I spent nearly two weeks in Arkadia, creating metal for Sinclair and spending my downtime with Raven. It was honestly some of the best days of my life because it was quiet and peaceful, but this was 'The 100' and good times did not last for long. Late one afternoon, I was pulled out of my typical daily duties because Lexa was riding into our camp.
"Octavia, we need you to wake up," Raven's voice easily penetrated my mind, waking me from meditation.
"What's up?" I asked, rubbing my face.
"Lexa is here," Raven replied.
"Is her room ready?"
"Yeah, we just need you to heal her once she gets settled."
I stood up and stretched my body as I said, "Alright, I'm awake."
"How are you doing?" she asked, as she did most days when I stopped for the evening.
"Same as usual, but I won't deny that I'm happy she's here so I can stop making metal. It's gotten well past the point of boring, even if my Earth powers are constantly growing."
"Don't be too happy; Sinclair will have you back to making it as soon as he can. That metal is the dream of every engineer."
"And what about for the best mechanic?" I teased as I wrapped my arms around her waist from behind as we walked towards the main door to the Ark.
"Even more amazing," she chuckled.
"Then I guess I'll do it," I replied then gave her a kiss on the cheek before letting go of her.
We headed into the Ark and headed for the room that Kane had arranged for Lexa. Even if we did not already know where it was, it would be easy to find since Gustus was standing outside her door like how Ryder would do the same for Raven. He gave us a nod as we walked up and knocked on the door before he held it open for us.
Lexa's temporary room was fairly large for anything here in Arkadia, but it was still tiny compared to her suite back in Polis. She was propped up on the bed, reading, but she smiled and put the book aside when the door shut behind us. She looked a little pale but considering that she had donated bone marrow in the morning and then road all the way here after she woke up, it was impressive that she could smile.
"Good... now you can do something about this pain," Lexa said with relief.
"I live to serve, Heda," I joked as I walked over to her bedside.
"Keep making jokes and you can donate once you become a Natblida," she replied with an annoyed look.
"Sorry."
"Mmm..." she hummed as I sat down next to her. "Your efforts with Azgeda seems to have paid off. Nia wants your service for five years, but with Kane's help, I think we can negotiate it down to a single year."
"It's not like it matters really with the Death Wave coming in less than six months," I retorted.
"Appearances, Octavia, appearances... that's the whole reason why you are playing the part of a turncoat. We just need as much time as possible."
"I know, I know," I sighed while I placed a hand on her hip so I could heal the damage from Abby extracting her bone marrow.
"So, Raven, how are you doing in this life?" Lexa asked with a light smile.
"Great, I guess, if you are comparing it to what Octavia told me happened the first time," Raven replied with a bit of awkwardness.
"Good. Is Sinclair still leading your Engineering Team, or have you started stepping up?"
"Me?" she asked with surprise.
"Sinclair had been killed by a survivor of Mount Weather, so you were forced into the position," I explained with a sigh, not saying that it had been Emerson originally.
"What about Wick?"
"He was killed before Sinclair."
"I'll take that as you haven't, but that makes my next request a lot easier then. How would you like to go with me on a secret mission to shut down the rogue AI that ended the world a hundred years ago?"
"You are not taking her to Alie!" I snapped.
"The medical facility at Mount Weather is impressive, but Becca's lab is even more advanced. Abby might be able to recreate the Nightblood serum with what she has currently, but it's too important to risk on a maybe... Not to mention that I want to pull her plug personally before she can start spreading out her influence."
"Why me?" Raven asked.
"You were able to hack into her mainframe originally and your willpower was strong enough to overcome her control and the false peace that she offered," Lexa replied. "Since you are actually happy and healthy this time around, I can't think of anyone better to have at my side and help me. If anyone takes the Key, aside from me, my entire plan will be ruined, so it will just be the two of us going and no one else can find out about this, not even Kane or my people."
I sighed as I finished healing her and asked, "Does that mean Jaha made it?"
"No. My people killed him in the desert and Murphy is already back in Polis, waiting in a cell until you can explain to him what's going on."
"And you never told me about this plan before now, why?"
She chuckled, "Because the first time that we spoke I saw that look in your eyes when you talked about her. You'd send Bellamy or Monty with me before asking her, so I went around you and asked her myself."
I sighed, rubbing my face, since I could not argue because she was right.
"I'll do it," Raven agreed.
I hung my head since I knew that fighting about it would only make things worse. I was constantly putting myself in dangerous positions because I wanted to make things better for the future, so how could I refuse when Raven wanted to do the same? It would be far safer than going to the Ice Nation with Queen Nia planning to go to war against Lexa.
"I promise that I'll do everything in my ability to keep her safe," Lexa said, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"I know you will," I replied with a nod and stood up. "We'll let you rest unless you have anything else to ask of my girlfriend."
"No, that was everything," Lexa sighed with a weak smile.
"See you in the morning."
Raven and I walked out of Lexa's room and headed down the hallway. She let me take the lead and I headed to the small bar that was in the cargo bay. Although I had not drank much in the past couple of weeks, I certainly wanted a few after that conversation. She did not talk as we walked, and I was even able to get us two drinks and sit down at the piano before she asked the question that I knew she was wondering.
"You aren't going to try and talk me out of?"
"Would you listen to me if I did?" I asked with a wry smile as started playing the tune of 'Piano Man' by Billy Joel.
"Probably not," she agreed. "So, you're not angry?"
"I didn't say that, but I have no right to tell you to not do it. I worry you enough with everything I've been doing, so it's only fair that you get to do the same to me for a change."
She gave me a genuine smile as she sat down next to me and kissed my cheek. "You're an amazing person, Octavia."
I did my best to not show the bitterness in my heart when she called me Octavia but correcting her and revealing the full truth was out of the question. I did not know how she would take it, or if she would even believe me. If we actually managed to save everyone, I would tell her the truth before Tori took me away from her.
"I'm just lucky that I have this chance to make things better," I replied.
She leaned against my side and watched me play. Despite the terrible things that I had seen, the lies that I had to keep telling, and all the unanswered questions about my future, I was grateful that Tori had brought me here. I may have lived an entire life before I came here, but two months here made me realize that I never really did.
I had been a shy, awkward kid which I never really grew out of despite living until I was thirty-seven. I only had a couple of friends, and none of my romantic relationships ever lasted for more than a single year. I was surviving, but never really living, and I never understood the difference before now.
The next morning, Lexa's group left Arkadia and headed for Polis. Aside from myself and Raven, the rest of those who came along with us were Kane, Bellamy, Clarke, Finn, Major Byrne, and a few more people that would be moving into the bunker. I spent the long ride with Raven resting against my chest and my arms around her waist because we knew that we were about to be separated for much longer this time and it would be even more dangerous. Everyone was settled into rooms when we reached Polis around sunset, but despite my tiredness from the ride, there was still one thing that I had to handle.
Lexa walked into my room with three men, but one of the men's hands were tied together, a bag on his head, and gagged if his muffled voice was anything to go off. The two men forced the third to his knees then pulled off the bag off his head, revealing Murphy. I could not suppress my chuckle as Murphy looked at Raven and me with confusion.
"As I promised, I did not kill your friend, but I will leave it to you to explain why he can't attempt to find the City of Light. He won't be granted a second pardon," Lexa said.
"Thank you, Heda," I replied with a slight bow.
She gave me a nod then turned to Murphy and warned, "We may not kill thieves like your people did, but I assure you that living without your hands is fitting punishment."
Lexa and the other Grounders left after that, and I walked up to Murphy with a smile on my face.
"Long time, no see, cockroach," I said, pulling the gag off of him.
"What the hell is going on?!?" he demanded.
I chuckled, shaking my head, as I pulled out my knife and cut his hands free, saying, "Well, that's going to take some time to answer. How about we have a few drinks while I explain the situation?"
"Alright," he said with suspicion.
I let him stand up on his own while I walked over to the liquor cabinet and opened it up. "Help yourself to whatever you'd like; I'm sure you could use it."
I grabbed a random bottle and two cups then headed over to the couch and sat down. I poured a drink for Raven and myself then passed a glass to her. Murphy was still suspicious and giving us curious looks, but he was also the type to quickly adapt to whatever was going on and do whatever it took to survive.
"So, I'll give you two options and let you pick which you prefer. I can tell you the simple story then you'll be free to leave, and you just need to keep yourself out of trouble with Arkadia or the Grounders, wherever you decide to go," I said as he sat down across from us.
"And the other choice?" he asked.
"I tell you the truth, or as much of it as I can, but no matter how crazy and unbelievable it may sound, you will work for me from then on, or I'll kill you myself," I replied with a smile, conjuring white flames across my arms for dramatic effect.
What killed it, though, was Raven laughing, "You are having too much fun with this."
I sighed, extinguishing the flames, and replied, "I've got to have my fun when I can with everything that's going on. I would have thought 'someone' would have already told him how we took down Mount Weather."
The look of utter confusion, shock, and fear on Murphy's face was truly priceless, even if Raven ruined the moment. I guessed that the Guardsmen truly kept quiet about my powers before he and Jaha left because he was practically frozen. Considering that I had been using them for the past two weeks in front of Arkadia and being practically a legend among the Grounders, it was not my fault when I assumed that he already knew about my powers, but I still started to feel a little bad as he stayed unmoving.
"Seriously, Murphy, you still have the option to walk out now if you just promise to not go searching for the City of Light. At this point, I'm well-known for my powers, so I wasn't trying to do any more than let you know that I was serious," I said, trying to calm him down.
He popped the lid off the bottle that he had taken and did not even bother with a glass, drinking straight from the bottle. "One question..." he said after a minute, "what's in it for me?"
I laughed as it was just too perfect for Murphy to ask that of all things; it was his character to a tee. I put my feet up on the table and took a drink before I replied, "Most people would ask what they would have to do, or why I'm giving you such an offer, but you are still our lovable cockroach, worrying about what you can get out of the deal. What's in it for you? You get to live here in Polis, food, water, alcohol, and whatever else you want, within reason, provided and I'll make sure that you don't get into any real trouble as long as you don't do anything too crazy."
"Can I still ask the other two?" he asked.
"Sure... I just need you to keep your mouth shut on everything I would tell you and work with Lexa's people and do what your good at, hearing the right conversations, being approached by the right people, and overall, finding out whatever you need to survive while staying loyal to someone you actually trust. As for why, well... let's just say that I owe you a debt which is hard to repay. If you just want your life, that's fine, but I promise that I will protect you as best as I can if you decide to work with me. The question that you need to ask yourself is... do you want to keep being the cockroach, or do you want to help me make sure that all of our friends have a happy life, ourselves included?"
He took another long swig on the bottle then leaned back in her chair, also placing his feet on the table, and said, "Screw it... I followed Jaha, after all; you've already shown me more than ever he did to back up your claims."
"Happy to work with you again, Murphy," I replied, holding up my cup as a toast.