Disclaimer: I do not own The 100. Any similarity in storyline or dialogue originated with the show or book.
Separate and Together
One, two, three, Madeleine continued to count as she ran, four five six, hoping it would help her stay focused, seven, eight, nine, ten.
There was no way they were going to outrun whoever shot jasper, but Madeleine wasn't ready to give up yet. She pushed on without pause until Monty tripped in front of her, nearly bringing her down with him. She did the humanly thing for once and helped him to his feet. They stopped cold when they saw the bones lying on the floor around them.
"Who are they?" Finn asked.
Clarke gaped as she picked up a skull. Madeleine raised an eyebrow when she saw that it didn't look like a human skull. Clarke stared at it as she spoke. "What are they?"
"Who cares?" Madeleine asked with a sigh. "We have to go."
Just then a scream cut through the silence. It was Jasper.
Clarke murmured his name before running back towards the river. The others followed, but Madeleine hesitated. She needed to get back to her brother.
So, she kept running and never looked back.
"We'll just have to find supplies somewhere else," Madeleine said to herself as she neared camp. "We just have to be patient. We'll find a way. We always do."
She continued walking until she reached the drop ship. Madeleine rounded it and smiled when she saw Bellamy standing on the drop ship door. She didn't care that he wasn't wearing a shirt or that he was surrounded by a couple people. The younger Blake only cared about her brother.
Madeleine ran past the people around her brother and he caught her in his arms. He lifted her up and she kissed his cheek as he spun her around a few times and carried her across the door and onto the ground.
"What happened?" Bellamy asked. "Did you—?"
Madeleine shook her head.
"No."
"Where are the—?" He started, but stopped when Madeleine smiled softly. She stepped towards him and lowered her voice to a faint whisper that only he could hear.
"They fell behind. Something happened to Jasper. We're not alone down here. The others will explain when they return."
Bellamy didn't press for any more information after that. She was telling the truth.
"Give me that," Bellamy said as he reached for a shirt from another delinquent. Madeleine recognized him. It was the same boy from the day before. The one that got hurt.
"We share based on need. Just like back home," Wells said as he pulled away.
"You still don't get it, do you chancellor?" Bellamy said. Madeleine narrowed her eyes at the other boy from Bellamy's side. "This is home now. Your father's rules no longer apply."
Bellamy grabbed the shirt, but Wells moved to take it back. One of Bellamy's men stepped between them, pushing Wells back. Madeleine smiled at his sad attempt.
"No, no. Atom, hold up. You want it back?" Bellamy asked as he glanced down at Madeleine. They shared a smile before he looked up at Wells again. "Take it."
Madeleine watched carefully as Wells seemed to debate the idea for a moment. She smirked to herself when he turned and tossed the clothes on the floor behind him. Kids sprang to their feet in an attempt to grab the spare clothing, but Atom retrieved them quickly despite the objections.
"Is this what you want? Chaos?" Wells questioned.
"What's wrong with a little chaos?" Bellamy asked with a smirk that matched his sister's.
A scream echoed through the trees suddenly, sending Bellamy and Wells towards the sound. Madeleine paused by Atom's side. She picked the pair of pants out of his arms and smiled when he raised an eyebrow.
"Talk to Bellamy," she murmured before walking after her brother.
She came up behind Bellamy as Wells turned towards him, anger lacing his expression.
"You could stop this," Wells said.
"Stop this? I'm just getting started," Bellamy said, earning a smile from his sister.
The kid with the big eyes punched Wells in the face suddenly. Bellamy put an arm out in front of Madeleine while the fight got started. He made her scoot back when the kid with the big eyes fell back towards them. Bellamy stepped in front of Madeleine as the fight continued and she took his hand in hers, lacing their fingers together. Madeleine leaned her head against his back as they waited for the fight to die down. She could hear the chanting, but she didn't care. Madeleine was reunited with Bellamy and that's all that mattered to her.
"Don't you see you can't control this?" Wells asked Bellamy after he put the other guy on his back.
"You're dead," the other guy said as he stood up with a knife in his hand. Madeleine inhaled slowly as she slid her own knife into her brothers hand and gave him a small push towards the duo.
"Wait!" Bellamy said, understanding what his sister wanted him to do. He tossed the knife down onto the floor in front of Wells and said, "Fair fight."
Madeleine watched carefully as the two delinquents rounded each other slowly. The kid with the big eyes started to swing at Wells with the knife, but Wells dodged the weapon every time except for the last. It seemed to catch him on the arm, but Madeleine didn't see any blood. She pursed her lips as she sighed. Wells caught Big Eyes by the arm and spun him around, placing the knife to his neck.
"Drop it!" Wells demanded and Madeleine raised an eyebrow when Big Eyes didn't oblige.
"Wells!"
Madeleine turned her head to see the rest of the Mount Weather crew walking towards the tiny valley where the fight had occurred.
"Let him go!" The blonde exclaimed as she neared Wells. He threw Big Eyes down on the floor immediately, but Big Eyes tried to get at him one more time.
Bellamy quickly stepped away from Madeleine and grabbed Big Eyes before he could get to Wells.
"Hey! Enough, Murphy," Bellamy said.
"Madeleine," Clarke said when she saw the younger girl. "We thought you had been taken."
"I'm fine," was all Madeleine said in response.
"Your leg?" the blonde asked and Madeleine sighed when Bellamy whipped around to look at her.
"What happened to your leg?" Bellamy asked.
"She got attacked by this fish thing," Monty said before Madeleine could answer. "It was huge, but Jasper saved her."
"Are you okay?" Bellamy asked as he approached his sister. He looked down at her.
"I'm fine," was all Madeleine said.
"Where's the food?!" Someone from the crowd shouted.
"We didn't make it to Mount Weather," Finn said.
"What the hell happened out there?" Bellamy demanded as he turned away from Madeleine.
"We were attacked," Clarke said.
"Attacked?" Wells asked. "By what?"
"Who," Madeleine said just loud enough for the others to hear. "Not what. Who."
"Turns out when the last man from the ground died on the Ark, he wasn't the last Grounder," Finn said.
"It's true," Clarke said to everyone. "Everything we thought we knew about the ground is wrong. There are people here; survivors. The good news is that means we can survive. Radiation won't kill us."
"The bad news is the Grounders will," Finn said.
"Where's the kid with the goggles?" Wells asked and Madeleine felt a miniscule pang of guilt.
"Jasper was hit," Clarke explained. She dropped her gaze to the floor. "They took him."
"Where's your wristband?" Clarke asked when she saw Well's bare wrist.
"Ask him," Wells said, nodding towards Bellamy.
"How many?" Clarke asked as she stepped towards him and Madeleine.
"Twenty-four and counting," Murphy answered.
"You idiots! Life support on the Ark is failing. That's why they brought us down here. They need to know that the ground is survivable again and we need their help against whoever is out there! If you take off your wristbands you're not just killing them. You're killing us!" Clarke explained loudly.
Madeleine pulled on Bellamy's arm lightly and nudged him forward. He had to be the one to rally the delinquents.
"We're stronger than you think!" He told Clarke. He turned to the crowd. "Don't listen to her! She's one of the privileged. If they come down, she'll have it good. How many of you can say the same? We can take care of ourselves! That wristband on your arm, it makes you a prisoner! We are not prisoners anymore! They say they'll forgive your crimes, I say you're not criminals! You're fighters! Survivors! The Grounders should worry about us!"
Madeleine smiled wide when Bellamy looked at her. Their plan was working. Slowly, but surely.
She didn't care if it made the blonde princess angry. Madeleine knew that soon enough that she and Bellamy would be alone, doing whatever it takes to protect each other. And then life would be good again.
"What was it?" Bellamy asked as he pressed the cloth against the wound.
"I don't know," Madeleine said as she held her brother's gaze. She knew it should hurt, but it didn't. Not when her brother was around. "The others said it looked like a giant snake."
"You could have been killed," Bellamy said, causing Madeleine to give a quirk of her head. She opened her mouth to speak, but someone else did instead.
"She would have been if Jasper didn't jump in to pull her out," Clarke said as she came up behind Bellamy. He finished wrapping Madeleine's leg and stood up.
"And I thanked him for it," Madeleine said, forcing a smile. It dropped when Bellamy looked down at her, a curious expression crossing over his face.
"I'm here for you," Clarke said as she looked at Bellamy. Madeleine exhaled quickly. She hated it when girls tried to impress her brother. There was only one person that he truly loved and she knew that wasn't going to change anytime soon.
"Clarke, what are you doing?" Wells asked from behind Clarke.
"I hear you have a gun," Clarke said as she quirked an eyebrow. Bellamy showed her the weapon quickly. "Good. Follow me."
"Why would I do that?" Bellamy asked.
"Because you want them," Clarke said gesturing towards the delinquents, "to follow you, and right now, they're only thinking one of us is scared."
Clarke and Wells walked off after that. Bellamy sighed as he looked down at Madeleine. She knew he was debating on whether or not to let her come, but she had already made up her mind. She pulled down her pant leg and stood up, following Clarke at a steady pace. Madeleine heard Bellamy and someone else following shortly behind her.
"Promise me you're going to be more careful this time, okay?" Bellamy asked when he caught up to Madeleine.
"I was careful the last time," Madeleine refuted. "I just happened to go swimming in a river with a mutated fish in it."
"You know what I mean, Mads," Bellamy said.
She looked at him and sighed.
"I'll be more careful."
"Since when are we in the rescuing business?" Murphy asked as he came up beside Madeleine. She quickly switched to Bellamy's other side.
"The Ark thinks the prince is dead. Once they think the princess is too, they'll never come down," Bellamy explained, causing Madeleine to look ahead at Clarke. The blonde was walking beside Wells, talking quietly. She looked at Bellamy when he continued. "I'm getting that wristband, even if I have to cut off her hand to do it."
Madeleine stayed by her brother's side as they walked through the forest, but her mind was stuck on the princess. She liked Clarke. The girl knew how to take charge and she didn't take any bullshit. Madeleine didn't want to do whatever it took to get the wristband. She did want to get it off Clarke though. But Madeleine loved and trusted her brother most of all. She would do what he wanted her to do, no matter what.
No one was prepared for what they were to find in the clearing. Madeleine sure wasn't ready, but she never showed it. She kept up her calm demeanor when they all saw Jasper strung up on the tree in the middle of the clearing. She didn't even panic when Clarke fell through the floor. The blonde was lucky that Bellamy was there to catch her before she fell onto the wooden spikes below.
The only time Madeleine felt any emotion strong enough to get a reaction out of her was when Bellamy was in danger. The large panther-like animal came out of the trees. Madeleine was the first to hear it moving around in the bushes. The others soon realized they had company.
"What the hell was that?" Murphy asked from his spot up in the tree.
"Grounders?" Bellamy asked. Madeleine shook her head, but she didn't have time to speak. The animal came out of the shadows, growling as it moved closer. She didn't even care that she was also in danger. She just needed her brother to be okay.
"Gun," Madeleine reminded her brother right before Clarke did. Bellamy reached for the weapon, but found it missing from his belt.
Two gunshots came out of nowhere, causing Madeleine to swing around. She saw Wells pointing the gun at the animal, a look of concentration on his face. He managed to his it once on the leg, causing it falter and move into the bushes. It didn't stop it from coming.
Madeleine's heart was pounding against her ribcage, causing her to take short, sudden breaths as both she and Bellamy searched for the animal. She racked her brain for a way to save her brother. Madeleine slowly and carefully pulled her knife from her belt without making any sudden movements.
The high grass rustled behind them, causing them to turn suddenly. Somehow, it sounded as if the animal was surrounding them all at once. Madeleine forced herself to keep her breathing calm and steady as she focused on trying to figure out where the animal was. She could hear her brother's heavy breaths coming from beside her and the rustling bushes but she couldn't pinpoint where the beast was.
A loud growl came from their right and Madeleine moved swiftly, brushing past him and cocking her right arm. She threw the blade with all her might, hoping for the best. She hadn't thrown in months.
Madeleine inhaled sharply when the weapon struck the beast in the chest instead of it's throat. Her skills were too rusty and it was about to get her brother killed.
She watched as the beast leapt towards her, teeth and claws ready to tear into her. Madeleine winced in anticipation, but she was prepared to die if it meant Bellamy got to live.
"Mads!" Bellamy exclaimed from behind her. He placed a hand on her arm and shoved her roughly as the animal snarled midair.
Madeleine hit the floor hard, causing her to exhale sharply in pain.
Madeleine heard a single gunshot less than a second later and Clarke and Bellamy shout her name. Bellamy reached her first.
"Mads, I'm so sorry. I had to get you out of the way," Bellamy said as he helped her sit up. "I couldn't let you die for me."
Madeleine looked at him as she cradled her right arm to her chest. He knew what she was planning to do. He always did.
"I'm sorry too," Madeleine murmured before Clarke got to her side.
"It's not broken," Clarke determined. "But you did hurt it pretty bad. You're not going to be using it for a couple days."
"Thank you, Clarke," Madeleine murmured before getting her brother to help her up.
"I'll make a sling for you," Clarke noted before walking off to help Finn and Murphy with Jasper.
"You can't keep putting yourself in danger, Mads," Bellamy said as he looked down at her. "I don't care if you did it to save me. My life is not more important than yours."
"Well, I think the exact same thing, Bell," Madeleine retorted. "I wanted to save your life. That was my choice."
"I know, and I love you for it, but I can't lose you," Bellamy said. "I can't lose you."
"You won't," Madeleine promised.
"I love you, Mads," Bellamy said as he hugged her lightly.
She placed a kiss on his cheek and nuzzled her head against his shoulder.
"I love you too, Bell."