Chapter Text
MONTY GREEN
Commander Lexa stood at the war table, staring at the Sky People. From what Monty had heard between the nervous fidgeting and darting his gaze about as if Jasper would just appear from around a corner, was that there was no time for formalities. Usually, there would be treaty plans, alliance meetings, and a celebratory dinner – but there was no time.
“We do not know how long your people will be of use to them,” the Commander said. “It could be a few days, like your Atom-“ she looked to Octavia, standing stoic and hard, a concrete glare on her face, “-or it could be much longer, like your Jasper.” This time, the Commander looked Monty dead in the eye, and he forced himself not to look away.
“So,” she continued. “We must act now. And these… powers, you’ve described, I believe can be used to raze the mountain, as if it never stood.” There was silence for a moment, as the grounders nodded. Monty’s friends were still, cross-armed, watching carefully. “You know your powers better than I,” she added, gesturing to Bellamy and Clarke, who stepped forward.
“You’ve never been able to reach Mount Weather because of the acid fog,” Clarke started, looking at the map that was rolled out across the table. Monty stared at it; at the drawn ridges where Jasper hopefully was. “But if one of us can disable it, or at least keep it away from us then we may stand a chance at reaching the mountain.”
“And what sort of power would this be?” the Commander questioned. “Who amongst you can control the mist?”
It had been a restless few days since Atom’s body was found, and the camp had been a nightmare. Every side effect was listed, and tested rigorously as the delinquents tried to figure out a battle strategy. Much of that time had been spent with Monroe sitting by Monty’s side at the lake, cheering him on as he created mist and fog roll across the surface of the water, and Harper attempt to control it. It was still a work in progress, but there was a chance.
“Monty and Harper,” Bellamy replied. “Fog is water-based, and the acid fog contains an element of something more – which Harper has said she can control with yesterday’s drill.” Bellamy said that word with disdain.
The ‘drill’ was frightening, Monty remembered. It was Harper’s idea, and the two of them traipsed through the wood without telling anyone that they were leaving, and moved in close enough to the mountain. They could see the door; the satellite, and they stood close by to a cave that would protect them from the poison that was sure to come. Monty had shook by her side, by Harper standing tall and firm and daring the Mountain to spew forth the fog.
It did and they ran so fast Monty felt his heart hammering against his rib cage. Once safely inside the cave, the two of them had worked together, taking what they knew from the testing by the lake, and together successfully controlling the acid fog; Monty focusing on the water particles, and Harper on the metallic liquid that made it so venomous.
Monty didn’t dare look over to Bellamy, who was still fretting over the fact that they went and taunted the mountain; that they specifically put themselves in danger just to try out a theory. Monty didn’t want to know what expression he’d see.
“That drill killed three men,” Indra pointed out, her voice low and dangerous. Monty swallowed, eyes burning holes in the table.
“That drill is proof that we can reach the mountain,” Clarke retorted. “We apologise for the deaths, that wasn’t meant to happen. But now we can reach Mount Weather and get close enough to turn the acid fog off.”
“Why must we turn it off if we can control it?” the Commander asked.
“If it’s off we won’t have to worry about it again,” Clarke replied.
“Also,” Bellamy added. “We’ve only been on the ground for two weeks. Some powers are taking longer to reach the capacity that others can – Monty and Harper can’t control all the fog, just some of it. We use them to sneak in a small team, who shuts off the fog. Then the army can approach.”
There was silence as the Commander nodded.
“Fine. Indra, call upon the armies of the twelve clans – I want them all present when we bring down our nemesis.”
“Heda,” Indra replied. “They will not be able to arrive immediately.”
“I want them here within three days,” the Commander ordered. “That is when we will attack.”
“Three days?” Octavia interrupted, a loud outburst from the back of the room where she’d promised to stay silent. Everyone winced, and Monty shook his head, trying to force the pain to subside. “Sorry,” she added, quieter. “Three days is too long – they have Jasper, still. More and more of us are disappearing! We can’t let them kill more of us!”
“Tell me,” the Commander replied, staring icily towards Octavia, who shuffled a little where she stood. “The people who have been taken – do they have powers like you?” Octavia hesitated.
“Not like mine,” she mumbled. “But yeah – other than Atom, they do.” The Commander nodded.
“We then have reason to believe that they are only killing those that are not useful for whatever they are planning – they want the ones with the powers. Your Atom was someone they didn’t want, a mistake on their part. If they were disposing of the bodies of your friends, we would have found more. Therefore, the way to stop your friends from being killed is to make sure no one powerless leaves the safety of your walls, which they have yet to breach.”
Monty turned to Octavia, watching her stare resolutely at the floor. He glanced at Monroe, whose knuckles were turning white where they gripped at Harper’s hand. She had no side effect – she was at risk now. They were keeping the powered ones alive. At least, that was the hope.
Octavia grumbled something under her breath, before pushing out of the tent. Bellamy shifted, to go after her, but Clarke placed her hand on his arm, shaking her head.
“We’re needed here,” she said quietly, and Bellamy’s jaw locked as he nodded. They were needed there, in the war room, but Monty was not. He turned and followed Octavia out, looking to where she was huffing, her fists balled and tight, and her face schooled into a glare.
“Her plan is to keep us captive,” Octavia seethed, not even looking at him. Monty sighed, hugging his arms close to his body.
“Her plan is to keep the rest of us safe,” he replied. She shook her head, turning to him.
“I know they can’t bring Atom back – but keeping a quarter of us under lock and key, not even allowed to help! We’re never going to get them back!”
“Octavia,” Monty said quietly, so tired in his bones. There was just nothing left for this world to take – it had taken his best friend, his brother, his friends, and his sense of normality. There was nothing left, and Monty felt hollow as he looked at this girl, full with only rage. “We’re going to get them back. And we’re going to kill the people who hurt Atom.”
Octavia’s head turned sharply towards him. Monty had always been good at reading people – it was a gift he’d never thought about too hard, but had always been there. It was almost a superpower in its own right – something so intrinsic to his being that Monty almost paused to wonder why developing the ability to control water was so fascinating, when he’d always been able to know people like the back of his hand.
Octavia’s jaw locked and Monty smiled sadly. Getting their friends back wasn’t high on Octavia’s list – getting vengeance for Atom’s death was.
“I’m going to kill them all,” she promised, but Monty shook his head.
“That’s not going to help you feel better,” Monty replied. “Killing isn’t going to solve your issues.”
“They’re going to die,” Octavia said, all conviction. Monty nodded.
“They will. But killing them won’t bring back Atom and it won’t stop you from feeling empty.” It was almost silent, outside. There were grounders meandering around the makeshift town, who sent the pair curious glances every now and again – but there was nothing much else.
“I can kill them,” she muttered weakly, her jaw losing its tightness and her hands relaxing by her sides.
“You can,” Monty agreed. “But you shouldn’t. The weight of their deaths will be too heavy to hold.” Octavia studied him for a brief moment before she nodded, eyes welling with tears and lip trembling. She ducked forward, pulling him into a fierce hug so fast that Monty almost lost his balance. He held her back tightly, her shaking reverberating throughout his body.
After a moment, her legs gave out and the two fell to their knees, where they clutched at each other like their lives depended on it. Her sobs slowly turned into wails – mourning her boyfriend, her innocence, the end of feeling safe in this new world. She cried for not being able to save Atom, for not being able to stop the Mountain on her own, for not being able to kill them.
Monty’s ears started ringing but he held her anyway, sending glares at any of the grounders who winced nearby. No one was to stop her from feeling, not even Octavia Blake herself.
Eventually, her wails calmed and Octavia pressed her face into Monty’s shoulder as they adjusted how they sat on the ground. She leaned onto him, and he held her up like he knew she would do for him, in return.
“I have these fucking powers,” she said at last, not moving. “I have them and I can’t even use them. I couldn’t even save him.”
“You were already powerful,” Monty replied after a beat. “You already had gifts, before you got to Earth.”
“But they weren’t… they weren’t like these ones,” she told him, looking up. “They weren’t special ones.”
“Neither are these,” Monty shrugged. “You are Octavia Blake. You lived for sixteen years under the floorboards, and you came out fighting. You are strong, and powerful, and loved-“ Octavia snorted, and Monty glared a little. “You are,” he argued. “Your brother loves you more than anyone has ever loved another person – I don’t know why you don’t understand that.” She looked like she was going to reply, but Monty kept going. “None of us needed these powers – none of them made us special or important. We already were. You can’t save Atom – none of us can. He’s gone far beyond our abilities. But you can save the people in that mountain, the ones who are left over.”
“What, by using my shouting?” Octavia mocked. Monty shrugged.
“If you need to, yeah. But you can do it using your determination, and passion, and strength – they’re gifts in themselves.” Octavia studied Monty’s expression for a moment longer before the faintest traces of a smile began to surface. She enveloped him in another hug, tight but gentle, as if she was worried she’d break him but also wanted to hold him as close as possible.
Behind him, Monty could hear Clarke’s voice, low and amused. “He’s giving you and your speeches a run for your money.” Monty smiled into Octavia’s hair as Bellamy laughed.
-
Under the cover of nightfall, three days later, the armies convened. Bellamy had pressed the Ark’s guard uniform – the one that he had worn of the trip down – into Monty’s hands, with a sure nod and a hint of a smile. Monty didn’t question how Bellamy had managed to get the outfit to fit him so well, considering the difference in their heights – he just pulled it on, thankful for the protection, and joined Harper, with Trikru armour, at the Commander’s war tent.
There, they stood, hand in hand, silently. They took in the moment; the crisp air of the night, the murmurs of other warriors, the way Bellamy and Clarke stood firmly side by side, as if nothing could break them apart. Monty wondered when they’d become so close – he wondered how he’d missed it happening.
People gathered, nerves jittering around their bones, and whispers floating from their mouths.
“We’re gonna be okay,” Monroe muttered to herself on the other side of Harper. The people without powers were only leaving for the battle – Monroe hadn’t been out of the camp in three days, and Monty had noticed her going a little stir crazy. “We’re gonna it through this.” She repeated the sentiment a few times, maybe until it felt like she wasn’t lying. Monty glanced over, finding Monroe shaking a little as she gripped at her girlfriend’s hand, finding her chewing on her lower lip and blinking away tears as if this was all really hitting her now. Maybe seeing her is what made the nerves stop tumbling in Monty’s stomach; gave him hope and strength and power. Monty had been fighting for Jasper – always Jasper, his best friend and brother, alone in that mountain – it hadn’t occurred to him to fight for the people here.
“We’re gonna be okay,” he said, repeating her lines back to her. His voice was sure as he nodded. “We’re gonna make it through this.” Monroe smiled gratefully in his direction, before looking to their leaders, standing tall and strong in front of the tent.
The Commander spoke first; hushing the armies of the clans that she’d assembled, and Monty listened to her absently – catching sentences of plans to destroy the mountain, and others to save their captured brothers and sisters. He felt the tension in the air; felt the grounders nodding and agreeing: they were to die for this woman, all war paint and complex braids. They were to live for her, fight for her and die for her.
When she finished, and her armies cheered, Monty looked to Bellamy and Clarke. They glanced at each other and a silent conversation must have passed between them because Bellamy stepped forward, looking on at his own people. His stared at them for a moment, felt the way Monroe was shaking and Miller was waiting, Bryan gnawing on the inside of his mouth, and nodded.
“You came to Earth as criminals,” he said, his voice travelling through the crowd. “Because you were expendable. Because the Ark thought they could get away with throwing you onto a new planet, or because you knew that a life on Earth was better than what they had up there.” In Monty’s peripheral, Raven was standing tall and strong, her heading lifting higher by the second as if inspired by the strength and courage that Bellamy’s words carried. “Now we’re here, on Earth, with people who want to kill us, or take our powers for their own. We’re here with some of our own in a mountain, and others under the ground – we’re here, and this is our home now. We have to fight for it to be our home now, because there’s nowhere else.
“There is no other planet for us to drop onto,” he continued. “Earth is the last resort, the final play, and we made it. Now, we must fight for it, fight for us. We are going to march up to that mountain and we are going to bring our friends home.”
A cheer echoed through the delinquents, Monty’s voice maybe louder than all. They thrust their fists into the air as Bellamy smiled, ducked his head, and copied their action. “May we meet again!” he yelled, looking out across his people.
“May we meet again!” They repeated, loud and ready for the battle ahead.
They were nodded forward, Monty and Harper taking up the lead. They marched together in sync, Monroe standing nearby and the small team to head to the mountain on their tail. Monty looked around, seeing the other delinquents and people who were going to enter the mountain, pressing small devices into their ears. He did the same, pushing the tech Raven had cooked up into his ear, as protection from Octavia’s voice.
As they reached the area the fog seemed to reach, Harper turned, pressing her lips solidly to Monroe’s and nodding.
“I love you,” Harper said quietly, meeting Monroe’s eye. Monroe nodded, her hand gripping at Harper’s.
“I love you, too. I’ll see you at the end of the battle. I’ll bring you some flowers.”
“For my excellent work?” Monroe gave Harper an odd look.
“No, I just thought you were supposed to take flowers to a funeral.” Harper’s shocked laughed echoed, and Monroe grinned in return. Monty looked away, knowing their moment wasn’t for him to intrude on – but he couldn’t help but hear their words. “You’re going to win this,” Monroe said firmly. “Then we’re going to make out for a while.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Harper replied. “Kick some ass for me in that army, okay?”
“Always.” A moment later, Harper was by Monty’s side, and they nodded once towards the other before slowly wading their way into the danger zone. Behind them was both Clarke and Octavia; the four of them making the group for this mission. Clarke could walk through walls as if they were nothing, and that was what they needed to get inside. Octavia’s voice was going to bring down the guards, and she was going to make sure there was only one result: a victory.
The two girls stuck close behind he and Harper as they went, all on alert to when the fog would appear, and Harper glanced back at Clarke.
“Don’t be scared,” she whispered. “You’ve got this, and everyone else is going to be safe.”
“I know they will,” Clarke replied. “Bellamy’s looking out for them.” There was a brief moment of silence, and Monty nodded.
“There’s nothing to worry about, then. Just focus on turning off the acid fog.”
They kept going for a minute longer before the fog rolled down the hill, cascading towards them in a large yellow plume of deadly poison. As it approached, Monty reached out his hand, searching for the water in it, like he had done in the caves a few days before. He felt Harper doing the same, and together they manoeuvred the fog around them; a small air bubble in the midst of the poison. The group pressed together, the fumes smelling of metal, as they continued to move steadily towards the mountain.