─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

THE THING WAS, THEY COULDN'T MOURN. They had to cut their loses and let go. Maya still had tear stained cheeks, but they had to put her in an oxygen suit so they could move her to a safer level, one without guards. Riley tried to block the image of Vincent's body out of her head, but it was there. The grief of the situation hurt, but she couldn't help but think if she was next. Seeing it made Riley know what her fate was, when Cage or a guard caught her.

Maya took quiet yet deep breaths through the suit, and Riley looked at her in concern. "Hey," she said softly so no one else could hear as they walked, gently nudging her best friend to get her attention. She knew how Maya felt. Losing one of your parents was a horrible, aching pain, but losing them both was an emotion that was worse, it couldn't even be explained. "We're family," she promised her as they neared the door, and remembering what Maya had told her when her own parents died. "You're not alone in this." Giving Riley a small, sad smile, Maya nodded in a reply.

"I love you, Maya," Riley told her honestly. "You're my best friend."

"I love you too," Maya said, her voice slightly muffled from the mask covering her and keeping her breathing, but still full of honesty. "And you're mine as well."

The conversation between them was stopped when Bellamy swung the door to their destination open. The small group poured out, Bellamy being the first when calling out the name 'Octavia!' and embracing a pretty girl that looked like an outsider.

Riley, unsure of this stranger, stood in front of Maya. The girl, Octavia, as Bellamy called her, released him after the tight hold and looked at Jasper and Monty with a grin. Despite the threatening war paint on her face, she looked happy. "I knew it," she stated. "You two are too scrawny to drill!" She teased, before pulling Monty first into a hug and then Jasper.

When Octavia finished, she turned back around and finally saw both Riley and Maya, two unfamiliar girls. She looked hesitant, even taking a step back, as if they would strike. "It's all right," Jasper assured her. "They're with us."

"Been working to save your people," Riley told her, figuring that Octavia wasn't an outsider if the others knew her so well, considering that she was from space like the rest.

"How are you breathing right now?" Octavia asked, ignoring her statement, and looking Riley up and down wearily.

The question, that Riley figured she'd hear for awhile from anyone she came across, made her flinch when the memories hit her. "Yeah, um.. The treatment," she answered, rubbing the back of her neck, and slowly becoming uncomfortable from Octavia's sharp looks. "The treatment they made me take," she corrected herself.

Bellamy stepped aside, and another girl stepped forward. Riley had recognized her as Clarke, the one who escaped after having every reason not to trust Mount Weather. "Clarke!" Jasper exclaimed, rushing forward and throwing his arms around her. Monty joined him, pressing his chest against Jasper's back and hugging her too. The blonde smiled, hugging her two friends with grateful tears in her eyes.

Clarke looked past the pair of boys shoulders to meet Maya and Riley's gaze. She smiled at them, and mouthed the words 'thank you'. Riley nodded back, understanding what she meant. Suddenly, a loud beeping came from Maya's oxygen tank. Confused, Riley turned and picked up the timer hanging from the tank and her eyes widened when reading it. "Thirty minutes," she announced, her voice laced with fear.

"What?" Jasper asked, stepping forward. "That can't be right, we just changed it.. It's her last tank," he told the others, gripping Maya's arms gently to keep her calm.

"Hey, we'll find you another one," Clarke said, stepping forward.

Maya shook her head. "All the supplemental oxygen is on level five," she told them. "Five isn't safe for any of us."

An idea suddenly hit Riley, thinking of what had happened earlier when Maya's tank almost ran out for the first time. "The trash chute," she suggested, looking from Monty to Jasper. "We can take it again, get her safe."

"We can do this," Jasper encouraged them. "We'll split up."

"Okay," Octavia agreed. "You guys go for Dante," she told Bellamy, Clarke, and Monty. "We'll help Maya." The all nodded in acceptance at the proposal. Octavia unsheathed her sword, and one by one they made their way back through the door.

-x-

The sound of Maya gasping for air echoed in Riley's ears as they climbed up the chute. Jasper led them, with Maya behind him, then Riley behind her and Octavia at the end. The garbage chute smelled, badly, but it was worth it. This was probably the highest point Riley had been these last few days. Jasper swung open the door, showing them into Level Five, and quickly stepped out. "We have to hurry, she's out of air," he rushed them.

Jasper gave Maya a hand, helping her out, as she breathed more shallowly and heavily. Riley crawled out next, firmly planting her feet on the ground and holding out her hand to Octavia and pulling her through. "Close the door!" Riley exclaimed; Octavia quickly slamming the door shut.

Maya ripped off her mask, tilting her head back and breathing loudly in a gasp. She looked up, giving Jasper a small smile, breathless. "Time to spare."

"She's safe, could we go now?" Octavia asked, looking both ways to see if there was any guards nearby. If they were caught, it was all over. They were already in trouble, since the outsiders abandoned them.

However, Jasper shook his head to Octavia in protest. "I'm not leaving you," he said to Maya stubbornly, narrowing his eyes when Octavia gave him a pointed look. "She's alive, but she's not safe."

"He's right," Riley agreed. "Cage knows that we helped you guys. He's on the same level as us, he'll kill us both."

It was silent, of them thinking of something that could save them all, before Jasper finally spoke up. "Then we'll kill Cage." Riley thought back to them causing Dr. Tsing's death, and having no regrets. Cage was no better than her, he was even worse. They both deserved it, especially if it was down to him over them. Riley nodded, giving her consent and input to do so.

Octavia nodded as well. "I'm in."

-x-

After finding Sergeant Lee, who was a Mount Weather guard on their side of the rebellion, Riley watched as Jasper embraced Maya. She wanted to take time to smile to herself, because Maya was her best friend. Seeing her happy, and falling in love with their friend, made Riley herself happy. But they were in the middle of a war, one where the enemy was losing, and one where she was a traitor with a death sentence over her head.

The second Sergeant Lee saw Octavia, dressed completely like an outsider despite being apart of The Ark, he quickly raised his gun at her in warning. "Wait!" Riley shouted in a whisper as to not alert anyone, putting her hand on his arm and forcing him to lower it. "Put it down! She's not an outsider."

Octavia narrowed her eyes at them both, her sword clutched tightly in her hands. "Yes, she is," she argued.

"She's with us," Riley corrected herself.

"Cage is in the dorms," Maya cut in quickly, informing the group. "They brought another group in from The Ark, for more marrow. They're not even trying to fix the broken dam," she explained.

Shaking her head, Riley looked over at her best friend. "They don't need to, they won't need this place anymore soon," she spoke. "They're getting ready to go on the ground."

"How many soldiers are with Cage?" Jasper asked, thinking deeply, sliding the strap hanging on his gun off and handing it to Maya.

"Uh, six," Sergeant Lee answered in confusion. "Why?"

"Just get me close," Jasper told him. "They'll be happy you found another eight doses." He couldn't bring a gun, otherwise he'd be disarmed, Riley realized. If they were going to kill their new President, this was how. Out of all of them, Jasper had the biggest chance of getting close enough to kill him. "I need a, um.." He looked back and forth motioning with his hands.

Catching on quickly, Octavia whipped a knife out of her pocket and towards his direction. "Aim for the throat," she instructed him. "Slash. Don't stab. Make it deep."

Jasper nodded back, giving Octavia a silent thank you. He took the knife, and tucked it into the waistband of his jeans and covered the handle with his shirt to make sure that it was not noticeable to anyone. Sergeant Lee pulled out his handcuffs and clicked them against Jasper's wrist to be assured he looked like a prisoner that he was bringing in. "I hope you know what you're doing," he told the other.

"Me too," Jasper agreed in a mumble under his breath, unsure of himself.

Riley frowned, looking at Jasper seriously. Even if he couldn't actually kill Cage, he had to believe that he could, otherwise they were going to loose. This was the last shot that they had at winning. "Hey," she spoke up, grabbing his attention and trying to come off as believable. "You can do this."

"You got this," Maya stated, agreeing with Riley. She stepped forward, gently cupping Jasper's face. She leaned forward, catching Jasper off guard, and kissing him. When she pulled away, she pressed her forehead against his own.

"I love you," Jasper told her, his voice hushed, but Riley heard. He didn't give Maya a chance to respond. Instead, he turned around with his hands hanging in front of him, and left with Sergeant Lee.