A/N: So sorry about the long wait. Hopefully you enjoy this chapter, the story will soon come to a close. Thanks for reading:)

Clarke stares at him, blue eyes narrowed. "Jaha what are you doing?"

His face is calm even as weapons are aimed at him. Octavia stands stiff, sword drawn and gaze murderous as he blinks at them slowly. "The grounder betrayed you. I knew they would eventually so I planned. For almost three years I have waited. We have nuclear weapons and missiles, a way to fight back." He stares at Clarke before turning to Lexa. "The City of Light wishes the grounders to join under us." Lexa keeps her eyes on him, hands steady as they keep a 'halt' gesture, her warriors waiting on baited breath, watching her. Waiting for hand to drop. To give permission to attack.

Clarke grits her teeth as she catches the clench of Lexa's jaw and the tension in her shoulders before she speaks. "And the sky?"

He smiles in that way of his that sets Octavia on edge and sends Clarke stepping closer to Lexa. "Are already joined."

Clarke jerks towards him, anger flaring. "My mom wouldn't agree to that."

He chuckles, tilting his head back. "But I did."

Octavia bares her teeth, hands tight on her weapon as she takes a step forward. "You are not in charge."

He shakes his head, calm. "I once was. I know what is best for my people."

"You want domination." Clarke bite out before her eyes widen, she stares at the dusters on their packs, hand clenching into fists as something clicks in her brain. "Did you send the desert clan?"

He shrugs, nonplussed by all the sharp weapons aimed his way and the murder in their eyes. The danger lurking in Clarke's. "I simply gave him the means to an end. He wanted warriors and I provided them. He was to leave Camp Jaha alone."

Octavia scoffs. "He didn't, he betrayed you."

He smiles at her and Lexa listens, waiting for the other ball to drop. "No. None of the people of the Arc died. He kept the camp from aiding Lexa during in the take down of Polis." He looks around at the people of Polis before he finds Lexa's face. "Which I see has failed. Polis still stands."

Clarke shakes her head, spitting out the words like they taste bad. "You helped him."

"The grounders betrayed us." His eyes flicker to Lexa, angry before the emotion disappears. "They needed to understand that was the mistake they made. They will follow the City of Light or die."

Clarke's hands shake and the Ursa is flooding her veins, anger flaring up and her eyes darken. "You're willing to kill thousands of people?"

"We're trying to make the world what it once was." His hands motion to the street around him and everyone stiffen except for the two men by his side, their eyes are slightly glazed, expressions slack with no emotion. "Thriving and alive. The City of Light is the key."

"The world fell because of the way it was." Lexa straightens her spin as she speaks, the former Hedas memories flooding her mind. "The war happened because the world was corrupt."

"No." He shake his head, smiling slightly. "Alie eliminated them. Humanity was becoming detrimental to the earth. She reset the scale but it is happening again unless I stop it." His eyes are imploring and honest as he stares at the blonde. "You must have faith Clarke.

Clarke shakes her head in disbelief. "I have faith in the spirits. In my riders, not some woman that is pulling your strings."

He sighs low in his throat. "I am trying to save the world Clarke. I will not hesitate to take drastic measures."

Clarke grits her teeth. "Like bombing an entire culture."

He stares at her, lips forming a thin line. "You didn't have a problem in not evacuating Ton DC nor in radiating the mountain." Clarke's entire body stiffens and Lexa steps close, her people moving with her. "You've killed hundreds to save the thousands."

Clarke eyes tremble and her chest stutters as she bites out. "Because they were going to kill us, I didn't make any decision lightly."

"No." He sighs, too relaxed in their threatening presence, it sets Lexa on edge. No man would be that calm in the face of death unless he had a plan. "But it was made. I am willing to make the hard choices as well. The people of the Arc will survive under my rule." He turns to the Commander. "You have two days to decide if you are willing to concede and live under our rule."

Lexa speaks, voice dangerous and eyes full of malicious intent, ready to test his plan. "We're not finished here Jaha."

He smiles slowly. "Yes we are. I put the ultimatum down. Concede or die." His lips twitch. "Remind you of a time long ago?"

Clarke steps close, backing Lexa. "We have bombs Jaha. Mount Weather is full of them."

He chuckles. "No one has been in Mt weather for years." He shrugs his shoulders, too calm. "It is obsolete."

Clarke lets the Ursa flood with dangerous energy but Jaha does not buckle like the grounders would have. "I have the only way inside. Back down or I will kill you."

Tilting his head slightly he sighs in disappointment. "I don't believe you will Clarke. You're already burdened by the dead."

Clarke's entire being trembles and Lexa's eyes are hazed over as she searches for a correct out come, Octavia close to her side for defense. "Don't do this Thelonious, what would your son say?" Clarke's voice cracks.

"He's isn't here." His voice drops low and dangerous, not longer calm. "He died."

The blonde steps closer, blue eyes searching. "He wanted peace. Not war. You killing everyone would be his worst nightmare. He hated that you had to as chancellor. That you had to execute people by floating."

He shakes his head. "Then he would hate who you've become Clarke. A killer." His eyes aren't calm any more, they are full of anger and pain. "Murderer of innocence. Children. I am giving them notice. Unlike you I offer choices." He turns back to Lexa as her eyes focus. "Two days Commander."

Lexa growls, steeping in his space, too much blood and death in her visions. "You will not leave this city Jaha of the Light."

"But I will. If I don't check in with my people, the bomb destroys Polis." He shrugs, too relaxed once again. "Either way they believe me dead, my life will be one of the few to save the many."

Clarke glares at him, full of so much hatred and pain as her body stiffens. "Lexa, let him go."

Lexa searches her visions but all she can see is the blood in the streets. All she can hear is Clarke screaming in anger, Raven's voice cracking over a radio and all she can see is Jaha's triumphant smile in front of them. "Clarke."

"Raven is in the mountain, she'll track the missile if it's coming to us." She tilts her chin high, Lexa searches her visions but all she can see it that one defining moment, Raven's heartbroken voice. Clarke's howl of rage before it fades. They are in a strange place, Thelonius in front of them and a woman in red pressing her fingers against Clarke's hair. Then Lexa standing in Polis, thin and tired but alive. Her people below her. It does not show the victor and her heart aches to find Clarke but the vision fizzles out as the blonde continues to speak. "She'll kill them."

Jaha chuckles lowly, tilting his head in their direction. "Miss Reyes isn't a killer."

Clarke bares her teeth, every bit of instinct of the Ursa. "No, but she has saved lives more times than I can count. She'll do what she needs to to save lives." Her fingers itch across her knife. "We all will. Do not test us."

"The City of Light is a place of order and peace." His hands are held out in a placating manner, dark eyes sweeping the crowd before falling to Clarke and Lexa once again. "Fall into line, life will be far better than here. More advanced."

Octavia scoffs, chest burning with righteous fury. "Advanced isn't always good."

He stares at the girl who had been hidden under the floor. The girl who had forged her path the minute she landed on the ground and he blinks away the ache in his chest. The memory of his son. "You have two days to decide. Fall under our rules or fall under fire. The Arc isn't involved with these decisions Commander." He turns back to the former chief engineer's daughter. "Clarke, your mother understands, soon you will too."

Clarke advances on his, presence large and thick with rage. "My mother hasn't agreed to any of this!"

"She would do the same as I have. She has always done what is best for her people." Even in the face of an angry spirit his face remains calm, though he tilts his head to the left as if listening to something and Clarke flinches back at the reminder of her father's death and her mother's hand in it. "The grounders have been destroying the earth too long. Their ways are harmful."

Back burning and memories haunting her mind Clarke trembles as she speaks. "You can't pull a genocide."

He meets her gaze head on, steady where she trembles. "We do what we must to preserve life. One life for the many. You know this as well as I do." He leaves camp, warriors aching to attack him but they let him leave with tense muscles and the threat of too many dead on their minds.

"Clarke." Lexa's voice is low and wild as she drags her to a secure building, ordering her warrior to not attack. Frantic and as wild as the spirit that encompasses her.

"We'll get into the mountain." Clarke's entire body shakes as the door shuts behind them. Octavia leaning against it stiffly, watching them with Nani by her side. The girl has the same scowl as Octavia, the only difference being bright brown eyes instead of green and a thin scar from her ear to her left eyebrow. "A few of our trusted, we have no idea who he has in my camp or Polis."

Lexa stares at her with disbelieving eyes, villages and cities exploding behind her eyes. Screams of anguish and pain. "You want to use a bomb?"

"No. But we have that as a threat." Clarke runs her fingers through her braids, pacing like a caged lion. "Raven and Monty will figure the bombs out."

"War isn't to be fought behind buttons and bombs." Lexa throws her knife across the room, eyes wild. All she can feel is the dead of Ton DC. All she can see it the loss in her peoples eyes and the same guilt in Clarke's eyes. "Where is the honor?"

"Cowardliness is the only reason." Clarke stops her pacing and steps closer to Lexa, searching her face before meeting her gaze. "The only way to make anything happen is to have a similar threat. He has bombs but so do we."

Lexa lets out a low breath. "The people will not like the idea of bombs."

Clarke twitches but manages schools her features, Lexa catches the pain there all the same. "We'll tell them the truth this time. If Jaha aims one at us well aim one at him." The blonde licks her lips, swallowing as she gains her thoughts back from her memories. "It's like arrows or a gunfight, we'll be at a standstill and can negotiate."

Lexa lets out a low scoff, part skeptical and part sorrowful. "You cannot negotiate with people like him Clarke."

"We can try!" Clarke's voice crack and Octavia remains stonic and still against the door. "We can't just sit here and do what he wants."

"He will wipe all he can out." Lexa can feel the heat on her back and see the death in front of her as she squares her shoulders. "We must prepare."

Clarke trembles, death to close and familiar. She can feel it licking at the edges of eyes. "How?"

The presence of the Heda fills the room and Lexa's voice is low and dangerous. "We go to the City of the Light and kill him."

Clarke shakes her head, eyeing the rage filling Lexa's eyes. "Leave Polis unprotected?"

"The clan leaders will hide in villages, if he plans to bomb Polis then it is best to have the leaders hidden. If they die then the people will riot." Every muscle in her body is tense as she speaks. "Polis can be evacuated if needed."

The frantic look begins to die in Clarke's eyes, her mind swims but she chokes out her words, Ton DC too close in her eyes. "Send them to Camp Jaha, he won't bomb it."

Lexa stiffens, stepping closer to the blonde. "You are sure of this?"

"He wants his people to come home." She spits the word out, too many thought crashing through her head. "He wants to lead them again, he won't kill them all." Clarke pulls at the braid down her temple, scowl etched across her face. "The leaders can have meetings there. Feed false information to whatever traitor he has in there."

As a plan forms between the they both calm from their initial rage and fret. "Raven will remain in the mountain?"

"She'll watch for bombs." Clarke closes her eyes as she speaks, pulling in a deep breath and releasing it with her next words. "Everything will be fine."

"We leave today." Her fingers tighten on her sword and she waits for Octavia's burst of assurance and Clarke's questions that never come.

The blonde shakes her head, staring straight into determined green eyes. "Polis needs its leader."

"It would do well to have me gone, they are in a state of unrest. Distrust." Clarke's entire body stiffens but Lexa continues on, ignoring the signs from the blonde. "The Council of Clans can handle it for now, they will vote." Lexa clenches her jaw. "The queen may very well keep them in line."

The blonde nods her acceptance, face twisted. "We need someone to ride to Jaha first." Clarke scowls as she spits the name out, Octavia matching her expression as she shifts angrily against the door before they all exit the building.

Lexa shifts, motioning for her guards. They patrol around them, eyes on the shadows and the two spirits. "He is not worthy to have one named of him."

Clarke jaw clenches but she nods before shifting her feet, pushing down the rage. "Where is the City of Light?"

"Past the desert." Green eyes scour the shadows. "We'll need a few warriors.

Clarke finds the farthest shadow and give a quick tip of her chin, sending it running. "Nox grew up in the desert, he'll know where it is and how to navigate the desert safely."

"The less we take the better." Lexa tucks her hands behind her back as they walk through the lines of her people and warriors. "Time is not on our side."

"Just Nox, the rest of my warriors will remain behind." Clarke looks up, spotting Aidan and Mikil on the rooftops. They give her a quick nods, vanishing once again into the shadows. "Help with the mountain and Polis."

"We ride to the edge of Wind Clan, we'll meet up with the traveling fishermen of the Boat Clan." Lexa eyes the shadows suspiciously, keeping her voice low. "It will be quicker to get to the City by water than land."

"I need to go to the mountain first, I need to see Raven."

Lexa spins, bring them both to a stop. "Clarke we have limited time."

"I need to speak with her." Clarke takes a step back, dipping her chin to look at Lexa softly. "I'll be back before night fall."

Lexa barely keeps from baring her teeth, her muscles tense and it rips at the wounds she had received weeks ago. "We need to leave the city now, the journey could take more than a week and he gave us two days."

Clarke raises her chin high, squaring her shoulders. "Exactly why I need to speak with Raven, she'll protect them as best she can."

Lexa clenches her jaw. "Clarke."

"I'm going, i'll be at Nox's meeting point by nightfall and we can leave then." Clarke watches the emotions spiral in Lexa's eyes as the blonde speaks. "Nox will lead us in the desert. It'll give you guys time to pack the right supplies."

Lexa's shoulders drop in defeat when she sees a vision of Clarke riding off into the night despite everything. "By nightfall Clarke, we don't know if there are any more traitors out there. I'll have the fastest horse saddled for you"

Clarke looks up at the sound of hooves on cobble stones. "I'll be fine." Datak come trotting over atop his own horse, Isole's horse saddled behind him. Clarke's still healing from the deserts attack on her. "Beside mine is already saddled." Clarke presses trembling fingers into the bright blue paint on a black pelt before she swings her legs up on the horse, grunting at the flare of pain and the pull of her slowly healing wounds. Her entire body tingles and trembles at the exertion on her already weakened form. "I'll be back Lexa."

"Ste klir Klark."

Clarke searches her face before nodding down at the brunette. "Yu seintaim Leksa."

The moment is broken by the loud clomp of hooves on the stones as Lexa opens her mouth to speak and Octavia pulls to a halt, face bright with anticipation. "Not leaving without me."

Clarke watches as Octavia's second comes barreling to a halt next to them, her horse too large for her tiny frame. "I need you at Camp Jaha."

Octavia huffs out a low growl. "Float that, you don't command me. I'm coming with you."

Clarke feels Isole's horse shift under her, muscles tightening and loosening in preparation for a run. "I need you in the Arc Camp, they trust you more than they trust me. They'll listen to you Octavia."

The leader of the lost lets out a loud shocked laugh, deep with scorn. "What makes you think that?"

Guilt and pain paint blue eyes and Clarke meets Octavia's gaze head on, Lexa watching from the sidelines. "I was gone for three years, I left them alone and you and Lincoln were the bridges between ground and sky. They trust you."

Octavia scowls, shifting on her horse. "Fine, try to stay alive."

Clarke smiles. "You too." She turns to her remaining riders, Baladan bringing his horse next to her own. "You're with me Bal, the others will follow Octavia." She meets deep green eyes. "They'll listen to whatever you say."

The brunette raises her chin, defiant as always. "On your order?"

"No, they trust you." Clarke relishes in that familiar gleam in Octavia's gaze, not depleted by the years separated. "They'll listen because you're you."


Clarke stares at the small almost invisible device in her hand, small enough to be lost with a gust of air across it. "You sure it will work Raven?"

The mechanic snorts, rubbing away at the grease on her palm. "No doubt, just get it in there."

Clarke bites her lips, staring at the tiny thing resting in the palm of her hand with consternation. "If it doesn't work we're screwed."

"When have I ever lead you wrong?" Raven grumbles, finishing wiping her hands before she looks up at Clarke. "Everything will work. Just get into the City of light."

"It is a suicide mission Clarke." Baladan's voice is wary as he stands between them, tenser than before.

"Which is why only a few of us are going." Clarke slips the device into its case, smaller than her thumbnail, before she slips it into the hidden pocket of her pants with a sigh. "I've told Nox he can stay here. He won't."

Her constant companion steps close, face down-turned in concern. "I will go with you."

"I need you here, protect Raven at all costs." Her fingers tremble and she can see the same loss in his eyes, the fear of losing more of their family. "She's our only hope at keeping the missiles at bay."

"Way to be make me feel wanted." Raven rolls her shoulders, rolling her tongue over her teeth. "No pressure."

Clarke offers a half smiles, a reminiscent of three years ago in a drop-ship with too much blood on the floor and wires under Clarke's hands. "You can do this Raven. Everyone is counting on you."

"Like I said no pressure." Raven shoves Baladan's side as she winks at Clarke. "At least you left me with company."

Baladan grunts, shoving Raven's hand away with a twisted smile before her turns to Clarke again. "You need to leave if you want to make it back before nightfall."

Clarke lets out a deep sigh and nods before Baladan pulls her in for a hug. She buries her face into his shoulder. "May we meet on the sunrise." His voice rumbles in her ear.

She squeezes him tighter, chest aching. "In this life and every one after it."

Raven pulls her in for a hug the second Baladan releases her. "Don't die, get blown up or get kidnapped again please."

Clarke chuckles, pulling Raven in for a hug. "Okay." Her fingers tremble across the mechanic's shoulders.


Lexa is coiled like a snake, ready to attack when Clarke comes to the meeting point. Nox is calmly sharpening his sword and gives her a quick nod. Lexa's gaze sweeps over Clarke and finding no injuries that weren't already there she climbs back on her horse. "We can continue for a few more notches, then we rest."

Clarke looks down at her clock, already calculating the time they should probably stop. "Okay, lets go."

They follow the moon, keeping it to their right until it is high above them and they rest. Clarke pulls the saddle off her borrowed horse and begins to brush it down. Before she can finish Nox shoving her shoulder until she sits down by the pit. Lexa cleans her mount's hooves, watching with a cautious curious gaze before Nox pull Clarke's jacket from her shoulders and then her shirt. Clarke rolls her eyes. "I'm fine Nox."

He grunts, shaking his head as he unlatches a bag from his thigh. "Your wounds need treatment, Isole would have my head in our next life if I let them get infected."

Clarke rolls her eyes, shoving her elbow into his side. "How's your head?"

He looks up at her, eyes dancing as his lips twitch. "Fine. How do you feel?"

Clarke scowls at him, teasingly shoving against his knee as he crouches next to her. "Fine."

Nox grunts out a laugh. "Always so hard headed."

Lexa turns away as he begins to wipe a wet cloth over her healing wounds, gentle and familiar. Soon the smell of poultice fills the air and he lathers the paste over her wounds. Lexa turns at the hiss, worried and cautious before she catches sight of fifteen fresh burn marks on an already severely scared back. "Clarke?" Lexa's voice is barely a whisper but Clarke spin around anyway, hiding the hundreds of flared kill marks across the entirety of her back. "Why?"

Clarke flinches back, pulling her shirt over her head, shaking Nox's hand from her elbow. "I've killed."

Lexa stares at her, shaking her head, emotions swirling to close to the surface. "Leader do not mark the hundreds dead due to war."

Clarke clenches her jaw, hands shaking before she forces them to still. "I killed them all."

"Not alone, you did what was necessary to save your people." Lexa steps close, eyes too understanding but cautious. "A leader's back is not large enough to bear it all."

"They are my deaths to bear!" Clarke's voice is loud, echoing around the trees and her chest heaves. "I could have warned Ton DC, I could have done something different than killing hundreds in the mountain." Her entire form shakes. "Than killing children." She thinks to Bellamy's pleads in the mountain before the lever was pulled. Too the guilt and desperation but acceptance deep in her own bones. Forever weighing her down.

Lexa steps close to her, Nox already disappearing into the shadows. "You do not need to bear their marks, they are not yours alone."

Clarke grips her thigh, staring Lexa down. "I bear it so they don't have to." The words crack as they leave her lips.

Lexa shakes her head, too understanding with the burn mark across her left shoulder blade memorized. One for each of the one who loved her and died because of it. The ones she couldn't save; Costia, Anya and Gustus and the many others that had been lost the minute she became Commander, those she cared for deeply. "You wear the marks of the dead when you don't need to."

"I wear them to remind me of what I've done, to remember each death." Her back burns with memories, walking through the mountain, dead at her feet. Ton DC, screams and moans of pain. Her riders standing before her, ghosts as the rain pounds down on her. Isole's eyes glazing over in death.

"A leader's back is not big enough to fit their orders." Lexa says it like a mantra, like her back doesn't bear a few marks she felt deep in her body. Like she doesn't remember each bombing, each dead in the fog no matter the lack of mark on her skin. The ones lost in the war haunting her visions. "You must not torture yourself over what you cannot change."

"You think I don't know that?" Clarke stalks closer to the woman chosen by the Heda spirit, blood boiling and skin crawling. "I have over five hundred burn marks on my back, believe me I know my back is barely big enough."

"You did not kill them on your own and you did not kill your riders." Nox is hidden behind one of the horses, waiting for the break. For the inevitable shatter of will as he brushes down his own horse.

Tan worn hands motion to the west as she glares at Lexa, everything coming to the surface. "Nobody seems to remember that the dead in the mountain contained innocents. I killed them and my riders died by my orders."

The brunette shakes her head, stepping closer and she stares at Clarke like it hadn't been three years with so many trials and error between them. "Our people must be willing to live and die for us, you know this!"

"I don't want them too!" Clarke manages to force the words out, throat thick with greif. Finally breaking. "I don't want their deaths on my shoulders, I don't want them to die for me. I never asked them to. I never asked her too."

Tears fall down tan cheeks, Lexa's eyes swirling with understanding, greif and pain. Both had been forced hands they didn't want. Deaths they could not forget. Roles they did not want to play. "You don't need to ask, they love you. She loved you."

"They died because of me."

"They died because of the Desert." Lexa steps close, hesitantly reaching for Clarke. When the blonde doesn't jerk back Lexa closes her fingers over Clarke's, squeezing gently. "They died to protect those they could. You should not mourn the dead, death is not the end. You know that as well as I do."

Clarke lets the tears fall down her face. "It may not be the end but it doesn't mean it doesn't hurt." Clarke wipes at her eyes hastily.

Lexa swallows closing her eyes as her throat tightens. "I know."


Nox comes over to Lexa, head held high as Clarke brushes down her horse, eyes glazed but slowly coming back to herself with the meticulous task at hand. "Your wounds need looked at as well."

Lexa looks up at the rider with narrowed eyes. "I am fine."

Nox's lips twitch, like the Commander couldn't order his banishment. Like she didn't have a spirit flooding her body and i sets her on edge. "Clarke would have your head if you are not checked over."

She meets his eyes, chin tilted in a stubborn defiance. "i am fine."

"Sit Heda, before Clarke makes you." His eyes spark, and his teeth flash as he speaks. "She is very stubborn."

Lexa grunts, glad it is only Clarke and Nox with her, she did not wish her warriors to witness her conceding. "I know." She pulls her armor off and the rider does not gloat or gleam in triumph.

Gently he cleans her wounds, doesn't mention the scars across her body or the edge of her ribs. He is steady and it calms her. He fixes some torn stitch like he had for Clarke before he rubs poultice on it then covers it. "You will live." He grunts out, dropping her shirt back over the wounds.

Her lips twitch and she stares at him. "I should hope so rider." Lexa adverts her gaze, jaw too tight. "Thank you." He shrugs but Lexa catches his eyes and he nods, understanding more than words said.


They tears through the forest as fast as they can, leaves crinkling under-hoof and branches snapping against their cheeks. The radios is silent on Clarke's hip and they are all too stiff with nerves and determination. They ride well into the day, the sun creeping overhead as they stop at a river and allow the horses to drink their fill. They do the same, Nox filling up the canteen as full as he can. He looks at the sun creeping through the canopy but remains silent. The horses munch on grass and they all eat a quick lunch and relieve themselves before they are on the trail again. They ride until the moon falls overhead, too bright and then they stop. It is a repeat of the night before. Clean the horses and take care of any problems with them, treat the wounds they have, eat, relieve themselves and then rest.

They wake at dawn and the day continues on like the previous. At least until the trees begin to thin out and Nox pulls a cloth over his head, the other two riders doing the same. Protection from the sun. The dirt shifts to rocks before it slowly gives way to sand. "Be mindful of the sand." Nox's voice is gentle yet stern. "We must rest more often and not run as fast." His fingers trail along his mounts neck. "They will be injured and we will be left without transportation." The pace is slow but they continue on a quick as they can. They rest many times, rubbing their mounts legs and drinking what they can spare. The horses guzzle down the water and snort at the sand on the ground. When night falls they huddle together as the temperature drops and Nox throws blankets over the horses. The three horses huddle together around the humans and Nox is pressed into Clarke side, Lexa hunched on Clarke's other side. They have a low fire going that they rest near but the cold is still there.

When the sun breaks across the horizon they are on the move again. Halfway through the day a wall of sand seems to be coming their way. "Dust storm!" Nox's voice is loud and he scrambles off his horse, Clarke doing the same. Lexa follows after them as Nox throws a large thin blanket over his horse, wetting the part that will go over horse's nose and mouth before he cinches it down to the saddle.

The two women do the same before they are pulling thin cloths over their head and wetting the cloth over their mouth. "What do we do?" Lexa's voice is hinged in worry and Nox begins to lead them to the top of a dune.

"We wait it out, stand together and keep the horses close together." The winds grow harsh and there is the roar of it before a soft clicking sound. Clarke looks up to see a drone hovering around them. She takes her knife and with a flick of her wrist the drone falls, sparking.

Clarke stares at the drone before the winds pick up and she huddles close to her horse. "They know were coming." She grabs at the radio on her waist. "Raven?"

There is a few seconds of silence that puts Clarke on edge before there is the crack of the radio. "Yeah?"

Three sets of shoulders loosen even as the wind begins to pick up. "Anything?"

"Nope, no missiles so far." There is a cautious angry edge to the mechanic's words. "He's waiting for something."

Clarke grits her teeth, letting out a sigh with her eyes closed. "He sent a drone, knows we're on our way."

Across the desert and deep in the mountain Raven closes her eyes, worry stabbing at her heart as Baladan stops tying knot in a long rope to look at the radio, chest stilling. "Shit."

The wind is loud in their ears, almost drowning the radio out with the roar of it. Clarke buries her head into her horse's neck. "Yeah."

"I'll keep the missiles primed." Raven hesitates, licking her lips but she keeps the questions and worry at bay as much as she can even as Baladan steps closer to her. "Good luck, be careful."

Clarke swallows, hand finding Lexa's as Nox huddles closer to his horse, pulling until they are all in a circle together as Clarke speaks. "You too."


Hours later the sandstorm dies and the three human's shake the sand from their bodies as the roar of the winds silence. They have to dig the legs of the horses out as well as their own before they pull the thin blankets off their heads and shake them out. They offer the animals water and greedily they gulp it down, snorting all the while. "We should do a few clicks before we rest, we're a days ride from the edge of Wind Clan territory." Nox's eyes wearily find the spot where the drone had once been. The sand had covered it up and their footsteps are covered, sand blown over in the storm. Nox eyes the sun nodding his head in affirmation of the time and distance. Memory hazy yet true. Clarke pulls off her jacket, shaking it out as sand mercilessly digs into every nook and cranny of her clothing. Nox's lips twitch but he remains silent.

Lexa shifts uncomfortably but does not remove her jacket, she pulls the cloth from over her mouth and takes a sip of her water. "You are sure of this?"

"I grew up in the sands, even the storms cannot hide the sun." His gaze bore into green before he finds blue. "It is always steady. The sun will always rise and it will always fall." Clarke swallows thickly but Lexa nods, rubbing at her mount's legs before climbing up onto him.

Clarke slips her jacket back on, covering the skin on her arms once again before the sun can burn it. She pulls the hood over her head and shields her eyes from the sun. Nox begins to lead them, keeping the sun on his left and eyes darting between the horizon and his horse's neck. He sloshes his water jugs and swallows. They were halfway through the water and he knew the horse's would need another drink soon, just as they would. The sun is hot on their covered forms, merciless and he shifts. Too long had he been out of the desert, he became used to the humid air of the trees. Thick with precipitation, the trees high above their heads. The riders had always traveled between clan lands but never had they ventured so far into the desert. His heart aches at the memories it brings, before his time as a reaper. Before the taste of blood filled his mouth and death weighed on his mind.

There is a soft pressure on his shoulder and he shakes his head and turns to face Clarke. She's eyeing him with worry, pressing out reassurance and love through just her touch. Her eyebrow twitches with a question and his lips tremble in an answer before she squeezes his shoulder again before dropping her hand back to her thigh with a slight dip of her head. That panic and anguish falls away from him and he breathes in the scent of the desert. Too dry in his lungs but not home, not like it once was. Lexa watches them curiously before taking a small sip of her canteen, her chin jerks when Clarke looks over and the blonde sighs before grabbing her much fuller canteen and sipping at it. The blonde's foot leaves the stir-up to nudge at Nox's calf and the man born of sands snorts. "I grew here, the sands do not affect me as they do you."

Clarke lifts her chin. "You haven't been here in three years, drink."

"We must preserve out water, I will be fine."

"I have an extra canteen, take a drink Nox."

He meets her gaze as they continue to ride as a steady pace. With a sigh he gives into her stubborn eyes and takes a quick sip of the water on his hip. Hooking it back to his belt he stares at Clarke before raising one of his eyebrows sardonically. Clarke snorts, shaking her head before looking forward once more. Lexa's lips are twitching but she hides it well behind the thin press of her lips.


The closer they get to the edge of Wind Clan territory the cooler the air gets and the smell of salt begins to taint the air. A rider comes from he hills, trotting easily in the sand. He keeps his gaze to the ground but pulls his sleeve up to show the mark of the Wind Clan burned there. Nox nods quietly and they follow after him Lexa, easily falling into step beside the Wind Clan rider. Clarke eyes the scaring at his throat. It had to have been deep, but he survived, most likely forcefully mute, yet it does not stop him from easily ordering them to follow him. The sun drops farther and farther in the sky before the blue of the ocean comes into view and they speed up easily. The Boat Clan greets them eagerly. Shoving them on a large wooden boat the stands still. Clarke stares at it with the awe she once had when she first saw a horse. There are blue dyed clothes the are tied down and Clarke's heart races. It's a sail boat and with reluctance they leave the horses with the Wind Clan warrior. Clarke's eyes are dangerous and her chest aches. The horse was once Isole's. "We will be back for them and they better be in the same condition as we left them."

The boat ride takes two days of Nox puking his guts into the ocean and Lexa meditating on the bow of the ship. Clarke breathing in the cool air at the stern of it until they hit the edge of land. "It's a half days walk to the City of Light." The Captain licks his lips, meeting their gaze and putting his fist over his heart. "Ste klir."

They set off across the sand, slowly it gives way to thick cobble stone. Boulders sanded and cracked, arranged until they formed a pathway to a city in the distance. The gates were high, white coated in silver. Beyond the gates stood high towers, buildings that were flashing in silver themselves. Carts full of technology, metal and wires are lead by camels and horses, they go through the gate once a mark on their arm is checked. Many of them leave with buckets of water tied down on their carts.

The guards at the gate are in dark slacks and a white collared shirt with badges across their chests and golden sashes across their shoulders. Their faces are clean shaven and hair pulled back into tight buns or cut short to their head. Not a tattoo or scar in sight. Nox fingers one of his braids with nerves, every single thing about this place setting him on edge. "The plan?"

"I'm thinking." Clarke murmurs. She watches the gate slide shut, no creaking of hinges or rusting metal, she searches for a weakness. "Raven would have a plan already. This city is full of technology."

Nox grabs her elbow, squeezing it gently, gaze full of determination and trust. "You are Clarke not Raven, think like Clarke."

Lexa is stiff beside them, eyes glazed as she searches her visions. Forces them on herself while Clarke grits her teeth, speaking lowly. "He's expecting us already. Knows were here."

"Then how do we proceed?" He prompts, eyes flickering to the Heda as her face twitches. "Try through the gate with brute force or sneak over the fence?"

"We go through the gate and he takes our weapons." Lexa speaks lowly, eyes still closed as she searches. Fights for visions like she never had before. It reminds her of searching for Costia, the desperation to see what would happen. "We can try the fence, figure out a way to get through the guards."

The once Desert warrior eyes the fence, searching the top of it before nodding to himself. "I have rope and grapple in my bag."

Clarke nods sharply, sweeping her gaze from the fences to the buildings. "Then we hook it up on the fence behind one of the buildings. Can't risk being seen."

Lexa grips the knife on her thigh as she blinks back tot reality. The only future it Raven's voice echoing in anguish and Clarke's scream of rage. It could mean to many things but it sets her instincts on edge, gut churning with worry and anticipation. "If he is expecting us then there is no element of surprise."

"We haven't seen a drone since we hit the ground after the boat." The blonde meets their gazes and the Ursa twitches within her in anticipation, her heart beats quick and her skin itches with adrenaline. "He still thinks were going by land. We're two days ahead of what we would be if we took the horses. We use that now before he can discover us."

"Good. Let's go." Nox creeps forward and Clarke grabs both his and Lexa's arm.

She stares at them, pulling in a shaking breathe. "Neither of you have to come. I can do it myself."

Her rider offers her as raised head and a grin stretching across his lips. "It is a suicide mission, why not go down together?"

Lexa straightens her shoulder before Clarke can reprimand Nox. "We will not die today. We'll go through the plan, get over the fence and hit the ground running."

They creep as low to the ground as they can, staying away from the guards before they are hidden in the shadows of the gate. Nox begins twirling his grapple, it whistles higher and higher before he releases it and it slings over the fence. He pulls until it latches onto the edge of the top and he waits, there are no sounds so he tilts his chin and Clarke goes scrambling up the wall, Lexa behind her with Nox bringing up the end. Clarke's feet hit the ground before there's and she sends them a look. "I'm sorry." She takes off running, dodging between building. Lexa's eyes widening before she is chasing after the blonde.

Nox tucks the grapple into the corner, hidden before he takes off after the two women. He finds Lexa spinning down an alley way, frantically searching for Clarke. "She's gone."

"She left for a reason, we must find the man and kill him." He does not reach for Lexa but his eyes are imploring and steady. "You said so yourself."

"That was before Clarke left on her own."

"Nothing has changed, she can take care of herself." He pulls his sword free, emotions running free but clearheaded like Lexa wasn't in this moment. "You know this as well as I Heda."

Clarke ducks behind another building breathing heavily as she dodges through alleys, hand tight around her sword on her him and right hand slipping into the small pocket on her pants, fingers tight around a minuscule box as she begins to run between the buildings. She keeps running, not pausing once. She weaves throughout buildings, all of them as fast as she can before she is in the center of it, she slips through the door, running without looking. It shows with the frantic edge to her eyes and the harsh breath leaving her body. She turns around a corner to find a guard looking at her. She spins and begins to run away, she makes it down two corridors before she trips, slamming into one of the computer modules. She hits the ground on her knees, rolling behind the desk as she draws her sword, she places her right hand on the underside of the desk as she crouches lower. Footfalls sound and she launches herself over the desk pressing off the top of it with her left foot and kicking out with her right knee and catching one man in the neck. He falls with a grunt and she swings her sword down with both hands.

He dodges out of the way and fires a gun at her. She jerks back, expecting a bullet but receiving volts of electricity. It doesn't effect her at first, the Ursa fighting it and she brings her sword to slice at his throat but jerks suddenly as the voltage grows more powerful, the man twisting a knob on his gun. Her body stiffens and she falls to the ground, twitching and grunting before they deactivate the electricity without blinking. She glares up at him as the other man rises, rubbing at his neck. They move quickly but efficiently as they cuff her hands in front of her. He strips her of any weapons she has, blinking at her before he is sure all of them are gone, leaving the radio on her hip like he didn't know it was there. The men heave her to her feet, throwing her stuff in a bag before they move through the city. Her feet drag across the floor and slowly her muscles tingle and begin to come back to her. She tries to get her feet under her but it doesn't happen even for a second and they continue dragging her to a building. Lexa and Nox are there in the middle of the room. They are bloodied and scowling, hands cuffed in front of them and feet shackled. They had put up a fight before ultimately falling.

Jaha walks out from behind them, smiling a Clarke in a way that sets her on edge as they shove her next to Lexa. She falls to her knees, leaning against Lexa's shoulder as her muscles spasm, still fried from the taser. "I see you've come to visit me Clarke, Lexa. It has been longer than two days."

Clarke's throat feel thick but she still manages to growl out her words. "I know we're at a standstill with the missiles."

"Possibly." He pause looking over her dirt ridden face over, there are smudges on the clean stones of buildings of the city. A dark mark meant to be erased. "Have you changed your mind?"

She bares her teeth up at him. "No."

He sighs like he knew it was coming. "Then we will bomb Polis, you've worked hard to move people out of it." He smiles, lips stretched to wide. "The leaders into the Arc, some of Polis to Octavia's camp. Some to the mountain." Clarke stiffens, chest stilling at his knowledge. "But it won't work, our people will throw them out Clarke. They are savages."

"You're the savage." Clarke jerks to her feet, taking a shaking step forward, Lexa stiff by her feet. Their hands are tied in front of them but Clarke's eyes are blazing with fire as she clenches her fist. "A monster. You threaten to bomb a capital if they don't bend to your will. Threaten to kill innocents and children."

"You would know about killing children wouldn't you Clarke?" His voice is swift and intent clear as he tilts his head. "Do you spot your reflection and see the monster you've become? More savage than you once were. Just like the grounders." There is a hatred there that Clarke had never seen before on the Arc.

Clarke speaks through a thick throat, memories haunting her. "We do what we must to protect what ours."

Lexa is close behind Clarke, face split open as she glares up at the man. "You hide behind your missiles, a coward."

His face almost splits with anger before a deep breath calms his features and the anger in his blood. "No, I'm a realist, I have a better chance of winning with missiles." His eyes find hers and he is once again the eery calm from Polis. "I know what I have to offer. The City of Light is clean, an oasis in the midst of this monstrosity. Join us and you will see the light, you will become more."

Lexa raises her chin, baring bloodied teeth, taser marks burned into her neck. "We are what we are, nothing can change that."

There is a garbled voice in his ear that they can barely make out in the silence and he grins, eyes sparking dangerously. "Then you die a savage."

There is a finality to Lexa, a deep anger, green eyes blazing and chin raised high even as blood drips from her lips. "And you'll die a coward."

Clarke grips the radio in her hand, ripping it from her hip. "If there so much as a movement in any direction Raven will nuke where it came from, even if we're here."

"You fail to see Clarke." He smiles, like he know every step they make. Like he can see the future, not Lexa. "You have come here and I've sent one there." He motions to the radio as there is a garbled voice filtering to their ears from his. The second his is silent Clarke's radio clicks.

"CLARKE!" Raven's voice is loud and Thelonious Jaha smiles down at Clarke, lips edging creepily in a way they never had when Wells was alive.

"The war has just begun and you two are stuck here. Far away from the battle." He tilts his chin down, lips twisting even more "Just like I wanted."

"What did you do?" Lexa stumble to her feet, chains clinking as she steps close, itching to spill his blood. That inflection to Raven's voice was from one of her visions and she stiffens at the implications, turning her gaze to Clarke.

"Raven, what happened?" Clarke's fingers creak the plastic as they dig into the radio. "Jaha sent someone, be careful."

"I know." Raven's voice is grave and Clarke's stomach drops, throat drying. "He blew up the mountain Clarke." Her voice is thick with anguish and Clarke can hear the tears that must be sliding down her face. "I'm so sorry."

The blonde's voice waivers. "Raven?"

"Everyone in there is gone." Clarke's knee trembles and she drops the radio, she had failed. She had made it to the City of Light and failed all her people.

Clarke let out a loud anguished rage filled scream, lunging at Jaha only to be shoved down by the guards. "I'll kill you!" Her eyes are wild as she struggles under them.

"You can try. Detain them in solitary." He picks up the radio from the ground, ignoring the thrashing and the sound of the taser as they hit the thrashing Clarke with them. He ignores the sound of four tasers releasing before the blonde slumps, Lexa and Nox hitting the ground soon after. "Raven Reyes."

"Jaha." Her voice is thick with rage.

He tilt his head, listening to Alie in his ear before he speaks. "I have a message."

"I killed your last messenger." Her emotions are thick enough that he shivers at the promise of pain there, the anger.

"He was a pawn." He pauses, listening still before he finds words. "We have Clarke and the Commander. Soon we'll have the rest of her people. Camp Jaha will comply, get the grounders to as well or I will bomb them."

Raven grips the radio in her hand, baring her teeth at the black box. "Float you Jaha."

"Deliver my message, the mountain is not the last attack. I'll strike Polis next and if you still don't comply I will bomb the villages." He shuts off the radio before Raven can answer him. He looks to Alie, her face is still as passive as ever but her hands are tangles together over her hips. "Is it done?"

"She spoke the truth. The mountain has fallen, the systems are down Thelonious." She tilts her head to the side as she meets his gaze. "Our plan is in action."

He tilts his head down to her. "Your plan."

She smiles, meeting his gaze. "You are my vessel, it is our doing."


Later that night Jaha stands in the central room of the house, he fiddles with controls on the computer in front of him. Three cells with unconscious occupants are shown as well as a flickering topographic image of the Trikru territory. "We can't bomb the villages or Polis?"

There is a flicker of light across the central control scenes but the images from the satellites do not come through, glitching and fading to black and grey. "No, the explosion at the mountain jammed the signals. I am struggling to get through them." Her body flickers as well. "But they do not know this."

He stares at the flickering screen, calculating. "You think idle threats will keep them at bay?"

"They fear the missiles, they do not know we cannot fire them." She runs scenarios through her head. "Fear will keep them in line, for humans it always has. For now we must condition those here. Wait it out. We have all the time in the world Thelonious."