(AN: Science is a bitch. Let's not dwell on the science of time travel, k? K. Also this was written before season 3 and will not be using anything from that season. Enjoy!)
Lost Somewhere In Outer Space
Prologue
"Fuck Your Mission"
She's running - fast, faster than she's probably ever run before - through the thick of the woods. Small branches keep scratching her face, but she ignores the blood gathering at her neck. At least, she does for now. Once she's in safe quarters again, she'll clean it. She was a doctor, after all.
Or almost one.
But that was a past life. For now, she runs, boots crushing forgotten skulls of her fallen enemies - or allies maybe? - and sword swinging in tune with her arms. A small voice inside of her whispers to her that she will survive this battle, just like she has countless times before. Another voice reminds her this time she is alone. No Raven. No Mom. Or Kane, or Octavia, or Indra or…
Or Lexa. Or Bellamy. Just Clarke.
She swallows deeply and shakes her head, her matted hair hitting the new cuts, but she doesn't wince. Instead, she climbs into a cave opening, an underground tunnel that used to once be a sewer system before the bombing.
But of course, they're there already.
Sometimes she wishes she was still fighting the Grounders. They were savages. They fought with their anger and not their wits. She wouldn't let herself get outsmarted by them again. But no, she wasn't fighting them. Even the Mountain Men just wanted to continue the survival of their own people - a group she killed, every, single, last one of them, including the innocent - but she understood them. She wanted the same, after all. But this enemy? She couldn't even hit.
The woman in front of her is dressed in a tight-fitting red dress, her hair curled perfectly to the side of her neck. Clarke slows down in front of her, staring with disbelief. Even after having met once before, she's still taken aback by how out of place The Woman looks, like she belongs in a movie and not out on a battlefield.
"Clarke." The Woman says, nodding. "We meet again." Clarke raises her sword in front of her; The Woman cannot feel the blade, but her soldiers sure can. Although with soldiers outnumbering her eight to one, Clarke doesn't feel as confident as she did before. Still, her sword doesn't waver.
"What do you want from me?" she yells, almost growls. Her voice is raspy and hoarse. She hasn't spoken in a long time. "How do you even know my name?"
"I learned it a long time ago, Clarke. If you had only given me a chance to explain last time, but you left before we had a chance to talk - and now…" The Woman looks around with displeasure. "We could have had better surroundings." She mocks, almost sarcastically.
Clarke grips her weapon. The last time, they did not talk. No, Clarke had leaped into battle mode, swinging her sword at the woman as soon as she saw the guns her soldiers had, and the sword swung straight through her. Her image had flickered for a second, and then The Woman was exactly the same as she was before. The Woman wasn't there - only her image was.
The Woman was a hologram.
Just Clarke's luck, if she was being honest with herself. Makes sense her next enemy would be invincible. "Sorry. I would have brought out my good China but you didn't give me a chance to get settled." she answers snidely, eyes narrowed.
The Woman laughs. "Well, my apologies then. I do hope you don't take offense to my dropping in."
"Not at all. Your soldiers, however? I could do without." Clarke nods at the men, all with guns poised at her head. The Woman looks around before nodding at one of them. They simultaneously lower their weapons, retreating to the side and leaving the women alone. Clarke puts away her sword; it serves no use against an image. "Thank you." The Woman nods, her hands clasped in front of her. "Now what is it you wanted to talk about?"
"The past, Clarke Griffin." The Woman replies.
"Nothing I can do to change it." Clarke shrugs, her face serious. "And I can't dwell on it any longer. If that was all…" Clarke gives her a fake smile. Even down in the sewers, the smile makes her think of the Ark, reminds her of a time she did it all the time.
"Clarke." The Woman repeats her name, almost as an order. The younger girl pauses, half turned away. "We did it. We found a way. We can change the past." Clarke turns back towards her, confusion and anger on her face.
"What does that even mean?" She screams it because fuck it, if she's not tired of lies and dead ends.
"We found an algorithm. There are scientist all over, across the planet, still working to reverse the effects. We can't show our faces, or the radiation will kill us, but we are working together, Clarke."
She rolls her eyes. "Wear oxygen tanks and hazmat suits. Worked for Mount Weather." Clarke lies. Probably best not to mention the bone marrow, she thinks to herself. What if that's why The Woman wants her? To lead her to the Ark, to kill them?
How could you let this happen?
"I won't let you kill them!" Clarke yells, her sword out in front of her again. Her legs brace themselves for impact. She doesn't know if the soldiers heard her, but if they did, she's ready to kill them, if it means Jasper and Bellamy wake up tomorrow.
"No, no, Clarke, you misunderstand me." The Woman shakes her head. "We don't want to kill the survivors. We want to save them." She walks through a section of the sewer tunnel, stopping next to the blonde warrior. "For a hundred years, we've studied the works of our forefathers, of the science they left behind, and this year we found something. A way to bring a conscience back in time, but regain their memories."
Clarke blinks. "Time travel? You're talking about time travel?" She starts to laugh. "Fuck, I need a drink. Excuse me, will you?" She shakes her head, waving The Woman off. She starts going towards the entrance of the sewer when the hologram appears in front of her.
"It's the truth. We tried sending one of our own back before the bombing, so he could warn everyone of the devastation, but…"
Clarke raises her eyebrows mockingly. "But it didn't work? Yeah. Sounds about right."
"No, it didn't, but not because we were wrong with the science, but because there was nowhere for his conscience to go. His body did not exist back then, a factor we understood but hoped would not interfere. We were wrong."
Clarke can only stare at The Woman, her lips pursed and eyes tired. "Look, whatever mind game you're trying to pull, it won't work. Besides, I wasn't alive then either, so…" she shrugs exaggeratedly, with an oh, well face on.
"No, you weren't. But," The Woman starts, her voice loud and angry. "You were on a spaceship. Time doesn't work the same in space. The stars we see down on Earth have been dead for millions of years. The Sun could have died a billion years ago, and we wouldn't know because to us, we still see it intact. Your ship is still up there, replaying the same scenes over and over, ending with you crashing here every time."
Clarke gapes at her, her eyes wide and filled with angry amusement. "You're completely insane. Are you sure the radiation isn't already affecting you?"
"Wormholes were proven long before the bombings, Clarke." The Woman seems to have regain her emotions. She flattens her dress before smiling at the girl. "You don't need to believe me nor understand the science, but you will go and you will help us."
At this, hands surround her biceps and her sword is dropped to the ground. Clarke screams, squirming and struggling against the soldiers but they are stronger than her, carrying her. Not to be outdone, she does manage to hit one soldier in the eye with her elbow and another in the throat with a well timed kick, but then one of them takes the butt of his gun and hits her in the head, knocking her out.
—
When she wakes, she's inside what looks like a hospital room, strapped to a gurney. She pulls on binds around her wrists and legs, but she's bound too tightly to move. Looking around, she's notices a guard standing watch. A black tribal tattoo can be seen traveling up his neck, but he lacks the hair she was used to seeing on a Grounder. "Remarkable, isn't it?"
Clarke turns to her right instantly, once again struggling wildly at the restraints. "I will kill you, you bitch! Let me go!" She screams, almost flipping the gurney over.
The Woman pays her no mind, simply turning to the guard. "A group of them somehow managed to wonder over to us, but after we talked to them, we made them understand that we should work together. They help us. We help them." The Woman says, nodding at the man. Clarke looks at him closer, ceasing her struggle. His eyes are blank as he nods back.
"A Grounder would never work with you. Not willingly." She grits her teeth, swallowing hard. The Woman pauses.
"No. They did need some persuasion, but I think it turned out for the best. I get soldiers, they get beds. I think it's a good trade." The Woman claps her hand, turning back to Clarke. "Regardless, we have to go over your mission."
"My mission?" Clarke shakes her head, laughing before spiting at her. The spit flies through the hologram, but The Woman raises her eyebrow anyway. "Fuck your mission."
"And here I would have thought you would be more civilized, Clarke of the Sky People." she reprimands with a scoff. "Doesn't matter. What does matter is for you to stop what has happened. You must go back and change our history." The Woman pretends to sit down on Clarke's makeshift bed. For a second, Clarke believes she's really there, but then The Woman's hand glides through the gurney and she sees that her legs are not truly touching anything, only hovering.
"And how am I going to do that? With science fiction? This isn't a comic book!"
"No, Clarke. This is real life." The Woman looks away towards the brain-washed Grounder, almost sadly. "You came to the wrong side of the Earth. We need you to go back and convince your leader to land on the west coast of this land in what used to be California, but is now called Safe Haven. It's where our facilities lie."
Clarke breathed out, closing her eyes and resting back onto the gurney. This was going nowhere.
"We need you to talk to your leader. We have a list of supplies we need and in return we can offer safe passage. The land we reside on tore away from the mainland and thus there are no Grounders for hundreds of miles. The clans don't reach that far and neither do the Haunted."
Clarke sighed, half in disbelief, half in discomfort. "The Haunted?"
The Woman hesitated. "A lot of people survived the bombs, Clarke, and they all have different names, but like I said, no one bothers us. We have hundreds of miles to ourselves, and with the Sky People coming down, we can rebuild without the terror of radiation."
"Right." Clarke nods, throwing her head back down on the gurney. "Can you do me a favor? Just kill me already? This bullshit is actually making me want to commit suicide."
"The Ark landed on the wrong side of the country, Clarke." The Woman repeats, anger seeping into her voice. "We just need you to land in Safe Haven. We need you to bring your technology and help us rebuild. We can't take back the bombings, but we can do something about our future with your help!"
"Why not just ask the Ark to travel to California?" Clarke asks, eyes shut. Inwardly, she's thinking about how to escape. Maybe if she says something in Trigedasleng, the guard will snap out of his daze.
"There are dozens upon dozens of savages across the land. Cannibals, murderers. That, and half the land has been taken over by the sea. It would take years to trek the country, and that's not taking into account winter and the death it brings. There's also the fact that we need the technology abroad the Ark - most of which was destroyed when it landed. No, you need to go back. You are the only one that can change history."
"Sis au ai." Clarke begs, turning to the Grounder. "Help me." She repeats in English this time. The man doesn't move. The Woman sighs, standing up.
"He doesn't understand you or that language anymore, Clarke. We are the good guys, Clarke. Trust me."
Clarke laughs bitterly. "There are no good guys."
The Woman purses her lips. "There are, and we are them. Remember, Clarke. Safe Haven, or California if you prefer. Convince your people to land there, and bring your technology, please. We can move forward on Earth, but only with your help. All those deaths caused by Grounders, caused by the Mountain Men - they can be reversed. They can be forgiven."
Clarke glares at her, her heart feeling the pain of all those deaths - the deaths she can never forget. "I will kill you." she promises. "Even if I have to go to Safe Haven myself and tear you apart."
The Woman sighs. "Oh, Clarke." Suddenly, she turns away and nods at the guard. She turns back to Clarke one last time. "May we meet again." She says before fading away. At that Clarke starts struggling again, begging in both Grounder language and English for the guard to understand me.
"Help, please. Lexa, your commander, is my friend!" Clarke lies and begs as he moves closer. His uniform is tight across his muscles, looking more like a bodybuilder than a solider. She doesn't know why she didn't realize it before that the soldiers were actually Grounders, but the tattoos are undeniable. "Please. I'll take you back to Indra." she tries one last time.
The Grounder ignores her, picking up a syringe off the counter. Clarke blows air out of her mouth angrily. She didn't survive so much to die here, at the mercy of a fucking hologram - but in the end, she can do nothing about it except scream as he sticks her with the needle, pushing in a sedative. Darkness comes quickly, even with her struggle to stay conscious, and the next thing she knows, she's waking up - gasping and screaming - in a comfy bed surrounded by pink covers and a stuffed teddy bear.
"Honey! Clarke, what's wrong?"
She screams louder, her hands gripping the bedding as she stares up in shock and horror at the man who just had rushed into the room.
It's her father.
AN: Wow I haven't written anything on here for several years, but the 100 has broken me in so many places. If any of previous readers are here, hello! Although probably not since it's been ages haha. Bellamy will be coming soon! Bellarke all the way.
Sandy x