I'm not going to lie. I'm quite proud of myself for getting this chapter done in 2 months instead of 6 (just let me have this pitiful achievement ok). I really loved writing it, but it definitely had its challenges. I hope it's a good read.

Special thanks to my special other two thirds GramChos, otherwise known as my wife and Sinheda Nachos the Infamous. Your feedback does wonders for my confidence, golden gals!

The soundtrack to this chapter is Dust by Haelos and the lyrics kind of feel like they were written for it.


"I'd choose you; in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I'd find you and I'd choose you"


Anya stiffened in her saddle as they came out from the trees and she spotted Lincoln. She had known he would hear them coming so she wasn't surprised to see him in a partial fighting stance, one hand gripping a staff, the other palm flat on the neck of his horse. A grooming brush lay abandoned on the grass at his feet.

The mare let out a whinny of recognition, and her group's three horses snorted and whinnied in return.

Lincoln visibly relaxed when he saw her and her two riders.

"Scout the perimeter. Look for the eyes," she said to the men flanking her.

They nodded in response before heeling their horses and trotting away.

She clicked for her horse to walk towards the cave entrance, where she dismounted.

"I didn't expect to see you so soon," Lincoln said with a questioning look.

Anya thought to herself how she too had not expected to see Lincoln again, perhaps for a very long time. You can't exactly exile someone and then drop by for some tea. Especially when you share more history with that someone than you would care to admit.

She also hadn't expected to see quite so much of him. He stood before her in only pants and boots, his dark brown skin glistening with a light sheen of sweat from the heat of the day. Anya swallowed and averted her eyes, not wanting to look at the thick black tattoos on his chest that she had mirrored on her own body.

She rolled her shoulders, trying to loosen the muscles after the hard ride. She hadn't allowed their party to let up for even a moment, which reminded her_

"My horse needs water," she said, gesturing to where the huge brown creature now nuzzled into the side of Lincoln's horse.

He said nothing in reply but just led the horse to the water trough.

"What's happened?" he asked, walking back towards her, grabbing a shirt from where it lay on a rock and slipping it over his head.

Anya sighed. Where to start.

"Tondisi was attacked a few nights ago. The Maunon." She spat on the ground in disgust at even having to say their name.

"But the treaty…" Lincoln said, shock crossing his features.

"The treaty is dead, along with Gustus and six of our people. A new leader presides in the Mountain and he has no interest in peace."

Lincoln looked taken aback for a moment before his look softened.

"I'm so sorry, Anya. For your losses. And for Gustus. I know he was special to you, and to Lexa."

She nodded stiffly, feeling uncomfortable under his gentle gaze.

"That doesn't explain why you're here though," he added.

Lincoln would know that there had to be another reason for her to have ridden all the way out here.

"The Skai Girl," she replied evenly.

His eyes flashed. "Clarke_. Is she alright?"

Anya hesitated slightly. "They came for her. That's why they attacked. We know she's alive but….they have her."

Lincoln turned away from her, kicking a stone aggressively as he swore in Trigedasleng, something she had rarely heard him do.

He looked at her again, his rage no less palpable.

"I'll go to her. I know where their Reaper tunnels are. I can get in."

Anya rolled her eyes in exasperation. "You may be able to get in, but how would you get out again? They have more firepower than we can stand up to and they're now threatening to send missiles. Between that and their acid fog and the fact that a badly planned rescue mission could actually get Clarke hurt…."

"What do you care about Clarke?" Lincoln asked incredulously. "You would happily have killed her yourself only days ago."

"That was when I thought she was the enemy. Things have changed."

Lincoln narrowed his eyes at her. "You said you knew she was safe_"

Anya nodded.

"And that the Maunon were threatening a missile_"

"Yes."

She saw the cogs turning in the head of her old friend. He had always been one of the most astute and perceptive people she had known, even when they were small children. Undoubtedly one of the reasons they had been so close…

"How are you getting this information? There's no way they would show their hand with something so important."

Anya sighed again. How to explain, she thought wearily.

"Everything is to be on a need to know basis only. Heda sent me here to make one request of you."

The look he gave her conveyed his frustration. "Lexa doesn't make requests. What do I need to do?"

"We've discovered the Maunon have their eyes everywhere across our territory. What they call 'cameras'. These pieces of tech feed live pictures back to the Mountain so they could be watching our every move. Tondisi is being evacuated as we speak, as are other Trikru villages in the vicinity. We don't know how far their missiles can go, but unless we can somehow figure out a way to take down their eyes, Lexa is on the brink of evacuating Polis."

Lincoln let out a long breath, rubbing his hand over his head. "Polis? But that's thousands of people and days of riding away. Surely the missiles couldn't travel that far? And where would all those people go?"

"These are all questions we don't know the answers to. And that's why we need help with finding the eyes and destroying them. We'll never win if they can anticipate every step of our strategy. This is our chance to finally take down the Mountain."

"So you want me to join the search for these eyes?"

Anya shook her head. "No. We've had scouts out for several days now and they've had very little success. One or two have been discovered in trees, but it's like finding a needle in a haystack. We have no idea of their number and they're so small that the task is impossible."

"What then?" he asked.

Anya levelled one of her infamous steely stares at him.

"The radio."

A pause.

"Lexa wants you to get on Clarke's radio and contact her people. We need their help, Lincoln."


The gunfire had died down for the first time in what felt like hours and Raven was glad for the reprieve. She had been working tirelessly at her station, trying to figure out solutions to the shitstorm of predicaments they now found themselves in.

Since the Council had arrested Abby and threatened to float her, along with rounding up as many dissidents as they could find and throwing them in the Skybox, the Rebellion had been pushed to their limits.

The Ark was now split into two factions. On one side there was Chancellor Jaha and the Council, along with the majority of Arkers. On the other side, the other literal side, there was the small group of rebel fighters. Using Raven's engineering skills they had managed to seal off part of the space station, and up until now, had managed to hold the line.

But it wasn't sustainable and she knew it.

For starters, Abby and Finn were imprisoned on the other side, along with dozens, maybe even hundreds of people who actually wanted to fight for what was right. They had already lost some of their people in attempts to get to the prisoners, and Raven wasn't about to risk anyone else's life without a solid plan in place.

Octavia appeared at the doorway. Her bare arms, chest and face glistened with sweat, and a short-barrel semi-automatic was slung across her body. She pulled her tanktop up and wiped her face with it.

"Fuck, Rave. It's getting hotter than hell in here."

Raven glanced away, looking back at her screens. "I know. Those bastards are fucking with the thermal control systems and as long as we're sunny side up, it's all I can do to keep us from boiling alive. Especially with all this equipment around us_" - she gestured absent mindedly to the room around them.

"What happens when we go to the night side of the sun?" Octavia asked.

"We either get a reprieve or we freeze to death," Raven replied dryly. "That's what I'm working on right now."

Octavia lifted an eyebrow in response, but her friend wasn't looking.

"Have you managed to contact Sinclair yet?" she asked gently.

Raven pursed her lips. "No. It can't be him doing this on the other side. He's not responding to any of my encrypted messages so all I can think is he must be locked up with the rest of them."

Octavia nodded, again the gesture going unnoticed.

"He wasn't on the prisoner list that Bellamy stole…." she started.

"That doesn't mean jack-shit, O!" Raven said, cutting her off. "With the amount of people they've got locked up and with all the shit that's going down with the firefights, they're not gonna be keeping meticulous records. So either he's in the Skybox or he's laying low and trying to make things happen from the inside."

"Okay. Okay." She took a few steps forwards until she was in Raven's eyeline. "Hey, look at me."

Raven looked up at her, feeling exhausted and not in the mood for an argument.

"I'm not saying anything about Sinclair. If you trust him then I do too. I've got your back here. We all do."

She sighed, sitting back in her chair. "I know. I didn't mean to bite your head off. I'm just...feeling the pressure." She ran her hands over her hair, tightening her ponytail.

"No wonder. You've not left that work station for days. When did you last sleep?"

Raven laughed. "I don't remember."

Octavia frowned, worry evident on her face.

Shaking her head she said, "So you'll never guess who showed up about fifteen minutes ago at the Mecha station blockade."

"Who?" Raven asked, not having a clue.

"Wells."

"No way" Raven breathed out, shocked. "What does he want?"

"I know, right," Octavia replied. "He's claiming he wants to come on to our side."

"He's defecting?!" Raven asked, incredulous.

"Well that's just it. He says he was never on the other side; that he hasn't agreed with anything Jaha has done and he's just been waiting for the right opportunity to get away."

"Fuck."

"Mm-hm. He also asked about Clarke. Rave, he doesn't know she's gone."

"Well maybe he should have thought of that before he fucked her over," Raven said darkly.

She had told Octavia some of what had gone on between the old friends, but it was hard to explain the intricacies of just how bad Wells' betrayal had been to someone who hadn't known them.

"Anyway, Bellamy and the others are holding him now for questioning. I guess the trust level isn't too high there. In the meantime things have calmed down for a while at least. Go lie down on that cot right now and close your eyes. You can't keep going like this."

"I can't, O. I need to be here in case Clarke gets in contact. I can't let her down."

Octavia walked forward and put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "I'm here. I'll listen for the radio. You sleep."

Raven put her hand over Octavia's and squeezed it. "You're a good friend, Lil O. Thanks."

Octavia gave her a small smile and stepped back. "Go. The cot is right there. Anything happens, I'll wake you."

Raven nodded. Standing, she stretched her limbs before walking the few steps to the makeshift bed and collapsing into it. She was asleep before her head even hit the pillow.


When Octavia shook her awake she felt like she had been asleep for all of five minutes.

"Whaa….what is it? Are the goons breaking through?" she croaked out, disorientation clouding her thoughts.

"No, no, that's fine," Octavia said. "It's the radio."

She shot up to sitting. "Clarke?"

Octavia shook her head. "It's that Lincoln guy again. He says he needs to speak to you."

"Shit."

She crossed the room and grabbed the receiver. "This is Raven. What's happening down there?"

The familiar deep voice of the Grounder man came through the speaker. "There's been an incident regarding Clarke. We need your help to get her back. You'd be helping all of our people down here too."

Raven looked to Octavia with a grave expression, her eyes narrowing.

She pressed the talk button again. "What the fuck has happened to Clarke? I thought you said she was safe with your people. You said they were taking care of her."

"They were. Our Commander had her under her personal protection but the village was attacked by our enemy from the Mountain. They had guns and killed several people. They took Clarke with them back to the Mountain."

"Fuck," Raven muttered, without pressing the talk button, swiping at her brow. Something clicked in her head then.

"When you say the mountain do you mean Mount Weather? I thought that was long abandoned."

"Yes. In our language we call them the Maunon, or the Mountain Men in yours. They've resided within the Mountain since before the bombs and can only spend minimal time on the outside using breathing apparatus. They've always been our enemy but an uneasy truce has mostly held, up until now. At least where it concerns them coming into our villages and killing people."

"So what changed?" Raven asked brusquely.

They heard static for a few moments.

"Their last leader appears to have either died or been usurped. The new one is his son and seems to be more interested in warmongering than peacemaking."

A beat and then_

"And Clarke. Clarke is the other thing that changed."

"What do they want with her? Some sort of bargaining chip? But that makes no sense if she has nothing and nobody down there, godammit." Raven smashed her fist down on the bench, her frustration catching up to her. Octavia jumped slightly at the outburst and moved forward to place a calming hand on her shoulder.

"We think they want her blood. To help them to walk freely through our lands. There's more to it but I don't have all the information. It's...complicated."

Octavia grabbed the receiver from Raven. "You say that a lot you know. Why should we trust you when the last time we heard from you, you had been banished by your own people? And what exactly are you asking us to do? In case you hadn't noticed, we're in a space station two hundred and fifty miles away right now."

There was nothing but static for a long moment, and Raven gave Octavia a quizzical look as they waited for a response.

It was not the one they were expecting.

"I am Anya, Leader of Trigedakru, and I speak for Lexa kom Trikru, Commander of the Twelve Clans." The voice coming through was distinctly female, with a hard edge. "If you want to save your friend then you will need to trust us. Because right now our only hope of getting into that mountain and getting her out alive is by taking down their tech. And the Commander believes that's something you might be able to help with."

Raven and Octavia shared another look, the turn of events leaving them feeling momentarily shell-shocked.

Raven gathered herself, taking the receiver back from Octavia and pressing the talk button again.

"Well, Anya of the Tree whatevers. Your Commander believed right. You've managed to get through to the last IT support line in this solar system. Tell me what we're working with….."


Clarke only picked up on vague snippets here and there of the conversations that went on around her as she slipped in and out of consciousness. Random words and sentences snatched from the air, splicing through the fog.

_can you believe she's a Griffin_

Cage is losing his shit. Did you see that look in_

_DNA match for Becca_

_ heals radiation sickness in a third of the time that the savages' blood does. Just imagine what her bone marrow could_

A transfusion alone isn't enough. The AI just keeps killing the test subjects_

No more blood for now. She's too depleted.

Something inside of her told her to fight, to swim to the top of the ocean that was drowning her. She remembered the feeling of Lexa's hand in hers, telling her that she would come for her. But each time just as she felt she might push up above the waves and gasp for air, the drugs or the exhaustion or just the sheer weight of it all would pull her under again. She didn't know how long she drifted for….


Clarke….Clarke, wake up.

You need to wake up now, Clarke. Listen to my voice and try to open your eyes.

Clarke groaned, not knowing where she was or why she was being shaken.

"Yes that's it. You're safe and you need to wake up. Open your eyes."

The voice was clearer now. It sounded like it belonged to a young woman, soft but urgent.

She forced her eyes open, blinking rapidly as they adjusted to the dim light.

"Here, sip some water." She felt a hand at the back of her head, lifting her up gently and a straw pressing to her lips. She pulled on it, gulping down the liquid.

How different it tasted to that first drink of Earth water that Lincoln had given her…. all that time ago. Wait_

"How long have I been here for?" she croaked out, her voice sounding rough to her ears. She looked at the young woman who was placing the cup back on the table beside the bed. Clarke guessed she was probably around her age. Soft brown curls fell to her shoulders and she had a kind, heart-shaped face.

"Days now. I'm not sure how many exactly. I've only been assigned to you for the past forty eight hours."

"Are you a guard?" Clarke asked, an edge to her voice.

The girl frowned. "God no. I just help here at the Medical Unit. My name is Maya Vie."

Clarke swallowed thickly and looked away. Her limbs felt heavy and her head felt groggy. At least she didn't appear to be in any pain though. That was a first for all the times she had woken from being unconscious since she had landed on the ground. She looked down and saw a bandage on her hand covering an IV line which led to a clear bag on a stand. In the crook of her elbow on the same arm was a plastic stent, presumably for when they had been taking her blood.

"What do you have me on?" she asked, lifting her hand.

"They've been giving you a sedative to keep you under, and some pretty strong painkillers. But I switched the flow off about an hour ago. That's why you're awake now. I am sorry though because that means you might start to feel some pain from your injuries again."

Clarke looked to the girl. "Injuries?"

The girl grimaced slightly. "Well, of course you know about the ones you came in with. Your leg, shoulder; your ribs. I wasn't there but I heard that when they were pulling you off of President Wallace they knocked you around quite a bit. You have a pretty awful black eye there and a horrible bruise at your temple." She nodded at Clarke's face.

The memory came back to Clarke now. His disgusting smarmy face and the way he tried to pretend he knew something about her family. She smiled slightly as she remembered kicking him where it really hurt, bare feet and all, before slamming her fist into his face.

"What does he have?" she asked.

The girl smirked. "A broken nose and two black eyes."

The corner of her mouth tugged up slightly. At least she could take some satisfaction from that.

"So you've taken me off the meds, woken me up, there's no one else around, and you seem to be relishing in your idiot leader's face and pride being smashed in by me, your supposed enemy. What's the deal, Maya?"

The smirk disappeared from Maya's face. "He's not my leader. He's a psychotic monster. I don't agree with the road he's going down and I definitely don't agree with his plans for you. I'm going to help you, Clarke."

Clarke studied her face, trying to look for any deception there. The girl seemed genuine but Clarke needed to be sure before she could put her trust in her.

She started to try to sit up.

"Here, let me," Maya said standing and pressing something that raised the bed into more of a seated position. She reached behind Clarke and in that practiced way of a nurse, rearranged the pillows behind her back.

"Thanks," Clarke said, shifting to get more comfortable. "What can you tell me about Cage's plans? He was threatening missiles at the villages and at Polis. That's how he forced my name out of me."

Maya took her seat again. "Those missiles don't have the range to get to Polis. The villages closer to us are definitely within range and therefore in danger, although…"

"What?" Clarke asked.

"Well that's just it. Cage has been practically apoplectic these past few days because our entire CCTV network on the outside has gone down. My father works in Technical and he says all they know is that the signal is being jammed somehow. But they have no idea how. What that means though is that they have no eyes on where anyone is. No way of knowing where to send a missile to. Apparently Cage was on the verge of sending one anyway to the place I believe used to be Washington DC, and the only reason they talked him down from that is because there are only a few missiles left. And down here, resource preservation, especially weapons resources, even overrules our President's god complex."

Clarke chewed this over. The cameras were down? What a thrill of victory she felt at hearing that news. She remembered that peaceful almost dreamlike place she had been in with Lexa, what, days ago now? Her present concept of time was completely mixed up. But it didn't matter. She had told Lexa about how the Mountain were spying on her people and Lexa had done something about it.

But how? They don't have any technology at all never mind the capabilities to knock out an entire.….wait. Something clicked.

Raven! Oh you beautiful genius bird in the sky.

A surge of relief and hope? washed over her as she realised that this could be the only explanation.

Clarke swallowed hard to stifle what felt like a sob as she thought about her friends at home. Thinking of Raven working together with Lexa and her people to try to fix this messed up situation was almost too much to take in. She pushed it from her mind and tried to focus on her own immediate problems. She said nothing of her suspicions to Maya.

"And what about me?" she asked. "What are they doing with all the blood they've taken?"

"Mostly they've been running tests as far as I can tell. We need regular transfusions of blood you see. To survive the radiation."

"Even down here?"

Maya nodded. "If we go too long without, the consequences are fatal. They've found that your blood works at about three times the speed and strength of our usual supply. I guess it must be something to do with you living in space?" She shrugged apologetically.

Clarke frowned. "What do you mean 'usual supply'? Where do you normally get the blood from?"

Maya immediately looked uncomfortable. "From….the ones on the outside. It's called the Harvest Project. Nobody talks about it. We've been taught not to ask questions. But...there have been times when people have tried to change how things are done, or refused treatments. One way or another all those people died and my mother was one of them. She just couldn't live like that anymore, knowing that her life was somehow worth more than all those other stolen people."

Clarke didn't know what to say. Life on The Ark was far from perfect but this was a whole other level of fucked up. Her trust in Maya was slowly starting to grow though as she shared more details of her background and displayed less and less markers of someone there to hurt her.

"I'm sorry," she offered. "About your mom. I lost my Dad because of the people in power where I come from. I guess things are messed up wherever you go now."

Maya gave her a sad smile. "Are they though? You were on the outside before they brought you here. What was it like? We're taught that the people are savages but I can't believe that's the only story. I want to believe there's some good left in humanity, even if I never get to be part of it."

Clarke's mind drifted for a moment to green eyes and soft lips. Her heart clenched.

"They're not savages," she said, looking to Maya. "They're just people. And from what I saw, they were kind and fair and doing their best to survive in this world."

Maya looked satisfied with the answer, as if it had been what she was hoping for.

"Clarke, there's something I need to tell you. The reason I had to wake you up tonight is because tomorrow they plan to take your bone marrow. When they do that, I...I don't know what the consequences will be."

"What do they need it for?" Clarke asked, anxiety coiling in her stomach.

"From what I can tell, they think it'll allow them to breathe the air outside. But you're just one girl, Clarke. You only have enough bone marrow to treat maybe a few people. There's something else though…"

Clarke looked at her expectantly.

"They've been giving transfusions of your blood to some of our people in the ward next door. And they've been trying to embed something in them."

"Embed something? What do you mean?" Clarke asked, even while the answer coalesced in her mind.

"I don't know what it is. All I know is that it's something very valuable to them, and Cage is using these people as test subjects. But whatever it is, it's killed every single one of them in minutes."

The Flame, Clarke thought,They were testing the Flame on people with her blood running through their veins.

"I know what it is," she said, looking the other girl straight in the eye. "And Maya? I need you to get it for me."


"You look...not your best," Anya said bluntly but perhaps with a hint of trepidation in her voice. She fell into step with Lexa as she stalked from the training circle.

Lexa walked with purpose, already beginning to unclip the light body armour as she made her way back to her tent. She knew without looking that Conic and Iona would be following behind. Indra and most of her warriors were stationed in a ring outside the camp, but the General had given strict orders to the two to guard their Heda day and night. Their proximity was already beginning to wear thin on Lexa. She appreciated their dedication and she knew they were unparalleled in their ability to protect her, but the serious demeanours they both snapped into whenever she addressed them made her feel even more stifled.

Returning her thoughts to Anya beside her she thought how she was right to tread carefully with her, old First or not. Right now she was in no mood for much of anything. Apart from hitting things. And people. She had just spent the better part of three hours sparring with various warriors in the camp, but as always they had held back with her, not wanting to land any real hits on their Heda. It irritated her. The only people who never held back with her were Anya and Gustus. Anya had flat-out refused to spar with her today and Gustus….

She pushed that thought away and said, "Thank you for the kind epithets as always, Anya. That last fighter got lucky with this_" - she pointed to her burst lip.

Anya easily kept pace with her, having always had the advantage of slightly longer legs. "That's not what I meant. You look tired, Lexa. Bone tired. I know you've barely slept in days yet you continue to push yourself at every opportunity whether it's riding out with the Rangers for hours on end or knocking the living skrish out of anyone who's brave enough to go up against you."

Approaching her tent Lexa splashed water on her face from the bucket outside, attempting to wash away the sweat and clean the black blood she could feel smeared on her mouth.

"I'm keeping myself occupied," she replied, patting herself dry with a rag. "I can't just sit around and wait. Already I feel as if I am doing nothing. As if we are achieving nothing." She threw the rag down in frustration.

Anya shook her head. "But we have achieved so much already. Just think of the lives we have likely saved. With the help of Raven, the Mountain no longer has its eyes on us and we know that their missiles cannot reach the capital. The people of Tondisi sit safe in this camp as do countless more from the other settlements."

"The Maunon have made refugees of my people," Lexa retorted darkly, casting her eyes to the tents all around them.

Anya crossed her arms, always an indicator of when she began to tire of Lexa's complaints. "A temporary situation. I know you grow impatient but with the acid fog still a threat, we have no choice but to hold off on any kind of attack. Add to that Raven's warning about the possibility of eyes still functioning at the doors to the Mountain, and it's too much of a gamble for our army. Not to mention the risk to Clarke's life should we try to go in without further information."

Lexa let out a rough breath of exasperation as she scraped her fingers through the hair at her temples. She pushed inside her tent, with Anya on her heels.

It felt torturous just waiting here, so close yet so far. She had thought over and over about all the possible ways that they could get Clarke back. She had even considered slipping away by herself, in the dead of the night, to try and steal her way inside that place she thought of as a tomb. But she knew the idea was ridiculous. Not only did she have no idea what she would be facing once inside, she also didn't even know if Clarke would be conscious in order to escape with her. She could think of no other reason why she hadn't been able to get back to the dreamlike place again to speak with her. Each night for the past four she had meditated, trying and trying to will herself there. But it was useless and had left her exhausted. Dawn would break and she would be lucky if she'd had more than a couple of hours of sleep.

There was also the bigger picture at play when it came to her foolish fantasies about saving Clarke. She knew that this was their chance to do so much more than that. If she acted rashly and rushed in, who knows how many lives could be lost, and the Maunon could ultimately prevail. No….she knew that this was the time to think carefully about how to proceed, because this was the moment that could see them not just rescuing Clarke and whoever else of her people were imprisoned there, but taking down the entire Mountain. No longer would her people be terrorised by their weaponry or worried that their children would be taken for Reapers.

"Have you had any information from the Commanders?" Anya asked.

Lexa knew that it was proving difficult for the other woman to fully come to terms with what she had learned about the Flame and the complexities of how it worked.

"No," she responded, shaking her head. "They are...maddeningly silent." She pulled her armour off and dropped it on a chest.

"Is that normal?"

"There is not really a normal nor an abnormal. It is hard to explain how it works. But there have been times in the past when I've experienced a similar...absence." She walked to where the water jug sat and poured two cups. "It seems I am unable to commune with anyone these past days." She paced back to Anya and passed her the drink.

Anya took the offering, eyeing Lexa. "Mochof, Heda." She drank it down in two long gulps before continuing, softer this time. "I am sure it is just as Nyko says. If the cowards have her drugged then your connection will be blocked. There is likely no need to worry for her safety as she's clearly worth more to them alive."

Lexa was silent for a few moments, thinking.

"I know she's alive. I may not be able to reach her through our connection but, I can feel her. Her spirit remains on this plane."

"You can feel her?" Anya asked, arching an eyebrow.

Lexa nodded. "Once again it is hard for me to adequately explain. But yes. It's the feeling I had when the dreams of her began. That she is out there somewhere. That she...exists."

She drank from her cup and placed it down, turning to face Anya again. She clasped her hands behind her back and squared her shoulders, a look of resolve on her face.

"Tonight you and I will make the journey to Lincoln's. I have already informed Indra so I doubt we will be able to slip away without my two bodyguards," - she raised her chin to gesture to the entrance of the tent - "but we need not let everyone know where we are headed. Be ready to leave at nightfall."

"But why, Heda?" Anya questioned, her face confused. "What would going there achieve?"

"I am hoping a great deal," Lexa responded resolutely, looking at Anya intently. "And I need my First there in order to do that."

A determined light sparked in Anya's eyes and an impish smirk formed at her mouth.

Tonight they would ride.


Maya had assured Clarke that no one would come as only she had been tasked with the nightshift at the Medical Unit. Still Clarke felt anxious and decided it would be best to stay on the bed while she waited for her to return. That way if anyone did appear, she would simply feign sleep and nothing would seem amiss. But Maya had been gone for longer than Clarke had been expecting and it was becoming increasingly difficult for her to just lie there.

What was taking so long? If the Flame is being kept nearby as she suspected then surely she should have been back by now.

A shadow of dread flickered inside her and she tried her best to tamp it down. She knew that the consequences would probably be dire for Maya if she was caught and Clarke was only too well aware of how in some way, that would then be on her. Maya was risking her life, and probably that of her father's too, to help her, a stranger. But for Clarke it was easy to understand why. Her life on the Ark had shown her that sometimes the right thing to do was to go up against the very people who were leading you down the wrong path. Even if that meant putting yourself and those you loved in danger.

She heard footsteps. Stiffening on reflex she willed herself to appear as unconscious.

"It's ok, it's me," she heard Maya saying, so she opened her eyes.

Clarke sat up. "Did you get it?"

The other girl gave a wry smile and raised her hand; a small object was held between her thumb and forefinger.

"I was getting worried," Clarke said relieved, staring at the object.

"One of the patients woke up. I had to wait until they fell asleep. A lot of the people here are very loyal to the Wallace family. They wouldn't hesitate to sound the alarm if they thought I was doing something unauthorised."

She approached Clarke and held out the Flame for her. Clarke took it into her own palm and studied it for a moment. Such an innocuous looking thing. Light as a feather, the clear, hexagonal chip gave away nothing about the power that lay inside of it. Or at least the power that Clarke hoped lay inside. She expected to maybe feel something from it, a hum or some feeling that gave a sense of its magnitude. But it was just a piece of plastic with the only thing of note being the infinity symbol inscribed on one side. She wondered what that meant.

"What will you do with it?" Maya asked.

Clarke looked up at her. "Keep it from falling back into the wrong hands." She pulled the IV out of her hand with a wince and then did the same to the stent in her arm.

"I could have done that for you, you know," Maya said, a hint of reprimand to her voice.

Clarke swung her legs off the bed and placed her feet on the floor, tucking the Flame into her bra. "You're doing enough. Including hopefully finding me some shoes and showing me how to get the hell out of here."

"We need to get to my father. He'll know what to do."


Ten minutes later and they were making their way along a dimly lit corridor, Clarke decked out in a pair of boots that felt two sizes too big but would do the job.

"Won't we be seen?" she asked in a low voice.

"Mostly everyone is asleep at night and there are no cameras in the Medical Unit or on this route to residential. We never have any security issues so there's no one watching the internal camera feed anyway. As long as we stay away from the guard stations then we should be ok. This way."

They entered a stairwell and descended flight upon flight of stairs before exiting at a door marked 'Level 5'. After a few more twists and turns down another corridor they came to a stop at a grey door that looked much like all the others.

"In here," Maya said, swiping a card along a panel to unlock it.

They went inside and Clarke immediately understood this to be Maya's home. Although the space was small, it felt cosy as opposed to cramped. There were human touches everywhere; efforts to make it as comfortable and welcoming as possible, and Clarke wondered how much of it had been down to Maya's mother when she was still alive. You could feel love here. It reminded her of her own family's living quarters back on the Ark.

"Wait here," Maya said, before disappearing through a door on the right.

Clarke stood in the middle of the living area and looked around her. A photograph on the wall caught her eye. She went over to get a closer look and saw it was of a woman who was undoubtedly Maya's mother. The resemblance was uncanny. She was beautiful and Clarke felt a mixture of sadness for Maya having lost a parent, and anger that she could have lived if only those in charge were better people.

Five minutes went by before Maya stepped out of the other room, with a man following behind her. He was not that much taller than Maya and had a heavy brow and a short grey goatee. His brown hair looked like it had been hastily swept back. His loose fitting clothes were rumpled and Clarke suspected that the white t-shirt and navy pants were what he had been sleeping in.

"Clarke, this is my father, Vincent Vie. I've tried to tell him as much as I could about who you are."

"Thank you for agreeing to help me Mr Vie. Maya has already done so much."

He eyed her with what she would have described as not the warmest of expressions.

"I've not exactly been given much choice. Maya's put herself in a great deal of danger by getting you this far. I can't do anything now but try to get you out," he replied, looking between her and his daughter. And then in a slightly friendlier tone, "And call me Vincent."

Clarke nodded. "I don't want to put either of you in any more danger. I just need a way out."

He sighed and moved to sit at the small table, gesturing for Clarke to join him. Maya took the third chair.

"We need to have you out of here before morning. That's when Maya's shift finishes and that's when the others will come to check on things. Right now my priority is my daughter's safety so we're going to need to stage something that doesn't incriminate her." He turned to Maya. "Is there any reason why you would need to be away from Clarke's room, sweetheart?"

Clarke's heart ached at the term of endearment. It had been one of the names her own father had called her.

Between them they then began to hatch a plan that would involve Vincent taking Clarke to the retrofit routes ("They're off limits. No cameras, no patrols.") which then led to a long climb up a ladder, finally exiting out a hatch somewhere up at ground level. Maya had protested at this saying that Clarke was not fit to climb such a height. Vincent had insisted this was the only way and Clarke had assured Maya she would be fine. Although in reality she did feel some trepidation about that part of the plan particularly as, true to Maya's earlier warnings about the painkillers wearing off, her injuries had definitely started to let their presence be known again. Vincent would then go to the Medical Unit with Maya and stage it so that it looked like Clarke had either locked Maya in the bathroom or possibly overpowered her in a scuffle. They would work out those details when they arrived there, and Maya would leave as much time as she could to allow Clarke to get to the outside before she sounded the alarm.

"It's our best chance at getting all of us out of this alive," Vincent finished.

Clarke noticed how Maya had mentioned nothing to her father about the Flame. She supposed that the less he knew the better.

He stood. "Time to get going. Let me just grab my jacket and shoes."

He disappeared into the bedroom.

"When you get out, head east and follow the river," said Maya gently. "The sun should just be rising so use it as your guide."

Clarke nodded. "Thank you, Maya. For everything. I wish there was something I could do to repay you."

Maya smiled at her. "Just live, Clarke. Do all the things I've always wished I could do. Ride a horse."

Clarke let out a small laugh. "I'm not sure about that. But I'll see what I can do."

Vincent appeared in the doorway again. "Ready?"

"Ready," Clarke replied, standing. "And Mr Vie…" At his disapproving look she quickly corrected herself. "Vincent...I really do want to repay you. Maybe once I'm out I could speak to Le...to the Commander. Try to work out some arrangement where her people donate their blood voluntarily. If they knew there were people here who didn't support the system, maybe things could be different."

"I appreciate the thought but as long as Cage and his goons are in charge, there won't be any peace. Now come on. It's time to get going."

He moved to the door and pulled it open, only to stagger backwards upon being confronted by Cage Wallace and what looked like a small platoon of guards.

Clarke gasped. She heard Maya shout, "No!"

But the gun in Cage's hand was already raised and the trigger was pulled. The bullet smashed into Vincent's chest with such force that he fell onto his back, letting out a quiet 'puff' sound that seemed to echo around the room.

Clarke looked on in horror as blood immediately pooled all around him, soaking into the concrete and creeping towards the rug. Maya knelt at his side, screaming and pressing her hands to his chest.

It felt as though time had slowed as each of his ragged breaths came out, the sound wet and rattling. The men had still not entered the room and Clarke looked now to Cage, his face wearing a cruel, satisfied smirk. Never had she wanted to kill someone like she wanted to kill this monstrous excuse for a human being in that moment. Not even Thelonius Jaha when he had floated her father.

She tore her eyes away from him and went to the dying man, kneeling and lending her hands even as she knew it was hopeless.

Maya had put her face close to his now and was whispering words that Clarke couldn't and didn't want to hear. Her hands were soaked in his blood as she felt the final rise and fall of his chest. Maya rested her forehead on his and her silent tears splashed onto his face.

Clarke knelt back on her heels and the slow motion effect ceased with the sound of Cage's voice.

"Oh thank god. I thought that would never end," he said, stepping inside flanked by four guards.

"You fucking bastard," Clarke spat, the feeling of rage inside her building to a crescendo.

"Yes yes, I'm simply awful," he replied dismissively, which only served to intensify her rage. "Now where is my AI?"

Clarke knew he must be talking about the Flame even though the name he used for it was foreign to her.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said, levelling her stare at him.

He sighed, as if this was all some tedious annoyance to him. "Well you leave me no option then. I can have my men strip search you," - he swung his pistol towards Maya who still kneeled over her father - "or I can just finish off the family here." He quirked his eyebrow at Clarke. "You decide."

Clarke closed her eyes. She willed herself to keep it together even as she felt precariously close to the edge.

Opening her eyes she said, "I have it. I just need to reach for it."

He looked at her expectantly, his gun still trained on Maya. Clarke flicked her gaze to the guards behind him, all their guns raised.

She slowly reached into her bra and pulled out the small piece of plastic. She then noticed Cage giving the guards an almost imperceptible signal with the hand not holding the gun and before she could even blink they had rushed forward, grabbed the Flame and flipped her onto her stomach. Her cheek was pressed roughly into the cold ground, her arms and legs pinned, and she felt a knee pushing into her back. Panic rose up inside of her as she struggled in vain to free herself.

"Do it," she heard Cage order.

"Wha...no...stop," she heard herself cry, her breathing feeling laboured with the pressure on top of her.

A rough hand pulled her hair away from her neck and she cried out as she felt something slice her, the pain burning and intense. Another cry of agony as she felt something being pushed inside the wound.

She could hear Maya sobbing although the sound was becoming distant as Clarke's breathing became shallower.


Lexa and Anya moved their horses at a walking pace, allowing them to rest after a long canter. Lexa would have liked to have galloped the whole way but the route they were following would not allow it, the winding path with its many gnarled roots and trees posing too many dangerous obstacles. Add to this that they were travelling at night and it would just be foolish to end up with a horse or a rider with a broken leg.

"I am glad we have her for company tonight," Anya murmured, looking skyward.

Lexa cast a glance to the full moon that hung brightly overhead, before returning her eyes to the path ahead.

"It's a shame she's not the only company we have," continued Anya, nodding her head back to Iona and Conic who rode ten feet or so behind.

"Indra insisted," was Lexa's only reply.

"I know they're the best at what they do, but do they have to be so stoic all the time. It's unnerving."

Lexa couldn't help the splutter of laughter that pushed its way out of her. "This, coming from you? Anya I think you will find that from here to the very edges of this continent you are known as the absolute living embodiment of stoicism. That is me speaking as your Heda and as someone who has known you all my life."

Anya scowled as if trying to prove the point. "That may be so but at least I have a sense of humour. Even if it is my own unique take on what that two seem as though they came out the womb as stony faced warriors."

Lexa smiled and shook her head. "I think it is less their natural demeanours and more the fear of the gods that Indra has put into them with regards to how they should behave around me. Or possibly it's simply the fear of Indra."

Anya made a hum of agreement. "Perhaps you're right. There isn't much that scares me but Indra's wrath is not something to be taken lightly."

"Which is why she is the best of my Generals."

They rode on in silence for a while until Lexa heard Anya clear her throat. "Not that I am one to cast aspersions on your intentions for this journey, but forgive me for pointing out that we're riding to Lincoln's place. A place which is significantly closer to the Mountain than where we have just been."

Lexa thought about what Anya was inferring. "I don't intend to stage a rescue plan between the five of us if that's what you're asking. But there are other benefits, I hope, of going there. Clarke's_"

A jolt wracked Lexa's body and her horse stopped abruptly, clearly startled by his rider's movements.

Her eyes slammed shut and she felt as though warm light flooded through her from the inside out.

"Lexa! Are you alright? What is it?" Anya called, worry evident in her tone.

She heard the hooves of Iona and Conic's horses approaching having been alerted by the sudden stop and Anya's concerned shout.

"Heda, what is it?" Iona asked. "Are you hurt?"

She opened her eyes as she sucked in a breath and looked at Anya with pupils blown wide.

"It's Clarke. She has taken the other Flame."

The abstract feeling that Lexa had been experiencing until that moment connecting her to Clarke had now exploded into a symphony of thrumming electricity.

But she could feel that Clarke was no longer on this plane.

She was gone.


Clarke opened her eyes to a blue cloudless sky, the sound of gulls squawking and waves gently crashing reaching her ears.

Wait. What?

She immediately lifted her hand and pressed her fingers to the back of her neck, feeling for the incision there. Her fingers rubbed and searched finding only smooth unblemished skin.

"You won't find anything there, Clarke. The Flame doesn't exist in this timeline."

She whipped her head around to see a woman exiting the house behind her. She now realised she was sitting on a deck that wrapped around that house. A beach stretched out for miles on either side.

The woman walked over and took the chair next to Clarke, raising her sandalled feet up and settling back against the cushion. Clarke stared at her. Somehow she seemed familiar, but at the same time completely new. She had dark hair swept back into a loose ponytail and she had delicate, pretty features; high cheekbones on porcelain skin and full, pink lips. She wore beige pants and a woolen roll-neck cream sweater. Clarke had never seen someone look so immaculate before.

She also realised she was thinking words in her head that she had never used in her life, let alone known the meaning of.

"Who are you?" she asked.

The woman pulled her gaze from the ocean to look at her, her large, dark eyes shining brightly. "I think you know," she said gently.

"Becca," Clarke responded, knowing it to be the truth.

"Yes. In your world I was known as Bekka Pramheda, the first Commander. But I have always been who I started out as."

"And who was that?"

Becca looked at her intently. "Dr Rebecca Griffin. Your great, great-aunt. And the person responsible for ending the world."


Tell me what you think! Pretty much living and dying for feedback yo. Leave me a comment here or come and chat to me over on Tumblr where I am weasal.

ALSO: In this verse the magical Latin phrases are not required to activate/deactivate this Flame.