Chapter Forty-Nine

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Clarke woke her mom, ignoring Faye's urgency to take the Flame.

Bellamy burst in with his gun along with Pike and Murphy.

"Hey, no. It's okay. I used the EMP. She's back." Clarke told him.

"W-w-well, what about Ontari?" Murphy asked, gesturing to her lifeless body. "I thought you siad we had one shot with that thing." 

"I told you," Clarke stood up, "Ontari's no longer an option for the Flame. She's brain dead. Is the floor secure?" She asked.

"For now." Bellamy said. "Jaha and the guards are tied up in a bedroom."

"We took out the elevator. And the ladder as we climbed. The stairs are collapsed. No one's following us." Pike told her.

"Good. Then we have time." 

"What we don't have is a way down." Murphy reminded them.

"Time for what?" Bellamy asked.

Clarke looked back at Faye, who was holding the Flame, isolating herself from the conversation. "An ascension ceremony."

"Ascension? You just said Ontari wasn't an option." Murphy reminded her of her previous words. "Besides, she's still chipped, and we no longer have an EMP."

"We're not putting the Flame in Ontari's head." Clarke said.

"We're putting it in mine." Faye finished, stepping down the steps to stand next to Clarke.

"I thought you said this thing is only compatible with people like Ontari. The black blood." Pike said.

"Whatever you're doing, you better do it fast." Octavia said, running in with the others.

"Why? What happened?" Bellamy asked.

"They're climbing." 

Faye, Clarke, and Bellamy were the first to rush towards the balcony and find the residents of Polis were climbing the tower from the outside.

"Persistent." Faye said dryly. "We have to do this now." Faye said, looking to Clarke.

Everyone left and Bellamy grabbed Faye's arm, keeping her back. 

"Are you sure this thing can't kill you. You saw what it did to Emerson." He told her.

"Bellamy, the Commander's spirit would never hurt another Natblida. I am not Emerson." She reminded him. She leaned forward, gently pressing her lips to his. 

When she quickly pulled back, he cupped her face and leaned down, pulling her into a deep kiss. 

They quickly pulled away when they heard someone approaching. "Clarke's ready..." Murphy's voice faded when he realized what he walked in on. "Just so you know." 

"Right." Faye walked back into the throne room. 

Murphy looked at Bellamy with a smug look. "Shut up, Murphy." He said as he followed into the throne room.

"We're all set." Clarke said after everyone had discussed the situation. 

"Okay. You ready?" Abby asked the Grounder.

"Yes." Faye nodded, taking in a deep breath. She sat on the throne and Clarke moved her hair aside. 

"This will work." Faye said, addressing all their worried looks. 

"And if it doesn't?" Abby asked.

"If it doesn't work, then she dies." Murphy said with his usual optimism. "It might be very heartbreaking for some of us." Murphy said, giving Bellamy the same smug look.

"Just do it."

Clarke whispered the passphrase, letting the small tentacles of the Flame float around until they reached the skin on the back of Faye's neck. 

It felt like needles digging into her skin and her entire body tensed. She felt someone grab her hand. She opened her eyes to see Bellamy holding her hand, no matter how tight she was squeezing.

Suddenly her entire body went limp and her eyes closed as she fell back against the throne.

"No, no, no." Bellamy said, kneeling next to her. 

"Wait." Abby said, feeling a strong pulse, meaning she was alive.

"Is she okay." Bellamy asked.

"Her heart's racing." Abby said. "Get that thing out of her head."

"No." Clarke objected. "She can do it. She's the only one."

Faye's ears rang with the new heightened senses. Every thought hurt. It made her feel like her head was filling up until it exploded.

Faye opened her eyes to see a long table filled with people all wearing the Commander's armor, same as Faye. She looked down at her attire, and from the corner of her eye she saw Lexa, staring straight ahead as if she didn't see her.

"We must begin the Separation Ritual." Lexa said, staring straight through Faye.

"He must not corrupt her." A man said, letting a little anger slip through his tone. "You chose a coward over a warrior." He said, looking at Lexa.

"I chose the best. She will not fail, and she will not fall to him." 

At the head other head of the table stood a woman not dressed like the others. Her hair was black and her skin was like ash. "She must stop Alie first."

"Stop." Faye told them, her eyes finally opening to find that she was back in the throne room.

"Are you okay?" Bellamy asked.

"Are you in any pain?" Abby looked down at her watch with her hand still on Faye's pulse.

"No. I'm okay. I know how to stop Alie. I have to take the chip." Becca's voice echoed in her head, like every thought was urging her to take the chip, to stop Alie. It was as if Becca's spirit had taken over, drowning out the others. 

"What?" Bellamy demanded, standing up next to her.

"I must go into the City of Light." Faye showed no emotion and paid no mind to everyone's concerned faces around her. "That's how I find the kill switch."

"Yeah. That sounds like a great idea." Murphy said sarcastically, nodding to add to his fake agreement.

"Faye, Alie wants the Flame. If you take the chip, you're giving it to her." Clarke said, finally getting the girl to look at her.

"The second someone sees you, Alie will know you're there. She'll kill you. If your mind dies, you die." Abby said, as if talking to her own daughter. She had a way of speaking so calmly in the most intense situations.

"No." Bellamy shook his head. "This is insane." 

"The Flame will protect me." Faye assured them.

Bellamy walked away, towards a table in the corner. 

"I don't know how. You have to trust me." Faye said. Clarke realized she no longer sounded so formal. She spoke like it was only her talking and not the other Commanders. 

"I believe you." Bellamy said, holding a blue chip with the sacred symbol on it. "And we do trust you."

"Do you even know what you're looking for?" Abby asked.

"I'll know when I find it." Faye nodded, listening to the Commander's in her head, all begging to be heard, but the only important one stuck out the most.

"May we meet again." Clarke said with a faint smile.

"We will, Clarke." Faye nodded, smiling back.

"We'll keep you safe." Bellamy promised her, holding the chip in front of her. 

She didn't hear any voices. She only felt safe with the Commander's wisdom and the protection of her friends.

Taking the chip in her mouth, she felt herself fall into a dizzy haze before everything before her was snapped into focus.

Towers of buildings surrounded her and she followed a yellow line. She was in an empty part of the City of Light.

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