Bellamy saw her brown eyes close and the breath that left his lips was a quiver. He shook her body gently, but rough enough to wake her. "Stay with me, Athena, you have to stay with me."
Her eyes slowly opened again, and she was weakly breathing through her nose. "I'm a lost cause, Bellamy."
"Stop." He growled, words that not long ago Aslan had said as well. They were so similar in some weird way that Athena couldn't quite put her finger on. But there was something about Bellamy that was different, brighter. She adored his passion for humanity, and his willingness to try and always see the right from the wrong. Her and Aslan were different from Bellamy, but that was the world that they grew up in. They were the people they were because of their harsh lives and environment. Bellamy was softer, and perhaps that was what Athena had been looking for the entire time. Someone to counterbalance her own rough shell.
"Abby and Clarke are here." Bellamy said, hoping that it would make a difference.
Abby, beautiful in her age, had wide eyes, though Athena did not think it was from the sight she was seeing now, but what she saw in Mount Weather. Whatever happened, Athena was glad she was stuck out here rather than still in there. The woman crouched down beside Bellamy and Athena, unwrapping the binds that Aslan had put on earlier. Just the gentle touch of skin pained her now, but she made no evidence that she was hurting. It would only delay the bad news.
"She needs surgery." Abby said gently, "It would take us at least three hours to get her back to the Arc, she wouldn't survive the travel."
It was what Athena expected to hear, but it still hurt deep down that she would not get to spend more time with Bellamy. It seemed as though their time together had been cut remarkably short. However, it was better that it was her, not him, who was suffering this end. She couldn't bear to watch him die, as he was doing to her. Both he and Aslan were still alive, well, and unharmed physically. That went a long way for Athena, and even soothed the transition as she felt the life slipping away from her. She never knew dying would take so long, and she wished it would hurry up. She must have been shot just in right place; slow, agonizing and painful death, but still not a good enough shot to just kill her on the spot. Maybe that was the intent; Lexa wanted her to die slow for what she had done. But now everyone knew what Lexa had done, and in time, it might come back to her.
It was a thought Athena would hold on to until she died, but never know. Once she was gone, she knew that there was nothing else. Just blackness, emptiness, cold, dark death. It was soothing to know that once it was over, it was over. There was no afterlife to endure, no way of looking down and seeing all your loved ones die as well, you didn't have to suffer that pain. Because pain ends when life ends.
Everything ends.
"Aslan," Athena began, her voice raspy and sickening to hear. "You are the s-strongest person I know. I love that about you, I love that I got to spend a short life time with you. You said you would always wait for me, but I'm going now... It's time to stop waiting. It's time to be who you are, without me to change that. You truly are my sweetest friend, and I love who you are."
Aslan nodded, by this point having accepted that his former mate was not going to be returning with him to the desolate, cold mountain. He knew that it would seem more bitter, colder, harsher without her. Someone else could sooth the pain and mend the wound in time, but no matter how strong he was, he would never fully recover from Athena's death. She could see his muscles flex as he bit back any emotion; she was glad she didn't have to see him break down. She never had, and she never would. He would remain utterly unbreakable in her mind as she died.
"Athena, stop." Bellamy's words were more broken than anything Athena had ever heard. "Can't we bring her to Mount Weather? It's right there... they have medical supplies, more than on the Arc."
"Bellamy," Athena began, ignoring his pleas and not letting anyone speak in case she didn't get these words out. She felt weaker by the seconds, and she needed to tell Bellamy how she felt.
"I won't give up on you."
"I thought that the tough, hard shelled person that I was could be the only version of me. I thought that if I stayed cold and bitter, never letting anyone in, I would remain strong. While that is true, I didn't know that there can be two sides to every person, and that they can coincide. You taught me that. You showed me mercy, you showed me that a person can open up and let someone in, let them investigate and learn all your weakness. As long as you trusted them, you could truly break down to your most vulnerable and let them in. You showed me something I didn't know I was capable of feeling; you showed me compassion, mercy, joy, passion..."
"You're wasting your energy."
"Bellamy..." She closed her eyes, putting all her strength into her words, but she was unable to get those last few words out. The life that she had fought so hard to keep faded from her in a split second, the words, the emotion, the pain, the feelings... It all slipped away from her, leaving a body limp in Bellamy's arms.
"Athena...?" Bellamy felt her go limp. He felt the life slip from her body.
Aslan stepped forward, but reconsidered. He had accepted Athena's death, having held her for hours before Bellamy arrived. He dropped his head, shut his eyes tight, and felt the pain shudder through him at such immense levels, he thought he might throw up. He had lost so many people before, but never before had he lost someone he loved.
"No..." Bellamy whispered, tears sliding down from his eyes. "NO! No! No!"
His cries of pain would forever haunt the forest, and those who had heard them. He hunched over her dead body, screaming, as if it would bring her back from the dead. His arms clutched around her shoulders, and he shuddered, shaking her, trying to rouse her as if she were in a deep sleep. He knew that she was gone, but he couldn't allow it. Not yet, not after they had finally won the war and could finally get to know each other. He knew so little about the warrior, only that she was the strongest person he had ever met.
After what seemed like hours, everyone was still standing around, trying to grasp what had just happened. Bellamy finally found his words again, and croaked out what he had always wanted to tell Athena, but never mustered up the courage to do so. "I love you, Athena."
She would never say it back.
OH fuck I'm horrible. Absolutely HORRIBLE. I must admit, I got shivers writing this final chapter, and almost got a bit teary. I hope I get some tears from you guys, or some hate mail. Death threats? I wouldn't be surprised. Anyone who has read anything from me knows that I don't like happy endings, and when I do write them, they are usually pretty bittersweet. I made my last The 100 story too chipper, and I thought this to be a more fitting end for Athena. Epilogue will either be up in an hour, or later today. Keep an eye out for it!