— CHAPTER SIXTEEN,
the curse of the nightbloods.

RUBY HAS DECIDED THAT THEY HAVE THE WORST LUCK POSSIBLE.

They're stopped in the middle of a cold, snowy environment because just as Jasper said, the rover died. Now, they wait for the sun to charge the solar panels on the sides.

But despite the situation and the freezing air, Ruby examines the snow. She's never seen it in real life before. Of course, she's seen pictures of it in books but never up close.

She doesn't even pay attention to Clarke and Bellamy's conversation behind her.

Ruby crouches down in front of the white powder. She reaches a hand out and places it flat in the snow. She doesn't expect it to be so cold against her skin. Immediately, she draws back with a small, quiet hiss that goes unnoticed by the others.

Amara looks over at Ryland with furrowed eyebrows. "What's she doing?"

"Examining the snow." Ryland replies.

"She's never seen it before?" Amara asks, her voice shocked.

Ryland tears his eyes away from his best friend. "None of us have." He informs Amara.

From where he leans against the rover, Luca pipes, "she thinks it's incredible."

"Because it is." Ruby says suddenly. All eyes move back to her as she stands. She turns back to them. "I just don't like the coldness of it."

Then her brows furrow. Bellamy and Clarke ate nowhere to be seen. Her hearts starts to beat a little faster.

Octavia notices her change in demeanor, "don't worry." She quickly says. "Clarke got pissed and ran off. Bellamy went after her."

Ruby walks forward and pulls herself onto the hood of the rover to join Jasper. He looks at her, "hi, Ru."

She looks over at him and smiles softly. "Hi, Jas."

She sighs and turns her eyes to the woods. Her eyes scan the tree-line, looking for any type of movement.

"You okay?" Jasper asks suddenly.

Ruby turns back to look at him. She nods. "I'm trying. . . you know? Are you?"

"I'm doing the same as you: trying." He responds with a fake smile.

Jasper leans his head on Ruby's shoulder. She doesn't tense up. She doesn't get nervous. Jasper Jordan, the one person in the world who has never hurt her in any type of, the person who saved her from herself more times than she can count. Her Jasper.

She lets her head fall on top of his.

They sit like this for several minutes.

That's when they hear a grunt from the tree like. Immediately, everyone's head snap in the direction of the noise. At first, Ruby's brows knot together. There, Bellamy and Clarke drag a Grounder out of the woods.

Everyone rushes over to them. Bellamy and Clarke drop the man's legs. Ruby examines him. He has scars on his face and he has long hair. Blood stains his shirt and his eyes are shut.

Amara tilts her head to the side as she stares at the man. She then asks, "is that Roan?"

"Yes," Clarke looks to her. "You know him?"

"Of course we do." Luca pipes. He nudges Roan with the tip of his boot. Clarke looks at him oddly. "Why's he here?"

"He's been following me." Clarke replies.

"Is he alive?" Ruby kneels beside him. She moves his hair to the side and presses her fingers to the side of his neck. She gets her answer in the form of his beating pulse. 

"Who's Roan?" Ryland questions.

"Prince— King of Ice Nation." Clarke answers. Ruby's head snaps up, her eyes wide.

"Azgeda? Why is he not dead?" Ruby asks much harshly than she intends to. Ice Nation.

"Because we're going to use him."

─────────

As soon as the rover stops, Ruby jumps out of it. She can't spend anymore minute with Roan's incoherent grumbling.

"We were starting to get worried." Raven announces as she walks up to the group. Her brows furrow, "where's Luna?"

"Luna said no." Ruby says.

Harper, Monty, Bryan, and Miller quickly join the group.

They watch as Bellamy leads Roan, who's bound and gagged, towards them.

"Who the hell is this?" Harper asks.

"He's Ice Nation," Bryan snarls in anger.

"King of the Ice Nation actually." Clarke swiftly corrects him. "And he's our way into Polis."

"This way, Your Highness." Bellamy says. He then looks to Miller and Bryan. "You two, follow me. I'll take him to lockup."

The four leave.

"You want to use him to get to Ontari?" Raven asks Clarke.

Ontari, the new Azgeda Commander, who has forced her way to the throne after killing all the training Natblidas. Ice Nation. Nightbloods.

"Yes," Clarke replies.

"What happened to his arm?" Harper questions.

"Bellamy shot him." Ryland pipes. Ryland the turn to Clarke. "Why did Bellamy shoot him?"

"Ry," Clarke sighs. "We talked about it in the rover."

"I was asleep," Ryland tells her.

"Good luck getting him to cooperate." Monty says as he raises his eyebrows.

"Yeah," Ruby huffs in frustration. "Good fucking luck to us. We get to handle royalty today."

─────────

And so the group departs.

They leave Monty, Harper, Raven, Amara, and Jasper in Arkadia. Amara had argued she wanted to go with them to Polis but Clarke told her she needed her to stay in Arkadia in case something bad happened. Amara reluctantly agreed.

And now Ruby sits in the passenger seat while Bellamy drives. The others all sit in the back.

Bellamy glances over at her. "You sure you wanna do this, Ruby?"

She looks to him. Truthfully, she isn't sure. Her family is in Polis. Marcus, Murphy. . . the last two people in her family. Everyone's goal is to stop ALIE but Ruby's ultimate goal is to get her people out of Polis alive.

That's when a tall building comes into view.

Polis.

Ruby's eyes widen slightly. She's never seen a building so tall before. It's amazing.

"There it is. We stop here," Clarke speaks up as she looks through the windshield from the back of the rover.

Bellamy puts the brakes on. Once the rover is completely stopped, the group files out.

Ruby looks out of the city. Clarke comes to stand beside her. Ruby tears her eyes away from the tall building to look at Clarke.

"You sure you're ready?" Ruby asks her friend. She knows Lexa died here. She knows Clarke loved her as she live and as she died.

"I have to be. Are you ready?" Clarke looks over at her. Clarke knows that Murphy is somewhere in Polis. Ruby's brother, the last of her blood. They haven't seen each other in nearly four months. Clarke isn't sure if Ruby is ready to face him after so long. . . if he's even still alive.

"I have to be," Ruby repeats Clarke's words.

"Alright, this is where we split up." Roan speaks up. Clarke and Ruby turn to where he and Bellamy stand. "The entrance to the tunnel is over there."

"We know where it is." Bellamy snaps. Ruby actually has no idea where the tunnel is but she doesn't say that.

"I'm gonna need to Flame." Roan tells Clarke. She makes a face at his words. He sighs, "look, this only works if they send Ontari out to get it. If they don't see it, it won't work. Not much of a trap without a bait."

Clarke hesitantly hands the Flame to Roan, "fine. But I'm coming with you."

"No way. That is not the plan." Bellamy pipes.

"It is now." Clarke tells him. "I'm not letting that out of my sight. And I'm the only one who knows the passphrase. So you can tell them that without me, Ontari can't ascend."

"You'll need to look like my prisoner." Roan informs her.

"Okay." Clarke shrugs.

"Hold on. Give us a minute." Bellamy interrupts them. Clarke and Roan share a swift look before the king walks away from them. Ruby follows, not wanting to be apart of Clarke and Bellamy's conversation.

Her eyes turn back to the city. She stares out at it. She wonders if her people are still alive. Marcus, Murphy, Abby, Indra. People she loves, people she can't lose. Though, she would never admit to anyone that deep down she does love her big brother despite all the pain he's caused her.

"A Sky Person dressed as a Grounder?" Roan's voice hits her ears.

Irritation fills her veins. She tears her eyes away from the city. Roan smirks at her.

"I am a Grounder." She tells him.

"You are?" He asks with a sarcastic tone.

"I am." She snaps, "and I don't need to prove myself to anyone. Especially you, Your Highness."

─────────

Ruby and the others rush through the tunnels beneath Polis as Clarke and Roan walk the streets above them.

It doesn't take them long to get into position.

"Are we ever gonna be done fighting?" Bryan questions.

"Hell yes." Miller smiles at his boyfriend. "We're gonna build a house on a lake. You're gonna plant corn."

"And raise chickens. Grow old." Bryan continues with a smile of his own.

At this, Bellamy and Ruby both look to Octavia. There's a distant look in her eyes. She's no doubt thinking about Lincoln and what they could have had. Ruby doesn't hesitate to reach out and grab her hand, letting her know she's there.

"11 o'clock." Bellamy speaks up suddenly. Ruby and Octavia both shoot to their feet. "On the signal. He sees Ontari. We wait until she's standing in front of him. Then we launch the gas."

"They're gonna be holding their breath. So we gotta move fast." Bryan says.

"Anyone who gets in our way, we use non-lethal force. These people are not the enemy. They're being controlled," Luca tells them.

"The only things we're here to kill is ALIE." Ruby looks around at her people. "Clear?"

"Clear," everyone repeats.

"I am Roan, King of Azgeda!" Roan shouts from above them. He holds up the Flame. "And I have what the commander seeks!" Ice Nation.

The people who sit on the ground all open their eyes at the same time. They stand in unison. Ruby's eyes widen at the sheer creepiness of it all. "Oh, what the fuck?" She whispered to herself.

"I'm don't like what I'm sensing. So if she wants, she can come to me." Roan announces.

Three chipped people approach Roan and Clarke. Immediately, they all recognize the one in the middle.

"It's Jaha." Bellamy says in realization.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Ryland growls.

They can all understand Ryland's hatred for the man. He floated both of Ryland's parents and then threw him in the Sky Box when he set his office on fire.

"You see Ontari?" Miller quizzes.

"No. Hold." Bellamy replies.

Clarke's eyes dance over to where they stay hidden. Bellamy's brows furrow as his eyes lock with her. He says, "something's wrong."

Roan grabs Clarke's arm and pulls her into him. He presses his blade against her neck. He starts to yell, "back up or she dies!"

"Do it! Do it, now!" Ruby shouts.

Before anyone can get their fingers on the triggers, they're ambushed.

"Get the fuck off me!" Ruby screams as a chipped man grabs her

She doesn't hesitate to fight back. She sends an elbow into his gut, he releases her as he stumbles backwards. But it takes him half a second to recover. He grabs a handful of her her hair and slams her against the wall roughly. Her head smacks against the concrete wall. She cries out at the pain that shoots through her head.

The man pulls her away from the wall and shoves her to her knees. He yanks her arms behind her back and swiftly ties them. As he does, he can see Ruby struggles to stay on her knees. Black blood trails down the side of her face.

They have been ordered by ALIE to keep Ruby Carson alive.

Because she knows her blood. Because she wants the Carson girl.

The chipped men finish tying everyone's arms behind their backs. Miller lays on the ground, his eyes shut. Ruby keeps her speckled eyes locked on him. They hurt her friend.

She's furious.

"Let's go. She wants Ruby Carson." One of the chipped Arkadian men speak up.

Before she can react, two men are grabbing her arms and pulling her to her feet.

"Where are you taking her?" Bellamy stands to his feet. The chipped man beside him sends the butt of his gun directly into Bellamy's stomach.

"Don't touch him, you fucking freak motherfuckers!" Ruby yells, she fights against the men. "Bell— Bellamy, it's okay."

They start to drag her away. She fights against them. But they're stronger than she is.

That's when the voice slams into her.

"If I were, I'd hit the deck."

Flashlights shine on him. His hair has gotten longer. He's terribly dirty. Dried blood stains his closes. There's a smirk on his lips.

In front of her, stands her big brother.

Her big brother.

"Murphy?" It's all she can muster as she stares at him. He stares right back at her. Then, she shouts, "everyone hit the ground!"

Behind her, her people listen. Ruby hits the ground. She looks up for a moment. Indra and Pike come out from behind Murphy and stand on both sides of him. Both have a gun in their hands. And without hesitation, they fire at the chipped men, killing them all.

When the gunfire stops, a knife slide across the ropes holding Ruby's arms behind her back. She pushes herself up. The person who cut her binds grabs her arms and helps her stand.

She looks at the person.

"Hey, little sister," Murphy greets.

Ruby throws herself at her brother. She wraps her arms tightly around his middle. She holds him tightly, too scared that he'll disappear if she dares to let him go.

Murphy wraps his toned arms around his sister's shoulders, holding her just a tight. He buries his hand in her hair, holding her close just as she does him. For a long time, he regretted leaving her behind. But he knew it was for the best then. 

He lets his eyes fall shut as he relishes in the fact his sister is here. His baby sister is alive and she's here. In his arms.

"Thank you." She whispers for his ears only. "I forgive you. . . Murphy. For everything."

His brows furrow. He draws back and places his hands on her biceps. "Wai— wait. Are you serious?"

She nods and despite the terrible situation they've reunited in, she smiles. "Yeah, I am."

Murphy stares at her. He takes in his different she is now. There's a long scar that trails down the right side of her face. Her eyes are no longer just brown. Red specks are scattered in her irises. Murphy can see her tattoos peaking out from under her shirt. But his eyes linger on the black blood on the side of her face.

"Your blood," he points at it.

"It's a long story," Ruby shakes her head. "I'll tell you about it once all this shit is over."

"Indra's right, O. We need every fighter we can get." Bellamy speaks up. The pair of siblings turn their attention back to the others.

And for the first time, it truly sets in that Pike stands in front of her. She stares at the man. He stares right back at her. Luca also keeps his eyes locked on Pike. He always taught Ruby that vengeance is never the answer. But the look in his eyes tells Ruby he's ready to go against every lesson he's ever taught her.

Without hesitation, Ruby is unsheathing he sword. In less than second, her blade rests against the side of Pike's neck. Pike keeps his eyes locked with Ruby's.

"Ruby, don't!" Bellamy rushes to her.

"Why not, Bellamy?" She snarls. Tears cloud in her speckled eyes. "He murdered him!"

"I know," Bellamy whispers to her. "But let's just lower the sword and then we can handle him after we take care of ALIE, okay?"

Ruby's nose scrunches in anger. Then she pulls her sword away from the man's neck.

"Did you guys miss the part where it's time to go?" Murphy butts in.

"We're not leaving." Bellamy pipes.

"We just saved your lives. Why do I think I'm gonna regret that?" Murphy questions.

"Clarke is in trouble." Bellamy says.

"Clarke's always in trouble." Murphy grumbles.

"They took her and the Flame to the tower. It's a safe bet Ontari's there, too. Everything we need to stop ALIE is in the same place." Bellamy explains.

Octavia joins the conversation. "If we go up that tower, we won't be able to fight our way out again."

"If we stop ALIE, we don't have to." Bellamy tells her.

Pike hands Bellamy a gun. Ruby's eyes remain locked on the man as her brother speaks up, "up the tower. Great. You know, after this, doing the right thing can kiss my ass."

─────────

"Hey!" Bellamy bellows as Pike puts two bullets into the two chipped men working the elevator. "I told you that is not how we're doing this."

"They were in our way." Pike shrugs.

"These people are not our enemy. They're being controlled by Alie and we can save them." Bellamy hisses.

"There's gonna be a lot more of those people if we don't move." Ryland tells them, a gun in his hands.

The Fury as Azgeda warriors have began to call him. Ice Nation.

Seconds later, Ruby, Bellamy, Ryland, and Murphy are all piled in the elevator. As the door begins to close, her eyes land on Octavia and Luna, both deciding to stay behind, and she nods. They both nod back.

She understands.

She knew what's going to happen.

They're going to kill Pike.

"You get that we're screwed, right?" Murphy says to the others in the elevator. "ALIE already knows that we're coming."

"That artificial bitch can kiss my ass." Ruby tells him.

"This plan will work," Bellamy says. Then he asks, "why are you here?"

"I'm just trying to survive. You're not the only one here trying to save someone you care about." Murphy replies.

"The girl." Ruby glances at her brother. "The one you didn't come back to Arkadia for."

"Yeah," Murphy nods. There's a grim expression on his face. "ALIE got her, too."

"I'm sorry," Ruby tells him.

That's when the elevator stops. A sudden banging starts at the door. Ruby groans.

"Incoming," Bellamy informs them.

"Obviously!" Ruby snaps.

"Get the baton ready, Murphy!" Bellamy hisses as he and Ryland try in vain to hold the doors shut.

Three chipped men pry the door open. One reaches forward and grab Bellamy in attempt to pull him from the elevator. Ryland and Ruby are quick to grab him and pull him back.

Murphy continues to press the shock baton to them. They ignore the volts of electricity, unable to feel the pain.

That's when one of the men grab a fistful of Ruby's hair and snatches her straight from the elevator. She lets out a small scream as the man shoves her into the wall. She bounces off of it and falls to the ground. The man grabs her by her throat. Then he starts to squeeze.

She gasps for air as she fights against him. Her head starts to throb and her eyes start to bulge. Her face turns red.

Ruby thinks for a moment. And then, she reaches for her dagger at her hip. She pulls it from her sheath and stabs the man directly in his beating heart.

The man gasps as he falls off of her body. She shoots up. She turns to the other man that approaches her. She kicks the man in the chest and knocks him into the wall. She quickly slams the back of his head into the concrete wall. He falls to the ground, unconscious.

Three different hands grab Ruby and pull her back into the elevator. She lets herself fall to the ground behind the trio of fighting men. She gross her already bruising throat. A man lunges into the elevator. Before he can do any harm, a gunshot sounds. The man falls to the ground, blood pool under him.

He's dead.

As soon as the elevator starts to move again, all three men turn to Ruby. She pulls herself up.

"Are you okay?" Murphy, Ryland, and Bellamy all ask at the same time. Ruby's nose scrunches up at this.

"I'm fine." She mumbles. Her eyes glance between them, three of the most important men in her life.

Her brother, her best friend, and. . . Bellamy.

The only one that was missing is Marcus.

The elevator comes to another stop. "Time to go," Ruby mumbles.

Bellamy pulls the panel off of the elevator ceiling. He's the first in the elevator shaft. He swiftly pulls the other three up. As they pull their gas masks over their faces, the door opens.

Two men walk in. Confusion laces their features. "Where are they?" One of the men asks.

Ryland silently moves the panel away again. Ruby pulls the ring on the gas canister. She drops it into the elevator. The red gas does it's job in mere seconds. The two men fall unconscious.

The four Sky People drop from the elevator shaft and into the elevator.

"Throne room's this way," Murphy says as he leads his baby sister, her best friend, and her. . . other friend to the throne room.

They pull their gas masks off once they're far enough away from the elevator.

As soon as they reach the throne room door, Ruby kicks it open.

The scene is horrifying.

Abby Griffin sways from the ceiling with a noose wrapped around her neck. Jaha is above to destroy the Flame. And Clarke is bond to a pole with blood dripping down her chest.

"Bellamy, stop him!" Clarke shouts.

Bellamy quickly turns his gun to Jaha and pulls the trigger. The bullet hits Jaha right in the shoulder.

Murphy doesn't hesitate run over to Abby, holding her up. Ruby doesn't dare look in their direction, too scared of what flashbacks might strike her.

She and Ryland busy themselves by rushing to Clarke. They quickly begins to undo the chains that keep her bond to the pole.

"Is she alive? Is she breathing?" Clarke panics.

"It's okay." Murphy then to look at her. "She's breathing."

"Jaha has the Flame! Get it!" Clarke says as she the lake of best friends finally get her binds undone. She rushes over to where Ontari lays. "We cannot let Ontari die. We have to stop the bleeding."

"I got the Flame." Bellamy announces. Behind them, Ryland rushes over to aid Murphy in getting the noose off of Abby.

"Her pulse is weak." Clarke informs the four.

"At least she's alive." Ruby speaks up.

"Here, hold this to wound." She hands a piece of to Ruby. Ruby kneels down and presses the cloth to Ontari's bleeding head.

"Come on, what're you gonna do?" Ryland questions as he and Murphy approach the scene.

"I need a flashlight." Clarke says.

"First, we take out the chip then we put in the Flame." Bellamy tells them as he pulls the EMP out of Clarke's bag.

"Her pupils are unresponsive." Clarke tells them quickly.

"What? What does that mean?" Murphy alas.

"She's brain dead." Clarke's eyes meet Ruby's. "She can't give us the kill code. It's over."

"We're trapped here." Murphy groans.

"No," Ruby shakes her head. "We're not."

Murphy looks over at his sister. "What the hell are you talking about, Ruby?"

"My blood," Ruby says. "I'm a Natblida, Clarke." Nightblood.

"Oh, shit."

______________________________

wore count: 3,949
episode: preserve institution: part 1

MURPHY'S BACK!!!!!!! i absolutely loved rewriting his reunion with ruby. they're so, so special to me. she's finally forgiven him for everything he's done to her and their brother-sister relationship only goes up from here.

roan is also officially introduced to the damned trilogy!!! i am so insanely excited to rewrite his friendship with ruby. like y'all have no idea how excited i am. if you've already read this book, you know how much they mean to each other?? but in the rewrite?? they're gonna be so much closer. we also got their first official interaction in this chapter. ugh, i love them.

the scene at the start of the chapter 🥲. it's so soft. i love that little group so much. ruby, luca, amara, ryland, jasper, and octavia. they're my babies. the love they have for each other means so much to me. ESPECIALLY RUBY AND JASPER!!!!! "her jasper" HAD ME CRYING WHEN I WROTE IT!! rewriting his death is not going to be fun and it's going to be so much sadder. so y'all are for sure gonna need like an entire box of tissues when we get to that.

ruby in this chapter 🤝 the f bomb.

also, something veryyyyy interesting has changed. ruby suggested she take the flame since she's the last nightblood (that isn't luna). but are clarke, bellamy, ryland, and murphy gonna stand for it??? y'all are gonna have to wait until the next chapter to find out.

ONE MORE CHAPTER OF THIS ACT GUYS!!!