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justinewt · 3 months

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We Survive Together - THE 100 REWRITE Chapter Twenty-Four

[THE 100 MASTERLIST]

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Summary: After Jasper and Clarke showed up at the cave with an unconscious Raven, literally possessed by Alie. They desperately attempt to save their friend as she cruelly taunts them, manipulated by the AI. Bellamy is the target of one of her mockings and the name of Michelle is mentionned, of course, as well as the complicated status of their relationship.

Words: 7k

Warnings: The 100 season 3 spoilers (episode 11 "Nevermore"), title from a quote from Monty to Octavia in Nevermore, mention of su1c1de attempt, blood, dislocated bone, some fluff

Now that Pike had been turned in, the blockade around Arkadia could be lifted and the group returned to the cave where Sinclair and the rest of them was still waiting. As they walked back Monty had received a call from Jasper who had to flee the after Jaha took control of the camp with the keys, he was giving out to everyone and the promise of a life without pain and a ticket straight to the City of Light. The people there had turned into mindless zombies and that made Michelle lose all desire to accept the damn key. She would rather live with both mental and physical pain than lose her free will. At the cave, they tried to understand what it was all about.

“I don’t understand it, either. Something about those chips.” Monty was as puzzled as them regarding was happening in Arkadia. If it was really that unsafe, retrieving her jacket from Bellamy’s room would have to wait. She was still wearing her father’s and it wasn’t exactly her priority anyway. Arms crossed, she stood next to her peer and Sinclair.

“We’ll know soon enough. Be ready.” The latter concluded. Indeed, they had to wait for Jasper to get to them before deciding what they were going to do next. Near the fire, Octavia sprang up and started packing up her things in her little bag. Bellamy walked up to her, trying to make her slow down. He was understandably worried about her going out right now.

“You can’t just leave.”

“Watch me.”

“You heard what Jasper said on the radio.”

“What Jasper said sounds insane.” She argued, getting impatient and annoyed with all this discussion. “Pike’s gone. I can handle myself. Grounders burn their dead.”

“I know that. And then what? Where are you gonna go?”

“You don’t get to ask me that.”

“What more do I have to do to prove that I am on your side?”

“Bring Lincoln back.” He went silent and stared into the void as she walked past him. She turned around before exiting the cave. Michelle avoided looking directly at him, not wanting Octavia to drag her into their argument if she thought she was feeling bad for her brother, but Michelle saw from the corner of her eyes that he was hurting over this feud with his sister. “Turning Pike in does not make you one of the good guys, Bellamy. You did that to save me. Not because what you thought Pike was doing to the Grounders was wrong.”

“The Grounders were starving us out.” He frowned, turning around to face her. Michelle closed her eyes, sighing quietly. There was still some work to be done to get him to see Pike was never doing the right thing.

“Because you massacred an army that was sent to protect us.”

“That army could have attacked us at any time, and you know it.”

“But they didn’t attack. You did that. You were hurting, and you lashed out, because that’s what you do. There are consequences, Bel. People get hurt. People die. Your people. Monroe’s dead. Lincoln is dead.” She spoke in a calmer manner but any less strong and accusatory, looking her brother straight in the eyes. On those words, she left. Seeing Bellamy go after her, Michelle pondered whether to follow him out there, but she figured Octavia wouldn’t stop to have another conversation with him. Her step was determined, and she was set on leaving on her own. At the entrance to the cave, Nate, Bryan and Harper stood guard. Bellamy and Michelle barely took a few steps when the headlights of a car dazzled them. Jasper and Clarke had reached them. Even Octavia stopped in her tracks upon hearing the engine. When Clarke got off the vehicle and walked down the path to the cave, she stopped to stare at Bellamy and Michelle. She probably wondered why he looked so beat up. Jasper then came out shouting, asking for help. He was carrying an unconscious Raven in his arms.

“We have to get her inside before she wakes up!” Bellamy rushed to them, asking if they were followed but Jasper glanced around, having no idea. The latter gave him Raven while Nate sent his boyfriend to the ridge to tell them if he spotted anyone in the area. They all walked back inside the cave and as Octavia was about to go back on her way, Clarke called her to join them, and she came.

“Clear some space.” At Clarke’s request, Sinclair put some things away near the fire and Bellamy put her down.

“I told you on the radio, Raven is not Raven anymore.” Jasper repeated. “None of them are. Jaha’s been chipping everyone.”

“Jasper’s right. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.” Clarke added, confirming his statements.

“I don’t need your help, all right?” He suddenly got all worked up when Clarke spoke up, supporting his statements, pointing his finger at her. Michelle frowned in confusion before remembering that she was the one that caused Maya’s death at Mount Weather after she pulled that lever, letting all the air from the outside get in, with all the radiation that it involved.

“Just take it easy and explain.” Bellamy grabbed his shoulder, making Jasper look at him.

“Jaha is using the chips to control everyone. You swallow it and it changes you. You forget who you are, and then you see this thing, Alie. Only, she’s not really there. She made Raven slit her own wrists.” Michelle closed her eyes for a second, looking away upon hearing this, letting out a heavy but silent breath. She didn't want everyone to look at her because she got triggered. Instinctively, she brought her arms closer to her body, holding her hand. She herself had attempted to take her own life back when she was in solitary confinement. She literally had no memory of how it happened; she just had this scar for the rest of her life. Her brain had somehow blacked out the whole thing. Realizing Bellamy was looking at her, she let her arms fall to her sides and resumed her composure. She had never really told him about this and when they got intimate a few months ago, he never asked about it. “She was trying to get out of her head. I was trying to help her but—”

“Okay, so let’s help her now.” Sinclair stood up. “Did she say how?”

“She was working on building something. She needed one of her old wristbands, but Jaha destroyed all of them.”

“Wait a second.” Clarke chimed in, pulling out something from her pocket. She had a little rectangle in between her fingers, and it shared an odd resemblance to Jaha’s key. “Does it look like this?”

“Not exactly.” While he answered, Michelle noticed Raven roll her head and open her eyes, staring at the chip.

“Guys, she’s awake.” Right as Michelle warned them, Raven jumped on her feet with a grunt and tried to make a run for it, punching Michelle in the face when she got in her way, trying to stop her. She fell to the ground, bringing a hand to her face, wincing while the others ran after her. Sinclair helped her up and they joined the others outside. All holding Raven in place while she struggled like an enraged beast.

“If Raven finds out where we are, so will Allie.” Jasper said.

As she approached, Michelle wiped some blood from the corner of her lips. Raven let out a shout when Bellamy injected her in the neck with a leftover reaper stick. This was the last dose they had but it sent her back to sleep, giving them more time to figure something out.

“We have to go.”

“Why? Alie doesn’t know where we are.” Bellamy asked, turning his head to Clarke.

“Because I know where we can get a wristband.” All eyes were on her. They quickly got into the car, with an unconscious Raven in the back with the others, and Sinclair and Monty in the front, and drove to the little trading post in the middle of the woods where Michelle, Bellamy, and Kane had encountered this Grounder when they were looking for Clarke a few weeks ago. The very woman they had met was standing in front of the post, a machete in her hand. In the dark of the car, with only the headlights at the front shining brightly ahead of them, Michelle, Clarke, and Bellamy looked out the windshield. “I’ll talk to her.”

“We’ll go with you.” Bellamy then said and the blonde nodded at them while they followed suit. Octavia kicked the backdoor open and let them hop out of the vehicle.

“I thought you said she was a friend.”

“We’ll handle it. Just stay here.” While she went back in the car, the trio walked down the path to the trading post and the woman recognized her, warning her that Skaikru wasn’t welcomed. Michelle wondered if she knew Clarke’s name as she referred to her as Wanheda still. Her behavior seemed to confuse Clarke just as much. “Niylah, what’s wrong?”

“She’s waking up. Hurry! Let’s get her inside.” They looked back as they heard Sinclair’s voice raise in urgency. They didn’t have much time to waste if they wanted to stay away from ALIE. If Raven saw her surroundings, she would find them and they would be in great danger, with not many other places to go hide. And they couldn’t hide forever either. Their only option was for this Niylah to let them in her home for the time being and they were off a bad start. They were playing big here. Sinclair was already carrying Raven outside. Clarke turned back to the grounder.

“Is your father here?” She enquired.

“My father’s dead.” Her face tensed up and she frowned. “Part of an army killed by your people while trying to protect you.”

“Niylah, please.” While she tried to beg her, Michelle glanced at Bellamy from the corner of her eyes. The flames of the torches outside the post reflecting in his eyes as he looked down in shame or guilt, or maybe both, over what he and Pike had done. She was happy to see him question and doubt his previous actions. If he could open his eyes to his mistakes, he could move forward and do better next time. Her thoughts were quickly pushed in a corner of her mind when after Niylah said no to Clarke’s request, he raised his gun towards her.

“We haven’t got time for this. Move.” He made her step aside and at first, Michelle wanted to step in and make him lower his weapon but seeing Clarke do nothing, she followed her example and stayed quiet while he urged Sinclair to get Raven inside. They put her in the backroom and Clarke got something to tie her up with. They walked through the trading post to the living space. It was dark and dimly lit, with only a few rays of moonlight peeking through the blinds.

“Tie her to the bed.” Clarke said as Sinclair lied her down. Raven had now woken up and she grunted, struggling against him. She wiggled, throwing her legs around, trying to kick them and free herself. She took off her blindfold and stopped moving, looking around her but unless she walked outside, she would never be able to tell ALIE where she was. And this was for the better.

“Where the hell am I?” She shouted, getting aggressive again so they hurried to tie her up. They were the 7 of them trying to hold her down and even then, they were somehow struggling because she was so fierce. Michelle was really disturbed by the rawness of her screams which turned into deep growls really, and it made her uneasy, but she tightens her grasp on her leg while they eventually managed to tie her up, but she still wasn��t calming down. She was dead set on getting out of there and telling their location to ALIE. She sounded and looked like she was possessed, and, in a way, she was. Once they were done, they left the room. Bellamy had stayed with Niylah near the entrance, holding her at gunpoint. Raven was being so loud, shouting at the top of her lungs, they could hear her as if they were in the bedroom with the rest of them. Even without being close to Raven, Michelle could hear her peer’s pain in the depths of her voice, behind all the mind control thing.

“How the hell do we get that thing out of her head?” Clarke wondered, frowning in concern.

“Working on it.” She nodded at Monty and stepped away along with Michelle, while they still heard Raven shouting, ordering them to untie her. The two best friends walked up to Niylah and Bellamy.

“I got this.” Letting go of his gun, the handle hanging across his shoulders, he awkwardly went from crossing his arms to putting a hand in Michelle’s back to invite her to step away with him, back to crossing his arms, as if he wasn’t sure whether he should be tactile with her. She had made it clear that even though she still cared for him, she didn’t know how to feel about him. She hated being torn over him. Her feelings for him were very much real and strong, and she wanted to forgive him, but after seeing how mad and upset Octavia was, she didn’t feel like she could forgive him just yet. She stared at him from the corner of her eyes as they walked away, closer to Sinclair and Monty but without actually joining the two of them, and they stood in silence, listening to bribes of Clarke’s conversation with Niylah, glancing at the two women every now and then. When Clarke came closer to the grounder, Michelle watched Bellamy approach a piece of furniture to hear them better.

“Trust you. After what Skaikru did?” She gritted her teeth.

“That wasn’t us.” This sparked confusion in Niylah’s eyes. “I’m sorry about your father. We all are.” As she spoke, she looked over her shoulder, peeking at Bellamy who looked away, uncomfortable. As time went on, he was becoming more aware of his mistakes, or so Michelle hoped.

“What do you want from me, Clarke?” Her tone was much more poised and less aggressive.

“Last time I was here, you had one of our wristbands. We need it now to save out friend.”

“And why should I help you?”

“Because I know you won’t let an innocent girl suffer.” And she had right here and there. Niylah glanced at Bellamy and Michelle, looking at her from behind Clarke. She told her to stay here and left through the front door to go get the wristband. Clarke turned around. “You okay?”

“Fine.” Bellamy was staring at the door as he nodded, unwilling to open about what he might be feeling at the moment. Clarke had noticed her best friend’s uneasiness since she stepped out of the bedroom. She was now arms crossed over her chest; she just gave her a nod in turn. These were some complicated times. A moment later, Niylah returned with the wristband they wanted. The group went to another room and Clarke put the object down on the table in front of them.

“Niylah said we can work in here. So how do we do this?” Monty picked it up to look at it from up closewhile Sinclair spoke. Bellamy and Michelle were both standing by Clarke, arms still crossed, quiet.

“We think Raven wanted to use this wristband to generate an EMP. Which is freakishly brilliant.” He scoffed, blown away by the young woman’s smartness.

“Meaning what?” At Bellamy’s enquiry, Clarke and Michelle looked over their shoulders for a second.

“A targeted electromagnetic pulse could destroy the chip’s circuitry. We could use this to send an EMP along Raven’s own nervous system. Just need to reverse the polarity, wire for external input, and attach a battery.”

“But what would that do to her?” Clarke asked.

“EMPs don’t affect our bodies. But I don’t know the mechanics of how this chip integrates with her brain.”

“This was Raven’s plan. She wouldn’t do it if it was gonna destroy her brain.” Bellamy noted, exchanging a glance with the two young women again. Octavia came into the room.

“Depends how bad she wanted it out.”

“Regardless, without an electromagnet, this is just talk.” Sinclair pursued.

“Where do we get one?” Michelle wondered.

“The Ark.” That was a bummer. From what Clarke and Jasper had told them at the cave, it was hell back there. “Every station had a pulsed inductive thruste for maneuvering.”

“Arkadia’s out of the question.” Bellamy stepped forward, voicing Michelle’s thoughts. “It’s too dangerous, you heard them.”

“We use the dropship.” Their eyes shifted to Monty. “It has PI thrusters like the Ark.”

“That’s good. Okay, I’ll go salvage the magnet.” Monty stopped him, urging Raven’s mentor to remain with the girl and try to figure how out how they were going to make this thing work. Octavia stepped in, offering to go with him and he agreed. Bellamy looked over at his sister but pursed his lips. When he parted them, about to say something, Octavia warned him not to and she departed from the trading post with their peer.

“Guys!” When they heard Jasper call out to them from the bedroom, all three of them came running. Raven was trying to reach for the knots of her restraint to undo them and the first thing Michelle saw was her dislocated shoulder but what made her take a step back while the others rushed to her side to stop her from hurting herself any further, was the blood dripping from her wrist, soaking her bandage. It immidietaly brought the girl back to the darkest moment of her life, back when she was still in solitary confinement, and she tried taking a deep breath. She had to look away and stumbled as her head started feeling light. She kept ignoring her friends when the urged her to stop fighting and in the midst of all her growling, still fiercely struggling against them, she glared at Michelle with a smirk, her jaw clenched and teeth showing, like an enraged animal. She didn’t have time to say anything to her, Michelle instantly walked out of the room, gathering all her strength to make it outside where she just leaned over a barrel, the flame of a torch crackling and twisting in the slight breeze. The forest around her was plunged in the dark. She couldn't see more than a few feet ahead of her, and she let her gaze wander into this immensity. The trees seemed to melt into one imposing mass, and it was frightening. Only then did she also realize that she had gone out unarmed, and if someone came now, she was screwed, but it didn't matter; she really needed some peace and fresh air. She turned back towards the building and dropped to the ground with a sigh, closing her eyes for a moment. Her heart was racing, and her head had gone from being light to spinning but as she took control of her breathing, she managed to calm down.

She opened her eyes when she heard footsteps nearby. Bellamy was standing right there, concern on his face. She could tell he was hesitating to approach her.

“What? Are you gonna stand there forever?” She taunted, quietly. Her face was impassive as she stared at her hands, fidgeting with her fingers. He eventually sat down next to her, and they stayed there in silence for a hot minute. She wasn’t looking at him, but she felt his gaze on her, especially on the nervous movements of her hands. He lifted his hand and gently went to grab her wrist. Her hand froze, as right there under the sleeve of her jacket was her scar. There was doubt that made its way in her mind, unsure if she had already even just mentioned this episode to him. Clarke knew about all this, obviously, but with everything that had happened, she couldn't remember who else she had talked about it with. Very few people most likely.

“You okay?”

“I’ll be fine.” She released her wrist from his grip and only realized afterwards that her gesture had been curt. She didn't want to make him feel like she was pushing him away when he made the first step towards her. Letting out a sigh as she rubbed her hand, she tried to move the conversation away from her moment of weakness. “Are Jasper and Clarke still with Raven?”

“We’re taking turns watching her. Clarke’s in there with her right now.”

“She stopped trying to hurt herself?” The image of the latter’s wrists bleeding through her bandages flashed before her eyes and her eyelids twitched and she looked away, trying to keep it cool. He then explained to her what Alie was after. The Commander's chip that Clarke had. But of course, if Raven died, Alie would never ever get it, so she stopped fighting them and let them help her. The whole situation was just so nerve-wracking and odd. Michelle would maybe take a turn watching her, if she didn’t try to open her wounds again because she wouldn’t be able to handle that sight again. She didn’t normally have a fear of blood, but it was because of the nature of the wounds from which the blood was dripping. It was the fact that it was bringing back this dark and painful memory. Eventually, Bellamy encouraged her to come back inside and, getting up, he gave her a hand, which she didn’t hold onto for very long once she was on her feet. She entered the trading post first. Inside, it was rather silent. It was a change from Raven's incessant screaming. Jasper was in a dark corner of the room, sulking. Michelle and Bellamy were leaning against a table when they heard Clarke shout in pain and the two bursted into the room. Raven had a trickle of blood running down her chin, staining her lips.

“You’re done, Alie, you hear me? We’re gonna fry you!” She yelled in her face, letting it all out and Bellamy wrapped his arm around her, dragging her out of there. This look in her eyes was haunting. She joined her friends in the main room and Michelle took it upon her to take care of Clarke’s bite wound. She didn’t have her medical knowledge, but it was basic care. She carefully wrapped a clean cloth around her forearm after cleaning it. Clarke’s voice was quiet but the shame that pierced through it was loud. “I let her get to me.”

“You don’t say. She got to me without even saying a word.” Clarke was looking at her, her eyebrows furrowed, perturbed, and worried, both for herself, and for Michelle as well. She had noticed that she seemed agitated earlier. The two of them could see through the other. It had always been like this between them. That was how close-knit they were since they were babies. Michelle was staring down at what she was doing, avoiding her friend’s gaze but she looked up when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Bellamy’s.

“You two take a break. I’ll let her beat me up for a while.” Michelle let her eyes wander and cross his and he nodded to them before walking away. She stayed still, feeling Clarke staring at her.

“Please, don’t say anything.” She let out a chuckle, the corner of her lips rising despite herself. The blonde parted her lips, about to say something when Jasper’s bitterly interrupted her.

“Truth hurts, huh?” He was still mad, and understandably, over Maya’s death at Mount Weather and he blamed Clarke for it, because she triggered the opening of all doors to the facility, killing every mountain person inside. Michelle couldn’t say anything on this, she never knew his girlfriend beside talking to her over the radio when Bellamy was infiltrated in Mount Weather. And she couldn’t be mad at Clarke for causing the death of those people because, if she hadn’t done it, she would probably not have made it out of there, as the scientists were about to drill full force into her leg and other limbs until they had sucked all the marrowbone out of her.

“I’m sorry.” She sounded distressed. “I never wanted to hurt Maya… I had to save our people.”

“I was going to save everyone.” He cried out, his voice shaking from the anger and grief. Michelle stayed where she was and watched.

“I wish you could’ve.”

“Shove your regret up your ass.” He was pursing his lips, containing his tears, and walked away, nudging her with his shoulder. Once he was gone, Michelle came closer to her friend, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Maya didn’t deserve to die, but… if you hadn’t done at the right time, they would have killed me, and every one of us, one after the other.”

“I couldn’t let them kill any of you, especially you, Michelle. You’re my sister.” She gave her a sad smile and they embraced each other. There it was the actual reunion of the two childhood best friends after months of being apart. This was the moment they needed together. They had always been each other’s ride or die, and would be until the end of time, or until death did them apart. They then went to see Sinclair as he worked on the device to help Raven, trying to comfort him in his task. The poor man only had the young mechanic left, and he was afraid to ruin her bright mind, but they had to believe it would work. They had to have some hope. The quiet was disrupted by Jasper shouting at Raven not to speak about Maya and a second later, they saw him walk out of the room after Bellamy encouraged him to do so. As Raven, or Alie, said; yes, they had all lost someone, but Jasper had been shattered by Maya’s death and had lost all hope. He wasn’t dealing with it well, but it wasn’t something to blame him for. Everyone handled grief and trauma differently, for Michelle, she had realized that she kept to herself a lot and repeatedly pushed people away to avoid facing her feelings. She had done it with her dad and Bellamy, and at some point, she had even lost the complicity she had with Clarke. And she was barely patching things up with Bellamy. Silent, she was thinking, lending an ear to Alie talking in the room next door, trying to get to Octavia’s brother as well.

“We’ve had our fun together.” Her taunting and enticing tone bothered Michelle, or maybe was it that she insinuated that they had slept together in the past. She didn’t like feeling jealousy over something that wasn’t really meant by Raven. She would never bring it up. This only reinforced in her mind the fact that she genuinely wanted to get back what she once shared with Bellamy.

“We don’t have to talk about it. Usually not much to talk about, anyway. But I do have one question. Does it bother you that you don’t get any credit for the genocide at Mount Weather? Clarke gets to be the Commander of Death, but you murdered all these people, too, and you’re just forgotten. Then again… You didn’t get any credit for the culling on the Ark, either. How many people suffocated when you threw away my radio? You know, at least Clarke was saving her own people. You were just saving your own ass. Of course, that’s nothing… compared to killing your own mom. You just had to take little sister to her first dance. You might as well have just shoved Aurora out of the airlock yourself. Do you think she would be proud of you now? For the kind of leader, you’ve become? Or would she see the truth like the rest of us do? That you’re a follower. Clarke’s been back for one day and you’re already taking orders. A good, little knight by his queen’s side. Sure, it’s not just you… There’s Michelle, the good, little soldier. Clarke’s one true follower.” Clarke and Michelle exchanged a glance, listening in silence. She wasn’t bothered by the way she was being talked about. She had always been very much aware of her role by Clarke’s side, that she would follow her through hell and back. She was a thinker and in her mom’s fashion, a strategical one. She didn’t want a decision-making role to befall her. It was up to Clarke.

“Too bad you were never as devoted to Gina as you were to Clarke, or Michelle. Ah, the soldier… Does the little knight like the good soldier?? Too bad she was still not over Murphy. You were too late to the party. She didn’t want you anymore. The only man she needed was her dear daddy.” Michelle’s heart sank as she kept talking about her to Bellamy, calling both of them out for the way their relationship had turned out until now. But she wasn’t exactly right. It wasn’t that she didn’t want him anymore. What she got right was that at the time, her romance with Murphy was still too fresh and she wasn’t over him yet when she started something with Bellamy.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Bellamy said in a whisper.

“Don’t worry about Gina, she was already dead when Mount Weather blew up.” She rose the tone of her voice, talking loudly through the small property. “And you avenged her, right? I mean, you picked up a gun and slaughtered an army that was sent to protect us. That had nothing to do with blowing sweet Gina to bits or getting rejected by dear Michelle.” As she kept rambling, Michelle, Clarke, and Jasper saw Niylah suddenly stand up and speewalk towards the bedroom. The three of them ran after her. They came in the moment Niylah slapped Bellamy across the face. Clarke called out to her.

“Niylah. You can’t be in here.”

“It’s too late.” Jasper chimed in. “Raven’s already seen her. Alie knows we’re here.”

Michelle watched Bellamy storm out. She didn’t go with him right away and let Niylah follow him outside. From behind the door, she heard him grunt and kick one of the barrels. When he apologised for what he had participated in doing, she wasn’t phased by his excuses, but she didn’t burst out in anger. Michelle was looking through the doorway, and a faint light shone on his face. In a way, even though Niylah didn't care about his excuses, she appreciated seeing the guilt in his eyes. It means Pike's influence was gone this time, and she could help him get back on the right path. Before he could say anything else to try and help his case, they heard engines in the background, and she saw the headlights from the rover as Monty and Octavia came back. Michelle walked out with Jasper while Niylah went back inside.

“What happened?” Bellamy enquired after Monty walked straight to the trading post without stopping or looking at either of them. He was preoccupied by something. In fact, Alie was now aware of where they were, but she somehow had learned about their night trip to the dropship and there, Monty had to kill his own mother to save Octavia’s life. They all rushed inside. It was time to free Raven from Alie. Gathered around the bed, Sinclair put down his machine, giving out the instructions. As they connected her to it, she began moving her arms around, grunting. They struggled to hold her still. Michelle jumped when Raven began to violently hit her head to the metal headboard. She turned her back to her. As Bellamy then stated, their friend was once again trying to kill herself.

“Stop it! Stop. And I’ll give you this.” Clarke pulled out the small box containing the Commander’s chip. It was just enough to get her to stop fighting and Bellamy snatched the box, and they resumed connecting her to the device made by Sinclair while Raven yelled at her for lying. She tried begging them not to do it, claiming the EMP would greatly damage her brain, but they had to do it. It was their last resort to free her from Alie, whether it worked or not. They didn’t have much of a choice. Michelle watched the scene, standing still next to Clarke. Monty then activated the machine, but nothing happened.

“What’s happening?” Jasper enquired.

“Nothing. We need more power.” Sinclair declared. “The battery’s not strong enough.”

“Well, then get one that is.” Clarke asked, pressed. Michelle was frowning, kind of looking away, thinking until she got an idea, and it seemed like Monty thought of the same thing. They spoke simultaneously.

“The Rover.” Raven grunted louder and Bellamy urged Sinclair to hold the young woman as she tried to hit her head against the headboard again. Monty and Bellamy ran outside to get the car’s battery. Everyone got startled when they heard a shot ring outside and they all looked towards the door, wondering what was going on.

“Guys, we have to move!” Bellamy pushed for them to be quicker, and Sinclair proceeded to connect the machines to Raven with a bunch of cables. He then pressed the button again and the young mechanic screamed at the top of her lungs before her body suddenly relaxed and she stopped moving. They looked at each other in worry and Clarke put two fingers up to a neck to check for her pulse.

“She’s breathing.” She concluded, relieved. They tried to call out to her and wake her up, but the girl remained unconscious, quickly replacing their relief with a new wave of worry. Michelle had her arms crossed, kind of wrapped around her torso as she watched, concerned. It didn't matter if she wasn't friends with Raven, she was still hoping the latter would turn out okay. They didn’t have much time to get out of there until Alie’s zombie army would get to them now that they knew where the group had found refuge but at least, Raven was out of the woods. It was a bummer that the only thing surrounding them right now were just that, woods. And they weren’t out of it just yet.

A few minutes later, Clarke and Octavia were leaning over Raven, desperately trying to wake her up, while Jasper nonchalantly paced back and forth around the room, and Michelle was leaning against the wall, right in front of Bellamy. He knew full well that she had heard what Alie had said to him a moment before; the latter had spoken loudly on purpose, and neither he nor the pseudo-soldier dared look each other straight in the eyes, glancing sideways when the other was looking elsewhere. Michelle sighed silently, tightening her grip on her arm, still with her arms crossed. She hoped the two of them would have a moment to talk about whatever was going on between them. Maybe she should have taken the lead and taken a step towards him too when he came to see her outside. Instead, she once again kept her feelings and thoughts to herself and changed the subject. She hated that she kept doing it. Her eyes wandered and followed Jasper as he walked around the bed. She frowned slightly, wondering what he was doing as he came behind Clarke and snatched the box with the chip, along with a metal bar. This made Michelle straighten up, letting her arms fall to her sides.

“What are you doing?” Clarke spun around. Jace put down the chip on a table, ready to smash it. She took a step towards him, distressed and she tried to take it away from him. “No, you can’t. Give it back.”

“Alie did that to Raven. She’s never gonna get this!” He yelled, raising the bar above his head.

“Don’t! It’s Lexa.” She cried out, her face twisting with sadness. Everyone stood there, looking at her, not getting her meaning. “Part of her is still in there. I saw them cut it out of her head. I’m not…”

“What is it?” Bellamy queried after Clarke stopped talking.

“Both of the AIs were made by the same person. Both tap into human consciousness. They must work similarly, right?” She asked, turning to Sinclair.

“Well, there’s probably only one pathway to consciousness, so it’s possible, yeah.”

“What does this have to do with anything?” Octavia shook her head, not understanding. Clarke walked back to Raven’s side.

“I’ve seen an AI removed before. Help me get her on her side.” Bellamy approached, helping them move Raven. Clarke asked for the medkit in her bag and Michelle went to get it for her while she pushed Raven’s hair away from her neck. She went through her medical tools and pulled out a small scalpel, making a small cut at the nape of her neck. The trickle of blood becoming thicker as blood dripped from the cut. She put a cloth underneath. A second later, something started flowing out and Michelle frowned.

“What is that?” She asked, taking the words out of Bellamy's mouth.

“It must be whatever’s left of the chip.” Sinclair said. Once it was out, Raven coughed, coming back to her senses. She winced at the pain caused by the open wound. They helped her up.

“I never thought I’d be so happy to see someone in pain.” Octavia laughed. All was well, for now. Michelle saw Jasper give back the chip to Clarke, mumbling something to her and stepping away.

“I could have saved my mother.” Michelle turned to Monty who was staring into the void. She was reminded how he had had to kill his own mother to save Octavia’s life and she felt for him. She didn’t kill her mother but someone else did and that thought that she could have saved her if she hadn’t been sent to the ground, it had been haunting her ever since that one Unity Day where she had refused to talk to her mother when she had the chance. It was already too late when she felt like it, her mother was already dead in the bombing on the Ark. But Michelle blamed herself for getting arrested. If only she had known, she would have stuck by her mom’s side and, even if she couldn’t save her, she would have been able to say goodbye and be by her side as she was dying. Instead, she only learned of her death when Kane and Abby landed in that lake. She remembered how she was so overwhelmed by anger and grief, she had lashed out on Kane, blaming him for what happened. But now she could admit to herself that it wasn’t anyone’s fault, though she still felt like she somehow caused it. She was taken out of her contemplation when Monty rose his voice at Jasper, telling him to get away from him before storming out of the room.

“Alie knows we’re here. We gotta move.” Bellamy spoke, with a serious tone, very fitting given the situation. While Sinclair took care of carrying Raven, they followed Bellamy outside the trading post. The others went straight to the car and Michelle and Bellamy stood in the open. None of them really knew what to say in the moment but Michelle eventually turned to him, and they looked at each other. The tension was palpable. They both wanted to take a step towards the other, but it was as if there was an invisible force that froze them in place. She was the first one to make a move, grabbing his bandaged hand after he got hurt. He watched her do so, wrapping his fingers around her hand, both strongly and gently. This gesture makes her step closer, but she didn’t look up at him. Clarke was still inside, and they would only set off in a couple of minutes, so she took the opportunity to open up a bit.

“She was right. I mean, when Alie said that I wasn’t over Murphy. But it’s… it’s not that I didn’t want you.” She said in a sigh, as it was somehow incredibly hard to say outloud. “I’m sorry. It’s gonna take a while to patch things up, but I want you to know I don’t hate you. I can’t.”

“I know. I’m sorry too.” He spoke in a soft voice as she proceeded to take off the bandage. It wasn’t as bad of a wound as when Michelle almost got her hand sliced in half. He would be fine. That was the moment Clarke decided to show up. Michelle took a step back, letting go of Bellamy’s hand when she heard their friend. The later glanced at the wound.

“You’ll recover.”

“Will I? What do you do when you realize… you might not be the good guy?” A silence fell upon them for a moment until Clarke spoke up.

“Maybe there are no good guys.” They looked at each other. Maybe she was right. Maybe there were no good guys. Maybe they were all the villain in someone else’s story. The world wasn’t all black and white. The grey areas were the toughest ones to navigate. Clarke gazed at her best friend and Bellamy, with a sparkle in her eyes. She knew something was up and seeing Michelle literally hold his hand was a dead give away.

The Rover was maneuvered back into the direction of departure on the path and Sinclair and Octavia helped Raven into the car. The trio approached them.

“Why did Alie want you to kill yourself?” Clarke enquired.

“Because I know why she wants a second AI.”

“Why?” Her eyes shifted to Bellamy.

“It’s the only thing that can stop her.”

“Then let’s stop her.” Octavia declared. “We survive together.”

[To be continued…]

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Published (02/02/2023) by Andrea

Taglist: @cathrin2405 @kika64 @mirellef2001

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justinewt · 4 months

Text

Keep the Peace - THE 100 REWRITE Chapter Twenty-One

[THE 100 MASTERLIST]

Previous Chapter / Next Chapter

Summary: Michelle had to rest after the head trauma she suffered when she and Bellamy tried to rescue Clarke after risking both of their lives. She would be fine but there was something brewing ever since Pike joined the people of the Ark in Camp Jaha. And after an explotion occured at Mount Weather, to whom Bellamy’s loyalty belonged was put in question.

Words: 5.9k

Warnings: The 100 season 3 spoilers (mention of events from episode 3 “Ye Who Enter Here”; episode 4 “Watch the Thrones”), mention of wounds/concussion, dried blood, guns, pike is racist

The whole trip back to Arkadia had been a pain for Michelle. The swirls of the car on the forest roads made her even sicker and sicker than she already was due to the acute vertigo and migraine from the head trauma. At one point they had to stop the car because she was moaning so much. She had gotten so nauseous that the moment Kane opened the door, and she stuck her head out, she threw up but again, it was only bile and it felt like fire went through her throat. He gave her several sips of water from a canteen as they continued the road and she lay down, resting her head on Kane's leg. Driving in Arkadia, He carefully hoped out the rover and was met by Abby on his way to the infirmary of the camp where he went straight to put his daughter on the nearest bed available. The car ride really took a toll on her, and she was unable to respond to Abby as she examined her but the state in which she was in gave the doctor and Chancellor enough information on how bad the injury might be, though she later determined it was only a mild concussion, which was already enough to make her sick for days. She told Kane to stand aside as Jackson joined to assist her. They slowly sit her up and Jackson placed his hand on both side of her temples to stabilize her head and keep it aligned with her spine and prevent movement while Abby firmly pressed a clean cloth on the wound. It had stopped bleeding by now, meaning it had already started to coagulate, which was good news but it still required to be cleaned and bandaged and so she did. She then covered the wound with a piece of gauze and wrapped her head before resting her on the pillow. Without even flinching, Michelle swallowed the medicine which was put on her tongue and eventually fell asleep, the last image before she closed her eyes was of her father sitting beside the bed, running his hand worriedly over his beard.

The next 48 hours, Abby came in to check on her every hour or so, but Jackson stayed in the infirmary to always have an eye on her, cleaning her head injury about three times a day and changing the bandage. The pain killers she got every now and then helped her not to be in so much pain and really calmed down the migraine. She didn’t have to stay in bed all day but because every time she tried to stand up and take a few steps, she was seized with dizziness which forced her to sit down again so it really narrowed down the options of what she was able to do. Like Abby told her, after a whole week most of the symptoms should have resolved on their own and it did, except for the migraine which came back every now and then especially when triggered by loud noises or vertigo if she moved her head too suddenly but thanks to supplies taken from Mount Weather, she was able to get pain killers when it was too much to bear.

“It’s been a week. How are you feeling today?” Abby came into the infirmary and walked up to her, pulling a chair next to Michelle’s bed. She got up to sit in her bed, placing her pillow behind her back for support. She didn’t have her head bandaged anymore since the wound had scabbed for a few days already.

“Just a headache when I woke up, but Jackson gave me painkillers. Now it’s fine.” The Chancellor turned her head towards her and held a small flashlight to her eyes to check her reaction and sensitivity to bright light. Michelle barely squinted her eyes. She then had her lean her head forward to clean the scab that formed over her head wound. It was mostly healed by now, but she still had to be careful so that it didn’t start bleeding again if she scratched it off. Abby got her to stand up and walk around a bit. No vertigo to report. This was a good sign that things were going the right way. She sat back down on her bed and Kane arrived at the same moment that she started asking about the Summit they were supposed to attend at Polis City with the 12 other clans and the Commander.

“You’re not coming.” He straight up said, his arms crossed.

“Didn’t expect you would let me anyway.”

“I sent Bellamy to Mount Weather, so he’s not coming either. But you, will stay in Arkadia, and you will not leave campgrounds. What you did the other week was stupid and reckless. I had asked you to be careful and you left with him without telling anyone. You both could have been killed.”

“I am sorry, okay?” She apologized, frowning. Now that she was better, his worry was overpowered by his need to scold her and act like the parent he should have been in her life and no matter how much she deserved it, she didn’t like to be addressed like a child. It was her decision to go with Bellamy and it was to look for Clarke, so she wasn’t actually that sorry, though she understood the stupidity of it. That was that kind of interaction that harmed her relationship with her mother, prior to her getting sent to solitary confinement for an entire year. Michelle stood up after taking an antibiotic and painkiller and Abby stopped her before she walked out. She still wasn’t allowed to take part in any activity that required effort and be careful not to touch her injury so it wouldn't bleed again. Even though in the past few days, she had had to stay within the walls of the infirmary for obvious reasons, she felt like she had been grounded ever since her return to Arkadia, a camp she still couldn't call home.

Michelle had taken care of doing what she could, chores here and there to help out among little trips to the infirmary when she got dizzy but knowing on the one hand her dad and Abby in Polis and her friends in Mount Weather were enough to keep her mind busy for the day. In the evening, she wandered around the camp, taking deep breaths of the fresh air. The weather was good, and the mood was calm and relaxing until the sound of an explosion in the distance disrupted everything. Given where the sound came from, it didn't take her more than a couple seconds to realize that it had occurred in Mount Weather, where she knew her, friends were, which immediately worried her. She watched the smoke rise above the treetops with wide eyes. Unable to go to bed, she stood pacing near the station entrance, watching for the camp gate until she saw a car drive in in the middle of the night and she ran to the hangar. Her father, Abby, Bellamy, and the others came out. She tried going up to Bellamy, but he walked past her and left. He seemed out of it.

“Dad, what-- what happened? What was the explosion earlier? Where are the others? Is Bellamy okay? What—" She was so confused and worried she couldn’t stop asking questions. He grabbed her shoulders.

“The Ice Nation blew up Mount Weather. Gina died in the attack.” It was the only piece of information she needed. She rushed to catch up with Bellamy who was walking down a hallway towards his bedroom. It was late and a lot had happened, so she understood he probably needed to be alone right now, but she had to check on him. He didn't even turn when he heard hurried footsteps coming from behind him, until she called his name. Then he stopped and looked at her before avoiding her gaze. She could see the neon light above them reflect the tears that made his eyes glisten.

“Bellamy, I’m sorry.” He knew what she was apologizing for and just looked down. She had never been close friends with Gina, because she was the girlfriend he got after they had gotten close and she pushed him away, but she would never have wished something like this to happen to her. She was a nice person who didn’t deserve to die. For some reason, Michelle drew Bellamy into a hug, and he wrapped his arms around her after a second. Acting tough wasn’t everything, he needed to be comforted too. They spent the night sitting on the floor next to each other in his room, not really talking or saying anything, just keeping each other company so neither of them would be alone. She saw him let his guards down and be vulnerable in front of her. The events at Mount Weather had really taken a toll on him and she had never seen him so bummed about something before, only when Clarke had left them. After a while, they fell asleep, their heads resting on the bed behind them, their foreheads pressing against each other. This was the kind of intimate moment that they hadn’t shared in forever and Michelle realized how much she had missed it. She was quite unsettled by the resurgence of her feelings for Bellamy, not knowing what to do about it since the death of his girlfriend had just happened and she would hate herself if she tried getting with him just yet. She would deal with all this later, right now she just wanted to be there.

Shortly after the sun finally rose outside, the rays entered the room and illuminated Michelle's face. She placed her hand over her eyes and rolled onto her back, when she realized that she was lying on the bed. At first without straightening up she raised her head and looked around in confusion and finally sat up seeing Bellamy standing near the table. He looked away, looking preoccupied. She was already over the fact that he woke up first and carried her on the bed, which somehow warmed her heart and wasn’t surprised by the expression on his face as he observed his Ark guard’s jacket hanging from the coat rack on the wall, near the door. He was as silent as last night, and it took her a minute to understand what was going on in his head. Because of what happened, he wanted to resign.

“Whatever happened… it wasn’t your fault, Bellamy.” She finally broke the silence. Hearing his name spoken outloud, he turned his head to her, looking back at her. It was clear that he disagreed with what she said, but it was true, what happened to Gina was beyond his control. She was at the wrong place, at the wrong time.

“I could’ve done something. I should’ve stayed.”

“Stayed where? At Mount Weather? But weren’t you there when it blew up?” She tried to ask a couple questions, to get him to tell her what actually happened because all she knew was that Mount Weather blew up and Gina died, but she didn’t know the details. Her questions remained unanswered as he grabbed his jacket and walked out of the room. Michelle jumped out of bed and followed suit. He wasn’t any more talkative in the corridors. She kept asking him where he was going and suddenly step in front of him to stop him in his tracks, grabbing his arms. Quickly, he finally loosened his tongue and told her the whole story. How a Grounder he was locked up with came back and told them about a trap at the Summit and that he then decided to leave with the others, leaving Gina behind at Mount Weather, where she was murdered before the whole facility exploded. There was a second of silence and she let her hands slide off his arms, nodding. Repeating that he didn’t need to blame himself for this was pointless, as he truly believed it was his fault.

A man guarded the entrance. Inside, Kane and Abby were in a private meeting, probably assessing their next move regarding what happened. The door eventually opened, and the two young adults found themselves facing Pike who looked at them before leaving. They stepped in the room, watching Abby walk to the opposite side while Kane was leaning on the table, thinking.

“Sir?” Bellamy quietly called out to Kane. The latter straightened up on his stool and glanced at them, joining his hands in front of him. It took him a couple glances to notice his daughter standing next to him. She could tell he was wondering what they were doing together.

“Why aren’t you at your post?” He asked in a low voice, with a sigh. Bellamy put his jacket on the table and pushed it further away. “Don’t do this.”

“Forty-nine of the people I swore to protect died yesterday because I left them.”

“That’s not your fault, Bellamy.” Kane turned to face him. “Place the blame where it belongs. On the Ice Nation.”

“The Ice Nation didn’t tell Gina to stay there.” He paused, taking a shaky breath. “That was me.”

“Given the information you had at the time, you made a reasonable choice.” Kane stood up, placing a hand that was meant to be comforting on his shoulder. From the side, Michelle could see the pain and guilt that made his eyes shine in the faint glow of the light. “You were trying to save lives.”

“But I didn’t.” He looked away with a heavy sigh, his eyes getting watery as he tried to fight tears. He didn’t say anything else, maybe if he knew that if he did, he would have started crying, and instead just turned around and left. Michelle went to grab his arm as he walked past her, but she stopped herself and crossed her arms. She sighed, closing her eyes.

“All that’s certain is that we die. How we die is up to us.” Pike declared, standing before them as they all sat on chairs set in rows in the hangar. On Pike’s left side, Abby and Kane were sat together. They were all gathered here, attending a memorial for the ones that died in the explosition at Mount Weather. Michelle was next to Bellamy in the back row, sat straight back in her chair, fiddling with her fingers, eyes glued to her hands, her loose black hair falling in front of her face. She wasn’t good with feelings like sadness and grief and hated the heavy atmosphere that hung over them. It kept reminding her of the loss of her mother and she wanted to run away from it but there she was, stuck in this room and it would be disrespectful of her to just leave out of the blue. She wanted to be present, out of respect for the victims, but especially to show up for Bellamy, but she didn't feel able to look at the people around her. She didn't want to see the pain in their eyes. The former Earth skills teacher asked who wanted to speak for one of the girls that died in the attack and a man walked up to him after a moment of silence.

“Iris was strong. Good with a knife. She saved my life. I’m just sorry I couldn’t do the same for her.” He gave a sudden jerk with the knife in his hand to pull out the blade and put it down on a small piece of furniture nearby, before returning to his seat.

“We will miss Iris.” Pike resumed. “May we meet again.”

“May we meet again.” Everyone spoke in unison, with Michelle barely letting a whisper leave her lips. She hated that her grief made it all about her mother for her, and anything to do with loss and grief reminded her that she never had the chance to say goodbye to her mother and she never would. Neither would she ever see her again in this life. But it wasn’t what this memorial was about, and she refused to let herself cry over it while being surrounded by all those people. She never even told Bellamy about her feelings on this subject, despite pushing him to talk about what happened to his girlfriend.

“Who will speak for Gina Martin?” Michelle raised her head for the first time in the whole service and looked at Bellamy. He glanced at her and She risked giving him a small comforting smile and although he didn't return it before getting up, she knew he appreciated her support. Their relationship had been on and off those past few months, but they had never stopped being friends. He walked up to Pike, holding the book The Iliad in his hands. This time around, Michelle looked at him as he spoke, and he often met and held her gaze. Maybe he really felt her support, she didn’t know.

“Gina was real. She always saw the light, even here. She deserved better.” He went to put down the book when doors opened, and a bunch of Ark guards entered. Everyone straightened up in their chairs, looking at the soldiers and whispering to each other. Michelle noticed Pike talking to one of them, and she saw Lincoln alone. She followed Pike with her eyes as he walked to Kane and Abby. Seeing his lips moving as he leaned towards them slightly, she frowned. His voice began to rose.

“You gave a Grounder one of our radios?” Everyone in the audience stood up and the whispers became much louder.

“Sir, are we under attack?” Hannah enquired.

“No, we are not under attack.” Kane declared. “Their commander sent a peacekeeping force. To ensure that we can defend against any further attacks from the Ice Nation.”

“Peacekeeping force?” Pike was clearly not having it. “Even you can’t be that naïve, Marcus.”

“Watch your tone. You’re talking to the next Chancellor.” Abby chimed in, before addressing the crowd. “We’re all grieving. This has been hard on all of us. But we can’t let anger drive our policy.”

“Anger is our policy.” Michelle frowned even more at his aggressive response. His hatred for Grounders made him so biased and he really thought he was in the right. He rose his voice louder and talked to the people of the Ark present here. “If they’re here to defend us, as you say, then tell them to go home. We can defend ourselves!”

“Yeah!” Some of them began agreeing with Pike. Michelle looked around and exited the crowd through the left side to go to his father and Abby when a man dressed in the clothes of an Ark guard pointed at Lincoln in the back.

“You. You don’t belong here.”

“He’s one of them.” Said another man.

“My boy is dead!” A dude yelled and a stone was thrown at Lincoln, hitting him in the head with a thud. He groaned at the blow, and it quickly turned to chaos with some people trying to come at the grounder and others pushing them off. Bellamy ran through the mob to keep people from getting close to Lincoln. Kane ordered to arrest them and separated one of the many fights happenings when Pike let out a shrill whistle and things finally went to a halt.

“We do not attack our own!” He pressed each one of his words. “Fighting each other only makes us weak. The enemy is not in this camp. The enemy is out there.”

Michelle hated how everyone started listening to Pike suddenly, just because he was loud and strong with his words. She could tell he was going to cause troubles for all of them, especially those who weren’t pitting themselves up against the Grounders, like herself or her father. She looked at the people in the room and her eyes set on Bellamy and she wondered if that man would manage to get in his head, one way or another. It made her grind her teeth to think of Bellamy siding with Pike but when later that day, she saw the two men having a drink. She was sitting at a table in the corner of the room, having a drink on her own since without Clarke or even Murphy, well if she wasn’t hanging out with Bellamy, she really had no other friends. And Monty was nowhere to be seen anyway so she didn’t bother to look for him much. She couldn’t hear their conversation from where she was, but she watched them from the corner of her eyes. She noticed Monty’s mother at a table next to Pike and Bellamy’s and the woman was discreetly looking at them too, but Michelle wasn’t too sure if the latter wanted Pike to get the young man on their side. She didn’t know her too well, so she had no idea what was going on in her head. But to be safe, she preferred to assume the worst and to think that all the people from the Farm station were with Pike, and against her dad, and by association, against her.

When she saw Bellamy look around and the people from Farm Station that were there all gave him a glance, a glance full of the hatred for Grounders that they witnessed earlier, she understood that her assumption was in fact right. Sometimes being safe is being right and in that case she was. She didn’t like what was brewing. For some reason, and she wasn’t even a Grounder, so she wasn’t the group’s main target, but she started feeling unsafe and quite uncomfortable at that. She wished she could hear what they were saying so she could report it to Kane and Abby, but she at least knew that they were preparing something and trying to get Bellamy in on it with them, so that was already something, but she chose to wait a bit longer and see what more she could learn by just watching them from afar. The second she saw Bellamy give a nod to Pike, she knew whatever game they were all playing, it was over. For the Grounders at the very least, but also for anyone siding with them. She bitterly gulped down a last shot of alcohol and, grabbing her jacket lying on the seat next to her, she walked away as she put it back on. Not knowing where her dather would be as of now, her best guess was either the meeting room that she visited earlier with Bellamy or his own room, but she didn’t even remember where the latter was so she had to hope he and Abby would both be there. She had no idea where else they could be anyway.

After a dozen minutes just wandering around, she ran into Harper, and she grasped the chance. She wasn’t surprised at all to hear Michelle’s thoughts on the situation they had with Pike. It was already late, the sky was dark, and the two girls went to Lincoln and along with Zoe, they stood in the dark of the main gate, and it didn’t take very long for the group of wannabe vigilantes to come to them. When they noticed the four individuals, they stopped, and Bellamy walked up to them with a stern look on his face. He looked at all of them without moving his head, his eyes lingering for a little longer on Michelle. He was frowning.

“You need to step aside, right now.” He warned.

“What are the guns for?” Michelle asked after exchanging a glance with Harper. They knew very well what the guns were for, and Bellamy wasn’t so stupid either.

“There’s an army out there. And we need to hit them before they hit us.” As they spoke, Pike and the others slowly advanced towards them.

“That army was sent to protect us.” Lincoln said.

“Do we have a problem?” Pike asked this in such a way it sounded way more like a threat than a question.

“No.”

“I have always done what is best for us. I need you to trust that I am doing that now.” He glanced at Zoe in the back, and she subtly nodded before stepping away. Michelle frowned, taking a step towards him. Bellamy then looked at Harper and as if she understood his motivation, she nodded and apologized to Lincoln before leaving in turn. There was only Michelle left by his side, and she wasn’t about to walk away as well. She chewed nervously on the inside of her cheek, and she looked at Bellamy, trying to knock some sense into him before it was too late, even though she knew damn well that it was in fact too late. He would stand his grounds and side with Pike still, and he would realize only too late how far he went because he believed in the wrong person. Pike was loud and aggressive but that didn’t make him any less of a snake. Now she knew why she disliked him so much as a teacher on the Ark. He was never a good or a nice man.

“Bellamy.” Her tone of voice was soft. She was trying to do something pointless, but she still tried. And if she wasn’t on Pike’s bad side already, she would be now. “You’re not thinking this through. You can’t let Pike get in your head like this with all his Grounder hatred bullshit, come on. They’re not out there to kill us.”

“I am thinking this through, Michelle.” He came closer to her, and his brows relaxed but not hers. He spoke with determination to convince her this was the right thing to do. “I’m doing this for all of us. We have to hit before they hit us. Trust me on this.”

She looked away for a second. She wanted to believe him but with Pike in the mix, she just couldn’t, and it was tearing her heart apart to have to doubt Bellamy’s intentions but on this one, she couldn’t risk being on the wrong side. And she couldn’t be on the same side as Pike because it would always be the wrong one. She hated that Bellamy let himself be manipulated like this. She still believed there was a way to get him back on the right track, but she just couldn’t support him this time. She shook her head and looked back at him.

“You can’t just go out there to kill 300 people. They’re here to protect us.”

“They’re Grounders.”

“So were your fucking ancestors, Pike.” She spat vehemently, giving him a death stare.

“Watch your tone. You wouldn’t talk to your mother like this.”

“Don’t you talk about my mother.” She angrily rose her voice at Pike, suddenly walking towards him but she was stopped mid-way by Bellamy who grabbed her arms and moved her back in front of him. Pike obviously kept his composure and just looked at them. She hated how vicious he was, mentioning her mother like this, to try and get to her emotionally and he almost did get something out of her, but Bellamy prevented that. If she was alone, she would have bursted out in tears but her voice barely broke when she talked back to him.

“Let us pass.” Bellamy asked her, almost whispering. For a second, she got lost in his eyes, but this was nothing like the intimate and priviledged moments they had once shared. They were surrounded by Pike’s minions. She made a pout, shaking her head again as she pushed his hands away and stepped back next to Lincoln, staring at Bellamy. He seemed disappointed by her reaction, probably hoping she wouldn’t fight him, but he wasn’t Clarke, and the latter was the only one she would blindly follow.

“I can’t.” Bellamy let his arms hang at his sides and they held each other's gaze.

“Lincoln, you wanna prove you’re one of us, let us pass.” Pike spoke to the Grounder.

“I’m not moving.” One of Pike’s men suddenly aimed at him, urging him to get out of the way and Lincoln subtly pushed Michelle behind him as he grabbed the gun and made the man lose his balance, holding his knife up to the latter’s throat, backing away. Being behind him, Michelle was kind of stuck there, having to step back as well. The rest of Pike’s men brandished their guns. Bellamy told them to put the guns down and Pike encouraged them to listen to him.

“So much for the good Grounder.” Monty’s mother noted.

“Quiet, Hannah.” Michelle now stood aside, still not about to leave. “Whose people are you defending here, Lincoln?”

“Lincoln, put down the knife. No one has to get hurt here.” Bellamy added.

“I can’t let you start a war.”

“We’re already at war.”

“Not with the Grounders out there.” Michelle argued.

“They’re all Grounders.”

“This is so stupid… They’re not all Ice Nation. We’re not at war with them.”

“Neither of you can stop this.” She stared back at Bellamy, letting out a quiet but heavy sigh. Shaking her head in disbelief, not taking her eyes off him, she mouthed his name but not a sound came out of her lips, and she hated that she could see in his eyes that he wasn’t sorry for any of this. He truly thought he was doing the right thing here. The PA system in the camp went off and screeched for a second before a voice came on.

“All unstationed security personnel report at the main gate.” He repeated the message a couple of times as a buzzing sound sounded in the background. Octavia appeared in their sight and ran towards Lincoln.

“What’s wrong with you?” Bellamy closed his eyes and looked at his sister. A second later a bunch of Arkadia guards arrived with their guns. Michelle saw her father walking in their direction among the soldiers. She could’ve searched for him longer but when earlier she came across Harper, she didn’t waste any more time. They had gone straight to Lincoln. As Kane came closer, Pike asked his people to put their guns on the ground.

“Lincoln, it’s all right. Let him go.” At Kane’s words, he released the man who threatened him. The future chancellor and his daughter exchanged a quiet glance.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Abby enquired.

“What you didn’t have the guts to do.”

“Did you arm these people?” Kane headed towards Bellamy. He didn’t even answer but his silence alone was enough for him to understand.

“Guards take them to lock up now.” They were quickly all arrested as she told everyone else to go back to their quarters. It was late and there was nothing else to see here. “It’s over.”

“Nothing is over.” Pike exclaimed. “We are surrounded by warriors who want us dead.

“That’s enough!” Kane spoke up.

“No, it isn’t. Not even close. Why don’t you show us all what you let the Grounders do to you yesterday? Come on, Kane. I think that the people who are about to vote for you have a right to know.” Michelle frowned, having no idea what he was talking about. She got closer to Abby and her dad. He looked around him as people asked him to show them whatever it was. He lifted his sleeve and showed the crowd a red mark on his arm.

“It’s the mark of the Commander’s coalition. It means we are the 13th clan. It means we are in this fight together.”

“No. It’s what farmers used to do to their livestock.”

“Right before the slaughterhouse.” Hannah shouted, trying to entice the crowd into siding with them. And people started to be for Pike going as far as to tell him to be on the ballot for tomorrow’s election. Michelle turned around when she heard Bellamy chanting Pike’s name, followed by every single one of those who had been arrested, and a lot of people in the crowd. This felt like a nightmare. She stepped next to her father, and he put a hand on her shoulder out of habit. He, Abby, and Michelle looked at each other, worried and dumbfounded by the situation.

“I tried to talk him out of it.” She said quietly, looking at them walk away.

“You did what you could.” He gently squeezed her shoulder, unable to take his eyes off the people still chanting Pike’s name like a bunch of brainwashed people. Things were only about to get worse now that Pike convinced others to be with him. There was a risk he could be elected the next day and with him at the head of the whole group, it would be war against any Grounder in sight.

The next day, with barely a few hours of sleep as she was unable to get any rest, Michelle attended the election held outside in the camp and and Pike quickly received a majority of the votes. They couldn’t believe it. Once it was over, her father and two guards headed towards the prison wing of the ring. She followed them and hid behind the walls to let them pass without being seen and, to keep a certain distance. She followed them until they got to the portion of the corridor that went straight to the cell door. She stopped behind a corner and even though she wished she could be closer, it should be enough for her to hear them talk. If she tried to approach, it wouldn’t be the guards or Kane who would notice her, it would be the prisoners and she would be spotted by everyone anyway because if Pike saw her lurking around the corner, he would never keep his mouth shut. He knew she was out of reach for his manipulation tricks. She would never talk with him. He was only going there to tell Pike of his win at the election, but she still wasn’t supposed to be following him when he had asked her not to, though he knew she wasn’t always listening to him. She went ahead with following him because she was fully aware he wouldn’t get mad at her for something like this. He had other things to be uspet about anyway.

Kane pressed on the panel next to the door, unlocking the door before walking in. Everyone inside stood up. He walked up to Pike.

“Congratulations, Mr. Chancellor.”

“Where’s Abby?”

“Wishes she could be here.” He handed him the Chancellor pin. “The vote wasn’t close. Our people are now your responsibility, Charles. I hope you take that seriously.”

“Thank you, Marcus. I certainly intend to. For my first official action as Chancellor, I pardon myself and the others. For my second official action, I reject the brand that made us the 13th clan. For my third, let’s finish what we started.” Michelle felt a knot in her stomach just hearing this and she rested her head against the corner with a sigh, not caring if she was seen anymore. She crossed her arms and watched the people walk out of the cell, keeping her eyes on her father as he stopped Bellamy before he left. He spoke to him in a whisper so she couldn’t hear but the expression on Bellamy’s face as he walked past him. He noticed Michelle standing there and gave her a brief look but there was nothing there, no compassion, nothing. It was just the dark brown of his eyes looking at her like they were enemies.

[To be continued…]

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Published (12/29/2023) by Andrea

Taglist: @cathrin2405 @kika64 @mirellef2001

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