I stood frozen in place, my heart pounding in my ears as my breath became ragged.
It couldn't be him. This couldn't be Bellamy standing in front of me right now.
But it was his face, his voice, his smile...but Bellamy was dead.
This had happened once before. He had miraculously appeared after all of us thinking he was dead...but I couldn't believe that something such as that could happen twice. Clarke had been so sure he was dead, so sure she had killed him.
So for that reason, my gun stayed raised, pointed directly at the man I loved. This couldn't be him, it had to be some kind of trick Cadogan was playing on me. It couldn't be Bellamy.
Bellamy- or the mind trick who look exactly like him- took a small step toward me, his face falling. "Baby, it's me."
My chest heaved more rapidly with each breath as I locked my jaw, still not wavering. I couldn't let my guard down. "That's impossible."
His eyes met mine, and I felt myself falter slightly...it looked so much like him.
He placed his hands out in front of him, trying to calm me down. "Ave, please believe me. It's really me."
I readjusted my grip on the gun. "Prove it."
He didn't look offended by my words, as if he had been expecting my uneasiness. "Okay." He whispered, giving me a small nod. "Okay."
My focus stayed locked on him as he lowered his hands slightly, preparing to speak. "Your favourite colour is green." He started, his eyes not leaving my own. "But not the bright green. You love the colour green like the trees and the moss. You never realized how much you loved it until we got down to Earth."
What he was saying was entirely true...but it wasn't enough yet.
I didn't move as he kept going. "You have two scars from being shot. One on your right leg, just above the knee. The other on your stomach, just over from your hip bone."
When I still didn't lower the gun, he continued once again. "You have a small scar above your left eyebrow, from when you were six. Your brother accidentally pushed you into the corner of a table. And you broke your wrist when you were eight. It never set properly, so it still hurts you sometimes."
My breathing was becoming more rapid as he continued on. These were things that I had never told anyone except him. But could they have stolen his memories, were they capable of that?
"That bracelet you always wear, it was your brother's. You took it off of him the night he died. You've worn it ever since. And the necklace. Finn gave it to you a bit before you got locked up. It's where you kept the ring I gave you when we were broken up. You never take it off either. Your brother was your best friend...and when you two were nine, you made up your own language so your parents couldn't understand you."
My heart clenched at his words. Memories of my childhood and of my brother that I had told him on late nights when I couldn't sleep. Nights when he held me after a nightmare. Nights when we laid together, our limbs tangled and our words quiet.
It was really him. It had to be.
Despite the shift of recognition in my face, he kept going.
"I called you Sunshine when we first got down to Earth. My little Sunshine. I loved you the minute I laid eyes on you. But you were the one to make the first move." His face flickered with a small smile. "You kissed me before a group of us left to unjam the radio signal that amount Weather was blocking. You couldn't come because of your leg."
Everything he was saying was accurate, down to the finest details.
"You want lots of kids." he pressed on. "But are terrified of giving birth."
"And you always try to think the best of everyone. You trust them until they prove you wrong. That works to your disadvantage sometimes, but yet you still do it. You did it with me, even though I was horrible, you gave me a chance. That night we went hunting and got stuck in the cave with Charlotte...you saw through my tough exterior...you were the first to do that."
I held his gaze, my face twitching slightly. He remembered every little thing I had said in passing, every detail about my life.
"It's me, Avery. It's really me. And I'm so sorry for the pain I put you through. But I'm here now. I'm here and I love you so much."
I didn't run to him like he expected. But I did lower the gun, letting it rest by my side as tears sprung from my eyes. It seemed that all the tears I had been holding in were finally breaking free.
Sobs shook my body as Bellamy took a step forward, his face lack in sadness. "Avery—"
"Don't." I cried, shying away from his touch. I held my hand out in front of me as I shook my head. I was confused, heartbroken, relieved, angry and scared.
I was terrified that the minute I found solace in his presence, he would somehow leave me one again.
"You died." I whispered, my voice barely strong enough to speak the words. "You left me and--"
The words fell silent in my throat as Bellamy pulled me toward him. My gun clattered to the floor as my arms snaked around his waist. He was here...and he was real.
"I'm so sorry." He whispered, pressing his face into the top of my head. "I'm so so sorry."
My tears soaked his shirt and for a moment I wanted nothing more than to stay like that forever. If I didn't let go, he couldn't leave me again.
But I knew I had to. The rest of our friends needed us.
It was then, for the first time since I saw him, that I considered the fact that maybe he still wasn't on our side. He was real, but that didn't mean he was loyal.
"How are you here?" I demanded, pulling away from him so quickly I could see his face fall in disappointment. "How are you alive."
He cracked a small grin. "Clarke's a lousy shot."
I shook my head. "Okay so if she didn't kill you, what are you doing in here? Why did you kill that guard? What happened to Disciple Blake?" I quipped, the initial shock slowly subsiding.
His face was gentle, as if he had expected me to ask all of these questions. "It's a long story...but after Cadogan realized I wasn't on his side anymore, he locked me up. Octavia and Clarke found me and released me...I was on my way to you in Sanctum, that's why I'm in here."
"They're okay?" I asked hopefully.
He nodded. "Raven too."
His face then faltered slightly as if he remembered everything that was going on. "We need to go." He grabbed onto my hand, ready to pull me from the room.
"Wait!" I demanded, pulling him back slightly. "Bell, you need to tell me what's going on."
There was a small part of me that feared that he was still under Cadogan's control, but the largest part trusted him. There was something in my heart that told me this was the real Bellamy- the one I loved.
A small sigh fell from his lips as I turned back to look at me. "Cadogan was right...there is a final cataclysmic event that decides the fate of the human race. But it's not a war."
I felt panic rush through me. "What is it?"
"It's a test." He answered, his eyes flickering downward for a moment. "Cadogan took the code from Madi's head."
My heart dropped. "Is she okay?"
I could tell by the look on Bellamy's face that the answer was no.Tears pricked at my eyes and I did my best to push them away. I could mourn for our fallen friends after everyone else had been saved.
"So we have to stop him." I declared, bending down to scoop up my gun.
Bellamy began pulling me to the door once again. "Raven and Clarke are handling that. We need to go...the others need our help."
"What's going on out there?" I demanded, my hand still clutched in his as we reached the exit.
"A war."
My eyes grew wide as he pushed open the door, pulling me along with him. "What?"
As we emerged into the hallway, I was met with three figures who were on guard, apparently waiting for us.
Much to my relief, the three figures were Octavia, Levitt and Echo.
"Took you long enough." Echo muttered, shooting Bellamy a raised brow expression.
I let out a small breath as I shook my head. "That was my fault...I had some questions. And honestly, I still have about a million."
Levitt looked like he was on edge. "All you need to know, is that right now, there's a war brewing outside. If we don't stop it and Clarke fails to stop the test, the Transcendents send GEM9."
"Transcendents?" I repeated, not understanding what was happening.
He nodded. "The goal of the human race is to transcend. But if we fail...we all die."
A shudder tore through me at the thought of GEM9. The thing that killed Diyoza with a single drop...it would surely kill us all.
"Okay." I breathed, giving Levitt a small nod. "So what do we do?"
He let out a deep breath, gripping onto the gun in his hand like it was the only thing keeping him standing. "I don't know. We'll figure that out when we get there."
Octavia gave a small nod. "Levitt, on me. Let's go!"
As the group took off down the hall, Bellamy grabbed onto me to stop me from following them instantly. "Do not leave my side." He ordered sternly. "Not even for a minute. Do you hear me?"
I wanted to snipe back a smart remark for the way he was speaking to me like I was a child, but I really couldn't argue with his logic. The last time I left his side it was catastrophic.
"Okay." I finally agreed, my eyes locked with his. "But you have to promise not to die for a third time." I ordered. "Because if you do, I'm coming with you."
Bellamy gave me a small smile as he pressed a quick- but gentle- kiss to my lips. "I promise."
-an-
YOU GUYS REALLY THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO KILL OFF BELL FOR GOOD?? NEVER.
I was going to make this chapter way longer but I know all of you wanted to know what happened next so I decided to break it up and post this now
our babies are back together and I could not be happier.
i know their reunion was rushed because of the whole fate of the human race thing, but at least they're together!!