Chapter 17: One Chip at a Time

A/N: There are two chapters left. Thank you all for sticking with me.

"There's no way the Skaikru could take Polis," said Titus proudly and somewhat defensively, as if Monty suggesting so offended him. "We have your army."

Monty shrugged and replied, "I'm just repeating what I heard."

As soon as Monty, Octavia, and Lincoln had returned to Polis, they had sought out Lexa and Clarke. Of course, anything said to Lexa was done in the presence of Titus as well. They were all gathered in the throne room. He had expected Clarke to say more, but maybe she was still processing that her parents were trapped by Jaha and his A.I.

"We will not interfere with Skaikru problems." Titus was speaking again.

Before Monty or Octavia could protest, Lincoln spoke up, "I don't believe this is only a Skaikru problem."

"Go on," murmured Lexa to Lincoln. Everything that had taken place in the last 24 hours was moving so fast. First, Pike had finally been captured and then the discovery of the sacred symbol in the possession of John Murphy. She had listened to Clarke talk about the sky ships and the one that had fallen to Earth. Just moments ago, Octavia and Lincoln had returned with Monty, an unconscious Raven, and a bag full of Skaikru technology.

"When we went back to Arkadia to find Raven, we were met with resistance unlike any I have witnessed before. These were not the fighters of Trikru or like any other passionate warrior I have encountered. They were acting as if there was no soul in them. They had instructions to stop us and no pain or threat deterred them," reported Lincoln. He still didn't know how they had escaped with Raven and the other items Monty insisted they take without killing anyone. It had come close many times. And he knew he had left a couple in serious condition that if not treated, they would die soon.

For once, Titus had no comment. Lexa glanced between her mentor and her girlfriend, but neither offered any advice. Clarke was deep in thought and Lexa wasn't sure she had heard much of what Lincoln had reported. But Lexa wasn't worried about the remaining members of Skaikru under Jaha's command. Even if they fought like Lincoln said, the warriors in Polis outnumbered them. Polis would never fall.

Fighting Skaikru wasn't what Lexa needed advice about. Everything she had heard made her worry about the Flame that rested at the base of neck. The Flame held the spirits of the commanders and she had always been guided by those who came before her. However, Monty and Lincoln's reports said that when others took the Skaikru 'key', they became someone else. Could that happen to her? Could she be overtaken by this ALIE?

She was so lost in her thoughts that Lexa physically jumped when Clarke finally spoke, "We need to talk to Raven."

Octavia shook her head. "I'm not sure how much of Raven is left. I dosed her with one of Abby's sedatives when we captured her, but the person trying to talk to us wasn't Raven. It was ALIE."

"You said that they were trying to get rid of the chip when you and Kane found them, right?" Clarke asked Monty, who nodded in response. "So can we finish what they started? If we can separate Raven from ALIE, then maybe Raven can tell us what their plan is."

Monty shrugged. "I tried to gather what they had been working with. My guess is that they were going to use an electrical shock to separate the chip from the body."

"The brainstem. The chip attaches to the brainstem," said Clarke, glancing briefly at Lexa. Lexa felt a chill down her spine at the memory of Clarke's fingers tracing over scar where Titus had implanted the Flame during her ascension.

"You believe this chip is similar to the Flame, correct?" asked Lexa, a thought flitting across her mind. Titus wasn't going to like this, but she could see how worried Clarke was for her family and friends. Not to mention if Jaha and his people figured out a way to infiltrate Polis, this chip could present a threat to her people.

"Since none of us have seen the Flame, I can't be certain. But if the first commander did come from the thirteenth station and that is where the Flame originated from…"

"Thirteenth station?" asked Monty, his eyes widening. "What's the Flame?"

Clarke took a deep breath before explaining briefly, "We believe that when the thirteenth station was destroyed, someone escaped to Earth and became the first Commander named Becca Pramheda. She passed down the Flame from Heda to Heda. Lexa possesses it now. According to Titus, it is very similar to the chip that Jaha is handing out, but it doesn't work the way you are describing."

"Titus will help you remove this chip," decreed Lexa and was not moved by Titus' immediate protest or Clarke's surprised look. She stood up from her throne. "If your people thought the chip could be removed with your technology, you will need help from the only living person who has handled the Flame."

"It's not a bad idea," agreed Monty. He dragged the heavy bag he had collected from Arkadia into the center of the room. Zipping it open, he revealed a few laptops, keyboards, a few black boxes, and lots of wires. "I've been looking at what I grabbed from what the others were working on when Kane and I found them. When we went back for Raven, I picked this stuff up. I think they were trying to find a way to access ALIE's code and possibly use an electric shock to separate the chip from the brainstem."

"I will not work with this heresy. I am the Keeper of the Flame and I will not lower myself-"

Lexa was quick to cut him off. "Your job is to serve my needs. I need to understand this City of Light and the only way to do that is to talk to Raven."

"We won't need you to operate any of the computers. I just need to know what you know about the chip…I mean the Flame. I think we can use the battery from the rover to power these computers. But you know how the Flame works and maybe these chips can be removed without harming anyone," said Monty thoughtfully. Raven was downstairs, unconscious, being watched by Miller and Harper. Monty was eager to get to work and free Raven from ALIE.

"I'll go with you," offered Clarke, knowing that her medical expertise would be useful.

The entire entourage went down to the basement where Miller, Harper, and Bellamy were waiting. Clarke was surprised to see Bellamy because even though he had been caught up with what they had discovered, he had been avoiding his friends and the grounders. Both Miller and Harper seemed relieved that their uncomfortable silence had been interrupted.

Raven was lying prone on a cot in the middle of the room. She had been blindfolded in case the sedative wore off. Monty was certain that if Raven realized where she was, ALIE would know too. And anything that they said in earshot of Raven, ALIE would hear too. This basement room was bare and could be anywhere so that when they finally needed to talk to Raven, ALIE wouldn't be able to find them too quickly.

Monty unpacked the bag that Lincoln had hauled down for him. He set up two of the laptops and another small screen near a keyboard. While he was connecting all the wires, Miller and Harper fetched Jasper and the rover battery.

Clarke approached Lexa and whispered to her, "You should leave. The less people here, the better. If Raven is really connected to ALIE and the others, we don't want to accidently give anything away. Monty, Titus, and I can handle this."

"I will post guards at the door," said Lexa in agreement. Clarke reached out and squeezed her hand. Lexa gave her a small smile and murmured, "We will save your people, starting with Raven. I know you can do this, Clarke."

The sincerity in Lexa's voice made Clarke's cheeks turn rosy and she stuttered her thanks. Lexa motioned for Octavia and Lincoln to follow her out of the room. Before they had shut the door, Jasper came down the hallway carrying the battery followed by Harper and Miller. Octavia told Harper and Miller to follow her back upstairs, leaving Jasper to Monty and Clarke.

Inside the room, Bellamy hovered near Raven. As Clarke approached him, he asked, "Is this really necessary?"

"Monty thinks he can remove the chip. Whatever he saw really scared him, Bellamy." Clarke shook her head, trying not to think of her parents under the influence of ALIE. Why had they taken the chip? She didn't want to image Jaha forcing them to go along with his plans. "This isn't Raven, this is ALIE. We've got to save them."

"I'm staying."

"The less people-"

"If she tries to fight back, Jasper and I can try to hold her while you, Monty, and Titus work." Clarke was about to protest again, but the look in Bellamy's eyes stopped her. He was trying to help and make up for his mistakes. They had always worked together and had always succeeded together. He had given her a second chance and it was time for her to do the same. But trust was earned and Bellamy had a lot of work to do to earn it back. Starting with this.

"I told you Jaha had lost it," complained Jasper to Monty as he helped him with the wires.

"Well let's try to find it." Monty sat back for a moment, looking at his quick work. It wasn't a bad set up. But Monty had no idea what Raven and Sinclair had been trying to do. From what he could gather, they were going to use an EMP to shock the chip from the brainstem, but that was incredibly dangerous. He needed the correct power and needed to concentrate it to the chip. There was a very high possibility of frying Raven's brain.

Clarke had been talking to Titus and seemed to have come to a decision. The group of five hovered over Raven as Clarke spoke, "We're going to wake her up to see if we can talk to her. Then we'll use the EMP to deactivate the chip and Titus will remove it."

Monty looked pale. "I'm not sure what the EMP will do…"

"Let's just talk to Raven first," said Bellamy. Clarke nodded in agreement and motioned for Titus to move to the back of the room so Raven wouldn't be able to see him. Then she took a syringe from a medical bag that had been in the rover and pushed the liquid into Raven's arm.

No one spoke as Raven slowly began to wake. First she blinked rapidly and then moved her arms in legs slowly, as if testing her body. Finally, she focused on Clarke. A very un-Raven-like smile appeared on her face.

"Clarke Griffin. It is good to finally meet you." Raven's lips were moving and it was her voice, but the speech patterns were certainly not Raven's.

"ALIE?" asked Clarke, her voice tense.

"So you've heard of me…" Raven sat up straight and looked side to side, taking in the presence of Monty, Jasper, and Bellamy. "I see Mr. Green succeeded in his plan to extract Raven from Arkadia. However, in this case, I am pleased that it led me to you."

"Why?" Clarke knew that every minute they spent speaking was one more minute ALIE was using to track them down. But they were safe in Polis and she trusted Lexa to not kill any of the chipped people unless it was necessary.

"Your parents have shared so much about you. They want you to join them in the City of Light to be a family again, Clarke. They want you to come home."

Anger burned in Clarke's face at the mention of Jake and Abby. But she knew that ALIE was trying to get a reaction from her so she calmly said, "I'd like to speak to them. But right now, I'd like to speak to Raven."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Clarke." Raven tipped her head to the side. "Your friends would be welcome in the City of Light. Together we can do so much, Clarke."

"Never," snarled Bellamy, but Raven only smiled.

For the first time, she seemed to notice the computers behind Monty. A brief flash of recognition flashed across Raven's face. ALIE knew what they were planning. Clarke realized her mistake as soon as Raven's quick fingers undid the buckle of her belt and jammed the center point into her wrist. Blood gushed out as she screamed at Bellamy to grab her. Bellamy slammed Raven's shoulders back onto the cot as she struggled to cut her other wrist, but Jasper ripped the belt off.

Raven screamed at Bellamy as he held her arms down and slammed her forehead into his own. Bellamy pulled back in shock but quickly regained his grip on her. Monty was holding down Raven's legs and Jasper was practically lying across her while Clarke kept Raven's bleeding wrist raised in the air.

Clarke tried not to think about the warm liquid that was running through her fingers and onto her own arm as she struggled to pull gauze from the medical kit. Jasper assisted her as best he could, but had to stop when Raven managed to knee Monty in the nose in order to keep her from flailing out of the cot.

"Sedate her!" yelled Bellamy, but Clarke had her hands full trying to stop the bleeding. She couldn't let Raven die, not like this. Finally, Clarke was able to wrap a bandage tightly around Raven's wrist and Monty held it as she dug in the medical bag for a sedative. As soon as Clarke stuck her with the needle, Raven quit fighting and fell limp in their arms.

No one spoke at first. They were too busy catching their breath to discuss what had happened. Monty grabbed some extra gauze to stuff up his bleeding nose. There was a bruise forming in the middle of Bellamy's forehead. Clarke tried to wipe Raven's blood off of her hands, but she was shaking badly. ALIE had tried to kill Raven. Which meant one thing: Raven knew something ALIE didn't want her to share with them. It also meant that ALIE thought they could free Raven from the City of Light.

"What are you smiling about?" asked Bellamy bitterly. Clarke hadn't even realized she was smiling.

"We're going to win," she whispered, letting her thoughts sink in. "ALIE tried to kill Raven because we are going to succeed and Raven is going to know how to defeat her."

"Den les do it," mumbled Monty, his voice changed because of his broken nose. Motioning to Jasper, the two untangled the wires. Clarke and Bellamy carefully turned Raven onto her stomach so the boys could access her neck. Monty and Jasper attached little patches to her head and the back of her neck.

Everyone stood back and looked at Monty who had knelt in front of his computers. Nervously, he looked to Clarke for permission to continue. She nodded and Monty flipped on the battery. They heard the electricity whorl and then Raven jerked as her body convulsed for a few seconds. Then she lay motionless.

"Are you ready?" asked Titus. He had remained in the corner, out of Raven's line of sight during the entire ordeal.

Clarke waved him over and the grounder removed a small pouch from his robes. He drew out two small blades. Kneeling beside the cot, he moved the electrical patches from Raven's neck. Then with a steady hand, he drew a blade across Raven's skin to create a small incision about the size of the scar on the back of Lexa's neck. Titus used both blades to peel her skin apart and pried out the silicon chip.

Releasing a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, Clarke accepted the chip that Titus offered her. Now they waited. After bandaging her neck, they rolled Raven back over on the cot. Clarke checked her vitals, but they wouldn't know of any damage by the EMP or the removal of the chip until she woke up. Titus left the Arkadians to themselves.

It was nearly thirty minutes before Raven moved. With a groan, Raven raised her hand to rub her eyes. Blinking, she sat up tentatively and looked around the room. Everyone stood tensely nearby; ready to act if this wasn't the Raven they knew.

"They're coming," she rasped. "We need to act fast."