A/N I own none of the characters from The 100, though a few new characters are introduced for the sake of plot. I also include some dialogue from Season 4, which is also owned by CW.

The Go-Sci Ring: Day 2 Since Praimfaya

Bellamy woke with a start, drenched in sweat, heart pounding in his ears. After the space pod had docked and they had managed to get the oxygenator running yesterday, they had simply curled up next to the air vents and gave thanks to be alive while the planet, their planet, lay underneath a swirling storm of radiation.

Bellamy had fallen asleep unintentionally the night before, but his mind had stayed awake, replaying scenes of the last memories he had of Earth over and over: leaving O to fend for herself and their people, the sky that glowed a hazy orange and smelt hot and burnt, his last look toward the doors of the lab, and the sick pit in his gut at abandoning Clarke…

He roused himself, realizing he was alone in the bay, and his jaw clenched, furious at himself for sleeping; he should have made sure the Algae Farm was set up last night. Now, they had lost another day of food, and potentially fuel. He brought himself to his feet gingerly, still awkward in the radiation suit and fighting a lingering dizziness from yesterday's hypoxia, and walked down the hall to the Algae Station.

Raven stood at a desk, surrounded by an assortment of plastic and metal parts, studying a graphic on the computer screen. Her shoulders shifted to indicate she had noticed Bellamy's entry, but otherwise made no move to acknowledge his presence. She was working through the maximum yield from the algae ponds, and contemplating ways to increase, if not expedite, the yield.

The good news (though she hardly considered it "good") was that Clarke's sacrifice meant one less mouth to feed, one less pair of lungs to fill, and one less thirst to slake up here. The bad news was that they now had one less set of hands to help make the Go-Sci Ring their home for the next five years.

Actually, she thought to herself, subconsciously raising an eyebrow in concern, we might have lost two good sets of hands. She hadn't had the chance to look at Monty's hands for herself just yet- Harper was trying to tend to him at the moment.

Murphy and Emori were setting up the water reclaimer and Echo was helping her gather parts for the Algae Farm. The water reclaimer needed to feed into the Algae Farm, which would help somewhat with the purification, and its setup was fairly straightforward, so she had no qualms letting Murphy and Emori wrangle the pieces into place.

Echo worked in an uneasy silence, carrying plastic and metal parts to Raven and subsequently fitting them together when necessary for the Algae Farm. Raven didn't mind the silence- she knew Echo would adapt to life on the ring, but it would take time, and Echo could move with more ease than she could.

She and the others had already been up for a few hours, but when Echo had gone to wake Bellamy, Raven had touched her shoulder and shaken her head firmly. Seeing him up now, she was glad she had let him sleep.

"Raven, I- why didn't you wake me up?" Bellamy began, "I shouldn't have slept until we'd finished this. Have you gotten the system up?"

Her eyebrows raised with slight indignation, "No, the system's not up yet, and I don't expect it to be until this afternoon." She paused, looking over with a grin at the blueprints and a blue, tarp-like sheet to her left, "But, I'm not trying to operate the original system… I might have found a way to increase our yield, which won't matter so much right away, but it might just be our ticket back to Earth when this extended vacation is over." She chuckled darkly, but with a hint of pride.

Bellamy's brow crinkled, and curious but clueless, he came to Raven's side to peer over her shoulder at the mess of graphics on the screen. Sudden recognition flared across his features as he turned to face her. "You're going to swamp the whole farm, and then- what are those, hanging bags?"

A pleased (nearly smug) grin broke across Raven's face as she nodded, "I'm going to build a small dock to walk across the pond, but essentially, yes. The designated ponds themselves will produce plenty to feed us, but they won't be enough to produce enough biofuel to get us back to the surface. So, I decided I would just have to make them large enough. I thought the water volume would be a problem, but algae doesn't care about how deep the water is, it's only concerned with surface area. So, I decided we could also have several hanging bags, which will increase the surface area for growth and will be fairly easy to harvest for consumption. That just leaves-" she gestured broadly to the entire Algae Farm bay, "the pond itself, which can be funneled directly to biofuel production. Think Monty's moonshine- on steroids."

Awe evident in his face, Bellamy shook his head. No matter how often Raven Reyes saved all their asses, her ingenuity never failed to surprise and amaze him. "Wow… I mean… What can I do? Where's everyone else? How can I help?"

A smile still playing on her lips, Raven explained that Monty and Raven were in the Medical Bay, Murphy and Emori were setting up the water reclaimer (and should nearly be done by now, she thought to herself), and Echo was in and out helping with the Algae Farm.

Her breath caught in her throat as the list ended there, but she tried to regain her composure and simply asked Bellamy to stop by the Med Bay to check on Monty and Harper. If they were done, she needed their help collecting anything and everything they could use as a tarp to construct the new pond and the hanging bags.

Bellamy noticed the silence that hung in the air as Raven paused for the unspoken name, and he felt a sharp twinge in his chest. Clarke… He felt even worse once he remembered Monty's hands. Monty, who had saved them all, yet again, and was usually considered last. Bellamy made a vow to himself that he would recognize Monty's help more readily while they were on the Go-Sci Ring, and with guilt welling up in his throat, he thanked Raven and turned to walk toward the Med Bay.

After they had assembled the framework for the pond and ran the water reclaimer a few times, everyone had dispersed to claim a room for the night. The Go-Sci Ring didn't have many true housing units, but a few rooms remained that had belonged to the guards, engineers, and medical personnel.

In his exhausted state, Bellamy had begun walking to Factory Station before he realized that his former home didn't exist anymore. Instead, he stopped in his tracks in front of a large porthole. The Earth hung perfectly in the window, a giant fiery mass of radiation against the dark vacuum of space. This was the room in which he lost Octavia at the Unity Day dance. His chest constricted at the memory, but he tried to force it down. Octavia was safe now, at least as long as the Grounders kept the peace in the bunker.

He looked at the windowsill and saw an empty bottle with "The Baton" written on the side. Mindlessly, he picked it up, feeling the thickness of the glass.

The events of the last year and a half played so loudly in his head, he nearly didn't hear Raven's footsteps as she walked up next to him.

"You think we can do this without her?" Raven asked, fatigue evident in her voice as she fought to keep it from breaking. Her eyes were slightly puffy, and Bellamy tried not to look surprised. Raven Reyes did not cry easily.

"If we don't she died in vain…" He pressed his lips together, trying to keep tears from forming as he remembered the last time he saw Clarke, the warmth of her body pressed against his when she hugged him, "and I'm not gonna let that happen."

Raven kept staring at the rolling clouds of radiation below them, hoping to herself that Clarke had made it back to the bunker, or maybe that she hadn't, and that it had been quick. She had given that much to Finn.

"You with me?" Bellamy had turned his head to her, a plea hidden in his voice, Please, I can't do this on my own.

Raven's eyes scanned his face, "Always."

She'd be damned if she'd gotten them this far only for it to fall apart up here.

Earth: Day 2 Since Praimfaya

There was no sound. The first thing Clarke noticed was the perfect, eerie silence. No mechanical hum, no electric whir, no crickets, no rippling of the wind through the leaves, and no roar of the nuclear storm that had ravaged the world once again.

As her consciousness returned, aware only of the silence, she tried to open her eyes, but found that she couldn't. Panicking, her heart rate increased as she drew breath rapidly, trying to get her bearings. Suddenly, her senses were overwhelmed with pain, pain that was unmistakable. Her body felt like it was on fire, her stomach heaved, her head spun, and she realized her eyes were sealed shut. A silent scream welled up within her and burst out as a croaking groan, followed by a hacking cough that spat dark, viscous blood through burnt, cracked lips. The pain raced through her, and the bloodied, blistered mass of flesh, undistinguishable as even human, groped the floor with swollen fingers, trying to drag herself anywhere, towards anything.

She found nothing.

She heard nothing.

She saw nothing.

The only thing consuming her senses was the intense sensation of burning alive.

Her mind lost the fight to keep ahold of reality and she blacked out again, receding into the darkness.

The Bunker: Day 2 Since Praimfaya

When the doors to the office finally closed, Octavia tilted her head back, baring the smooth, tanned skin of her throat. Her skin already craved the sunlight. Closing her eyes, she released a long, slow, silent breath. Her heartrate slowed, and her muscles pulled inward, gradually shrinking her presence. Bellamy, Lincoln, and Indra were the only ones who had ever seen her withdraw into herself, and only Bellamy knew it for what it was: survival. Lincoln had accepted her silence, her stillness, easily enough, and to Indra, it was a warrior's mediation- the stalking silence of a huntress.

Yesterday had been an ordeal in itself: organizing living arrangements, sorting the children without families, calling for delegates to fill the Wonkru council, announcing the formation of a mixed security detail. The clans had been restless, but mostly they were thankful for fresh air, for a bed, and to be alive another day.

Today, on the other hand, had been far more challenging. The joy of cheating death was beginning to fade as people remembered their loved ones, swallowed by praimfaya, sacrificed so they could live, and those fallen in battle at the hands of another kru. Tensions were rising, and the politics of leadership were trying.

Azgeda and Trikru both made it obvious they expected favoritism, especially Trikru, which saw Indra's influence over Octavia as their path to power.

The delegates to the new council were mostly familiar faces to Indra, but Azgeda had a new delegate, a man with auburn hair that he kept in several braids, all pulled together at the nape of his neck. He wore a long cloak over his armor, even in the relative warmth of the bunker, and he spoke quietly, his words drawn out in a manner that bordered between confidence and arrogance. Octavia wasn't sure she much cared for the man, but decided she would refrain judgement for the time being- there were still decisions to be made.

"There is much to be done for our survival here," began Octavia, once the twelve other delegates had assembled in a meeting room.

"We have already determined the living arrangements, but our first task as a council must be to establish the laws by which all people must abide." She glanced around the room, noting the way many delegates shifted in their seats. "Indra and I have already discussed the similarities between Trikru and Skai kru, but I would like to hear from the other delegates now."

Azgeda spoke first, then Podakru¸and on and on. Kane spoke last from Skai kru, and thankfully, there were no arguments regarding his presence. The council agreed readily about most offenses and proceedings, but Octavia struggled to reconcile many Grounder traditions and expectations that Skai kru had developed aboard the Ark with the more specific requirements of the bunker.

Many councilmembers wanted a civilization akin to that which she had grown up under, and while she acknowledged that life on the Ark was pragmatic, Octavia was far from eager to instate the policies of her childhood. While order was important within the bunker, they truly were the last of humanity now, and she wanted to ensure that enough people would survive so that a new generation could inherit the Earth when they left the bunker in five years.

"Everything we have down here is limited; everything is precious! If you do not rule mercilessly, people will think you are weak, Commander." The Azgeda delegate reminded her, as though she could forget the severity of their situation.

In response, Octavia had stood slowly and fixed each of the twelve delegates in her stare.
"If anyone here thinks me weak or unable to perform my duties, they may speak with me alone. Anyone who breaks the laws set forth by this council disgraces themselves, their former clan allegiance, and Wonkru. The fate of humanity rests in our hands. I will not be the leader that disgraces our chance at a future."

It was nearly mid-afternoon by the time the discussions, arguments, and compromises had finished. Most councilmembers were displeased in some way, but all begrudgingly admitted to themselves that Octavia had the makings of a good negotiator.

Kane had been uneasy. The laws by which Octavia had promised they would all live were not all familiar to him or his people yet. This was only the first day for legal proceedings; she knew everyone would be displeased in some way, but she had hoped not to become the leaders she had feared and hated her entire life.

Octavia opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling above her. She allowed air to fill her lungs until she thought she might burst- she could not let herself grow small. Here, she was not a sixteen-year-old child hiding beneath the floor. On Earth, she had become Skairipa, Death from Above, but now, she needed to be her people's salvation from below.