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Clarke watched as Ontari's grip on her bloodied dagger became loose before the dagger fell to the ground entirely. The Azgeda girl pointed all ten of her fingers at Clarke.

A second later, there were white streaks homing in on Clarke. She weaved the barrage as she ran to Ontari and she realised that Ontari was firing her phalanges like bullets. The fact that they weren't covered in blood didn't escape Clarke's notice either.

It probably meant that Ontari's body was heavily modified to allow her to use her bone manipulation without detrimental effects. The sheer amount of bone bullets that Clarke had to dodge as she closed in were far more than 10 in number.

That meant her bones regenerated almost as quickly as they were removed.

Clarke finally reached Ontari who seemed to be able track Clarke at her current speed quite well. Clarke immediately went for a punch to the other girl's abdomen. Ontari's bones were ridiculously tough and even though Clarke could break them it came with the drawback of breaking her own.

Clarke's fist slammed into Ontari's stomach while didn't move fast enough to react to Clarke due to their proximity. Ontari was sent only a few metres back despite Clarke having put considerable effort into her punch.

It was only after her hand began to pulse in pain that Clarke looked at her hand and saw that her bones in her hand were knitting themselves back together.

"You can manifest bones from anywhere on your body,"said Clarke in surprise and it was a statement that was said with certainty. Ontari smiled at Clarke and nodded once,"Yes. You may be faster than anyone I've fought, but I can still see you. Your speed and strength are useless. Like hundreds before you and hundreds after you, your bones and blades will break on my skin. I am the Klakaplana. The Bone Queen and you will submit to Azgeda as per Kwin Nia's will."

Some of what Ontari had said was right . Clarke was a lot faster than Ontari, but the girl seemed to have sharp enough reflexes to at the very least manifest bone armour to blunt Clarke's blows. There would have to be another angle to attack from.

Clarke was not given any time to respond as Ontari ran back towards her. Clarke stood her ground and waited for the Azgeda general to reach her position. Ontari was soon in front of Clarke and she lashed out with a punch to Clarke's face.

Clarke was able to deflect the punches and kicks that came at her, but she was never in a position to counterattack. The advantage Clarke had in speed and strength was negated by Ontari's honed reflexes and years of battle and training.

Skill trumps raw talent.

That was not to say Ontari was having the best of times. She seemed to be getting frustrated at her lack of progress and it seemed to boil over when Clarke was able to connect with a decent hit to the face of Ontari.

Ontari's cheekbone snapped from the force, but snapped back together instantly. Blood was dripping from her mouth and she spat it away before dropping into her stance.

Clarke was analysing Ontari for any weaknesses like dizziness or favouring one foot, but there was nothing. Clarke know knew why the girl didn't wear armour was due to her bone manipulation, but what confused Clarke still were the holes in the girl's clothes.

There were in various spots all over the girl's clothes. A multitude of uniform, rounded holes that were definitely tailored to perfection. They would probably not be the best clothes to wear in a place as cold as Clarke assumed a placed called the Ice Nation would be. That meant they served a specific purpose.

Ontari seemed to catch Clarke's gaze on the holes in her clothes and she said,"You seem curious about my clothes. I would show you why they are the way they are, but I wouldn't waste it on a girl like you."

Clarke rolled her eyes and said,"This 'girl' just beat over half of your generals and I've hit you three times while you've only hit me once."

Ontari's hackles seemed to rise and a cruel frown twisted her features as Clarke's jibe settled in. Ontari rose from her stance and instead ran full tilt at Clarke. Clarke was ready to stand her ground again, but this time she watched in horror as spikes of bones erupted from all over Ontari's legs and arms.

They were all of varying length, but they were all equally wicked and sharp as they jutted from the girl's skin and through the holes in her clothes. Ontari ended up looking like some caricature of a porcupine with bones for quills.

Ontari reached Clarke and almost immediately one other bones cut into Clarke who couldn't dodge the punches and kicks and spikes from this distance. Ontari pressed her advantage and she began to score more and more hits.

Clarke felt like she was in serious danger of losing and she felt near hopeless. For every cut that was healed, another two would take it's place. Her movements became increasingly sluggish and she began to feel the weight of her limbs become heavier. The white of Ontari bones contrasted with the black of Clarke's blood.

To make matters worse, they were approaching the edge as Clarke walked backwards to avoid the strikes of Ontari. Clarke had to end this. Fast.

A weak burst of air from Clarke's body disrupted Ontari's rhythm enough to allow Clarke to counterattack. This time she wrapped Ontari in psionic energy and clenched her left hand in a bid to suffocate her.

Ontari didn't panic, however, as the pressure increased and Clarke realised that Ontari had probably manifested a layer of bone beneath the skin to fight against the compressing psionic energy as she withdrew her bone spikes.

Clarke was sure that if she increased the pressure on Ontari enough to break her bones then the girl would be in significant danger of losing her life. If that bone armour was crushed then it would essentially be like shrapnel cutting into the girl's body.

Clarke instead raised her right hand and a second later a mass of flames shot out her hand and washed over Ontari's body. The crowd screamed at the apparent execution of the Azgeda general and from her periphery she could see people rising to their feet and making for the stairs.

Clarke raised her left hand and a second wave of flames joined the first. The heat of the flames made sweat bead down Clarke's forehead, but she cut the flames off right as people burst from the archways at the bottom of the arena.

The stadium fell silent as instead of a burnt corpse they found Ontari still safely ensconced in Clarke's barrier. Clarke released the barrier and Ontari collapsed to the ground immediately clearly unconscious.

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"I thought Clarke killed her,"said Kane to Bellamy who shook his head.

"I've been in the same position before,"said Bellamy as he remembered his fight with Clarke all those weeks ago,"The barrier stopped the flames, but not the heat. Clarke's barrier are better than mine so I'm sure she had to release hot enough flames to make Ontari faint."

"That's clever,"said Kane as he watched a lot of guards from various clans repel the Azgeda contingent that had stormed the arena. Bellamy had been about to go down himself, but he had been stopped by Kane who pointed out a sweat covered Ontari who laid unconscious at Clarke's feet.

"Why is her blood black?"asked Kane and that drew a noncommittal shrug from Bellamy.

"Clarke hasn't told me,"said Bellamy before he added,"There's been a lot going on and between the disagreements we'd been having and this gauntlet we haven't really had much time to talk. What I do think is that that blood must be important. You saw how everyone here reacted to it. I don't know what it means to the Grounders, but what I do know is that it comes with some perks. That bone manipulation is one of the most versatile powers I've seen and Ontari is the only person I've seen with quick enough reflexes to not be completely blindsided by Clarke when she's revving her engine."

The Azgeda general was stretchered off by some healers and Clarke was left alone once again. She only had two more hurdles left, but things were still shaky. Indra was Lexa's second-in-command which by default marked her as Lexa's most trusted general.

What gave Bellamy some hope was that there was a chance that Indra wasn't the strongest of the generals and that would be great. However, Bellamy knew that Indra had to be formidable for her to hold her position. She was one of the oldest generals and that in itself was telling.

Fools wouldn't last near as long as Indra had and that was without considering Indra's position as the leader of Trikru. In all likelihood, Indra was second-in-command because Lexa trusted her and because she was a formidable fighter.

Clarke, was likely to know this as well, so she would try to beat Quint quickly before–

The stadium suddenly became quiet as Lexa's voice rang out,"Clarke has chosen Indra kom Trikru for her next fight."

"What?"said Kane in confusion, "Why wouldn't she pick Quint? Indra is strong and Clarke needs more time to recover. "

Bellamy was silent as he peered at Clarke who despite being covered in some blood was unhurt. However, at a closer look he saw something that caused some worry to rise up in him.

"Clarke's looking pale,"said Bellamy to Kane who looked at Clarke and nodded in agreement.

"Her stance isn't as solid as it was earlier either,"said Kane grimly,"She picked Indra because she expects to lose this one."

Bellamy desperately wanted to believe otherwise, but as Clarke's shoulders sagged even more and a slight grimace formed on her face the possibility of Clarke losing became a very likely possibility.

The fight began and Indra was attacking Clarke with furious swipes and stabs of her sword that Clarke only barely kept ahead of. The crowd seemed to egg on the leader of Trikru. It made sense that they would support Indra. They were in a Trikru town after all.

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It was definitely poison.

That was the only explanation Clarke could up with for why her body was moving so slowly. It took of all Clarke's effort to stay ahead of Indra and she knew it was only a matter of time before she'd get cut by the Trikru leader's sword which was the only visible weapon Clarke had seen on her before their fight.

Clarke knew that it was a poison that was meant to weaken her and slow her down and her guess was that Ontari had somehow coated her bones with it. However, that wasn't Clarke's main concern. Her main concern was much more alarming.

Why hadn't her body getting rid of the poison already?

Clarke stomped on the ground and spikes of Earth rose up in attempt to skewer Indra. The Trikru leader was calm however and she launched into a series of flips and dashes that were very majestic in nature. Indra's sword clattered to the ground long forgotten as she flipped and dodged the spikes even as they kept circling back towards her.

It was with an unnatural dexterity and grace that Indra moved and Clarke breathed a little easier as she realised that she had discovered one of Indra's powers. Clarke kept the pressure up giving Indra no time to rest as she looked to cause some distance between them.

Clarke finally got Indra trapped and the Trikru general was frozen as the spikes homed in on her position. Clarke was about to make the spikes stop just before they hit Indra, but she watched in surprise as the spikes all just smashed into the ground.

They formed craters as soon as they landed and loud booms reverberated through the air. Clarke could feel the vibrations that the spikes had made when crashing into the ground from her position. She tried to lift them up, but there was immense resistance under just the one.

Indra looked at Clarke and suddenly Clarke was on her back and it felt like her limbs weighed over a ton each. Clarke finally realised how Indra was able to take out her spikes.

Gravity.

The invisible force pressed down on Clarke heavily and that mixed with the poison made it harder to move. Indra was walking slowly towards Clarke and once she reached the girl she held up her hand and a gleaming green dagger of light formed in her hand.

Indra landed on Clarke's stomach so heavily that it forced Clarke to close her eyes. Indra put the knife above Clarke's throat and said curtly,"Submit."

Clarke shook her head and Indra pressed the knife closer to Clarke's throat. Black blood poured onto the blade of light. Indra looked at Lexa who shook her head. Indra understood the unspoken message and in her free hand a pike of light formed.

She slammed into all the way into Clarke's left hand which drew a loud groan from the younger woman. Indra's hand was still pushing the pike deeply into Clarke's hand and she said,"Give up. You fought well, but it is all over now. If Ontari hadn't poisoned you then you would have stood a better chance. "

"No way,"groaned Clarke and Indra's gaze tightened. She spun the knife she held around and was about to slam it into Clarke's forehead when it and the pike in Clarke's hand disappeared in a flash of light.

Clarke's eyes snapped open and Indra got a close up view of the slit pupils of the girl below her. Clarke cheeks puffed out before a spray of liquid ran over Indra's face. Indra's hands reflexively rose to her eyes as she desperately scrubbed at her eyes.

Snake venom was something you didn't want to get into your eyes as it turned out.

The gravity weighing Clarke down was gone and she lifted her hands before firing one strong blast of psionic energy into Indra's chest. The Trikru general was sent clear across the platform well over the edge and into the dividing wall.

Clarke was still laying on her back when she saw a burst of green flame. She gingerly climbed to her feet and she turned towards it. Clarke nearly sobbed in relief when she saw her flame turning bright green.

Her eyes met the Lexa's and Clarke was sure she looked a mess. Tattered clothes, blood caked all over her body and her hair had gotten loose and hung loose around her once again. However, Lexa didn't seem to be focused on that as she stared unflinchingly at Clarke.

There seemed to be a lot of thoughts swirling within Lexa and her emotions were practically bare to the surface. A second later, Lexa's face was wiped clean of emotion as she looked over Clarke's shoulder.

Clarke turned to where Lexa was looking and she was sure her face dropped as she took in the arrogant face of Quint. His facepaint was maroon and in the shape of a large spiral. Clarke was sure her own facepaint had been gone for a while now.

"Congratulations, "said Quint with a smile on his face, "You came this far only to lose to me. It's for the best. Yujleda will be glad to assimilate your people. If your comrades are even half as strong as you then not even Azgeda or Trikru would dare cross us."

Clarke's limbs felt heavy and leaden. The adrenaline rush from her victory over Indra was gone and she was acutely aware of the fatigue plaguing her body. Her last fight of the day began and it was with more than just a bit of desperation that she fired a blast of psionic energy at Quint.

However, her vision had begun to waver slightly and she missed the man completely. The man laughed as he realised just how tired Clarke was. Quint stomped on the ground and to Clarke's dismay the rock spikes she had tried to launch at Indra all rose off the ground. Quint was far away from Clarke and so he had a great vantage point as each spike lifted from the air one by one before they all shot towards Clarke.

Clarke felt adrenaline rush through her as the spikes of earth homed in on her. She closed her and as various strategies and ideas swam through she mind. She finally settled on the one that would work.

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"Why isn't she moving?"growled Bellamy as he clenched his hand into a fist. The stone bench him and Kane cracked as Bellamy's telekinesis boiled out of control. Kane placed a hand on Bellamy's shoulder that didn't do much, but Kane and the surrounding people found it a lot easier to breathe as the invisible pressure that was on them disappeared.

"Come on Clarke,"murmured Bellamy under his breath,"Move."

She stayed still.

"Move,"said Bellamy a little louder which drew the attention of the surrounding people for a few seconds.

Clarke still hadn't moved and the spikes were more mere feet away from her.

"Come on, Clarke!"shouted Bellamy and it was a scream so loud it drowned out the noise of everyone else in the stadium. Clarke seemed to twitch as the identity of the person who screamed seemed to sink in.

Her eyes snapped open and then seconds later it happened.

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Clarke was focusing as intently as she could. She could feel Instinct trying to force her to move, but she fought back against the motion.

She could hear the whistling of the spikes as they traveled through the air and she tried harder to pull this off. Her body twitched when she heard the familiar voice of Bellamy boom out through the arena and a second later her eyes opened.

It was done.

A massive explosion of flames emanated from her body and spread out throughout the arena. She could hear the loud screams of the audience as the flames spread out from Clarke's body.

Soon the entire platform was engulfed in a massive firestorm that lasted about ten seconds before it died down. The storm shrunk rapidly and soon they were only lingering flames remaining. Clarke was in her fire armour and the crow seemed to be in awe of her as she walked to her destination.

Quint had been quick enough to form a dome of rock around him, but the heat of the flames had warped the dome. There were scorch Mark's all over it and some sections were glowing a vibrant orange as they trickled to the ground slowly.

The dome disappeared and a sluggish, sweaty Quint tried to attack Clarke with his sword. She caught his sword and Quint watched as his sword was melted down in a matter of seconds. Clarke deactivated her fire armour before springing into action.

The poison seemed to have run it's course for the most part and Clarke felt some energy returning to her.

She sped towards Quint and she slammed a punch into his stomach. The man groaned and tried to swing at Clarke, but she parried the punch and delivered a kick into his knee. There was a loud crack and Quint collapsed to one knee. Clarke's frustration was getting the better of her and she lashed out at her one target.

She slammed a knee into Quint's face and he collapsed face first to the ground. Clarke kicked him in the side and she felt some ribs give away as the man was sent rolling in a heap. Eventually the man was lying on his back as he looked up to the sky.

Clarke walked up to the man and she placed her boot on his chest before speaking lowly.

"Give up."

Quint didn't say anything and Clarke looked up to Lexa who didn't seem to be making any moves to signal the end of the fight.

"Give up."

Clarke punctuated her statement with a kick to Quint's side. It drew a pitiful groan, but the man didn't say anything further.

Clarke felt frustrated and so she held her hand up and the crowd began to chatter and murmur as a large green bow of light formed in Clarke's hand. She pulled back the bowstring and a sharp arrow of light formed. She pointed the bow at Quint who panicked at the sight of the bow and tried to sit up, but he was forced back down by Clarke's boot.

"Apologise for disrespecting my leader,"said Clarke and the man caved immediately. The crowd had gone eerily silent in order to hear Clarke's words.

"I'm sorry for disrespecting your leader,"said Quint quickly.

"Apologise for disrespecting my people,"said Clarke coolly as she pulled the arrow back further.

Quint flinched back and quickly said,"I'm sorry for disrespecting your people."

Clarke waited a few seconds before she pulled the arrow back,"Give up."

Quint's eyes were wide open as he looked at the bow and said loud enough for everyone to hear,"I give up! I quit!"

"Good,"said Clarke and then she fired the arrow.

Quint's scream was drowned out by that of the crowd as the arrow left Clarke's bow before embedding itself in the ground right next to the man's forehead.

"Don't mess with Skaikru,"said Clarke before the bow and arrow disappeared in a shimmer of green particles.

Clarke turned towards the Commander who rose from her seat and addressed the crowd,"Klark kom Skaikru had been given the task of defeating my generals and she succeeded. It is with great honour that I present to you the 13th and Head General of the Coalition, Klark kom Skaikru!"

Clarke sagged in relief and she felt tears well up from the sheer physical and emotional exhaustion she felt, but she made sure to not let them fall. She turned to Lexa who had a smile on her face and Clarke tried to return it, but she felt her world spin and she watched as Lexa's face dropped into a frown before she shouted a few words.

Clarke didn't know what was said, but she heard a familiar voice catch her from behind just as she was about to fall. She felt the air around her change Clarke looked up at Anya who had said something after they had teleported, but Clarke didn't hear so she mumbled some words to Anya to repeat herself.

"You did well,"said Anya and Clarke felt the arms of sleep begin to envelop her,"Rest now, general. There'll be a feast tonight in your honour."

Clarke nodded and she finally closed her eyes. Soon, sleep came over Clarke and her last thoughts were on Lexa and her piercing gaze as she announced Clarke's victory. The scene played over and over as Clarke fell deeper into sleep and right before she fell asleep she still had one question on her mind.

What the hell was a Head General?

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Raven sidled up next to Murphy who was serving himself some food in the dining room. The chatter in the dining room was pretty loud and it all just blended into vague, white noise. She had a plate of her own and she served some food onto her's as they progressed up the line. Eventually, they were done and they moved to a table that was empty.

They sat and ate their food in silence before Raven spoke,"How's life as a free man treating you?"

Murphy smirked and said,"It's alright. It would be better if you had taken out the whole thing though."

"I already told you,"said Raven between bites of food,"If we took it out and they just so happened to use it on you then we'd be fucked. If they use it, all you'll feel will be a little tickle at most. Anyways, do you think Maya was able to get to Monty?"

Murphy looked over Raven's shoulder and said,"Why don't you take a look for yourself?"

Raven did as was suggested and snuck a looo behind her and she was surprised to see Monty coming up to the table with Maya in tow.

That was quick.

The boy smiled once he met Raven's eyes and he snuck a somewhat furtive glance towards Murphy before he sat down.

"So Raven,"said Monty calmly,"Mind telling me why it took you so long to come to us about this shit?"

Raven sighed,"Yeah, I know. Clarke made me promise to not tell you guys until I had to and this is one of those situations. I'm assuming Maya took you to the cages?"

Minty nodded and there was an angry look on his face,"Yeah, I saw them through a side window. Clarke was right about this place. We've got to tell the delinquents and take to this President Wallace. Maybe he–"

"Come on, Monty,"said Murphy,"Get your head out the skies. Who do you think runs this whole place? He watched as they slapped a shock tag on me with a kill switch built in. He's been bleeding the Grounders dry for decades and turning them into reapers. You know the things that attacked your camp before Clarke burnt them to ashes? What makes you think he cares about us? They're probably finding a way to cure themselves with the other delinquents they caught."

Monty remained silent and Raven took the chance to speak,"We need to get Octavia, Jasper and all the super powered delinquents on board. Clarke's activated all of our powers, but we don't even know what they are yet. "

"How are we supposed to use them then?"said Monty to Raven who said,"Well, as it turns out the Mountain Men have a nifty device just for that purpose. "

"Why would they have that?"said Monty which drew an answer from Maya.

"It's mostly to see if the Grounders ever have a power that can help us go back up,"said Maya and a sad look fell over her face,"There's never ever been someone since the war began. Occasionally, someone with potential is taken away for...experiments, but it has never panned out."

There was silence for a few seconds before Raven said,"Okay look. Here's the thing. These guys already used the device on us and the results were kept in Tsing's office. "

"Were?"questioned Monty which drew a smile from Raven.

"Yeah,"she said,"I swiped them all when Maya snuck me in there. They seem to be archived so I'm sure I got away with it."

"So what's the plan then?"said Murphy to Raven who answered immediately after taking a glance around the room.

"There's some signal jamming device that blocks all long-range radio communication,"said Raven as she made a show of continuing to eat,"Clarke gave me a radio to communicate on a specific channel with, but so far we've been getting jammed. We need to get rid of the signal jammer and that's where you come in Monty. "

"You want me to hack in and drop the signal jammer?"said Monty which drew a nod from Raven,"We need to be able to speak with the outside before anything."

"What are we supposed to be doing in the meanwhile?"said Murphy.

"Maya has been recruiting guys that are against the regime Dante and Cage have,"said Raven before she added,"We're going to seclude them with the rest of The 100 that aren't fighters and once Clarke and the Grounders' army come, she'll heal them and we'll take out the dissidents. "

"Sounds simple enough,"said Monty in an attempt at humour that drew no laughs.

"I'm going to speak to Octavia,"said Raven before she looked at Monty,"With Murphy. We'll need her to sneak into the control room and we also need to get her head out of her ass. The two of you will show the other delinquents the truth about what's going on in here."

"Got it,"said Monty and he left followed by Maya about thirty seconds later.

"Do you think we'll win?"asked Murphy and Raven shook her head.

"We won't get the win,"said Raven before adding,"The Grounders and their army will. The acid fog is down and if we can get the jammer down then it'll be all up to them. All we can do is hope we stay alive long enough for the army to get inside."

"Well isn't that just great,"muttered Murphy as he took a drink from his cup,"We're relying on a gamble."

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If you were to ask Octavia how many days she had been inside the Mountain or how many bottles and shots she's had the answer was the same for both.

She did not know.

In all honesty, she didn't really care either.

Octavia sat down on the couch in Clarke's room. Well, Clarke's old room anyways. Jasper had gotten her another bottle of the Mountain's version of moonshine. It was definitely a lot tastier than what they had on the Ark and it worked quicker too.

Octavia had just poured herself a drink into a cup when the door opened. Raven walked in and Octavia held up the bottle of moonshine.

"Care for a drink?"said Octavia and her smile dropped when Raven ignored her and went to the music player in the room. The sound of music filled the room and Octavia watched as Raven turned the volume up by quite a bit.

"Please pass me that bottle,"said Raven and Octavia obliged the request and as she followed the older girl into the kitchenette said,"Tough day? Been there."

Octavia handed the bottle to Raven who took it from her. Raven looked at the level of the bottle and said,"How may drinks have you had of this?"

Octavia gestured to the cup on the table and said,"That's my first one. Why? I know my limits, Raven. You don't have to baby me. I know you feel bad for me after what happened with Bell , but I'm fine. I swear."

"I am worried for you,"said Raven before she opened the bottle and poured it's contents down the drain which was something that pissed off Octavia.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"said Octavia as she grabbed onto the bottle in an attempt to stop Raven. The two girls wrestled over the bottle before it slipped from both their grasps and shattered in the sink.

Octavia stared at the pieces of glass for a few seconds before shoving her way past Raven,"Go float yourself. "

Octavia was walking towards the cup she had left on the table when a green beam shot through it burning the metal and evaporating the contents in seconds.

"Octavia, I've watched you get drunk with all the other delinquents and I let you do this because you were grieving, "said Raven and Octavia began to make her way towards the door.

"I don't need this, Raven,"said Octavia as she began to walk towards the door,"I'm going to get something to drink. Please stay away from me."

Raven was able to jam the door before Octavia could leave and she said,"No. Now listen, Clarke–"

Raven was cut off as Octavia's hand slammed into her cheek. Octavia's shoulders were drawn and tense as she said ,"Don't tell me anything about that bitch. She got Bellamy killed and then we're in here safe from the Grounders she's does everything in her power to ruin it for us. She tried to blow up the Mountain and held Maya hostage just to escape. She's a monster. I hope she's –"

In a reversal of roles, Raven slapped Octavia. The younger girl was stunned into silence. Raven took a deep breath to calm herself and once she had calmed suitably she continued the conversation.

"Bellamy isn't dead,"said Raven and she watched as Octavia's face warped into one of confusion,"The Mountain Men. They lied to us. All of us. They tortured Murphy and made him admit to Bellamy being dead. They've been watching and waiting for the right time to strike. "

Octavia shook her head and she tried to push Raven aside saying,"You're lying. Did Clarke get to you somehow? "

Octavia was becoming more and more frantic as she continued to blazer and Raven grabbed onto her shoulders firmly, "Octavia, listen. The Mountain Men have been taking Grounders and draining them of their blood and turning them into reapers. That's how they survived so long without being immune to radiation, but the Grounders' blood doesn't work that well. That's why they took us. They already knew we were from the Ark and after conducting tests on Murphy they realised our blood works better."

Octavia was silent as she allowed Raven to speak, but Raven could see the disgust that was plain as day on the girl's face.

"That's not all. They captured Mbege's camp and put them in cages,"said Raven and she watched as anger flared in Octavia's eyes,"They got their hands on Darah's journal and they found out that Clarke could cure them all. After Clarke got released from Medical after you two had your fight, Dante and Clarke had a meeting where he basically said that if Clarke didn't cure them then he would hurt us. He apparently said he has a way of taking away our powers."

"Does he really?"asked Octavia and Raven shrugged.

"I don't really know,"said Raven ,"The Grounders in the cages can't use their powers, but I don't think that was what he was talking about. I don't know if whatever was used on them can be spread throughout the Mountain or not, but if it can then we're in a bit of trouble."

It was a worrying possibility that had been playing in Raven's mind and she wasn't foolish enough to dismiss the threat. If Dante could just disable their powers with a flick of switch then the delinquents would be trouble. The Grounder army were actual warriors who could fight without their powers as evidenced by the swords and bows and spears that they use.

That was why it was of the utmost importance to make sure the army could safely advance to Mount Weather without too many casualties if any at all.

"Anyways,"said Raven as she shook herself from her thoughts, "Clarke refused and when Maya came to Clarke's room for a visit they let some radiation leak in to force Clarke's hand. Clarke cured Maya, but then she enlisted Maya's help to escape, but I caught her before she left."

"She wasn't going to tell you?"questioned Octavia as a frown grew on her face.

"Yeah, "said Raven ,"I guess she wanted to give us some form of plausible deniability, but I caught her. Clarke managed to figure out that we were under surveillance by the Mountain Men and after she disabled the microphones –she took your invisibility power to better sneak around the Mountain and before she left she activated all of our dormant powers. "

Octavia took a few moments to process the information and Raven waited for a few seconds before continuing.

"She also managed to figure out with my help that the Mountain Men were making the acid fog,"said Raven and Octavia punched the wall hard enough to crack it.

"So when I got kidnapped and you guys found me they tried to take us out? That long ago?"asked Octavia and she took a few breaths to calm herself down after Raven nodded in confirmation.

"So I'm guessing that explosion was the acid fog machine or whatever, "said Octavia and Raven nodded in response.

"Man, I really messed up,"said Octavia glumly and she really had.

She had managed to drink away the past few weeks and lavished in the vicinity of people who kept other human beings as cattle and turned into mindless zombies. Clarke had been right, but she had been blinded by the grief she felt over Bellamy's supposed death and Clarke was the easiest person to take it out on.

Clarke was one of the first friends she has ever had and with what she had said to her time and time again she did cherish their friendship. She hoped that she hadn't ruined any chances of reconciliation with her.

Raven seemed to understand why Octavia had grown so despondent as she said,"Chin up, Blake. Clarke understood the way you felt and trust me she will forgive you. She isn't really the type to hold grudges. You were a real bitch to her and so were the other delinquents, but you thought you lost your brother. Don't beat yourself up over it. I know I'd act the same if I lost Finn."

"Thanks, Raven,"said Octavia before she snapped her fingers as if remembering something, "You said Clarke took my invisibility right?"

Raven nodded, but she stopped in the middle of the motion as Octavia's entire left hand disappeared.

"You just made things a whole lot easier, "said Raven and Octavia watched in confusion as Raven pulled out a radio and pressed a button on it in some sort of pattern.

"Why did you do that?"asked Octavia, but Raven didn't answer.

About ten seconds later, the door jerked open and Octavia raised her hands towards it as her crystal armour spread across her arms rapidly. She lowered them, however, when she saw Murphy entered with his hands raised.

"Are we going to get this show on the road or what?"asked Murphy before he added,"We should probably hurry before Dante decides to launch another missile at The Ark and the Grounder Army."

"Another what at who?"asked Octavia,"The Ark is alive? And the Mountain Men shot a missile at them and the Grounder army?"

Raven and Murphy both nodded and Octavia realised that things were a lot more complicated than they seemed. Between the Grounders, the Mountain Men and now the Arkers it would definitely be chaos if they were all on the ground at the same time.

Octavia could only hope that the Arkers were getting along with the Grounders or things would get even messier fast.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Clarke woke up with a start and she blinked as her eyes registered the surroundings of her prison cell on the Ark. It worked. The walls were adorned with sketches of her past and there were new additions to the collection.

From one of Ontari with bones protruding from all over her body to one of Lexa holding a knife that dripped blood.

Clarke rose to her feet and walked out her cell. As expected, the hallways of Alpha Station appeared before her and she walked them at a measured pace. She reached the Chancellor's door and opened it immediately. Darah was reclined in her chair reading a book.

The door closed behind Clarke and she sat down opposite Darah who eyes were still on her book. Clarke waited for a few more seconds before she reached across the desk and took the book away from Darah.

"I was just going to read one more line,"said Darah with slight annoyance in her voice before it became a lot more cheery,"What brings you here, Clarke? I must say congratulations on your victory. You made me nervous for a few moments."

"Save the small talk for someone who cares,"said Clarke as she placed the book down on the desk,"I'm sure you know why I'm here."

"I do?"asked Darah and she chuckled at Clarke's darkening expression,"You must be referring to your fight with the girl with the modified blood? Ontario was it?"

"Ontari,"corrected Clarke and Darah sighed.

"You must be wondering why there are other black blooded people, "said Darah calmly, "and maybe wondering if they also have the Novus serum in their genetic structure. That Ontari girl did manage to react with speed that I'd only expect from a black blood. What do these "Grounders" call it again? Nightbloods? That's rather dramatic. "

Clarke very nearly lost her cool, but she knew it would not do her any good. Darah seems to love to veer off track when in conversation and despite being someone who had actively engaged in human experimentation she came off as a rather chatty and carefree person.

It made her annoying to deal with and it was why Clarke had not tried to take advantage of the encyclopedia of knowledge that Darah possessed on the Novus. Conversation with her was as annoying as it was unsettling.

"Get to the point,"said Clarke as she tried to hide her annoyance, but judging from Darah's widening smile she had not been successful. Clarke was proven correct as Darah finally spoke up.

"Your emotions are like an open book, Clarke,"said Darah as she drummed her fingers on the table,"You're going to need to work on that. The Head General of the Commamder's army should have far more control than what you're displaying. It's probably why the Commander was able to tie you down into working for her so easily."

"I don't work for her,"said Clarke quickly, but she cursed as Darah smiled at her rapid response.

"Hasty,"said Darah with a smile before her face grew serious, "You made a blood oath to never have to work for her, but with her. Yet, here you are one of her generals that have to listen to and follow Lexa's lead. You might say it was necessary for you to ensure the Sky People would not be messed with anymore and they probably won't be. You used my gift well, but be honest with yourself. If the Grounders have to bow down to the Commander why didn't she simply keep your dissidents in line? Was it because you weren't a part of the Coalition? She just didn't and instead you had to jump through a whole lot of hoops to essentially become her subject . Why is that I wonder?"

Clarke stayed silent as Darah's words slammed onto her and despite her best efforts she could not deny the truth in the other woman's statements. She and Lexa had made a deal and yet she had essentially been forced to fight 11 of the strongest warriors in Lexa's army so that their voices could be heard. A simple word from Lexa would have erased all that.

These thoughts and many others kept swimming in Clarke's head, but a bolt of clarity slammed into her as she realised why Lexa did not show any favour to them. The truth of the matter was that Skaikru weren't a part of the Coalition. Lexa could not be seen to favour these newcomers over her own allies. Lincoln had almost lost his life for it and it could only be worse if Lexa being Commander was shown to be the same.

"Nice try,"said Clarke before she crossed her arms,"Lexa probably could have done more to help us out, but that would have compromised Skaikru and her position. The Commander is meant to be neutral and of she shows favour towards any clan ,much less invaders from space, then discontent would rise up in certain people. I may be her general, but I'm not her tool. This way wasn't ideal, but at least people now know not to mess with Skaikru. "

"I seem to be underestimating your intelligence, "said Darah and she didn't seem bothered by Clarke's rebuttal she even seemed , dare Clarke say, pleased by it.

"You did probably do well enough to scare the other clans,"mused Darah,"It was a tactic called 'Shock and Awe' in my days. A display of power so raw and unadulterated you scare the other side into submission or obedience. The US army during World War 2 used a–"

"I know,"said Clarke as she cut Darah off,"I didn't come for a history lesson, Darah."

"Very well,"said Darah before she said,"Follow me."

Darah stood up from her chair and as her sleeves rode up Clarke caught a glimpse at a silver bracelet around the woman's right wrist that disappeared from view a second later.

Clarke followed Darag as they made their down the hall before they eventually reached where the control centre usually was, but the door was now replaced with a wide observation window. Clarke peered through it and she was surprised to see an elegant drawing on the floor that was far below their level.

There were various golden lines on the floor that connected to a circle before they each lead to a painting of various symbols . The symbols all varied from a lightning bolt to an eye to an exclamation point. The chair was the only actual object in the room, but the golden lines seemed to pulse with an otherworldly glow.

"This," said Darah," Is the representation of the Novus. The symbols you see are the powers you currently have. For instance, the exclamation point is –"

"Instinct, " finished Clarke and Darah nodded.

"The Novus is perfect in every way except for one flaw," said Darah,"Poison and venom disrupts the functioning of the entire design. Why? Only a fool would assume that an inventor didn't have a way of shutting down their own invention. As you may or may not know, your blood hols the key to the Novus. If someone were to get a hold of your blood like say those Mountain Men from I don't know perhaps broken glass...then you would not be so unique anymore to say the least. "

Clarke paused as she realised the very real possibility of the Mountain Men having her blood. It was unnerving to think about to say the least.

"In any case,"said Darah suddenly, "Your body has acclimated to the Novus for now. I'd suggest mastering what you have in your arsenal now. I can guarantee you that not all of your fights will be as simple and as controlled as your gauntlet. Especially if you fight with other nightbloods. "

"Why is that?" said Clarke before she felt a strange sensation all over her body and she watched as her body began to turn transparent slowly.

"You're waking up,"remarked Darah before she said,"The Darwin nanobots emit varying amounts of radiation which depends on the version. Those Blake siblings and that mechanic have four powers because their ancestors were a part of a space program ran by a company, but they got rejected because the serum they took did not settle fully within their bodies."

"Serum?"said Clarke before she blinked in realisation, "A nightblood serum?"

"Yes,"said Darah,"Nightblood allows you to handle higher levels of radiation. The Darwin nanobots are all able to see just how much radiation you can handle. Their ancestors didn't fully turn into nightbloods, but their bodies were still able to process higher amounts of radiation than the norm. It's why their powers are so strong. Their bodies can handle the increased radiation that comes with having stronger and more powers. Therefore, nightbloods–"

"They should have stronger and more powers than Bellamy, Octavia and Raven,"finished Clarke.

"Almost, "said Darah before adding,"Those enhanced reflexes Ontari showed in your fight as well as Lexa when she stopped the bullets leads me to believe that their physical enhancements are well above normal Ascendants, but not quite on the level of yours. The sample size is small so chances are there could be some who are just as fast and strong as you if not more so."

That didn't make things better though. If there were other nightbloods who for some reason were hostile to Skaikru and Clarke was certain they would eventually be some if they weren't already. That would mean that the speed and strength she liked to use to her advantage could possibly be countered by other nightbloods with their own physical enhancements and battle experience as Ontari had shown.

"Get stronger Clarke,"said Darah as Clarke's body was about to fade from view,"Destroy the Mountain and free your friends. You've done well so far, but you aren't quite on the mark yet."

Clarke's body faded more and more and just as she was about to disappear from view she was still able to hear Darah's parting comment as the woman turned away from Clarke and instead looked into the Novus room.

"Say hello to your friend for me."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A lone guard sat in the control centre and he seemed oblivious to the world as he looked at the various screens. As was the norm for the late evening, there was some vibrancy to the Mountain as people flitted from one place to another sometimes in groups or on their own, but all at varying speeds.

A yawn escaped the guard who made no attempt to cover it up.

"To think I'm only half an hour into this shift,"said the man before a knock on the door drew his attention. His eyes panned to the camera and he groaned as he saw a person dressed in the decontamination kit.

He rose from his seat before opening the door and once he saw the person at the door said,"Wasn't there a decontamination earlier in the day?"

"Yes,"said the person before adding,"I couldn't finish however. Don't worry this will only take five minutes."

The guard sighed and nodded before moving aside to allow the other person to move inside and bring their decontamination machine with as well. The guard was about to step aside, but he was surprised when a hand closed his mouth.

He tried to scream to get attention, but he was silenced as his neck was snapped by the cleaner that was brought in with him.

"What the hell Murphy?"said Raven before she appeared from thin air with Monty and Octavia as they held onto each other's hands,"You didn't have to kill him."

Murphy shrugged and said,"If he raised the alarm, we'd all be dead. This way we don't have to keep an eye on him. Besides, he was one of the guys who laughed and tortured me when I got in here. He had it coming."

"Just drop it Raven,"said Octavia calmly,"He was going to end up dead anyways."

Raven sighed before she reached into her pocket and pulled out a radio and spoke into it,"We're in, Miller. You can start moving the people."

"Roger that,"said Miller over the radio and the group of four watched as a small group of both Arkers and Mountain people began to make their way to the level that they had designated as their stronghold.

The groups were never larger than 5 at a time and they were staggered in varying intervals. Eventually the first group reached the top floor which was level with the main door of the Mountain and were sequestered in an abandoned meeting hall.

Soon about 85 Mountainers and delinquents were safely in the room. Monty was seated at the computer along with Raven right next to him. He watched as the people milled about in the room and said,"Are you sure this many people won't be missed?"

"Yeah,"saod Raven as she added,"There's over 600 people in this Mountain excluding about 20 kids all around eight years old. We haven't figured out a way to get the kids there yet which is why we only approached couples without kids, but that's where you come in, computer whiz. All you have to do is initiate the evacuation plan that sends the kids and their parents to the kindergarten and we'll have one less headache on our hands."

"We're going to need to hold this place down though,"said Octavia as her hand morphed into crystal,"What are Murphy's anyways? Raven's new ones are the X-ray vision and the...whatever the hell you call that last one. Monty now has freeze vision and I have 360 degree vision and can make some killer shockwaves. What does this bozo have? I don't want to do all the legwork."

"Bozo?"said Murphy before he rolled his eyes and said with a healthy amount of sarcasm, "So hurtful... Anyways, I have two powers. One is causing pain to a single person via sight and the other– "

"Could you guys keep it down?"said Monty as he began to tap away at the keyboard. His fingers flew over the keyboard before he stopped just as suddenly as he began.

Immediately, pictures of the Ark began to show up on the computer screen and Raven sighed in relief as she saw pictures of Bellamy, Finn and even Abby and Kane.

"From how long ago are these pictures?"asked Raven as she and the rest all looked at them all.

"A few days ago at least?"said Monty before adding,"This was likely before the missile. There are some more of the Grounder army as well, but not really any of Clarke. I guess they withdrew their scouts after the missile got deflected. "

The pictures disappeared one by one before it was replaced with various lines of codes appeared on screen. The staccato of the keyboard sounded out as Monty worked and after a few minutes the screen was warped to reveal a screen that had some sort of sound waves on it.

"Is that what I think it is?"asked Raven and Month nodded.

"Yeah,"said Monty as he stretched his fingers ,"They're jamming every long-range signal except for the one they use. I can disable it and then we can speak to the army. Should I do it?"

Raven was about to answer, but Octavia's panicked voice caught her attention.

"Guys, "said Octavia as she and Murphy looked grimly at their screen,"You might want a look at this."

Raven and Monty looked towards the monitor and Raven cursed under her breath as she took in the sight of a horde of guards rushing towards their location. They would probably be there within three minutes or so.

"Skip that for now,"said Raven as she turned to Monty, "Sound the evacuation plan and lock down the nursery. Then go for Plan B."

"I'll need at least fifteen minutes for that,"said Monty hesitantly as he looked at what was about 20 guards approaching their location.

"Do it in ten,"said Raven and Monty was left soon left alone in the control centre.

He sighed before he began to type the code that would execute one of the many evacuation plans the Mountain had in case of radiation leaks.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Yellow lights flashed and sirens began to blare in the hallway outside the control centre. The shrill sound of the alarm reverberated in the hallway for a few more seconds a dull, robotic voice replaced the sound.

"Code red,"said the robotic voice,"Massive radiation leaks detected throughout the Mountain. Initiate Plan C7-21. All families with children under the age of 18 are to proceed to the Nursery. The rest are to proceed to the dining hall. This is not a drill. Code red–"

"So the kids will be safe?"said Octavia and after Raven's nod said,"Good."

A guard suddenly appeared around the corner. The man screamed something into his radio, but he was cut off as a bullet slammed into his forehead. The man slumped to the floor and a puddle of blood began to form underneath the man's body.

Octavia looked over her shoulder and she was surprised to see Murphy holding a gun, but with one key difference. His skin had turned the exact same shade and shine of the silver handgun he held. Murphy noticed her stare and he flicked the gun with his finger.

A sharp ping resonated from the impact and Octavia sounded impressed as she said,"Your body can mimic any substance it touches?"

Murphy nodded and was about to speak, but he was cut off by Raven whose eyes were glowing a vivid yellow.

"We've got incoming,"said Raven as she stared at one of the walls,"About ten incoming."

"Ten?"said Octavia in confusion,"Didn't we see around 20 before?"

"Yeah,"said Raven grimly, "They must have split up to go after the rebels and the other delinquents. Murphy, you should go after them. I'd send Octavia, but we need to keep them out. I'll cause a distraction and then you should slip your way through."

As if on cue, the guards appeared around the corner and some of them reached for their guns. Raven raised her hand and Murphy watched in amazement as Raven's hand seem to emit a series of hisses and clicks before it morphed into a metallic cannon.

Raven pointed her at the group of guards who were about to fire and a series of energy blasts were fired from her arm cannon. Not all of them hit their mark and rock and cement was sent flying all over the place.

The ones that did, however, worked to devasating effect as screams of surprise and shock were cut off abruptly as soon as a blast made contact with an unlucky soul. The few guards that got hit were all pulverise and Raven stopped shooting as sweat beaded down her forehead.

"Get out of here, Murphy!"shouted the other girl as her arm formed into a large metal shield and she quickly crouched to the ground.

It was no moment too soon as darts slammed into Raven's shield and the sound of them bouncing off the shield jolted Murphy into action. He ran around Raven and the Mountain Men turned their fire towards him, but the bullets ricocheted off of his armour and he was able to quite easily maneuver through the guards.

One guard reached for Murphy's arm, but Murphy slammed a fist into the guard's face. A loud cracking noise emanated from the guard's jaw and Murphy was able to make it to the elevator. The sound of a man shouting drew his attention and he began rapidly pressing the button to open the elevator. The doors opened and Murphy practically dived into the elevator.

He pressed the button to take him to the floor the delinquents were on with the rebels and the doors began to close. Relief flooded his system for a few seconds, but just before the doors were about to close Murphy saw something that made his stomach fill with dread.

"Guards,"said Emerson as he lead 10 guards in heavy armour, "Capturing them is first priority, but kill if necessary."

The doors slammed shut leaving Murphy all alone in the elevator.

"Shit."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Clarke's eyes opened and this time instead of the metal ceiling of her cell on the Ark she was greeted by the wooden ceiling of a house. She sat up quickly and a spell of dizziness came over her.

"You're awake,"said Anya as she sat in a chair a few metres away from the bed,"The feast has already begun. You should get dressed. "

Clarke realised she was in normal pants and a tunic and she tried to speak, but her voice was cut off due to how dry her throat was. Anya seemed to have been prepared for this as she held out a canteen towards Clarke.

Clarke drank deeply from the canteen as cool water trickled down her throat. It was only a matter of seconds later that Clarke had drained the entire contents of the canteen.

"Thanks,"said Clarke and Anya nodded as she took it back from Clarke.

"You did well,"said Anya as Clarke began to get changed into a set of armour. The golden armour pieces she had worn earlier were next to the clothes, but they had been recently cleaned as they glowed under the candlelight of the room. Her radio as well as her ring was also situated next to them noted Clarke idly. Tris must have brought them here. Her father's watch had been left at Arkadia in her room.

"I almost lost a lot of times,"said Clarke once she was fully dressed,"Akeri, Ontari, Indra and Quint all almost beat me. Akeri almost gutted and drowned me. Ontari poisoned me. Indra almost crushed my body and even Quint was close. I have all these powers, but it wasn't enough. Especially against Ontari if she had been looking to kill me then she could have used a more deadly poison on her bones."

Anya was silent for a few moments and as the fight replayed in Clarke's head, the obvious mistakes she had made from not flying away from Ontari to not electrifying Akeri when she had caught his trident in his first attack. The sheer guile and fluidity with which the other generals fought made the fight a lot closer than it ever had to be.

"You're right,"said Anya as she tilted her head towards the door and they began to walk out the room. They were in a house that Clarke didn't recognise at all. They stepped out the threshold and the smell of fires and meat as well as the sounds of laughter was prominent in the air.

"You obviously have a lot of power,"said Anya continuing their conversation, "The problem is that you don't use it with enough skill. Take your fight with Akeri. On his own, he can't cause as much damage as you can, but he makes up for it with skill and intelligence. You lack skill, but make up for it with power. That is fine when fighting lesser warriors, but less so with those that are wiser and more experienced. Ontari, as much as I despise her existence, is a good blend of both. You need to learn to play to your strengths and be able to counteract your weaknesses. "

"How exactly am I supposed to do that?"said Clarke as they raved the location of the feast. Anya and Clarke hadn't been noticed, but that seemed to last all of ten seconds before a group of people seem to notice them.

Looks and murmurs began to be thrown about and Clarke felt pretty uncomfortable with all of this. She supposed that whether she had won or lost she would have still been the talk of the day, but the fact that she had actually won probably shocked everyone.

Anya seemed to hurry up all of a sudden and Clatke matched her speed as she said,"Where are we going anyways?"

"The generals are due to have a meeting once you are awake,"said Anya as she eyed the people around them,"I have no doubts that most of them if not all of them know of you being awake by now. You intrigue them."

Clarke had nothing to say in response and once they reached the tent where Clarke had all began true to Anya's prediction they arrived at the same time as a few generals such as Erica who was staring at Clarke intently while Indra was glaring at Clarke.

"If it isn't our newest Head General ,"said Akeri and the man looked no worse for wear,"Congratulations on your win. I heard your fights were amazing to say the least."

"Thanks,"said Clarke cautiously, but she relaxed a bit more when she realised Akeri was being genuine, "It wasn't easy. I almost killed you too. Sorry about that."

Akeri laughed heartedly and said,"If I held a grudge against everyone who has tried to kill me then I would have no friends. "

Their conversation seemed to draw the attention of the other generals who were not accompanied by their guards for a change and Clarke met Ontari's eyes and the Azgeda general sneered at Clarke as she muttered some words under her breath.

Clarke kept her eyes pinned on the other woman who seemed to be insulted by this as she stepped towards Clarke. She stopped in front of Clarke and said,"I see my poison didn't work. I suppose I'll just have to try harder next time."

"I fought 9 people before you,"said Clarke as she stepped closer to the shorter girl,"You wouldn't stand a chance."

Ontari practically snarled at Clarke's insult and she reached for her side, but she froze as Lexa voice's spoke up.

"Ontari,"said Lexa from her position outside the tent,"Stand down."

The Azgeda general went stiff for a few seconds before she calmed down and said,"Apologies, Heda."

Lexa waved Ontari's apology with a wave of her hand before she said,"Come inside. We still need a plan for the Mountain. "

The general were all seated with Clarke taking Kane's old seat. The other generals all sat down in their respective seats and only then did Lexa take her seat on her throne.

Clarke wondered who moved that thing around for her. It was probably one of the perks of being Commander.

"As I doubt I need to explain,"said Lexa with her hands resting on the throne's armrests,"Klark beat all 12 of the generals earlier today. It is because of this that she has been inducted as the Head General. Are there any of you who disagree?"

Livia immediately raised her hand. Clarke eyed the Plain Riders' general who cleared throat and said,"Heda. Klark may have considerable strength, but that is not all that is required to be a general. Diplomacy, intelligence, battle experience. These are all things that she needs to work on."

"I disagree, "said Erid her voice having a bit of a gruff undertone,"Klark has already managed to negotiate an alliance and eventual entrance into the Kongeda for Skaikru. She showed a natural aptitude for battle as she used different ways to subdue us all. Not to mention she displayed levels of power that would make even the rashest of people think twice about attacking her and Skaikru. Something she must have intended from the beginning."

There seemed to be a general agreement with what Erid had said as no one voiced their objections. In fact, only Ontari and Livia still look put out by the suggestion of Clarke's suitability for the role.

"Whether or not that is true,"said Lexa her voice piercing the silence at the table,"It is already done. Indra had been elected Head General when she had won the tournament I had held for the position and now Klark has done the same. She'll grow into the role as Erid said, but as of right now with her having intimate knowledge of the Mountain she is by far the best candidate to lead the discussions. "

It was odd, Clarke would say, to be spoken about as if she was not in the room. She did not particularly want the role of Head General, but if it was as big a deal as it was being made to be then she would have to take it seriously.

"Klark,"said Lexa now addressing her directly, "What would be your plan for gaining access to the Mountain? "

"I do not think it would be of our best interests for the entire army to enter the Mountain,"said Clarke as calmly and confidently as she could, "The hallways are far rather narrow and the Mountain Men have guns and weapons that would make it easy to kill us . I propose a smaller strike force that would sneak in through the tunnels. There's an exit that leads directly from where your people are kept prisoner inside the Mountain to the tunnels itself. It's what Anya and I used to escape from the Mountain. "

"What of the rest of the army?"said Erica once Clarke was done speaking,"Should they be used as a diversion to draw the attention of the Mountain Men."

Clarke nodded and said,"Yes. However, it would be best that the diversionary force stick to the trees. The Mountain Men wont be able to fire missiles at what they can't see."

"What of the Reapers?"said Ontari suddenly and Clarke sighed as she remembered the promise she had made to prove that Skaikru could cure the reapers.

"It's likely that the Mountain Men will use the Reapers as their vanguard. It's what they did when the Reapers attacked our old camp,"said Clarke and when she saw no objections continued,"I do believe that Skailru will be able to heal the afflicted Reapers so capturing them would be the best option. I doubt the amount of Reapers would compare to even a tenth of the Army. If a few of the generals and a part of the army lead the luring and capturing of the reapers then we should have enough people to draw even more attention away from the tunnels especially if we make it seem like we are trying to enter from the front."

A few of the more open generals like Akeri were showing their approval for the idea and even Ontari didn't seem to disapprove of her ideas. It wasn't up to them, however, and as Lexa began to speak all the generals turned their attention to the Commander.

"How confident are you that Skaikru can heal the reapers?"said Lexa as she looked at Clarke who replied immediately.

"Very,"said Clarke,"They use a drug to turn people into reapers and once we get it out of their system they should be fine."

"Very well. ,"said Lexa before she turned to one of the attendants in the room who had up until this point been out of Clarke's point of view,"Eve, please organise some food to be brought here for the generals. "

Eve left after bowing to Lexa and once she was gone everyone turned their attention to the map in the middle of the table as they began to discuss the division of the army and who would lead what army.

Clarke felt relieved that all of her hard work hadn't been for nothing as the generals had taken her advice seriously despite their fights earlier in the day. It showed a maturity that was as surprising as it was refreshing.

Clarke was drawn out of her daze as the generals began to speak and she quickly returned her haze to the map. She felt eyes on her and she looked up to see Lexa who was looking at her. Lexa nodded minutely and Clarke almost reciprocated until she remembered her conversation with Darah.

The niggling thoughts and doubts she had of Lexa were brought to the surface by the former Chancellor and despite Clarke's earlier words it didn't mean she didn't see Darah's point. Clarke didn't not trust Lexa, but she didn't quite trust her either.

A lot of what she had to go off of was everyone else's opinion and what of what Clarke had been able to glean from their conversations. The Commander had these walls that made it harder to know what she was thinking or what her opinion was on certain things.

Those walls hardly ever came down and even when they did Clarke was not sure whether or not it had been intentional on Lexa's part. This only further solidified Darah's point. Clarke needed to get a better grip on her emotions.

It was this thought in mind that she simply averted her eyes and turned back to the map where Akeri was trying to point something out to Erid.

It was because of this that Clarke did not see Lexa's gaze linger on her for a few more seconds before she looked away.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Things were looking bad.

Octavia fired a few crystal shards that embedded into the legs of a male guard. She ducked to the floor as someone snuck behind her and she morphed her hand into a sharp point before stabbing upwards.

Blood was splattered across Octavia's body and she wasn't sure how many people she and Raven had taken down. What she did know was that they didn't seem to be disappearing. There were the stupid ones who seemed to charge with no sense of self-preservation and they were rather easy to deal with.

However, there were also the heavily armoured ones who simply hid behind obstacles and tried to hurt them from a distance.

"Duck!"shouted Raven from behind her, but it was pointless as Octavia had already seen Raven prepare the motion. She ducked to the floor and watched as two green lasers shot across the hallway and cut into the armour of the guards who had shown up after Murphy. The beam was rapidly blunted and it only seemed to burn the guards instead of cut through them.

The beams hurt about four of the guards before Raven had to stop as darts filled with a knockout agent were shot at her from those she missed. Octavia watched in slight amazement as Raven's hand seemed to behave like some sort of machine and turn into the full body length shield she had used earlier.

Octavia and Raven were alone against roughly 10 guards and they had already taken out about 20 of them, but now the burn of their muscles was impossible to ignore. Octavia raised her hands and a large shockwave fired out from them.

The shockwave slammed into one of the few guards who weren't armouredor hiding behind an obstacle and the woman was sent flying before rolling to a stop. Blood seeping from her mouth. Octavia fired another blasts at the armoured guards, but aside from rattling them it didn't seem to be doing much.

There was suddenly a flurry of synchronised motion from the guards as they all reached for their sides before pulling out masks.

They all threw canisters that were leaking red smoke and immediately Octavia recognised them. She was able to snipe a few out the air with her shockwaves and blew them back to the guards, but a few still snuck in.

Raven had also gotten a few shots in, but about two canisters had managed to make it past. Octavia panicked as they began to leak smoke at a high rate and soon the noxious gas began to fill her lungs. She felt dizzy and her vision became extremely blurry. Octavia felt like she was about to collapse , but she felt someone begin to pull her away from the noxious cloud.

Octavia struggled and fought against her captor, but she was surprised when she was thrown onto the floor roughly. She heard a voice scream her name, but she couldn't quite place it. Octavia breathed deeply once she realised she wasn't in the hallway anymore and her body began to fight against the effects of the knockout gas.

Her vision returned to normal and Octavia relaxed as she saw Raven with some strange contraption over her mouth. Her eyes were currently a pure white and there must have been shock evident on Octavia's face as Raven spoke up her voice sounding robotic through the breathing apparatus.

"I had to take us in here,"said Raven as she gestured towards Monty who must have called her name earlier during her daze,"There's a bit of a storm in the hallway and I doubt you'd want any part of that."

"You blew the cameras out with your little hurricane trick, Raven,"said Monty as he tapped away at the keyboard, "You guys need to go like now. The other room is under attack too and they're fine for now, but I think that they'll need your help more than I do."

Raven's eyes returned to their normal colour and she collapsed to her knees. The breathing apparatus around her mouth disassembled itself before seemingly molding into Raven's skin.

"Are you okay?"said Octavia as she moved closer to the other girl, but Raven rose to her feet quickly yet still showing signs of dizziness.

"Yeah,"said Raven before she added,"This new power is draining. It took a lot of effort to make that gas mask and pull you in here. Anyways, Octavia you should go help them out. We can't leave Monty alone."

"I can't leave you guys here,"said Octavia as she panned her eyes to Monty,"How far done are you?"

"I'm nearly there,"said Monty as his fingers flew across the keyboard,"I just need to initiate the–"

Monty was cut off as a thud sounded from the vents above their heads. He seemed to almost double his speed as he typed on the keyboard. Octavia realised what was happening and she raised her hands before shooting crystal shards upwards.

The shards tore into the vents and a scream of pain was released from above their head. Raven was still too tired to help out much, but she was able to activate her X-ray vision. She could see the guard in the vent was bleeding rapidly and she knew that the guy was not going to make it.

However, she saw him reach for something at his side and a ball dropped I'm her stomach as she saw him holding a pin.

"Guys! There's a–"shouted Raven as she ran forwards, but it was cutoff by a large explosion above their heads. Raven was blown through the air and she felt a sharp pain in her leg before everything faded to black.

"Raven!"shouted Octavia as she deactivated her crystal armour and she scrambled to the girl as she saw the metal shards embedded in and around Raven's knee,"Shit. Monty! You good?"

"Yeah,"said Monty even as blood dripped from his forehead. The sound of pounding on the door drew his attention and he said,"Octavia, Raven will be fine. I promise, but–"

"I know,"said Octavia as she walked away from Raven whose pain-filled murmurs felt like knives getting stabbed into Octavia's ears. The pounding on the door got louder and so did the tapping of the keyboard as Monty worked as quickly as he could manage.

Suddenly, the door slammed forwards as it landed on the ground with a heavy thud. Octavia immediately raised he hand and fired a series of crystal shards. It was all for naught however as the guards had moved away from the door having clearly expecting a move like that.

Canisters were thrown into the control centre from around the side of the door and Octavia couldn't do anything as the smoke filled the room. Monty began to type quicker and even as the Mountain Men piled into the room.

He heard shouts of anger and he felt a sharp pain in his neck, but he was able to tap one last button before beginning to slump down . As he fell unconscious, Emerson raced up next to him and he tapped rapidly at the keyboard before screaming in frustration.

Check and mate.

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"Skaifaya,"said Gustus to Clarke as she sat near one of the campfires with Bellamy and Kane,"Heda, requests your presence. "

Gustus stepped a few yards away and Clarke turned to Bellamy who said,"What's going on now? Another gauntlet?"

Clarke smiled and said,"I don't know. We finished up the tactic for the battle not too long ago, but I don't think it's anything bad. I'll be fine."

Bellamy nodded and he turned back to Kane as they continued their conversation without her. Clarke though they were going to the General's tent, but she was surprised as Gustus lead her down a different path. Eventually they reached a large tent that Clarke realised must have been Lexa's tent.

Gustus stopped about fifteen metres away from the tent and Clarke paused until he gestured forward,"Heda requested privacy for this talk."

Ominous.

Clarke settled her nerves before walking towards the tent. As she reached the flap, Indra walked out and she gave Clarke a harsh look before bumping into her as she walked past.

Clarke looked at the back of the Trikru leader as she stalked off before she walked into Lexa's tent. Lexa was seated on a chair in front of a table and Clarke was surprised to realise that this was where Lexa likely slept as she took in the sight of a bed with furs across it.

"I thought you slept in the village,"said Clarke as she took in the inside of the tent.

"I had already taken all of this from Polis,"said Lexa and she gestured towards the other chair near her,"Have a seat, Clarke. "

Clarke took the offer and she sat down. Lexa held Clarke's gaze for a few seconds before she spoke,"Congratulations on your win. I do not think that I have had the chance to say this, but you fought well."

Clarke felt like there was more coming and she was proven right as Lexa said,"You impressed a lot of people. They're calling you a lot of things now like Skaifaya. It means star in Trigedasleng, but in the context that they use it means Fire from Above or Sky Fire."

That explained why Gustus hadn't addressed her by name at they very least. It was rather confusing to Clarke that the Grounders would do this, but if she remembered correctly Ontari was called the Bone Queen which was a bit on the nose for Clarke's liking.

"I see,"said Clarke before she straightened in her seat,"Why did you call me here?"

"I'm sure you saw Indra leaving my tent,"said Lexa as she began to toy with one of her knives, "Apparently, she can't use any of her powers and as it turns out that power is the very one you showed in your fight against Quint."

Clarke felt a slight pit in her stomach at the tension in the room, but she kept her features blank as she said,"Are you asking me if I stole Indra's power?"

"I'm not asking you that,"said Lexa calmly, "I'm asking you why you did not think it was important to mention that you could do that."

"Is it really that big of a deal? Has no one ever done something similar before?"asked Clarke and despite coming off as antagonistic she did genuinely wonder if it was. Surely, there was someone who had had the ability to steal powers.

"It is a big deal,"said Lexa sternly,"Not once in our history has anyone ever shown the ability to take one's power for themselves. It began as a popular myth and while I have seen instances of something similar. There has never been anything as...permanent as what you've shown."

Lexa rose from her seat and began to pace around the tent as she said,"If people realise what you can do then there will ne chaos. A lot of the clan leaders would stop at nothing to get you under their control. "

"Surely you don't think that I would ally with them?"said Clarke and she rose to her feet as Lexa stayed silent. She stepped in front of the Commander whose expression had barely changed throughout their conversation.

"Do you?"

"I don't know what to think,"said Lexa with some anger in her voice, "I swore a blood oath with you despite being your status as a nightblood. I've built an alliance between our people despite the wishes of some of my own people. I thought we had an understanding. "

Clarke scoffed and said,"Do you know why I didn't tell you? I don't trust you. We agreed to work together as equals and the next day you let your generals walk all over Kane even though his ideas were good. That's not even it. Ontari is a nightblood too, but I highly doubt you swore a blood oath with her. "

Clarke's frustration was getting the better of her and she advanced on Lexa who stood still. Clarke's breaths were short and quick as she said,"I don't know how you expect me to trust you when I don't even know you. You said you don't care about your legacy, but all I see now that I'm one of your pawns to order around. A strong one at that. I'm sure that can only help you. You're cruel and self-serving, Lexa. Do you even care about anything other than yourself?"

"I do care,Clakre,"said Lexa and it was almost as if the walls and barriers that hid Lexa's thoughts were gone as Clarke could read the emotions on her face clear as day.

"You are different, Clarke,"said Lexa her eyes pinning Clarke to the spot,"I would never want to think that I don't value our partnership, but it is hard to break habits I've had since I ascended. Even after the Coalition was built, I've had to be the guide for my people. If I had shown favour to you, the clans more opposed to you would have caused an issue over nothing. Everything I do and have done has to be the option that causes the least amount of strife for my people. "

The anger had long since left Clarke's body as she listened to Lexa. They needed to air out their differences especially since they would be working close together for the foreseeable future.

"What about your happiness?"said Clarke as she stared at Lexa. Her eyes caught a flash of green and she was surprised to see the ring she had made for Lexa dangling on a short necklace.

"What about it?"said Lexa as Clarke's eyes panned back up to hers,"If my people are happy then that is enough for me. To ask for more would be selfish."

"Not if it's what you deserve, "said Clarke and she watched as her words seemed to strike a chord within Lexa.

"Maybe you're right,"said Lexa softly before her hand came up to cup Clarke's cheek. Lexa moved forward slow enough to give Clarke time to back up, but her touch electrified Clarke as she stepped forward and kissed Lexa.

It started out short, but grew heated as the sheer intensity of the moment got to them. Clarke's hands settled on Lexa's waist as she pulled the other woman closer to her. Lexa pulled Clarke even closer and Clarke let out a moan at the feelings spreading throughout her being.

Lexa seemed to freeze up as she heard Clarke's noise. She distanced herself from Clarke and she was completely silent for a few seconds as she said,"I'm sorry. We can't do this. Our people–"

Whatever Lexa was going to say was cut off as Clarke kissed her deeply again. This time they backed up against the table and Clarke lifted Lexa onto it as she deepemd their kiss. It was only as her lungs began to burn for air that Clarke moved away from Lexa.

"You need to think about yourself sometimes,"said Clarke firmly even as she tried to calm her breathing,"It's the least you deserve. "

Lexa closed her eyes as she seemed to be fighting an internal battle,"We can't be distracted. Not like this and not before a fight. Things could change after the battle. One of us could die. "

Clarke took one of Lexa's hands in her own as she said,"That's true, but that isn't different from life itself. We could die at anytime which is why the time that we do have is important. "

"Being with me would put you at risk,"said Lexa,"You being the Head General and a natblida would only make things harder. As Commander, I might have to do things you may disagree with. You–"

"I want this,"said Clarke reassuringly as she rubbed her finger over Lexa's knuckles,"All of it. You've shown me who you are aside from the Commander. You're a good person and someone I trust. However, a relationship right now wouldn't be the best."

"I see."

Lexa's eyes seemed to become colder at Clarke's words. She stepped away from Clarke and was about to walk around her when Clarke's hand pulled on her hand to halt her.

"I said not right now,"said Clarke as her eyes stated into Lexa's, "We need to be distraction free before the Mountain,"

Clarke gave Lexa a chaste kiss on the lips before saying,"The timing isn't so great, but I want you to know you're worth the risk and pains of being the Commander. It's a part of who you are and I want to be with you. "

Lexa was silent for a few seconds before she said softly,"I want that too, but you're right. We need our full attention on the Mountain and after that–"

"We'll talk,"said Clarke and Lexa pulled her hands free from Clarke's as she stepped away from the other woman.

"Okay,"said Lexa and she was about to say more when a familiar sound drew their attention.

"Missile,"said Clarke in panic and she and Lexa rushed out the tent almost barreling into Gustus who was running up the path to the tent.

"Over there,"said Lexa as she pointed towards the direction of the Mountain. There was a trail of fire that was joined by another and another and another until there were well beyond 30 live missiles in the sky in a matter of moments.

Lexa was about to run to the camp, but Clarke grabbed onto her arm and said,"Look. They're not coming here. In fact,"

"They're going straight up,"said Gustus in astonishment. The multitude of missiles simply kept travelling higher and higher into the cloudless sky and soon there were over 50 missiles that kept ascending into the evening sky.

Clarke was about to speak, but she was cut off by a series of violent explosions. Her ears were assaulted by the sound of over fifty missiles going off. The sky was consumed in fire and the explosions lasted for over a minute before the sky was empty once again. There no more missiles being launched or exploded and all was quiet.

"Why would they do that?"asked Lexa she stated off into the sky,"That must have been their entire arsenal."

"It wasn't them,"said Clarke as a smile formed on her face,"That was definitely my friends. They must have found out about the missiles and launched them which means–"

"Our army can march without fear,"said Lexa and Clarke nodded.

"Gustus,"said Lexa as she turned to her guard, "The feast is over. Tell the generals to split the army and prepare the army to march to the Mountain. "

"Tonight, we go to war."

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Author Notes:

15.1K words. This chapter just wrote itself really. Usually takes me waaaaaaaay longer than this so here's an early gift I guess.

Monty and hacking skills for the win.

Now the army can march without stress.

A transitional chapter, but an important one. Clarke wins her Conclave, the delinquents fight back against the Mountain and Clarke and Lexa...well yeah.

I hope you enjoyed the fight scenes in this chapter. The feedback on last chapters fight were all great and I really am grateful. I did my best to write up that scene with Lexa. I'm not a romance writer so sorry if it's not up to par, but I feel like it was decent at the very least.

I don't know when next the chapter will be released, but I do know that it will be heavy. Things aren't meant to be straightforward in life and believe you me things will not go well.

As always, tell me what you thought of the chapter. I love to hear your thoughts and feel free to drop your suggestions, theories and etc.

Song rec(s):

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Free Bird

Metric - Synthetica