Unwritten Rules

Ha ha! The rewrite has been done! Though I may just off every single character, I'm in that kind of mood.

Their feet slapped brutally against the concrete floors within the Mountain, their speed mounting as they neared heavily stickered steel doors. Two grounder warriors smashed the lock mechanisms, removing the need for an access card in favor of handmade steel crowbars. They needed to move quickly, as the battle had begun to move up the many levels of the Mountain. No one knew how long they had until the fight reached this floor, or how long it would take for the grounders and the sky people to subdue the Mountain Men. But they couldn't worry about that, they had a separate mission from the rest. The foursomes combined strength was enough to pry open the doors, welcoming the hallway to a spray of bullets.

Lexa pushed Clarke back against the wall with a forearm on her abdomen. They hid on one side of the door, while their accompanying grounder warriors hid on the other. Lexa made eye contact with Jansune, a burly boy that was from her native village. She nodded, and immediately the two of them whirled into the view of the Mountain men. They tossed two daggers each, one flying from each hand, and they sheathed themselves in the chests and throats of the gun-wielding men. Quickly, Lexa and Jansune returned back to their only slightly safer positions on either side of the open doorway. They may have killed the guards, but Cage still had a gun in hand and Lexa suspected that a single guard was left, taking cover behind one of the tables.

Clarke's eyes were bright with worry and fury, the two emotions directed at Lexa and Cage respectively. This woman was damn reckless and she hated it.

She hated how scared it made her.

Lexa gave Clarke a savage smile, chest heaving with adrenaline and her eyes alight with bloodlust. Her war paint was flawless, dark blood making her skin maroon. She looked wild, and she felt wild. Every death made her stronger, made her even more powerful. She was unstoppable now.

"Give me a single one of your Skaikru minutes," Lexa breathed, voice rough, before throwing herself into the room, Jansune storming in behind her.

Together, they killed the final living guard, and Jansune sliced off Cage's hand, disarming him in the process. The man cried out, falling to his knees as he stared wide eyed at the stump where his right hand had been. He sobbed openly, blood spurting from the wound as he looked up into the dark eyes of the Commander. He trembled under her savage gaze, her eyes crazed and wild. She was past the point of no return, no one could stop her from exacting her revenge.

Lexa's upper lip curled in a snarl, nose scrunching up just a bit as she growled at the once feared President. "Cage Wallace, you have no idea how much I will enjoy this."

She swung her blade, slicing an inch off Cage's stump of an arm, he gave a blood curdling scream and Lexa swore she could feel the debt being repaid with every one of the man's agonized cries. She swung again and again until she reached Cage's elbow, and the man looked as though he were about to pass out from the pain, his face pale and streaked with tears.

"Clarke!" Lexa called, and the blonde immediately rushed into the room, pistol and dagger in each hand. Her blue eyes blazed with rage at the sight of Cage Wallace, and they danced with satisfaction at the sight of his misery. A cruel half-grin erupted on the blonde's ever-fair features, and she clutched her dagger and pistol combo tighter.

She stalked up to Cage, the sway in her hips more terrifying for the dying man then attractive, though from Lexa's angle, it was certainly the latter. She gave him a million dollar, absolutely false and tremendously unsettling smile that morphed into more of her just baring her teeth at the man. Her hand shot out and gripped the front of his button down shirt, and she jerked upwards, forcing the former President to his feet. Cage whimpered as he stared into her cold blue eyes, losing control of his bowel movements as his fear became overwhelming. He never thought this would happen, he thought they would win, and they would take over the ground-it was their birthright!

But in that moment, he knew, he had lost everything. Cage didn't even have the energy to sneer at the girl. Pain, so much pain, he could feel himself becoming intensely dizzy at the blood loss.

"Cage… Wallace," Clarke said slowly, manic grin spreading slowly across her features, "I wondered when we'd meet like this. I had hoped, dreamed it would be soon. Now? I couldn't be more happy. But you know what would satisfy me, Cage?" She hissed out her words, voice naturally sultry in its manner, "Your death."

Clarke shoved Cage back, sending him sprawling onto floor, bawling his eyes out. The blonde turned on her heel, walking towards Lexa. Blue orbs dug into dark emeralds for a short moment, Cage's sobs being the only noise in the room.

"Arms; I don't want him to have any," Clarke said, nonchalant about her request-nay, demand.

Lexa bristled slightly, she wasn't one to take orders, but for Clarke, and for this situation, she would make an exception. She leapt at Cage, swinging her blade single-handedly in a downward strike that sliced his arm clear off at the shoulder. He howled in agony, choking on his own saliva during the split second that Lexa sliced his other arm off in a second strike. He erupted in a coughing fit, blood leaking out from the corners of his mouth as more of it came up from his throat, staining his teeth.

The Commander sheathed her sword, gripping the lapels of Cage's jacket so that she could lift him into the air and slam his back against the TV's he used to plot against them. She invaded his personal space, their noses just an inch apart.

"Yu gonplei ste odon, branwada," Lexa snarled, dropping the man on his feet where he stumbled, collapsing and smashing his face into the hard floor, lacking the arms needed to break his fall. He sobbed into the floor, blood pooling around his face as it leaked from his nose and mouth. She lifted him onto his knees by his hair, all but ripping it from his scalp. "Do what you will, Clarke."

The blonde raised her pistol, her arm unwavering as she took aim. She clicked off the safety, the noise resounding in her mind as she squeezed the trigger. She fired two shots, one to the heart, and one to the brain.

Lexa let go of the dead man's hair, letting his face slap against the ground a second time, her own face void of emotion.

"Jus drein, jus draun," Clarke said firmly, shoulders slumping as the weight of the day came down upon her in full force. She was suddenly aware of her utter exhaustion, and felt her knees tremble, struggling to hold her upright.

"Leave us," Lexa ordered tersely, nodding at Jansune as they walked out, leaving the two women alone.

The Commander heaved a sigh, tired eyes finding Clarke's own with a small, gentle smile. "We won," She said quietly, bloodlust waning.

Clarke nodded, letting out a soft, relieved sob. "Yeah," She whispered, "We did."

Lexa opened up her arms, and Clarke launched herself against her warm body.

The blonde trembled in the Commanders arms, her face buried deeply in her neck. There, she inhaled the fresh scent of subtle spices and fresh bread, instead of the overwhelming stench of death that permeated the room. It gave her courage as she nuzzled closer, the contact calming her raging heart. Lexa held Clarke close, her palms securing the blonde's place against her body.

Clarke could feel Lexa trembling slightly, and she pulled away to look up at the Commander.

She could see the unshed tears in Lexa's nearly black eyes, and she could feel palms trembling behind her back. The weight of all of the death that surrounded them, combined with all of the past lives that had been taken both wrongfully and rightfully all joined together to create a massive, gaping hole in her mask. She was breaking down.

"Lives saved. Not lives taken. Remember, Lexa? You know this. I know this. We did it Lexa, the war is won, and even more lives have been saved." Clarke whispered, her voice hoarse as she herself struggled not to cry, but her tears would be of a different kind. Relief, all Clarke could bring herself to feel was relief. She had her friends back, her mom was safe, Octavia, Lincoln, Raven and everyone else were safe. Lexa was safe.

Lexa nodded, swallowing audibly, though Clarke pretended not to hear it for both of their benefit. Clarke let her thumb ghost over Lexa's tan cheek, gently caressing a slowly darkening bruise that threatened to mar her beauty. Of course, in Clarke's eyes, it failed to follow through with such a threat. She watched Lexa's eyes flutter closed as she pressed her cheek into Clarke's palm, her other blood stained hand tracing down her face to rest on her shoulder. Lexa sighed, and soon, Clarke did as well, pressing her fair-skinned forehead against Lexa's clavicle as her strong arms pulled her closer by her waist. Clarke let both of her hands rest on Lexa's clavicle, sighing again as she reveled in the closeness they shared. She remembered their kiss, and struggled to repress a shudder. It had been amazing, but could it be repeated?

She had told Lexa no, for a reason of course - she wasn't ready. After everything, she didn't think she was strong enough to survive another emotion being crammed in her damaged mind, taking residence in her broken heart. She needed to heal, internally and certainly externally-especially after this war-before she even thought about having a relationship with anyone. Clarke blinked viciously, now was not the time for such thoughts, not when there was so much that needed to be done.

"Clarke! We've rounded up the Mountain Men, and the innocents are on the fifth level where they'll be safe-" Abby paused, taking in the sight before her with narrowed eyes.

"Mom!" Clarke half-yelped, not removing herself from Lexa's arms. She felt safe, and didn't she deserve to enjoy that feeling?

"We could use help with the injured," Abby offered, before sniping, "Unless you'd rather-"

"-Enough," Lexa growled, frustrated with the woman's blatant rudeness, "You have no right to speak to Clarke in such a manner, she is the Champion of this war, and she is to be treated with respect."

Abby gaped at the audacity of the Commander, "I am her-"

"-A mother does not send her child to die."

Abby's jaw clicks shut, eyes aflame with the beginnings of an explosion. She can feel the guilt seeping in from one of the compartments in the back of her mind, and it makes her chest ache. Everyone keeps bringing up what really was the beginning of everything. That decision had made everything possible, had led them to this moment. She had done the right thing, and he end, everything turned out okay, right?

But as Abby looked at her daughter, she realized not everything had turned out so well. She had lost her little girl, the Earth took her from her the moment her feet touched its soil. This place, it changed everything, everyone, and Abby was still learning how to function down here. She vowed to do better, by her daughter and her people.

The Chancellor nodded mutely, before turning and walking away without a word.

Walking through the corridors of the Mountain physically made Clarke ill. Not only was she exhausted physically by this place, but mentally as well. Blood was splattered on the walls and body parts littered the halls all by themselves. Headless lumps were being stacked in corners and on carts for extraction. The entire place was beyond suffocating, creating a painful pressure in her chest that was instantly alleviated when she stepped outside into the fresh air of the world.

God I love fresh air. I'll never take it for granted again.

She closed her eyes and inhaled, feeling her chest inflate with the soothing natural air. She turned and gave Lexa a bright, hopeful smile, things were going to get so much better.

Our lives are going to get so much better. I hope nothing else comes to bite us in the ass after all of this.

Clarke clenched her fists, spine straightening.

I won't let anything get in the way of my happiness. I deserve more than just survival and dammit I will take what I deserve.

"Clarke!" Bellamy shouted, ecstatic about seeing the beautiful blonde for more then a few minutes after two weeks of meetings and general organization.

"Bellamy!" Clarke laughed, eyes lighting up with joy at seeing her old friend. She welcomes his friendly hug, gripping his shoulders as he spins her in a circle. Giggling, she demands, "Put me down!"

Her co-leader complied, and the two stare at each other for a short moment, smiling. Bellamy swallowed, gathering his courage. He had been desperate to blurt out his feelings the moment Lexa's army had roared in victory at the sight of Cage's dead body, but there hadn't been a good time to come clean. Now was a perfect time, they were alone among the tents farther from the Commander's, and most of the grounders were in a massive meeting about the rebuilding of Ton DC.

Did he use words? Would a kiss work better? Words meant too little nowadays, actions were much better, they meant more to Clarke. A kiss would be good, it would get the message across and then they could be together. Bellamy was already picturing the life they would share.

We'll have two kids, a boy and a girl, and we'll live in a house by one of the safer lakes, or maybe the ocean. We could get away from all of this chaos and live out our lives. Then the Commander won't be able to bother us anymore.

Though he would never admit it, he didn't like the tension that had stirred between Clarke and the Commander, and he didn't want to think about how or where it had progressed while he was away.

"It's good to see you Clarke," He said warmly, giving the blonde his best boyish grin. He inched closer, reveling in the girls presence. He hadn't realized just how much he had missed her. It seems that distance really does make the heart grow fonder.

"Bell how've you been?-" Clarke's eyes widened as Bellamy crushed his lips against hers, pulling her close by her hips a little too roughly for Clarke to feel safe. She didn't like this, at all, but she couldn't do anything.

She just… froze.

Lexa froze too.

Ta-daaa! The rewrite is in progress folks. It'll take a while, and some chapters might be the same, but its happening! Sorry for the people that wanted me to just update the other story, but I wasn't happy with it. The last few real chapters of that story will remain the same though, with some add ons. My apologies if you're unhappy with this turn of events, but you know what, deal with it.

Cheers!

Reuker