Thanks for the response on the last chapter, it was great and I hope you enjoy this one too.


"Come on, Octavia," said Bellamy to the younger girl, "That horse will only slow you down."

They had barely gotten any rest through the night from the anxiety. As much as they wanted to charge off into the night, it would surely be a terrible idea. Whoever could take down so many guards and abduct Miller, Monroe, Jasper and Echo.

"Fine," said Octavia as she hopped off the horse, "We need to leave soon. The trail should still be decently fresh. Where are the others?"

"Right over here," said Raven as she, Lincoln and Monty walked over with four guns in total, "We needed to stock up."

"You should take a gun, Lincoln," said Octavia once she realised who the odd one out was, "These guys took out Echo. We need every advantage we can get. I doubt there are many streams where we're going."

Lincoln had the power to control the earth. It was not as unique as being able to transform into a machine or controlling your bones, but it was reliable which was more reliable. As it turned out, having elemental control as a power was common amongst the clans and it was always just the one element.

It was also better than getting saddled with nothing at all.

"You already know why I cannot use guns. It is not the way of my people," said Lincoln and he rested an arm on Octavia's shoulder when he saw her eyes flare at the mention of his people, "I know how you feel about them, but it's who I am. I've been Trikru for 23 years. I am Skaikru too, but that does not take away the part of me that is Trikru."

It was something of an issue between the two that Bellamy had noticed. Lincoln and Echo were not able to return to their clans. Octavia wanted Lincoln to fully rid himself of the parts of him that was Trikru, but Bellamy knew it was not that simple.

Even now while they were now on the ground, they still had largely the same structure as on the Ark. Democracy existed, but only for a few positions. It was, in all probability, unfair but Bellamy followed a mantra that he had read long ago.

A person may be smart, but people were dumb. They were fickle too.

All it took was one misstep and the leaders of Arkadia would suddenly be disliked. The only position the people had sway over was that of Chancellor, but even that did not hold too much weight down here. Or at least when it came to the Grounders.

Lincoln and Echo had both confirmed that Clarke was likely seen as their leader by the other clans. That wasn't particularly ideal. Bellamy trusted Clarke wholeheartedly. There was no one he would expect to beat her in a fight and she had a good head on her shoulders. For the most part.

His biggest gripe with her was how volatile she was. The way she had switched from being all-in for helping Skaikru to just running for the hills once everything was said and done. It made for a rather taxing time trying to predict what and how she would react.

"We need to head out," said Bellamy as he climbed into the Rover. The last thing they needed–

"What do you guys think you're doing?"

–was for Abby and Marcus to catch them.

"We have to investigate what happened out there," said Monty his tone grim yet determined, "Our friends are out there. We can't just sit here waiting for them. We won't."

"We've lost over 20 of our guards," said Kane as he ran his hand through his hair, "Your friends are some of the biggest assets in this camp, but you guys are also important. Monty, you're the reason our Farley is flourishing enough for trade. Bellamy, you run the Guard and Octavia and Lincoln train all of them. Raven is the best mechanic and engineer we have. Do you understand what would happen if we lost even one of you?"

Kane was right. They all had important positions around the camp and if they got attacked the consequences would be catastrophic and that was excluding the morale of camp which was already at a low.

"You won't," said Octavia and she glanced at Abby and she was about to add more when Kane interjected.

"We don't know that," he said his tone shutting the girl up, "Echo was stronger than most of you and she got taken. They had more people and you still lost. You heard Jasper's call yesterday. He was panicking. Jasper."

Kane's words were as harsh as they were true. The only one who was able to beat Echo was Raven and occasionally Octavia and Bellamy. She had been one of Azgeda's premier spies and warriors so it was to be expected.

The part about Jasper also struck deep especially with Monty judging by his face. Jasper was rarely fazed by anything. Despite his laidback disposition, Bellamy knew that Jasper was as brave as the came. It made the sheer panic in his voice that much more jarring.

"We hear what you're saying," said Bellamy as he climbed out the Rover, "But this is important. This is for our friends. Not one of us cares about what could happen to us. This is bigger than just Arkadia."

The others seemed to regain some of their resolve at his words so Bellamy pressed on, "I've already told them about the picture with Clarke. They're coming for us already. We need to hit back or they'll just keep pushing."

Inaction would cost them far more than any action they took of that Bellamy was certain.

Bellamy noticed that Octavia was looking at Abby who seemed so drained from it all. Octavia was about to speak when Raven put her hand on Octavia's shoulder as a signal to stay quiet.

She got it.

"Let them go, Marcus," said Abby turning to the man, "These are their friends. A few months ago, you would have done the same for Jaha. We've been doing the same for Clarke. Why is this any different? I'd do the same for you. Would you do the same for me?"

That seemed to do the trick. It was dirty and they all knew it but it worked. Abby and Kane were definitely closer than friends and Kane was unable to answer as he thought over her questions. It was widely rumoured that they were dating, but the only ones close enough to those two know for sure were Raven and Maya who both had a close relationship with Abby.

In the end, he simply sighed heavily before turning away from them, "You guys are right. We need to find them. Go see if you can find any clues, but remember you can't go into any other clan's land. Trikru won't be upset with us, but we don't have much of a rapport with the others despite our trade."

Arkadia was one of the hotspots for trade around the Coalition and despite their unaffiliated status, they had buyers and sellers from all over. This did not mean much, though, as none of the leaders had tried to get into contact with them except for Indra just the one time.

Everyone got into the Rover with Lincoln, Octavia and Monty going to the back. Raven hopped into the driver's seat before Bellamy could get a word out and as Abby and Kane gave their final goodbyes he climbed into the passenger seat.

"Why didn't you let me tell Abby about Clarke?" s!I'd Octavia as they pulled out of Arkadia's gate, "I thought you guys were close."

"She's stressed enough as it is," said Raven not turning back as she worked the controls of the car that she had built from scratch during one of her moods that came around with the mention of Clarke.

"She would only stress more or try to find a way to make Clarke meet us back at Arkadia and then she'd be reluctant to let us go."

Octavia had nothing to say in response after Raven's near-perfect response. Bellamy could see Abby doing that and considering Abby had eventually vouched for them then things would have only gone worse if Clarke's name had been brought up.

"Speaking of Clarke," said Octavia as she changed the topic somewhat, "Where is she meeting us?"

"She said she'll find us," said Bellamy as he looked up to the skies, "She'll probably try to radio us once we're near her."

They had not spent much time speaking on the radio, but Clarke had convinced them to stay the night. They would be at a severe disadvantage if they had gone on and charged in. Only around half of the guards had been able to make it back from the Mountain.

The others were MIA, but everyone knew that they were dead. It would just the morale of everyone else if they were assumed to be taken like how the four delinquents had been according to Jasper's call-in.

A few of the guards had confirmed that their bodies were nowhere to be seen and that they had purely focused on getting out of dodge once the attack began. Bellamy couldn't blame them for running.

When you saw people lift things with their mind or shoot lasers from their hand, it was only logical to become more aware of one's capabilities. The guards still went out and did their job, though, which made them just as admirable in Bellamy's eyes.

The car slowed to an abrupt stop and Bellamy felt ice in his veins as Raven reached into her pocket. That faded, though, as Raven pulled out a music player. A groan echoed through the car as everyone lowered their guard and Raven didn't seem to care as she connected the music player.

"The Mountain's a couple of hours away in this hunk of metal," said Raven as she gestured to the narrow path in front of them, "Music will make things seem better."

Bellamy hoped that was the case. He was itching for a fight.


It was business as usual for Abby as she was about to go through her daily routine once she left her office. Checking the medicine stocks. Changing IV packs where needed and other things of the sort. It was rather monotonous. Abby could delegate some of the tasks, but she often found she was most at peace when working.

The monotony had broken when the injured guards returned from Mount Weather.

They had a variety of wounds from swords, arrows and even blunt force trauma. Luckily, none of them was poisoned, but that was barely a silver lining. She had barely had the time to speak with the kids before they had gone off to Mount Weather.

Calling them kids were wrong. They were all well over eighteen, but that was still how she saw them at times. Yet, she knew that they were not weak in any sense of the word. They had all gone through hell on the Ark, then on the dropship and yet again in Mount Weather.

If anything, they had a harder life than any of Arkadia's citizens either from the Ark or the Mountain. That being said, Abby still worried about them. Whoever had taken out yesterday's Mount Weather entourage had to be very strong.

Abby had a feeling they were the same people gunning for Clarke. It was the only thing that made sense.

Clarke had already shown Abby just how strong she was. However, Abby would be lying if she said she wasn't scared for Clarke. How couldn't she be? Clarke was her only daughter and Abby worried about her every day.

Clarke could take care of herself, but some part of Abby wanted to be there for her daughter. Abby knew that everything that had happened to Clarke had been building and building until finally she just couldn't take it anymore.

So she left.

She knew that the tipping point had been an argument with Raven. Abby was certain Raven knew it as well. The mechanic had been the one closest to Abby aside from Kane during some of Abby's darker days over these months. Perhaps Raven blamed herself for how Abby would overwork herself constantly, but Abby did not.

Raven had a legitimate reason for being upset with Clarke. Abby could see that clear as day. Yes, Abby wished they could have hashed things out, but life was never that simple. In any case, Raven had still supported Abby when she needed it and she just couldn't bring herself to hate the mechanic.

Not after she was a big part of the reason they had come down to Earth. If it weren't for Raven, who knows what atrocities would be taking place on the Ark. The Culling would have been the beginning of yet another dark chapter in their story.

Thanks to Raven, all it ended up being was a blemish on their already chequered history. It was almost sickening how that wasn't the worst thing they had done. That had been their life on the Ark and if things continued to deteriorate Abby feared it would be their life on the ground as well.

"Uh, Abby," Abby looked up from her desk to see Maya and the girl seemed just as exhausted as Abby felt, "Chancellor Kane is here to see you. Should I send him in?"

"Yes, thank you, Maya," said Abby and before Maya could leave she added, "Don't worry about them. They'll be fine. We'll do everything in our power to get them back."

"Thank you," said Maya and she smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes, "I'll send for Chancellor Kane."

Maya and the other Mount Weather citizens had settled in quite well. They had a lot of skills that were useful to them and more importantly they knew what it was like to be locked up. Their liberation from the Mountain had been...bloody just like the Arkers descent to Earth.

It made for a rather seamless integration that took only a few weeks to settle. The biggest issue had been the abduction of the delinquents, but once it had been made clear where the ex-mountainers stood on that it had blown over.

"Abby," said Kane opening the door slowly, "We need to talk."

"Marcus, you know just as I do it was the right call," Abby did not want to get into a fight not when she was so stressed and even more so because it was Marcus.

"I know," Kane entered her office and Abby rose from behind her desk to stand near him, "Things were just going so well and now–"

Now they weren't.

"I know."

It was just the way life worked out sometimes. No matter what there would always be something that you couldn't control.

"We just have to control the controllable," said Abby as she walked around Kane to shut the door, "Anything else we deal with as best we can."

"We've never fought a war, Abby," said Kane as she came to a stop in front of him, "The things we'll face. The things we'll do..."

"Who we are and who we need to be to survive are two different things," said Abby as she placed her hands on Kane's neck, "Our people will get through this. The kids will get through and we'll get through this."

Together.

Abby pulled Kane into a deep kiss and there was a thump as he let his utility belt fall to the ground. Abby could feel Kane and her as they undressed and sought comfort in each other for the storm ahead. They knew it was going to be terrible, but at least in this moment, they had each other.

That was enough.


The Rover was brought to a stop as they ran out of road. Bellamy climbed out his side and everybody followed out as Raven shut off the car. The hum of the engine died down and Raven climbed out joining the others outside.

"Who's staying behind?" asked Octavia as she leaned against the Rover, "We can't just leave this here."

Bellamy had to admit that it was a fair point. The Rover was important and if some Grounders got to it then it would be time-consuming to repair. There were plans to build more, but they were obviously on hold for the time being.

"I'll stay behind," said Monty and he raised his hands to cut off any rebuttal, "I'm not good at tracking or in a fight. If something happened back there, I'd just be a liability. "

"We can't split up," said Bellamy once Monty was done, "What if something happens to you over here? We can't take that chance."

"Raven, lock it up," said Bellamy as he stalked off into the woods, "We don't have that much time left."

Thankfully, there were no further arguments and they began their trek to the Mountain. It was a quiet walk. Raven was lost in her music. Lincoln was speaking quietly to Octavia and Monty was silent as he took in the sights around them.

Bellamy did not notice anything unusual per se, but still, the aura the woods gave him was off. He had no idea when Clarke would come, but he hoped it would be soon. Her Instinct would be useful in case anyone tried to get the drop on them.

Bellamy felt a phantom headache form as he walked through the woods. It was in these very woods where he had been given a concussion and forced back to Arkadia by Clarke.

It was also where he had lost one of his powers.

He had not told anyone about it. The Mountain Men were the ones who did it to him and they were long gone. No one really liked speaking about them especially after the cleanup at the Mountain.

The Mountain was considered anathema to the Grounders. They all stayed away from its surroundings even though the place was completely and utterly empty. It was understandable.

None of the delinquents had gone back to the dropship and only a few had been to the Mountain since. It was one of the few things that the Arkers and Grounders agreed on. The Mountain was better left alone.

Or at least that used to be true.

Two attacks in a matter of days on Skaikru. They did not which one of the clans was responsible. They did not know if it was some rebellious leader or if the Commander had ordered the attack. They knew practically nothing.

All Bellamy knew was that they were in danger.

It was not a comforting piece of knowledge. There were too many variables to consider. How many clans were against them? How many clans would come to their aid? Could they even win a war against a clan?

If the numbers were anything like when Arkadia had been attacked by the Coalition then Bellamy had no hope of them winning. Clarke had saved them, but even then Bellamy wasn't sure how much damage Clarke could do on her own.

Bellamy was still certain that Clarke served as a deterrent against anything, but clearly the other clans no longer felt the same. Something had to have changed. There was a reason things were messed up now.

Bellamy took a moment to scan his surroundings and he realised they were getting close to the Mountain. It was perhaps only a few hundred metres away now. Bellamy looked at the others and he saw that he had fallen behind the group.

They were all engrossed in a conversation and not paying particular attention to their surroundings. This gave Bellamy the prime view of watching Monty trip and fall to the ground over something on the floor.

Bellamy ran to catch up with the others and by the time he got there, Monty was already standing. No one spoke and even Raven had turned off her music. Bellamy only realised why when he looked down to the ground.

A guard from Arkadia laid on the ground. It was Wayne Bush. Wayne was one of the older guards and Bellamy felt anger build up in him as he stared at the arrows embedded in his chest.

Lincoln seemed to be particularly interested in the arrows and he gently pulled one of them out. He seemed to examine it for a second before he let out a deep sigh.

"What is it?" said Octavia placing a hand on Lincoln's shoulder.

It did little to comfort the man whose gaze was still firmly on the arrow. Finally, he let it fall to the ground. His voice was deep and low, but the confusion in it was plain as day.

"These are Trikru arrows."

That was the last thing any of them expected to hear. Bellamy knew that Trikru had the best rapport with Skaikru and they had allowed them to make trips to and from the Mountain multiple times.

Of all the clans, Trikru would be their last pick to start something.

That did not say much, though. The traders and vendors from the other clans did not act one way or the other. The only clan they never saw much of was Floukru, but with what they knew about Clarke that made some sense.

Even Azgeda were amicable enough when doing business. It was hard to know whether any of the clans had any real distaste for Skaikru or not. Trikru's cooperation could now be explained away as a facade.

Bellamy wasn't sure what to do.

"Let's look for more evidence," said Monty, "If they fought inside the Mountain then maybe the cameras are still online. We never shut the place down after all."

"That might just work," said Octavia and Bellamy couldn't help but agree.

"The Mountain's just up ahead," said Bellamy as he walked off, "We'll come up with a gameplan once we're inside."

It took them around two minutes to get to the front door of the Mountain and what awaited them was...gruesome.

There were many corpses of guards laying around. They had all been killed in a disturbingly varied number of ways. Stabbings, broken necks, burnt and too many others to list at once.

It was unsettling and the sight only served to dampen the mood of the group. Monty seemed to be the most unsettled of them all so Bellamy spoke up to snap him out of his daze.

"We're going to go to the control centre first," said Bellamy, "If that's a bust we can search the perimeter. "

"How will searching the mountain help us?" said Octavia as she gestured to the corpses around them, "It looks like we have a lot more evidence out here and we can't waste any more time as it is."

Bellamy was silent for a bit before he sighed, "You're right. Monty and I will go check inside. There should be a camera that caught what happened here. We'll check the inside for anything and you guys can check out here."

"I'll be on my own," said Raven as she put her music player away, "I have X-ray vision and can transform my body into any machine I need. Octavia and Lincoln should pair up."

It was a sound argument and soon the group split up. They all had their radios on them so if something came up they would still be able to communicate.

"Let's go, Monty," said Bellamy as he walked ahead of the other boy and deeper into the Mountain.

The inside of the Mountain was cold and ominous despite being rather brightly lit. There was a faint humming as the various machines in the Mountain kept running.

They finally reached the elevator and after a few seconds, they were headed to their destination. The elevator stopped on the fourth floor and they were about to head to the control centre when a large crashing sound came in the opposite direction.

Bellamy looked at Monty who looked just as on edge as Bellamy was, "It was probably just an animal. Let's go to the control–"

This time, however, the sound of something or rather someone running away made Bellamy spring into action. He ran off towards the sound and he only had enough time to tell Monty to head for the control centre before he was out of earshot.

The sound of boots on the floor was distinct and Bellamy knew he was getting closer. He was led up and down hallways and stairs before finally he came to a stop in a hallway that was scorched black.

There was an open door that Bellamy walked through. Inside, he was greeted by a room that looked to have been gutted by flames. There was yet another door to walk through and Bellamy was surprised by what lay beyond the entry chamber.

Twisted and charred metal stretched across the entire room. There were some catwalks high up in the air that seemed to have buckled and now slanted down towards the ground. It was only now that Bellamy realised this must have been where the acid fog had been made.

Bellamy was sure that whoever was running was in here. Bellamy raised his hands before throwing them to each side of him. The room seemed to break as everything was forced to the walls on either side of Bellamy.

The noise it made echoed throughout the room and it was just loud enough to hurt. Bellamy ignored that as he scanned the room for any sign of anyone. He had heard no scream of pain and Bellamy assumed he had either gotten whoever it was or they weren't in here at all.

Bellamy was about to leave when something fell from the ceiling. It landed at his feet and Bellamy was shocked to see a burnt skull with a large dent on the side.

What the hell?

Bellamy looked up and it was then that he saw someone fall from the ceiling and grab onto him. There was a burst of smoke before their surroundings seem to shift, but before Bellamy could process it he was slammed facefirst into something.

Bellamy let out a blast of telekinetic energy and he was surprised when he heard wood snapping. Bellamy looked at his surroundings and cursed as he realised he was in the middle of the forest outside the Mountain.

His only saving grace seemed to be that his opponent was still here. They wore a hood that covered their face and they were leaning back against a tree.

Bellamy raised his hand and bound his assailant with his telekinesis. A small flick with his other hand removed the hood and a woman with tanned skin stood before him. She had on white and black facepaint that his mind instantly connected to one of the other clans.

Azgeda.

"What did you do with my friends?"

The woman did not answer. She only smiled and it was an arrogant thing that made Bellamy's anger ignite. He slammed her into the ground and she let out a groan before he lifted her back up.

"What did you do with my friends?"

Silence.

Bellamy slammed her into the ground harder this time and then once more for good measure. Blood was leaking from her mouth and her forehead and still she smiled as if she was not in pain at all.

Bellamy raised her up and he brought his hand down to slam her into the ground. However, instead of a thump, he heard a pop as she went up in smoke.

Another pop went off behind him and Bellamy moved to the side to avoid a slash from the woman. The knife cut into his arm and Bellamy let out a telekinetic blast by reflex.

The attack connected full-on and the woman slammed into a tree a good ten metres away. She recovered quicker than he expected, however, and disappeared in a burst of smoke. Bellamy waited for about ten seconds until it dawned on him.

She was gone.

Bellamy didn't dwell on this for too long as he knew where she was headed. He used his telekinesis to raise himself in the air. A few seconds later, Bellamy burst through the treetops.

He frowned as he saw he was quite a few miles north of the Mountain. It would take him about five minutes of running at full speed to get back there. Bellamy dropped back down to the ground and he shook off a bout of dizziness.

He reached for his radio, but his hand met nothing, but air. Bellamy felt his insides curl up as he realised his radio had been taken at the beginning of the fight.

"Fantastic."


"There hasn't been much of anything," said Octavia as she walked just behind Lincoln, "That trail disappeared and we've been guessing ever since. This is so annoying!"

The situation was getting on Octavia's nerves. She hoped that Lincoln would have found something, but even he was drawing up blanks. They had seen nothing of any note for the past ten minutes and were only going off Lincoln's gut instinct.

To make matters worse, a pungent smell hung in the air.

"Are you sure that smell wasn't you?" said Octavia drawing a snort from Lincoln, "I promise I won't be mad."

Lincoln did not say anything further and Octavia was about to say something when she walked into him. Lincoln was looking down on the ground at something and Octavia walked around him to take a look.

She recognised them immediately.

"These are Jasper's goggles," said Octavia and she picked it up carefully.

The lens was cracked and it was covered in dust, but most importantly it had a thick, red crust covering it. Octavia hoped against hope, but Lincoln confirmed what she already knew.

"Blood."

"I'll tell the others," said Octavia as she took out her radio and spoke into the microphone, "Hey, guys. We've got a lead on the eastern side of the Mountain. About ten minutes directly east."

Silence.

"This is serious, guys," said Octavia the slightest hints of annoyance creeping into her voice, "Come in. Monty? Raven? Bella–"

Octavia was cut off as her crystal armour activated. Sharp arrows bounced off of her and tumbled to the ground. Octavia tracked the arrows and fired a wave of shards from where they had come from.

The plant life around them was torn to shreds as the shards cut and tore everything around them. There was a sharp cry of pain and Octavia charged off towards it.

A man in grey facepaint was staggering with a large shard in his leg. Octavia morphed her hand into a sharp blade before attacking the man. The man was slow and it was easy for her to get a deep cut along his torso before she kicked his feet out from under him.

He landed on the ground roughly and as soon as he did, shackles of rock wrapped around his limbs. Octavia mounted the man before punching him right across the jaw. There was a loud crack as the bones in his face broke and he spat out a few teeth.

"Where are my friends?"

The man smiled. He was missing a couple of teeth and blood was coming out of his mouth. Octavia punched him again and again and again until finally Lincoln intervened and pulled her off the man.

"We don't have time, Octavia," said Lincoln as he pulled her off, "He won't talk."

"Skaikru," said the man his face a myriad of broken bones and bruises, "Skaikru will fall to Heda. Atari, do it!"

Faster than either of them could react, the bound man dropped into what looked like a black void. Octavia activated her 360 vision causing her eyes to white out completely. She turned on a dime and fired a shockwave behind her.

The shockwave tore the trunk of a tree apart and from behind the tree walked out a man with maroon facepaint. He held a flaming torch of all things in his hand and on an instinctive level, Octavia knew it spelt trouble.

She fired another shockwave, but the man was quick enough to duck behind the tree. She followed it up with a wave of crystal shards, but the man seemed to be just one step ahead of her.

Thankfully, she wasn't alone.

Lincoln punched the ground and spires of rock sprung out from the ground all around them. Atari was forced to jump and Octavia finally connected with a shockwave. The man was sent flying into a tree and he dropped the torch he was holding.

The man didn't bother standing up. He simply waved them goodbye before throwing the torch far in the direction Lincoln and Octavia had come from.

He disappeared in a dark void and Lincoln and Octavia were left alone. They stood still for a moment as they processed what just happened.

"His facepaint was Yujleda and the other I'm sure was Boudalan," said Lincoln his voice slightly confused, "They don't usually come this far north."

Octavia processed what Lincoln was saying, but her mind was preoccupied with what Atari had done before fleeing. Why bring a torch to this forest? It was clear as day and you could see clearly in the forest. Really, the only sense that would be disturbed was your–

"Oh no," said Octavia as she pulled on Lincoln's arm, "We need to get the hell out of this forest. Now!"

Lincoln seemed to accept her words at face value and Octavia was grateful. It was practically a year ago at this stage, but now Octavia knew what the terrible smell had been earlier.

Hydrazine.

They would be burnt to a crisp if they didn't get out of here. If how pungent the smell was any indication, there was a lot of it spread out. That torch was meant to start a fire. Maybe they could find it before–

A rancid smell was carried on the wind and Octavia frowned as she saw a fire begin to spread rapidly. They would have to move. Fast.


Raven was on guard as soon as she smelt the hydrazine. She had activated her X-ray vision and she was on red alert just in case someone tried something.

It was with more than a slight sense of annoyance that she realised she had left her radio in the car. It wasn't like her to be this careless, but Raven had feeling out of sorts for the past two days.

Her friends getting abducted and someone gunning for Clarke's head did not put her at peace. She was still mad at Clarke for what happened to Finn. They were extenuating circumstances, but that did nothing to soothe the pain she felt in her chest.

Raven had no idea how she would even speak to Clarke if or when she got here. What to say? Raven felt sorry, but she still meant a lot of what she said. Clarke was one of her closest friends. Would she even be willing to rebuild bridges or would they just ignore each other?

To make matters worse, she was getting nowhere fast. She found no sign of any recent trails and there was this niggling feeling that they were just too late to help their friends. For all she knew, they were all dead and strung up on some random tree in some random field.

It was a reality that others did not want to face. They all spoke as if all of their friends were alive and Raven just could not do that. She had to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. It was how she had gotten by on the Ark and it would serve her well down on Earth as well.

Raven came to a stop and her eyes glowed a bright yellow as she scanned her surroundings. The smell of hydrazine was very noticeable at this stage and it was likely that whoever had put it here knew what the compound was capable of.

The thing was where did it come from? Did the Mountain Men have some strange booby trap that they accidentally triggered? Was that even possible?

The only other possibility was almost too insane to consider.

Hydrazine came from the Ark Stations and a lot of stations didn't survive the landing. Did the Grounders somehow come to realise that the fluid was extremely useful? If a fire started then Raven could just make a mask for herself, but the others would be in serious trouble.

A bush rustled behind her and Raven stopped walking. She activated her X-ray vision before firing twin laser beams towards the bush. There was a scream as her aim struck true, but Raven frowned as she saw fires quickly form and spread across the ground.

Damnit.

She had been careless and had started a fire despite knowing a flammable liquid coated everything close to her. Raven made a mask that formed around her skin and immediately filtered everything unsavoury out the air.

Her eyes stung ever so slightly, but a quickly-formed visor took care of that problem. Raven scanned her surroundings for more warriors. Her X-ray vision allowed her to peer through the smoke and fire that was rapidly spreading.

She found three people who were running away from her. Raven knew she had to capture at least one of them so she took off running after them. The fire was spreading rapidly through the forest and the heat pressed down on her as she ran.

On an impulse, Raven slowed to a stop and raised her hand. It morphed into a cannon before a large beam of energy shot out from it. The beam cut down a swath of trees and took out one of the three targets.

This seemed to shock and infuriate the other two as they doubled back to fight Raven. She tried to fire another blast with her cannon, but there was a loud pop behind her that drew her attention. She turned and was kicked straight in the face.

The kick was strong and Raven felt weightless as she was sent through the air. She slammed into a tree and was given no respite as her assailant appeared in front of her. The white and black facepaint of the woman stood out in the growing smoke and flames.

Ice Nation. Great.

Her assailant was soon joined by the other two and they began to beat her down. Raven tried to get a second to form a weapon, but she couldn't focus long enough to do so. Her mask and visor dissipated and the smoke was drawn into her lungs.

Her vision was slowly beginning to blur and in a fit of desperation, Raven threw her arms outwards. A series of small tornadoes formed around her and one of her attackers who had on dark-green facepaint was dragged into one of the tornadoes. He screamed before being thrown deep into the flames surrounding them.

This gave her space to breathe as the last two backed off a bit, but the tornadoes were increasing the rate the fire was spreading. The woman with the dark-green facepaint teleported away leaving only the man with the yellow face paint.

Raven was barely conscious at this point. Her vision blurred as she saw the man before suddenly shift into three copies of himself. Her head was spinning, but she aimed at one of the copies and fired a laser beam.

She missed and it went over the man's head and into the sky above. The man scoffed and he crouched in front of Raven before beginning he wrapped his hands around her neck.

Raven failed as she tried to escape the man's iron grip. She was able to create enough space for her to breathe, but the air was toxic as it stood. Her grip weakened and the man was able to wrap his arms fully around her neck.

Raven struggled desperately to stay alive. Her chest began to burn from both the heat of the flames and oxygen deprivation. Her muscles were weakening and a grim acceptance began to overtake her panic.

However, the pressure around her neck was gone and Raven opened her eyes. Through the smoke, she was able to see a glowing green arrow sticking out from the man's chest.

There was a blur of motion and Raven felt like she was thrown into a whirlpool. That feeling dissipated, however, as clean air burst into her lungs. Raven breathed in deeply before letting out an exhale.

Her vision was still blurry, but after a minute or so it cleared up. Raven realised she was in the sky and she looked at who her rescuer was and she felt relief fill her body.

"I'm getting you to the Rover," said Clarke as she glanced down at Raven, "Madi and I found Octavia and Lincoln running from the fire and we moved them there. I'm still looking for Bellamy and Monty."

"Thanks for saving me, Clarke."

"Don't worry about it."


Clarke flew through the air as she made way for the Mountain. She had left Madi with Raven, Lincoln and Octavia at the Rover. Raven had been exhausted, but she was still able to muster enough energy to summon rain clouds over the fire.

The forest to the west, south and east of the Mountain was completely decimated. Apparently, hydrazine had been used as an accelerant for the fires. They had walked into a trap and were lucky that they did not get killed.

Monty wasn't answering his radio and according to the others, he and Bellamy had been inside the Mountain at the beginning of this whole thing. They hadn't found any proof or evidence of what happened to their flames unless the attacks counted as proof.

Clarke looked down at the looming form of Mount Weather. Her eyes (now in the form of a hawk) were peeled for any movement and so it was easy for her to see someone crawling on the ground towards the Mount Weather entrance.

Clarke landed by the figure a few seconds later and she was surprised to see the pale and trembling form of Bellamy. His skin was cold to the touch and he seemed to be completely dazed.

"Bellamy, are you alright?" said Clarke and he didn't seem to register her words as he simply collapsed forwards.

Clarke used Insight to see what was going on and she frowned as she realised he had been poisoned. Thankfully, she was able to heal it, much like she did for Lincoln and Echo, and soon Bellamy was fine but unconscious.

Clarke carried him on her back as she walked into Mount Weather. It was a bit of a surprise to see that it was still up and running, but she ignored that. Clarke set Bellamy down and she used her technopathy to sync with the Mountain just like all those months ago.

She sat down next to Bellamy with her legs crossed before closing her eyes. The cameras were back online and Clarke skipped from one to the next as she tried to find Monty.

Medical? Nothing.

Dante's office? Nothing

Dining hall? Nothing.

Control centre? Nothing.

Clarke swept the entire Mountain and still, nothing came up. On a whim, she began to start the clock around the time the others said they had gotten here and what had previously been empty was full of action.

She saw Monty and Bellamy enter. She saw a woman watching their approach from the control centre. She saw how the woman baited Bellamy into pursuing her and how they ran downstairs out of sight.

Finally, a few minutes later she saw the woman teleport behind Monty who was screaming into his radio. She saw the woman knock Monty down before reporting away with him.

Clarke tried to go back to the time of the attack and she saw something similar. Hooded assailants attacked Skaikru before Miller, Jasper and Monroe were taken down and teleported away. Echo had put up a strong fight, but she suddenly collapsed to the floor as she began to shake wildly.

The woman from earlier teleported back in before she picked up Echo. She seemed to pause and stare up at the camera before giving a wave and teleporting away. They cleared out very quickly and soon only the bodies of Skaikru guards were dragged out and left outside the Mountain.

Clarke opened her eyes and she saw Bellamy was still pale and he seemed to be freezing up from getting drenched in the rain. She had to get back to the others.

Things were worse than they appeared.


"So that makes it how many clans that attacked us?" said a recovered Raven as she tried to inculcate all the details of what had happened.

"The bitch with the white and black paint that attacked you and me was Azgeda," said Bellamy from the driver's seat his annoyance dripping into his voice.

Clarke looked towards Madi who didn't seem to register the word, but when Clarke saw the girl mouth it to herself silent she felt a small bit of annoyance towards Bellamy.

"There was a guy in maroon face-paint for us and the other was...grey," said Octavia, "So that's Broadleaf and Rock Line. What's it in Trig?"

"Yujleda and Boudalan," said Madi and there was something of an awkward air as she entered the conversation.

Clarke could tell they were all curious about the young girl, but now was not the time for that. Clarke cleared her throat as she rounded up the last of their attackers.

"Two other people in dark-green and yellow facepaint attacked Raven," said Clarke drawing a nod from the driver, "That's...Trikru. And Ingronarona–the Plain Riders."

That with the addition of the arrows Lincoln had identified as being Trikru made for a disconcerting image. Various warriors from five of the twelve clans. Two of them being warriors from the two strongest clans.

"This doesn't make any sense," said Clarke as she gave her voice to her concerns, "Why would Trikru and Azgeda work together? Why now?"

There was silence as the Rover went over a few bumps before Octavia spoke, "It's you, Clarke. It has always been you."

Lincoln gave Octavia a look, but there were no words of protest. Clarke knew that the girl was right. This was all about her and the Novus and being Wanheda or Skaifaya or whatever else the Grounders felt like calling her.

"It doesn't matter why they're doing this," said Bellamy turning over in his seat, "We need to figure out what the hell is going on. We can't survive a war and I doubt Floukru or the City of Light have any takers."

Octavia groaned after Bellamy's reply, "That City of Light place doesn't exist. It's an old wives tale. Didn't you listen to Lincoln explain it like a thousand times?"

Clarke remembered that Jaha had run off into the desert in search of a city of some sort. Apparently, it was supposed to be modern and accepting of people from all backgrounds.

That was a joke.

Clarke was about to speak when suddenly Raven slammed on the brakes. Everybody was thrown around, but Clarke managed to keep her balance. Octavia was not so lucky as she had bumped her head hard against the floor and she let her annoyance be known.

"What the fuck was that, Raven?"

Clarke was annoyed at the strong language being used by Octavia, but she put it aside as she looked towards Raven who was staring through the windshield. Clarke followed her gaze and she frowned as she saw who was standing in the room.

"Madi, stay inside," said Clarke as she climbed out the Rover, "Nobody move. You guys are still weak from the hydrazine. You'd be killed in a fight."

Clarke walked out the backdoor of the Rover before shutting it close. She walked around the Rover and leading a platoon of at least fifty Trikru warriors were Anya and Indra.

Clarke schooled her features as she walked up to the two women. There were whispers and murmurs from the other Trikru as she walked closer. They all had their weapons drawn and seemed ready to explode into action if necessary.

"Indra," said Clarke to the older woman before turning to the person at her side, "Anya. What is this?"

"The Commander wants you in Polis," said Anya before she paused for a beat, "Skaikru has been summoned."

"Excuse me?"

"Your people have violated the treaty you agreed to with Heda," said Indra her voice displaying her annoyance at Clarke, "Six of our villages have been ransacked and burnt to the ground. They had many of their residents taken. Skaikru has been summoned to explain their actions."

Clarke knew that this was a lie from the get-go. Kane and her mother would never attack innocent villages. There was something else at play.

"Is that so?" said Clarke her hand balling into a fist, "My people have been attacked multiple times by the Coalition. We've had five of my close friends taken. I've been attacked too. Today, while searching for our people, my friends were attacked by members of the Coalition including Trikru."

That drew a negative response from the crowd behind Anya and Indra, but Clarke did not care. There was no way she was going to Polis without good reason.

"Hold out your hand," said Indra and Clarke stared at the woman sceptically, "If I harm you then you can kill me here and now."

The others tried to protest, but Indra raised her hand to silence them. Clarke stared at the other woman for a few more seconds before she held out her hand.

Indra took Clarke's hand in her own and as soon as she did images began to flow through her head. She saw smoke and fire. Houses and trees and people burning. The stench was horrifying and her windpipe felt like it was getting suffocated.

She ran through the smoke and towards a figure who was shooting waves of fire from her hands. The figure fire a blast that knocked a young child off his feet. Angry, Clarke picked up a rock and threw it at the head of the monster.

The rock hit full on and the monster stopped her attacks. An icy feeling spread through her body as the monster turned its gaze towards her. The golden hair and blue eyes of the monster shocked Clarke as she realised she was looking at–

"Me?"

"That was the last memory of the only person to get a good look at who's been attacking our villages," said Indra as she lowered her hand, "I can transfer and see into the memories of those who let me in."

Clarke knew it wasn't her. That was sure, but the experience was too real to be fake. It was convincing enough to move enough of the clans into action.

"How long ago was this?" said Clarke and it was Anya who answered.

"Four days ago at night," she said before her haze settled on the Rover, "Your machine drew our attention and we intended to send Skaikru a message. We didn't know you were in there."

That was both good and bad news. Clarke had proof that it definitely was not her who had done it so that meant somebody was framing her. She had to clear her name.

"Here," said Clarke as she held out her hand, "I can prove to you that I wasn't involved."

Indra took Clarke's hand in her own.

"It has to be something you can imagine easily. The clearer the memory, the better your case will be."

Clarke was at first unsure of what memory to focus on, but then she settled on one that was still fresh in her mind and would creep into her mind at unexpected times.

"Don't share this with anyone except The Commander," said Clarke drawing a nod from Indra


Luna laid back down onto the bed and Clarke could feel the older woman's warm breath on the back of her neck. It made her just a bit uncomfortable for a host of reasons.

"Take it from me, Clarke," Luna's voice was deep and as the void of space and it sent all these sensations up and down her spine, "You cannot outrun your problems. They always catch up. Even here, you feel safe, but that will not last."

"There always has and always will be something that will try to disrupt your life, Clarke. I killed my brother for a position I never wanted. I wanted to just stay away from the world, but I came home instead and became the leader. Remember true peace-"

Clarke was not sure how being able to complete Luna's sentences would or could be interpreted by the other woman, but she didn't quite care.

"True peace is given to those willing to fight for it,"


Suddenly, it was all over and Clarke took a step back. It felt as though she had been submerged in water. She recovered her breath instantly and looked at Anya who seemed a bit stunned before turning to Indra.

Indra's eyes were blown wide open and her eyebrows were raised in an expression of extreme shock. Indra was silent for a few moments before she spoke softly.

"Is that where you have been?" said Indra drawing a nod from Clarke.

"I see," said Indra, "I was not supposed to mention this until you were there, but there is a meeting of all the clan leaders and their generals in Polis in three days to discuss these attacks on Trikru. It is fifty miles east of Arkadia. You may bring Kane and two guards with you."

Indra still seemed to be reeling from the memory Clarke had shown her and understandably so. Luna was a general and clan leader and to see her and Clarke so close must have rattled Indra. It was good news that Luna would be in Polis so Clarke could have an alibi and so this whole mess could get sorted out.

"We'll be there,"


Author Notes:

Quite a lot happened in this chapter and things already building up for the next major arc in the story.

Sorry, if this took long, I was suffering a bit from writer's block, but I'm back now. I'm still splitting focus between Ascendants and Dauntless, check it out if you like Naruto ;), but I will try to publish one of each story sequentially. So, if Dauntless has been updated then Ascendants will be next.

Tell me what you thought of this chapter. Last chapter's response was great and I hope you enjoy this one as well.

P.S Stay safe in these streets, guys. My country is in lockdown so I should be fine for the time being, but you guys should also take precautions. Don't be reckless like Raven. Be cautious like Clarke. Things will get worse before they get better so you should take this COVID-19 stuff very seriously.