Chapter 7 – Plans

As Clarke stared down at the streets of Polis, she wondered—not for the first time—how all this could be so close to Arkadia without any of them knowing. How this city and these people could exist without their knowledge. Of course, if Lexa was telling the truth, Chancellor Jaha did know and he'd been responsible for the deaths of several of them.

Since talking with Lexa, Clarke had barely slept, going over and over everything in her head. She didn't want to believe anything she was being told, but she also didn't think Lexa really had a reason to lie. It was just hard to wrap her head around it when it put everything she believed into question. Because if Lexa was right then Clarke no longer knew who she could trust in Arkadia. If the AI could put people under its control, anyone could be on its side and she would have no idea. Her own father could already be gone and she wouldn't know.

When she heard a knock at the door, Clarke didn't bother turning around. There had been people coming and going all day, bringing her food or offering to draw her a bath, but Clarke had refused all offers. She didn't exactly feel hungry; quite the opposite, actually. She'd been so insistent on knowing what was happening, but now that she did she felt sick to her stomach.

She heard someone enter the room behind her, but she didn't immediately turn around to look. Usually the people who would bring her food would either set the tray down and leave without a word or awkwardly clear their throat to get her attention, but whoever had come in didn't say anything, choosing to stand there in silence instead. For a moment, Clarke wondered if it was Lexa who had come in, but something told her the Commander wouldn't waste time standing there, waiting for her to turn around.

"Did Lexa send you?" Clarke asked when she looked over her shoulder and saw Lincoln.

"Yes," Lincoln answered.

She figured it was only a matter of time before Lexa sent someone. She had no idea what was going to come next, but knew she was going to find out sooner or later. And she figured it was going to be sooner rather than later given the fact that time was an issue.

"Do you know what's going to happen to me?" Clarke asked.

"The Commander told me to bring this," Lincoln said, lifting the books in his hand.

"What is it?" Clarke asked, furrowing her brows.

"It's everything the Commander told you," Lincoln answered. "She thought you would want to see it for yourself."

"She said you were the one who found it," Clarke said as she walked forward.

Lincoln gave a slight nod but didn't say anything.

"Where did you find it?" Clarke asked.

"A bunker," Lincoln said.

"Where?" Clarke asked.

"South," he replied.

Clarke sighed. "Are all of you like this?"

"Like what?" Lincoln asked back.

"So short with your answers," Clarke said. "You could elaborate, you know."

"Where I found it doesn't matter," Lincoln replied.

Clarke nodded and Lincoln held out the books. Clarke looked down at them, pausing for a moment before taking a step forward and lifting the books from his hands. The top one was small and made of what looked like leather while the other was larger and appeared to have been thoroughly used by someone. It was stuffed with papers that clearly didn't belong in the actual pages of the book and the edges and front were worn from repeated use.

"That one is the Commander's," Lincoln said as Clarke eyed the larger book. "She sends search groups out every week."

"For what?" Clarke asked.

"To learn more about the past and about our enemy," Lincoln answered.

"And what she's found is in here," Clarke said, looking down, and picking up the smaller of the two books. "Is this the one you found?"

Lincoln nodded. "Yes."

"So everything Lexa told me is true?" Clarke said. "There was no war? This was all because of some computer who decided we didn't deserve to live?" Clarke shook her head, running her hand through her hair. "Now my father is going to unknowingly unleash it and I may lose him forever."

Clarke glanced at Lincoln; he didn't say anything, but she could see the sympathy in his eyes, and she wondered how many people he had already lost people to this war.

"Why did Lexa want me to have these?" Clarke wondered.

"You'll have to ask the Commander," Lincoln replied.

"Is she around?" Clarke asked.

"She's with the ambassadors," Lincoln answered.

Clarke nodded, knowing that meant she wasn't going to be able to talk to Lexa anytime soon. "I guess I have a lot of reading to do this afternoon."


When Clarke heard the creaking sound of the doors opening, she didn't have to look up to know Lexa had arrived. It was the first time anyone had come in since Lincoln, though she knew it had to be far past dinnertime. She didn't know if everyone's absence had to do with her refusal to eat anything all morning or if it was something else, but she did know Lexa was the only person who didn't knock before entering the room, so she was unsurprised when she finally looked up and saw the Commander standing there.

"You wished to speak with me?" Lexa asked.

"Yes," Clarke replied, standing from the table she'd been sitting at, and glancing down at the open book before looking at Lexa again. "Although, I didn't expect you so soon."

When she'd told Lincoln she'd like to talk to Lexa, she'd assumed it wouldn't happen until late that night. It had only been an hour or two, though, and she hadn't entirely worked out what she was going to say to her just yet.

"Have you had a chance to look through everything?" Lexa asked, nodding toward the books.

"Not yet," Clarke replied. "I've read the journal, but I'm still looking through the information you've gathered." She reached out, flipping through some of the pages she'd already looked at. "Where did you find all of this?"

"Many places," Lexa answered. "I've sent my people in search of any books that could help us. When Lincoln first brought the book back, we didn't understand all of it. We did not know what this electromagnetic pulse did until one of my search parties came across a book that explained it. I've learned as much about the way Earth used to be as I could."

"You've also been studying Arkadia," Clarke commented.

"Yes," Lexa replied.

"But there isn't a lot about Mount Weather," Clarke noted.

"Mount Weather is protected," Lexa said, taking several steps toward Clarke. "Most of my scouts never return."

"About Mount Weather—" Clarke paused, taking a deep breath. "I think I can help. If you take me back to Arkadia, I think I can help you stop the AI in Mount Weather. I just need you to agree not to hurt my father."

"It may be too late for that, Clarke," Lexa replied.

Clarke shook her head. "I refuse to believe that."

"If your father is under its control, there's nothing anyone can do," Lexa said.

"You have to let me try," Clarke replied.

Lexa's eyes narrowed slightly and Clarke immediately knew she'd said the wrong thing. Something told her Lexa wasn't used to being told she had to do anything, but part of her also didn't care. This was her father they were talking about; she wouldn't lose him. She couldn't lose him.

"The only thing I have to do is what is best for my people," Lexa stated. "My duty is to them, not to you."

"And I can help your people," Clarke said. "You went to Arkadia to kill my father, but you came back with me. You want to make a trade, but that isn't going to happen if he's under the AI's control, is it? And even if he isn't, who says the Chancellor will let it happen? I know Arkadia better than any of you, and if you let me go back, I'll stop what's happening. I'll stop my father from completing what he's trying to do."

"And how do you propose to do that?" Lexa asked.

"I don't know yet," Clarke admitted. "I thought I was going to have more time to think about it before you arrived."

Lexa was silent and, more than ever, Clarke wished she could tell what she was thinking. She was always annoyingly stoic, though, and right now was no exception. After several seconds, Lexa let out a little sigh and said, "There's nothing you can do, Clarke."

"Wait," Clarke demanded as Lexa began to turn. "Why did you give me these if you didn't want me to help?" Clarke motioned towards the books as she took several steps towards Lexa. "If I'm only here so you can trade me for my father, why didn't you just keep me locked away? I think it's because you know I can help. So let me."

Lexa glanced down and Clarke knew that she'd said the right thing this time. "I will send someone for you after sundown."

"Thank you," Clarke replied. "I know you may not trust me, but you can trust that I'll do everything I can to save my people."

"I do," Lexa said before she turned and began walking toward the door.


"You cannot be serious, Commander," Indra said, looking from Lexa to Clarke. "She is not a warrior and you want to trust her with the fate of our people?"

"Clarke will not be alone," Lexa stated. "I will be with her."

"Commander—"

"Enough," Lexa commanded. "It is not up for discussion. My presence in Arkadia will not be questioned and will help explain Clarke's absence. Anyone else will bring unwanted attention."

"And what if you are caught?" Indra asked.

"We discussed this last time," Lexa replied. "Nothing has changed. I will not leave this up to anyone else."

"What about her?" Indra asked, piercing Clarke with a glare. "Do you really trust her?"

"I trust that she will do what she can to save her people," Lexa said.

"And how exactly do you plan to do that?" Lincoln asked, sounding more curious than combative.

"Clarke," Lexa said, looking at her.

"Lexa and I are going to go back into Arkadia," Clarke said, looking around at Indra and Lincoln. "Since Lexa pretended to be interested in me while she was there, we'll explain my absence by saying I left with her. Willingly, of course. There will be a punishment for being away from work for so long, but I can't tell them I was taken without drawing attention."

"What kind of punishment?" Indra asked.

"That's not important," Clarke replied.

"It is if it jeopardizes the plan," Indra said.

Clarke took a deep breath. "They will likely make me work extra, without compensation. They'll also probably put me on probation for the next six months. If I didn't live in the Ark, they would probably do a lot worse, though. People who are already privileged usually stay that way in Arkadia. Besides, it would look bad if one of their most promising young people just ran away, now wouldn't it? They won't want that getting around too much."

"Clarke and I will enter the town exactly as I did," Lexa added. "We will remain hidden until the drone is no longer watching, and we will then slip in undetected. Once we're in Arkadia, it's going to be up to Clarke from there."

"We don't know what's happened with my father," Clarke said, glancing at Lexa, knowing exactly what she thought. "We don't know if he went to Mount Weather just to get help or if he's now under the AI's control. I'm going to him and see if I can tell if he's still him. And I'll see if my mom has noticed anything different about him, as well. That will decide how we proceed. If he appears normal, I'm going to talk to him and tell him what is happening. I know he's not a part of this and he will help us if he knows what is going to happen if he completes what he's doing."

"And if he is one of them?" Indra asked.

"Then we sabotage what they're doing," Clarke answered. "We know my father is working on it, so all we have to do is follow him and we'll find where everything is happening. We know it won't stop them forever, but it'll set them back."

"We must do all of this undetected," Lexa said. "Right now, Arkadia remains mostly unguarded on the inside. If things were to change, we would lose our advantage. As of now, the AI does not know we are coming. It doesn't know we are aware of its existence and it needs to remain that way."

Since leaving Arkadia, Clarke had wanted nothing more than to go back, but now that she was going back, she was actually nervous about it. Now that she knew the truth, Arkadia felt tainted. She knew the Chancellor was corrupted by this artificial intelligence, but she didn't know how far else it went, and she couldn't help thinking of her interactions with everyone, wondering whether or not they were really them. Even worse than thinking of that, though, was how she was going to tell Wells about his father once everything was over. She was so worried about her own father, but there was no doubt that her best friend had already lost his.

"And you think this will work?" Indra asked. "You really think we should trust her, Commander?"

"I know you don't trust me, but I will do everything I can to make this work," Clarke firmly stated. "Everyone I care about is in Arkadia and I won't let anything happen to them. I may have already lost my father, but I won't lose my mother and my friends to this thing. And I'm definitely not going to let this thing destroy the rest of the world."

Indra stared intently at her for several seconds before finally looking away and saying, "What is the plan to sabotage their operation?"


Clarke's eyes were on Lexa as she ordered those around her to fall silent. There was a lot of disagreement among the other leaders in the room, but Lexa remained firmly in command. Indra, though clearly still apprehensive about the plan, was barking threats at everyone who dared to question the Commander's leadership, which Clarke found interesting.

It was clear that there was a level of trust among certain members in the room. Now that there were others in the room, Indra was no longer talking freely about her mistrust of Clarke or her skepticism about the plan. Clarke knew her opinion on the plan hadn't changed, so she could only figure that it was the arrival of the other people that had changed her attitude. She obviously didn't fear retaliation from Lexa, but respected her enough not to say anything in front of the others.

"Clarke."

"Yes?" Clarke asked upon hearing her name.

"Is there a way to get information from any of your friends?" Lexa asked.

"Maybe," Clarke replied. "I know Raven has been working on the project, but I don't know how much she'll know. The people in charge usually aren't big on sharing information with those at the bottom. You usually just do what you're told and you don't ask too many questions." She paused for a moment. "If anyone may know, though, it's Raven; she doesn't like to be kept in the dark about things and she will do her best to figure out what's going on. If anyone's going to know anything other than my father, she'll be our best hope."

Lexa gave her a nod before looking back down at the table, where she had a map of Arkadia laid out. Clarke noticed that it looked like some recent adjustments had been made to it, and she assumed Lexa had done them herself after coming back from the city.

As Lexa began going over her orders about what to do if she didn't return, Clarke decided to step away from the table. It had been an exhausting evening and she was beginning to feel its effects. She felt like she was constantly on guard, knowing most of the people in the room were barely concealing their hostility toward her. She didn't want to appear weak in front of them, and it was draining trying to appear so confident when in reality she felt so uncertain about everything.

"Is this how it always is?" Clarke wondered aloud. "Planning what to do next?" She glanced over at Lincoln. "Is this what your lives are like?"

"This is how we survive," Lincoln said. "We've always been at war with Mount Weather. Even before we discovered what was hidden inside. They're always killed our people."

Clarke shook her head. "I'm sorry."

"Before the Coalition, the twelve clans used to be at war with each other," Lincoln continued.

"There are twelve clans?" Clarke asked, wondering how they could have remained a secret for so long.

Lincoln nodded. "The Commander united the clans, ending the bloodshed."

Clarke looked across the room at Lexa; the Commander couldn't be much older than her, yet she had the fate of so many people on her shoulders. Clarke couldn't imagine having to live like that day in, day out.

"How old is the Commander?" Clarke asked.

Lincoln hesitated for a moment before saying, "Twenty-one."

"How long has she been the Commander?" Clarke wondered.

"She was chosen when she was sixteen," Lincoln answered.

"I can't imagine having so many people depend on me when I was so young," Clarke remarked. "I can't imagine having so many people depend on me now."

"You do," Lincoln said.

Clarke let out a shaky sigh. "I don't want to think about that."

"You need to," Lincoln replied. "The Commander is. You can't forget what you're fighting for. That's why she doesn't lose; she never gives up because of her people. She knows how important everything she does is. Someone always has to fight for them. Ge smak daun, gyon op nodotaim. Get knocked down, get back up. Your people need a leader who's going to do that for them."

Clarke shook her head. "I'm not a leader. But I also won't let anything happen to the people I care about."

"Then remember them," Lincoln said. "Remember why you fight."

"Clarke," Lexa said, and the blonde looked over to find the Commander looking at her. "Join us."

Clarke nodded and took a step forward but stopped and turned back to Lincoln. "Thank you."


"Lexa," Clarke said, surprised to find the other woman when she opened her door.

"I'm sorry if I woke you," Lexa said.

"You didn't," Clarke replied. "I—I can't really sleep."

Lexa nodded and stepped into the room when Clarke opened the door wider, allowing her entry. As she walked past, Clarke couldn't help following her with her eyes, a smile slowly appearing on her face.

"Why are you looking at me like that, Clarke?" Lexa asked.

"No reason," Clarke lied as she closed the door behind Lexa.

"You're smiling at me," Lexa said, looking very unamused.

Clarke rolled her eyes and followed Lexa toward the middle of the room before saying, "I was just thinking how different you look like this."

Lexa was in a pair of black shorts and was wearing a grey t-shirt that had been cut off and had a longer, black shirt underneath. She was also barefoot, her face was devoid of the makeup she'd worn since she'd come to Polis, and as far as Clarke could see, she had no armor and no weapons. Though, if Clarke had to guess, she would bet Lexa probably had a dagger or two stashed somewhere even if she couldn't actually see them.

"I cannot plan a war in shorts, Clarke," Lexa replied.

Clarke laughed. "Well, you could—"

"And who would take me seriously like this?" Lexa asked.

"Is that why you wear the black makeup?" Clarke asked. "To be taken more seriously?"

"It is tradition to wear war paint," Lexa replied.

"Well, I like you better without it," Clarke said with a slight raise of her eyebrow.

"I came here to discuss tomorrow with you," Lexa said after several moments, clasping her hands behind her back, and Clarke almost wanted to laugh at the action but thought better of it.

"Isn't that what we did all evening?" Clarke asked.

"Yes," Lexa replied. "But I came here to talk between us. I can see you're afraid, but you did not want to show it in front of the others."

"They already don't trust me," Clarke said.

"And you didn't want to appear weak," Lexa finished for her. "It is understandable, Clarke. You must not let your fear control you, though. People cannot know anything is wrong or they will ask questions."

Clarke sighed. "I know."

She knew people were already going to ask enough questions. By the time she got back, she was going to be gone for almost a week, and people didn't just leave Arkadia like that. She knew her parents were going to be worried about her, and it wasn't like her to just leave without saying anything. And for her to do it for over a day was unheard of, so to be gone for nearly a week was unfathomable. It was already going to take a lot to convince them that she was fine and that she'd left on her own. She didn't need to invite any more questions on top of that.

"Don't worry," Clarke added. "I'll be convincing. I'll do whatever it takes."

"Will you?" Lexa asked.

Clarke opened her mouth but then closed it with a frown.

"Are you prepared to go against your family and your friends?" Lexa asked. "We know your father may be controlled by the AI, but he may not be the only one. Your friend, Raven, could be. We know the Chancellor is and isn't he your friend's father."

"Wells is not under anyone's control," Clarke stated.

"You do not know that," Lexa argued.

"I know him," Clarke replied. "He's been my best friend for as long as I can remember. If anything was different about him I would know."

"But are you prepared to fight them if you have to?" Lexa asked. "Will you do what it takes? Because not everyone is going to be on your side. If anyone finds out what we are doing, there are going to be people who will try to stop us. People you know. People you probably care about."

"If that's what it takes," Clarke said. "I don't really have a choice, do I?"

"There's always a choice, Clarke," Lexa replied.

"There isn't for me," Clarke said. "I need to save my family and my friends. And maybe you could do it all alone, but it wouldn't be fair to leave it up to you. I need to do this."

"And you will," Lexa replied.

"I have to say, I don't look forward to walking back," Clarke said, giving Lexa a wry smile. "Although, maybe we won't be shot at or attacked by a wild animal this time. And maybe it won't be as bad this time if you don't slam my head into any more rocks."

"Rest well," Lexa said, ignoring Clarke's remark. "We have a long journey ahead of us tomorrow."

Clarke nodded. "Goodnight Lexa. Or am I supposed to call you Commander now?"

"You may call me whichever you wish," Lexa replied after a moment's pause.

"Goodnight then—Lexa," Clarke said.

"Goodnight, Clarke," Lexa replied, a barely-there smile visible on her face as she turned to leave the bedroom.