If anyone can do fanart for this story please shoot me a message or PM. I can't draw for shit and I'm broke so I can't commission one, but hey it'd be like a Christmas gift or something.
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Clarke slowed to a stop as she reached the mouth of the Reaper caves. It looked dark and ominous, but Clarke was not scared. In fact, she was practically itching for a fight. Clarke took a deep breath as she pushed that train of thought out of her mind for the time being.
Her people were still inside the Mountain and she needed a cool head
It was rather cold in here compared to the outside, but it was barely anything compared to the Ark whenever the heaters would malfunction for days on end. The Sky Box was also pretty cold. A common complaint amongst the teens during their Earth Skills classes.
In the end it was simply another torture laid upon kids other than the fact that they had to count the days to their eventual execution. Why waste valuable resources and energy on kids you were going to kill anyways?
It was cruel and harsh, but it was necessary. Especially with the degradation that the Ark was going through. It wouldn't surprise Clarke if there had been an increased crackdown on crimes so more adults could be floated around the time of the oxygen crisis.
It was strange to think that the oxygen crisis had lead to the situation she was in now. So much had happened since then. From discovering her powers to rescuing Octavia and even getting captured by Trikru.
So much had happened in the months that she had been on Earth. It was weird too looking back all the events seemed to be melded into one quick blur, but she knew that those experiences were anything but quick. They had been some of the most taxing parts of her life and this would have been hard enough if her having some sort of special powers weren't thrown in the mix.
Clarke was rather ambivalent about her powers. She had had a few concerns initially about the Novus series. She wondered if it would harm her in any way and what negative impact it would have on her.
For the most part though, the Novus had been a blessing. There was no way they would have been able to survive as long as they could if all of the delinquents didn't have any powers. It was likely that they would have all eventually been wiped out or assimilated into Trikru and that was assuming the Grounders got to them before the Mountain Men did.
In any case, her powers made it easier for her to get things done. There were times where Clarke felt invincible. There were situations like her fight with Anya where she knew that she would undoubtedly win.
Yet, there were moments that for all her strength she felt completely powerless. Wells and Roma's death, seeing the Ark fall to the Earth and most recently whenever she had a moment to herself.
The time on the ground had taken a toll on her and she often found herself yearning for simpler times. The time she would spend watching old soccer matches will her dad, Wells and Wells' dad. She found herself missing even the times where she would accompany her mother to Medical where she would shadow her and take notes whenever she learnt something new.
The amount of responsibility that had been thrust upon her was weighing down on her soul. Clarke had been forced to take the Novus and she felt obligated to take the lead and make sure everyone would be safe. If she hadn't been given the shot perhaps she wouldn't have stepped up, but Clarke felt she probably would have.
The thought of leaving others to fend for themselves when she could do something was sickening. Her father had laid everything on the line including his own life doing what he thought was right. Clarke had initially thought that the Mountain Men were too strong for her to take down on her own.
That may still hold true, but Clarke was not going to let that deter her. She had made a promise to Bellamy to get Octavia out and that held true for everyone else as well. One way or another, the Mountain would fall.
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Deep inside the tunnels, a group of five Reapers were waiting outside a door with around fifteen hostages. The hostages were all kneeling on the floor with their arms tied behind their back.
They ranged from young children to older women, but none of them had the physique one would associate with a warrior. The door hissed open and two Guards came out. They were not wearing the strange costumes that the Grounders associated the Mountain Men with, but the Reapers did not care as they saw that these men still held The Red.
One by one, the Grounders were guided into the Mountain by one guard while the other remained behind to give the Reapers their due. Clarke watched from further away, still under her invisibility cloak, as the man pulled out a set of syringe gun filled with a red liquid.
The Reapers practically scramble to be the first to get injected. The sheer hunger that she could see in their eyes was disturbing and perhaps even more disturbing was the way the Guard would taunt the Reapers. He would walk all the way up to one of them and press the needle against their neck before pulling away and laughing as without fail the Reapers would try to follow the needle with their neck.
It was sickening to see.
Clarke knew she had to make a decision. However, in the end it wasn't much of a choice. Clarke watched as the Guard sensed that the Reapees were growing increasingly upset and so he finally injected one of them with the red substance.
The woman who was injected seemed to drop almost immediately as she was put in some sort of haze. One by one, Clarke watched as the Reapers were injected before they promptly collapsed to the ground seemingly disconnected from the world.
Clarke watched as the guard wa about to inject the last Reaper, but she was surprised when she recognised who he was.
Lincoln?
It was Lincoln. The Grounder who had almost been killed by Anya after Mbege had tried to ambush their meeting at the bridge. The Reapers had just been a faceless, nameless bunch, but it was very different to see someone that she knew, even if only in passing, subjected to such a horror.
The guard injected Lincoln and the man groaned in gratification before collapsing to the ground. Hadn't he been on his way to a more benevolent clan? In fact, it was most likely Floukru that he was headed towards. Clarke had not met the leader of Floukru, but based of how Trent was she imagined the leader would be quite similar in temperament to their second-in-command.
The guard was walking away and so Clarke knew she had to act quickly. She ran over to him and he hadn't even had the time to turn before her hand was on his neck. He began to reach for his belt, but before he could hundreds of volts of electricity ran through his body. Clarke kept the stream up even as the man began to convulse violently and the smell of burning flesh wafted from him.
She only stopped once the man's eyes glassed over and she dropped him to the ground. She approached Lincoln and placed her hand on his chest. The second she touched him, information began to rapidly rush through her head. The drug was highly addictive and not only did it seem to cause a crippling addiction, but it also seemed to distort the mind and body of the victim.
Clarke wasn't sure whether she had enough time to detoxify the Reapers or not and she was about to leave when she decided against it. The intricacies of Insight was lost on Clarke as it allowed to almost fully understand any object or substance so long as she could touch it.
It was why she was forced to check on the other Reapers using Insight to double check her findings. Every single result came back positive. The drug wasn't only highly addictive, damaging to the mind and body of the victim, but there seemed to be lingering traces of the substance throughout all of the Reapers systems.
This may have been what causes the ferocity and physical distortions of the Reapers to grow over time as the substance stayed in their system so long as they were alive. The only solution to flush it out completely was to induce cardiac arrest before reviving the Reapers.
It was sick and terrifying and Clarke knew that there was absolutely no way the Grounders would even know this. If this was the case then Clarke's mom was probably running around frantically trying to keep the Reapers alive. If Clarke had been able to figure it out then her mom definitely had hours ago.
There was the conundrum with their alliance with the Grounders being torn to shreds with Lexa's choice, but Clarke knew that her mother would most likely rehabilitate the Reapers in any case. Clarke was sure that a section of the army, along with how ever many Skaikru had been at the Mountain, had already been dispatched to Camp Jaha to retrieve their allies.
Clarke shook her head as she dispelled thoughts of Camp Jaha. She would first have to make it out of here alive. She turned first to Lincoln and she was glad for the lack of cameras in this cave. It would have been a lot harder to do this if there had been any cameras. She would have probably been spotted before she was even halfway done with her task.
Clarke returned to Lincoln and she decided to start on him first. Her hand crackled with electricity before she plunged it onto the man's chest directly above his heart. The man almost immediately underwent cardiac arrest and she watched nervously as his struggles gradually slowed before stopping altogether.
Clarke knew she had a few minutes at best before brain damage would settle in once she revived Lincoln. She began with CPR and once she saw she was making no progress she instead used her electricity as a defibrillator of sorts.
Lincoln's body seized up as the current travelled through his body before stopping. Clarke repeated the action one more time and she sighed in relief as Lincoln woke up and began to cough rapidly.
Clarke immediately pressed her hands, already shining with the green light of her healing, onto Lincoln who seemed confused about his surroundings. His eyes settled on her and he seemed to panic at first until he was able to peer through her warpaint and recognise who she was.
"Clarke?"said Lincoln and his voice was gruff and tired as you would expect from someone who had been knocking on death's door,"How did you–"
"Don't speak,"said Clarke with a calmness she had developed in all her time helping her mother with patients on the Ark. She completed healing him and she turned towards the other Reapers and said, "I made an alliance with the Commander and a part of the deal was to help heal the Reapers. My people and I had been captured by the Mountain Men with Anya and I immediately felt like there was something wrong with the place."
Clarke continued to recount all the major happenings that Lincoln had missed throughout his time as a Reaper. She had to occasionally pause in her retelling to calm down the now ex-Reapers who were understandably confused about their surroundings.
Lincoln went against her advice and he pacified them speaking in Trigedasleng and while the words mostly flew over her head she wasn't really all that bothered about it. She continued retelling her story and the cured Reapers listened intently as they were caught up with what had happened on the outside.
Soon, Clarke was done and she had managed to cure even the physical deformities that the drug had caused once she had revived everyone. The Grounders watched her every move intently and Clarke tried to not let it get to her as she healed up one of the worse cases which was that of a woman who by Clarke's estimations had been under the influence of the drug for at least two months.
She completed her task and once she was done. The Grounders all stared at her as if they expected an order of sorts. She turned to Lincoln who seemed to understand her unspoken query as he said,"We await your orders, general. You freed us from the hold of The Red and we all wish to help you fell the Mountain once and for all."
Clarke was rather stunned at Lincoln's declaration and despite herself she couldn't help, but ask what was on her mind,"You are aware that your army has retreated under the orders of your Commander? It would be treason to go against her."
The woman who she had healed stood up and it was either a testament to Clarke's healing or the fortitude of the Grounders or in all likelihood both that they all were able to rise to their feet. Clarke stared at the woman who seemed to be waiting on some sort of cue to speak.
Clarke reluctantly nodded at her and the woman spoke her voice sounding at once strong and humble,"Skaiprisa, I am Echo. Kom Azgeda. "
It surprised Clarke that Echo did not have the facial scars that Clarke associated with the Ice Nation. Ontario being the most prominent example of the rather cruel ritual.
"You do not have any scars, "said Clarke to the woman who did not seem surprised by Clarke's and Echo nodded as she said,"My queen wished to use my services in such a way that I could blend in. I had been caught by the Reapers while on assignment for my queen and I had been captured by the Reapers before I could complete my task."
Echo did not say it directly, but it was rather clear to see that she was essentially a spy almost in the same vein as Lincoln who was a scout. The difference was not lost on Clarke and in general admitting to being a spy was not the best introduction in any situation.
Echo came across as rather shrewd and so Clarke suspected she had only revealed this in a bid to gain her trust.
"What was the assignment?"said Clarke and she was impressed when Echo didn't even flinch at the question.
"Queen Nia sent me to Trikru lands a few moons ago,"said Echo calmly even as some of the others seemed to growl at the mention of the ice queen,"I was to gather information on an object that had fallen out of the sky."
That had not been what Clarke was expecting at all. It was something she had never considered in all honesty. The landing of the dropship had garnered far more attention than she had thought and it was probably nothing short of a miracle that they had survived so long.
"I got captured after your fight with the Splita, "said Echo and Clarke knew which fight she was referring to exactly. The one where she had stolen the healing powers of the man who had attacked them.
If Echo had seen that then there was no way Clarke could–
"I owe you my life, "said Echo as she knelt to a knee,"Nia will have my head if I were to return to Azgeda. I owe you for healing me and I wish to enact my revenge on the Maunon for what they have done to me. It is unlikely that all of the cured Reapers will be able to return to their people. I offer my help not just in gratitude, but also in exchange for refuge. We would be seen as impure, Frikdeina, and our own people would fear us and shun us."
The others all seemed to be of the same mind as they knelt beside Echo. Clarke was not so sure about what she was about to do, but she did believe that Echo was not lying nor were the others. They all hailed from a variety of clans and for them all to be so steadfast in their posture made her believe that perhaps they well and truly believed Echo's words.
"Skaiprisa, "said Echo and it was a word which drew the attention of the other Grounders before they seemed to bow even deeper before Clarke,"We are yours to command."
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Corporal Stills was silent as he hosed down and cleaned the forms of the captured surface dwellers with a high powered hose. The need for new foot soldiers had become more urgent and while President Wallace had released their prisoners that did not mean they would stop in their exploits.
Stills was just high enough in the hierarchy of Mount Weather to know that the Guardians had been deployed. The Guardiams were deadly weapons that the citizen of Mount Weather were blessed to have.
"You should count your lucky stars that Presidemt Wallace recalled the Guardians,"said Stills to one of the surface dwellers who seemed to be annoyed by the man's proximity, "It's a shame that we had to capture you, but with a lot of our Reapers gone it was necessary for us to replenish our numbers. The Guardians had not been ready for deployment when your people attacked. If they had been tou would not have been captured so I hope you know that this is pretty much your fault."
The look in the young woman's eyes didn't change and to Stills' dismay, she smirked insolently as if he was somehow less than her. It was something that he could not forgive and he was about to reach for his shock baton when he heard the sound of the door opening.
He ignored the sound as he reached for his baton, but suddenly he froze as pain radiated from his chest. He looked down in horror to see a sharp blade of light protruding from his chest. The blade disappeared in a flash of green particles and Stills collapsed backwards onto the floor.
Clarke appeared from behind the man as her invisibility wore off. From behind her, the band of former Reapers walked into the room. The people in the room seemed to panic at the sight of their captors, but Clarke spoke up quickly.
"Do any of you speak Gonasleng?"said Clarke as she recalled the word the Grounders used for English. Luckily, an older man raised his hand and Clarke turned to her saying,"These are the people that captured you, but there are not Reapers anymore. You need to leave the Mountain now with those three. They'll take you back to your people."
The man relayed this to the other captives and they calmed down as they allowed Clarke and the others to free them of their restraints. They soon began to pile out of the room which was rather close to the tunnels. Soon, there was only a young girl left who seemed to be frozen to the spot.
Clarke walked to her and the girl stared up at her fear clearly visble in her eyes. The girl had long black hair and Clarke ran behind through it in a bid to calm the girl down.
"Don't worry,"said Clarke and the girl thankfully seemed to understand Clarke's words. She continued to caress the girl's hair before she said,"You can go home to your parents now. I'm sure they miss you."
The girl was then guided away by one of the other captives and Clarke turned away from her as she stared at the door that led into the Mountain. She was with only Lincoln and Echo as they were both in the best shape of all of the cured Reapers.
"As soon as we go through there they'll know we're here,"said Clarke as Echo and Lincoln turned to her,"What powers do you guys have? We should know what we're all capable of at the very least."
Echo seemed to focus on something before her face displayed open concern. Clarke was puzzled as she turned to the other woman and said, "What's wrong?"
"Our powers,"said Lincoln and he too looked deeply concerned, "They're gone. It is almost as if there is something blocking our access to it. Is it not the same for you?"
Clarke shook her head almost immediately as her hand ignited. She shut the flames down immediately as she knelt to the ground and said, "We need to do things a little differently then."
The revelation had Clarke ons edge as she wondered what it meant for her friends, but she pushed that aside as the bones of a plan began to make itself in her head.
Things had just gotten even more difficult.
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A soothing and rich melody flowed through Dante's office. The sound of classical music drifted from the record player on his desk. The blend of instruments created a sound that was calming and relaxing which was exactly what Dante needed right now.
A harsh knock on the door drew his attention and he turned down the volume on his record player as he said, "Come in. "
The door opened and Cage walked in as he closed the door behind him with more force than was necessary. Cage walked over to one of the smaller tables that had a bottle of the best whiskey they had been able to conjure up in the Mountain.
Cage poured out two glasses and after walking over to his dad he took a large sip of his own before sitting down.
Dante took the glass and he put it down on the table almost immediately. Dante knew why he was here of course. He may have been the President of the Mountain, but that did not mean he didn't understand his kids.
"You're upset about my intervention with Clarke and the Commander,"said Dante as he sipped his drink before putting it back down.
Cage nodded immediately his voice indignant as he said,"I had it under control. How am I supposed to learn how to lead when you won't let me?"
"You were far too blunt, son,"said Dante calm in the face of his son's fury, "I asked you to only plant a seed of doubt not try to alienate her completely from the get-go. You revealed too much information too quickly and you were arrogant and brash. Being a leader is about more than just flexing your muscles, diplomacy is needed as well."
"Your diplomacy,"said Cage as he rolled his eyes,"Still caused us to have to fight. What difference would it have made if I were more diplomatic? We had the upper hand. They barely had any room to negotiate. "
"That had nothing to do with you,"said Dante firmly his tone demanding respect from his son,"We had the luxury of being able to see them react to our propositions and still you failed to use them. The Commander was on edge when you mentioned the attack on the Mountain. Clarke had been misled about the war between our people and theirs from the beginning. "
"So you're saying those savages managed to pit Clarke against us,"said Cage with a hint of disbelief in his voice.
"Despite what you may think of the surface dwellers,"said Dante as he sipped from his glass,"They are not primitive or stupid. Lexa, most of all, would be one of the wisest of them all. Clarke was a target to sway, but once it became clear that she wouldn't be swayed, largely due to your clumsy negotiation, we had to adjust."
Cage looked down at the ground to mask the turmoil of emotions that swept through him. He tightened his grip on the arm of the chair before releasing a slow breath.
"You tried to use your voice on her and it didn't work,"said Cage having regained his cool,"You only discovered you had this power once we healed you with the bone marrow and yet you tested it out on someone stronger than anyone left alive on this Earth. How can you call me clumsy when what you did was what actually pushed Clarke over the edge?"
"You may have swayed the Commander to your side,dad, but I doubt this will be over,"said Cage as he stood up from his seat,"We may know where the Guardians are, but they can't be sent too far from their launch points. They can't even reach TonDC from here and that's the closest of any city of actual importance to the Grounders. Your bluff may have worked, but this is far from over. Once we get out of here do you really think the Commander will allow us to live peacefully?"
"The threat of the Guardians will ensure that–"said Dante before he was interrupted by his son.
"They are not a threat, Dad,"said Cage tersely ,"They can't go beyond nine kilometres from here. They needed to be charged for weeks on end for one hour of battle. Do I even need to mention how they were able to figure out how to exploit their phase changing technology? They were wiping them out casually. The report on them by Eligius said they were only barely in Alpha development. They needed more Hytholodium to work out their kinks and yet you deployed them anyway."
"What is your point?"said Dante his voice sounding tired and weathered from the piercing rebuttal his son had delivered to him.
"You were lucky,"said Cage firmly as he walked around the office,"There is no way for us to develop the Guardians further. Once everyone still in the mess hall gets their shots then we need to make plans to move out, but even then this won't be over. We'll be right in their line of fire."
"What do you suggest we do?"said Dante his tone serious his son's words seeming to have had an effect.
"White Feather,"said Cage and Dante's refusal was almost immediate.
"Absolutely not,"said Dante his voice quivering with anger,"We will not go down that dark path again. We had done it once before and look at all the good it has done for us. I refuse to allow ourselves to do so again."
"Dad–"began Cage, but he was cut off as Dante slammed his fist onto the table the glasses on the table shifting from the force of the slam. It was an uncharacteristic display of anger from the usually unflappable man.
"That is my decree as President, "said Dante after a few seconds ,"Go against it or mention it to anyone and I'll have you executed for treason. Am I understood?"
"Yes sir,"said Cage before a voice from Dante's radio spoke up.
"President Wallace, "said one of the technicians that was in the control room, Lionel if Cage remembered correctly, "We have an issue. Someone is shutting down the cameras on the bottom floor one by one. Emerson is en route to intercept and he told me to show you."
Dante exchanged a glance with his son before replying into the radio,"What is going on?"
"I need you to look at your computer sir. We found the culprit,"said Lionel his voice sounding distressed and worried,"I'll broadcast the images to you."
Immediately, Dante's computer flared to life and Cage walked around the desk to see what the fuss was about. The image loaded just as he got there and Cage felt a coil tighten in his stomach at the sight of Clarke standing with her arms crossed as she stared up at a camera.
The high definition camera were able to capture the anger on Clarke's face perfectly as her eyes and hands glowed with red energy. She raised her hands towards the camera and there was a flash of red light before the camera blinked out.
Dante was frozen in shock and Cage was silent as they stared at the grainy black and white dots dancing all over the monitor.
"Sir?"said Lionel his voice sounding just as disturbed, "What are your orders?"
Dante seemed to snap out of his daze as he said,"Isolate the first floor from the rest of the Mountain. Lock down the elevators and disable any key cards she has. She cannot be allowed to reach the higher levels."
Perhaps his son had been right. There would be no rest for them anytime soon. Clarke had attacked despite being vastly outnumbered. She had already managed to get inside the Mountain without them noticing and Dante knew that things were going to get worse before they could even hope for them to get better.
Cage began to walk towards the door, but he stopped when he heard his father speak up,"Where are you going?"
"To arm myself,"said Cage nonchalantly,"You should too. You still have that pistol in your desk right? Just make sure to leave one bullet in the chamber. She's out for blood."
Their blood.
Cage was gone and soon Dante was left alone in his office with only the cheerful music emanating from his record player to keep him company.
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Clarke waited outside the elevator as she watched the number on it tick down. This was the same floor that the acod for machine had been kept and despite her mess having been cleaned up there were still scorch marks on the ceiling of the hallway she had been in.
The layout of the Mountain was rather confusing, but the more time she spent in here the more sense it had begun to make. There was a downward slope from the front door of the Mountain to the tunnels and so Clarke had reason to believe that the front door lead to one of the top floors of the Mountain, but most likely led to the middle floor.
The acid fog had been at the bottom of the Mountain and that floor was the one she, Lincoln and Echo had found themselves on when they had gotten in. There were probably a multitude of secret pathways that the Mountain Men used to funnel the captured Grounders to their cages or to become Reapers.
Echo and Lincoln both remembered where they were located despite having been rather groggy and incapacitated when they had been captured. Clarke knew there were 7 levels in the Mountain. The very top was where Dante's office was located.
The delinquents had been housed two levels below Dante's office. So that meant their room was on level 5. The medical wing was on the second level of the Mountain and the dining room that they used for emergencies was on the third floor.
Clarke already knew the entirety of the layout on level 5 due to her own exploring while she had been here and level 2 thanks to Maya. The floor she was on was actually the bottom level and the one she had been on when she had destroyed the acid fog and so she knew the delinquents were not on at least three of the seven levels.
Level 3 was a possibility, but not a strong one as it was dominated by the kitchen, hydroponic farm and apartments. Levels 4, 6 and 7 were the two that Clarke suspected the delinquents were on. It was possible that they were in the cages on level 2, but Mbege had mentioned Sky People being taken away while he had been caged so it was likely that they were on another floor than the standard cages used for the Grounders on Level 2.
The fourth and sixth levels were ones Clarke had never even been on and neither had Maya apparently. It was off limits to most excluding the senior staff like Cage, Emerson, Tsing and of course Dante.
If Clarke had to bet then she was certain that her people were on either one of the floors. Lincoln and Echo were making their way to the room where they had been turned into Reapers and while they weren't sure what floor it was on they both agreed it was quite a long walk. So it was likely that it was on at least level 4.
The elevator across from Clarke dinged and the doors began to open. Clarke raised her hands and as the door opened she shot a large blast of psionic energy into the elevator. The guards had been wholly unprepared and three of then were taken out by the strong blast of energy.
Clarke noticed that Emerson was one of the incapacitated and she felt more than just a little bit of pleasure. The other guards had gotten of without any damage and they aimed their guns at Clarke before firing.
Clarke was already running towards one of the guards, however, and she dodged the bullets coming at her with extreme ease. Her speed far outstripping that of the bullets. A dagger of green light formed in her hand before she used to stab into the heart of the Guard.
The other Guards only realised that their shots had missed when their comrade collapsed to the ground after Clarke let go of him. There were only two left and a second later the same knife Clarke used to kill the other guard was embedded in the throat of the one closest to her.
The last remaining guard seemed unnerved by Clarke's perfect aim and he began to back away as he trained his rifle onto Clarke. The gun shook in the man's head as Clarke began to walk closer.
"Stop,"said the guard shakily as Clarke continued to advance. He stepped back as she advanced and the trembles across his body began to grow in intensity.
The man screamed in terror and anger and frustration before firing his gun. The bullets fired out rapidly and the man closed his eyes as he blindly fired at his target. He was only snapped out of his daze when he heard the click of an empty gun seconds later.
He opened his eyes slowly and he was dismayed to see Clarke standing behind a wall of red energy. His rifle was coated in the same energy and right before his eyes it was crumpled into a ball of metal.
He turned back to Clarke as he raised his hands to show his surrender and he fell to his knees. Clarke walked over to the man who was shaking more and more as she drew closer.
"Please,"said the man with panic clear as day in his voice,"I have a family. My kid is only 15 please spare me."
"Did you ever take the blood from the Grounders?"said Clarke and the man hesitated for a second before nodding.
"Did you take the bone marrow from my people?"said Clarke her voice a bit more cold and again the man nodded.
"The blood and marrow you took? They belonged to people who had families,"said Clarke as a knife of green light formed in her hand.
"Please,"said the man as he panicked at the sight of the knife,"I'll never take any more of the blood again. Lorelei said we still need to supplement ourselves with the blood of the Grounders for a few more weeks or the change won't hold."
"So you guys aren't actually full healed?"asked Clarke and the man nodded fervently, "We kept some more Grounders away from the caged ones. They're on Level 6. It has restricted access, but all of the Guards know at least a little about it. It's where the special Grounders are kept and where your friends are."
"What's on Level 4?"said Clarke with less aggression and the man seemed to relax slightly as he said,"Residences as well as the control centre, but that's about it. If you're looking for your friends than they're on the sixth level."
Clarke was silent for a few seconds before she placed her hand on his shoulder and said,"Thank you."
The man was about to speak, but a sharp pain in his chest cut off what he was about say. He reached for his chest and he was horrified as blood poured out and seeped between his fingers. He looked up to Clarke as she twisted the knife in his chest.
He groaned in pain even as he tried to remove the knife from his chest. It was all in vain as he could not muster nowhere near enough strength to move Clarke's knife out of his chest. His struggles began to slow until he still completely and it was only then that Clarke dispelled the knife in his chest. She let go of her grip on his shoulder and he collapsed forward with a heavy thud.
Clarke turned sharply towards the elevator as she heard something shifting and she saw a grenade bouncing towards her in the floor. Clarke waited for it to get closer before she kicked the grenade back towards where it had come from.
Emerson looked horrified as the grenade he had thrown headed back towards him and Clarke watched as the man tried to scramble to his feet, but it was in vain as the grenade exploded inside the elevator.
Emerson screamed in frustration and just as he got up to his knees there was a large explosion that rocked the floor. Clarke watched as the explosion died down and she knew that it would have attracted attention.
Clarke aimed her hands the fire in the elevator and she tried to fire ice out her hands. However, she was surprised when nothing came out. Clarke was confused and she tried once again, but it was to no avail.
How did this happen?
Clarke looked towards the other side of the room and she pulled her hand back before thrusting forward. A burst of air shot out her hand and the bullet casings in the room were sent flying from the force of the wind.
That settled it, then. Somehow her ice powers had been disabled. It was only now that it was in the forefront of her mind that she noticed it. She could still feel all of her other powers brimming just beneath the surface, but it was almost as of her connection to her ice powers had just disappeared entirely.
It had to have happened today because the last time she had used her ice powers was earlier that night when she had frozen–
Oh.
Clarke raised her hand to where she had been shot with a strange needle by the Guardian. It was too much of a coincidence for her to ignore. The last time she had used her ice powers was just before she had been shot with that dart.Now she couldn't use them anymore.
She would just have to be more careful then. If her hunch was right then he ice powers had been taken away because it was the one she had used most recently.
The fire in the elevator was dying down, but Clarke was not up for a ride with a bunch of corpses and the smell of burning flesh was irritating enough for her to look for a detour.
However, before any of that she had to cripple the Mountain Men.
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"Is there any word from Emerson's squad?"said Dante as he spoke into his radio.
"Radio silence, sir,"said the voice of Lionel as his voice crackled over the radio,"We got reports of a tremor and a fire started in the elevator, but we were able to extinguish it from here."
Dante himself was looking at his computer. It was divided into grids that showed him what every active camera in the Mountain was seeing. There were a few black squares that represented the ones that Clarke had destroyed.
He kept his eyes peeled for any sign of Clarke, but there was none to be found. A flicker at the corner of his eye drew his attention and he sat up straighter as one of the cameras on the fourth floor shut off.
"She's on the fourth–"said Dante into his radio, but he was stunned into silence as a camera on the second floor went out. Then one on the third. Now one on the sixth. They shut off in a random pattern and they had no way of knowing which floor she was on.
Soon, there was only one camera left on and it was with no small amount of trepidation that Dante realised it was the one in the hallway outside his office. He waited for it to shut down,but it never did.
"Find her,"said Dante into his radio,"She has to be somewhere in this Mountain. I want every Guard sweeping each and every floor. I want her found immediately. "
"Sir the elevators have been disabled. We can't move that many Guards–"
"Activate the elevators!"shouted Dante his frustration boiling over, "We have seven sets of elevators in this Mountain. That's enough for a patrol to take one to each floor. Leave the one that was on fire. I'm sure it is completely useless by now."
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It had been an unnerving experience for Clarke as she climbed up the cable of the elevator that had been left on the bottom floor. Her invisibility cloak was on and she was deathly quiet, but even then she didn't have any room for error.
The elevator shaft was just roomy enough her for her to climb up. If she well she would not even have enough space to deploy her wings. She was sure that the Mountain Men were stripping each and every corner of each floor for her except for the first floor. As much as she wanted go directly to the sixth floor, she had to take care of business.
Clarke was not sure how many Guards were left, but she knew it couldn't be that high of a number. That was what she hoped at least. She had killed a decent amount with the acid fog explosion as well as the unit that had been sent after her and Anya.
Aside from Emerson and his unit, she hadn't seen any more. She was sure that Raven and Octavia had managed to take out a few as well during their fight with the Guards.
Clarke shook herself from her thoughts as shecame across a metallic door. The floors seemed to be extra thick and as such it had The sign above the door said it was level 2 and Clarke pulled her feet back before kicking out hard on one of the doors.
The door bent outwards from the sheer force and Clarke was able to swing out from the elevator shaft quite quickly. She heard footsteps approaching from further away and she wasn't that surprised as her entrance had been rather loud.
A man turned around the corner and Clarke was on him before his mind could fully process the sight of her. Her left covered his mouth and her right hand cupped the back of his head before she jerked her hands in opposite directions.
Clarke didn't flinch as the man's neck snapped and she slowly lowered his body to the floor as she went deeper into the floor. She made sure to use her invisibility cloak and this way she was able to get the drop on the unsuspecting guards. She was able to kill five more guards before she came across the last guard on the floor.
"Squadron 2, radio in,"said the woman as she searched through a room.
The woman paused for a second as no answer was given and she said with some annoyance in her voice,"Not this bullshit again. Guys this is routine. Radio check-ins every fifteen minutes. Now, radio in."
Clarke thought of getting closer, but she knew she was pushing it as it was. The other guards had been in rooms with carpeting and her steps had been silent. By some fortune, the woman was standing on some sort of surface that made her boots squeak with every step she took.
The woman seemed to realise with a start what was going on and she began to make her way towards the door of the room she was in. Just as she emerged from the doorway Clarke was able to grab onto her and a second later she had stabbed her with a knife.
Indra's power had proven to be useful for Clarke as she did not have to deal with the clinking of metal against metal with every step she took. She allowed the knife to disperse as the woman slumped over.
Clarke had been going for subtlety and that meant she could not afford to use something flashy to take down just one person. She wanted to take out as many guards as as possible to avoid detection.
Her trick with the cameras was probably playing on Dante's mind. It had taken her a while to hack into the Mountain, but with the damage Monty had done to it's security it had been easier than her last time in here.
Clarke contemplated taking the woman's radio with her, but she decided against it in the end. She made her way back into the elevator shaft and she made sure she had a firm grip on the cable before walking up again.
She reached the third floor in no time and in a manner similar to the previous floor she kicked down the door blocking her way. Unfortunately for her, there was a man stationed just outside of the elevator and he shouted into his radio before Clarke grabbed onto him.
"Target found on elevator landing 3A! I repeat target–"
She would soon be swarmed with guards and Clarke knew she had to act fast. Clarke threw the man into the elevator shaft behind her before she stood her ground as she waited for the inevitable storm. The man screamed in horror as he descended, but that faded away until it was cut off entirely.
There was an elevator directly opposite her in the room that was clearly a landing area of sorts for the two elevators on this side of the this floor. Clarke could see by the number above it's door that it was currently stationed on the seventth floor. The number stayed at ''7" for a few seconds before turning to 6.
This gave Clarke an idea and she ran across the room. She heard the pounding of boots on the floor getting louder and louder as the guards in the floor rushed to her location. Clarke put her fingers in between the seam of the elevator doors before she began to wrench then apart.
The metal groaned in protest at first, but it quickly succumbed to Clarke's efforts. The elevator's cable was straining as it worked to bring the elevator down. Clarke activated her flame armour before she dropped straight down the shaft.
She used occasional bursts of flame from her hands and feet to slow her descent and she landed safely on the ground. The cable was still whirring away in front of her and Clarke grabbed onto the cable. It began to melt underneath the intense heat and force of the elevator.
Finally, it snapped and there was a loud racket above Clarke as the elevator ground to a halt. Clarke could still see the light pouring in from the third floor and she knew that the elevator was stuck in between floor.
Clarke focused on the elevator before she flew up in a burst of fire. This type of flying was way less maneuverable, but it was perfect for what she intended to do. Clarke sped upwards like a bullet and she raised both her arms above her head before she punched into the elevator and out the top.
Clarke switched into a hover before she grabbed onto the cable above the elevator. It seemed to give away almost immediately under the pressure of sustaining the elevator's weight and the heat of Clarke's flames. The elevator was now in freefall and Clarke watched as it sped up towards the ground before jerking to a halt once it reached the bottom of the shaft.
Clarke was pretty sure that the Guards were all waiting for her in the third floor and so she simply continued to fly up until she reached the fourth floor. Her entrance was more discreet as she was able to carve out a rectangular piece of the door before she allowed it to fall behind her.
Luckily, there was no one around and Clarke was able to turn on her cloak as she made her way through the floor. Her first target didn't seemed to sense her approach and she was able to cut the woman's throat before letting her fall to the ground.
The next three guards all followed a similar pattern as Clarke was able to get in close and deliver a fatal stab to one of the major arteries. Blood was beginning to stick to her clothes and skin as she killed more and more of the guards. The control centre was on this floor and it had been easy for her to get in with the key card of one of the Guards and dispose of the lone man in there
Instead of going back to the elevator shaft she simply used the elevator and made way for the fifth floor. This was the level with the dining hall. She was able to sneak in like before, but it was only a few seconds later that she realised the floor was eerily silent. She kept up her invisibility cloak and she was shocked to note that the entire floor had been emptied out completely.
The floor was chillingly empty and Clarke was about to go the next level when she heard laughter from around the corner. Clarke kept her invisibility cloak up and she rounded the corner and she was surprised to see the words 'Mount Weather Nursery' above a door.
Clarke was able to sense with her technopathy that the door had been sealed shut. Clarke crept closer to the door and she peered through the window into the room. Children were running around laughing under the eyes of their parents.
How dare they play with their kids while injecting themselves with the blood of some other parent's child?
Clarke watched as a small boy, maybe 3 years, tumbled to the floor and began to cry. The boy was swiftly picked up by a woman who immediately began to console him.
How many children couldn't be consoled by their parents because of the Mountain Men's selfish need for blood?
Blood must have blood.
Clarke hadn't even noticed that her hand was beginning to crumple the metal of the door handle until it cut into her hand. Blood as dark as night dripped to the floor and they made small spots on the pristine floor. It was only then that she was jolted to her senses.
What was wrong with her? She would not, could not, possibly go in there. The adults in there all had soft bodies in comparison to the athletic forms of the Guard. They were just ordinary people. Brothers. Sisters. Husbands. Wives.
She was already enough of a monster. There was no need to darken her soul further.
Clarke walked back to the elevator shaft and she began to descend to the third floor.
That's where the real monsters were.
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He really should have moved.
That was what was going through Murphy's head as he tried to pull himself up from the ground. He had been thrown in with the rest of the mutineers who were bruised and battered, but luckily it seemed as though there was no one dead.
He had been discovered quickly and after managing to kill the guard that found him with his gun he had been chased by the rest of the guards on the floor. They had caught him in the elevator landing. The floor was split into two sections by the landing and he was about to try his luck with the other section when he had been bundled into from behind.
He had only been able to see a bunch of people turning around the corner on that side of the floor before they began to drag him back. Murphy didn't even try to protest his innocence. They had figured out he didn't have his shock tag anymore and that was what had given him a head start even though he had been caught in the end.
The others in the room seemed scared and worried and it was only a matter of time before the guards killed them. There was no way Dante would let the traitors go back to their ordinary lives.
The room was completely silent as the guards watched over them. So it was a bit of a shock to everyone's system when the radios of the guards burst to life.
"Control centre, report,"said a panicked voice that must have belonged to a man,"Squadron 3 is getting decimated. She's sneaking up on us somehow. I've already found 4 dead. I think I've managed to shake her, but–"
The radios fell silent suddenly and the guards in the room exchanged glances with each other looking very uneasy. The man that was in charge of the squad of five lifted his radio and spoke into it.
"Control centre,"said the man,"Target is currently on the third floor. Isolate Level 3."
There was no response and Murphy had to hide his smirk at the panic rising up in the Guards.
"Control centre?"said the man hesitantly,"Come in."
"They're dead,"said Murphy and he didn't flinch even as the man held his gun out towards him.
"Shut up,"growled the man and Murphy obliged the man even as he kept up his smirk. The room had grown silent once again and the man was about to give orders to his team when the creaking of the vents drew their attention.
The guards seemed to panic at the sound and they instantly began to fire up at the ceiling. Their leader didn't seem to agree with this, but his protestations were unheard over the roar of gunfire.
Soon, the four guards had emptied their guns and the room grew silent again. The civilians had crouched together as they hoped to avoid any damage from the guns.
"I did not command you to shoot,"said the man as he rebuked his team before lifting up his radio,"President Wallace, bogey found in the vents of 6B planning extraction–"
Whatever the man was about to say was cut off as the grate of the vent burst open. A tall woman Murphy had never seen burst out the vent. She had two knives in her hand and she was able to sink one of those into the eye of the guard closest to her.
The woman was swift and elegant as she stabbed another guard that tried to grab before wrenching her knife free. She threw it across the room and it slammed into the neck of a woman who had been reloading her gun.
The woman didn't seem to be aware that the leader's gun was loaded and Murphy scrambled across the floor tackling the man just as he fired. The sound of gunfire rattled Murphy's ears, but he used all his strength to keep the gun pointed up at the ceiling.
The gun finally clicked showing that it needed to be reloaded and both Murphy and the man paused before they wrestled over the gun again. Murphy was able to get the gun and he pinned the man down with it by the neck.
The man thrashed and struggled underneath the gun, but Murphy kept pushing down until the man stopped moving entirety. The man's eyes were wide open and glassy and Murphy moved the gun away from the man's neck before allowing it to drop to the floor.
He stood up, but he was surprised to see the woman who had attacked earlier simply watching him. There was some confusion in the room as their saviour had somehow evaded any damage from the guns before dropping down and taking out four of the guards.
The people were calm as they realised she was on their side, but they still seemed antsy as they had likely never come face to face with a Grounder. The woman held out her hand to Murphy and he made to shake it, but he was surprised when she gripped him by the forearm instead.
"My name is Echo,"said the woman as she stepped away from Murphy and instead made for the door. It had a magnetic lock with a keypad sensor and she used her knife to destroy the lock on the outside. She slammed the door shut and to Murphy's relief the door stayed firmly closed.
"Not that I'm glad you're helping,"said Murphy to Echo as the other occupants in the room began to move and stretch for the first time in hours,"Why are you alone? Where's the rest of the army? I'm pretty sure Clarke is leading the line–"
"You know Klark?"Echo asked and her gaze was just a bit too intense and cold for Murphy.
He looked away from her and said,"I came down with her from our home in the sky. She was our leader before everything happened...How do you know Clarke?"
Murphy had turned his gaze back on Echo and he was surprised to see her staring off into space. The woman was silent for a bit longer until she said,"I used to be a Reaper. Clarke cured me and the others that were with me. We had been abandoned by the Commander and if it weren't for Clarke I'd still be a Reaper."
"Abandoned by who?"said Murphy loudly and he sighed heavily as a few of the others in the room turned towards them.
Clarke was on her own?
Murphy knew for a fact that if he had been given the shot he would have used it to get the hell out of dodge. It was good that someone like Clarke got it because if it had been someone like him instead than Murphy would probably be scraped of bone marrow come tomorrow.
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Raven screamed as the drill bore into her flesh. Her body hurt unlike anything she had ever gone through in her life. Getting knocked out by her landing in the pod was nothing to this constant and pervasive pain.
"You're strong,"said Lorelei as she continued to drill into her hip,"Most other people would have fallen unconscious by now. This is already your fourth donation. I have to tell you that anymore than six and you will be dead."
Raven wished for the life of her that her powers could return. She knew what she would to this bitch as soon as she broke free. Break her arms and legs and then after that she'd shove that drill–
Raven's thoughts were cut off as another massive wave of pain rushed through her. He throat was hoarse from all the screaming and even in her daze she knew that the delinquents had begun to wake up one by one, but they remained silent out of disgust and probably some form of self-preservation.
The pain alleviated almost immediately as the drill was taken out of her. Raven was just barely able to hear the door opening before the voice of Cage was heard.
"Lorelei. We're leaving,"said Cage and Raven was able to see out the corner of her eye that Cage stood in the doorway along with someone else,"I've already set up White Feather to cover our retreat."
"Your father agreed?"asked Lorelei in shock and she received an immediate denial from Cage.
"I convinced him,"said Cage his voice laden with irritation, "Dad is too laidback. I love him, but he would never agree to it on his own. This is the best way to keep him alive and cover our asses. Clarke destroyed the surveillance system completely. The fool said he'll join is after dealing with Clarke. I've already got a few guards with us. We need a few vials and then we're good to go."
Lorelei immediately began to pack the vials she had made using Raven's blood as she said,"Where did you set it up?"
"The Franco Room,"said Cage as he adjusted the person in front of him who was clearly a captive,"Clarke probably will fall for the bait and go to the sixth floor looking for these kids. By the time she gets up here, if she even does, then we'll be long gone."
Lorelei was done and she packed a few more supplies before she pointed at who Raven assumed was Cage's captive,"What about her? We already have enough bone marrow."
"She's our bargaining chip,"said Cage and the man finally shifted into Raven's vision. Raven made eye contact with Diana Sydney who looked weak and unsteady on her feet. Her brain didn't even have enough time to process befor Cage and Tsing were out the door as they left it wide open.
"Raven?"said Jasper suddenly, "You okay?"
"Do I look okay to you?"said Raven, but a lot of the sting was taken out her voice as the pain from the bone marrow extraction and her knee still lingered. Tsing had done Raven the 'mercy' of repairing her arteries and veins, but Raven knew that the ligaments were definitely a mess.
"How's my knee looking?"Raven asked and the silence she received unsettled her.
"That bad?"Raven tried again, but she was once again ignored by everyone else.
"Are you Skaikru? "said a voice from the still open door and Raven wracked her mind to identify it.
It hit her barely a second later.
"Lincoln?"said Raven and as the sound of footsteps grew louder she was eventually rewarded with the sight of the man,"What are you doing here?"
"Clarke sent me,"said Lincoln as he searched the desk next to the operating table before coming away with a key,"She sent me and another person to find you. I'm not sure where Clarke is, but the other woman is a level below us. We found other people being held captive as we travelled through the ceiling. We caused a distraction and she was able to kill the Guards."
Raven's wrists were completely free and she took the key from Lincoln as she said, "Help the others out their cage I'll be alright."
Lincoln nodded and luckily the master key for the cages were nearby. The sound of cages being unlocked soothed Raven and she listened to the sobs and groans of the delinquents as they were finally let out of their cages. Raven tried to sit up, but this caused her knee to shift and she fell back down.
Her eyes were clenched in pain and she cursed slowly as the pain rendered her useless. She was about to call out for someone, anyone, when the shackle on her uninjured leg was undone.
"Okay,"said Maya and for the life of her Raven could not guess at when the girl had been brought into the cages with them,"We're going to have to be careful with your knee. No bleeding I think Tsing took care of that, but there is some serious damage to the ligaments and tendons. It'd be safer if you didn't move it at all."
Raven closed her eyes in frustration at Maya's words, but she calmed down slightly as the girl undid the shackle. Raven watched as the woman walked to one of the cupboards in the room before she returned with a syringe filled with some clear liquid.
"I know you're in pain,"said Maya as she began to prep the syringe, "We probably won't need to move away from here. This is the top floor and Clarke is on her way up anyways. This will knock you out for a bit, but it's for the best."
Raven shook her head as Maya injected her once she was done speaking,"Maya, no. I have to be awake. You guys need me. I can't just–"
Maya had ignored Raven's protests entirely and the woman's body slumped as the effects of the drug took hold.
"Why did you do that?"said Monty as he walked up to Maya.
"It would be evil to keep her awake in such pain,"said Maya and Monty's face gree calm at he reasoning.
"You're right,"said Monty as he watched Lincoln pull out the last of them,a barely conscious Octavia, from the cages,"We just need to lock the door and ride out the army's assault on the Mountain. "
"There is no army,"said Lincoln calmly,"Clarke has been fighting the Mountain Men in her own. She is strong and smart. Her powers were not taken away by whatever the Mountain Men have done to us. She will win."
Lincoln's calmness in the face of such dark news did wonders to calm the nerves in the room. It didn't escape anyone's notice that he was in the clothes of Reapers, but there was only so much they could focus on.
All they could do now was lock themselves in the room and hope for Clarke to prevail because as they were they would only get in her way.
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Clarke stayed calm as the elevator ascended up to the sixth level. She knew that they knew she was coming and so she hadn't bothered with any stealth. Her friends were on the sixth level and she had to make sure they were alive before she did anything else.
She had been able to kill all the guards on the third floor and while one had gotten a message out it had barely made a difference. They definitely knew she was coming regardless and Clarke prepared herself as the elevator stopped at the sixth floor.
There were two directions she could go in, two doors leading into hallways that split off in opposite directions. The one on her left called to her and it was only because of the sign above the door.
"Authorised Personnel Only,"read Clarke as she stared at the door. It was locked, but since she was still synched with the Mountain it took barely a second for the door to open for her.
The halls and doors were pristine and clean like the rest of the Mountain and oddly enough there were no twists and turns. It was simply a long straight hallway. She also noticed that there were also no cameras at all which put her more on edge.
Whatever was here was too sensitive to even get on camera.
Clarke finally reached a break in the monotony as she reached a large door that had the letters R and D over the top.
Research and Development.
Clarke pushed the door open and this part of the restricted wing seemed to have more life. There was one large corridor, but this one actually had smaller ones split off from the main one.
Clarke walked down the hall deciding to forgo her invisibility cloak. It was already hard enough to stay synched with the Mountain adding anything else on top of that along with whatever powers she might need to use to fight and she might just get overloaded if she used the cloak as well.
Clarke sped up her check of this floor as she swept the rooms at lightning speed. Every room was drawing a blank even the one that was labelled Cerberus was devoid of any life except for a few Grounders/Reapers that had bullet holes in their head.
Clarke was soon almost done with her sweeping, but there was one room she hadn't entered. It was at the end of the hallway. There was a plaque next to it's enormous doors and Clarke walked closer to read it.
"Franco Testing Centre,"said Clarke until her eyes were able to read the smaller print,"Sponsored by Eternus Industries and Eligius Corporation. "
There were also some words in some language that Clarke guessed was Latin. Her medical training had given her just the most basics of the language mostly the names of diseases and plants and bacteria.
"Ascende Superius,"said Clarke as she tried to pronounce the words correctly.
Clarke waited for a few seconds and she wasn't surprised when nothing happened. She was about to command the doors to open when they opened of their own accord.
They opened inwards and Clarke was treated to the sight of a mob of Mount Weather civilians standing in perfect formation. They were over 200 in number as they stood in a perfectly rectangular formation. The sound of shutters rolling behind her drew Clarke's attention. She watched as thick metallic doors cordoned off any chance she had at escape.
The mob held a variety of weapons from knives to swords and some even had guns of varying sizes.
"What is this?"said Clarke mostly to herself, but she was surprised to receive a response.
"This is your fault, "said the voice of Dante Wallace from hidden speakers,"I never wanted to involve the citizens in this, but you left me no choice. You decimated the Guard. You cut their throats and broke their necks and burned their bodies. They were our best fighters and if quality could not do the job then quantity will."
Clarke realised that Dante intended for her to fight the civilians, but looking at them she couldn't bring herself to make the first move. They looked like robots, no emotion and they were all perfectly still. It was almost as if some switch–
"Is this what I think it is?"said Clarke and she knew instinctively that she was right.
Project Everyman.
"The ball is in your court, Clarke,"said Dante and his voice ws beginning to wear on Clarke,"There is no way for you to deactivate the White Feather Protocol. It's a drug far stronger than that used on the Reapers. Enhanced strength and reflexes. Higher levels of pain tolerance. There's only one way to stop them, Clarke."
"Do they even know that you brainwashed them?"asked Clarke as she began to walk backwards.
"Of course they do,"said Dante his voice having gained a deep timbre," Would you really kill all of these people? I told then that if they kill you then they get cured. You're a monster and don't deserve to live. These innocent people do. Would you really kill them for wanting to escape this Mountain? Are you truly that evil?"
Clarke felt her posture relax at Dante's words. He was right. She couldn't fight against them. They did not deserve to be killed. She was the one that should die. So many people had suffered and died because of her.
Her strength was a curse.
It should never have been given to anyone much less her. It would be best if she just gave in. Dante would be able to reverse engineer the Novus and give it to someone more worthy.
Clarke sunk to her knees as one of the citizens approached her. The man had a pistol in his hand and he moved in a stiff and a jerky manner. The man lifted his pistol and soon Clarke was staring down it's barrel.
"We'll take good care of the Ark,"said Dante his voice having a calming effect on her,"Jasper. Monty. Bellamy. Octavia. Raven. They will all be safe. You won't have to worry about your people anymore."
Clarke felt a part of herself accepting Dante's words. It would be so easy to just let go. However, there was an even bigger part of her that refused to give up. Her friends were still trapped and she could not leave them to fight for themselves.
She would not.
Clarke snapped out of her daze and she ripped the gun from the man in front of her. She slammed it into his temple and the man collapsed in a heap.
"Why do you have a power while your people don't, Dante?"said Clarke her brain fully caught up now. This was the second time she had fallen for Dante's weird hypnosis or power of suggestion. The ideas he suggested seemed to originate from within her and it had almost made her give up without fighting at all.
It was less obvious than fire or lightning, but far more devastating in the right hands.
"Dante,"said Clarke coldly as she raised her hands towards the people opposite her,"Call your people off. I don't want to do this."
There was no response for a few seconds until the man finally spoke,"You know I can't do that. You'd just wait for another chance to kill us."
Clarke didn't bother with responding. They both knew he was telling the truth. There was too much bad blood between them for their people to just ignore each other's existence.
Only one group would be walking out the Mountain at the end of the day.
"I'm sorry you have to see this,"said Clarke and she didn't even wait for response as she formed daggers of light.
She dashed right into the crowd at full speed. Her speed was so great that her opponents did not seem to realise she was amongst them. Clarke stabbed her knive into her first victim before pulling out and stabbing another in the chest.
The crowd was almost perfectly still as Clarke swept through them unimpeded. It had been a gamble on Dante's side. There was realistically no way these civilians could hope to beat Clarke even with the drugs pumping through their system.
Their bodies were frail and slow. Punches that would have only stunned Ontari momentarily broke spines and dented skulls.
Stabs that Anya would have dodged with ease made their mark time after time again.
Bolts of lightning and plumes of fire that Octavia and Bellamy could withstand or redirect cleaved through the civilians.
It took only twenty seconds.
Clarke slowed to a halt as she realised she had no more opponents. Blood was splattered across the floor, walls and indeed her body. In one direction, broken bodies slumped laid still on the floor. In another, burnt and blackened bodies stood huddled as if they had been taken out all at once.
Blood flowed from the wounds of those Clarke hadn't killed immediately. It would be all over for them in a matter of moments. The air was filled with the putrid smell of blood and burnt flesh and Clarke was beginning to feel dizzy from the over bearing smells.
Clarke made her way back to the elevator as she walked over and around the corpses of two hundred people who had just wanted a shot at freedom. Their only mistake being on the wrong side of the conflict.
The guilt and shame she felt was pressing down on her and forced her to step up her speed as she left the massacre behind her. She walked straight to the elevator and pressed the button that had the sumber seven emblazoned on it.
It was a short trip and Clarke walked at a steady pace as she followed the twists and turns to Dante's office. She reached it and she was surprised to find the door unlocked. She turned the handle and stepped inside before encountering a decidedly unexpected sight.
Dante was in his seat, but there was blood leaking from his head. It was only as Clarke got around the desk that she saw the pistol in his hand smoke still trailing from it's barrel.
Clarke ignored the cooling corpse of the leader of the Mountain as she searched his desk. It was only a few seconds later that she was able to find a detailed map of the Mountain.
Clarke left the door of the office open as she followed the route to where she believed her friends were held. It was clear that only a select few had known that the seventh floor had it's own research centre.
Clarke dashed through the hallways before she eventually stopped in front of a door that had a damaged card reader. Clarke heard unfamiliar voices and she was about to kick down the door when she placed whi the voices belong to.
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"How long do we have to stay in here?"said Jasper as he laid down in the floor.
"As long as we have to,"said Octavia her own annoyance leaking through her voice.
The monotony of their wait for new information had sapped the jubilant crowd of delinquents after about fifteen minutes. They had no way of knowing what was happening and it was maddening. The majority of them were toying with the scalpers and knives they had in case an unfriendly face opened the door.
The only new information they had gotten was that the Commander had abandoned the Arkers to their fate and taken a deal to free the Grounder prisoners despite Clarke having jumped through hoops to secure their place in the Coalition.
Octavia was not sure why Bellamy or Finn weren't with Clarke and she could not help, but feel that perhaps this time her brother had been killed. Lincoln had said Clarke seemed angry and sad and determined all at once.
Octavia was not sure of everything that had happened since Clarke's escape, but it sounded like there had been very trying on the girl. It was almost as if she had gone through something similar to the pain Raven had and was still going through.
The mechanic was still laying on the operating table and Maya kept an eye on her even as she administered first aid to the few that needed it. None of them were particularly hurt or injured. It was mostly hunger and thirst that had been sapping away at their strength.
Raven, on the other hand, had suffered far more physically than anyone of them. Even under the effects of the drug Maya had given her she still twitched and moaned which did wonders for everyone's morale.
Jasper was speaking a bit too loudly again about something and Octavia was about to complain when the sound of the door opening drew their attention.
Lincoln immediately rose to his feet and so did those closest to the door. The man was standing in between Octavia and the door and as she made her way to his side he seemed somewhat hesitant before he allowed to move next to him.
The sight that awaited them stunned them all in silence. A rather short girl in Grounder clothing with light metal armour that was gold strangely enough. However, the thing that's stood out the most was the blood that covered the girl. Her face was a strange mix of dried blood and some purplish paste. Her blonde hair also had some blood in it and her blue eyes–
Octavia froze as she looked closer at the girl and she surprised everyone in the room by running straight to the door and giving Clarke a hug. The other girl seemed surprised by the suddenness of it all, but she didn't stumble as she returned the hug.
"You're okay,"said Clarke once she stepped back and everyone seemed to have gradually realised who it was that had found them,"I had to send Bellamy back, but I had to promise him I was going to get you out."
"He's alive?"said Octavia with happiness in her voice and Clarke nodded as a small smile grew on her face.
"Clarke!"said Jasper before he pulled her away from Octavia and into the crowd that had formed around them. Octavia smiled as she watched her friends all greeted Clarke individually. Clarke was pulled this way and that, but the cheery mood in the room dropped as Clarke finally spotted Raven.
Clarke walked away from Harper and immediately her hand was placed on Raven's forehead. Octavia watched as Clarke seemed to grimace before she moved her hands to hover over Raven's prone body. Green light shone from Clarke's palms as Raven gradually healed and Octavia watched in morbid fascination as her knee realigned itself and began to knit itself back together.
The process seemed to have woken Raven up who stared up at Clarke in confusion before she finally spoke,"Clarke? How did you–"
"A lot of fighting, "said Clarke and her words were clipped as if she didn't want to go over the details again. Her tone changed as she stepped away from Raven who looked mostly patched up as she said,"You had extreme damage to your knee. It'll take months for you to be back to your usual self. You should avoid any physical exertion at all costs."
Maya had disappeared sometime during the healing and she returned with a wheelchair. Raven stared at the wheelchair as she realised that she probably was not out of the woods just yet.
Octavia felt bad for Raven as she knew that the girl would prefer to be up and about to keep herself busy. Raven didn't strike Octavia as someone who would be happy with not being fully mobile for a while.
"Where's Finn?"said Raven suddenly and it was a curious thing as Clarke's face changed and immediately they all knew. Raven pulled Clarke into a hug and Octavia watched as Clarke's face shine with turmoil.
Raven's sobs were the only sound made in the room as she pulled Clarke closer to herself. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Raven's sobs gradually grew softer and Octavia realised Raven had passed out.
"You guys need to head down to the sixth floor,"said Clarke after she loaded Raven onto the wheelchair,"I'll cure the Mountainers in there and then we'll head for Camp Jaha."
The delinquents began to file out and Maya pulled Clarke into a quick hug before she began to push Raven away. Soon, only Lincoln, Clarke and Octavia remained in the room.
"Listen Clarke I'm sorry for what I said to you,"said Octavia and she looked away from the probing gaze of her friend,"It was just–"
Octavia was cut off as she was pulled into a hug by Clarke. The smell of fire and blood didn't really bother the younger girl all that much, but it did make her feel concerned about what Clarke had done.
They finally separated and as they began to walk out the room ,along with a perfectly silent Lincoln, Octavia was surprised when Clarke went in the opposite direction of the elevator.
"Where are you going?"said Octavia, but Clarke waved her off as she said,"You guys still don't have your powers. I saw something on a map that makes me think I know where to shut off whatever it is. I'll be down there soon."
Octavia accepted Clarke's words and she tried not to let Clarke's state stress her out too much just yet.
They first had to get outside this dump.
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With all that had happened, Clarke was beating herself up for forgetting that Finn had died. By her hand.
Raven had already been through a lot and even her healing had only done so much for the girl. Finding out that one of her friends had killed her ex-boyfriend and brother in all, but blood would devastate her.
It was why Clarke was glad she had an excuse to stay away from the crowd even if only for a little bit. There was only so much she could deal with at a time.
The corridor she walking down much like others was perfectly uniform with doors on each side all leading into empty rooms. However, Clarke ignored them for the most part as her destination was the end of the corridor.
The door at the end were bigger than usual and surprisingly enough did not open when she used her technopathy. This meant that it was somehow disconnected from the Mountain or something to that effect.
If Clarke was in doubt of being in the wrong place then all of that had all just evaporated. Her fingers were able to get a grip on the door and she pulled with all her might. The doors were tightly shut, but after a few more seconds the metal began to groan before it gave way completely as the doors slid open.
Clarke walked in and she was surprised to find herself on the other side of an observation window. She peered through the window and she was surprised to see a rather pale woman in drab clothing lying down on a bed.
Clarke opened the door that led and as she got closer she noticed that there was something plugged into the arm of the woman. The cable ran off into the wall and probably spread throughout the Mountain.
Clarke pulled it out and she was surprised to see that it was simply a tube with no special wiring. She turned back to the woman lying on the bed and she grimaces as she took in the needle marks along her neck.
A quick check with Insight told Clarke that there were traces of a drug in her system, but it was gine now presumably the Mountain Men had not given her another dosage. Clarke shook the shoulder of the woman and her blonde hair moved with the motion.
A few seconds later, her eyes opened and the woman seemed to be stunned by the sight of Clarke as she began to move backwards. However, her motion was very uncoordinated and uncontrolled. She was about to fall off the bed, but Clarke managed to catch her in time and she put the woman back onto the bed.
"Don't worry,"said Clarke calmly as the woman stared at her warily,"I'm not with the Mountain Men. I'm with the Sky People and I'm here to get you out?"
"There is no Sky People, "said the woman and her voice was rather scratchy, but that didn't stop her from conveying her distrust.
"You must have been in here for long,"said Clarke as she took in the pale skin of the woman. She was definitely a Grounder. Her skin was pale, but looked extremely healthy compared to the pallid skin of the Mountain Men.
"We're a new clan,"said Clarke as she continued to look over the other woman for any signs of poor health,"We landed in Trikru territory a few months ago and my people got captured by the Mountain Men. I managed to convince the Commander to fight with us and became one of her generals, but she took a deal that left my people stuck inside here."
"Le–Heda would never stoop to accept a deal with the Maunon,"spat the woman, but Clarke could see that the woman didn't quite believe her own words.
"That's what I thought too,"said Clarke and they were silent for a few seconds before Clarke spoke up again,"My name is Clarke. Clarke Griffin."
"Clarke..."
The woman tried to get a feel for her name and once she did get used to it said,"Thank you for saving me, Clarke. I thought you were one of the Maunon, but the blood on your clothes tells me otherwise. I just realised you do not know my name. I'm not from any clan, but I was inducted into one many years ago."
The woman was silent as she seemed to reminisce about something for a few seconds before she said words that completely rattled Clarke.
"My name is Costia kom Trikru. It's nice to meet you."
Clarke had no words. How could she? She was deep into the Mountain and she had just found out the person responsible for the delinquents' powers disappearing was not just any Grounder, but the supposedly dead girlfriend of the Commander.
Great.
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Author Notes:
Clarke finds and cures a reaper-fied Lincoln and Echo. Mount Weather falls. Clarke and the delinquents reunite and Clarke finds a ghost so to speak.
That's the bulk of Mount Weather done. Next chapter is tying up some loose ends and the immediate fallout from Lexa's decision.
I've known from pretty early on that Costia would be trapped in the Mountain and you guys will get the lowdown on that soon enough.
Please drop a review and tell me what your thoughts are on this chapter. There were some twists I'd imagine.
