Chapter 25

Clarke stood on the edge of camp as she waved the others off. Bellamy stood beside her, unhappy that he wasn't going with them, but glad that he was staying near Octavia. Everyone else was going back with Anya and a few of her trusted warriors. Raven was at the front of the little convoy with Anya. She wasn't happy about sending Raven back in charge, but she knew that it was the best thing. Monroe and Harper would protect her and their interests. The two blonds had stepped up more than she thought they would since they'd been in the village.

She looked over to a communal fire and saw Danae and Octavia drawing on the ground. She knew that they were hashing out where the 100 was going to camp just outside of town. She was glad that she'd had Octavia with her. They might still bump heads about things, but she knew that Octavia would do whatever was right for their people. She would fight until her last breath for them, bleed for them, die for them if she had to. Clarke didn't want it to come to that. She would do that and more. She had, but no one but Octavia really knew the full extent of what she'd done for them all, the 100, the Arkers, and Grounders alike.

"Hey, Princess," Bellamy said with her deep voice.

"What, Bell?"

"Why aren't you over there negotiating? Why did you send Octavia? I thought you were taking care of us," he stated.

"Do you think that your sister isn't capable of coming up with a good solution for our people while we live here, Bellamy? Or are you just jealous that your sister has more power than you do?" Clarke asked him as she stared into his eyes. "She is dealing with what I asked her to deal with, while I deal with bigger issues."

"Like what?"

"The Ark coming down. Making sure that we find a place among the people here. Dealing with an enemy that you haven't met yet, and don't want to. Fighting a war in my head to stay sane and make sure that I don't have to repeat this shit over and over again. Hoping that I've saved as many lives as I can on the Ark, and dealing with those that I haven't been able to save yet. I carry the weight of so many lifetimes in my head, Bell, and so does Octavia. So, forgive me for letting her help me carry that burden. It isn't like I can trust you do what I ask of you without you doing something that might undermine me or Octavia, or God forbid start at war with the grounders, because you have some ill conceived notion that you know better. Let me be clear. YOU DO NOT!"

"Okay, sorry," he mumbled.

"Oh, yeah, and one more thing I have to make sure that I secure."

"What's that, Princess?" he asked a little more cheerful since she was smiling at him.

"Your pardon, but sometimes, I wonder why I should."

She left him with that. He just stood there. He knew that he'd screwed up with the radio. He also knew that he was proving Clarke and Octavia right at every turn. He was doing some of the same shit that he'd done before but on different levels. He'd heard everything that he'd done and sometime he wondered why Octavia hadn't already killed him. He was hard on Lincoln. He wasn't exactly always down with the plan even though after he thought it out he knew that Clarke, Octavia, and now Raven were right in their planning. He needed to do better or he was sure that Clarke would either hand him over to Lexa or Anya, who scared him on levels he didn't want to admit, or back to the Ark when it landed as a traitor and attempted murderer.

Clarke walked slowly through the small village. She wasn't afraid and didn't feel like she needed a body guard. She was comfortable there. She smiled at the people, glad that they were alive this time and that she got to meet them. She would try harder to save some of them. She knew that she couldn't save everyone from the death wave, but she wanted to save as many as she could. She hoped that saving Mount Weather from being imploded would save hundreds more this time around. They needed to know how many other bunkers like Mount Weather and The Temple they could find.

"You are planning something deeply," Lexa said to her as she caught up to Clarke and walked with her.

"I'm trying to find a way to command death."

"But, you think it command's you?"

"I wouldn't say that. Years ago, long, long before the bombs and wars, there were a people that lived across the oceans called the Greeks," Clarke started.

"I've heard of them."

"I'm sure you have. I remember the library that you keep in the tower," Clarke said quickly and then stopped. "I'm sorry."

"You do not have to apologize for that, Klark. I understand that you have things inside you telling you how to proceed. I find that your knowledge of us and our ways even though you are new to our lands by your and your own people's admission is a lot like me having the Flame. Sometimes, I just know things that I should not because I was not there, had not been born, or it was from before the bombs themselves," Lexa told her.

"Becca," Clarke replied knowing what Lexa was referring to.

"Sha," Lexa answered.

"We can speak in Trigedasleng, if you prefer. Okteivia would be the only one who would understand it completely right now," Clarke told her. "We've been trying to teach Reivon some as well to help her feel more included. Linkon has been working with Okteivia to teach the rest of the 100, but not all of them are as receptive as they should be."

"They are goufa, but you still expect a lot from them," Lexa replied.

"I do, because I expect a lot from myself. We might be goufa, but we were treated like adults when we were sent here to die. There is so much that I want for them, but I know that I can't push them too far to fast. They are still children. They need to have fun. They need to see the world and not be afraid of it. They need to know that they can be the heroes that our people need them to be," Clarke explained. "But, at the same time, they shouldn't be forced into a war that they were never apart of. Our ways were cruel and harsh by your standards, and your ways are cruel and harsh by ours. By now, if I was still among the stars, I would have been killed, released into the stars to float among them until my body was destroyed."

"And your spirit?"

"Would be amongst the stars for all of eternity. While my body would survive for a time without being destroyed, my spirit would be gone. There would be no life," Clarke told her. "Once you laughed when I told you that we sent our dead back to the ground in a blaze of fire. You saw them as shooting stars. We never got to see them burn from where we were. But, you burn your dead to release their spirit back to the stars because part of your belief system tells you that is where you are from."

"Sha."

"Becca was from the what would become the Ark. Her kru was killed for not joining. Twelve krus came together to form the Ark. Becca helped pave the way for you to get the Flame to bring twelve krus together. Polaris was Becca's kru, but it became Trikru."

"And, now you want to return from the stars like Becca and start a new kru?" Lexa questioned.

"No, we want to join the coalition because we know that it is needed in order to survive. Becca knew that, too. She tried to bring the people together, but there was so much upheaval after the bombs that even though she gave them the natjus to help them survive, they killed her."

"You don't want to be a martyr?"

"No one wants to be a martyr, Leksa. They become one because they believe that they are doing the right thing for their people and their beliefs. I would rather die for my people than watch them suffer. I have watched you die several times because you brought twelve different cultures together to survive. We eventually became one kru on the Ark. Instead of twelve nations or kru, we became the Ark. Okteivia led the people into one kru."

"What did they call this one kru?"

"Wonkru."

Lexa stopped walking. Clarke turned and smiled. She knew that Lexa might not get the joke of the name because she might not understand the spelling difference. Clarke had been proud of Octavia for keeping as many as she had alive. It was an impossible circumstance, and she'd done the best she could with what she had.

"You say that like it should mean something to me," Lexa stated.

"No, it is a spelling thing that means two different things between Gonasleng and Trigedasleng. The end result is the same sound, but two different meanings. Okteivia wanted it to have both."

"Which are?"

"One as in the singular, like the number one. And, Won as in to win. Twelve krus came together to become one to survive and to survive Praimfaya, again. Okteivia lead them through six plus dark years, but they got to see the light."

"You speak like you didn't."

"In our last lives, I died in Praimfaya trying to use the last bit of tek to save all those that could be saved. Okteiva told me that it worked. She'd lived to old age and lead the people to prosperity. She'd learned from our earlier mistakes. The only thing that made her sad was I was not there to share it with her."

"That would be sad indeed," Lexa replied.

Clarke just looked at her. She wasn't sure if Lexa was openly flirting with her or if she was just trying to state a fact, like Clarke would have been a missed friend. She smiled though and nodded. Talking to Lexa was always going to be strange for her, now. She knew that, but it was nice that Lexa caught on to her more quickly in this go round. Maybe it was because she showed her hand early, or maybe it was just because Lexa wanted to know more about Clarke's past lives, like it was sick need because she had all the Hedas in her head with the Flame. Maybe for Lexa, it was nice to know that someone else had a similar but wildly different way to use what they "knew" to help them lead their people. Maybe Lexa just got it better. But as she stared into those vibrant viridian eyes, she realized that she really didn't care. She still loved Lexa, in all her glory and lives.

"Klark, I know that you are sad because of the fate of the people as you have lived it, but I believe that we will change it."

"Why do you believe me?"

"Because you are so happy to see this village still standing. You have opening told me that you could kill 300 of my men, but you don't want to do it. You are offering yourself as a sacrifice to end the monster in the Maun-de. You were right about the storm. You were right about the child that was ill in Tondisi. Tris came back earlier to confirm it. As far as I could tell, you haven't lied to me. Oktevia has told me things about your time in Azgeda with Nia and this Ontari. We will deal with them both. Roan is indeed in Polis, hiding at my leisure, but also at my bidding. I hoped that one day I would be able to end his mother and put him on the throne. Things haven't progressed the way I would have liked in the last two years."

"Nia is smart and selective. She will hide Ontari in front of you. But, Okteivia and I will know who she is. We can call her out."

"But, why would you side with me over Nia?" Lexa asked her, genuinely intrigued.

"Because I've fought in that icy hell. No one should live like that. She sits high in her palace in the North judging and lording over her people while they starve and are too afraid to stand up to her. Her army serves her for food and protection. Some, like Echo are forced into it just to live. Nia is a criminal in the eyes of your laws, but no one will stand up to her," Clarke told her. "I will. I have. And, I will not let be the reason more people die."

"You really don't like Nia."

"Like you have good reason to like her," Clarke quipped back.

"This is true, but I never thought that I would find anyone who wasn't Trikru that had a specific dislike to wish her death upon their blade."

"I'd rather let Raven make her go boom, but I can also see the reasoning behind letting her die by a thousands cuts. Either way, I get what I want. And, as a bonus, I get to watch her reap what she's sown. There are more than just Trikru that want her to suffer for what Azgeda has done to them. You just need to present the fact that she is a traitor to the coalition and that her crimes were committed after her joining. This is where Octavia and I come in, and we will be more than happy to give you what you need to make it happen," Clarke explained.

"And, what about others that you know would betray me?" Lexa asked.

"It is up to you what you want me to tell you. There is more that could help you, but I fear that I working with information from past lives. And, if Keyron has sent me back to make sure that you survive, then I will do everything in my power to make sure that it happens. I am scared though," Clarke admitted.

"Scared? Of what? You seem to not be afraid of anything, Klark. You haven't once backed down from me. You talk to me like I am an equal to you, and you don't treat me like I am some higher power that must worshipped and revered. You challenge me, and I am sure that you will always do so," Lexa replied.

"I try. But, yes, I'm scared. I am afraid of you falling in love with me again only to lose you. I am afraid that certain people around you are so worried about what not changing for the better of man, to save lives and keep mankind surviving, that they lose sight of everything that you have done as Heda and that you have pushed for since your ascention," Clarke said. "There are those who would just kill you for power. You know this. You have bodyguards to ward off the potential of this. But, you also have people that will come after you just because you would dare to change the law to help more people."

"And, Nia would be one of them?"

"She would be one of the more vocal yes, but there are others, closer to you that don't want to see the future."

"We are a people ruled by what we know to be true. We fight for life. We die for life. Everything that we do is for the life of our people," Lexa countered.

"I know that. That is why I am here, to save the lives of your people, all of them. I don't want everyone to die, but that is what will happen unless we change things in the next few months. We don't have time to wait or to convince the people. We must act now, before it is too late."

"And, what would you have me do?"

"First thing would be to rid yourself of Titus and promote Indra's daughter Gaia," Clarke told her.

"You really know way too much about me," Lexa replied.

"I do."

"And, what would you have me do with Titus?"

"I don't know. I just know that he is the one that kills you, Lexa," Clarke told her. "And, I will not let him do it again."

"Do you think that I will remember now if your life resets the clock?" Lexa asked her.

"I doubt it. It hasn't yet. I don't know why, but you never remember me."

"But, you find yourself close enough to me to make me love you in every life?"

"In most of them, yes," Clarke answered.

"In most of them?"

"I tried to stay away from you in a few to see if that would protect you," Clarke admitted.

"And, it didn't work."

"No, it didn't. We were still close, but we never became lovers. Someone would still betray you and you would die. I am always there to watch it."

"Blessed Keyron, no wonder you are ..."

"Wise?"

"Sha," Lexa stated. "You lived it so many times that you know what to do to change things enough to protect those you love, but you can't change everything. Fate and Keyron still rule the day. You really must be the Commander of Death."

"Why do you say that?

"Because you have declared that you will not die until you are ready, but you will fight against Death itself until you are happy with the number of people that you save. You sacrifice your mind and soul to save those who don't even know you. How could I not fall in love with someone like that? You love your people more than you love yourself and you are willing to die for them over and over again, so that they may live. We aren't so different, Klark."

Octavia was walking towards them when a man came out of no where and tried to attack them. Octavia and Lexa drew their swords. As they fought, they realized that it was troops from Azgeda, assassins. Clarke looked around and found Echo among them. She looked torn and then shocked.

"CLARKE!" Octavia screamed as she saw one of the attackers run Clarke through.

Octavia and Lexa, Gustus and Tris, dispatched the rest of the would be assassins and captured Echo.

"Don't hurt her," Clarke begged. "Bring her to me. Now."

"Nou!" Lexa bellowed.

"Hello, Ash kom Azgeda," Clarke said to her.

"Wanheda?"

"Sha, Ash, it is me. Take them to the lab. Make them see what you've seen and help them bring down Nia to save our people. Will you do this?"

"Sha, Wanheda, you know I will."

"Be good to Belomi. Teach him your ways. Make him a Grounder. Do not give him the blood."

"We won't," Octavia stated.

"Share it with Leksa. I know she already has natjus, but just a little. Take Anya and Raven. Give it to them after Mom comes down."

"And, what about us?" Octavia asked, knowing that Clarke was dying in her hands.

"You know what to do Ai Osleya, Ai Skairipa. Don't become Blodreina, but Leksa's Osleya and Skairipa. Save the people, O. Save the people."

"I can't do this without you, Klark."

"Yes, you can. You saw my granddaughter be born, remember? Find Madi and protect her from Titus. Adopt her if you must. Save our people and be the leader that I know you can be, Oktevia. Take Wonkru underground and bring them back. Save man. You have everyone you need. Ash is your sister, too. She will stand with you. So will Linkon, Reivon, Indra, and even Leksa. Lead our people back to the ground, O. Only you can do that," Clarke told her.

"Clarke? Clarke?" Octavia begged as she was crying, holding Clarke in her arms. "Don't leave me again, Clarke. I'm not ready to lead them."

"Save them O. I know you can," Clarke stated. "Save our people."

It was the last words that Clarke would give. Octavia looked up at Lexa. There was pain and fury mixed in her green eyes. Lexa knew that well.

"She will be avenged," Lexa swore.

"We ride for Becca's lab as soon as Raven and Lincoln get back. Gather everyone you need, especially Anya," Octavia ordered as an eerie calm came over her. She was doing her damnedest not become Blodreina, but it was hard. "Ash?"

"Yes, O?"

"You do not leave me side until I order it."

"Sha, Osleya."

"Who do you serve?" Lexa asked her as she studied the Azgeda warrior before her.

"I serve Wanheda en osir Osleya, Skairip, Heda. I serve your successor, Madi kom Louwada Klironkru, Klark's adopted daughter, osir strikheda. I swore to them this pledge two lives ago," Ash (Echo) stated as she held our her hand and showed the "C" carved into it. "I'll prepare her body."

"We will together," Octavia said as she and Ash lifted Clarke's body to take it into the hut that Lexa was using. "Lexa?"

"Sha?"

"Kill my brother please."

"What?"

"We're going to the lab to die, Ash. We are restarting. He will make it hard. I know you love him, but I'm sorry."

"He's already screwed up?"

"Yes."

"I'll do it," Ash replied.

"Why?"

"Because he is my responsibility, O, not yours. I was hoping to get to him soon enough, but things didn't go as planned. I'm sorry."

"Just end it, so it will be easier. He isn't going to let us go alone. And, I really don't want to have to kill him on the way."

"He is a fighter, yes?" Lexa questioned.

"Yes, he can be."

"Then, let him march with us."

"Why?"

"He shouldn't die for crimes he hasn't committed yet. See if he can prove himself worthy. I am not saying give him the blood. Don't. Please, no more of you can have it," Lexa explained. "But this march you are calling for is long and tedious."

"Sha."

"Where is Becca's lab?"

"It is on an island off the coast, but north of Floukru, near the Dead zone and the wastelands."

"Tris!"

"Sha, Heda," the younger girl questioned as she moved to Lexa's side.

"Ride for Floukru. Tell her I need her ship to escort us North. Tell her that I am not asking as Heda, but as Lexa kom natjus. Tell her I need my sister."

"Sha, Heda."

"Tell her to meet us near the coast up north near..."

"Near Ork and Manhat," Octavia supplied.

"GO. Now. Hurry," Lexa ordered.

"Sha, Heda," the teen replied and was gone.

"Will she come?"

"Luna?"

"Sha, she will come."

"Why? Because Lexa kom natjus asked? Or, because she'll be curious?"

"I imagine with Luna, both," Lexa answered.