Chapter 45/50


Clarke let the silence linger for only a moment before she took a measured step forward.

"You are Anya," she said it as more of a statement than anything else.

"Yes," the woman replied, she swallowed thickly.

Clarke didn't fight the slight smirk she felt spreading across her lips as Anya stepped back a fraction as she approached.

"And who—" Clarke turned her attention to the bearded man next. "—are you?"

"My name is Kane," He said and he offered his hand out, the gesture she recognised as a form of greeting. "Marcus Kane—" he paused as he seemed to realise both her hands were occupied holding a blade, each one slick with a mixture of her black blood that dripped onto the floor that mixed with the traces of red that she had spilled earlier. "I'm the Chancellor of our people."

"Marcus Kane," Clarke said his name slowly, her lips played with the sound, her tongue danced with the shapes that formed within her mouth and she pinned him with a stare that she knew would unsettle. "You have chosen wisely to ally yourself with me," Clarke smiled and she let the expression touch the corners of her eyes, she let her lips pull back ever so slightly to expose her gums and she knew her teeth would glow in the dark, would contrast so vividly with her skin and her nightblood smeared face. "Now come. We do not have time to waste."


Emerson stared at the computer screen, frown on his face as he watched the image of their three captives pace back and forth in the holding cell. It hadn't taken long to subdue and then bring them all to the nearest cell for questioning, but every second that passed still felt too long.

There were things he would rather be doing in that very moment than needing to figure out exactly what they were trying to do. But perhaps joining the others in the reaper tunnels could wait. At least until he knew Mount Weather was safe. He was sure Whitman would be able to lead a successful ambush on the savages and that at least put him a little more at ease.

And so Emerson took in a steadying breath as he reached for the intercom button once more.

"I'll ask again," he said and he watched as Bellamy's face shot up to the camera, he watched as Octavia seemed to pull into herself a little more and he watched as Raven stopped mid-step and freeze on the spot. "What were you trying to do?"

He didn't like that they hadn't caught the Arkers doing anything until they had physically accessed a restricted area. Part of him even blamed himself for whatever gaps in security allowed it to happen. But still, he was glad they were monitored almost as soon as they gained access to the life support systems.

Part of him didn't even expect an answer and yet one came.

"Just poking around your ventilation systems," Raven said, her voice cutting a little too loudly as she seemed to almost yell out as if she didn't realise just how sensitive the microphones were. "I was fascinated to see how you guys kept things going compared to up on the Ark," he watched her gesture up as if she were pointing to an imaginary Ark that still orbited overhead. "My bad, I should have known to ask for permission. Just not used to needing it when I was on the Ark."

Emerson rolled his eyes at that answer and if things hadn't been so tense already given everything else that was happening he would have been just a little impressed by Raven's ability to tell half truths in the face of whatever serious danger she must have realised they were in now.

He almost snapped a snarky response but the door opening drew his attention to Cage walking in. The younger man's face set with as serious an expression as his own.

Cage motioned for him to cut the intercom before he spoke.

"Engineers think she was trying to do something with the air scrubbers," Cage said. "My Father is already preparing an emergency broadcast if we need it but the engineers don't think anything was compromised."

"Air scrubbers?" Emerson paused to think.

"What are you thinking?" Cage asked.

"It's not a coincident that they've done this at the same time Whitman's leading the attack," Emerson said as he turned back to the screen, to their three captives who for now remained still and silent.

"They knew it was going to happen?" Cage asked, his frown deepening.

"They knew," and Emerson's mind began to turn faster and faster as he tried to understand, tried to figure out how, why. In what way it was possible. "Lexa is still alive," it was the only explanation. "She's communicating with them on the outside."

He watched as Cage looked away, a flash of disgust or anger or some other emotion too vulgar to put to words smeared across his face.

But Emerson ignored that as he began thinking of the dangers this new revelation brought forth. Not 24 hours earlier they had all assumed to be the ones in control, that their newly formed alliance with the Arkers had tipped the scales and put the savages on the back foot. But now things were different.

He didn't know if all the Arkers were allied with the savages or if it was only a small handful.

Truthfully he didn't even know which one was worse. If it was all of them he could find a way to eliminate them all without having to worry about any kind of fallout. But if things fell into chaos, into something close to a civil war then he knew things would get messy, he knew things would get dangerous for them all.

But then he started thinking about Clarke. The last science experiment of old to exist that they knew of was a captive. She had given herself up and he had thought it was because they had cornered her, forced her hand, made her realise things were tipped too far away from her.

But perhaps he had been a little too sure.

"She's going after the other experiments," he said as his eyes narrowed. "That's the only reason she gave herself up. She thinks she can get them out of here now that most of our forces are attacking her army."

It made sense.

Or it made as much sense as he could see given the information that was swirling in his mind in that very moment.

"I'll call everyone back from the attack in the tunnels," Cage said with a snarl.

"No," Emerson shook his head, his eyes darting back and forth as he began thinking over everything else Clarke had told them.

He couldn't leave anything to chance. Not now. Not when everything Clarke had said was said to lay some kind of trap, something to lull them into a false sense of security.

"She told your father she planned to attack the dam," and he glanced over at Cage to find him clenching his jaw. "And that she has an army in the tunnels and some in the nearby villages," he paused, thought some more, cursed his mind for not thinking fast enough.

"It was clearly a lie," Cage snapped as he turned his back and began moving for the door, "the thing was lying to trick us."

But Emerson didn't think it was that easy. It couldn't be. She was too smart, she had been too smart to live this long without capture for whatever plan she had put into place to be picked apart so quickly.

"No," Emerson said. "I can't risk us not reinforcing the dam, not if what she said was true. Not if she is really going for it."

And then Emerson paused as something seemed to click within his mind.

And so Emerson smiled. But it wasn't a kind smile. It wasn't a nice smile.

It was a cruel smile for he realised that what the beast they had been hunting had given them was a decision to be made. They could secure their very people's survival by protecting their power source at the dam if they continued with the plan to attack through the tunnels, kill all the savages and reinforce the dam with everything they had. But in doing so they would be leaving Mount Weather almost defenceless to stop Clarke from freeing the rest of the experiments, they would lose the ability to ever set foot above ground again.

But despite everything making sense to him, despite every decision he realised Clarke had made to bring them to that very moment there was something he knew was missing. Some piece of information he couldn't quite grasp that would bring light to the things Clarke had done.

Lexa was on her side.

The three captives were on her side. There were probably others.

She had baited out most of Mount Weather's guard into a very real conflict that could prove fatal to either side if things went one way or the other.

And yet he knew there had to be more.

Whatever trap had been laid couldn't be as simple as the choice that was now presented to them. But at least Clarke wouldn't be able to get out of the quarantine level with the others due to the locks in place.

Unless…

Unless the power went out and the locks automatically unlocked lest Mount Weather trap everyone inside in the event of catastrophic power failure.

Emerson swore as he began moving towards the door.

"She is going for the dam," Emerson snarled. "She's going for both."

It made so much sense to him now. Perhaps Clarke had always counted on them figuring it out, perhaps she had planned on them realising her goal and splitting their forces in an attempt to give his people a chance at victory. But to also give her people a chance at victory. It would be a more equal fight. One that either side could achieve. And one that gave her people a larger chance than they have ever had before.

And so Emerson ran.

He didn't care about the three captives. They could stay stuck in the cell until this was all over. For now he needed to get to the command centre, to warn the president, to warn Whitman. To get control over the situation and to make sure the dam knew the attack was coming.

"Get to Tsing!" he roared over his shoulder at Cage who stood staring at him as he sped off. "Clarke's going to try escaping somehow!"


With each wrung that Lexa descended she felt like the ground swallowed her further and further into its depths. She didn't even think it was that deep. But it was deep enough that the descent gave her time to think, time to consider what was soon to happen.

Maya had descended first quickly followed by Jasp and Serka. Lexa and the rest of the warriors followed save for a select few who stayed aboveground to act as reinforcements or as a safety net should things go awry. Despite the fact that Lexa was practically engulfed by warriors, each one more than capable of fighting, killing and protecting her, she found herself feeling oddly exposed.

Maybe it was the fact that she hadn't really got to know most of the warriors she had seen. The few words she had shared with Gustus no use given his absence. Even the odd sense of familiarity or possessiveness that Ontari had in their few interactions did her no use given the fact that she too was not present.

And Lexa found herself realising she had come to rely on Clarke to keep her informed, to keep her feeling grounded in a world that had been turned upside down.

But she couldn't rely on Clarke at the moment. Perhaps she wouldn't be able to anymore if things went wrong for Clarke in Mount Weather. At least she had Maya. And it was with that thought that Lexa found herself coming to the end of the descent.

She stepped off the ladder, she looked up to find the opening high above, the light from the spot of sky she could see seemed dimmed due to the distance, though she knew it more the simple fact that other warriors continued their journey down.

"Ok," Maya whispered. "We're here."

Lexa looked around them to find that they seemed to have come to an access tunnel of sorts. Concrete walls, concrete floor, dust covered, weathered and worn. Pipes lined the low ceiling overhead, the thrum of water pumping through them and the dampened echo of the dam filled the air.

It oddly reminded her of the Ark, of how its systems continuously breathed through the corridors and never seemed to quiet. But there was a more distinct musk in the air. Something that told her the passageway they now stood in hadn't seen visitor for years.

"I can tell no one has used this for ages," Lexa said just loud enough that Maya and those could hear over the constant low drone.

Maya shrugged her shoulder before answering. "I guess no one's bothered to check this door. Lucky us."

"How many more of these exits are there?" Lexa asked as she fell into step beside Maya as they all slowly began making their way forward.

"A few," and Maya seemed to think before speaking next. "I showed Heda one which she used to signal to the Mountain that she was surrendering. Though that one I know has a camera. Most don't. Or don't have ones with working cameras, at least."

Lexa didn't pry more than that. Mostly because she didn't want to risk being overheard, but also partly because she tried thinking of other ways they could use the exits if they needed, if things turned south perhaps they'd need other ways into the Mountain to free Anya, Clarke, any others that were part of her original team that would side with them given the opportunity.

Maya held up her hand as they came to a bend in the passageway. Both Jasp and Serka seemed to tense as they came to a stop near the turn and seemed to be listening further ahead.

"Ok," Maya's voice was quieter now. "After this bend I think there's a set of doors that opens to the main turbine room," and she moved her hands in front of her as if to draw an image of the room for them all to see. "There's a catwalk overhead along the wall with ladders to access it," Maya looked at everyone around her as if to emphasise that fact. "There's alarms on the wall that anyone can quickly access in case of an emergency. We need to stop them from being triggered. They're big. Red. A large lever that's hard to miss," she turned to Jasp and Serka. "You guys need to be on point."

Lexa found herself admiring Maya's ability to somehow divorce herself from the fact she was talking about killing people she probably grew up with. Maybe in the future Lexa would ask her more about her life, more about how she grew up, even how she came to be part of Clarke's inner circle.

"I guess the fire alarms will phone home?" Lexa asked.

"Yeah," Maya said. "And I'm guessing they'll know the dam is actually being attacked."

"And that's step one," Lexa reiterated to everyone. "If Mount Weather doesn't know, they won't send reinforcements."

"We will maintain the element of surprise," Tobias whispered from where he had been hovering nearby.

"Step two is taking control of the dam without anyone knowing or having a chance to lock us out," Maya added. "This is where you come into play, Lexa. But if that fails we just begin destroying everything. Break anything that looks breakable."

"I think I can manage the systems," Lexa said, and she actually believed it. Everything she had seen of Mount Weather suggested that the systems were similar enough to the Ark that she'd be able to understand things well enough to keep things going, to power things down or start them up again without seriously damaging them. At least she hoped.

"Good," Tobias said with an eager nod.

"Ok," Maya took in a deep breath. "Let's go."

And so once more Lexa began moving. This time Jasp and Serka moved ahead of Maya, both warriors had bows drawn, arrows knocked and readied. Other warriors moved just as swiftly, each one with weapons already drawn, blades, swords, spears ready for anything.

Lexa's heart beat wildly in her chest now, too. She hadn't quite noticed when it had started, but as they continued to move forward down the last passageway she could feel the adrenaline beginning to pump, she could feel her heartbeat picking up, even the blood rushing in her ears seemed a little louder than usual.

A door up ahead opened.

"—Jack, remember to check th—"

An arrow snapped forward, it hardly made a sound as it sliced through the air and slammed into the man's chest, toppled him over and cut his words in half. A second arrow hit his neck, it silenced whatever shocked sound was soon to come. Jasp leapt forward quickly, another arrow already knocked, already drawn as she dived for the open door, as she began to move inside, as she leapt over the dying man's body and—

"Oh my go—"

It was almost a shout, almost a cry of shock, fear, anger and so many emotions.

But the sound died just as quickly as it started.

Jasp fired her arrow at the same time she stepped into the room, it must have hit true for Lexa heard a gurgle, she heard a grunt and then she heard the twang of another arrow fired before silence settled upon the passageway.

But the warriors didn't fall still, didn't wait for any response.

Instead they began to move as one, began to move faster, quicker, with purpose, speed and aggressiveness.

Lexa could hardly keep up as they began to run forward.

They couldn't risk another second, not when the first kills had happened. And they all knew it. Jasp fell into place as she slipped out of the room, her chest rising just a little the only sign she had just killed two people without a second thought.

Lexa spared just a brief glimpse into the room to find a figure slumped over a chair, a plate of food in front of them and a cup of hot drink spilled over a small lunch table.

From the hinges Lexa could tell that the last set of doors could open both ways, and she knew there would be no way of masking the entrance. Jasp and Serka appeared to come to the same conclusion for they both slowed their steps just enough that they seemed to synchronise their movements. They each paused just long enough that they both drew their arrows back as they prepared to fire, Jasp nodded her head, Serka placed the ball of his foot on the centre line of the entrance where both doors met and then he kicked outwards.

The doors swung open with a whirl, the sound of the dam suddenly grew louder and Jasp and Serka stepped forward at the same time.

The first thing Lexa saw were five large turbines that lay embedded deep into the floor. Even the metal plating that protected their sensitive internal components seemed to scream out and join the noise that was the thrashing of the water outside. The second thing she saw was that catwalk Maya had mentioned that ran the perimeter of the large room and at constant intervals were large ladders that almost seemed more stair-like that provided access from the ground.

The third thing Lexa noticed were two arrows being fired from her peripheral vision that spat forward with such suddenness that even though she had been expecting them it still surpris—

A shout of pain, a cry of shock.

And then all hell broke loose.

Each and every warrior with her sprung forward with such aggressiveness that it shocked her, made her recoil, made her want to run back the way they came.

An Azgeda warrior with furs as white as she could imagine threw a spear, it soared through the air and struck someone on the catwalk overhead. Another warrior half pushed, half threw a friend up as high as possible onto the ladders in an attempt to get them up as quickly as possible but Lexa didn't have time to see more for Tobias gripped her by the upper arm and pulled her hard. Maya was right beside them as all three ran.

Maya's voice shouted at instructions to someone nearby, Lexa could only chance a second to see that Maya pointed to one of the fire alarms as if to signal or to remind of their presence. A gunshot sounded out next, something loud, deafening even amidst the shouting and the roaring of the water and the screaming of the turbines.

But Lexa continued to run, continued to be pulled by Tobias and she realised they ran towards what looked like a control room, windowed and bright.

Three figures stood inside, one clearly in a state of shock, another running for something on the far wall, another scrambling to ready a rifle, to load it, to level it at the, to fire—

Lexa didn't have time to see what smashed through the window. She only had time to register it was large, heavy, a blunt object one of the warriors must have repurposed before a gunshot narrowly missed her.

She was close enough to feel the pressure from the bullet being fired, she was close enough to feel the heat from the gasses escaping the end of the barrel and she could even feel the whizz of the bullet as it snapped past her, however close it was, too close for comfort. She probably would have even heard the gunshot itself if she hadn't already been deafened by the rifles already fired in her direction.

Tobias leapt forward, tackled the man with the rifle, there was a scramble of arms and legs, shouts and grunts, a blade sinking deep and the scream of pain and another crack of the rifle. Maya ducked for cover. Lexa, too. Whoever threw the object at the window leapt through the opening, slammed into the person reaching for something alarmingly red on the far wall and then there was another tangle of limbs, vicious strikes, shouts of pain, anger, fury, excitement and victory.

But that third person who hadn't moved, had been rooted to the spot in fear was still no more. A man, perhaps in his thirties, slim, gaunt featured with anger and shock and fury and disgust in his eyes began to move.

From where Lexa crouched close to a console she saw him stumble over broken glass and a toppled chair, she saw his eyes hone in on a rifle barely an arm's reach away and she knew she needed to react, needed to do something lest that rifle be levelled directly at her face.

And so she pounced.

Lexa didn't care that she was sure she looked a fool in that moment compared to the warriors who fought tooth and nail around her.

She screamed, perhaps an instinctual sound, animalistic or pathetic she cared not and she slammed into the man. Her weight was enough to wobble him, to stop him from finding sure purchase on the rifle and then they came crashing to the ground.

Lexa's forehead hit something hard, something sharp on the way down. She spat out a curse as her vision blurred as blood seeped into her eye, as it stung bitterly. But she fought back the pain, she fought back the momentary panic and she scrambled for control, scrambled for the rifle—

She choked, gagged, coughed and spluttered as the man's elbow slammed into her throat, as it rocked her back and dislodged her completely from where she had grappled on top of him.

But Lexa wasn't done, wasn't finished, wasn't ready to give up. She kicked out, her boot hit him in the shin, gave her just enough time to move, to regain her composure, regain her sen—

The barrel of the rifle was levelled directly at her face and she saw the smirk, the glimmer of triumph, of hate, fear, excitement and lust fill his face as she stared the man in the eyes.

And then he fired.

Lexa gasped, she flinched, she expected to feel pain, the impact of the bullet, the breaking of bone, destruction of internal organ.

But instead she saw Maya's body fly forward, slam into the man's outstretched arms that held the gun, the momentum enough to throw him off balance, throw his aim wide and cause the bullet to slam into the console beside Lexa's head.

Sparks flared, spat against her face, shards of metal, plastic and glass cut into her skin and made her bleed more than she already was. But she wasn't shot, wasn't wounded, maimed, killed in that moment.

Lexa began to move forward, began to scramble towards Maya, to help the woman who had just saved her life who was now in her own life and death struggle for control of the weapon, and Lexa just needed another split second, just half a breath—

"Oh my god, Maya?"

The man's right eye was already blackened and swelling shut, nose bloodied, face ghostly white as he stared at the woman clinging to his arms as she wrestled for control of the rifle in his hands.

Maya seemed to recognise the man, too. Perhaps he was an old friend, an old acquaintance, someone she had worked with one or twice or a thousand times before.

"I—" uncertainty filled Maya's voice for only a second before Tobias drove a knife straight into the main's chest, the sound sickening, wet, moist as it plunged into his heart and spilled his blood onto the floor and then he slumped over dead.

Lexa took a moment to steady herself before she reached out, squeezed Maya's shoulder in something she hoped conveyed thanks, comfort, warmth and so many other emotions she couldn't put into words.

And just as quickly as violence had cascading upon the engine room, so too did stillness.

The smell of iron filled the air. Gunpowder burnt her nostrils and the taste of blood sat heavy on Lexa's tongue before she spat out a mouthful of blood and winced as the bitter sting of blood in her eye refocused her attention to the now and present.

Lexa slapped her ear awkwardly in an attempt to rid it of the ringing as she stood, the motion cautious as she looked around at the warriors around them.

One warrior lay slumped over, their back against a console as blood spilled from their mouth and a large gunshot wound in their chest, another warrior knelt by their side, a hand resting heavily over their fallen companion's shoulder. Someone else, wounded but standing with the help of another limped past her vision before Lexa's gaze truly took in the carnage that she had been part of.

Seven Mount Weather personnel lay dead scattered across the engine room. One lay hanging precariously over the railing of the catwalk overhead, another wth three arrows in their torso. The others all lay in varying states of dismemberment, the result of swords taken to sheltered body.

And so Lexa steadied herself, steadied her mind and ironed her will as she set her mind to whatever the next task was. And in the back of of her mind she hoped that Anya had got to Clarke, and that her friend and her Clarke were safe.

Or as safe as they could be.