GRIM REAPER¹, bellamy blake

023 ━━ prime time

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"JUST WATCH the kid," Iona mimicked, a grumpy undertone to her Bellamy impression, "You're not in condition to fight, Iona. Just stay here, I'll come and get you when this is all over."

His words had replayed in her head since the second he spoke them aloud- and Iona was not happy. She tried to convince him otherwise, even holding her katana up threateningly; Bellamy didn't even seem phased, merely pushing the blade away with an unimpressed look.

"Treating me like I'm a child..." Iona tapped her katana against her shoes, a rhythmic tapping began to occur, "I'm a commander, for fuck's sake. I demand respect."

Fox looked at her with nothing but confusion.

At first, she seemed hesitant to approach the Grounder woman- since, to her knowledge, the Grounders were still their enemy, and Iona appearing deadlier than the others didn't help her case- but she eventually calmed down and just admired the woman from afar.

Iona was beautiful, even in her eyes, and something about the woman screamed power. She wasn't sure if it was the massive katana at her side, or maybe the scars littering her body, or maybe the tattoos decorating her skin- hell, even the bloody shirt she was wearing came off as something akin to badass.

Iona was the image of a strong, powerful and independent woman; Fox looked at her with subtle admiration and a touch of envy.

She'd listened to the woman repeat the same phrases over and over again on repeat, much like a mantra; at this point, Fox was sure Iona was merely repeating the words to keep herself sane, even though it sounded similar to sanity.

Funny how that works.

Maya had left when Bellamy did, leading him down the hall and giving him a few pointers. She was supposed to return rather quickly, but as her disappearance began to grow longer and longer, Iona became suspicious.

Suddenly, Maya's father stormed into the room they were hiding in, and he was met with the end of Iona's weapon at once. She lowered it, albeit reluctantly, as he gestured for them to be quiet.

"Follow me," He murmured, nodding his head to the left.

Iona took notice of his newly acquired outfit and raised a brow. He was wearing a hazmat suit of sorts, similar to what the Mountain Men wear once they go outside; it sparked questions. Were they going outside?

However, her questions were soon answered once he opened the door and took off down the hall.

Iona shared a look with Fox, nodding, and running after him.

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Finally, the three of them stumbled into a trash room, finding Bellamy, Maya, and Jasper spread out across the room.

"I'm not your fucking babysitter," Iona hissed, approaching Bellamy and roughly smacking his shoulder. "Never again."

"Won't even ask," Bellamy shook his head. Jasper eyed Iona suspiciously, raising a brow at her blood-splattered attire. Seeing this, Bellamy said, "You shouldn't ask either."

Eager to escape their oppressors, Iona, Bellamy, Maya, and everyone else from the Ark split into the massive hallway. Everyone was armed with guns now, but still, no one felt protected. They were still sitting ducks awaiting capture.

Once Bellamy had informed them all of their situation on the way, one of them piped up:

"If they don't trust Maya, then who the hell's going to help us now?"

Iona stepped forward, unsheathing her katana with a smile, "Me."

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Bellamy chided, putting two hands on his hips. "You can hardly stand, let alone kill."

Iona rolled her eyes, "You have such little faith."

For a second, Bellamy seemed genuinely concerned, and it was clear to Iona that now was not a time for jokes. She sighed, shaking her head, "I've been a killer since I was little, Bellamy. I can do this."

"With what help?" Bellamy gestured to the kids before him- both of them knew they were too overcome with fear to actually fire if it came down to it. "You can't, end of discussion."

"I can rally my people and you know it," She hissed, swatting away his hand once he tried to grab her and pull her along with him. "I'm more capable- and experienced, if I do say so myself!- of killing."

Bellamy just stared.

"I will fight, or I will die trying. I will not sit on the sidelines and hide whilst you all wait for some signal that might never come. This is my duty, let me fulfil it."

Bellamy glanced around at the people he was trying to save. All of them, looking to him for answers he felt like he could not give; relying on him to get them out of the mountain.

He remembered what Raven had told him. You still have a job to do.

With a reluctant nod, Bellamy muttered, "Fine. Go."

Once Iona began to walk off, however, he grabbed her arm and halted her, then he whispered one last thing:

"Try not to get yourself killed, Commander."

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