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings. "
Maya waved her off and said,"It's okay, I was the one running. Were you here for a check up or something? I promised a friend of mine we would meet up, but I can check you out and get those bandages off now if you would like? It's a little early, but I think it'll be okay."
Clarke shook her head and said "No, I was actually looking for you."
Maya looked puzzled, but she understood once Clarke said,"I don't know where I'm supposed to sleep. I would have asked one of my friends, but we're not exactly on the best of terms right now."
Maya nodded solemnly and said,"I understand. Well, the rest of your friends are in one of the dorm rooms we have and you were supposed to be there too, but President Wallace decided to put you in one of the few empty units we have. I guess that's for the best now considering..."
Maya hesitated to complete her sentence, but Clarke brushed it off as they began to leave the medical area and said,"Don't worry about it. You can say it. My friends hate me and think I'm a monster. It's not like our argument was behind closed doors or something. "
Maya seemed to relax after Clarke reassured her, but she then turned to the other girl and said,"Jasper told me about everything you did and you shouldn't be so on yourself. You did the best you could under the circumstances and no one can say anything else."
Clarke was grateful to hear these words even if it was from someone who Clarke barely knew. Clarke felt guilty about all that she had done–even killing the reapers. No one had the right to play God and decide who lived and who died and yet that had been a choice Clarke had been forced to make again and again.
It ate her up that she had warped into this current version of herself. Perhaps the Ark had always kept her from discovering her true self. It had been roughly 7 weeks since they had landed and yet Clarke wasn't even sure who she was anymore.
She had become a ruthless killer and the transition had been so quick and so seamless that Clarke wondered if this was who she was always meant to be. If so then she could and would bear it. The delinquents were her people and she would do all that she could to help them even if they scorned her and recoiled at the very sight of her.
It was in her nature to put others first. She had learned it from her parents who had jobs that helped the people of the Ark survive despite the misery and monotony of their surroundings. She would help them even when they didn't want anything to do with her. It was just who she was.
That didn't mean that she didn't feel lonely.
"Thank you,"said Clarke finally as she snapped out of her thoughts,"I really needed to hear that."
The girl smiled at her and the two made their way to an elevator. Maya pressed one of the buttons and the elevator whirred to life as it took them to their destination. It was a short trip and once the doors opened Clarke followed Maya as they walked past various doors and turned down various corners before finally coming to a corridor that had a door at the end of the passageway.
There were only two other doors in the passageway and both were on either side of the door at the end of the hallway.There was music emanating from the door at the end and Clarke was surprised to hear some voices she recognised.
"Turn that song up, Jasper!"said a voice despite slurring a lot was easily recognisable as Octavia's.
Clarke turned to Maya, but the girl shrugged and said somewhat embarrassedly,"Your friends may or may not have asked me to steal them some liquor."
Clarke didn't even have the energy to be mad at Maya and she turned to the door that they were in front of,"I'm guessing this is mine? "
Maya nodded and said,"Yes, this is the only unit we have available. I should have told you –"
"It's fine,"said Clarke dismissively, "How do I get in?"
Maya pulled out a key card and she held it out for Clarke to take. Clarke understood Maya's unspoken command and she pressed the card to the small black, panel that was next to the door.
The door opened with a whirl and the lights in the room lit up. The room was bigger than Clarke had expected and she was surprised to find herself standing in a furnished, adjoined living room and kitchen area. She saw there was another door and Clarke walked up to it and opened it to see a large bed dominating the centre of the room.
There was an en-suite bathroom that had a tub and shower and there was also a closet which upon further inspection was filled with various types of clothes and shoes.
"This is a lot,"said Clarke under her breath to no one in particular and so she was startled a bit as Maya said,"It's no less than you deserve, Clarke. President Wallace seems to hold you in high regard. This used to be his daughter's unit."
Clarke was stunned to hear that and she couldn't help, but ask,"What happened to his daughter?"
Maya looked pensive and said,"I'm sure you know of what the ambient radiation does to us? "
Clarke nodded and Maya continued to speak,"There had been a freak accident and the radiation scrubbers had stopped working on this floor. President Wallace's daughter had just barely survived the exposure, but she refused any treatments and she died. My mother died in the same accident."
"I'm sorry to hear that,"said Clarke and she truly was, after all she knew all too well the pain of losing a parent. She imagined for it to happen so suddenly and unexpectedly must have really hurt Maya. However, there was something that Maya had said that confused her.
"Hang on,"said Clarke as something Maya had said registered within her,"Why did Dante's daughter refuse treatments? Surely that would have saved her life?"
Maya looked extremely uncomfortable once that was brought up and she tried to leave, but as she turned away from Clarke and began to mutter apologies she was surprised to bump into Clarke. This time Clarke had caught her by the arm so she couldn't step away.
"Maya,"said Clarke coolly, "What's going on in this place? You guys basically kidnapped us and took us in. You work in medical. I bet you know that Dante is using my friends against me. You've got to help me. I can tell you're a good person, Maya. Please help me understand what this place is."
The music from the delinquents room was filtering through the room and it had caused Clarke to subconsciously raise her voice. Clarke was incessant in her interrogation of Maya and whether it was her words, tone or body language that convinced Maya Clarke wasn't sure, but she was extremely grateful.
"Okay, I'll tell you,"whispered Maya as she stared at Clarke and just as she opened her mouth to speak, Clarke was surprised to heat the whir of the door slamming and and a shrill alarm began to go off as a robotic voice began to repeat the same thing over and over again.
"Warning, Radiation leak in Sector 5F-A. Initiating lockdown and restrictment protocol."
It was when Maya let out a low murmur that Clarke realised where exactly Sector 5F-A was. Clarke turned to Maya and she was disgusted by what she saw.
Red burns and blisters had begun to spread their way across Maya's body and the girl almost fell to the ground, but Clarke managed to catch her on time.
Clarke ran towards the door with Maya in tow and she carefully tried to open the door with the card that was still in her possession. The card reader beeped before flashing red. Clarke sighed in frustration and she threw the card away and adjusted her grip on Maya before taking a step back to get some momentum.
However, just before she began her run up Maya spoke up and despite the pain she was in she was still coherent, "Don't kick t-the door. Radiation...spread through the Mountain."
Clarke felt trapped as she understood what Maya was telling her. Clarke either had to wait for help to come or she could kick the door down and take Maya to help. It was then that Clarke felt like kicking herself.
She ran back into the bed and she carefully placed Maya atop it. The girl's were lidded and her groans of pain were becoming progressively louder. Clarke placed both her hands onto Maya and said,"Its going to be fine, Maya. I won't let you die."
The girl barely seemed to hear Clarke's words, but she did grab onto Clarke's hand for just a moment before falling slack completely. Clarke felt a rush of adrenaline rush through her and she blotted out everything, but the girl who was dying right in front of her.
Clarke's right hand lit up in green light while her left hand stayed unlit. Clarke activated Insight and she saw that Maya was suffering from acute radiation exposure. Her immune system was shutting down and there wasn't much time.
Clarke placed her right hand onto Maya and the rate of damage to Maya's body began to slow until it reached a crawl, but it still wasn't enough. It was now that Clarke's left hand began to emit a white light.
Clarke had used this ability inadvertently when she had stolen Diana's powers and then erased her ability to ever manifest them again. It was another of the unique set of powers the Novus gave her and for once Clarke wasn't using it to hurt someone.
Clarke placed her left hand on Maya and the results were instant. The burns and blisters across Maya's body began to heal rapidly. It was maybe 20 seconds later when all the radiation burns were gone and Maya's skin had returned to it's normal tone as well a little more healthy than before.
The girl in question woke up suddenly as if she was waking from a nightmare and she began to scream and try to scramble to her feet ignoring Clarke's gentle words, but it was only when Clarke grabbed onto her shoulders firmly that she calmed down.
"Clarke?"said Maya as her eyes finally focused on the girl next to her "What's going on?"
Clarke was about to respond, but the incessant blaring of the alarm seemed to have only just registered within Maya as she turned towards the detectors on the ceiling before speaking panickedly as she tried to rise to her feet,"Clarke, the radiation it's–"
"Not a problem,"said Clarke before she pushed Maya back down with a little bit more force then was necessary.
It was then that Maya realised despite the room being filled with radiation, she was not in any sort of pain whatsoever. Her skin was devoid of the red burns that had littered her body only moments before and in fact it seemed to have a healthy glow instead of the usual pallid appearance she associated with all of Mountain's people.
"I healed you. Radiation won't ever be a problem for you ever again,"said Clarke and the look of happiness that came over Maya's face was enough to make her smile a little. The other girl hugged her tightly and began to mutter words of appreciation over and over.
The hug went on for longer than Clarke had anticipated and the alarm had was still going strong after 5 minutes of noise. Maya finally separated from Clarke and said,"You can cure us? Clarke, you've got to help us. This is amazing. The people here would kill for you to–"
"I can't do that, Maya,"said Clarke firmly and she ignored the shocked look of the other girl as she said,"Your people are holding mine hostage. I refuse to help them until my people's safety are guaranteed. You were just a once off. I wouldn't have let you die in front of me not while I could do something about it. Your people have managed so far and they'll be fine once I get out of here to look for survivors from the Ark."
Maya looked crestfallen at her harsh words and said,"Clarke, you don't understand. This life is hell. The things we've done to survive...There are those of who don't care about any of that, but there are those of us who feel as though this place has drained us our last shreds of humanity."
"What are you talking about?"said Clarke before remembering what they had been speaking about before the radiation leak,"Does it have something to do with the radiation?"
Maya yawned before she nodded solemnly and said,"I can't speak much here. I wasn't supposed to tell you this, but all the rooms are bugged. President Wallace and Cage can hear everything you and your friends are talking about. That's what these rooms were designed for."
Clarke was shocked at that revelation and said,"I need to get out of here. This place is just one big, fat lie. Is there anyway I can get out of here?"
Maya shook her head and said,"The command centre is under severe lockdown 24/7 and even if you tried to bust your way out there would be hundreds of people that would die from the radiation leak and you wouldn't be there to help them."
Clarke growled slowly feeling frustrated at the lack of good news. The alarm was still going string and despite it concealing their conversation it had begun to wear on her and she was about to punch the wall in sheer anger before Maya spoke up saying,"There is one way that I could help you."
Clarke looked at Maya questioning, but the alarm had shut off suddenly and there were sounds that echoed out from the corridor. Maya looked at the door in panic before leaning into Clarke's ear and whispering,"Come to medical at midnight. I'm on night duty so I'll be there all night. There's something you need to see."
Clarke was not given a chance to reply, however, as a bunch of men in hazmat suits burst through the door and they began to spread out through the unit before finally one of them spotted Maya and Clarke on the bed. He was holding a device in his hand that bleeped loudly and he said,"Ladies, I'll need you to get to the dining hall. This is standard procedure for when–Maya! Is that you?"
Maya nodded and said,"Yes, Officer Lovejoy. It's me."
Lovejoy seemed surprised and the other guards began to file in once they heard the commotion, "How is that possible? The radiation is through the roof in here. There was a delay within the alarm system and we only knew there was a leak in here about a minute ago. With this much radiation in the air you should have died? How are you alive?"
Maya had begun to squirm under the scrutiny of the guards so Clarke decided to speak up and she said,"I healed her. Also, the radiation leak happened ten minutes ago, not one."
One of the guards didn't seem to believe her and said,"There isn't any possible way you could have given her a treatment so soon and it would have worn off by now in any case."
The man who had said that was hit by one of the other guards and Clarke noticed there was a distinct change in the atmosphere of the room. The air was filled with tension and Clarke felt that there was a missing piece to the puzzle.
Clarke ignored the tension and her voice cut through the silence of the room,"My mistake, I didn't just heal her. I fixed her for lack of a better word. Maya isn't affected by the radiation because she can't be affected by it."
It seemed to take a few seconds for the penny to drop and Lovejoy spoke up again with awe practically dripping from his voice,"You got rid of our radiation weakness?"
Clarke nodded firmly and she was suddenly swarmed by the men and women as more and more requests wishing for the same thing gor them or their spouse or children began to rise up. Some were polite, others were decidedly less so as they grabbed onto Clarke's arms roughly to grab her attention tion, but they were all equally desperate and soon the various pleas turned into sheer, white noise until a gunshot pierced through the clamour.
"Enough,"said a voice with authority and the noise died down dramatically and Clarke turned to the doorway to see another man in a hazmat suit,"Please Ms Griffin and Ms Vie alone. They just went through a traumatic ordeal and the last thing they need is more stress. Back to your stations."
The other men and women seemed to cow under the reprimand from the man at the door and it was only once they all left that Clarke was able to read his name tag.
Emerson.
The man in question put his hand to his ear and Clarke saw the radio attached to it before he began to speak to it. He looked at the two of them before his eyes focused on Maya in particular. Finally, he finished up and said,"Maya, Lorelei wants to give you a check up and run a few tests and just make sure that everything is in order before she allows you to do your shifts tonight."
Maya nodded in thanks and she turned to Clarke and gave another hug before leaving the room and she walked around Emerson and closed the door behind and before long it was only Emerson and Clarke left in the room. The radiometer had been left in the room and the beeps began to become less and less frequent before dying down completely signifying that the radiation scrubbers were back online.
There were no words spoken before Emerson removed his mask and placed it on the table before he said,"I guess congratulations are in order for saving Maya. It must have been one scary ordeal or you."
Clarke raised a brow and she felt her muscles tense as she said,"What do you mean?"
Emerson smiled, but it was a warped thing that twisted the man's features as he said,"I've heard that in the old days, doctors were never allowed to operate on their friends and family because there was always the chance of them getting distracted or losing focus. It's amazing that you managed to save Maya, but I'm sure it would have been a different story entirely if it had been your friends from the Ark in danger."
Clarke felt anger rush through her and she felt a distinct sensation rise up within her. She threw her hand forwards and there was a flash of white that streaked across the room with deadly accuracy and despite her anger Clarke was surprised to see that she had thrown a dagger of ice with amazing accuracy at Emerson.
She hadn't intended to kill him only scare him and it seemed as though her aim had struck true as there was a line of blood that streaked across Emerson's cheek. The ice dagger burst apart into white dust and Clarke turned her eyes back onto Emerson and said,"If I find out that you were or Dante or Cage or Tsing were in any way responsible for this then the next time we meet that knife will go between your eyes."
Emerson looked far less sure of himself tha he had only moments before and he simply scoffed at Clarke before taking his mask and the radiometer with him as he left. Emerson hadn't bothered to shut the door which was why Raven was able to walk inside.
Clarke didn't quite feel like talking to any of the delinquents least of all Raven and Octavia. She thought they had her back, but once they had seen her outside the dropship they hadn't looked at her like she was Clarke, no, they looked at her as if she was some sort of monster and that had hurt more than anything.
On the Ark, she hadn't had any friends beside Wells really and she was glad that she had found people that were willing to accept her for who she was, but in the end they had just watched as she very nearly collapsed in front of them from sheer self-disgust and hatred.
She had killed over a 100 people within a matter of minutes. She had expected some form of support from Raven and Octavia, but they had stared at her as if she were a monster. Anya, of all people, had been the one to comfort her and she had approached Clarke even when her flame cloak was active.
Now, Anya was in all likelihood dead because Clarke had unknowingly lured the Commander's mentor into a trap that the Mountain Men had sprung on them. Clarke knew she would have her work cut for her trying to get peace with the Grounders if Anya actually was dead.
Clarke dispelled those thoughts and instead looked at Raven who still hadn't said anything and seemed quite nervous which was extremely uncharacteristic of her.
Finally, the Zero-G mechanic found her nerve and said,"I've heard about what you did. Rumours have already begun to spread through this place about how you cured them of their weakness to radiation. You're pretty much seen as a hero by them."
Clarke didn't feel as pleased by those words as she should have and she replied harshly to Raven,"Well, it's nice to know people are still grateful when people do stuff for them."
There was a slight flinch from Raven at the veiled insult, but she continued undeterred saying,"Look Clarke, I know the delinquents aren't your favourite people in the world right now, but we need you. The fight with the reapers had sent a lot of us the wrong way especially now that we're safe inside here. There's been a lot of booze flowing around and sex and whatever else people can do to distract themselves from that horrible fight."
Clarke seemed unaffected by this news as she said,"They need me? What would you guys want with a monster like me? I sacrificed so much for all of you. I've killed over and over to keep you guys safe and then when the reapers attacked I killed some more and what thanks do I get? I thought we were friends, Raven, but somehow as soon as I wake up it's my fault that Bellamy and everyone is dead because I sent them away. All of you seemed to forget that we weren't invited here. We got abducted. These guys must have surely known that we were here, but they only came after so many weeks? I'm sorry, but I'm done."
The words spilled from Clarke's mouth like poison, but she knew she had to distance herself from the delinquents if only to keep them safe. She couldn't risk the Mountain Men getting suspicious of any of them especially if she wasn't here to defend them. She needed to escape and get help from the Grounders.
Even if the Mountain Men could somehow shut down all their powers, Clarke still had her own powers and she'd be able to break into the Mountain and from there it would be only a matter of minutes before the Mountain fell.
"What do you mean you're done?"said Raven as she looked at Clarke,"I know you're hurt,Clarke, but they really need your help especially Octavia. With Bellamy gone–"
Raven was cut off by the sound of wood splintering and she was surprised to see that Clarke had split the wooden table in half with her fist alone. Her eyes were glowing a darker blue than Raven remembered and they were far more unsettling than the ice blue they usually were.
"If you knew I was hurt,"said Clarke agitatedly and this time her words held more truth than she was comfortable with admitting,"Why didn't any of you come to help me after the battle with the reapers? I can understand most of them not saying anything, but you Raven? I thought we were closer than that. Were you disgusted? Horrified? Scared? All of the above? I thought after everything that happened with Roma and Finn we were actually close , but now I know that's a lie. Don't even mention Octavia. She made it pretty clear that she wants nothing to do with me. If she wants to get drunk and fuck everything that moves that's her business. "
Tears had begun to drip from Clarke's eyes and Raven tried to move closer, but Clarke held up her hand as she fell back onto the couch and said,"Don't. Just don't. I need some space. Since this place is so great and awesome, I'm sure you guys won't miss me much anyways. I'm only there for when things gets tough, right?"
Raven shook her head angrily and said,"How the fuck can you say that, Griffin? The delinquents care about you. Octavia cares about you. I care for you too, Clarke. You helped me when I was at my lowest. If it wasn't for you, I could have gone the wrong way after what Finn did, but you were there for me. I know you're in pain Clarke. You blame yourself for everything bad that has happened, but none of this has been your fault."
The tears dripped freely from Clarke's eyes and her vision blurred as she just the tears fall. It was more cathartic than anything she had ever done and it truly felt as though the pain that was in her heart was slowly draining away.
A few minutes later, Clarke realised that Raven had pulled her into a hug and she had been clutching onto the other girl tightly. Unlike the last time they had been like this though, Clarke didn't pretend to be okay she just let it all out and she eventually passed out.
It was maybe a half hour later when Clarke finally woke up and she felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Her tears had long since dried up and she had just enjoyed the proximity of one of her best friends being there when she needed her most.
Raven ,who had also fallen asleep, seemed to notice Clarke waking up and she yawned before saying,"I hope you're feeling a lot better. It's almost time for dinner. I'll go bring us something to eat and then we can go to sleep."
"We? You're not sleeping in here, are you?"
Clarke smiled slightly and Raven smiled back as she said,"Yes, I am and for three reasons. First, those bunk beds suck and those guys have probably already stunk the place up with booze, vomit and who knows what else. Second, that bed just seems way too comfortable. "
"What's the third reason?"said Clarke as she felt amusement rise up in her for the first time since she had been in the Mountain.
"Third,"said Raven as she looked at Clarke and all traces of humour were gone,"Third, you're my friend, Clarke. You were right, I was being selfish earlier. You need someone to lean on too and it's not fair of us to expect you to always be strong. I'll be here if you need a shoulder to cry on or someone to speak to. I don't want anymore beef between us, we're way too awesome and mature for that."
Clarke smiled at Raven's attempt to add some levity to what she was saying and she looked at the other girl and with as much sincerity as she could manage said,"Tha m you, Raven. It means a lot."
The genius mechanic smiled back before leaving the room. Clarke was sad to see her go and she felt guilt well up inside her as she began to plan her escape even as she waited for Raven to return with food. Her technopathy had confirmed that there were listening devices in the wall, but she had managed to make them shut down before her talk with Raven had gotten too personal for other people's ears.
Clarke had tried to access the Mountain's control centre through her technopathy, but it had been a tall order. There were masses of firewalls that prevented her from gaining complete control of the Mountain, but she was able to manipulate smaller things like lights, speakers and yes microphones. She hadn't tried any of the doors that led outside, but she had a feeling that required her to be in full control of the Mountain for that to work.
Something she could probably only achieve from the inside of the control centre.
Clarke knew that ger technopath abilities were enough to conceal her movements from the camera when she was going to Maya, but she needed something else for when she was walking through the halls. The last thing she needed was for any of the Mountain Men to spot her just before her escape, it probably wouldn't end well.
There was a thud on the door and Clarke used her technopathy to open the door and Raven walked in with many plates of food balanced on a tray and despite it probably being too much Clarke didn't quite mind as she stood up to help Raven with the plates.
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Perhaps marching into the territory of the Grounders had not been the best of decisions in all honesty. They had reached a nearby village and had been welcomed by over 300 warriors.
Tristan had led them to his rangers and they had thrown him into some cell, but what he hadn't expected was to be in here with Thelonious of all people. The last time he had seen or even heard Jaha's voice was when he had hit the switch that had allowed the remaining Arkers to descend back to Earth.
He never expected to see the man alive ever again much less in these circumstances. Kane once again took a look at the knife that was in between the two of them.
It had been over 6 hours since they had been in there and been told that the only way peace could be had was if one of them killed the other in order to pay for the death of Anya who had been missing for just as long as the delinquents had been. Some girl ,barely older than the delinquents had been left inside with them, and Kane realised she was probably there to make sure one of them went through with.
Their chains were tight around their wrists and they had gotten progressively heavier and tighter as their limbs had begun to swell from having them on. Marcus knew that the Grounders were serious with their demands and he knew that eventually one of them would have to die soon.It was as the girl had said.
Blood must have blood.
Kane finally stood up and grabbed the knife. The room had descended into an uneasy silence and the two other occupants of the room were surprised by the sudden motion made by Kane.
Jaha looked surprised and he rose to his feet the chains rattling as he said,"Marcus, what are you doing?"
"What's right for our people,"said Kane as he looked at Thelonious, "What is one life compared to the hundreds of those that survived the landing? We're being selfish and you know it. I've seen you look at the knife too. You know that this can only end one way."
"Marcus, you're not thinking clearly. Do you really think these savages will honour their word? They have already killed some of the delinquents! Children! Then they have the nerve to say we owe them for the death of one general when they already killed our kids? I refuse to bow to their whims and you should too."
Jaha's speech was filled with vitriol and frustration as the impossibility of the situation weighed down on him. He had escaped death multiple times in the past weeks on the Ark, on his way down to Earth and in the Dead Zone as well.
His story would not end here.
"It's good that you don't have a choice in the matter,"said Kane with conviction before he took the knife and cut a large line vertically down his arm. The pain was immense and Kane even felt the knife drag across the bones in forearm, but he pushed through.
Immediately, Jaha ran to his side and said,"Come on, Marcus. You've got to push through it."
Marcus shook his head and said,"My time is over. You already made your sacrifice allow me to make mine."
The world around Kane began to fade to black and despite the attempts of Jaha to stem the wound as well as the other man's frantic attempts to enlist the help of the woman in the cell it was all for naught.
Blood has had blood.
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Kane woke up with a start. He looked around and he was surprised to find himself in a room that smelled of herbs. He looked around desperately in confusion before a vaguely familiar voice reached his ears.
"I see you are awake,"said the girl from the cell as she peered down at Kane. She appeared a lot different however. Gone were the rags that she had worn while they had been in the cell.
In their place was armour made of leather that metal plates in key places. There was a large pauldron upon her shoulder, but what drew his attention the most were the many weapons that were on prominent display on her person.
Her eyes were cold and detached and surrounded by a sea of black paint that wrapped around her eyes and rose to the crown of her head. The most interesting part of her warpaint, though, was the six stripes(three on each side) that ran down her cheeks. They almost looked like the claw marks of some savage beast. There was also a golden pendant that shone from its place on her forehead.
It was her change in demeanour from before that made him realise she was not simply a servant girl. The confidence and power radiating off of her could not be radiated from anyone else other than a leader.
A Commander, in fact.
"You must be the Commander, "said Kane as he straightened up and tried to school his features, "I am Marcus Kane. I'm the leader of–"
"The Sky People, "said the Commander as she looked at Kane,"Your people have drawn attention since they first landed in my territory. We have not reached an alliance or ceasefire so tell me Marcus of the Sky People. Why are you here?"
Kane almost winced at the harsh tone of the Commander, but he ignored the feeling of trepidation as he said,"I would to know what happened with the first of our people that we had sent down. Their camp was completely empty and burnt to ashes. I'm here to negotiate for their release and also for an alliance."
"We do not have your children, Marcus. "said the Commander before she added,"Tristan had gone to their camp and reported that there was no one there and it was burnt to ashes and there many skeletons surrounding the metal building. So while a battle did occur, I can assure you it was not my warriors who fought and took your children."
That was not all bad news decided Kane. The vast majority of the people that lived in these lands were under the rule of the Commander. If there hadn't been any attack from them then they were probably safe for the time being and hopefully the teams looking for the Ark survivors would be alright.
There was still the case of the missing children, however.
"Commander, as far as I know all of the clans are under your rule?,"said Marcus as he looked at the woman and when he received a curt nod he said,"Who are the cannibals aligned with? One of the few that escaped the camp during the attack said that they had attacked us, but Anya had helped fight back against them. Is it possible that they are still alive?"
The Commander appeared to be unperturbed by the news, but her posture was still rigid,"The cannibals you speak of, my people call them Ripas. They are not aligned with any of the clans, but they were ."
Kane's brow furrowed in confusion as he said,"Are they like those traitors to the clan who stay near the Mountain? "
Lexa's eyes hardened as she said,"No, the Splita are weak. Cowards and not worthy of being apart of any clan. The Ripas are different. The Maunon will attack a village and take my people. They come with their guns and their red smoke and terrorise the people of all clans. Some never return, but some return as Ripas. Their minds are broken and they can no longer use their powers. It's impossible to change back once one becomes a Ripa. Many have tried and failed to restore them to their former selves. If your children have been taken by the Maunon then it is best to hope that they are dead."
Kane was horrified to hear that there not one, not two, but three groups of people that were opposed to the Coalition. What confused him however was the third group the Commander had mentioned.
It went without saying that the two most dangerous of these groups were clearly working together or at least one of these groups was made by the other. What was more concerning to Kane, though, was the news that a technologically advanced society still existed.
"Who are the Maunon?"said Kane and the way in which the world rolled off his tongue showed his unfamiliarity with the language of the Grounders.
"Maunon is Trigedasleng for Mountain Men, "said the Commander as she looked at Kane unflinchingly her eyes focused squarely on him,"They hide themselves in the Mountain and only come out in strange armour. They have guns, smoke that makes you sleep and they create fog which burns you to the point where no healer can save you."
Clearly, the Ark had been misinformed about who was left on Earth and if a society like this could go undetected then it was possible that there were other civilisations that were thriving all over the globe. However, some of what the Commander said made no sense.
"Acid fog?"said Kane confused,"The children were under the impression that the acid fog was a result of radiation that caused mutations in the weather. It's actually a weapon?"
Lexa nodded and said,"Yes, it's why those we exile are sent into the Mountain's area. The Dead Zone is survivable, but the Mountain Men always know who's in their lands and if the acid fog or the reapers do not claim your life then the Mountain Men themselves will come. We believe they aren't many in number, but they affect the lives of all my people."
"I don't understand one thing, Commander,"said Kane as he looked at her ,"If you have such great numbers and I'm assuming your warriors have powers as well why haven't you attacked the Mountain? Surely the acid fog could have been circumvented in many ways."
The Commander's fingers on her right hand just barely twitched and she said," Long ago, there had been no acid fog, but once the Mountain Men crawled out of their cave and tried to take what was theirs – a war soon erupted between them and my people. The acid fog had been deployed when the army of Commander at that time reached the gates of the Mountain. Somehow, the Mountain Men had devised a way to block our powers from working once we got too close to them and the acid fog had spread too quickly for them to escape. Hundreds of warriors were killed in seconds. Only our Commander survived, but he was executed by his 12 generals not long after for failing us. It was then that our people split into 12 clans that we currently are. Various clans have tried and all have failed to take down the Mountain. "
"Why would your people split like that? Surely they must have realised being together was their best chance to win ?"said Marcus and he was surprised when a small, wry smile came over the Commander's face.
"People are hardly ever rational. There were far too many differences between our people and the Coalition had already been at it's breaking point before the Mountain. The death of our first Commander was what had begun to drive the wedge between our people, but it was only after the first battle at the Mountain that Wonkru was no more."
It was jarring for Kane to realise the similarities and differences between the Grounders and the Arkers. They had both overthrown their leaders that had failed in them some way and yet they were also different. Their first Chancellor had divided their people and her death unified the Ark while the first Commander had unified her people and her death had divided them. It was almost poetic.
Marcus' arm suddenly pulsed with pain and he remembered that he had tried to kill himself. There was no ambient light from outside so he judged it to be quite close to midnight or thereabouts. The lamps in the room made it easy to see the angry red line that traversed his forearm and it was undoubtedly clear that it would scar.
"You should rest, Marcus kom Skaikru, "said the Commander as she prepared to leave the tent,"We've already sent the one you call Thelonious back to your camp and after my healers take care of you again we will convene to a village that is nearby to your camp for peace talks. What you did was honourable, Marcus. There are not many leaders who are willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of their people. "
Kane was glad to hear that the Commander was willing to speak to them. They only had a limited amount of weapons and a limited amount of knowledge on Earth. They really needed the help in the long run. Perhaps they could also find a way to rescue the kids from the Mountain.
If they weren't already dead or turned into reapers.
The Commander was just about to leave the room and Kane managed to muster up the energy to ask her one last question,"Commander, excuse my manners, but it seems as though I've forgotten to ask you for your name."
The Commander turned back to look at Kane and she said ,"Lexa. Lexa kom Trikru."
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Clarke looked at the time on the clock and she saw that it was almost time for her to go. Raven staying in her room to sleep had been an unexpected surprise, but it had been welcome and Clarke was glad to have smoothed over the bumps in their relationship.
She couldn't, however, tell Raven about her plans. The other delinquents felt safe within the Mountain and would certainly disagree with Clarke if she were to propose her plan to them. It was why she had to wait until the sounds from the delinquents' room faded away into nothingness.
Raven had practically passed out soon after they had eaten and Clarke had placed the other girl in the bed. Clarke knew that she only had shot at breaking out of the bunker and brute force wasn't going to be enough. After all, the Mountain had survived the nuclear war.
Clarke slowly climed out of the bed and to her relief Raven was still passed out cold. Clarke opened the cupboard and she scanned over what clothes would probably be best for her to wear. It was an odd assortment of clothes that seemed to range from normal, everyday shirts to military-grade camouflage pants.
She picked out a pair of combat boots, flexible denim jeans and a blue denim jacket. The clothes were just the right size and didn't restrict her motion in anyway.
Clarke walked into the living room and she sat down on one of the couches with her legs crossed. She needed to be invisible to all and the first step in doing that had to do with disrupting the eyes of the Mountain Men.
Clarke's eyes closed and suddenly a rush of information flowed through her head as she used her technopathy to map out the cameras and other devices that were in her general vicinity.
This ability was bit strange in it's implementation. The dropship was easily controllable due to there being virtually no firewalls in place. However, this Mountain obviously had better protection than that.
It didn't mean that Clarke couldn't gain control. She could. It would just take longer than usual. Around 30 minutes or so–she estimated –and that was if she was in the control centre. She was able to detect exactly where it was through her connection with the Mountain judging by the amount of commands that flew out from the place like a ripple in water.
She was essentially just plugged into the system right now and she hadn't tried to take control of anything, thus far. She focused on using the cameras all over the Mountain to track patrols and she wasn't in the least bit surprised to find numerous guard patrolling.
It made the next phase of her plan more necessary. Clarke was about to disconnect from the system when she found another section of the Mountain that had almost gone unnoticed.
Words began to rush through her mind and unknown to her she began to speak aloud as they flashed through her mind,"Pipes. Ventilators. Substituents. 4 parts carbon, 10 parts hydrogen, 1 part fluorine, 2 parts oxygen and 1 part phosphorus."
"Clarke,"said a voice and Clarke closed her connection the mountain and she was surprised to see Raven looking at her,"What are you doing?"
Clarke reconnected upon seeing her friend and quickly silenced the listening devices , permanently this time, and said,I need to get out of here, Raven. There isn't enough time to go, but I have to go now. This place it's...bad... I can't say much else, but–"
"I believe you,"said Raven cutting Clarke off and the mechanic smiled wryly at the look of surprise on the other girl's face,"Clarke, I trust you way more than I trust these people. If you say that there's something wrong then I believe you. What's your plan?"
Clarke sagged in relief and said,"That means a lot, thanks Raven. I'm trying to figure out a way to get past the guard patrols and I connected to their mainframe and while there were other stuff that would take too long to break through something jumped out at me just now."
"Is that why you were reciting the periodic table?"said Raven before she added,"I only caught the part about oxygen and phosphorus. I'll need you to reconnect to that part of the Mountain's mainframe and tell me what you see."
Clarke nodded and this time what she had been looking at stuck out like a flame in a dark room," 4 parts carbon, 10 parts hydrogen, 1 part fluorine, 2 parts oxygen and 1 part phosphorus...wait there's more...I think they're two different substances...4 parts carbon, 8 parts hydrogen, 2 parts chlorine and 1 part sulfur. What the hell is this stuff?"
Clarke opened her eyes, but what she didn't expect to see was a look of disgust on Raven's face,"Raven. Talk to me."
Raven sighed and said,"You were right,Clarke. This place is sketchy. The two formulas you just told me. One is sarin. A red nerve gas that causes vomiting, convulsions and highly irregular heart rate, but it's not that lethal. The other is sulfur mustard, this one is yellow and causes rapid blistering on skin and mucous membranes. Extremely lethal. They're both chemical weapons,but the thing is sulfur mustard doesn't really linger long in the air, but it does if mixed with sarin. The result would be an orange gaseous chemical weapon with the benefits of both and downsides of neither. Three guesses for where we've seen orange gas that blisters and kills it's victims. "
Clarke felt her anger raise as she said,"The acid fog. They make the acid fog. What the hell is this place?"
Raven shrugged and said,"I don't know, but we all have to leave ASAP. This just shows that–"
"We can't do that, Raven,"said Clarke seriously as she cut the other girl off,"All the delinquents got wasted on liquor and are probably still processing that and there's no ways those without powers could even hope to outrun the fog or the people they would send after us. You guys will have to stay here to stay safe."
Raven's face twisted in anger and said,"And were will you go? To take down the Mountain? Clarke, I hate to break it to you, but there isn't much space for you to cut loose. If you go supernova like you did at the dropship then it might cause the scrubbers to blow up and who knows how many people will die."
Clarke knew that much at least. Even on the Ark, the carbon dioxide scrubbers were never meant to come into contact with fire. Besides the obvious part of fire eating up oxygen, if the scrubbers came into contact with fire then it was likely that the Ark would not survive the chain of explosions that would follow.
"I know that, Raven,"said Clarke as she began to tie the laces on her boots,"I'm going for a more stealthy approach and I'll just have to borrow something to make that happen."
Raven looked slightly confused, but before she could voice her concern Clarke said,"I'll need you to stay inside here. These guys have a way of shutting down your powers and if they catch wind of this and activate whatever the hell that thing is then we're all screwed."
"Can't you disable whatever that is with your technopathy?"said Taven and she was disappointed when Clarke shook her head in the negative.
"I can only temporarily take control of things,"said Clarke as she began to tighten her other boot's laces,"Also, there's a lot of encrypted stuff like the scrubbers, ventilation system, doors, their defense system and files. I can't get into any of those. The acid fog had weak security, but I guess that since they're sheltered from it inside here they don't really care."
"Ok, I get that, but why would you leave?"said Raven as she looked at her friend,"If you leave we have no way of defending ourselves. "
"You guys will be fine,"said Clarke as she finally finished lacing up ,"I'm going to bust out of here and I hope that the Commander cares enough about Anya to help us. Numbers will be what we need to take these guys out. Also, Dante said that the neutralisation device or whatever took a lot of resources so I'm guessing if they were to use it then I would have detected a massive drain on the grid. He said something about improving it, but it seemed like posturing to me."
Raven looked down at her hands and she was happy to see the familiar green glow of her lasers. She shut them off and said,"You're right. We should be able to hold them off for a little bit."
Clarke nodded and said,"You're right, that's not good enough. Come on, let's go."
Raven was confused by Clarke's statement as the other girl suddenly walked to the door and seemingly not scared of the cameras walked straight into the delinquents dorm.
Luckily, there were all deep in the throes of sleep and none of them woke up at all. The smell of alcohol was hanging in the air and Raven had to concede that Clarke had been right about their chances with everyone in such a state.
"What are we doing here?"whispered Raven as she stepped closer to Clarke.
Clarke looked at her and said,"You guys need to be able to better defend yourselves. I think I've figured out how to activate your powers."
Raven was surprised by this, but she followed Clarke as she began to walk around the dorm,"I can't do anything for the ones that the nanobots didn't merge with, but the others should be fine."
Raven nodded and grabbed her arm saying,"I know where everyone sleeps. Come on."
It was a strange process from Raven's perspective to see Clarke's hands light up in a soft, white glow and all she did was tapped the foreheads of everyone.
Soon, the last remaining was Octavia, but this time after Clarke activated her latent powers she pressed both her hands to the other girl's head. Raven was concerned when an expression of slight pain came across Octavia's face, but it disappeared a few seconds later as Clarke pulled her hands off of the girl.
"Let's go,"said Clarke as she gestured towards the door. The two girls made it out of the dorm and back into Clarke's without trouble and ince the door closed behind Raven whirled to Clarke and said,"What the hell did you do to Octavia? You looked like you were hurting her!"
Clarke nodded and said,"Well, I haven't had much practice with some of my powers, but I didn't mean to hurt her. I just needed something from her."
Raven was about to ask a question, but it died on her lips as Clarke immediately faded from view. Raven was shocked by this and she whirled around the room trying to track Clarke.
It took Raven a massive amount of effort to not scream in surprises Clarke laid a glowing hand on her shoulder from behind. The girl had reappeared behind her and she had a serious expression on her face as she said,"Raven, you're the smartest one of all the delinquents and with me gone you'll be the strongest. I'll need you to do whatever it takes to keep them safe. I'll activate the last two of your powers, but you need to swear that you won't hold back if the Mountain Men come after you guys. They won't hurt you because they need me and Dante knows what I'd do if you guys got hurt, but... just in case... you have to promise."
The glow faded from Clarke's fingers and Raven turned around before pulling the younger girl into a hug,"I promise, Griffin. Go kick some ass."
"You should also keep yourself safe too,"added Clarke softly as she held onto the othee girl,"I can't lose you too."
Raven felt touched by the sheer concern in Clarke's voice a she said softly, "I will. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."
Clarke tightened her grip on Raven and said,"We need to get as much suspicion away from you as possible. You're gonna have to act like I attacked you. Make sure you tell no one about everything until you're sure it's necessary."
Raven nodded and said,"Okay, fine. Let's get this over with and you'll owe me big when this is all done."
Clarke lifted her left hand and it began to crackle with electricity,"Yeah, I'll think of something. "
Raven clenched her fists and waited for the inevitable. It happened quickly. It felt like the nerves on her body were on fire and her muscles locked up violent as the pulses of electricity flew through her. It lasted only a couple of seconds before she felt her grip on consciousness slip.
Clarke caught Raven before she fell to the ground and then she placed her on the ground gently. Clarke activated her invisibility and exited the door making her way to her first destination.
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Whitman sighed as he made his way to the room where the machines that created The Veil was located. There had been a report that somehow someone had gotten in, but the card used did not even have an ID or anything. The cameras didn't even show anything and so he was the only one sent as it was believed to simply be a glitch in the system.
He tagged in and began to look through the large room for signs if anything amiss.
"Control centre, this is is Whitman,"said the guard as he spoke into his radio,"Nothing in the entry chamber proceeding to Mixing and Deployment Chamber, over."
"Roger that, Whitman. Proceed with caution, over and out."
The Mixing and Deployment Chamber as it named suggested was where the two gases that made up The Veil were mixed together and then deployed. He was one of the few guards that had permission to enter in here thanks to his seniority. The only others allowed in here were the mechanics and engineers for upkeep and check ups.
He keyed himself in and let the door close itself behind him. He walked around the pipes before he heard a noise on the catwalk above the platform. He decided no to use his radio and instead grabbed his gun off his shoulder.
The substances were flammable and he knew that there would be a massive explosion if he missed his shot when near some of the massive pipes that circled the room. He slowly ascended the stairs to the catwalk, but he was confused when there was no one there.
He looked over the catwalk and he saw nothing amiss. It was only once he heard footsteps behind him that he turned and fired. The bullet smashed into the walkway and Whitman panicked as he felt a strong hand grip him around his neck. His gun clattered to the floor and was then pushed over the edge by something unseen.
"How do I shut this thing down for good?"said a voice and he was surprised to see a blonde girl appear from thin air. Her face look deadly serious and her eyes were glowing an icy blue.
Whitman grabbed at her arm and tried to wrench free, but incredibly he wasn't even able to move it at all. The girl tightened her grip and said,"I'm not gonna ask again. Talk or you float."
Whitman felt dizzy from the restriction of his air paths and he dropped his hands to his side. He smiled arrogantly at the girl he now recognised and said,"C-clarke Griffin...Your p-people...will..die for this."
Whitman pressed a button on his radio and suddenly flares and alarms began to go off in the room and across the mountain. Clarke eyes narrowed into thin slits and the light emitting from them turned a dark blue,"We'll see."
Already, Clarke could hear footsteps outside the Mixing Chamber and she knew her time was limited. Clarke cursed under her breath and Whitman seemed smug until Clarke lifted him up and dangled him over the edge,"I guess you float."
Whitman had barely had enough time to process Clarke's last words before he was falling from the 50 meter high catwalk. He landed on the ground with a loud thud and Clarke turned invisible just as the door to the room slammed open. 7 Guards poured in and began to spread out throughout the Chamber.
Clarke shadowed them and she knew that she had to get rid of them before the place got swarmed. She needed the Mountain Men to be disorganised and the first step of that was to cut off the head of the snake.
The radios they used were all connected to each other and to the control centre and Clarke was able to listen in on the conversation as she stood unseen by all on the catwalk.
"Whitman triggered the SOS response, but I can't find him. Pan out and search for him."
The team of seven split up and Clarke began to silently descend the stairs as she knew one of them was on a direct route to Whitman's body.
The woman reached Whitman's body and she recoiled as she saw the blood pooled around his body and said into her radio,"Sandra, here Whitman is dead. I repeat Whitman is dead over here by the mixing vats. Falling damage resulted in severe damage to the head. Unclear if murder or suicide. No sign of any other people. Copy that?"
Sandra waited for a response, but she was surprised to find out that none of her fellow guards responded, "Julian, do you read me?"
Suddenly, a rush of pain flashed over her neck and Sandra was surprised to see blood flow onto her hands as she grabbed at her neck. In a matter of seconds, she was dead and her body hit the ground hard.
The sound drew the attention of all the other guards and Clarke could easily hear the sounds of boots on the ground as they rushed to the scene.
Clarke knew that she had to hurry up and knew the Mountain was probably going to be put into some sort of lockdown. She quickly grabbed the radio of the other woman before she put some distance between her and the two bodies and the hum of machinery became louder as she was now walking through a veritable maze of pipes.
She wasn't sure how to get out of this situation quickly while still managing to shut down the acid fog until she saw something plastered across one of the pipes that made her skin crawl at the implications.
"Warning,"said Clarke,"Chemicals are highly flammable. "
Clarke tightened her grip on the knife made out of ice that she had used to kill the female guard before it suddenly lit up in yellow light. The glow died down and there was now a knife made of the sturdiest metal Clarke knew of.
That was of course the metal used on the dropship and all of the Ark.
She stabbed into the pipe and cut a long slice through the pipe. She didn't stop there as she used her superspeed to allow her to run through the various corridors of pipes and cut them at a high speed.
By now, she had drawn the attention if the other guards, but it was already too late as the damage was done. Clarke ripped off a large swath of her shirt and she lit the end of it on fire before she threw it in the air behind her.
The guards had found her, but they didn't appear to even be moving as Clarke ran as fast as she could towards the door. She punched the door right off it's hinges and kept running straight past it as she moved towards the door that led back into the Mountain.
By some stroke of luck, it was still open and Clarke managed to shut it behind her. There was an extremely loud sound and Clarke felt Instinct activated and raise a dome of psionic energy around her.
A veritable firestorm poured from behind the door and even though it only lasted a few seconds Clarke's energy was almost sapped entirely from the strain of standing against the heat.
Luckily, this floor had no apartments or living units on it whatsoever so there was no damage other than burns to the walls, floor and ceiling. The water sprinklers activated soon after the flash of fire had entered into the corridor and the spray of water bounced off of Clarke's energy dome with slight thuds..
She knew that the Mountain Men probably knew it was her behind and everything and so she had to hurry. She quickly connected to the mainframe and focused on the cameras near her current position and she relieved to note that the fireball had knocked out all the cameras in the corridor she was in.
Clarke knew it was time to cause the chaos to ramp up a notch and she sat down as she focused on the task at hand.
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"Son,"said Dante with a furious look on his face as he entered the control centre of Mount Weather,"What is going on? What was that explosion I felt?"
"We're not sure, Dad,"said Cage from behind a computer and judging from the young man's disheveled appearance he was feeling the stress of the situation. The man kept typing away at the keyboard before he stopped and punched the table,"It's The Veil."
Dante looked confused and said,"What about it?"
"That explosion you felt?"said Cage and frustration and anger was clear in his voice,"That was The Veil. All the systems are offline and the team we sent into there have not responded."
Dante felt a flash of panic rise up inside him and he sat down in one of the chairs as one of the other guards said,"President Wallace, sir. Who's responsible?"
It was a stupid question. Dante knew who was responsible and Dante knew that this was his fault. He had invited the girl unbidden into the Mountain and now he had to kill the girl. He only hoped that he could up with a good enough reason to appease Clarke's friends.
It would be a shame to have to harvest them too.
"Put a locate and subdue order on Clarke Griffin,"said Dante to the guards and they nodded before speaking into their radios.
Dante closed his eyes from the stress of the situation, but he opened them when he heard Cage speak,"Found her. "
Dante looked at the screen his son was looking at and he was surprised to see Clarke standing right in front of a camera with Maya held hostage. There was a large knife held to the other girl's throat and she seemed positively petrified.
Clarke lifted something else to her face as she adjusted her grip on Maya and Dante was surprised to hear Clarke's voice come out of the PA system on the Mountain.
"Citizens of Mount Weather,"said Clarke and her voice came out unwavering, "I'm currently holding Maya Vie hostage. All I want is to leave this Mountain. If anyone attempts to enter Medical then she will die and it will be your fault. She is the only Mount Weather citizen that is immune to radiation so I imagine you guys wouldn't want that."
Cage looked at his father and he felt his own nervousness rise up as he saw how pale the man's face was,"Dad? What should I do?"
Dante sighed heavily and not for the first time Cage could see the weight that came with being President press down on his father,"Tell all units to stand down. If everyone knows we attacked despite Maya's life being threatened there'll be chaos."
"Why can't we just threaten her own people?"said Cage, but that idea was immediately rejected by a shake of the head from Dante.
"What Clarke has done will alienate her from her people. We can finally integrate them into our genetic line while we allow you and Lorelei's project to go on. This way we will have established our return to the ground without having to dispose of Clarke,"said Dante and he said,"Let her leave. I want squads covering all possible exit routes from the Mountain covered. If you can't subdue her..."
Dante looked at Clarke on the screen and he was surprised when all of a sudden all the monitors blacked out. He knee that it was the work of the girl and he knew that if she escaped the Mountain he would have to pull out all the stops to make sure she wasn't a threat anymore.
"If you can't subdue Clarke Griffin then you kill her."
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Maya and Clarke both made it into medical and Maya looked slightly pale. Clarke turned to her and said,"Hey, we had to do that or else Dante would have been suspicious now what's this way out you were talking about?"
Maya looked nervous and said,"It's better if I show you."
Clarke followed the girl as she was guided into to a room with pipes coming out of the wall that led to the beds that were in the room. Clarke was confused because it looked like an infirmary, but there were no patients whatsoever.
"What is this place, Maya?"said Clarke as she looked at the other girl.
The other girl seemed scared for some reason and said,"This is where we get our treatments. My mom died in here after refusing to take any treatments. "
Clarke looked at the girl sympathetically and said,"This must be hard for you."
Clarke placed a hand on the other girl's shoulder,but she was surprised to see the girl flinch away from her.
Maya tried to play it off and said,"This isn't why we here come on."
Maya led Clarke to another door and she was surprised by what waited for her on the other side. The first thing that she noticed as she stepped into the room.
It smelled like some odd mixture of medicine, flowers and some other unknown ingredients. However, it was what she saw next that made her forget completely about the scent of the room.
Cages. Hundred and hundreds of cages were stacked upon one another and inside were emaciated people deep in the throes of sleep. It was with closer scrutiny that Clarke realised that the people inside were Grounders as she recognised the distinctive tattoos of the Trikru on some of them. The pipes from the other room led into here and although they weren't connected to anything the multitude of blood stains on the floor beneath the pipes was enough of a clue for Clarke.
Clarke looked at Maya and said with pure anger in her voice,"This is what you were talking about? Your people have been treating the Grounders like cattle and bleeding them for your treatments?"
Clarke had begun to advance on Maya and the girl stepped back as purple light began to radiate from Clarke's body and eyes. The girl backed into the table and said,"I wanted to tell you, but we can't speak about it. The last time there had been a rebellion against this the dissidents had all been killed off. I wanted to tell you since I'veheard about how strong you were, but I still had faith in my people. It was only after you cured me that I knew I had to do something. "
Clarke stopped her advance and said,"Okay. You're right, but all your people are cowards for allowing this. This is sick."
Maya nodded and Clarke turned her back on the other girl and she began to traverse the cages. The Grounders all looked at her with exhausted and tired eyes, but it was only when she was walking through the second corridor that she heard a voice she wasn't expecting to hear.
"Clarke,"said Mbege and Clarke felt her anger at the Mountain Men grow as she took in the state of her fellow Arker. He was dressed in rags and he appeared extremely skinny to the point where his ribs were protruding,"You've got to help us.
"Mbege, "said Clarke as she knelt down to his level,"Why are you here? The reapers swarmed your camp. We thought you were dead."
"The reapers,"said Mbege and his eyes were only half-focused,"They attacked us. We stood no chance. Our bullets didn't stop them and they just kept coming and coming... The last thing I remember was getting dragged here and these guys in suits came out with these rods that made noise. They acted like it was causing them pain and they got injected with some red liquid that made them act...high. "
Clarke was stunned by the turn of events. The reapers weren't some separate faction. They were basically the foot soldiers of the Mountain Men. They stole Grounders and either bled them dry or turned them into cannibalistic, drug-addicted monsters.
"You have to kill them, Clarke,"said Mbege as he looked her dead in the eye, "All the Arkers have been bled day after day. A few days ago, they bled us one after the after for over two hours. I haven't seen Trina in long now. That bitch of a doctor came looking for her and I have no clue what happened to her...p-please help us. I can't take this torture anymore."
Clarke rose to her feet and said,"I will kill them, I promise. I can't free you all now, but I will be back."
Mbege had fainted after speaking to Clarke and the temptation to stay and heal everyone was rising up in Clarke, but she knew she had to find whi she was looking for.
It was with luck that she recognised the hairstyle from the corner of her eye and she rattled the cage to wake up the sleeping person, "Anya. Wake up, we're leaving."
The woman stirred slightly before lunging at Clarke,"This is your fault, branwada. If I hadn't helped you foolish children then the Maunon wouldn't have caught me."
Clarke shook her head in annoyance and said,"We have to leave now. We don't have much time. Anya, we need to get to the Commander now. Once we tell her what's happening in here we can get the Coalition to storm this place. Your people will finally be freed."
This seemed to placate Anya and she sighed and said,"Fine, I'll take you to her. Don't expect a warm welcome from her however."
Clarke nodded and grabbed onto the lock that was on Anya's cage. A simple twist and the lock was off and the Grounder general clambered out of the cage. The sight and noise of Anya climbing out of her cage rose caused quite the commotion in the room and Clarke was inundated by various requests to free the other prisoners.
Clarke felt trapped until Anya shouted a command in Trigedasleng. Immediately, the room fell into a deep silence and Clarke looked at Anya and said,"Do you need healing?"
The woman shook her head and said,"I am a warrior. That can wait. How are we escaping?"
"Can't you get us out of here?"asked Clarke with mounting hope that was dashed when Anya said,"If I could, why would I still be in this place? We need to find another way out."
"I know another way out,"said Maya and Anya nearly attacked the girl upon seeing her, but she was stopped by Clarke who stepped in between them,"She's the reason I got in here. If you hurt her then there's no way out for us."
"She is also one of the ones who choose the next people they will bleed,"said Anya with venom in her voice,"Why should we trust her?"
Maya, surprisingly, responded herself and said,"It's not all of us that wish for this. We do the jobs we're assigned or we might die. I know of many people who have refused to take your people's blood. When you come with your army, I need to know that them and the children will be safe."
Anya took a step forward, but she stopped as Clarke said,"Fine, we won't hurt any of them. Now, can you show us to the exit."
Maya nodded and Anya walked past Clarke leaving the blonde at the back of the group. Clarke was about to turn when she heard another familiar voice though a considerably less welcome one.
"Clarke,"said Diana and if her face and voice weren't etched I to her memory, Clarke would have struggled to recognise the pale and emaciated woman before her,"Please help me. I'm on my last legs–"
Diana's plea was cut off as Clarke spat in her face. The girl's eyes were a solid purple and there was pure anger and rage radiating off of her. Clarke's hand reached through the bars and she placed it on Diana's thigh before Diana screamed in pain as pulses of electricity coursed through her veins.
The pain was excruciating beyond anything she had ever experienced and Diana was barely conscious by the time the torture stopped, but she still heard Clarke's parting words as she made her way towards the room Anya and Maya were in.
"Go float yourself, you bitch."
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"So I press this button and this will lead us into the tunnels?"asked Anya as she looked down at the floor.
Clarke nodded and said,"That's what Maya said. We need to leave now. Maya won't be unconscious for long. Press the button. "
Anya looked vaguely annoyed at Clarke, but she pressed the button anyways. There was a loud buzzing before the floor opened beneath them. The two were sliding down a chute for a few seconds before they landed harshly in a metal container.
Clarke opened her eyes and she was stunned to see the body of another Grounder and it seemed as though the man was still alive. Clarke knew there was nothing she could do for him in this moment and Anya clearly knew it too.
The woman placed her hands gently, almost motherly on the man's neck and whispered softly,"Yu gonplei ste odon. "
Clarke knew what was coming and she didn't even look away as Anya jerked the man's head suddenly and he fell limp in a matter of seconds. They laid there for a few moments in an uncomfortable silence before finally deciding that they had relaxed for long enough.
They scrambled to their feet and Clarke could see Anya smiled as she looked at her hands. Clarke was confused by the action until ,in a puff of black smoke, a set of clothes appeared and Anya quickly pulled them on much to Clarke's amazement.
"You can summon things to you?"said Clarke and she received a curt nod from Anya before the woman said,"The reapers live in these tunnels. We need to make sure we get out of here."
There was another burst of black smoke and once it cleared away Clarke was able to see the two daggers that were in Anya's hands,"Be on guard, Maunon are approaching."
Clarke wasn't sure what Anya was talking about until she too heard the heavy footsteps from around the corner in the tunnel. She allowed flames to cover her hands in preparation for the inevitable battle. The sounds got louder and louder as she waited for them to appear and she was relieved to see that they were only two.
However, before Clarke could even shoot the fireballs, Anya had already teleported in front of the one man and she quickly slashed his throat. The other had his finger on his machine gun and was about to fire at Anya, but she deflected the gun and stabbed the man in the chest.
The bullets still shot out of the gun and they ricocheted off the walls of the tunnel in various directions. One grazed Clarke's arm, but she felt the wound began to heal and so she ignored it and looked at Anya and said,"We need to leave."
The sound of gunfire had probably attracted and Anya was about to leave, but Clarke said,"Look for two metal sticks on their body. They repel Reapers."
Luckily, Anya had found both and she three one at Clarke while keeping the other for herself,"Let's go, Skaiprisa."
Clarke followed Anya as she seemed to k ow where she was going, but after some time the woman seemed to fade almost completely and whatever adrenaline boost she had had was now gone.
"Anya,"said Clarke firmly,"You're still weak from the Mountain. Let me help you."
The woman glared at her fiercely, but when a violent tremor caused her to collapse to her knees she just gave a small nod of the head. Clarke picked her up bridal style and began to walk around looking for an exit.
Somehow, the sounds of footsteps near her had increased and Clarke realised that the Mountain Men were getting near. Clarke cursed the tunnels floors because it was slick with water and also had a rough, bumpy surface.
The exact conditions her superspeed would probably be more of a liability than a boon in.
She began to run at a decent clip, though, once she realised that she was getting boxed in. Anya was barely coherent and Clarke pushed hoped that an exit would appear soon enough.
It appeared that luck was on her side as a tunnel opened up to her left that had a breeze and she knew that meant it led to the surface she ran down the path and now she was fully conscious of the footsteps that were behind shadowing her every step.
Clarke's speed increased at the sight, but she was surprised when her body stopped on it's own accord.
!*
Clarke looked down and she was shocked to see that she was hundreds of feet in the air at the top of a dam. She had thought the tunnels were on ground level, but clearly that not been the case. She turned to find another route, but as luck would have it a group of 7 Mountain Men were standing opposite her all of them clad in their hazmat suits.
The leader pointed his gun at her and Clarke recognised the voice of Emerson that said,"It doesn't have to end this way, Clarke. Stand down and you get to live "
Clarke didn't respond as she felt excruciating pain originate from her back. The pain was getting too much and so Clarke lifted her foot before stepping down on the ground. Large, rugged stalagmites burst from the ground into most of the Mountain Men.
Emerson was the only one to get off scot-free and as he aimed his rifle at her a wall of rock rose up and sealed him from Clarke and Anya. Only one bullet snuck through and it grazed Clarke's shoulder.
The extreme pain she was in prevented Instinct from activating and it was sheer luck that saved her. Clarke felt herself begin to run hot and she removed her jacket and threw it to the side after she put down a slowly recovering Anya.
She could just barely hear that the Mountain Men were planning something with wall and she knew they had to leave soon. Finally, the worst of the pain was over and not long after it was all gone. Anya had seemingly recovered and she rose to her feet and she went to Clarke's side, "Are you okay?"
Clarke nodded and said,"Get in my arms now."
Anya looked confused by the sudden urgency in Clarke's voice, but that disbelief was increased when she saw the girl's eyes turned from their light blue to a deep yellow with a black centre.
Anya allowed Clarke to pick her up and they both heard some screams on the other side of the wall before the sound of something approaching the wall echoed off the walls.
Clarke ran at full speed and she ignored the feeling of dread that welled up inside her as the drop came closer and closer. Clarke felt a tingly feeling at the middle of her back and she felt her shirt loosen just slightly.
Soon, the edge was just in front of her and Clarke jumped with as much strength as she could muster. Behind her, the rock wall exploded and still going at super speed she turned back to cleary see through the smoke, fire and debris that Emerson was holding a rocket launcher and was clearly at fault for the explosion.
The tingly feeling increased and just as Clarke reached the apex of her jump and gravity began to drag her and Anya down. Two, large birds wings expanded from her back and they began to flap rapidly.
Clarke let out a sigh of relief as the wings continued to carry her and Anya to safety. Anya had only now opened her eyes and she looked at Clarke with awe as she took in the sight of Clarke actually flying.
Perhaps 20 minutes later, Clarke felt she had put enough distance between her and the Mountain. The sky had begun to lighten as sunset rapidly approached. Clarke landed safely in a clearing near a river.
She placed Anya down and she had to fight back a chuckle as she saw the dizziness that was clearly evident on Anya's face despite her being able to teleport at rapid speeds.
The woman knelt down next to the river and drank some water. Clarke focused on retracting her wings and unlike before it was extremely easy to take them away.
Anya was watching her and Clarke was about to speak until she saw Anya's gaze drop to her shoulder. The woman seemed to have gained a second wind as she said,"I knew you were a liar! You do not wish for peace! You want to kill the Commander, don't you?"
Clarke was confused and said,"What are you talking about?"
Anya only screamed in response and appeared in front of Clarke in a burst of smoke. Her nails had extended substantially in length and she tried to slash at Clarke's face. Clarke was able to raise her arm to block the slash and despite the deep gouges that were cut into her forearm she still had enough presence of mind to release a large burst of air that propelled Anya away from her.
Anya slammed into a tree hard, but she still rose to her feet and said,"I won't let you succeed. There can only be one of the blood."
It was then that Clarke realised Anya had flipped out once she had seen the shoulder that had been grazed by a bullet. Clarke looked at the forearm that Anya had scratched and she was stunned into silence as she looked at the colour of her blood.
It was black.
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Hey guys there was yet another chapter.
Well, well, well. Clarke's a nightblood now and Anya is not impressed.
Also, Clarke patches things up with Raven and after 10 long chapters and over a 100K words Lexa makes her first appearance. I think for a S1 reboot fic this has to have taken some of the longest time ever to introduce her character.
As always, I love to hear from you guys. Whether it's reviews, PMs etc. I'm just glad that you guys are enjoying reading this story as much as I am writing this though I do think I enjoy writing more.
Also S/O to Anonymous True Love who basically made it impossible to put off finishing this chapter. Your reviews and theories are very welcome and that goes to all of you.
This one was wordy. 15K actually. Anyways, Clarke, Finn, Bellamy, Anya, Lexa are all on a collision course next chapter and expect the unexpected.
Also my chapters seem to be getting long at times so I hope you guys don't mind. It's just my writing style, but I haven't received any complaints about this so that's good.
Finally, the final ship was actually revealed in this chapter.
I'm kidding. You guys won't know what the ship is until it's too late. Hopefully, the plot will convince you to stick around regardless of the ship.
