Chapter 117 - Bravo Six going dark

The ride to the outskirts of Polis was kind of short when you have a rover that could take you there in at max an hour rather than days on horse or on foot. While half of our team remained in Arkadia to break into the virtual world that Jaha so much loves, I alongside Clarke, Bellamy, Roan, Octavia, Sergey and Miller, and Bryan squeezed inside the rover ready to fight for the future of humanity. Thankfully, unlike the others, I didn't exactly need to rest for a long time so I volunteered to be our driver for this final mission and before I knew it, our princess leaned forward, between me and Sergey, pointing to a small clearing, a rather good place to stop and go on foot towards the fortified city.

"That's the place. Stop there, Leon."

As much as I trust Clarke on picked a good stop, I'd rather reduce the chances of our only fast way out of here being spotted by a crazy A. I so I parked our rover between a few not-so-thick bushes, right under a few old trees. Being herself, Clarke went ahead of the group to look at the capital, only to see me keeping pace with her.

"Don't be like that Clarke. I don't know what happened to you, but believe me, princess, whatever it is, I'm sure it's not your damned fault. So cheer up, we have people to save and a crazy bitch to shut down."

Clarke smiled at my words, finding comfort in them before she looked at me with a serious look on her face.

"Wait until you find out the truth then you could say that. I never imagined that when they sent us down here, we will have to fight wars and even win them. Unlike me, you are a saint, Leon. "

I was about to interrupt her, but she shook her head before continuing. "No, let me finish. I betrayed the trust of everyone time and time again, even yours, the only guy that didn't judge me for what I was born. Unlike you who was forced to become a soldier, I had a choice and sadly I went on the wrong path. People died because of me and even for me, yet what did I do? I ran away and hide while the rest of you were fighting against the grounders and god knows what. However, now that I think about it, I don't think I ever thanked you for keeping us alive when we first came down here. You trained everyone, even if you weren't forced to. You saved people, you bled for our people and above all, you were ready to die for them, and for that Leon, I want to thank you."

Before I could answer to her sincere gratitude, the rest of the team walk up behind the two of us. Unlike our friends, who realized that Clarke and I talked about something serious, Roan ignored everything and glanced back at the huge tower that stood erect in the middle of the fortress, before looking at Clarke and me, and for the first time since we have met, I saw fear in his eyes.

"This is where we would split up. The entrance to the tunnel is right over there, I hope you guys know what you are doing, otherwise, we all came here to be enslaved for nothing."

However, the older Blake holds a grudge over what the prince did to him in the past, and before anyone other than him could react, Bellamy sarcastically mocked the prince "We know where the tunnels are your highness."

Sometimes I wonder how the younger sibling amongst these two is and before Bellamy could continue annoying the prince, I decided to interfere by putting my hand on his should, making him shrug in response. Unbothered by the mockery, Roan looked at Clarke for a second before deciding to speak to her ignoring Bellamy completely.

"I'm gonna need the Flame. I know that this is a huge thing to ask for, but our plan would work only if they send Ontari out to get it. If they don't see it, they won't do that. After all, this won't be much of a trap without the bait. In the end, it's your call, Clarke, I can't force you, not when you have that guy next to you."

Clarke glanced at me, unsure of what she should answer. Even I was kind of against this idea, but the prince had a point, A.L.I.E would not risk Ontari if she isn't sure if Roan has the chip or not, so albeit a little bit reluctantly I nodded at her, letting her know that it was the lesser evil. I know that for Clarke the flame meant something completely different from the rest of us since it was the only thing she had remaining from Lexa, her lover, and now she had to give it away, possibly for a long time. She takes in a shaky breath, steeling herself for her departure from Lexa, her short-lived love.

"However I'm coming with you. A.L.I.E would believe you more that way than you going alone, claiming to have the flame with you."

As soon as we heard her response, Bellamy and I complained and even flanked but yours is louder, "Clarke, no way! That's not how we decided to stop A.L.I.E !"

"Bellamy's right Clarke. I'm sorry for saying this, but we can't let you go with Roan. A.L.I.E would be delighted to have you in her web and let's all be honest, while the prince knows the end goal he doesn't know the whole plan, no offense."

"They are right, Clarke. It's for the best, beside, I trust you to save everyone, my people included from that A.L.I.E ."

"That's might not have been the case before, but it is now. I'm not letting the flame out of my sight, and I'm the only one who knows the passphrase. So you can tell them that without me, Ontari can't ascend."

In the end, her feelings for Lexa got the better of her judgment, however, this time thought she had appointed if what she just said about the passphrase was the truth and at the same time one of the biggest risks imaginable to our plan. If we succeed everything would be alright, however, if we fail… that might just become the end of our free will.

After a few good minutes of staring or waiting in silence, thinking about the cons and pros of letting the Wanheda follow him, Roan finally made his choice.

"You'll need to look like my prisoner if you want to make this believable."

"Fine by me, as long as we can get to Ontari, anything is worth the effort."

No matter how Bellamy looked at this it was definitely a death trap and before Clarke could leave, he grabbed her arm before looking at the prince.

"Give us a minute to talk about it before we proceed with our plan."

Roan rolled his eyes in annoyance before walking a few meters away leaving the three of us to talk while Bellamy was giving Clarke the same bewildered look that I initially had.

"Tell me the truth, Clarke. You're really willing to trust that guy with your life? What if he sells you to A.L.I.E alongside us? Are you willing to risk everything on a whim?"

"No, guys. I'm not crazy, at least not yet."

Her response made both of us look at her in confusion, but before we could ask for clarification, Clarke smiled at us as she put her hands on our shoulders.

"While I don't trust Roan, I know that both of you alongside our friends will be covering us the entire time. And I trust you guys with my life."

As she spoke to us, her eyes pleaded for us to understand her reasoning. And to be honest, despite everything that happened to her, she was still our Clarke, the girl that made the ice commander fall in love with her and at the same time our friend.

"Fine, princess. We'll be watching your backs, so please don't die out there if shit hits the fan."

When he heard that I was somewhat ok with this suicidal plan, Bellamy relents, sighing as he looks between the two of us with a hopeless look on his face. "You win, Clarke, however, the second I don't like something or things seem wrong, we bail out."

"Of course."

Before she left after Roan, Clarke pulls me into a tight hug and whispered, "May we meet again, Leon."

"May we meet again, princess." When she releases me, I could only give her a smile that I hope was somewhat reassuring to her. "Don't worry, we'll have your back, no matter what happens."

"You always did, Leon. You always did."

As we were getting ready to go into the tunnels, I stopped in front of Roan, giving him a serious look, as my rifle pointed at his legs.

"Listen carefully, prince. If anything happens to Clarke, I will burn Azgeda to the ground. You have my word. Death would be last of their concern."

Roan looked surprised for a moment before a look of horror appeared on his face briefly. Whatever he remembers, must have made the prince scared for once in his life.

"I'll keep her safe, even if that means I will have to die."

"Good luck then and try not to die out there. "

He nodded at me before joining Clarke as they went towards the main entrance. Meanwhile, I made my way towards the tunnels where Bellamy and our team were waiting for me before he gestures to the entrance.

"Ready?"

"As one can be."

The darkness of those tunnels was always a bad sign, even back at Mount Weather when I was standing in them, before every single attack a sense of impending doom washed over me, just like now. Whatever that meant, definitely wasn't a good thing. It took us more than either one of us would have liked for us to reach the best place to cover Clarke and Roan. Even though there were just some grates between us and them, everything seemed way too calm and quite barren unlike what I saw the last time I was here. Nothing seemed to be A.L.I.E., not even the people. No sign of drones or people patrolling the streets and that wasn't normal. I know A.L.I.E to some extent that's not how she usually operates.

"Somethings wrong."

Sergey looked surprised at me, not understanding why I would say that. After all, shouldn't I be grateful that there weren't that many people on the street?

"Last time I was here, a week or so ago, there were people everywhere and drones flying above the city, but now? The city looks barren with only a few people here and there, and if that doesn't shout trap to you then I don't know what could do that."

As Bellamy was about to respond in Sergey's place, we overheard Bryan and Miller talking from behind. "Are we ever gonna be done fighting?"

"Sorry, you are right. We are going to build a house on a lake. You're gonna plant corn."

"Don't forget about the chickens."

"Yeah. And grow old together."

All three of us exchange a look, and just as we were about to comment on the argument of our friends, I noticed Clarke, bounded as she and Roan made their way toward the tower.

"Guys get ready! Our prince and princess had just walked inside."

As soon as they heard my shout, everyone went to their respective windows, while Octavia came to stand by my side, tightly holding the sword in her hand as if she was ready to fight. While she made her choice clear, I would love to have another gun at the ready than a sword that we could use only when we are attacked in close quarters, and let us be fair, no one wants to fight in close quarters when you can take your enemies from afar.

"Roan will signal when he sees Ontari. We wait until she's standing in front of them and then we launch the gas. We have to do this perfectly or Clarke might be killed or worse, captured by A.L.I.E."

Hearing the plan for the nth time today, Bryan rolled his eyes, before grabbing the gas masks from the bag and tossing it to Miller, which he passes down the line until it ends up in my hands. Our plan was quite simple if you really think about it, we just have to wait for Ontari to be in front of Roan and Clarke before we throw some of the knock-out gas that Arkadia had thus got our hands on a Nightblood.

"When our target is in place, Clarke and Roan are going to hold their breath, so we have to move fast before the gas affects them too."

Taking another look outside the window again, I was surprised to see that a few people were now kneeling not far away from them. Their eyes are all closed and they were sitting in place not moving at all, but something was strange about those people, it was as if they weren't even in their bodies. Maybe this is what A.L.I.E referred to as The City of Lights. When he saw those people too, Bellamy frowns before glancing in at me, hoping to find that I have the same thoughts as him. Even though these were our enemies, the truth was that A.L.I.E was controlling them and I'd rather not kill a bunch of innocents if we could prevent that.

"Anyone who gets in our way, we use non-lethal force. These people are not the enemy, they're being controlled. The only thing that we are here to kill is A.L.I.E. Is that clear?"

All of them muttered a clear before returning their attention to the outside. Since everyone was ready and Clarke was in place, I signaled her with a laser, turning the little thing on and off, hoping to god that she would notice it before it was too late. Thankfully she saw it just in time before she ever so gently tug her restraints, more than enough to get Roan's attention that she had gotten the signal from us. Once I was sure that both of them received the message, I turned toward my team and informed them.

"Here we go guys, get ready as shit just got real."

Not long after I said those words, Roan pulled the chip that every commander had in their bodies, from his pocket and hold it up in the air, making the small thing visible to everyone, well to A.L.I.E since she was controlling everyone. Surpassing enough, he starts shouting, making this a performance worthy of Oscar, sadly other than me, no one else could hear his performance.

"People of Polis, I am Roan, King of Azgeda, and I have what the Commander seeks."

All around him, the controlled humans that were kneeling got up on their feet and turned to face the prince. Despite being watched by tens maybe even hundreds of eyes, Roan stood true to his words and continue doing his best to lure Ontari out of the tower and into the open.

"I'm sorry for saying this, but I don't quite like the way I'm being watched. So, if the commander wants the flame, she can come to me to get her blood right!"

Unless A.L.I.E 's stupid, I don't think she would make such a mistake, then again she was only an A.I., albeit a slightly better one, I give her that. Suddenly, the crowd made way for what I presume to be their preacher or something like that, to walk in front of them, and when I saw who their "spiritual leader" was my jaw fell just like everyone else. However, that wasn't the only reason I had an ominous feeling, no, for a split second Jaha looked at us, or at least glanced in our direction. Sure, it might a fluke, but with A.L.I.E., you can never be sure unless proven wrong.

"It's Jaha!"

"What the hell is he doing here?"

"Shit, something's wrong guys, I can feel it."

"Does any one of you see Ontari?"

"No. Wait, Roan's doing something, be ready for contact."

While I could hear what Roan and Jaha were talking about, neither one of them was making any sudden movements, then again Jaha had A.L.I.E to direct her followers while Roan had to trust us. Nevertheless the longer they talked the worst that ominous feeling become and if that wasn't bad enough, the smile that was ever present on Jaha's face seemed nothing as innocent or friendly as he thought it was. A few seconds later Jaha turned towards Clarke, making our princess on edge before she quickly look in our direction pleading for help. Something that Jaha says puts Clarke further on edge, and she turns to you with a look of alarm. Something that I hadn't considered until now just emerged in my head. Even though I didn't go with Clarke on that oil rig, Bellamy, Jasper, and Octavia did.

"Guys, did Jasper say something strange after you guys talked with that Luna?"

Bellamy looked confused at us, while his sister's eyes went wide open, remembering her last conversation with the suicidal idiot.

"When we were getting the team ready, Jasper and I talked, I asked if we were sure about staying behind and he just asked me if I was sure I didn't want to stay behind because 'they could use the protection against A.L.I.E'. He said they, not we."

"That doesn't make any sense. When could have he been chipped?"

"Jasper was in the room with Luna and the others, but they barely touched him. He said they tried and he didn't break, but-"

"It was a trap all along!"

"Do it. Do it now!"

Bryan turns to the window, and just as he is going to send in the gas canisters, a man drags him down before a gun is pointed at his head.

"On your knees! Drop your weapon!"

No one had ever thought about it, and while I didn't have any idea about what happened there, I should have known that that traitor would once again switch sides for a chance to jerk off to the image of his late girlfriend. Just like Bryan the rest of us were dragged down as our weapons were taken away. We still have a chance, but I couldn't risk the lives of everyone for a small chance of making it out alive, because A.L.I.E was ever-present in this city. However just as I was about to let myself be taken prisoner, Sergey German suplex his captor while Bellamy stabbed him with the man's own knife. It seems that we are fighting back. Since my gun was taken away, I swung my elbow back hitting the guy that was holding me in the face, sending the poor bastard to the ground with a bloody nose. Grabbing my knife, I turned towards Bellamy and shouted. "Bellamy! Dodge left"

Just as another controlled man was about to grab Bellamy, I threw my knife at the man's shoulder, forcing him to stop going after Bellamy. Unfortunately, the man didn't react, because there was no pain for those in the City of Light. Just as I was about to stab the man again with my second and last knife, my world went black before I passed out.

As soon as Leon fell to the ground, the rest of his group was quickly caught and tied up before being led or dragged outside where the rest of the controlled people were already holding Clarke and Roan hostage. A.L.I.E. people surround them from all sides leaving them unable to escape even if they could. Just as Sergey was about to curse, Jaha looked at them with his smile before approaching Octavia.

"So, who's going to talk to us first?"

None of them wanted to talk and simply choose to stay silent sending murderous glances in Jaha's direction, making the man smile even happier than before. A few seconds later he grabbed Miller, dragging the boy further from his group, just as his lover shouted at them.

"Leave him, alone traitor!"

Sadly, for Bryan, the man that caught him hit him in the back of his head with his gun, almost knocking the boy out. Seeing that Jaha was willing to go to such extremes, Miller looked at all of them before muttering as best as he could. "Whatever they do to you, don't say a thing."

"Well, there's no need for torture Nathan. We have everything we need, with a small inconvenience, as Jasper is still struggling a little bit with the rest of your friends back In Arkadia."

"So, how are you planning to access code that's no longer on Earth, Jaha? Would you send your people in the orbit? Or maybe make a human ladder to reach it?"

Seeing that the man wasn't going to respond, Bellamy decided to annoy the living hell out of him, buying them much-needed time, especially for Leon to wake up.

"Hey Jaha, do you do everything that A.L.I.E tells you to do? What if she told you to walk naked into a cold river or lake? Maybe even, jump from that tower? Would you still do it?"

Jaha's smile disappeared for a second before it appeared again, this time though appearing more savage than before he walked in front of Bellamy.

"Well Bellamy, A.L.I.E told me that you took a knife in the shoulder so could it be here?" As he spoke the ex-chancellor pushed a finger into each wound, forcing the older Blake to scream out in pain.

"Oops, did that hurt you?"

Despite the pain that he was feeling, Bellamy looked into Jaha's eyes and with a smile of his own, he threaten the man.

"Raven and Monty are going to wipe the code on your precious virtual lover, and delete her from existence. What are you going to do then? Without your precious A.L.I.E to guide you, what will you do then?"

"That the best you got Bellamy? I'm sorry to tell you, but I had more hopes for you, since you know, your rebel choices that led to you following your sister, the girl who lived under the floor down here. I guess I had too many expectations from you."

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