GRIM REAPER¹, bellamy blake

024 ━━ rallying the troops

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"WAR IS coming," Iona growled out to the warriors trapped in cages. "I need all of you to do as I say until it's our time to fight. Do you understand?"

The grounders let out shouts in unison, making Iona's heart swell with pride- and then, suddenly, an overwhelming sense of bloodlust overcame her, and she glanced down at her katana.

"And then we take back what these-these monsters have taken from us and we reclaim our rights to freedom!"

Another proud shout rang true, and she grinned.

Unlocking all of the cages was harder than she imagined, however.

Iona quickly learned that each cage had its own key hanging upon a key rack in the corner. It was a gruesome process, terribly slow as she slowly managed to unlock the cages. As more and more Grounders were unlocked, they began to help and eventually, only a few cages were left.

As Iona fiddled with the key to the cage that she remembers helped Bellamy, her eyes widened slightly at the woman before her.

"Echo..." Iona trailed off, straightening her back. "It has been a long time."

Echo grumbled, slipping out of the cage, "Not long enough."

Iona grinded her teeth, watching the woman stalk off in the direction of the drug cabinet. Iona huffed to herself, crossing her arms.

When Iona first met Echo, it had been in the arena. The girl's village was destroyed by the Azgeda- something that Iona remembered clearly, considering it was her father that helped set the village aflame- and it was clear she strived to become stronger.

Iona had far more mentors and she was more skilled at the time (with several additional years of experience), so it wasn't hard to believe she'd win the fights.

With each duel, Echo grew stronger, faster, and far more capable than she once was. Only once in their several duels had Echo bested Iona. It had been a fair fight, one that Iona lost- although angrily- and Iona could practically see Echo's pride on her face.

She had beaten the Commander's cousin and had never let the woman forget.

Their entire friendship- if you could call it that- had been based off of competition. They dealt with each other despite their clashing personalities for the sake of the thrill, of the expectation of the next fight.

Until one day, Echo had disappeared; captured and hidden within the mountain.

Iona hadn't exactly missed her, but she did miss the challenge the woman brought forth. A formidable opponent was rare for a commander, and she appreciated having someone she actually might lose to.

Alas, the pair had never gotten along long enough to become anything more than each other's dueling partner.

As Iona watched Echo seal one of her wounds with some glue and a bandage she found in the cabinet, the last cage had been opened- and with it came a loud thud from the vents.

"Bellamy?" Iona questioned, kneeling down to look at the boy who now lay sprawled on the floor, "What are you doing here?"

"The acid fog-" Bellamy began, only to be cut off by the beeping noise of a loudspeaker.

"My fellow citizens, this is your president speaking. I have news to share with you that will change our lives forever. For 97 years, Mt. Weather has been our home. It's kept us alive, but it has also held us captive."

Iona glanced between the Grounder prisoners, a scoff leaving her throat. His idea of captive and hers were very different.

"Most of us have made peace with what we've had to do to survive. We've done these things for one reason. So that our people could someday return to the ground. That day is today."

"He's going public..." Bellamy shared a look with Iona.

"Before my friend, Lorelei Tsing was murdered by the outsiders still at large within this mountain, she found a cure. It was in their bone marrow."

Suddenly, Bellamy huffed to himself, clenching his fists. He began to turn, walking towards the exit, saying, "I'll be back. Don't do anything until I say so, alright?"

"Where are you going?" Iona questioned, quickly following after him.

He shook his head, "He's trying to get his people to turn on each other. They'll find my friends. I have to bring them here now; I'll send them in groups."

Then, Bellamy was storming off, and Iona turned around to stare at the group of warriors she'd just rallied.

"Don't get too comfortable. We're about to win a war."

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