Disclaimer: Refer to the Pilot.

Nevermore

"I don't understand it either. Something about those chips..."

"We'll know soon enough. Be ready."

Octavia listened to the faint voices of the wise men huddled in the corner discussing what Jasper had told them on the radio: Jaha had brainwashed everyone in Arkadia, including Abby and Raven, with mind control chips. In the dim light of the fire, she was frantically packing a ready bag with weapons and supplies that she figured she would need on her journey back to Arkadia. Whatever Jasper's warning entailed, she was determined to handle it. The thought of Lincoln's dead body lying on the cold, muddy ground with a gaping bullet hole in his brain made her insides lurch with guilt.

"O, wait!" Bellamy emerged from the other end of the cave, marching towards her. "You can't just leave."

"Watch me."

"You heard what Jasper said on the radio. Arkadia is not safe!"

"What Jasper said sounds insane. Pike's gone. I can handle myself." Octavia lifted the bag over her shoulder hastily. "Grounders burn their dead."

"I know that. And then what? Where are you gonna go?" Bellamy reasoned in a soft tone. She straightened and looked dead on into his eyes, where he could see all the pain she harbored. A scoff escaped her mouth.

"You don't get to ask me that!"

As silence filled the room with Octavia's outburst, Alessia entered the cave tentatively, setting down the gun in her right hand. Her injured arm was in a makeshift sling, which she gave herself a few days to wear. The tension in the room was so thick, a knife couldn't cut through it.

"What's going on, Octavia?" she asked, looking beyond Bellamy's shoulder.

Octavia looked at her, but before she could say anything, Bellamy sighed. "What more do I have to do to prove that I am on your side?"

"Bring Lincoln back." Octavia resumed looking at Bellamy, this time squaring her jaw tightly. He said nothing, and she moved past him towards Alessia and the cave entrance. However, before she managed to get a few steps away, Octavia turned around sharply, raising her voice again. He didn't turn around. "Turning Pike in does not make you one of the good guys, Bellamy. You did that to save me and Alessia. Not because what you thought Pike was doing to the Grounders was wrong."

With a slow breath, Bellamy whipped around. "The Grounders were starving us out!"

"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. And you know it. You thought Alessia was dead, and you were hurting. So you lashed out, because that's what you do. Then she turned up, alive, and instead of realizing what a massive mistake you made, your pride got in the way and you lashed out again." Bellamy averted his eyes, but for a moment they flickered to Alessia, who visibly straightened uncomfortably.

Octavia continued, "There are consequences, Bell. People get hurt! People die. Your people. Monroe's dead. Lincoln is dead."

He didn't have a chance to say anything before she turned around and began to head out. As she did, Alessia caught her with her good arm.

"Don't try and stop me," Octavia warned. Instead, Alessia shook her head.

"I'm not. Just be careful," she countered simply. Although she was sure Octavia was attempting to maintain her cool exterior, she was also certain that Octavia appreciated the kindness. Without another word, Octavia walked out of the cave. Bellamy watched Alessia's eyes lock with his for a split moment, not with that signature look of indifference but rather with empathy. Nevertheless, Bellamy ripped his eyes away from hers and started to chase after his sister.

Neither Bellamy nor Octavia was able to get more than a couple feet away from the entrance of the cave before the rough sound of an engine alerted them to halt. Lights appeared in the forest to their left, and Alessia stepped out of the cave calmly as Miller announced the arrival. From the distance, Bellamy and Octavia watched as Clarke emerged from the Rover. Before that image could truly be processed, Jasper began shouting.

"Need your help! We have to get her inside before she wakes up," Jasper demanded as he power-walked towards the cave with the deadweight of Raven in his arms. Bellamy, Alessia, and Octavia turned back towards them. Bellamy rushed over to Jasper.

"Were you followed?"

"Maybe...I-I don't know..."

"Get her here," Bellamy offered, holding his arms outstretched to take Raven into them. Alessia turned her attention to Bryan.

"Get to the ridge and radio immediately if you spot anyone following. Harper and Miller, stay here on watch." The three teenagers nodded in agreement, and did what she asked right as she rushed inside to help Bellamy with Raven.

"Octavia, come on," Clarke directed towards the brunette girl standing a few feet away from the cave's entrance, still and unmoving. "We need you."

Inside, Sinclair and Monty observed with confused looks as Bellamy carried the unconscious Raven into the cave in a hurry. Clarke ordered them to clear space, and so they ran over before Bellamy reached them so that he could set Raven down promptly. Sinclair kneeled by Raven's side.

"What the hell happened to her?"

"I told you on the radio, Raven is not Raven anymore. None of them are," Jasper explained. Bellamy turned his head to see Octavia, to his surprise, walking into the cave with a solemn look, clearly not running away. Bellamy nodded his head at her as a silent 'thank you,' but she walked away. "Jaha's been chipping everyone."

"'Chipping' everyone?" Alessia repeated, her hand on the base of Raven's throat as she finished taking her pulse. Clarke nodded.

"Jasper's right, I've seen it with my own eyes."

"I don't need your help, all right?" Jasper snapped, pointing a finger at Clarke and angrily stepping forward, although he looked a bit out of sorts. Alessia stood up to witness Bellamy push Jasper back a few steps, while Clarke started incredulously over at her former friend. Bellamy sighed.

"Just take it easy and explain."

Jasper inhaled sharply. "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, A.L.I.E. Only, she's not really there. She made Raven slit her own wrists. She was trying to get her out of her head. I was trying to help her, but..."

Sinclair stood up quickly and rushed over to Jasper. "Okay, so let's help her now. 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 interrupted, a metaphorical light bulb pinging above her head. Hastily, she reached into her pocket and grabbed a metal box, reaching inside and pulling out a small chip-like item, pinching it between her thumb and forefinger for everyone to see. "Does it look like this?"

Jasper stared for a moment. "Not exactly."

Bellamy stepped forward to examine the odd chip in Clarke's hand, but before he could even get a few steps ahead, there was a sudden commotion behind him. Raven, or whatever thing inside her body, sprinted out of the cave, punching Jasper in the face upon her exit. She was too fast before anyone realized she was halfway out of the cave. Clarke shouted to alert Monty and Harper, who were confused by the commotion only to find Raven sprinting outside in an attempt to escape. They quickly caught up to her as Raven came to a halt, yelling nonsense to herself.

Despite their best efforts, Harper and Miller weren't strong enough to keep her steady, especially considering the fight Raven was putting up as they latched onto her limbs to prevent her from running away. Luckily for them, the rest of their party inside the caves came rushing out to help them.

"Let me go!" Raven shouted amidst her growls. Jasper stopped short behind the commotion.

"If Raven finds out where we are, so will A.L.I.E. She'll come for her." The next thing anyone knew, Jasper pulled out a vile inside his jacket and thrust it into Raven's skin, the liquid inside entering the girl's bloodstream. The moment it happened, Raven's body went limp and she struggled no more. Everyone turned their heads to Jasper, confused. "Reaper stick. It's the last dose."

"We have to go," Clarke blurted out, causing everyone's attention to shift. Bellamy raised his eyebrows.

"Why? A.L.I.E. doesn't know where we are."

"Because I know where I can get a wristband."

A while later, Monty pulled the Rover to a stop in front of a small little shack in the middle of the forest. Whoever lived inside did not welcome them; instead, there was a sword held up in defense by a woman, about mid-twenties with her hair in a side braid. It was apparently one of Clarke's contacts; no one asked much more than that. The blonde leader let out a shaking breath upon seeing the defensive stance from her friend.

"I'll talk to her."

"I'll go with you," Bellamy offered. Octavia turned and kicked the Rover back door open, swinging out of the vehicle so that the rest of them could get out. As Octavia witnessed the angry woman in front of them, she turned back at Clarke with confusion.

"I thought you said she was a friend."

"Doesn't look very friendly to me," Alessia quipped as she came around the corner. Clarke inhaled deeply, witnessing the same hostility they were.

"We'll handle it. Just stay here."

With dismay, Octavia turned sharply and went to help Monty, Sinclair, and Jasper with Raven as Bellamy and Clarke brushed past Alessia to go and talk to their supposed friend. Sinclair carried Raven out of the Rover, but Alessia started to notice one of the unconscious girl's hands twitch, a sign of her consciousness returning. Not good.

"Clarke! She's waking up, we have to get her inside. Now!" she shouted as she shut the Rover door and followed Sinclair up to the entrance of the shack where Bellamy and Clarke were standing. As they approached, she could hear the tail end of their conversation.

"My father's dead. Part of an army killed by your people while trying to protect you." Bellamy's eyes dropped. Clarke brushed past it.

"Niylah, please."

"I said no," the woman hissed through gritted teeth. Finally, Bellamy snapped out of his self-introspection and raised his gun.

"We haven't got time for this. Move!" The barrel pointed at the woman, Niylah, who stood in shock and horror. Her eyes drifted to Clarke, but Bellamy pressed the gun closer. "Move!"

To Niylah's confusion, Clarke did not help. Surprisingly, Alessia did not say anything either; instead, she ushered Sinclair inside with her friends just as Raven began to stir.

"I told you, my mom was here. If she was chipped, A.L.I.E. would know."

"That's why we're putting her in the back, through there." Sinclair moved with Clarke's direction. Raven's head turned side to side, groggily waking up. Although she had a blindfold over her eyes, they were certain with A.L.I.E.'s influences that this wouldn't last for long. Clarke picked up some rope beside her and followed Sinclair into the room with everyone else. "Tie her to the bed!"

Just as Sinclair set Raven down, she began to squirm. Clarke gave the rope in her hands to Alessia and Jasper, but before they could do anything, Raven ripped off her blindfold. It looked like she was processing things for a moment, and then a split second later she erupted in anger.

"Where the hell am I?!" Raven growled. "Let me go! Let me go!"

And the chaos ensued. Over Raven's screams, Clarke, Sinclair, Alessia, Jasper, Monty, and Octavia all began to fight off Raven's defenses and began to tie her down to the bed at each of the four corners. In the process, Raven's hand punched out to connect with Jasper's face, who shouted back angrily at her but was pushed out from the commotion as Monty took his place. As Alessia and Monty held Raven's arms in place, finally able to get them tied up, Sinclair and Octavia struggled to finish strapping down Raven's legs. All the meanwhile, Raven bucked up and down on the bed like a possessed madwoman, shouting and groaning with anger. When they managed to get all of her limbs tied down and stepped away from the bed, she became more violent.

"Let me go," Raven snarled, the command deep in the back of her throat. She said it relentlessly while moving her body with harsh movements in hopes of breaking the ropes. Despite the violent scene before them, there was nothing else that could be done. Jasper and Octavia stayed with Raven as Alessia, Clarke, Sinclair, and Monty stepped out of the room. A few feet away from them was Bellamy, still pointing a gun at Niylah's chest.

"How the hell do we get that thing out of her head?" Clarke asked. The two men before her had clear shock in their eyes from the scene they just witnessed.

"Working on it," Monty promised. Clarke nodded, and watched as Alessia sighed loudly.

"Are you going to point that thing at her all day?" she asked loudly, the question clearly directed towards Bellamy. He snuck a side glance to look at her, but said nothing. Clarke stepped forward and nodded her head at Bellamy.

"I got this."

Obliging, Bellamy stepped away. "I'll be right here."

Clarke turned to the woman in front of her, who had a look of betrayal written across her features. A small part of Clarke felt bad about it, but she had to suppress that part. "Niylah, we didn't have a choice. Our friend can't see you or this room until she's better."

"Why?"

"It's hard to explain."

"Try."

"Just trust me when I tell you it's important," Clarke reassured, stepping closer to her. Niylah scoffed.

"Trust you? After what Skaikru did?"

"That wasn't us," Clarke lied. It was strange how the lie could come out so smoothly, so effortlessly, and so believably. "I'm sorry about your father. We all are."

Clarke's head turned back to her friends, but specifically focused on Bellamy. Alessia turned her head away, unable to stand this lie. A part of her really wanted to say something, but as much as she hated it, she knew what Clarke was doing and why. And as much as she hated it, she had to go along with it. Finally, Niylah relaxed.

"What do you want from me, Clarke?"

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

"And why should I help you?"

"Because I know you won't let an innocent girl suffer."

Niylah let her eyes sweep across the Skaikru members in the background, all staring at her with anticipation and hope. As much as she hated to admit it, she knew Clarke was right. She couldn't do that to the girl, who was screaming at the top of her lungs in the back room. She didn't know what was going on but, also, the quicker she gave them what they wanted the quicker they would be gone. She nodded.

"Stay here."

Niylah left the room, and as soon as she did, Clarke turned around to hear Alessia scoff.

"Better hope she doesn't find out the truth," Alessia warned, throwing a sour glance to Bellamy, and then turning to Clarke. "I'm going in to help Jasper and Octavia with Raven. And if she asks me anything, I am not lying to protect his ass."

Clarke wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but she watched as Alessia walked calmly into the other room with such a glib statement hanging in the air. Bellamy did not look after her, but Clarke could see the dull look displayed on his face. She was sure she'd get the story sometime, but for now, all she said was, "You okay?"

Bellamy nodded to her and cleared his throat. "Fine."

Jasper and Alessia stood at opposite ends of the room holding Raven captive. Neither one of them had said anything since Octavia went in to the other room to help Clarke, Bellamy, Sinclair, and Monty come up with a game plan for whatever Raven was planning with the wristband. Frankly, Alessia needed a break. Her arm was starting to hurt more due to all the physical stress she'd put on today. But the silence was all too looming.

"Long time no see, huh Jasper?" she started, trying to make light of the situation. When he didn't respond, she sighed heavily. It was a long-shot, anyways.

"Don't do that," the skinny boy snapped. She looked up at him, confused.

"What? Breathe?"

"No! Don't try and pretend like everything's okay. Everything's not okay. What, you think because a few months have passed that I automatically forgive you and Clarke for what you did?" It came out all as a stream of words, barely any pauses. Alessia took a moment to process the words he said, and watched as he inhaled sharply and turned away from her, frustrated before they'd even began.

"Um. Okay. Wow." She shifted her sling to be more comfortable. Raven was sitting on the bed in front of them, oddly silent. "You know, if you knew how bad I felt about everything, maybe you would be a little nicer to me. After all, it's not like my life's been perfect or anything since Mount Weather."

"At least you have a life," Jasper returned quietly. Alessia frowned.

"That's not fair."

"You know what else is not fair? You killing my girlfriends. Emphasis on the 's' part."

"I didn't mean to!" Alessia exclaimed, straightening up and walking a few steps towards Jasper. He turned away from her, rolling his eyes. On the bed, Raven took the opportunity for this fight as a welcome distraction to start examining the knots on her wrists with an intention to escape in her mind. He said nothing. "How many times can I apologize to you, Jasper? You've seen how I've been punishing myself for the last three months, what more do I have to do?"

"Nothing. There's nothing you can do," he returned, turning his head away from her in disgust. She found her eyes fixated on the back of his head, processing his words. Did she really believe that Maya and Margot were her fault? Yes, but also no. How could she be blamed for something she never meant to happen? She felt bad about Mount Weather, that was true — but in the moment, did she think about how Maya would be implicated? If she were being entirely honest with herself, the answer was no.

Alessia opened her mouth to respond, but all of a sudden they heard a sharp crack! from on the bed. Looking forward, Jasper and Alessia's eyes adjusted to focus on Raven, who had her right arm outstretched, her body closer to her left hand's knots. It took a moment, but they both realized what the noise was. Raven't shoulder blade, completely dislodged, and allowed her to extend her torso enough for her mouth to reach her left wrist. Jasper and Alessia widened their eyes at the sight.

"There is no pain in the City of Light," the dark-haired girl on the bed said calmly. Unlike before, she was not screaming or show any indication of pain. It was unnatural.

And then her jaw unhinged, and she was biting into her wrist and the knots that bound them. Alessia stood before the bed, too shell-shocked to move. Jasper bounced around anxiously.

"Uh...guys!" His alert caused Alessia to snap out of her trance, and she quickly rushed over to Raven's side.

"Clarke!" Alessia shouted, and soon enough, Clarke and Bellamy rushed out of the other room to witness the horrifying scene. Both their eyes widened as Alessia tried to push Raven to the other side of the bed to cease he gnawing, so that Raven wouldn't bite her own hand off. Heavy amounts of blood were dripping from Raven's arm at an alarming rate. Alessia looked up at Clarke, who was at the other side of the bed. "She's reopened her wounds."

"Get away from me! Get away from me!" Raven cried. Bellamy came up behind the bed and pulled a piece of rope around Raven's torso tightly, despite the girl's struggling. As he confirmed he had her, Clarke turned away to grab bandages for the wrist, and she tossed them over to Alessia. Alessia stepped out of the way and Jasper grabbed Raven's wrist instead, keeping her steady while Alessia prepared the bandages with one hand.

"Raven, stop fighting us," Clarke demanded, but it was of no use. Neither Alessia nor Clarke could get Raven to stop fighting long enough to patch her up or fix her shoulder. Suddenly, Jasper had an idea.

"A.L.I.E.? A.L.I.E...A.L.I.E.! Look at me!" Jasper shouted. Raven turned her head sharply to him. "I know you can hear this. Why are you doing this to her? Let her go!"

A moment passed by, and then something strange happened. When Raven spoke her next words, it was not in her own voice. It was someone else's; much higher-pitched and more eloquent than Raven's own words.

"I'll let her go when you give me what I want," A.L.I.E. demanded, swiveling Raven's head to turn at Clarke. "The technology that Clarke carries, it belongs to me."

"No. Way." Clarke determined, saying each syllable carefully so A.L.I.E. could hear. Jasper shook his head.

"Clarke, just give it to her. Clarke!"

"If you let Raven die, you'll never get it," Clarke threatened her. The moment that Raven heard the words, her head snapped forward, and her body relaxed suddenly, allowing them to help her. It worked. A strange phenomenon, but they had no time to be shocked.

"I'll be damned," Alessia hissed before gesturing to Clarke. "Pop her shoulder back in, I can wrap up her wrist afterwards."

Clarke nodded and turned to Bellamy and Jasper. "Untie her wrists. Hold her steady."

They did as told, and Clarke lifted her leg to use as an anchor against Raven's torso while pulling her arm as far as it could go, until it finally snapped back into place. Raven did not let out a cry or scream, but merely sunk into the bed. Jasper and Clarke stepped away, and Alessia moved forward to begin wrapping a new bandage on Raven's bloody wrist. As Bellamy retied Raven's other wrist, he turned to Clarke.

"Clarke, she's never gonna stop trying to get away. We can't let her hurt herself again. Someone has to stay with her."

Clarke nodded. "I'll be first watch. We'll take turns."

"You don't give the orders, Clarke!" Jasper snapped, turning to her with wild eyes. Alessia sighed, but didn't say anything. She didn't want to get into it again; whatever Jasper was struggling with, it had to do with him. Not with them.

"Guess he doesn't forgive you for murdering his girlfriend," Raven stated bluntly. The sane teenagers in the room ignored her statement, and Bellamy turned to Jasper softly.

"Jasper, take a break." Although it wasn't meant to sound like an order, it did. But instead of becoming mad at Bellamy, too, Jasper listened to him and walked out of the room without another word. Awkwardness filled the room, and Alessia watched as Bellamy followed Jasper out to handle the issue. Clarke looked a bit shaken, but almost as if she were recharging her emotions to get back to it. Alessia shook her head.

"Don't think you're special or anything. He's been an ass to me too," she offered. As hoped, a small smile appeared on Clarke's thin lips.

"Seems like that's been going around, huh?"

Clarke moved forward to continue tying Raven's wrist up to the bed, since Bellamy had gone after Jasper instead. Alessia struggled to continue bandaging up Raven's other wrist, but persisted nonetheless.

"You're talking about Bellamy?" Clarke nodded slowly, a prompt for Alessia to continue. The teenager did, bluntly and quickly. "Short story is, he slept with me and then turned me into Pike. Kane and I were almost killed, and Lincoln was actually killed. Yeah, Clarke. It's going around."

The blonde-haired girl paused for a moment to let what Alessia said sink in. There was clearly a lot that happened after Alessia went back into Arkadia to stop Bellamy from his behavior, and clearly their plan to get him back by telling her that she was alive did not work. Clarke's heart gave a small ache as she thought about Lexa, and how despite all of her betrayals, she would do anything to have her back. As Clarke's eyes drifted across Alessia's face, she predicted her friend probably felt the same way, too.

Before Clarke could say anything, Raven inhaled. "Ouch. You really got played, Alessia."

Alessia shot a menacing look towards Raven. "Be quiet, or I won't be able to get you bandaged up."

"It doesn't look like you're able to do it anyways," Raven returned softly, causing Alessia to groan and give up on packing the wound. Clarke moved around the bed and took the bandages out of Alessia's hands.

"Go. I've got it."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Go."

Alessia contemplated staying with her, not only because she didn't want to be outside with Bellamy and Jasper, but also because she was in a lot of pain and did not want to move. But she could see that Clarke had it handled, so she stood up calmly without showing any signs of her pain and moved out of the room, using her stealth to grab a few bandages from the pile in the corner without Clarke noticing.

Upon entering the adjacent room, she found both Jasper and Niylah leaving so that, when Bellamy turned around, they were the only two people left.

Bellamy watched as she looked at him for a moment and then hung her head, turned on her heel, and walked over to the table on the opposite side of him. Successfully ignoring Bellamy put the bandages on the table and reached forward with one hand to grab a small bottle of alcohol from Niylah's things.

He did not speak, not wanting to get her angry again like the last time they were alone in a room together. While she arranged the bandages and alcohol on the table, out of the corner of her eyes, she watched him. He looked visibly distraught, but she remained quiet.

A sharp of pain ran through Alessia's body as she moved her arm to try and get the sling over her head. She took a break, and tried again. This happened one more time before Bellamy finally sighed and walked over to her, helping her without asking. She opened her mouth to protest, but then decided against it. He set the sling down on the table and looked back at her, only to find her proceeding to take her jacket off.

Another sigh, and he helped her again. This time, he was slower in his efforts, which seemed to bother her slightly. Good.

"Is this how it's going to be?" Bellamy asked as he took off her jacket and set it to the side with her sling. Alessia watched him as he turned back to lock eyes with her. "You, not speaking to me? Is this it now, is that what's happening?"

His eyes dropped down to her wound, which had been patched up but was now bleeding through the bandage they had secured for her earlier. Although he seemed quite agitated on the exterior, when he put his hands on her to remove the bandage, they were as soft as a feather. A few moments passed before she finally responded.

"Yes, that's how it's going to be," she stated bluntly, eyes forward. Bellamy reached down at the table and grabbed the alcohol to clean her wound. She flinched when he pressed a soaked swab to her skin and, after letting out a cool breath, continued, "What did you expect?"

He didn't know what he expected. Maybe he expected her to forgive him, to tell her that she did love him and that nothing he could do would change her mind of that. Maybe he expected her to love him unconditionally, no matter the consequence. And maybe he was just fooling himself to expect such a thing.

"I didn't expect anything, I guess," he muttered, grabbing the new bandage and ripping it to the size he needed. "After all, I am the bad guy, right?"

The rhetorical question loomed in the air between them. Alessia didn't say anything, and Bellamy scoffed to himself quietly. After all, what did he expect? This was how it was going to be: silent. He tied up the bandage on her arm in a firm knot, slipped her jacket over her shoulders, and fit the sling on her arm comfortably.

"You're welcome." The words came after he finished fitting the sling on her injury and removed his hands from her person. He didn't give her a chance to respond (if she was going to, anyways) before he turned and noticed Jasper entering the room. A sigh of relief overwhelmed him at the third party in the room, as the silence was really beginning to be too much weight on his shoulders.

"You okay?" Jasper nodded. Before anything else could be said, a shrilling scream sounded from the back room. Bellamy, Alessia, and Jasper rushed in just as Clarke started to lunge for Raven, a murderous look in her eyes.

"You're done, A.L.I.E., you hear me?" Bellamy barreled forward and wrapped his arms around Clarke's body in an attempt to pull her away from the situation, fighting her forcefulness. "We're gonna fry you!"

"Hey, hey, come on!" Bellamy shouted over Clarke's cries. He pulled her out of the room as quick as he could, despite her misdirected violence at him. Alessia and Jasper followed them back out into the other room where Clarke's snarls began to decompress as she calmed down. When he could trust her not to run away, Bellamy finally released her.

"What happened?" Alessia asked her friend. Clarke let out a shaking breath.

"Raven just...knew how to get under my skin. Exactly what to say." Clarke's eyes flickered to Alessia. "A.L.I.E., I mean. She used what Raven knows to get me angry."

"That's wonderful, A.L.I.E. knows all our deep, dark secrets. Perfect." Alessia sighed frustratedly and turned back to the room. When Jasper noticed her move, he called out.

"Hold on! What are you doing?"

"Going back in. She can't be alone again, unless we want a repeat of what happened earlier," Alessia replied matter-of-factly. Bellamy turned around just in time to watch her enter the other room; there was no stopping her at this point. Alessia entered the back room quietly, only to find Raven sitting calm and straight on the bed, her eyes fixated forward. Weird. Alessia brushed off the feeling and went to sat down at the far end of the room, where she could observe in peace.

Of course, that didn't last for long. "Oh, good. They sent Robin Hood in."

Chills ran up Alessia's spine as the name dripped off Raven's tongue. It'd been a while since she heard that nickname, and the last time it was used there was a good deal of sarcasm layered on it. Alessia didn't speak, but simply turned her head and kept her mouth shut. What A.L.I.E. wanted was a reaction, and she sure as hell wasn't going to get it from her. Not today.

At some point, Raven must have realized that Alessia wasn't interested in playing, so she kept quiet for a good couple minutes. During this time, Bellamy walked into the room, catching Alessia's attention as he sauntered in. She looked up at him, confused.

"I said I'd watch her."

"I know, but Clarke doesn't think it's a good idea for us to be alone with her anymore," he replied matter-of-factly while taking his seat beside her. Alessia snuck a glance at him out of the corner of her eye, but quickly removed her gaze and rested her hand on her head, turning her face away. Another moment passed before she and Bellamy were both alerted by the soft chuckle coming from Raven's mouth.

The two looked over to notice the sadistic smile on Raven's face.

"Does it ever get tiring?" the dark-haired demon asked, somewhat nonchalantly. They did not respond. "The thing between you two, you know. Does it ever get tiring, going back and forth? One day you hate each other, the next day you love each other? I can sure as hell say it gets pretty tiring for all of us."

"Just stop talking," Alessia growled, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. Raven cocked her head challengingly.

"I mean, your relationship started with each of you threatening to kill the other. And then Bellamy got so scared he decided to have sex with me to get rid of his feelings for you." She threw him a pointed look. "I mean, what a gentleman, am I right? Anyways, then you get kidnapped by Mount Weather and think he's dead; you reunite, only to find out that your dead boyfriend what's-his-name was alive. Blah, blah, blah, a bunch of angst later and you finally choose Bellamy, your pathetic little boyfriend runs off with his second-choice girlfriend, and not even a few weeks later and you break up again? And again, right? Seriously, it's like the only part of the relationship you actually enjoy is when you're not actually in the relationship"

Alessia's eyes snapped over to Raven's, exhausted. "Thanks for the recap, A.L.I.E., I wasn't too sure about everything that's happened in my own goddamn life. Why don't you elaborate some more for me, so I can get the specific details?"

Another chuckle from Raven's mouth. "What, Alessia? Afraid to talk about your feelings? Not really that surprised, since all you seem to have done since you murdered all those people at Mount Weather is hide from your friends and cry yourself to sleep."

"Is there a point to this any time soon?" It was Bellamy who asked the question. Alessia looked over at him slowly, seeing the annoyance in his eyes. Raven shrugged.

"I would cry too if I murdered a decrepit old man in cold blood for no reason at all. And then went on to murder an entire civilization." Bellamy noticed Alessia's hand curl into a fist, but she didn't seem to visibly be portraying her anger. "Commander Kane? Nothing to say?"

"Not to you," Alessia muttered. Raven came back harder this time.

"Has it ever occurred to you how pathetic you are? You were the Great Alessia Kane! You taught everyone in the camp how to shoot guns. You could hit a target from miles away. No one would dare mess with you. And then you come back from Mount Weather, so broken you couldn't even pick up a gun to save your own boyfriend from a harmless Grounder. Just look at you, standing idly by while Clarke and Bellamy give the orders. The sad thing about all of this is that you're comfortable with that now, being looked at like a walking depression ad."

Raven watched as Alessia clenched her fist tighter, and knew she was getting somewhere. However, there was nothing but silence, so Raven continued.

"You know, on second thought, you should take one of A.L.I.E.'s chips. No pain. No guilt. You'd feel nothing." Alessia's head turned slowly to connect gazes with Raven. "You're considering it, aren't you?"

Leaned over his knees, Bellamy listened for the quick response he was sure would come out of Alessia's mouth. Instead, there was nothing. More silence. After the silence had grown far too long, Bellamy's head snapped over to see Alessia, staring at Raven with an empty look. She snapped out of it the second Jasper came barging through the curtain to the back room, his chest rising and falling as if he were angry about something. Chances are, he probably was.

"I'm joining you," Jasper stated flatly. Alessia rose from her seat almost instantly.

"I'll go check on Clarke. I'm done here." With a cutting expression to Raven, she rushed out of the room as quickly as she could, not able to bear the questions any longer.

Things were not going smoothly. Jasper got agitated by Raven, as expected, which caused Raven to continue her verbal abuse on Bellamy. And, of course, at some point in that conversation it was made clear that Bellamy was the one who had murdered the Grounders, a statement that was overheard by Niylah in the other room. No sooner did Raven say the words that Niylah was rushing in to lunge at Bellamy, ultimately revealing their location to A.L.I.E. Time was running out.

Not longer after that, Monty and Octavia returned from the drop ship with the electromagnet necessary to perform the EMP procedure on Raven to remove A.L.I.E. from her head. Clarke and Alessia were standing in Raven's room as Sinclair rushed in with the rest of their group close on his heels.

"All we have to do is connect her and activate the electromagnet."

Monty moved forward and started to untie one of Raven's arms to connect, but as soon as he did, she started fighting back.

"Hold her arm still!" Sinclair instructed as Monty tried harder to firmly grip her wrist so that it was still. However, she pushed him away with a brute shove, but Octavia reached over to try herself. It was useless, as Raven's fights kept getting stronger and stronger.

Then, something changed. Raven bucked her body so that her head was bouncing back with hard force against the metal frame of the bed she was tied to. At first, it was slow, and then it became more rapid. She wasn't fighting against Monty or Octavia's grasps on her; instead, she was self-inflicting her pain.

Bellamy's eyes widened from behind Sinclair. "She's trying to kill herself! Raven, stop!"

He rushed forward to help her, but she continued slamming herself into the bed with no hesitation. No matter how much they tried to reason with her or how strong their grip was on her forehead, she continued to bang her head against the frame with the most force she could muster. At this point, at least one hand from everyone on the room was touching Raven's skin except Clarke's.

"Stop, and I'll give you this!" Clarke shouted, and all motion stopped as Raven started forward, eyes fixating on the small white chip between Clarke's thumb and forefinger. In the distraction, Alessia reached forward and grabbed the wristband out of Sinclair's hand, using her good arm to secure it on Raven's wrist with Bellamy's assistance. Clarke's lips turned up in a half-smile.

"No, you lied! You lied!" Raven shouted as Sinclair began to connect the wristband to the electromagnet. In the next moment, Raven's voice became a desperate tone. "No, no, please, don't. The EMP will give me brain damage. You know it will, please don't do this!"

"Don't listen to her," Octavia demanded, throwing a look at Sinclair. Raven continued to protest softly, choking back sobs.

"Sinclair, stop! Sinclair, no. No!"

"We've only got one shot at this. The EMP will fry the wristband, too," Sinclair announced, trying to block out Raven's protests from his ears. He knew, just as everyone else did, that the desperate girl talking to them was not Raven.

"Do it," Bellamy instructed. Monty and Sinclair quickly turned to the electromagnet and pressed a button. A crackling sound was heard, but there was nothing else. Everyone looked at them, confused.

"What's happening?" Jasper asked. Sinclair returned to the electromagnet board and sighed frustratedly.

"Nothing. We need more power, the battery's not strong enough."

"Well then get one that is," Clarke countered.

"The Rover," Monty expressed, and immediately sprinted out of the room to get the battery from the Rover. Alessia followed him out, as did Bellamy, and the three of them went out to the Rover with incredible haste while the rest of the group held Raven down. Alessia reached the Rover first, lifting up the hood of the car with her good hand long enough for Monty and Bellamy to reach in. As they detached the battery from the cables, Alessia found herself wondering what strange noise was around them, humming oddly. The Rover was not on. There were no electronic devices outside. That's when her eyes glanced up and she saw a stream of red lights, and a drone hanging above them a few feet away.

"Drone! Get down!" she yelled at Bellamy and Monty. Bellamy grabbed the hood as she stepped away, reaching into the waistband of her jeans to grab the handgun she had stashed there.

"She's here," Monty whispered ominously.

In a fluid movement, she took out the gun and shot at the floating drone, instantly taking it down. One-handed. If they weren't fighting against time, she would've been somewhat proud of that. Alessia sighed in relief.

"Not anymore," Bellamy responded to Monty's side comment, and Alessia turned around to see him staring at her with the same look of impression she was sure she would have expressed too, if she weren't shaking with fear. Had she missed, they would've been instantly dead. It took only a moment for her to regain her bearings, and when she realized that both Bellamy and Monty were just starting aimlessly, she snapped out of her haze.

"Well, what are we standing around for? Get the battery!" she instructed them, and the two men turned around quickly to grab the detached battery from the car. They all rushed inside, to find everyone at the same place as they were before. At this point, Bellamy pulled out his gun and was keeping watch near the entrance of the room for any more drones.

"Guys, we have to move! Move!"

Seconds later, and Monty shouted, "Got it!"

A crackling sound came, but this time much longer and much louder than the last one. It was accompanied by the sound of Raven's scream, which sounded much different than her screams before. And then, just like that, there was silence. Raven's head hung limp on the bed.

Alessia rushed forward, placing her fingers on Raven's neck to take her pulse. She nodded.

"She's alive."

Clarke started to shake the unconscious girl's body. "Raven? Come on, Raven. Hey. Come on, Raven. Wake up. Wake up! Please."

"She warned us," Jasper muttered calmly as he strode across the room, his shoulders sunken. Clarke continued to try and get Raven to wake up, but to no avail. Octavia stepped forward and lifted Raven's face, trying to see if there was any sign of consciousness. Silence filled the room as Raven did not return to them, until all of a sudden, Clarke spun around sharply and shouted. Alessia almost missed what was going on, but then she saw Jasper with the box that held Clarke's small white chip that she used to trick A.L.I.E.

"Don't move!" Jasper warned. Wielding a crowbar in his hand, he rushed over to the table as Clarke desperately tried to stop him, but he ignored her and took the chip out of its box with a shaking palm.

"No, give it back!" Clarke screamed, grabbing Jasper's arm to stop him from using the crowbar on the chip.

"A.L.I.E. did that to Raven. She's never gonna get this!"

"No, stop! It's Lexa!"

Jasper stopped fighting Clarke's grip, and everyone went quiet. Jasper looked down at the small chip, doubtful of the deceiving blonde. Clarke looked at the teenager with tears in her eyes.

"Part of her is still in there. I saw them cut it out of her head. I'm not..." Clarke trailed off. Confused, Jasper remained calm but still kept the chip in his hand. Bellamy noticed the look on Clarke's face; she had thought of something.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Both the AIs were made by the same person. Both tap into human consciousness." The blonde turned to Sinclair. "They must work similarly, right?"

"Well, there's probably only one pathway to consciousness so it's possible, yeah." Sinclair answered unconvincingly.

"What does this have to do with anything?" Octavia questioned, still by Raven's side. Clarke looked at their unconscious friend, mapping out in her head what her next steps were. She moved forward quickly.

"I've seen an AI get removed before." Clarke's eyes shifted up to Alessia and Octavia on the other side of the bed. "Help me get her on her side."

Alessia and Octavia obliged, joined with help from Bellamy, Monty, and Sinclair. They moved Raven's body down on the bed while Clarke instructed someone to get her medical kit from her bag. Jasper was the closest, but he remained unmoving. Instead, Monty lifted himself from the side of the bed and rushed over to obey Clarke's order. Those helping move Raven finally managed to get her turned on her side, and held her there for Clarke to continue. Monty brought Clarke her medical supplies, to which Clarke rifled through it quickly to find what she needed and turned back without so much as a hesitation. She grabbed the scalpel and moved forward. Before she could make the incision, Sinclair interrupted her.

"W-Whoa, what...?" He trailed off, gesturing toward the knife in Clarke's hand. Clarke shook her head firmly.

"It's okay," she assured, and wasted no more time. She made the small incision at the base of Raven's neck and watched Raven's blood drip from the wound. She took the towel in her hand and held it at the side of the incision to catch the excess blood. Nothing happened. Everyone watched in confusion as Clarke let out a heavy breath.

"This has to work," she muttered to herself, and possibly to everyone around her. No one spoke. The more seconds passed, the more everyone became weary. Raven remained unmoving, silent and still.

Then, something strange happened.

Alessia peered over Raven's neck to see the silver liquid start flowing from the wound onto the towel Clarke held in her hand. Her eyes widened.

"Okay. What the hell is that?" she breathed, utterly astounded. Clarke didn't have an answer for her, but Sinclair looked up with knotted eyebrows.

"It must be whatever's left of the chip," he guessed. At first, it seemed far-fetched, but then, Raven's body convulsed and the teenager on the table coughed awake.

Just like that, the tension in the room lifted. Every single person breathed a sigh of relief as Raven rolled over onto her back and muttered, "Ow." They moved to help her sit straight up, Octavia letting out a soft chuckle.

"I never thought I'd be so happy to see someone in pain."

A strangled laugh came from Raven's throat as Octavia and Sinclair helped the girl regain her strength. Clarke stepped aside, and Jasper moved in front of her. The two faced off, and Jasper lowered his eyes.

"I couldn't do what you did," he whispered softly as he held up the chip in his hand for Clarke to take. Before she could say anything, he turned his back and moved to walk away. As he did, the rest of them heard Monty from the foot of the bed, his head hung.

"I could have saved my mom." Alessia looked up to see Monty staring off in confusion, and she could resonate with that. The lost look, the feeling of guilt and regret. Hindsight is 20/20, they say. And it hurts like a bitch.

Jasper stepped forward and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Hey..."

"Get the hell away from me!" Monty shouted, turning around at Jasper sharply. Jasper watched his best friend run out of the room, but he didn't run after him. As his best friend, Jasper knew that this meant Monty wanted to be alone.

Then, finally, Bellamy looked up at everyone and cleared his throat. "A.L.I.E. knows we're here. We gotta move."

Alessia took a bandage Sinclair handed her and started to bandage Raven's neck, with Octavia's assistance. It was makeshift, but it would have to do given their time crunch. Sinclair wrapped Raven up in a blanket and swept her up into his arms, following Bellamy and Octavia out of the room. As they left, Alessia saw Clarke in the corner of the room, solemnly putting the chip back in the box that Jasper stole from her. Alessia noticed Clarke's shaking hands as the blonde slid the box cover on.

"I'm sorry," Alessia blurted out. Clarke looked up at her. "About Lexa."

Clarke nodded. "I am, too. I know you had your differences with her, but I..."

"Loved her," Alessia finished when she realized Clarke was too choked up to continue. Clarke paused, and then nodded. "I know. And I'm sorry."

Clarke didn't say anything, and so Alessia turned slowly, thinking it best to give her space. As she moved to walk out, Clarke interrupted her. "I think you should give Bellamy another chance." Alessia looked at her friend over her shoulder. "I know you think what he did was unforgivable, but it's not. You make the choice not to forgive him."

"It's not just about what he did to me, or even Kane and Octavia. It's not about my forgiveness. It's more like..." Alessia let out a defeated breath. "What do you do when you realize someone close to you might not be one of the good guys?"

"What if there are no good guys, Alessia?"

The two friends stayed in silence for a moment, letting the prompt sink in. What if there are no good guys? With the pressure of A.L.I.E. looming over their heads, there was not much time to process that information before they both had to leave to follow the rest of their friends outside.

Clarke stayed behind for a moment to speak to Niylah, presumably to tell her that she was sorry for keeping their secret about Bellamy's responsibility in her father's death. As Clarke remained inside for a few minutes. Alessia moved out of the hideout to find Bellamy standing in front of the Rover, waiting for everyone to load up. Bellamy froze as he saw Alessia approach him and stop so she was face-to-face. His eyes remained fixated on hers as she reached forward to examine the bruises on his hand from earlier, when he had punched anything he could following Niylah's confrontation. Bellamy tried not to let the feeling of her fingers on his skin mean much to him, he knew that it wouldn't matter, anyways.

And then, to his surprise, she looked up and spoke to him.

"You'll recover," she assured while tightening up the bandage. He took a moment, his eyes never moving from her features.

"Will I?"

Alessia looked up to catch his gaze again, but this time she did not shy away. Instead, she let out a small breath.

"Yes." His eyes remained hopeful. "I just need some...time, okay?"

He didn't say anything, but only watched as her eyes turned in distraction towards Clarke, who came outside and started to move towards the Rover. Time, he thought. Time for her to forgive him. Time for him to forgive himself. Time for them to forgive each other.

"Hey," Clarke began as Raven sat down on the edge of the Rover's backseat. "There's one thing I don't understand. Why did A.L.I.E. want you to kill yourself?"

Raven sighed. "Because I know why she wants a second AI."

"Why?" Bellamy asked from behind Clarke, his eyebrows raised in confusion.

"It's the only thing that can stop her."

"Then let's stop her." The declaration came not from Clarke, Alessia, or Bellamy but from Octavia, who looked around with an encouraging look in her eye. "We survive together."

Octavia looked around at her friends, her eyes landing on Monty. Monty nodded slowly, and everyone followed suit. Without another word, Octavia turned and jumped into the back of the Rover with the rest of them, and they all drove off, together.

So, Season 6 of The 100 is getting crazy, huh? I think I'm an episode and a half behind right now, I've been really busy but hoping to catch up on it soon (I do know what happens, just haven't seen the actual episodes yet lol). I started writing this chapter after the first episode where a major character died (I won't spoil it for those of you who haven't seen the show), but I only just now finished it because I'm working two internships this summer on top of looking after a 7-month-old puppy and my time has been spread really thin. But it's less of a wait than last time, so that's a plus?

Sad news about Season 7 being The 100's last, but it was sort of expected. It will give me time to plan out the rest of the seasons for this story strategically though!

From the activity on the last chapter, I'm honestly worried I've lost all of you out there...but thank you for those of you still reading and please review! :)