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chapter twenty-four, Option

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TWO POLIS GUARDS ARE MANNING THE ELEVATOR SHAFT. Pike guns one of them both down and Iris snatches Nova's sword out her hand and launches her sword through the air and hits the other guard right in the chest.

"Hey! I told you, that is not how we're doing this" Bellamy states grabbing Pikes arm. Nova rushes up the dead grounder and retrieves her sword out of his chest. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Nova asks as she turns around and looks at Iris.

"They were in the way" Iris declares, catching her breath and shrugging her shoulders with no care in the world.

"These people are not our enemy. They're being controlled by A.L.I.E. and we can save them" Bellamy argues and Iris shrugs her shoulders not caring. Fio brushes past her and scoffs.

"How could you do that? I knew them! They were your people at one point" Fio shouts in anger and Iris's face softens as she looks at her angry brother.

"There's going to be a lot more of these people if we don't move. Let's do this" Miller states and Indra nods putting her sword away. "I'll bring it down" Indra says as she starts turning the wheel to bring the elevator down.

"Once we're up, you blow the elevator and then climb. Destroy the ladder behind us" Bellamy says and Nova nods as she walks over to Indra and helps her turn the wheel.

"You do realize we don't have a way down, right?" Murphy says as him and Bellamy enter the elevator.

"That's a different problem for another day Murphy" Nova says as catches her breath.

"Are you joining us, Octavia?" Bellamy asks and Octavia shakes her head as she looks over at Pike. "If anything goes wrong down here, they'll need my help. We got this" Octavia reassures Bellamy as the elevator doors shut.

"Push. Push" Pike orders and Fio and Octavia rush over to help them push the wheel.

"Push!" Pike shouts and Octavia can't keep her eyes off Pike and not in a good way. She looks at him like she wants to kill him on sight. The same way Nova looks at Iris ever since she confessed to killing Naira.

All of a sudden Kane enters the tunnel and shoots in their direction, one of the bullets coming into contact with Pike. They all stop turning the wheel and looks to Kane holding a gun. "Kane?" Nova questions as she pulls her sword out.

Iris hides behind the wall while Nova and Octavia knock down Kane, Octavia putting her sword to his neck.

"This isn't you, Kane. I'm sorry" Indra recalls as she walks over and kicks Kane in the face, knocking him out.

"Back on the wheel" Pike orders as he stands to his weak from the gunshot wound but still powers thorough it.

Iris rushes over to help along with Fio and Nova as Indra and Octavia keep an eye on Pike. They start turning the wheel when another grounder shows up down the hall.

"Over Here! they're at the wheel" The grounder yells and Nova widens her eyes trying to turn the wheel as fast as she can.

"We are about to have company. We got to hurry this up now!" Nova shouts as the small group turns the wheel together. Bryan stands to his feet and sighs.

"You want to bet? We need to seal the corridor. Nate..." Bryan says as he hands Miller a 5 second bomb and Miller takes it rushes to the corridor.

"Take cover!" Miller yells and Fio rushes to Nova and pushes her to the ground as the bomb goes off and pieces of the building go flying everywhere. "They've got to be almost there. Keep pushing!" Pike shouts as Nova and Fio stand to their feet slowly.

Fio and Indra rush over to help Pike turn the wheel as Iris stands behind the wall covering her face in fear. Nova stomps over to her and stands her to her feet.

"Listen, we have to help each other right now" Nova says as she takes her cross bow off her back and hands it to Iris. "You taught me how to use it so use it and fight with us!" Nova shouts and Iris takes the cross bow and looks to Nova and nods her head.

She prepares to use the cross bow and looks around to make sure no grounders are coming. "Nova! They're coming" Iris warns and Nova wiping the sweat off her face with her jacket sleeve and looks over to Indra.

"Indra, we have to hurry they are on their way!" Nova shouts as Octavia looks up the elevator shaft.

"They're at the top" Octavia says and Nova nods her head. "Let's go. We set the bomb and climb" Bryan says stand to his feet holding his arm which was shot. Miller takes the bomb from Bryan and sets it up.

"30 seconds" Miller warns and Nova allows Octavia to go first, and she begins to climb the ladder.

"Come on Nova" Fio urges as he makes sure Nova gets on the ladder safely and proceeds to go on after her. Everyone is now on the ladder and Nova and Octavia are at the top, but Nova looks down and notices Indra isn't on.

"Wait, Indra!" Nova shouts but gets no answer back. "Kane get back!" Nova hears Indra yell. The bomb goes off and Nova widens her eyes.

"Indra!" Nova shouts. "Indra!" Fio also calls out, looking down.

"We have to keep going!" Pike shouts and demands accordingly. Meanwhile, Nova looks up at Octavia who continues to climb. Once they climbed to the top Bellamy and Murphy helped them up.

"Where's Clarke?" Nova asks as she wipes down her pants and wipes the sweat off her forehead.

"Uh-- can I come too?" Pike asks as he holds onto his gunshot wound. Bellamy hesitantly nods and Bellamy starts walking forward while Pike and Nova follow behind him.

Bellamy opens the door to the throne room and notices Clarke comforting Abby, and he immediately points his gun at her. "Hey, no! It's okay! I used the EMP. She's back" Clarke defends as she pushes her mothers' hair back soothingly.

Nova's gaze shifted to the rope hanging from the ceiling and then to Ontari lying motionless on the ground, black blood pooling around her head. The sight was jarring, but she forced herself to look away, focusing instead on Clarke. She walked over and knelt beside her, offering a gentle smile.

"Are you okay?" Nova asked, her eyes lingering on the cuts and bruises marring Clarke's chest.

Clarke wiped away her tear-streaked face and nodded. "I'm okay," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

Nova nodded back and stood up, her expression hardening. "What about Ontari? I thought you said we had one shot with that thing," Murphy said, pointing at Ontari's lifeless body.

"Is she dead?" Iris asked as she entered the room, her voice tense with concern.

"She's brain dead," Clarke answered, gently laying her mother down and rising to her feet. "Ontari is no longer an option for the Flame."

Iris stepped forward cautiously. "So, I am an option," she said, her voice filled with determination.

"No, you are not," Nova snapped, shaking her head in disbelief.

Iris glared at Nova. "Ontari is basically dead. Do you see another Nightblood lying around? No! You only hate me because I killed Naira. A little girl you knew for three months! She's gone! I did what I had to do!" she shouted, her voice rising with each word.

Nova stared at Iris, her eyes filled with a mix of anger and sorrow. "That 'little girl' was everything to me. I saw myself in her. And you lied to my face, made it seem like you had nothing to do with Naira's death when you... you had everything to do with it because you killed her. You are not an option for the Flame, so stop asking," Nova stated firmly, her voice trembling.

The room fell into a heavy silence, the tension palpable. Iris cleared her throat and uncrossed her arms. "Well then," she muttered, looking around before leaving the room.

"Nova," Clarke called out, reaching towards her.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Let's get back to the conversation. Please," Nova said, her voice cracking as she sniffled, trying her hardest not to cry.