THE UNDERGROUND / GXG (The 100)

4

After the Commander's healer, Nyko, took care of Zalia's arrow wound, they brought her the equipment she asked for but without the weapons. Lexa was hesitant to trusting her, but if what Zalia said was true, then this was a good plan. They were now on the Commander's conference room. Zalia was tied to a chair while Nyko took out the arrow of her thigh and tended her wounds. She have had a bit of time to look around while Nyko was cleaning her wounds. The room had a huge table that was surrounded by twenty two chairs. This must be where the Commander holds her meetings. Zalia grabbed the small screen and sent a message to her best friend: 'T, Gunner has Tondc. I need the grounders to take it back. Disable their equipments when I give you the signal.'.

"I sent the message." Zalia said to Lexa. "Gunner's men must be watching every movement in the underground, so we have to be discrete or they'll find out. I have a person inside whom I trust. She will help us out with disabling their equipment." Lexa nodded once she heard Zalia's words. "If you're lying, I'll kill you slowly and all of your people too," Lexa said. Zalia gulped and nodded.

****

Zalia's assumptions were true. Back at the underground, Gunner's men were alert. They were monitoring every corridor, making sure people were complying with Gunner's orders. The elevators were guarded, and no one could go out or come into the compound. They told everyone that the grounders had their Captain and that they were threatening to kill her if they didn't surrender. Gunner had convinced most of the people that what they were doing in Tondc had to be done. That it was the only way to get their Captain back. But T wasn't fooled. She acted like she agreed because she needed to keep the computers under her control. She was in charge of the command center and she knew that Gunner would arrest her if she refused to help. They have already captured some people that tried to stop the attempt on Tondc. So when she received Zalia's message, she knew she had done the right thing. T deleted the message and waited for Zalia's signal. She couldn't even risk talking to Zalia's mentor Osias, or Zalia's sister Marian. T knew the guards would be watching their every move.

****

Lexa had discussed the plan with her generals and they knew it was a risky move. But it was either to trust the underground's leader or to watch her people at Tondc die. She wasn't just gonna set Zalia free because they threatened her to do so. It was not guaranteed that even if she let Zalia go, they would keep their word. So here they were, a few kilometers away from Tondc, 17 hours early to the time Gunner was expecting them. The Commander was accompanied by three of her generals, and a fourth of her army. Four guards were in charge of keeping Zalia from escaping or trying anything. So she stood there with her wrists tied and her small screen on her hands while she typed a message to T. 'EMP'. That was enough for T to understand that she wanted for her to disable every electronic equipment nearby. When Zalia saw her screen go dark she smiled and nodded to the Commander who gave the order to her warriors. They moved in quickly and threw the three smoke grenades that Zalia had given them, inside the biggest tent in Tondc. That's where they have seen Gunner and his team sleeping.

One of Gunner's guards came out and a grounder took him out before he could make much noise. Zalia was forced to watch from a distance but for what she saw, everything was going according to plan. It was a bit weird that Gunner hadn't set a perimeter outside of Tondc, but that didn't matter now. The grounders managed to quickly free their people while some other warriors apprehended Gunner and his men while they were sleeping. Once the whole mission was over, Gunner and his men were taken to Polis along with Zalia.

From a tree in the distance, Marian watched her sister being pulled by grounder guards back to Polis. Being the Captain's sister was difficult, and this was one of the reasons why. To see her sister in so much pain was heartbreaking to her. Ever since she was a kid, Marian remembered her sister to be determined, confident in her abilities and knowledge. And this was no exception. Even when this whole mission was not exactly going how they planned, she still saw her sister fighting off every fear. Marian's helmet opened up in a swift motion, and she wiped a few tears away with the back of her hand. She couldn't dare to make any contact, that would ruin the mission. But that didn't mean she wasn't tempted. She could open fire and set free her sister, but the consequences would be catastrophic. She was already breaking the rules by being there. Not that she wasn't used to bending the rules, but it was time to go back to the Underground. So she closed up her helmet once more and headed back home.

When Marian walked through the doors, Echo was waiting for her. "You were following her, weren't you?" Echo said as she followed Marian who was headed to leave her equipment. Marian stayed silent as she started to take off her weapons and holsters. "Your sister left specific instructions, Marian. You know what the consequences could be if you got caught. Not only by the grounders. What if the maunon (mountain men) captured you?" Echo said with concern in her voice. She had slowly become Marian's best friend. When Marian found her running through the woods, escaping from Azgeda (Ice Nation), she saved her life.

Echo had no idea of where she would go when the King banished her. She knew the other clans wouldn't take her in. They wouldn't just take in an Azgeda spy. So she set out to find a cave where she could survive. But when she saw she was being followed by at least a dozen Azgeda warriors, she knew she couldn't take her time to leave Azgeda. She had to run. That was when Marian found her and took her to the Underground. Zalia was not very happy about that. Her sister had been exploring without her permission, and now she brought an Azgeda spy into the Underground. But something in her made her believe Echo's story. Maybe it was because it was similar to her parents' stories. So she decided to let her stay. And now Echo had become one of Zalia's most trusted warriors.

"What if the Boudalan (Rock People) captured you, Marian?" Echo said as she stood in front of Marian, blocking her way. Marian sighed and took off her helmet not looking at Echo. When Echo saw her bloodshot eyes she knew that she had been crying. "You were worried..." Echo said, understanding Marian's recklessness. Marian looked at Echo with a sad smile which caused Echo to hug her. "Why didn't you tell me?" Marian shrugged and Echo pulled away from the hug to look at her. "Next time, you tell me and I'll go with you. Deal?" Marian smiled a bit and nodded. "Deal."

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I need more Echo and Marian scenes 🥺