Chapter 22: All According to Pl...
"There is a door just up ahead, sir," Major Byrne reported as she walked back.
"I guess that's my cue," I said, stretching.
While Kane started explaining the attack plan to the Guardsmen, I started making half a dozen shields. They were a little smaller than what I had made last night, but someone could still hide behind them if they balled up like Captain America. During the night, Kane tested the shields that I had made, so we knew that they could stop a few bullets and I should be able to repair them if they got too damaged. The Guardsmen would carry them for me, so that I could save as much energy as possible, but it also gave me the option of repurposing them to make a battering ram if I was not able to manipulate the metal in the door with my power.
After I finished with the shields, I walked over to the Grounders and asked, "Indra, we will start our attack soon. I'd like to seal the tunnel behind us, so that the Reapers can't ambush us. Is that okay?"
Before she could reply, someone else in the group said, "Oso throu duan ogeda, Graun Pulr."
I looked at Indra with a raised brow and she translated, "We fight with you, Ground Mover."
I clasped my hand together, in front of my chest, and nodded my head, saying, "Thank you."
The one who had spoken, and a few others, copied my gesture while Indra practically smiled. I walked back to the front of the group with Lincoln and Bellamy at my side. I looked at everyone behind me and hoped that I would still see all of their faces when we finished this.
"Once I take down the first two doors, they'll realize that they are in danger. The Grounders say that they will fight with us, so make sure that none of you hit them. While you start securing what you can, I'm going to close off the tunnel behind us, but I'll leave the top open so that we still get air coming through," I said.
"Byrne, Miller, you two will take point once we are through the doors," Kane instructed.
They nodded and I took a deep breath before I stepped around the corner. This was the true beginning of my path, the beginning of reshaping our future here. A whole society was about to be wiped out because of my actions, and I would have to live with that for the rest of my life.
I walked up to the door and placed my hands on it then closed my eyes. After listening in on Murphy's and Bellamy's conversation when Murphy held him hostage in the dropship, I knew that I could manipulate metal, but it would take a lot more mana to do anything. I let my senses spread through everything and found the locking mechanism after a minute or two. I channeled everything into that spot and pulled with my mind.
"Open sesame," I said, pushing on the door, and it swung open.
"You really did it," Raven said with surprise.
I smiled over my shoulder at her and chuckled, "You doubted my greatness?"
"Let's just see if your big head can fit through the next one," she retorted.
I chuckled again and walked into the decontamination chamber. There were several doors that branched off in either direction, but I went for the only one that had a card reader next to it. Once again, I channeled my mana into the door, but this time, I just focused on the same spot as where the lock on the first door was and found it quickly. As soon as I opened the second door, an alarm sounded, and everyone looked at me.
"They have sensors to read radiation levels, but it's clear that they know we are here now. This way should lead up to the main compound," I explained.
"Byrne, Miller, go!" Kane ordered.
Those two, plus another two that were carrying the stone shields, headed into the next room. Kane sent out teams in pairs to check the other rooms while the Grounders moved in and spread out as well. I headed back out with Lincoln following behind me then started sealing off the tunnel while leaving a gap between the roof and new wall. Just as I finished up, the sound of gunshots rang out and we rushed back inside Mount Weather.
Pink smoke was spewing out of a couple of gas grenades, but one of the Guardsmen was already gathering them up while another was filling up a bucket with the water that we had brought. Before the knockout gas could take anyone out, they dropped it into the water which eliminated the danger that they posed. It had been Jasper who originally had the idea when he led the those still inside to fight back against the Mountain, so we had borrowed.
"Everything okay?" I asked.
"For now, but once they realize that the grenades didn't work, they'll come in force," Kane said.
"Shall we wait for them to come, or would you like me to unlock door?"
"Open the door, but let Byrne go in first," Kane replied.
I nodded and added, "Have someone bring up a shield while I work on the door. I can move it for her without going inside, but only a dozen or so feet away from me. Your plan should save a lot more of my energy than my original one, so I can do more."
I headed down the hallway and placed a hand on the door so that I could get it open. Byrne and another soldier followed behind and waited for me to unlock the door. Before anyone opened the door, I touched the shield so that I could put my mana back into it and controlled it to float out of the man's hands.
"You open the door and I'll send the shield in first then it's up to you, Major," I said, moving the shield so that I could slide it in as soon as there was room.
The Guardsman nodded his head and Byrne raised her gun. He gave a silent countdown with his fingers then opened the door. I sent the shield in, and Byrne was a step behind it. She fired half a dozen bullets while Mount Weather's forces only got off two before she killed them all.
"Clear!" Byrne announced.
Several more Guardsmen ran inside with their guns raised, but no gunfire followed. I walked in with Kane as our entire group moved inside. The alarms were still going off, but it didn't seem to bother anyone. We used the same method to clear the next few rooms, but it was clear that they had not expected us to be able to move through the rooms so quickly.
There was no resistance until we reached the Harvest Chambers, but upon seeing their people in cages, the Grounders with us rushed the Mountain Men before any of the Guardsmen could open fire. It was a bloodbath, to put it mildly. They used their swords and axes to kill them all and did not stop until only pieces were left. The Guardsmen watched on in horror and disgust, but with Grounders hung upside down from their ankles and blood being pumped out of them, I doubted that anyone could blame them.
"God... I never knew how many there had been," I sighed, looking upwards.
It seemed as if Mount Weather had converted an old missile silo into this dungeon. Over six floors had cages with people locked away in something that was the size of a medium dog crate. Unlike in the show, there was a horrible stench because no one was letting them out of the cages except to drain their blood, and I would be surprised if they even hosed them down more than once a week.
"How could they do this to people?" Raven asked with disgust.
She was not alone as Bellamy, Lincoln, and Kane all stood next me, looking at the horrors that Mount Weather had inflicted on these people.
"People will do terrible things to survive," I replied coldly then turned and walked away. "Indra, I need to keep moving if we are going to rescue my friends, but your people should stay here and help everyone."
"First lesson: a Second does not order her leader," Indra said.
I blinked in surprise at her words, understanding her meaning, then smiled and held out my arm. "I thought the first lesson was to never question you."
"For you, that is the second," Indra said, grasping my forearm with a smile, then roared, "Five warriors with me while the rest of you free our Brothers and Sisters! Who will fight with Graun Pulr?"
The Grounders that had come with us started chanting, "Graun Pulr" over and over again until even the ones in the cages had joined in. All eyes turned on me and, while the Grounders were looks of zeal, the rest were concerned, unsettled, and afraid, especially those that I was closest to. I swallowed hard, feeling the weight of becoming a symbol. After today, I would be remembered as a hero to the Grounders, but that also meant that I would become a target. Lexa had enemies, and if I followed her, they would come for me as well as everyone I cared about.
"Any way that I could convince you three to stay here?" I asked, looking at Lincoln, Bellamy, and Raven.
"No," Lincoln replied simply.
"My sister, my responsibility," Bellamy said with a soft smile.
"You can go float yourself if you think you're leaving me behind," Raven added.
"Thank you," I sighed with true relief and a smile.
While Raven patted me on the shoulder and then Bellamy hugged me, Kane organized the Guardsmen. We moved out quickly and, with Clarke's map, it did not take us long to find the stairwell that touched every level of the compound. About halfway up, their next counterattack came.
Bullets rained down on us from above, followed by gas grenades. The bucket of water was gone so we could only kick the grenades further down while we pushed forward. I was at the back of our group for my protection, but also in case they tried to sneak behind us. Sure enough, just after they started shooting from above, one of the doors behind us was kicked open and four men rushed out.
I threw out two of my stone knives and fixed their aim with my magic, so that it struck them in the heads. Next to me, Raven shot her gun and killed the next two. Without needing to say a word, Bellamy stopped and turned around, raising his gun to help guard, as I pressed my hands on the rocky wall. He and Raven watched the stairs while I created another wall of stone, sealing off our retreat. We would only be leaving this Mountain through the front door, after all.
Thanks to the shields, we were able to keep pushing forward and our gunners were able to take down theirs. Each floor that we passed after that, I created a post that stretched out from the rock side and pressed against the doors, preventing any more attacks from behind. We reached the second level, and I opened the door.
Everyone charged in, but it was clear that they were not ready for us. No one was wearing a hazmat suit, so as soon as I opened the door, it released a wave of radiation. It could have been more if I had not completely sealed off the stairs, but our clothes and weapons were literally soaked with radiation. It was not as quick as it could have been, but it still allowed us to take down what guards that they had left easier.
We rushed down the halls and found the last metal door, between us and our goal. I did not bother with trying to carefully push open the lock as I had on every other door and instead, I just twisted all of the metal around the lock, destroying it completely. The Guardsmen brought over the two most intact shields and held them on one on top of the other, until I could take over control of them. I sent them through the door with the gunners charging in right after them.
"Clear!" Major Byrne announced once the gunfire stopped.
"Kane, you have to do it now!" I said as we both walked into the Command Center.
"I'm on it. Raven, find our people," Kane agreed.
Both Kane and Raven set their guns aside and started working on different computers with their different tasks. The Grounders spread out in the room, but after confirming that everyone from Mount Weather was dead, there was little else that they could do to help. The Guardsmen spaced themselves out across the room and watched the door as they took up a defensive position.
I turned my attention to the monitors as they switched from watching the Grounders and the path that we had taken to images of captured hundred. Monty was already on the table, and I could see Doctor Tsing drilling into him. My anger flared, but there was nothing I could do to stop it now.
"Hurry up, Kane!" I snapped.
"Almost there," he replied, frantically typing away at the computer.
Lincoln put a hand on my shoulder, but I could not look away from the screen, so I just placed one of mine on top of his. Every memory that I had made with Monty played through my mind as I watched him silently scream in pain. I could not help but question if I could have stopped this. If I had warned them, if I could have been the one to go meet Anya and promise my support if she just spared the others... It was my fault that he was in there since I could have prevented all of it if I had just tried.
"There! I've done it!" Kane announced.
It was clear what he meant because I could see people dropping within minutes of after he spoke. No one else talked as we watched the citizens of Mount Weather succumb to radiation poisoning. It was this moment that would haunt me for the rest of my life, but not because I had just helped in wiping out a civilization, rather what happened next.
Everyone had been focused on the screens, so no one saw him come in and the gunshots rang out. Seconds felt like hours as Bellamy and Lincoln pushed me to the ground and, while Bellamy went down with me, Lincoln did not. I watched in horror as a bullet pierced his chest and he collapsed next to me.
"No!" I screamed as I caught him and started trying to heal him, but I could feel my energy escaping through the wound. "Not like this!" I cried, "You're not supposed to die like this!"
"Ai gonplei ste odon," Lincoln coughed, blood staining his lips. He reached up a hand and stroked my cheek as I desperately tried to heal him. "May we meet ag..."
He could not even finish his sentence as his body went limp in my arms. I let out a soul-aching scream because I had failed him. He had constantly saved and protected me while I just used him because deep down, I knew that I was not in love with him, yet he was with me. The only thing that I had wanted was to keep him from being killed by Pike, but because I had changed the timeline, he had been here and was shot... because of me.
Because I was so wrapped up in my guilt, I did not realize what had happened as I screamed. My body erupted with flames as I lost control of my powers. Even Bellamy was not spared, as nearly a quarter of the flames that hit him were red, instead of white, and he was thrown back.
The Guardsmen shot the Mount Weather solider during my meltdown, but they had not killed him as I heard a cough ring out. Hatred flared in my heart as I eased Lincoln's body to the ground and stood up. Kane quickly realized what I was planning on doing and moved in between me and the man that had shot Lincoln.
"Octavia, you don't have to do this," he said, holding up a hand as he tried to calm me down.
As flecks of black appeared in the flames that clung to my shoulders and arms, I growled, "Jus drein jus daun. Move aside before I move you myself!"
At my words, the Grounders behind me tightened their grips on their weapons, willing to fight if I did. In the end, Kane realized that as well and dropped his hand as he stepped to the side. I walked up to the person and recognized his face. Of all people to shoot Lincoln, it was Emerson. He had been responsible for the destruction of Mount Weather and many deaths in the show, so of course it would be him to kill Lincoln. Blood was trickling out of the corner of his mouth, but he looked happy as he stared up at me.
"I got someone you cared about then?" he laughed despite it causing him to cough up more blood. "Then maybe you know a portion of how I feel! You murdered everyone! My friends, my family! They're all dead because of you!"
"I feel your pain, Emerson. Now, feel mine!" I hissed as I pressed a hand to his chest.
The flames that had been clinging to my body jumped to Emerson's as they all turned pitched black. He let out a blood-curdling scream as the flames not only burned his flesh, but also his soul, if the legends in the story that my powers originated from were to be believed. Even after his screams stopped, I kept burning him even as blood began to drip from my eyes.
Bellamy tried to approach me but could not before the heat of the flames forced him back. Instead, it was Raven who was able to get near me as the flames shifted from black to white as she got close. She placed a hand over mine and the flames all vanished as I looked into her eyes.
"I wasn't able to save him. Why couldn't I save him?" I asked her.
She did not say a word and just pulled me into her chest as I clung to her and started to cry...
A/N: I am sooooooooo sorry to any Lincoln fans that read this. I feel terrible, I do! I was tearing up as I wrote this! It's just... this is The 100, bad things happen to good people and for every person that survives, another person dies.
A/N: MC is going to be brooding for the next couple of chapters because it fits with the character development throughout The 100. I know no one likes a whiny MC, but if you will bare with me, I promise it won't last long and there will be a nice reward at the end of it.
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