We're in this together, no matter what

Chapter 34

Clarkes pov
"Everything okay?" I asked octavia
"I've been going over it and over it in my head, just trying to figure out how you're still alive." Octavia said
"What are you talking about?"
"I saw you in Tondc before the missile hit. I know you, Clarke. Something was wrong. And then you and Lexa disappear and just happen to survive. Tell me you didn't know it was coming."
"Octavia..."
"You let all those people die. You were gonna let me die."
"Hey. I did it to save Bellamy. So that we could win this war. Don't you see that? If we'd evacuated Tondc, Mount Weather would've known that someone tipped us off. They would have found your brother."
"No. Bellamy would have never told you to do that. He would've found another way."
"I couldn't take that risk."
"Right. Because you're in charge now, and you decide who is disposable. You'd have fit right in on the council." Octavia said moving away from me
"Hey. Octavia."
"What?" She said stopping
"You can't tell anyone. If people found out--"
"The alliance will break. I'm not an idiot, Clarke."
"Commander." Octavia said as she passed lexa
"Octavia" lexa said walking over to me
"She won't say anything." I said
"You can't be sure of that. Too many people know, Clarke."
"You worry about your people, I'll worry about mine."

Bellamy's pov
"Vincent, I need your help." I said
"It's all over the radio. They know about you. Did anyone see you come here?"
"No. Been keeping to the vents and unmonitored halls, like you said."
"Vincent." A guy said walking up to us
"It's okay! Lee's with us." Vincent said
"Dante was like a father to me. Some of us don't agree with Cage's agenda." Lee said
"Where's Jasper, Monty, and Maya?" I asked
"They're okay. Thanks to Lee, we moved them to a wing that's already been searched."
"Isn't that a risk?" I said
"We had no choice. They've gone public with what happened on level five. They're saying you killed ten soldiers. I don't know how much longer we can keep this shell game going. Did you take out the acid fog yet?" Vincent asked
"No. No. That's why I'm here. I'm gonna need another route." I said
"Way ahead of you. You can get there through the retrofit zones. They're off limits. No cameras, no patrols. We used some to move the kids. And that's your other route. You're also gonna need this. An acetylene torch. Go to the NorthWest corridor." Vincent said

Clarkes pov
"You sent him to kill Octavia? I told you she's not a problem." I said to lexa talking about how she sent Ryder to kill octavia
"Leave us." Lexa said
"No. I'm not letting him out of my sight." I said
"Stand down for now and wait for my command." Lexa said to Ryder
"What the hell is wrong with you? You can't just kill everyone you don't trust." I said
Yes I can."
"Well, I won't let you."
"You were willing to let her die two days ago. Nothing has changed."
"You're wrong. I have. I can't do this anymore."
"Octavia is a threat. If you weren't so close to her, you'd see that."
"It's because I'm close to her that I know she's loyal. Her brother is more important to her than anyone. She would never endanger his life."
And you're willing to risk everything on that? On your feelings?"
"Yes. You say having feelings makes me weak. But you're weak for hiding from them. I might be a hypocrite, Lexa, but you're a liar. You felt something for Gustus. You're still haunted by Costia. You want everyone to think you're above it all, but I see right through you."
"Get out."
Two hundred and fifty people died in that village. I know you felt for them. But you let them burn."
"Not everyone. Not you."
"Well, if you care about me, then-- trust me. Octavia's not a threat."
"I can't do that."
"I can't sacrifice my people anymore. If you do anything to hurt Octavia, I'll tell everyone we knew about the missile."

Ravens pov
"Any machine like that has to have safeguards. They can't keep a boatload of acid around without any way to neutralize it. It's basic safety protocol. Let's use that." Wick said
"Neutralization is too complicated." I said
"Please. It's a bag of limestone in the corner."
"Here you go again-- big ideas with no follow-through."
"I'll have you know I have great follow-through."
"Come in, Raven. I made it. I hope you have a plan." Bellamy said on the radio
"Still working on it. Give us something to go on. What do you see?" I said
"A huge steel vat. Looks like a submarine. Some other tanks with chemical formulas and warning labels. Bunch of pipes running into the wall. Monitor. " Bellamy said
"Ooh, go to the monitor." Wick said
"Hello to you, too." Bellamy said
"Don't mind Wick. He's not really helping." I said
"Hey, Bellamy. How's my boy Monty doing?" Wick asked
"Fine. But I don't know for how long." Bellamy said
"Great. Pleasantries over. Listen, if that monitor is a control panel, we can use it to kill this thing. Look for a pH scale." Wick said
"Right. It has a scale, but the rest... uh. S-3, V-2-O-5, H-2-S-2-O-7. Look, can I just blow this thing?" Bellamy said
"No, they'll know their defenses are down. They'll send a tech to fix it or reroute it or pull out some other weapon we don't even know about." Wick said
"Plus, you'd probably melt your face off. Look, you know I like a good explosion, but we gotta think our way through this one. We can do this. Here we go." I said
"Okay, uh... level indicator." Bellamy said
"Nope." Wick said
"Do you see an actuator anywhere?" I asked
"I have no idea what that is." Bellamy said
"Come on, what else." Wick said
"Internal pressure sensor." Bellamy said
"No." Wick said
"Uh, setpoint and alarm." Bellamy said
"Let's avoid that one." Wick said
"Maintenance and cleaning." Bellamy said
"Wait. Corrosion. The protective oxide film would have to be restored in tanks this old. They'd need to be cleaned." I said
"And neutralized. Bellamy, go to that subdirectory. See if there's anything there that says 'passivation'." Wick said
"Okay, I'm on it. Got it. Says, uh, 'aqueous sodium hydroxide bath.'" Bellamy said
"That's a base. That'll neutralize the acid. Select that."wick said
"It's doing something." Bellamy said
"You should be able to hear the pump." I said
"I can hear them. Needle's moving. pH is rising." Bellamy said
"It's working." Wick said
"Passivation successful" Bellamy said
"Yes!" Wick said
"Yes!" I said. Wick and I hug.
"All right. Send a flare." Bellamy said
"Roger that." I said