A/N: To those who don't like my story, please don't read. And to others, I thank you very much for your support.

Chapter 3

Clarke had found Anya in front of her. She had jumped from the ceiling where she had perched. Apparently she had been waiting for Clarke to run pass her. Though it seems that the woman had not seen the gun in the blonde's hands or else she would have never approached the girl.

Anya opened her mouth to give a snarky reply but before she could, they heard footsteps approaching them. Anya ran away from the mountain men with Clarke closely following her.

"I found a way out this way!" Anya kept running. Clarke noted that the path they had taken was roughly towards the dam.

'They are tracking us.' Clarke thought as they were running.

Before escaping the tunnels, Clarke needed to convince Anya to take out the tracking bug from her forearm or else the mountain men would follow them all around the forest. Clarke really did not want to repeat that experience. She stopped Anya in a corner after making sure that enough distance between them and their pursuers.

Clarke checked herself for any trackers that might be placed on her person but found none. She had not found any last time but still needed to make sure that she had not missed one.

"What are you doing? Let me go. They will find us." Anya was annoyed because the girl stopped her at gunpoint. However, she was also curious as to what the skaigada was up to now to take a halt at this time.

"It is not me they are tracking. Quick! Check for any unusual bumps on your body. Tracker should be just under your skin." Clarke explained her actions.

Anya looked skeptical and thought that Clarke was lying. Anya point black refused to search for the tracker. Clarke spent at least minute to convince the grounder that the mountain men used that device to track people. She tried to explain that even if she manages to get out of the mining tunnels and into the forest, they would still follow her. Anya looked far from convince but at the urging from Clarke and the threat that the mountain men would follow her to her village and her people, she complied.

This time Clarke was not shocked when Anya ripped the tracker out of her forearm. As soon as the tracker was out, Clarke led the other woman away from the dam.

"We can't go that way as they will go in that direction." Clarke explained the change in directions to Anya. The other woman gave a curt nod in reply. They both barely managed to hide from the mountain men. The Mount Weather guards passed the area where they were. It would take only few minutes before the guards reach the place where the thrown tracker was. Clarke knew that it wouldn't be long before they realize that they can't track them and would send bigger search parties and maybe even reapers too to capture them.

Even though both Clarke and Anya did not have any tracker on them, they proceeded cautiously inside the tunnels.

"So what made you join me?" Clarke was curious whether Anya would try to take her as a prisoner again. The grounder's eyes narrowed at the question but stated, "I did not join you." Even at Clarke's pointed and disbelieved look, she remained quiet and did not elaborate.

They walked silently for few minutes before Clarke spoke again, "Is it because you wanted to take me as a prisoner?" Anya for a moment looked ready to bite her head off but then schooled her features and said stoically, "You burned 300 of my warriors. I can't show my face without a prize."

Clarke just nodded as if she was expecting the reply and thought, 'Some things, it seems are going to remain the same'

"Would you be able to show your face if you brought information about the mountain?" Anya remained stoic but Clarke could see that she was considering the repercussions. Clarke remained silent so that the other woman could contemplate the offer.

"What exactly are you trying to imply? I know why you are keeping me alive. You need me to take you back to your people as I know all the traps around and without me, you will never be able to make it back. But if you think that bringing me back as hostage to stop the war you started then think again. Jus drein jus daun."

Clarke chuckled, 'At least this time she didn't call me weak. Well, not yet. Probably because of the gun in my hands.' Anya glared at her in return at the perceived insult because she thought that the other girl was laughing at her.

The blonde caught her glaring and explained the reason for her mirth, "You are correct in assuming that I need you but you forget that you need me as well. I could tell your leader what has been happening inside to your people. I want to get my people out and so do you. We can work together." Clarke needed to convince Anya to gain an audience with the Commander.

Clarke and Anya were running through the tunnels for a while. Anya had not spoken anything about working together but Clarke could see the wheels turning in the grounder's mind. The place was a maze. Even with her prior knowledge, Clarke couldn't get around the tunnels. Suddenly they heard grunts, moans, and loud footfalls coming from ahead.

They peered around the corner to see what was happening. There were two reapers moving away in the direction Clarke was sure that was roughly going towards the harvest chamber. The reapers were as she remembered them. Covered in blood and wearing ripped out clothes. They were carrying their tied up prisoners with them.

Clarke noted that mountain men did not accompany them. This caused her to form a plan to free the prisoners and find a way out of the tunnels without having to jump from the dam into the river. She knew that she would not drown but it would surely damage the tone generator that she had acquired.

She took the tone generator out of her pocket and ran after the reapers. She could hear Anya let out curses at her for being foolish. The reapers sensing her turned around with a feral roar. But before they could attack her she turned on the switch. Both the reapers fell on their knees clutching their heads and backed off from the girl.

"We need to free them." Was all Clarke said as she started freeing the grounders. One by one both Anya and Clarke removed the binds from the two prisoners. The reapers had bound them very tightly. Once the two grounders had been freed, they both looked wearily at Clarke and the gun in her hand.

Clarke moved towards the last bound person. When she removed the sack from the third prisoners face, she let out a gasp and muttered "Lincoln" in shock. Last time she had seen him was when she and her friends had to light his funeral pyre after Pike had executed him.

'What were the odds of me finding him?', was the thought running inside Clarke's head.

Clarke had never expected to find Lincoln in the tunnels. In fact, she was resigned that she would have to cure him from being a reaper. But she was glad that he would not have to go through that again. Being a reaper had been hard on him and she would not wish that fate on anyone especially him.

"Clarke! Onya!" Lincoln looked at both of them in confusion. This snapped Clarke out of her shock.

Anya yelled "Natrona!" when she caught the sight of Lincoln. Clarke stopped Anya from causing him any harm. Anya was very annoyed at that but now was not the time to fight amongst themselves.

If the reapers were moving in this direction then they had to leave immediately. More reapers would come or worse the mountain men would. They would not be able to escape from the gas grenades or the sleeping darts. Clarke quickly questioned the freed grounders, "We need to get out of the tunnels before the mountain men come. Do any of you know which way you came from?"

The two grounders looked confused but Lincoln translated the question. When all shook their heads in negative, Clarke was disappointed. She was sure that at least one would know. She turned her head away to clear her mind and tried to think of a way to get out. That was when her gaze fell on the reapers, who had fallen down as though in pain. She belatedly realized that she had not turned off the generator and it was still making noise.

Clarke switched off the device and ordered the two reapers. "Lead us outside of these tunnels." She made sure that the reapers would listen by threating them with the tone generator. The reapers jumped up to comply with the orders. She made them move in the front.

The grounders didn't know what to make of the sky girl. On one hand, she had saved them but on the other, like the mountain men she could control the reapers.

Clarke saw the grounder's reaction to her and decided to talk to them. "Once we are out, you are free to go anywhere you want. Until then we must move together unless you wish to go alone in these tunnels. If you decide to go then this is the goodbye and may we meet again." With her speech concluded, Clarke let the grounders to decide whether to follow her or not. She looked at Lincoln to ask him to translate for her.

In the end, all of them decided to stick together. Clarke knew that the grounders would never travel near the tunnels let alone move about in them alone. However, they were still looking suspiciously at her. Lincoln was walking besides her. He seemed to have questions and after debating with himself for a while he asked, "Clarke? What are you doing here?"

"We had been taken by the mountain men. My friends are still inside but I managed to escape." Clarke explained. The two grounders remained silent but she could see that both Anya and Lincoln were hearing the conversation with interest. Clarke then started explaining everything that had been happening to the grounders inside the mountain.

At the end, both grounders that had been listening were angry. It was not apparent from their faces but their eyes showed that both were fuming at the atrocities committed by the Maunon.

After contemplating for a while Clarke asked Lincoln, "Have you seen any of my people?"

"Before I was taken, I was with Octavia." Lincoln answered.

"Lincoln, I know you have helped us a lot. It must have cost you very dearly and already it has made you a traitor in the eyes of your people. I know I have no right to ask more from you. But can you please find Octavia or any of my friends that are outside and warn them about the mountain. They don't know anything about the mountain men. For all I know they might think that your people have taken us. This might cause them to do something rash. Please tell them everything I told you." Clarke knew this was a long shot but if anyone can find her friends quickly, it would be Lincoln.

He also knew about the forest more than she did. As a scout, he can easily find Octavia and maybe Bellamy as well. He had helped the Skaikru before. They would trust him to tell the truth as well. Finn was going to his village and will massacre the people there. That needed to be stopped from happening.

"You are not going to find them yourself." Lincoln stated rather than asked.

"I have to get my friends out. Only way for that to happen is for me to talk to your leader." Clarke replied. 'If Finn is already on the way to TonDC then I'll stop him from killing the villagers. And if not then I'll have to wait for him nearby the village." As she did not know which path, Finn and Murphy took to the village. This was the only option to prevent the massacre from happening.

Lincoln looked skeptical and warned, "You will get yourself killed."

"I have to try. Both of our people are relying on us to get them out from the mountain. That can only happen if we work together." Clarke said with determination.

He still looked unconvinced but relented and said, "Alright I'll go to your ship and try to find Octavia."

Just as Lincoln mentioned about going to the dropship, Clarke remembered what had happened to Anya when they had reached the Ark the last time. "Lincoln, the Mountain men told me that more of my people came from the sky but they were all killed. I don't know if that is true or not. But you have to be careful if you come across them." She cautioned him to be alert.

At that, he gave a confused frown and asked, "Why?"

"The last we had contact with my people in the space, they knew that your people had send an army to kill my friends. If they are alive then they don't know what has happened to us. Or about the mountain men. They would be hostile to you." If any one who approached the Ark looking like a grounder, they would be shot on the spot. Clarke did not want that to happen. She would never forgive herself if her people killed Lincoln again.

Clarke tried to convey the seriousness of the situation to Lincoln and he seemed to understand it because he gave a short curt nod.

Anya had kept silent during the interaction but Clarke heard her mutter under her breath something like, "Always helping the enemy." When Clarke turned her gaze towards Lincoln, she knew that he had heard Anya's comment because his shoulders had slumped. Clarke gave his shoulder a squeeze in reassurance but he did not say anything.

It took a couple of hours before the reapers led them out of the tunnels and into the forest area. Once they all were a safe distance away from the tunnels, Clarke made everyone stop. She examined the needle marks on the reapers necks. They were the same marks she had found on Lincoln's neck when Bellamy had brought her to dropship.

Lincoln was curious at the examination and asked, "What are you doing?"

"The mountain men have been giving them drugs to turn them into reapers. If the drugs aren't safely removed from their system then they would die. I could try…" Clarke trailed off. She was thinking about how to gain an alliance with Lexa again.

Last time Lincoln's recovery had impressed Lexa to consider the alliance but now that is not possible. Clarke's thoughts were cut off by a skeptical voice. "You are talking as if you could cure them. No one has cured a reaper before." It was saying something that even Lincoln could not believe in the possibility that the reapers could be healed. Anya was standing in front of Clarke scoffing at her.

"I don't know if I can but if my people are alive then they would have the equipment to do so." Clarke replied to Lincoln. She then let the reapers go. They did not have time to cure them at this moment. Also, there weren't enough people to get the reapers to a secure location like the dropship. Sure, she could use her tone generator to transport them but she rather not travel accompanying the reapers. Especially towards a grounder village. Not to mention, time was running out and she still needed to find and stop Finn.

"If you say you could cure them then why let them go?" asked Anya. She was trying to call Clarke out on her lie.

"Would you rather I lead them to your village?" came the succinct reply. "Besides there are lot more things we need to do before. We can attempt to cure them after we take down the mountain and free our people. If curing them is not possible then we can make sure that this doesn't happen to any other person."

With that, they parted their ways. Lincoln left to find Octavia. Others turned to go towards TonDC.