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"Are you sure?"said Raven as she looked at Maya. They were once again in the art storage room and they kept their senses on high alert in case someone came in,"A missile was launched at the survivors of the Ark? How did you even find this out?"

Maya nodded hastily and said,"A friend of my dad is one of Dante's most trusted bodyguards and he was with Dante in the command centre as they gave the order. Apparently, an army of land dwellers had formed around your camp and he deployed one of his men along with a drone to capture the coordinates of the site. "

Maya paused and Raven grabbed onto her shoulders abruptly, "What happened, Maya? This is important! Clarke could have been–"

Maya silenced Raven with a raised as she scanned the room for any sign of another presence. Both of their checks turned up blank and Raven muttered an apology which Maya waved off.

"Clarke was at the target zone,"said Maya, but before Raven could interrupt her she added,"She deflected the missile. Dante was furious. He almost ordered another strike, but Cage convinced him not to. "

"Is Cage someone we can get on our side?"asked Raven which drew a sharp shake of the head from Maya.

"Definitely not,"said Maya as a scowl grew on her face,"He said they should wait for the army to March on our gates before launching the rest of the missiles."

"So they're just going to wait for the army to come here?"said Raven before she punched the wall. The stone cracked and crumbled under the force of the punch and Maya quickly took Raven's hand in her own to assess the damage.

"Nothing's broken,"said Maya as she let go of the hand,"You shouldn't be so reckless. You need to be ready in case President Wallace decides to attack you guys."

"I know, "muttered Raven as she wailed dust of her knuckles,"This is just so frustrating. We can't even warn Clarke about the missiles because of the signal jamming. They'd be walking into a trap."

"I'm sure Clarke is smart enough to know that,"said Maya as she added,"The acid fog was just one of our defenses. There are many more that only Cage and Dante know about and unless we cripple at least some of those it won't be long before all of the Sky People in the cages are gone and after that..."

"It's our turn,"finished Raven. They weren't sure where the captured delinquents were all disappearing to, but while there had been roughly 40 at first that number went down to 20. The most recent disappearance was Mbege and it hurt Raven to know that her peers were getting killed right under her nose and yet none of the other delinquents wanted to buy into Clarke's suspicions.

Octavia was doing her best to drown herself in alcohol and Harper, Monroe and Miller were all too fascinated by the various facilities the Mountain had to be overly concerned about Clarke's disappearance. The only person who Raven trusted right now was Monty, but she hadn't quite been able to get him alone .

"Have you been able to get Jasper alone?"said Raven and her expression dropped at the decidedly sad look on Maya's face.

"If he wasn't so busy trying to console Octavia then I think I could have by now,"said Maya with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

The budding chemistry between Maya and Jasper had all, but evaporated when a drunk Octavia had given him a sloppy kiss during some sort of drinking game.

Jasper had been elated that his crush while true to Octavia's character these days she had forgotten all about her actions while in a stupor. While Raven had been able to make sure that no one took advantage of the younger girl by essentially moving her into Clarke's old room, that didn't stop the girl from making other mistakes.

She had apparently ruined a 600 year old painting while drunk which had not gone down with Dante. Admittedly, it had been rather funny if only because Dante had not been pleased with it and also because the sight of a passed out Octavia straddling the frame of a ruined painting was funny.

"There's plenty of stars in the sky,"said Raven at Maya's confused expression she added,"It's a saying back on the Ark. I'm sure there's someone out there for you. Maybe someone that doesn't wear goggles wherever he goes."

Maya smiled at the attempt at humour and she nearly laughed at the joke before her mind recalled the purpose of their meeting,"Raven, we need to figure out a way to signal to Clarke. My dad and I have begun to recruit those who oppose Dante, but we don't have a plan to separate them when the army comes."

"The army won't even come because of the missiles,"said Raven as she chewed her lip before realisation struck her,"I have a really bad idea."

"How bad is it?"

"Well on a scale of one to riding a dilapidated escape pod to Earth it's worse than you could imagine,"said Raven drily.

"But?"ventured Maya as she sensed there was more to it.

"But it'll be a sure fire way to get the army here safely and signal Clarke all at once,"said Raven finally.

"What's the problem then?"said Maya with a frown on her face.

"Two things," said Raven ,"One, I can't do it myself and two, I'll probably get killed whether or not I'm successful. "

Before Maya could respond, the sound of the door opening drew their attention. Raven's eyes began to emit a yellow light as she peered towards the source of the noose and she cursed softly.

"What did you see?" whispered Maya as Raven grabbed onto her arm.

"A rat,"said Raven as she began to pull Maya away,"Come on, he's gaining on us."

They weren't near any doors and as such Raven had to guide them through a labyrinth of aisles, sculptures and paintings to escape their tail. Eventually, they reached a passage with a door at the end of the passage, but before they could even get close Raven collapsed to the ground in sheer pain.

It was unlike anything she had ever felt and it permeated her very being. Every single inch of her body was in more pain than she ever thought was possible and just as she was about to pass out from the pain, it vanished just as quickly as it had appeared.

Raven opened her eyes and she laid still on the ground as she felt sweat pour from every pore on her body. The sound of heavy footsteps drew her attention and she heard Maya's shriek of terror before it was rudely cut off.

Raven felt a burst of adrenaline and she pushed herself to her feet before she pointed her hands at the guard who had caught them. Green balls of light formed in front of her palms and just as Raven was about to unleash her mind caught up with her body as it processed the scene in front of her.

Murphy held a struggling Maya within his grasp and his hand over her mouth. His other hand held a pistol which was currently held to Maya's temple.

"Okay, Reyes. If you want what's best for your pal over here,"said Murphy his face just the slightest bit nervous as his eyes pointed to Maya,"Drop your laser hands and listen up."

"You shoot her and I kill you, Murphy, "said Raven as she rose to one knee,"Let her go and I'll let you live."

To punctuate her statement, the balls of light on Raven's hand began to grow in intensity and soon the entire passage was bathed in pale green light. There was no fear visible on Murphy's face as he said,"Look we're at a stalemate. I won't bust you to that Cage bastard. Level with me here, Reyes. You have a plan to bust out of here don't you?"

Raven's voice had a confused lilt as she said,"Not exactly. Why do you even want out ? You seemed pretty happy to be a Guard. Why would you want out?"

Murphy scanned Raven's face before he sighed heavily and let Maya go. The girl practically scrambled away from Murphy before making her way behind Raven. Murphy slowly held up his gun before putting it back into his holster as a show of faith which Raven returned as she lowered her hands.

"I said what they wanted me to say,"said Murphy as he opened the top of his collared shirt. He pulled it open and smiled wryly at the confused looks on Maya and Raven's faces.

"What is that?"said Raven as she took in the sight of some sort of metallic device that was roughly two inches wide and seemed permanently attached to Murphy as it jutted out from his skin just above the collar bone. The skin around the device was red and irritated and there even some spider web patterns visible around it.

It was Maya's medical training that allowed her to identify the type of damage to Murphy's and she spoke from her position behind Raven,"That spider web patterning is consistent with exposure to high voltage electricity. "

Raven looked at Maya in surprise before she turned to Murphy, "That's a shock tag isn't it?"

"Almost correct,"muttered Murphy as he buttoned up his shirt,"It's a shock tag with a kill switch. The real version of my introduction here was getting tortured for information before getting poked and prodded by that crazy doctor. The bruises you guys saw..."

"They weren't from the Grounders, "said Raven softly as she felt sympathy for the boy,"Why not ask Clarke for help? She could have gotten that thing off of you."

Murphy nodded and said,"I know. I was going to ask her on the morning she escaped, but that bird didn't fly. I know you're planning something, Reyes and I want in. Dante actually thinks I'm loyal to him, but I've just been biding my time waiting for you guys to smell the Rose's before making my move."

"You're just going to offer your help?"said Raven guardedly,"Just like that? What's the catch?"

"There is no catch,"said Murphy before his hand clenched into a fist,"For you guys anyways. I've been forced to go on patrol after patrol for weeks just to act as a blood bag in case someone's suit gets ripped and anytime I refused they activated the shock tag until I learnt to just do what they asked me. All I want is for you to get this thing off me and I'll help you."

Raven looked back at Maya who nodded and said,"We need as much help as we can get. If he's as trusted as he says he is then he'd be a great help. "

Raven pondered Maya's words before she turned back to Murphy and said,"Fine, I'll get that thing off of you, but I've gotta warn you I'm no surgeon. "

Murphy smiled wryly and said,"Why do you think I waited for the both of you to sneak off? You were a zero-gravity mechanic and she's some sort of doctor. I think between the two of you, you could find a way to get this out without maiming or killing me."

"When do you want to do this?"said Raven and she was surprised to see Murphy remove a small rucksack from his bag. He threw it to Raven's feet and it landed with a metallic thud.

Raven knelt down to the ground as she opened the rucksack and she was surprised to find a variety of tools such as screwdrivers of varying sizes, pliers, tweezers and even a hammer. There were also medical supplies such as a few syringes of a clear substance and a scalpel.

"How did you get these? You should have been caught long ago, "said Maya as she peered over Raven's shoulder into the bag.

Murphy smiled drily and said,"You could say having sticky fingers. Now, are we gonna do this now or do you have somewhere important to be?"

Raven's eyes began to glow yellow and she scanned all around them before she shook her head,"There's too much foot traffic outside. If even one guy thinks about bringing his girl here for a sneaky kiss then we're screwed. We'll have to do this somewhere else."

"Look,"said Murphy urgently, "This is pretty much the only place that isn't monitored by these dirtbags. It's happening here and it's happening now."

Raven sighed at that piece of information and she had to wipe her palms onto her jeans as she felt sweat building up on them. She handed the medical supplies to Maya and she took out the other tools in the bag before meticulously laying them out.

"Okay, Maya give him one shot of morphine for now,"said Raven as she checked each tools,"This might sting a little bit."

Maya seemed to hesitate as she took in their surroundings ,"What if someone gets into here?"

Raven paused as she stopped scanning the tip of a small screwdriver. She looked up at Maya and said,"That depends. If it's a bunch of kids looking for a good time then I could probably knock them out. If it's a guard though..."

Here Raven paused as she took in the almost fully healed, but still prominent bruising on Murphy's body as he laid still on the ground

"I'll burn their face off."

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"You have to do what?"said Kane his eyes wide with shock as he looked at Clarke.

Night had fallen over TonDC and there was barely any noise coming from outside the room they were in. The village was said to be the second largest city in all of Trikru second only to Polis. The surrounding wildlife made it a perfect place for the army to rest as there was enough resources and shelter to go around for everyone.

The vast majority of the Coalition army, including the Guard, were posted in 13 different camps that surrounded the village entirely. The higher-ups such as Indra and Clarke were all given him accommodation inside the village proper.

"I have to beat their generals in a fight,"said Clarke patiently.

In truth, it was a ludicrous idea, but at this stage they would take too long to make a viable plan since everyone kept ignoring Kane's suggestions. The generals had no respect for Kane for one simple reason.

"You're not a fighter,"said Clarke as the man's eyes panned to her own,"The Grounders respect strength and despite being our leader..."

"They think I'm weak,"said Kane lowly and he ran his hands through his hands as Clarke nodded in confirmation.

"Yes. They do,"said Clarke before adding,"Lexa told me that between the actions of Diana and Jaha running around for some fabled city...the Grounders are sceptical of your ability to lead. "

"How do the actions of Thelonious and Diana have an impact on my ability to lead?"questioned Kane and it almost felt like a rhetorical question, but Clarke decided to answer anyways.

"They're different from us,"said Clarke as she thought of the Conclave, "They choose their leaders very differently. The people don't really have a choice in who leads them. Instead, it tends to be the one most capable in combat that will lead them. "

Kane nodded as he said,"They've probably never seen a system like ours before and none of our people are warriors. It's only natural they'd be sceptical of us. What is not understood is often shunned."

Clarke nodded and said,"That's why I need to do this. You have great ideas, but they won't listen to anything you have to say. We'd be lucky to even begin marching to the Mountain much less actually win with the amount of conflict amongst the generals. If I win then not only would someone with valuable knowledge on the Mountain be an active part of discussions, but it would serve as a warning for the other clans."

Kane nodded grimly at Clarke's words. In truth, a seed of doubt had worked it's way into his mind when he had heard of the deal between Lexa and Clarke. Despite his best efforts, he had been unable to pacify the Commander enough to call off the attack, but Clarke had done it on her own immediately after escaping from a hellhole.

It wasn't just Clarke, though. Bellamy was also an inspirational figure. The bravery he had shown in stopping the very first of the barrage of boulders had amazed Kane. The drive and passion that oozed off the man was a large part of why Kane had begun to suspect that it would soon be time for the old leaders to make way for the new.

This was just a lot sooner than expected.

"If you win,"said Kane suddenly, "What happens to my position? Would you be seen as the Chancellor? "

Clarke shook her head and said,"No. A leader of a clan can be a general, but a general isn't always the leader of a clan. Indra and the Floukru leader are the only leaders who are actually generals, however. "

"Why is that?"asked Kane out of curiousity. A general seems to hold a lot of power almost too much to not be in the hands of a leader.

"Generals answer to the Commander during war,"said Clarke as she remembered some more of what Lexa had told her after her meeting with Indra,"They are also expected to go into war with their nation's army. Apparently, the risk of losing their lives in battle is far too high for many of the leaders and so they choose to elect delegates that take their place. "

Another reason Clarke suspected there was a low amount of leaders as generals was due to the chance of treachery on the battlefield. It was likely that many nations wouldn't be above assassinating the leader of another clan during battle and so the leaders chose to have replaceable decoys represent them instead.

"Why can't I simply elect you to the position?"said Kane as he remembered a detail from the meeting, "Wasn't the Floukru general standing in for their leader?"

Clarke nodded and said,"Yes, but he was also the one that got slammed the most aside from you. The other generals don't seem to respect anyone's opinion unless they're another general or the Commander. We're not even in the Coalition yet so that's probably a big reason why Quint kept putting you down. We need to do this right and send a message that we won't allow ourselves to be walked over."

"Okay,"sighed Kane before addressing the most pressing matter,"I'll tell Lexa that you can fight. I'm sure that despite their dismissal of me the other generals are well aware of how much of a boon we could be. Do you think you can win? They stand to gain so much if you lose, Clarke. This is what they live for. I don't think they'll hold anything back. If you lose–"

"I won't, "said Clarke firmly as she interrupted Kane,"I have too many people counting on me to win and I'll do what I must to win. I won't hold back either. There is way too much at stake for me to hold back even a little."

The room fell silent after Clarke's proclamation and Clarke simply stared at the burning candles that provided light to the room. The flames grew rapidly in height and soon it was almost as if it was daytime in the room before Clarke ramped the flames down to their former level.

"I won't lose,"said Clarke as she began to make her way out the room,"I promise. "

"You should get some rest,"said Kane just as Clarke was about to leave,"You also need to tell Bellamy. I don't know what happened between you two, but you should try to resolve it before it gets worse."

Clarke paused at the man's words. Her hand clenched on the doorknob as she was reminded of the fallout between her and Bellamy.

"He doesn't understand, "said Clarke as she turned slightly towards Kane.

"Then make him,"said Kane as he sat down on his bed,"We're about to go to war. The last thing you would want is to have this conflict between you two before a fight. One of you could die in this fight. Life is too fickle to hold grudges. That's something the both of you would do well to learn."

Clarke remained silent as Kane's words sunk into her. The thought of anyone of her friends dying left a sick feeling within her. Clarke knew it would only be worse if she was on bad terms with them as well.

"You're right,"said Clarke finally, "I'll speak to him tomorrow. I think he's on guard duty for now."

Clarke nodded to Kane before she left his room for her own. The house Skaikru were allocated could house up to five people, but only Clarke and Kane had been given permission to sleep in the house. Clarke hadn't thought to light candles in any part of the other rooms and the house was bathed in shadows.

It was why Clarke was on edge when she detected movement behind the door. From the many documentaries her father loved to watch with her, Clarke had learned about the abilities of various animals. It was something she hadn't been able to do often, but was still something she cherished when she was able to reminisce of simpler times.

Clarke breathed out slowly as she cast aside all memories from the past except for the one she needed. A few seconds later, the pupil of her eye morphed into slits and her eyes changed into a cold, yellow colour.

The pit viper had the ability to see in infrared vision and with the cool temperature of the house it was easy for Clarke to view the heat signature of the person in her room through the walls.

The figure had rather broad shoulders and was tall enough for Clarke to immediately identify it as a man. Clarke wasn't sure if it was an ambush or something else, but she knew that she had to be prepared regardless.

Clarke slammed the door open and immediately fired a psionic blast at the figure. The purple ball of energy zoomed through the air, but it dissipated as it smashed into a barrier.

Clarke raised her hands and the temperature in the room was going to get a lot hotter, but Clarke paused in her actions as she heard a familiar voice.

"Calm down, Clarke,"said Bellamy his voice still coloured with surprise. Clarke allowed a flame to materialise on her hand and once her eyes changed to normal she was able to see his face.

"Can I sit down?"asked Bellamy as he gestured towards a chair in the room. Clarke nodded and she turned away from him as she began to light the candles in the room.

Once she was done she sat down on her bed and stared at the boy who had helped her with taking care of the delinquents. Clarke hadn't really had any friends other than Wells while on the Ark, but here on the ground she had found friends in a lot of the delinquents as well as Raven and Bellamy.

The last thing she wanted was to lose any of them.

"Why are you here?"asked Clarke as she looked at Bellamy whose eyes were seemingly lost in thought before they regained their focus as he looked at Clarke.

"I overheard Indra and Anya talking about you and some sort of challenge, "said Bellamy ,"What are you thinking? The Grounders are monsters. You have no chance –"

"I know exactly what I'm doing,"said Clarke as she interrupted Bellamy, "I'm the only one that knows the layout of the Mountain. Everything is all in my head. The location of every camera and sensor is stuck in my head and I can use this knowledge to save our people and the caged Grounders, but I can't do that if I'm only Kane's guard. The Grounders don't respect Kane and they don't respect us. I need to show them that we're here to stay and that we need to be taken seriously. "

Bellamy was silent for a few moments and Clarke could see her words being processed in the boy's mind before he spoke again,"So you beat the 12 generals and then what? Is that it? What happens if you lose?"

Clarke paused for a few seconds as she knew that an argument was likely to come.

"If I lose then Skaikru gets annexed by the clan of the general that manages to beat me,"said Clarke after a few seconds.

"What?"hissed Bellamy as he stood up from his seat,"Typical Clarke. Making decisions that affect everyone else. You're not Chancellor , princess. Why do you always make decisions for everyone else? First Octavia then Finn now this. You–"

Bellamy was cut off as a blast of energy shot right past his face. It slammed into the wall and tremors were sent shaking throughout the room. He turned back to Clarke to see her standing with her palm pointed at him.

"I've already said why I'm doing this,"said Clarke coldly, "You and I both know this is necessary. I know what's at stake. I always do. I didn't want to kill Finn, but what I did saved him from torture. You and I both know that. I knew what was at stake leaving the delinquents in Mount Weather which is why I activated all of their powers so they could defend themselves better. Leaders have to make sacrifices. If you hate me for the choices I make then so be it. I couldn't stage an escape from the Mountain and smuggle out Octavia. "

Clarke sat down again suddenly the tension in her body dissipating as quickly as it had appeared. She took a few calming breaths before she continued to speak.

"All of the delinquents think I'm some sort of monster, "said Clarke her eyes shut tightly, "You weren't there for it, but the looks they gave me after I killed the reapers...They looked at me like I was some sort of monster. None of them wanted anything to do with me once we in there. They didn't care that we got abducted. All they cared about was eating cake and drinking and partying. The Mountain Men lied and said you were dead which was something Murphy 'confirmed '."

"Murphy was in the Mountain?"said Bellamy his brow creased with confusion, "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"This is the longest conversation we've had since I got out,"said Clarke and she held up her hands to quell any potential rebuttals from Bellamy, "That's why I'm here. We shouldn't be fighting. We're about to go to war, Bellamy. If we're too busy fighting each other then it'll be easy for the Mountain Men to pick us off."

Bellamy was silent and Clarke watched as a storm of emotions passed over his face until he sighed heavily, "You're right. We need to be civil with each other at the very least. I understand why you left Octavia, Clarke. I really do, but in the end she's my sister. For all I know she could already be dead and I'm miles away in some village. This could all be for nothing, Clarke. Nothing."

"I know you're scared,"said Clarke as she placed a hand on Bellamy's shoulder,"And angry and tired. I am too, but we need to keep going. Beating the Mountain isn't just about us. They've already killed some of our people and hundreds if not thousands more of the Grounders. This fight is bigger than us and that's why I had to leave the delinquents in there. We won't win this without making sacrifices."

Bellamy was quiet after Clarke's speech and there was silence in the room for a few moments before a heavy sigh from Bellamy broke it.

"You're right,"said Bellamy and his face twisted in confusion slightly before he composed his expression and continued,"If we don't beat them while they're still trapped in there then they'll wipe us all out once they get out. I'm still mad at you for leaving Octavia, but I understand why you did it. We should just move past this and make those bastards pay."

Bellamy's words were filled with conviction and a quiet certainty. It was now more than ever where Clarke could see the leadership abilities within Bellamy that Kane had pointed out. Truth be told, he had always had the charisma to sway people to his cause, but that was another time. Now in a matter of weeks, Bellamy was not the selfish and reckless person she had first known him to be.

Clarke pulled Bellamy into a hug and he seemed surprised by the motion before he reciprocated the motion. Clarke took a step back and said,"You shouldn't worry about her too much. Octavia will be safe. She is a lot stronger than you give them credit for."

Bellamy only nodded silently. There was still undoubtedly some tension between them, but Clarke felt as though they had taken a step in the right direction.

Bellamy walked towards the door and said,"You should go to sleep. Something tells me you'll need the energy tomorrow. "

Clarke smiled a little and she was about to do just that when Bellamy turned back towards her.

"What are you gonna wear during your fight?"said Bellamy and Clarke shrugged in response. The clothing Anya had given her had been soaked in Finn's blood and she had worn it only until after her conversation with Lexa. Her mom had given other clothes to wear which Clarke had been all too happy to wear.

"I have no idea,"said Clarke, but there was something in Bellamy's face that piqued her interest.

"But something tells me you do."

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"Skaikru and Kongeda,"said Lexa as she stood in the centre of a large gathering of warriors,"Klark kom Skaikru has petitioned to become a general. As you know anyone that wishes to become a general has to have the blessing of their clan leader. Markos kom Skaikru, do you allow Klark to take the challenge?"

"Sha, Heda,"said Kane and his voice was clear and confident,"She has my full support and blessing."

"Thank you, Markos,"said Lexa to Kane before addressing the crowd as a whole,"Due to Skaikru not being a part of the Coalition there will be differences between this challenge and those that have come before it."

There were murmurs and whispers prevalent across the gathered people and even the twelve generals who were lined up behind Lexa had varying expressions ranging from surprise to excitement to neutrality. It was a clear indicator that the news of the Challenge hadn't been told to anyone before this moment.

"First of all,"said Lexa,"Klark will have to beat all of the generals in a series of one-on-one fights. A gauntlet consisting of 12 fights. Should she succeed in her task then she shall be inaugurated as the thirteenth general and Skaikru will undergo the ceremony to join the Coalition tonight after a feast."

There was a large swell of noise as the sheer insanity of the gauntlet's stipulations caused everyone to begin conversations with the people adjacent to them. The reactions of the generals were identical to that of the crowds and even as she stood in the centre of all the noise Lexa was still able to hear the shocked voices of her generals as they conversed furiously with each other.

The noise ground to a halt as Lexa raised her hand. She waited for perfect silence to fall over the large field they were in. The chances of the Maunon sending a missile was rather small considering how easily their first one had been deflected. They surely knew that they would be on guard and better prepared to deflect another one. It was why Lexa wasn't particularly concerned with the Maunon and instead was more concerned with the upcoming gauntlet.

"There is one last rule,"said Lexa once she was sure she had everyone's attention, "Should any general manage to best Clarke then Skaikru and all it's people and resources will be annexed by the winning general and Skaikru will simply be absorbed into one of the current clans. All of those who are skilled in earth moving are to build an arena for the Challenge in this field. It must be done by noon at the very latest. Dismissed."

Clarke watched from the edges of the crowd as Lexa finished her speech. For a change there was pure silence as she stated the final stipulation and the Crowd parted quietly as Lexa began to walk back towards camp. The generals all followed her silently and Clarke smiled wryly as she saw the Floukru general begin a rather animated conversation with the Commander.

Clarke was not visible thanks to the power she had taken and then returned to Octavia. It was something she was keeping to herself for now as she had had her suspicions that much in the same way she could steal powers from someone she could bestow new ones upon them too.

It wasn't something she would reveal because that would surely make the warriors fight thrice as hard to get her under their command. It was likely that despite her having shown to be capable of deflecting the missile and stopping the army's charge there would still be those who underestimated her.

However, she knew that the illusion of her being weak would likely fade away after a few fights and then the real battle would commence.

That was if she was lucky enough that the generals of the twelve clans were stupid enough to underestimate her. After all, they probably thought that Lexa wouldn't allow someone weak to take the Challenge.

Clarke turned her attention back to the crowd as the noise around her rose–an event which coincided with Lexa and her generals emerging from the edge of the crowd. The crowd waited a few more moments for Lexa to make some distance between her and then before they began to walk back to the village.

Clarke walked as quickly as she could manage all while avoiding contact with the few people around her. Even as she focused on getting back to camp, however, she was able to hear the exclamations of the warriors around her.

"The Skai girl will get herself killed within the first fight. She hasn't even fought a war. I'm sure Azgeda will win. Azgeda is the strongest of all clans. Their general is also a–"

The large man with grotesque facial scars that had been talking animatedly to his comrade next to him was suddenly drowned out by the voice of another man a lot closer to Clarke – this time of a different clan.

"Sagan may not be the strongest of the generals, but he is one of the smartest. Trishanakru stand a chance so long as we're lucky enough to go before the stronger clans, but after the weaker ones. Even if this girl is strong she can't beat all of them!"

"Indra will win this. Trikru is the strongest of all clans and Indra is the strongest of all generals. Once they are integrated with Trikru I hope my parents will allow me to pursue one of the Skaikru. There is something that makes their people very attractive. Maybe living in the stars made them all beautiful. "

The last one actually made Clarke roll her eyes and a sardonic smile grew on her face as a teen a few years younger than her spoke with his friends. They were young and their conversation would make them think they were just ordinary teenagers of it wasn't for the swords and knives strapped across their body.

Clarke finally drowned out the various conversations which were all about how this general was the best or how that clan was the strongest. They all differed in tone, seriousness and volume, but there was only one constant throughout all of them.

Skaikru would be annexed before the evening.

There was even a man who joked that the generals should throw their fight so that there could be a feast like the one at Camp Jaha again.

Clarke was lost in her thoughts as she made it back into the village ahead of the majority of the crowd and yet even from this distance she could feel the tremors through the Earth as an arena was being prepared for the gauntlet.

Clarke had seen well over a hundred people remain behind and that was perhaps the first confirmation she had had that duplicate powers was not only possible, but also common amongst the Grounders.

Her fingers began to twitch slightly at the thought that the generals were either skilled in a common power or they had an esoteric power unlike anything Clarke could have imagined or had encountered.

Clarke put the thoughts of the generals powers out of her mind for now as she walked into the house she and Kane were living in. The house was silent and Clarke was certain that no one else was inside. She made her way into her room and sat down as despite her best efforts the gauntlet loomed over her like a storm cloud.

Clarke took a look at the clothes she was wearing which was the same as yesterday. Simple tracksuit pants and a leather jacket on the top. The ruby of her ring glowed as sunlight passed through it and Clarke stared at it for a few seconds before taking it off.

The sound of a knock at her door drew her attention and as she opened it she was surprised to see Anya accompanied by Tris as they made their way into the room. Tris was carrying a bag over her shoulder and she dropped it to the ground and it landed with a clang.

"Hey Tris. Have you heard anything from Raven yet?"asked Clarke and Tris pulled out a radio and shook her head.

"I kept it on the same 'channel'"said Tris putting emphasis on the last word,"However, there hasn't been any sounds. I gave the other radio that is on the same channel as the Maunon to Belomi, but they haven't said anything about the army since the missile was launched."

Clarke nodded at the news and she was still worried for the delinquents in the Mountain. Clarke had a radio herself, but she had given one to Tris and another to Abby just in case she missed anything. Bellamy having a radio would make sense since he would be able to make a lot of sense of the Maunon's conversation being more well versed in technology than Tris.

"Tris,"said Anya and the girl turned to her first rapidly, "Go and watch the progress of the arena. Come and tell us when you're done."

The girl left the room after a quick nod and smile to Anya and Clarke respectively. The door slammed shut behind her and Anya let loose a sigh as she said,"Should I be concerned that my second likes you more than me?"

"I've seen how you train,"said Clarke with a small smile on her face,"if it's anything similar to that then I don't see why you're confused."

Anya smiled at Clarke in return for a fre seconds before it dropped off her face as she picked up the bag on the floor,"In here are throwing knives and stars, daggers and plates for your armour. Where's your armour? I can sew these on for you now."

Clarke placed her hand on Anya's shoulder and said,"Thanks for the weapons, but you don't need to worry about the armour. Bellamy and I came up with a plan for that."

Anya nodded reluctantly and her face changed ever so slightly as she said,"What is he to you?"

Clarke was confused by the rather personal question, but upon seeing Anya's stern face she answered honestly, "We're friends. Good friends, but there isn't anything more between us. I'm pretty sure he feels the same."

Anya nodded and she closed her eyes upon receiving this answer. Anya seemed to take in a deep breath and she exhaled loudly a few seconds later.

"You're most likely to fight Trent first,"said Anya,"He's the representative of Floukru. He can only–"

"I don't think you should be telling me this, Anya,"said Clarke as she raised her hand," Have faith in me, Anya. I can do this."

Anya was silent for a few seconds before she said,"Either way, if you win or lose this gauntlet I'll have to train you. The Commander told me of your dreadful skill with the sword. It wouldn't do for a general to not be able to wield the sword."

"I already beat you in a fight, Anya,"said Clarke and she smiled when Anya snorted.

"Pure luck."

Clarke laughed for a few seconds and for a few seconds she was able to forget that she had a fight soon. Of course, there was still one topic that still needed to be covered.

"What happens if they see my blood?"asked Clarke and Anya lost all traces of mirth as she said immediately, "There are other nightbloods, but if you lose it's likely that you'd be expected to join the class of noviatiates. Lexa hasn't been as cruel as other Commanders when it comes to killing other nightbloods. It's something that some of the clans are grateful for since natblida are usually the strongest and the most gifted. There are, however, those that believe all adult natblida should be killed. You have no choice, but to win Clarke."

Clarke knew Anya was right and the ball of anxiety in her chest began to grow as the stakes of what she was doing really sunk in. Anya seemed to notice her discomfort as she reached into her pouch and held out a small jar.

It contained a black, chalky paste that Clarke realised was what all Trikru used for warpaint. Clarke took the jar and she looked at it in confusion.

"Use that to cover your face,"said Anya as her eyes panned to the door before turning back to Clarke,"All warriors wear warpaint. "

There was a knock on the door before it opened to reveal Tris who simply nodded at the two women.

"Stay strong, Clarke,"said Anya and she gave a noncommittal nod before she placed her hand on Tris and they teleported away leaving Clarke alone.

Clarke stared at the jar for a few seconds before her hand began to glow yellow as she began to change the colour of her choice. Once it was done she began to strap on some of the weapons Anya had given her.

It was perhaps only a few seconds after she strapped in the last knife she needed that the sound of a horn emanated from outside the house and Clarke took one last deep breath before leaving the house under her invisibility cloak.

It was time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was an actual arena.

The hundreds of workers had somehow collectively managed to make an arena not unlike those seen in those Roman movies Clarke had seen on the Ark. It was even lined with 13 archways all with flags above them and Clarke saw one with the flag of the Ark.

That was probably her destination.

She was perched on the very top of the colosseum still invisible and she watched as the seats were filled up slowly. There was a perfectly rectangular field right in the middle. It was raised roughly ten metres off the ground and had stairways that lined up with the 13 archways.

It took only a few more minutes for the arena to fill up before Clarke decided to fly across to her archway. No one was aware that she was right above their heads as she flew all the way to the Skaikru archway before walking inside.

The room had a door at the back that nust have led into other parts of the arena and it made Clarke wonder just how it was that the Grounders had built such a complex structure so quickly. There was armour in there that Clarke realised must have been provided for her, but she ignored it in favour of the mirror. She stopped in front of it and opened the jar of paint.

The paint felt cool to the touch and Clarke dipped her fingers in it before spreading it around the contours of her eyes and over her left eyelid. She did the same to her right eye before she connected the two circles with a band of paint over the bridge of her nose. She still had some paint left over and she used to make an inverted triangle on either cheek.

It was perhaps seconds after she was done that she turned towards the archway and she saw Lexa standing there.

Lexa stared at Clarke's rather casual clothes, but she didn't say in response. Instead she looked at Clarke's face and this time she did speak.

"Purple?"said Lexa and there was a hint of surprise in her tone,"I assumed you would have used another colour."

"It's one of the only ones not taken by the clans,"said Clarke in response which received a nod from Lexa who eyes seemed to bore into Clarke. Her warpaint making them more prominent than usual.

"Why areyou not in the armour? You will get hurt,"inquired Lexa as she again looked at Clarke's casual clothing and Clarke shrugged in response as she said,"Bellamy came up with a better idea for my entrance so to speak."

Lexa's eyes snapped back to Clarke's own and Clarke almost took a step back from the intensity in them.

"Is he special to you?"said Lexa as she walked behind Clarke and Clarke tensed slightly before she felt Lexa's hands begin to go through her hair.

It was a question that she had already had to answer to Anya, but the tone of Lexa's was decidedly different from Anya's.

"Yes,"said Clarke and she realised that Lexa was pulling her hair into a ponytail,"But not in the way you think. We're just friends. "

Lexa didn't respond, but Clarke felt as though the tension in the room had dissipated after her words. Lexa stepped away from Clarke and so Clarke was free to look in the mirror. The ponytail was rather simple, but effective as it kept Clarke's face free of her while also prominently displaying her warpaint.

"Braiding would have taken a lot longer,"said Lexa once Clarke was done analysing her new hairstyle, "When you win we can do whatever style you wish."

"When I win?"said Clarke surprise colouring her tone as she looked at Lexa who nodded resolutely.

"Yes,"said Lexa as she began to walk out, but she paused at the door and looked back at Clarke over her shoulder," The horn you shall hear will be your summons to the arena. The other generals will be in the box with me before their own fight. It would do you well to hide your true strength for as long as possible. "

Clarke nodded and said,"I already know that. I'm not some weak girl."

Lexa turned back fully and Clarke was able to see the storm of emotions that passed through Lexa's usually cold expression.

"No you aren't, "said Lexa before she turned away and a second later Clarke was all alone.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A horn sounded out. It had a deep and rich timbre and it's sound seemed to bring the crowd outside to life.

Clarke could feel the stomping and cheering of the crowd as the noise made it's way through the foundations of the arena.

Clarke took one last look in the mirror before she began to walk out the room. The second she stepped outside into the field proper she was hit with a sensory overload.

The heat and brightness of the midday sun and the sheer volume of the crowd all slammed into her at once. She recovered quickly though and she began to ascend the stairs leading to the top of the arena.

She reached the top and directly opposite her she saw the box that Lexa was in. The generals seated with her and they all watched as Clarke came to a stop at the top of the stairs. They seemed to eye her clothes with disdain and surprise as they spoke amongst themselves.

There were two flames burning on a metallic stand in front of Lexa and Clarke wondered what their purpose was. She ignored them for the moment as Lexa stood up from her throne.

A horn was blown from somewhere and it's deep tone silenced the crowd immediately as Lexa spoke loud enough for everyone to hear,"The rules are simple. If one is knocked off the platform, knocked out or unable to battle they lose. To ensure fairness, Clarke will choose the order in which she shall fight."

Clarke was glad to hear that she at least had some control over the process and she already began to scan the general trying to suss out who would be the best person to pick.

"I shall be the referee,"said Lexa and she gestured to the two stands in front of her,"If the flames on my left turn green then it is a win for Clarke and if the flames on my right turn green then it is a loss for Clarke and winner for whichever general bested her. Clarke, who is your first opponent? "

Clarke scanned the faces of the generals and they ranged from the stoic expression of Indra to the excited expression of the Azgeda general whose white paint and facial scars were easy for Clarke to identify.

"I choose the general of the Trishana,"said Clarke as her eyes locked onto the form of a young man with reddish hair,"Sagan."

The man rose without much fuss and there was even raucous laughter from some of the more boisterous generals as the man made his way to the bottom. It took perhaps only thirty seconds for him to appear at the top of his staircase and his orange face paint was prominent as he withdrew his sword.

Lexa raised her hand, but before she could lower it Clarke enacted Bellamy's plan. The crowd grew silent as Clarke was enveloped in bright, yellow light for a few seconds and Clarke could hear exclamations of shock and surprise at the unexpected turn of events.

The light died down to reveal Clarke wearing clothes similar to that of the Trikru except that the leather that was usually black was now a deep red and the metal plates over her chest, shoulders as well as her forearms and shins were a gold that had a dull finish.

Clarke looked back up at Lexa who still had her arm raised and she made eye contact with the Commander who seemed shell shocked for a few seconds before she brought her arm down.

Immediately, a horn echoed out before the sound of war drums began to echo out throughout the arena and cheers began to erupt from the crowd. In a quick motion, Clarke withdrew a knife from her side and threw it at Sagan.

The knife whistled through the air and Clarke knew it was on a direct course to his abdomen. The power of perfect marksmanship she had activated in the Mountain ensured that.

It was why Clarke was surprised when it bounced off the air in front of him and fell to the ground. Clarke narrowed her eyes before she broke off into a sprint towards Sagan.

There was a loud crack in the air as Clarke full tilt at Sagan before she lashed out with a kick to his abdomen. She connected and the man was sent tumbling head over heels across the stage before he fell over the edge.

Clarke looked expectantly towards the flames and when hers didn't go green she was about to protest when she felt her body launch into a series of back flips.

!*

Clarke went back and back until she stopped a few feet away from the edge. They were still a few arrows approaching her and Clarke held up both her hands before spinning on the spot instantly.

Dust was kicked up around Clarke as violent winds spun around her. The remaining arrows were all deflected one by one until none remained. Clarke spun to a stop and as she traced the arrows to their source she was surprised by what she found.

Sagan was knelt on one knee with a bow and arrow in his hand. The quiver on his back was empty, but all of that was irrelevant as she processed the last detail.

Sagan was standing on air.

The man launched his last arrow at Clarke, but she picked it out the air and snapped it in half. She raised her hands and fired two psionic blasts at him. It was rather confusing to watch as the man ran on the air and nimbly avoided the blasts.

Clarke fired a few more shots and they were all dodged. Sagan kept running on the air and jumping to higher and lower heights to avoid the blasts. Luckily, the battlefield was a lot lower than the stands and so Clarke didn't have to worry about a crowd member getting caught in the crossfire.

After a few more missed shots, Clarke realised that she was wasting time and she had to end this now. Her hands glowed a deep purple as Clarke focused on Sagan as he finally slowed to a stop, his chest heaving slightly, and the light that was emanating from her eyes surged in intensity as she raised her hands above her head.

A purple haze surrounded Sagan's airborne body as he was suspended in the air. The crowd was in an uproar as the acrobatic and careful maneuvers of the Trishana general was brought to a halt.

Clarke held her pose for a few seconds before she brought her hands down quickly. Sagan accelerated straight down towards the ground at an angle. He shot straight over Clarke's shoulder and she turned with him to watch as he flew towards the ground before colliding with a fairly loud boom.

There was a rush of healers from one of the archways and they ran towards the general who despite looking rather beat up was still visibly breathing and unconscious. The group of medics knelt around the man and their held their hands out in sync as they focused on healing separate parts of Sagan's battered and bruised body.

The crowd roared it's approval as the flame representing Clarke turned a bright green. Clarke turned back to the Commander's box and she scanned the generals before she pointed at the next general.

The Floukru representative, Trent, rose from his seat before disappearing from sight. Clarke simply stood patiently as she waited for the man to appear from his doorway. A section of the crowd seemed to cheer and Clarke turned in their direction to see Trent walking up the last few steps.

This time Clarke didn't spare a glance towards any of the audience and she instead stared across at Trent. The oceanic blue paint on his face was in a design that Clarke would have found elegant and admired if it weren't for the situation they were in.

Trent nodded at Clarke and she returned before she watched as the man withdrew his sword. Clarke placed a hand on the hilt of her dagger at her hip and she waited.

The sound of the horn reverberated through the air and Clarke ran full speed at Trent in a similar manner to her previous fight. This time however she simply disarmed him and threw his sword far over the edge of the stage.

He seemed to be moving extremely slowly from Clarke's point of view and so it was child's play for her to sweep his legs out and climb atop him. She placed his dagger at his throat and said firmly,"Submit."

The entire sequence of events had taken just under two seconds.

There was pure silence in the arena and Clarke was able to hear the sound of Trent's sword finally hitting the ground far below the platform. A flash of green drew her attention and Clarke turned towards Lexa to see her flame glowing a bright green.

She rose to her feet and held out a hand which Trent took before he left the arena rather quickly amidst jeers from the crowd. In truth, Clarke had picked him out precisely because she suspected he wasn't all too strong simply being a stand-in for the actual Floukru general and leader.

Two down, ten to go.

Clarke turned towards the Commander's box and within a few seconds she knew who her next choice was going to be. She didn't know the general's name however and Lexa seemed to notice this as she waited for Clarke to point at her next opponent.

"Klark has chosen Erika kom Ouskejonkru,"said Lexa and the woman rose to her feet nimbly before walking out of the box.

Once Erica had appeared at the top of the stairs, Clarke took in the deep blue facepaint that contrasted rather sharply with Erica's beige skin as it traversed her face in a series of vertical lines. Her hair was in a tight bun and Clarke noted with some interest that there was a large amount of throwing knives strapped onto the other woman's army.

The woman smiled at Clarke a gesture which Clarke did not return. Erica rolled her eyes dramatically before she withdrew one of her many knives as she stared at Clarke.

The start of the fight began as the horn sounded out and the noise of the crowd and the drums melted into one mess as Clarke grabbed a throwing knife of her own.

Erica had already been in the middle of throwing her knife and by the time Clarke had removed a knife of her own, Erica's knife was already heading right at her. Clarke halted her throw and instead tilted her head to the right and she tracked the path of the knife as it flew over her shoulder out of sight.

!*

The familiar sensation of Instinct taking control over her body rose up within Clarke. She was practically a passenger as her body spun on the spot before catching Erica's wrist.

The general had somehow gotten in behind Clarke and judging by the gleaming dagger in her hand Clarke had been only moments away from getting run through.

Erica's face seemed shocked before she turned her eyes to Clarke and said while smiling,"Do you have eyes at the back of your head?"

Clarke ignored the question and she spun on the spot before throwing Erica away in the opposite direction. Erica's dagger fell to the ground and Clarke watched as the general of the Ouskejon began to accelerate towards the wall of the arena.

It wasn't meant to be however.

In a blink of an eye, Erica's body was replaced with a dagger that slammed into the wall hard. At the same time, Clarke heard something behind her and she jumped off the ground quickly. An action which put considerable distance between Clarke and Erica who had reappeared behind Clarke.

Clarke quickly looked down to Erica's feet and she wasn't surprised to find that the dagger that was previously there was nowhere to be seen.

Erica seemed to notice the gears spinning in Clarke's head as she withdrew even more of her knives and threw them all towards Clarke.

Clarke tracked each knife as they approached her and she raised her left hand with all fingers splayed. A purple wall formed in front of Clarke and all of the knives collided with the psionic barrier before collapsing to the ground.

Clarke was about to blow the knives away as she allowed her psionic wall to drop, but it was mere moments after she had dropped the wall that Erica appeared out of thin air her sword already swiping through the air.

Clarke took a step back as the sword whizzed just past her nose. Erica began to push forward as Clarke was kept off-balance and on the back foot as she advanced with a series of slashes.

Clarke wasn't quickly growing nervous as she wasn't given enough time to properly counteract. She kne she was approaching the edge and it was only the glint of her forearm guards that gave her a glimmer of hope.

Erica seemed none the wiser to Clarke's plan as they reached the edge of the platform. Clarke's heel hung slightly over the edge and Erica's eyes gleamed as she lashed out with an overhead strike.

Clarke crossed her arms in front of her and a loud ringing sound echoed out as Erica's sword was caught in between her forearms. The strike was heavy, but Clarke stood firm before she snapped her arms close.

The sword snapped cleanly in half under Clarke's strength and Clarke grabbed onto Erica's wrist. Erica tried to lash out with a kick, but before it could connect her body began to shake and convulse as a loud buzzing sound echoed through the arena.

Erica's body suddenly became rigid and Clarke stopped the flow of electricity as she realised Erica had fallen unconscious. This time Clarke was opposite Lexa's box and she was able to watch as an attendant threw a lead into her flame.

The familiar green flame burst into existence and Clarke let out a sigh of relief. She looked behind her and took a few steps forward away from the edge. Erica had regained consciousness in the meanwhile and she let out a groan before rising to her feet.

"Good fight,"mumbled Erica as she trudged off and Clarke answered loud enough for her to hear,"You too. You almost had me there."

Clarke took a few moments to calm her nerves which was something she was awarded and once the crowd grew silent she pointed out her next opponent whose name Lexa announced.

"Klark has chosen Etri from Louwoda Kilron."

The man rose from his seat and seemed to make it to the arena quicker than others as his body practically pulsed with excitement. His silver facepaint glowed in the sun and it was a slight irritation to Clarke's eyes if she were being honest.

Clarke panned her eyes back to Lexa whose arm was already falling to signal the start of the fight. The very instant Lexa's arm fell to her side Clarke turned back to Etri and fired a volley of psionic blasts from her left hand at the man's feet.

Etri leaped sideways to avoid the blasts, but Clarke knew she was getting closer. She fired a few more volleys, but this time she used her right hand to fire a shot just slightly ahead of the other blasts.

Etri had been fully focused on dodging the incoming blasts that he didn't notice the one that Clarke had sent in front of him. It slammed into his chest before sending careening towards the edge. Clarke ran after him at full speed and as Etri fell over the edge she fired another shot which sent him away even faster.

He crashed into the ground and the crowd cheered at the brutal attack. Clarke turned back to the generals and quickly picked out another general.

A few seconds later, Erid from Sankru was walking up her flight of stairs. She wore billowy robes that Clarke was sure aided with the heat of the desert.

Their fight began and Erid quickly crouched down to the ground. She placed her hands on the platform's surface. Clarke was already running to disrupt Erid's plan when she felt the ground beneath her shift and then it happened.

Clarke slipped.

The ground beneath had been turned into sand and Clarke slipped before she fell face first into the sand. Clarke rose to her feet and she scanned the platform only to realise that the top level of the platform was covered in sand.

Clarke had to adjust her stance as she felt herself constantly sinking into the ground and ot was only once the pull became stronger that she realised this was all Erid's doing. Clarke sunk deeper into the sand as her attempts at escape proved futile.

Clarke unleashed a wave of psionic energy and every single grain of sand was blown off her. Clarke used all of her strength to spring into perfectly upwards jump. Erid's face snapped up to Clarke's ascending form and not even a second later tendrils of sand shot out the ground as they tried to capture Clarke.

Clarke's jump brought her roughly twenty metres above the platform. Gravity began to pull her closer to the incoming sand tendrils and Clarke closed her eyes in preparation.

The audience cheered at seeing Clarke on the back foot for once. There were whistles and cheers and jeers that grew louder as the tendrils began to close in on Clarke.

However, mere seconds before they slammed into Clarke large wings spread out behind Clarke whose eyes snapped open – now a harsh amber. Clarke's wings flapped hard and Clarke was just barely able to avoid the first few tendrils, but one slammed hard into Clarke's side.

Clarke was sent tumbling towards the sand, but she was able to regain control as she swooped back up mere feet away from the sandy surface of the platform.

The tendrils multiplied in number as they chased Clarke through the air and the misses were becoming narrower and narrower. Clarke eventually flew up and there groans of pain as Clarke flew into the direct path of the sun.

Erid's eyes were still wide open as she tried to direct the tendrils into Clarke's path. However, she blinked as her eyes began to burn and she cursed as Clarke had somehow managed to disappear into thin air.

Erid's tan facepaint had begun to run down her brown skin and mix into her black hair as the exhaustion of her efforts began to sink in. It was plain as day for all spectators that Erid had run her race and the sand tendrils began to shrink in size and slow down as they continued in their fruitless endeavours to catch an invisible Clarke.

Suddenly, Erid let out a harsh scream of pain. Her body bended forwards before she was sent flying and slammed straight into the base of the arena wall. The dust cleared to reveal a bloodied Erid who had clearly fallen unconscious.

Clarke dropped her invisibility cloak and she withdrew her wings and dropped to the platform. The sand crunched underneath Clarke's boots as she walked towards the centre of the platform.

The healers that had taken Sagan earlier had returned and as they began to take Erid away Clarke turned to the generals and she pointed towards her next opponent.

"Akeri of Podakru is next," said Lexa and the man rose to his feet and began to make his way to the the arena. The man arrived in the arena a few seconds later. He had long, black hair that hung down past his shoulders and interestingly enough there were beads braided into his hair.

Akeri's eyes were bright as he shouted to the crowd in a clear bid to ramp up the noise and excitement for this one. He turned towards Clarke and despite the good showing Clarke had given toda,y he took up no stance as he simply crossed his arms.

Clarke was wary of it being a trap of some sort and when Akeri's eyes flickered over her body before winking when their eyes met she knew he was trying to goad her. Clarke didn't react to his obvious attempts to piss her off though as she simply waited for the start of the fight.

The drums began to beat and instantly it was as though a switch had been flipped as Akeri held his hands out before out of nowhere a large mass of water formed in front of the man before rushing towards Clarke.

The size of the wave was such that it cast a shadow over an entire section of the while arena and Clarke knew she wouldn't be able to fly past or around it. The sand also made it difficult for her to gain any traction and she knew she had to think fast or else she'd be swept over the edge.

Th wave slammed into Clarke and despite the strong current she was just able to hold her ground. The rushing water swept all around her and it forced Clarke to close her eyes and mouth tightly. However, instead of the volume of water decreasing it instead remained the same.

Clarke waited it out for a few more seconds, bit it was only once she opened her eyes that she realised what was going. The wave hadn't poured over the edge, but had instead formed all around Clarke.

The sand below her feet and the intense pressure made it almost as if she was underwater. For all intents and purposes, she actually was underwater which was one huge problem for Clarke.

Despite all the power she has been given there was still some things she wasn't able to do.

Like swim, for instance .

Clarke tried to walk towards the edge of the platform to escape her watery prison, but it was a futile endeavour. The need to breathe began to overcome Clarke and she had to stop after barely making any headway.

Her lungs were burning fiercelyfrom the lack of oxygen. Clarke felt like just giving in before she drowned, but she wasn't afforded that luxury as her body spun around on it's own accord.

!*

Clarke's hand were holding onto the tips of a trident of all things and she winced as the outer blades dug deeply into her palms. The middle blade pierced a few inches into her abdomen and Clarke groaned in pain. A strange amalgamation of man and fish was holding onto the weapon as it continued to push forward.

Clarke's oxygen depraved brain caught up and she realised Akeri was ,of course, the perpetrator of the attack and in contrast to her he seemed to be perfectly fine underwater if his smirk was anything to go by.

In fact, it was the rise and fall of his chest that made Clarke realise that this had been planned ahead of time.

Akeri could breathe underwater.

The man wiggled the trident he was holding and Clarke realised belatedly that it was still inside her. Instinct had saved her from what was definitely a killing strike, but she wasn't out the woods yet. The trident had cut her so she was bleeding pretty heavily which was something that Akeri didn't notice as he kept his dull, fishlike eyes on Clarke's blue eyes even as he pushed heavily with his trident.

Clarke's air finally ran out and she let out a heavy breath which caused bubbles to form all around her and the Podakru general. Clarke removed her hands from the trident blades and she quickly shot a psionic blast that shot Akeri away, but also had the knock on effect of ripping the trident out of her abdomen violently.

Clarke groaned heavily as her brain registed the pain of her inner organs getting cut through. It also caused her to inhale water which made her next task that much harder. Clarke ignored the pain as best she could as her eyes warped into a dull silver and diagonal lines formed across both sides of her neck.

Eventually, the need for oxygen subsided as the newly grown gills on her face allowed her to breathe. She was still static however as Akeri seemed to have recovered from the psionic blast as he swam towards Clarke at an unbelievably quick speed.

He swam past Clarke and raked her side with his trident. Clarke winced in pain and she fired another shot from her left hand which missed as the psionic blasts were vastly slower underwater while Akeri seemed to be as swift as lightning.

No matter how many times Clarke shot another blast or tried to grab the general ,Akeri seemed to be dancing circles around her. Even a large pulse of psionic energy didn't seem to do much as the man simply swam away faster than the wave.

The cuts across her body were healing almost as soon as they were made, but for every wound healed it seemed as though another two would take it's place. Her movements were sluggish and her shots were missing Akeri by a few seconds.

Clarke needed something that would get rid of not only Akeri, but the water as well. Luckily, she had just the thing, but she only hoped that the both of them didn't die.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Heda,"said Indra as she looked towards Lexa,"The Skai girl must surely have lost by now. Akeri's plan worked perfectly. She can't swim and I'm sure even now her blood is mixing with the water. Why not end the fight?"

The arena was now in a nervous sort of silence as not much could be seen in the massive sphere of water. There were the occasional flares of purple light, but even those seemed to have died down.

Lexa knew from fighting alongside Akeri that the general's water dome would only dissipate if he was unconscious which meant that either Indra was right and Clarke had lost or–

"If,"said Lexa stressing the word heavily,"Akeri had won then would he not have emerged by now? Why else would he remain under the surface?"

Indra was about to respond when screams from the crowd drew her attention. The surface of the dome of water had changed. It had been as smooth as glass earlier, but now sections the surface seemed to be bubbling and churning.

A few seconds later, the entire dome was littered in bubbles and steam began to emanate off of the structure. The entire crowd seemed to anticipate what was coming as the dome began to boil. Steam wafted off of the dome as it began to rapidly shrink in size before it lost it's shape and collapsed at once.

The water dome collapsed inwards and it flowed over the edge of the platform like how it normally would have. There was still clouds of steam that hung heavily in the air, but the crowd seemed to roar as a figure gradually became visible in the steam.

The figure was on their hands and knees and coughing heavily. The figure seemed to longer on their hands and knees before gingerly standing up. Lexa already knew who it was from the silhouette, but she watched on as the figure raised it's arms up and pushed them outwards.

The steam on the arena rapidly cleared as harsh winds blew them away and the crowd was silent for a few moments before they cheered loudly at the sight of a battered, but clearly conscious Clarke.

Akeri was revealed to be lying on his back a few metres away and his body was littered with sores and blisters. However, Lexa's grip on the arm of chair tightened as she noticed a key detail about Akeri.

Akeri wasn't breathing.

Clarke didn't seem to notice at first, but as she panned the arena as if suddenly remembering her whereabouts she all, but ran to the other general.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

What had she done?

That was all that was running through Clarke's mind as she performed CPR on Akeri. Clarke's escape plan which was just essentially driving the temperature of the water above boiling.

The heat had caused Clarke to blister up much like Akeri, but her healing factor had done away with that. Unfortunately, some water had made it into her lungs and she had had to cough it all up.

That was all unimportant now as she pumped her hands over Akeri's chest. For the first time in what felt like ages, Clarke used Insight to see what was wrong and a few moments later electricity crackled on her palms.

Akeri's heart had stopped. It was probably due to the sudden change in environment. If Akeri's The healers had all crowded around her and the arena was silent save for a few whispers.

That all changed when Clarke slammed her hand onto Akeri's chest and his body tensed up violently as it surged with electricity.

Clarke repeated this twice more and on the third time she cranked up the voltage before slamming both of her hands onto his chest. Instantly, Akeri began to cough and sputter and as Clarke sighed in relief the crowd let out a series of gasps.

Clarke placed her hands over Akeri and she healed his wounds as everyone looked on. The blisters and boils dissipated rapidly and after tem seconds Akeri's skin was back to it's tan complexion.

The man had fallen unconscious almost immediately after waking up, but a quick check his heart was still beating strongly. The healers had brought a stretcher in and as they loaded Akeri up to the stretcher Clarke turned to the Commander's box.

She met Lexa's eyes instantly and they were rife with a flurry of emotions that Clarke could only guess at having not known the Commander well enough to pick up on her tics and expressions – something that Lexa barely ever showed in any case.

There was a burst of green flame that disrupted the impromptu staring contest between her and Lexa and that flame reminded Clarke of her remaining hurdles.

Clarke looked at the remaining generals and she had to fight back a wince. Azgeda and Trikru remained who she had a strong suspicion were the strongest and perhaps Clarke had overestimated herself. She had left Azgeda for later because she hadn't expected too much trouble from the general after beating Etri.

However, that had been far from the case and despite not being wounded Clarke was definitely nowhere near a hundred percent and to top it all off she had shown virtually all of her hands. It was probably why Akeri had started with such a brutal opening.

They were all taking her seriously which meant Clarke had to be more proactive.

Clarke pointed at the next general who rose from her seat and made her way to the platform after Lexa announced her name .

The ground was now a wet, muddy mess and this was something that didn't exactly help Clarke, but she would have to wait to do something about it.

Livia from the Ingronarona clan arrived to the mess of a stage and her gaze was cold as she took in the tattered form of Clarke's armour. Clarke looked at Livia whose black hair was flowing freely around her face. She had pale white skin that made the yellow colour of her warpaint stand out even more.

"I will bring glory to the Plain Riders, girl,"said Livia as she stared at Clarke,"I'm not like those other weaklings you fought."

Clarke didn't bother with a response and the familiar booming of the drums played out from all around them and as Livia Thurston her hands out Clarke ran full speed at the older woman.

The woman's arms weren't even fully extended by the time Clarke was in front of her. A fist to the core made Livia hunch over and grab her stomach before a kick to the face dropped her to the floor.

Blood was leaking profusely from the woman's wound as her body landed in a dirty puddle. A second later, Clarke shot a stream of lightning into the puddle. Livia screamed and screamed as thousands of volts coursed through her body before she went still.

It only took thirteen seconds.

Clarke didn't even spare Livia a other glance as she pointed at her next opponent, Mason from Delfikru. The woman in question stood up, but her next words shocked the crowd as she said,"Delfikru will not contest this fight under the ruling of our leader Chigo from his seat in Oria. King Chigo wishes to instead extend knowledge and trade opportunities with Skaikru. That is if you wish it, Heda."

Clarke was surprised by the turn of events and so were the crowd, but for different reasons. Jeers and whistles rose up from all over the arena as well as various insults to the Delfikru general who seemed nonplussed by the crowd's complaining. Her lime green facepaint stood out as clear as day.

Lexa raised her hand and the crowd fell silent. She glanced at Clarke before turning to Mason,"You are aware that your standing shall go down regardless if I accept your proposal?"

Mason nodded firmly and Lexa said something to one of her attendants who dropped a leaf into Clarke's flame. The flame erupted into a bright green and Clarke felt her hopes rise at the prospect of there being one less fight.

"It is done," declared Lexa,"Mason kom Delfikru has officially descended. Klark may choose her next opponent. "

The man who was chosen this time wasted virtually no time in rising and getting to the stage. Remus ,the name of the man according to Lexa , was muscular and had somewhat long dark hair. He was built solidly, but perhaps the most interesting thing about his appearance was that he had no armour.

He had a decent amount of throwing knives as well as a sword on his back, but he had no armour at all. His grey face paint was simply three jagged lines over each cheek.

Remus spread his arms wide open and said,"Give me the strongest punch you can manage, girl. "

Clarke was cautious of the invitation and as the fight began she didn't make a move at all. Remus seemed to lose his patience after barely ten seconds before he began running towards Clarke.

His speed was high and he covered the distance between them in a matter of seconds. He had daggers gleaming in both his hands and Clarke reached for her own before belatedly realising that her knives and daggers must have been swept away in one of her earlier fights – probably the one with Akeri.

Remus was already thrusting his dagger towards Clarke and she stepped backwards to avoid it. The man did not let up as he continueed forward with a series of stabs and slashes.

Clarke's superior reflexes were keeping her away from harm's reach, but there was no technique to her dodging. There was never any significant amount of space made between her and Remus as he advanced in a way that narrowed Clarke's options down.

Clarke eventually grew frustrated and seeing an opening she punched the man hard in the chest. Remus was sent rolling head over heels, but he recovered instantly as if he hadn't been hit. The man smiled and said,"You've got a strong punch. Thank you for your help."

The confusing statement was capped off by the man beginning to glow a bright white. A second later, Remus exploded.

Clarke was caught completely off guard and tumbling over the edge of the platform.

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"She got arrogant,"said Kane as he sat next to Bellamy in the stands. The explosion had been loud and strong enough to blow away the majority slurry of wet sand away entirely. The platform now just had a massive crater that at its lowest point was probably halfway to the ground.

Remus stood in the centre of the crater, but he was breathing heavily and his muscles seemed a quite a bit smaller. He turned towards the Commander and shouted something in Trigedasleng.

Bellamy wasn't sure what was said, but what he was sure of was that the fight wasn't over yet.

"They didn't change his flame to green,"said Bellamy as he pointed out the fact to Kane,"Clarke's still in this."

It was by a twist of fate that as soon as this was said by Bellamy that a flash of blonde hair caught his attention. Clarke seemed to be levitating upwards as she rose from the edge she fallen from, but as her feet were revealed Bellamy saw that she was standing on a platform of rock.

"She made a smaller platform of rock jut out to keep her off the ground, "said Kane before he voiced the thoughts of everyone in the arena,"Impressive. "

Clarke wasn't done impressing, however, as she moved her arms in quick and harsh motions that caused a pyramid of rock to ensnare Remus. The man was already weak from his earlier effort at beating Clarke and a flash of green fire signaled his loss once ot became clear he couldn't escape.

Clarke didn't seem to be done however as once had let Remus go she went through a few more motions before the crater was filled up by the rock beneath it. The platform was back to it's original state a d there didn't seem to be any complaints from the last three generals or Lexa.

"Who do you think she'll pick next?"asked Kane and Bellamy answered instantly.

"The Azgeda general."

"You seem pretty sure,"said Kane before he saw Clarke, true to Bellamy's prediction, pick out the Azgeda general,"How did you know?"

"I've heard a lot about this general,"said Bellamy as the general made for the platform,"Supposed to be one of the strongest if not the strongest. Clarke will probably pick Quint next then Indra it depends on this fight. Clarke thinks she can win this one though."

"How do you figure?"asked Kane as the Azgeda general began to ascend the stairs.

"She hasn't picked Indra even though she knows that Indra is one of the strongest and will probably be a tough fight,"said Bellamy and as the Azgeda general reached the top of the stairs said,"If Clarke is going to lose to anyone, she wants to make sure it's Trikru. She already seems to be on good terms with Anya and her apprentice. The Commander is also from Trikru and those–"

"–are all the Grounders Clarke has a positive or working relationship with,"finished Kane.

"Exactly, "said Bellamy .

The two mem were silent for a few seconds before Bellamy turned to the older man.

"What's the name of the Azgeda general?"

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Ontari.

That was the name of the general that Clarke was apparently supposed to look out for. The girl had intricate scars carved into her skin. Her facepaint was easily the most intimidating of all the generals as around her eyes were pitch black circles that contrasted sharply with the pure white paint that covered the rest of her face.

Strangely enough, similar to Remus she didn't have any metal armour in whatsoever. In fact, her clothes were littered with holes that were far too many on number to be anything, but deliberate.

The girl's eyes seemed to gleam with a cruelty and excitement that was just barely kept in check. Clarke chanced a look at Lexa and for the first time in the fight Clarke noticed Lexa seemed to be rather tense.

Clarke put the image out of her mind as she instead focused on her opponent. The horn sounded out signifying the start of the match and immediately Ontari threw a few knives towards Clarke.

The knives weren't especially difficult to deal, but there were a distraction as Clarke turned back to Ontari who had taken in a deep breath before exhaling a strong wind.

Clarke blocked the strong wind with a psionic barrier. She had to raise a second hand to steady the barrier to properly weather out the strong winds a.d when they died down Clarke picked up one of Ontari's knives before throwing it back towards the girl at a much higher speed.

The knife was only a flash of silver before it slammed right into Ontari's stomach. Clarke expected the girl to at the very least groan in pain, but she was shocked to see that Ontari was smiling.

The girl pulled the knife out with one hard jerk and to Clarke's surprise the tip of the knife was bent. Clarke didn't let that distract for long as she fired a psionic blast at Ontari who simply crossed her arms in front of her face and there was a flash of purple energy as the blast connected head on.

The energy dissipated to show Ontari's arms still crossed. In fact, the girl hadn't even moved an inch. The worst part was that the girl was still smiling. She seemed to smile as she took out a dagger before a green circle of light appeared below her feet.

Ontari dropped down into the portal much to Clarke's shock before she felt her body begin to move. Her body turned in the opposite direction. Ontari had appeared from another circle of green light in stabbing position towards Clarke midsection. Instinct made Clarke's left hand rip the dagger from Ontari's grip before going in for a stab all within the span of a second.

It was why Clarke felt shell shocked as Ontari's eyes seem to track Clarke's high speed stab and caught Clarke's wrist in a move similar to Clarke's own a second ago.

What the hell?

Ontari's seemed to relish in Clarke's surprises she made a show of licking her teeth. This time Clarke put all her speed and strength into her lunch and Ontari wasn't quite able to react on time as Clarke's fist slammed into her face.

The sound of bones cracking echoed out throughout the arena and the crowd let out groans of pain as the sound registered in their ears. Ontari hadn't been sent flying from the punch and Clarke was confused until she registered the ringing pain in her hand.

The sound of bones breaking was not just Ontari's cheekbone.

It was also Clarke's hand.

The crowd seemed to realise this as well and a section of the crowd, which must have been Azgeda warriors, began to chant something.

"Klakaplana! Klakaplana! Klakaplana!"

Ontari turned her face back towards Clarke and she watched in curiosity as Ontari's cheekbone seemed to reset itself as blood. Ontari drew her hand back in an open palm and a twisted, gnarled bone emerged from her palm.

Clarke's medical training told her that she was looking at the radius and ulna wrapped around one another in a way that bone was definitely not meant to bend.

Ontari still had a strong grip on Clarke's hand and the sight of Ontari's blood made Clarke panic as she released a storm of psionic energy. The backlash sent both fighters flying in opposite directions and Clarke felt a quick pain in her hip before she rolled to a stop and rose to her feet.

Ontari had risen to her feet as well, but for once the other girl didn't seem as confident as she had earlier. The girl had an expression of open shock on her face as she pointed at Clarke.

"You,"muttered Ontari as the arena fell into a dead silence.

There was something stuck in Clarke's side that was flaring painfully and Clarke wrapped her hand around something before pulling it out. It was the remains of the intertwined ulna and radius that had been in the process of emerging from Ontari's palm. Somehow Ontari had shot it at her whilst Clarke had let off that psionic wave.

Clarke pulled out the bone and even as the wound in her side healed she realised that things had gone awry.

Her shirt had been tattered earlier in the day and thus there was nothing that stopped everyone else in the arena from seeing the blood that poured from the wound and coated the bone that was currently in Clarke's hand.

The black blood.

"That's,"said Ontari as she still continued to point,"Jus kom Heda..."

"You are a natblida. "

Clarke tensed as Ontari reached for a knife, but she was surprised as the girl instead cut her own palm. Clarke felt her jaw drop as black blood dripped from the wound before soaking the blade of dagger.

"Like me,"said Ontari as she spat up a glob of the black blood from her mouth.

Ontari licked the blood off of the dagger before a vicious grin grew on her face,"I will enjoy killing you."

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AUTHOR NOTES

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Trigedasleng :

Trikru – Woods Clan

Azgeda – Ice Nation

Delfikru – Delphi Clan

Ingronarona – Plain Riders

Trishanakru – Glowing Forest

Boudalan – Rock Line

Ouskejon – Blue Cliff

Floukru – Boat People

Louwoda Kilron – Shallow Valley

Sankru – Desert Clan

Yujleda – Broadleaf

Podakru – Lake Clan

Skaikru– Sky People

Jus kom Heda – The Blood of the Commander

Klakaplana – Bone Queen

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GENERALS:

Trikru(Woods Clan):

Name: Indra

Powers(That have been revealed):N/A

Etymology: Name of a deity in Hinduism

Actor(if applicable): Adina Porter

Clan Traits:Black facepaint, tattoos

--

Azgeda (Ice Nation):

Name: Ontari

Powers(That have been revealed):Bone manipulation, Super breath

Etymology (if applicable): Ontari from Ontario, Canada

Actor: Rhiannon Fish

Clan Traits:White and black facepaint, Facial scars

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Yujleda(Broadleaf):

Name: Quint

Powers(That have been revealed):N/A

Etymology (if applicable):N/A

Actor: Graham Shiels

Clan Traits: Maroon facepaint

--

Ingronarona(Plain Riders) :

Name: Livia

Powers(That have been revealed): N/A

Etymology (if applicable):LIVonIA, Michigan

Actor: Cate Blanchett(specifically Hela in Thor: Ragnarok)

Clan Traits:Yellow facepaint

--

Boudalan(Rock Line Clan) :

Name: Remus

Powers(That have been revealed): Energy absorption and expulsion

Etymology (if applicable): Romulus and Remus

Actor: Kit Harrington

Clan Traits:Grey facepaint

--

Delfikru (Deplhi Clan):

Name:Mason

Powers(That have been revealed):N/A

Etymology (if applicable):MAdiSON, Wisconsin

Actress: Emmy Rossum

Clan Traits: Lime Green facepaint

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Podakru (Lake People):

Name: Akeri

Powers(That have been revealed):Water control, Fish transformation

Etymology (if applicable): Akeri is from Lake Erie

Actor: Jason Momoa

Clan Traits: Long hair with beads braided in

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Sankru(Desert Clan):

Name: Erid

Powers(That have been revealed): Sand Control

Etymology (if applicable): mERIDen, Connecticut

Actress: Zazie Beetz

Clan Traits:Tan face paint, Flowing, airy robes

--

Trishanakru(Glowing Forest) :

Name: Sagan

Powers(That have been revealed): Telepathy, Air-running

Etymology (if applicable):Carl Sagan

Actor: Thomas Brodie-Sangster

Clan Traits:Orange face paint

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Ouskejon (Blue Cliff):

Name: Erica

Powers(That have been revealed): Swapping places with objects

Etymology (if applicable): amERICA

Actress: Jamie Chung

Clan Traits: Vertical blue face paint

--

Louwoda Kilron (Shallow Valley) :

Name: Etri

Powers(That have been revealed):N/A

Etymology: Etri from Metric

Actor: Dev Patel

Clan Traits: Silver Facepaint

--

Floukru(Boat People):

Name: Trent[Interim]

Powers(That have been revealed):N/A

Etymology : From Trent Alexander-Arnold

Actor: Nathan O'Toole

Clan Traits: Oceanic Blue Facepaint

--

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Hope you enjoyed that. Things are moving forward and there have been unexpected bumps in the roads.

I'd love to hear some feedback.