─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

THE UNDERNEATH OF THE DROPSHIP WAS A MESS, JUNE HAD YET TO REALIZE. She was always into technology, and maybe if she was still on The Ark she would have considered furthering her career into mechanical, but she wasn't. She wasn't in space anymore, she was on Earth, underneath a space ship with Clarke and Finn to help Raven set a ring of fire to save them all. There were wires, both shut and open panels, and a tank of fuel right above their heads. June would have been threatened by it if someone in the dropship had a gun; one stray bullet could kill them all.

"Finn, do you see it over there?" Clarke called out from her side. A quiet answer of denial was sent back. "June?"

June sighed, slamming the panel she had been searching through for the last five minutes shut. "Nope." She turned, brushing aside hanging wires to see Clarke with her sleeves rolled up, a look of irritated on her face.

"Raven!" Clarke leaned to the ladder that let them to the first level. "We can't find the ignition system." No reply. June grew concerned, walking further in as Clarke called her name again, this time in question. "Raven?"

A strangled cry of a reply came from above, sounding like Raven. "I can't feel my legs."

Heart sinking in her chest, June gasped in a soft disbelief. The only injury Raven was sustaining was the bullet, and she was no doctor, but anyone could figure out her condition was worsening. Finn came rushing as well, eyes wide upon hearing Raven's cry. "Oh my God."

"Okay, hold on!" Clarke instructed her. "We're coming!" She gripped onto the ladder first, climbing up. June was right behind her, quickening her pace until she was at the top and able to pull herself up. Raven was sat against a wall, her device put to the side as she stared at her unmoving legs in front of her with her jaw dropped. "Okay, let me see," Clarke requested, crouching on her other side.

June rested her hand on Raven's shoulder, gently helping her lean forward. No matter how careful she was, she still sobbed in pain with a few shouts until Clarke could lift up the back of her shirt to see the exit wound. June's eyes grew wide at the sight and she let out another quiet gasp, heard by Raven, who groaned. "That bad, huh?"

It was. Her wound was a mix of red and purple, a large bruise covering the shut wound, which could have been considered possibly normal. But her veins were popping through, a brighter red, where her spine was. June bit her lower lip, helping sit Raven back painfully. Clarke hesitated before breaking the bad news in a soft voice. "Raven, the bullet's in your spin. You're bleeding internally."

A sorrowful look washed over Raven's face before she shoved the emotion away just as fast. "We better do this fast then, huh?" She played the fearless card. "Get back down there."

June refused to listen to the order, wanting Raven to react. "No," she stated sharply. "Clarke, what can we do?" She asked desperately. Clarke pressed her lips tightly together before shaking her head in defeat, silently telling June without words that there was nothing they could do. They didn't have useful medical equipment, or any experience more than Clarke's small nursing skills.

When June thought all hope for Raven was lost, Finn's head lifted like an idea suddenly hit him. "What if we can slow the bleeding?" He asked Clarke. "Would that help?"

"Of course it would help," Clarke responded slowly. "Can you tell me how to do that?"

"That stuff the grounders had... Coagulant," Finn says seriously, ignoring the sarcasm in Clarke's tone. "You said that Lincoln had some too."

A look June recognized all too well was brought to Clarke's features. "Clarke, what is it?" She urged her. "What can it do? Can it help?" She babbled, keeping one of her hands on Raven's arm.

"Yeah, it can, it's in the box with the antidote, but I..." Clarke trailed, hinting that the only problem they would have is retrieving it.

"I'm betting that there's more of it in his cave," Finn said. "If I can get there - "

Raven's hand shot up to stop Finn from finishing the sentence. "Wait a second, no," she whispered in astonishment like she couldn't believe he was even suggesting saving her life by risking his own.

"I can make it!" Finn exclaimed.

"Clarke, tell him he's being an idiot!" Raven demanded, but the young blonde seemed quiet like she was on his side this once.

"Well, you can tell us both we're idiots. Because I'm going with him," June declared stubbornly. In her mind, two people going into the woods to the grounder Lincoln's cave was better than one. If one of them didn't make, at least the other could. Raven had to make it, and June was firm on shooting down hundreds of grounders if it meant saving her. If they wanted Finn to stay, she'd go on her own with just a gun.

Broken, Raven's eyes grew puppy-like as she gazed to June after her declaration. "What?" She asked in disbelief. "I'm not gonna let you die to save me."

Staring back tenderly, June shook her head. "You can't stop me." She carefully shook Raven's hand off hers, nodding to Finn. "Let's go. It'll be fine. Simple trip, in and out, we'll be back in a flash," she promised, rising to her feet.

While Clarke and Finn shared a quick good-bye, June grabbed her gun and waited patiently until he was done. She sent Raven one last fond gaze, before dashing outside with Finn, heading straight for the tunnels and to the woods. June realized as she bolted through the trees that she wasn't frightened of the grounders even though she should be. She could hear their war drums heading straight for the camp, only a distant away.

The only thing June was scared of was Raven dying.

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The man, Lincoln, didn't seem to be in his home when June and Finn entered the cave side by side with an unspoken agreement to find what they needed and get the hell out. She quickly flicked her light on, diving for a bag hanging from the ceiling first while Finn searched through a clear box, throwing things around in desperation to find the cure. The bag June searched through had weird, discolored rags in it, and she sighed, letting it hang once more.

All of a sudden, one rough arm wrapped around June's hip and drew her back as a silver blade was pressed to her throat. She shrieked in surprise, falling back into the burly attacker while dropping her light source. The noise caught Finn's attention who whirled around, hands up in defense. "Woah, woah! It's okay!" He exclaimed, eyes squinting before widening in realization. "Lincoln... You're alive."

The knife held to June's neck lowered, as did the grip on her. The grounder, Lincoln, pushed her away and she stumbled back to Finn, panting in relief. "I told you to leave!" Lincoln scolded in a shout, his dark eyes narrowing at Finn instead of June.

"We tried," Finn confessed. "The scouts were already there."

"Look, we're sorry for barging in," June apologized despite feeling the ghost of the blade still pricking her neck. "We just need one thing, please!"

Before Lincoln could respond, the radio shoved in Finn's pocket went off, and Bellamy's muffled voice came through. "I'm out of ammo!"

Finn pulled the walkie out, and Lincoln looked at the unfamiliar object strangely. "What is that?"

"Requesting backup, now!" Bellamy continued as Finn handed the radio to Lincoln. "Sterling. Sterling, do you copy?!"

"Shoot," June mumbled under her breath from hearing the panic in his voice. "We're running out of time."

Turning the walkie over in a study, Lincoln stared at the foreign item before questioning the pair. "Why are you not there?"

"Raven was shot," Finn answered urgently. "We need the medicine to slow the bleeding."

Lincoln huffed. "You came to save one life?!"

"I don't have time to explain!" Finn shouted in exasperation. "Do you have the medicine or not?!"

Still frustrated, Lincoln sighed before nodding, much to June's relief. "I have it." He turned, walking to a corner her and Finn missed and snatched up a bag before tossing it. Finn caught it, opening it and quickly surveying the item inside before nodding in thanks.

"I see them. I saw... No, stand your ground, if they take the gate, we're all dead!" Bellamy continued from the walkie Lincoln gripped.

"I'm going with you." Lincoln pulled a weapon hanging off the wall and shoved it into his belt. "Let's go."

"Awesome," June deadpanned, not liking the idea of traveling through the woods with a grounder she didn't know. But there was no time to argue, everyone's life, especially Raven's, was at stake. June crouched, grabbing the light she had dropped and stood again, prepared to finally leave.

That is, until Finn suddenly shouted. "Wait!" He knelt where June had been, picking up a piece of paper that her light shone on and studied it. When she peered over his shoulders, her breath hitched, noticing the drawing of the reaper. But Finn wasn't in the state of fear like she was, he was almost admiring it. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend," he whispered under his breath, quoting Bellamy.

June snorted. "We've discussed it. That is not a friendly ally, Finn," she reminded him.

"Finn! Let's move!" Lincoln called, approaching them once more.

"How far did the reapers chase you?" Finn questioned instead, lowering the paper without looking up.

Agitated, Lincoln sighs once more before answering. "They'd still be chasing me if I didn't lose them. Why?"

Lifting his head, June noticed Finn looked fearful for a moment before he decreed in an uncertain mumble; "I have a really bad idea."

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Sure, June has heard some very bad ideas in her life. It started with Wells and his idea to break into his father's office and discover what he was planning, but this took the cake. June wasn't sure if she had ever managed to run this fast in her life, and she wanted to hit Finn, let him know how crazy he was for suggesting this. She tore through the woods, flying even when the camp came into view. Because if June stopped, even to let her tightening lungs fill with air, the reapers would catch her and make her into a meal.

Hearing the reapers call of chants had been filling June's ears since they caught the three and started chasing them, but the sight of them was new to the grounders. June could see them there, climbing to reach their closed gate, but she couldn't pay them any mind or be scared for now. She hopped over a log, taking a right through a puddle to reach their tunnels once more. The tunnel came into June's sight as she hears weapons being drawn when the reapers and grounders face one another. Metal clanging and people letting out war cries echo when they approach; the war starting.

Waving Finn and Lincoln in first, June crouched, prepared to dive in when a sudden agonizing pinch hit her in her left side. She let out a short scream, backing up further into the tunnel as a few more stick-like items land in the ground in front of her. Arrows. June's hand flies up to touch it, and she hisses, rolling on her chest and seeing Finn hesitating. "Go!" She cried out, her free hand digging into the mud. "Just leave me! Please!"

"Go!" Lincoln shouted, giving Finn a shove and forcing him further into the tunnel. He'd have to pass the gunners to get to the dropship, but he'd be safe. Lincoln backed up, grabbing underneath June's arms and dragging her back until she was further from the opening. "Let me see it."

"No," June protested, the single word coming out like a sob. Her hip was aching, but her mind was a whir, thinking only of her friends out there who could be dead. "Just go, please! I don't know if I can walk!"

"Try!" Lincoln urged her, making it clear that he wasn't going to leave her behind to die. He hoisted June up, and she found the strength to scramble on her feet. The weight pressed down on her left side again, but Lincoln lifted her, making sure her arms were draped tight enough over his shoulders before running faster through the tunnel.

The tips of June's fingers dug into Lincoln's jacket and her knees squeezed his sides into some kind of low piggyback, and despite the pain, she couldn't help but wonder. He could have been long gone, could have left her to die so he could save himself or find Octavia. "Why... Why are you helping me?" June panted slowly, the question almost lost in the war arising.

"No one deserves this," Lincoln replied, his voice straining with her weight. "Not even your people." With that, they exited the tunnel, coming face to face with a slope shielding the ongoing war. Reapers and grounders were fighting one another, waving swords and more weapons June couldn't see through the night.

The only ones who caught June's attention was Bellamy and Octavia, leaning against a large tree. "There!" She exclaimed louder than she meant, pointing over Lincoln's shoulder.

Hiking June up further with his back straight, Lincoln broke out in a run towards the pair. "Octavia!" He greeted in shock, falling to his knees on the other side of her.

"Lincoln?" Octavia whispered, her eyes darting to June once she slid of Lincoln's back and seeing the arrow sticking out of her side. "Oh, God, June..."

June stumbled, leaning against a tree while cupping her side. Her hands became wet quickly with her own blood, but her knees felt strong enough to hold her up for now. She couldn't say the same for Octavia, seeing an arrow of her own sticking out of her upper thigh. But Lincoln and Octavia shared a tight embrace, the girl crying his name again into his shoulder.

"You did this?" Bellamy speaking up had June turning her head, seeing he was referring to the fight still going on behind them.

Nodding, June shifted into a more comfortable position. "Yeah. With Finn. He got the medicine to Clarke to save Raven."

The hug ended and Lincoln quickly scanned Octavia's injury. "It's deeper than hers," he announced, tilting his head to motion at June. "I can help you both, but you'll have to come with me now."

"No. No, not me," June insisted. "I'm not leaving Clarke or Raven. Just Octavia."

Octavia's head snapped to Bellamy, who was holding a deep stare with Lincoln. A mutual understanding passed between them without either of them having to talk. "Go," Bellamy finally told his sister. "Let him help."

"No way," Octavia argued. "I have to see this through."

"You can't walk, and I can only get one of you back to the dropship." Bellamy's voice broke, knowing he had to do this. June frowned, not fond of this either, but knowing the only way to save Octavia was to let Lincoln take her away for now.

Speaking with a softness June hadn't heard from him yet, Lincoln agreed. "He's right. This fight is over for you."

Groaning, Octavia's head fell back and thudded against the trunk. "O, listen to me." Bellamy leaned close, speaking in a loving brother tone that made June grimace a smile. "I told you my life ended the day you were born. The truth is... It didn't start until then." Octavia's lower lip trembled as she fought back tears. "Go with him," he directed. "I need you to live. Besides... I got this."

"I may have an arrow in my torso, but I'm with you, Bellamy," June interrupted before correcting him. "We got this."

Bellamy smiles over Octavia's shoulder from where he's holding her in a bruising hug. As she pulls away, she tells him; "I love you, big brother."

"May we meet again," Bellamy affirmed, the smile growing faint.

"May we meet again," Octavia replied in repetition.

When the moment they shared is over, Bellamy helps hoist Octavia into Lincoln's arms. He holds her tightly, close to her chest. June knew he would protect her with his life, as did Bellamy, all from the look of hard determination on his face. "Keep her safe," Bellamy commanded, and Lincoln nods in confirmation.

"Wait." Before Lincoln can leave and Bellamy can help her, June touched his bent arm. "Thank you." Up until now, she had been sure there was no good grounders. But Lincoln was, no matter how much she tried to get him to leave her behind, he still pulled her on his back and now was going to save Octavia. He betrayed his own people to help their enemy. A timid smile hidden under Lincoln's hard features appears, barely noticeable before he nods to June as well.

With Octavia's face scrunching up and tears sliding down her cheeks, Lincoln turns and runs away in the direction of somewhere much safer. June can hear her sobs even as he dashes in-between trees, and her heart wrenches at the sound, but Bellamy is at her side, and she knows it's time to move.

"Now to the wall!" A voice screams over the crowd, making June anxious, knowing they had managed to defeat the reapers and were heading for the dropship.

"We have to move, now!" Bellamy exclaimed, grabbing June's arm and pulling it over his neck. She manages to proceed forward faster, her muscles getting used to the sharp pain shooting up her torso, but he makes it bearable by letting her lean most of her weight on him.

Within seconds, the pair are in the middle of the battlefield. June can hear her friends and a few grounders shouting in pain, falling to the ground, but over it all, she hears Clarke scream. "Bellamy, June, run!" June catches the glimpse of her friend through the corner of her eyes, but it's gone when a grounder comes straight for them.

Bellamy kneels, swiping up a random gun and holding it forward one-handed. It takes three shots, but by the time the grounder is close enough, he manages to shoot him in the chest and send him hitting the ground, dead. But as soon as he's gone, another pops up, this one closer. He takes down June, who's grip falls out of Bellamy. She hits the ground, a scream tearing through her throat as she lands on her arrow wound, causing blood to smear into the ground.

June hears Clarke scream again. She hears Bellamy's gun click, signaling it's empty. She lets out a breath, falling slack and surrendering as a sword is held above her, hoping that for once, everyone else will win. Raven would survive, and the rest of her friends will make it out of this, even if she couldn't.

When June shuts her eyes, prepared to feel the tip of the sword dig into her chest, the pain never comes. Instead, a mild liquid falls on her, splattering her neck and upper chest. Her eyelids fly open in surprise, seeing the grounder bleeding from a deep slit in his neck. She scampers backward, her side screaming in protest as he falls to the side. June's head lifts to see Finn out of everyone, a gun in one hand and a knife dripping blood in the other. Bellamy was lifting himself off the ground, holding his throat and coughing like someone managed to pin and choke him nearly to death.

But there's no time to thank him. "Come on!" Finn shouted, helping Bellamy up. "We have to go, run! The rockets will blow any second!"

Pushing herself to her feet, June winced as she took a step forward towards the trees she had come from. From landing on her arrow injury, it only made it that much more worse, and Bellamy is the first to realize. He sucks in a deep breath to fill his lungs before bending, tucking one arm under June's legs and the other around her shoulders, sweeping her up in a tight hold. She stammered a protest, but it goes ignored as Bellamy bolts forward, following Finn deep into the woods with adrenaline running through his veins.

Just as June's arm wrapped around Bellamy's neck to hold her steady, her head falls back, her limbs swinging as she pants, forcing herself to stay awake. The last thing June hears when the white-hot pain becomes too much is the hum of rockets from the dropship firing up before her eyes shut and she falls limp in Bellamy's arms.

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END OF PART ONE.