A quote that probably fits how you're feeling:

"It's alive, it's moving, it's alive, it's alive, it's alive, it's alive, IT'S ALIVE!" - Dr Frankenstein


The cold air in the room snuck in underneath Clarke's shirt. She had ruined the bottom part of the shirt when she had ripped Maine's arrow out of her abdomen and chucked it on the arena floor.

Thankfully it wasn't poisoned. Clarke remembered the efficacy of Ontari's poisons all too well. It was a flaw with the Novus, intentional or not, and it was only now that she realised how reckless she had been trying to save Lexa.

Speaking of Lexa, the Commander was still unconscious. Clarke was purposely keeping Lexa under as she continued the painstaking process of healing the damage Lexa had sustained.

Clarke had to begin from the bottom up and she had to slowly extract the bone dagger from Lexa's ankle before taking Lexa's boots off as well. The gush of black blood was quickly sealed up as Clarke pressed her hands to the wound.

The green light her hands emanated dyed Lexa's skin as the gaping wound in her ankle closed. Blood vessels were reconnected, tendons and joints and nerves repaired and bones were fixed over as Clarke focused on the most significant wound Lexa had.

The bone had been a wicked design with twists and spikes to make it equally damaging to pull out as it was to put in. Lexa had been shaking even whilst unconscious as Clarke pulled it out. Thankfully, Clarke was able to extract it and heal the damage.

There was still poison in Lexa's system, but Clarke was able to kick Lexa's systems into overdrive to take care of it. It was not lethal and it would have probably taken a few days for Lexa's body to filter it out, but Clarke had sped that up to a couple of hours by guiding Lexa's system along every step of the way.

By the time she finished, the afternoon had come and gone.

The poison would have already done its job though. Ontari's version of the serum was not permanent according to Insight, but Lexa's powers were nullified for the time being. That had definitely been Roan's plan when he had stabbed Lexa.

Polis was now one spark away from imploding and its leader did not have any access to her powers. The list of Coalition members that Clarke trusted with Lexa's safety was three people long that being Luna, Anya and Indra.

Clarke was sure that either Luna or Anya had gone to update her friends while she had been healing Lexa and that Indra was probably with the Trikru delegation. It was with that in mind that once Clarke finished healing Lexa completely, after a mind-numbing couple of hours, she settled into a chair in the room.

Clarke felt tired, both mentally and physically, as she sat down. She used her sleeve to wipe the sweat off her forehead before letting out a groan borne of frustration and exhaustion. It had barely been over a week since she had been attacked in Trikru and so much had happened since then.

Clarke wished she could pack up and just go far away, but that was impossible now. It had become impossible the second she had saved Madi from her kidnappers and it had been cemented the longer she had spent around Luna.

The final nail in her coffin, however, was right in front of her. The sight of Lexa who had dominated her worst nightmares and sweetest dreams being so vulnerable made it impossible for her to leave.

Their relationship was so confusing Clarke could barely make sense of it. They seem to oscillate between reconciling and separating with every second that passed. Even now as Lexa slept peacefully on the bed, in her mind's eye Clarke could see the fury on Lexa's face when she walked in on Costia and Clarke.

Remembering the misunderstanding made Clarke feel sick inside and to compensate, she decided to scan Lexa's vitals again. She rose out of her chair and used Insight on Lexa once more. There was nothing amiss, except for the lack of powers, that was.

Still, though, Clarke kept the scan up. She began from Lexa's newly repaired foot and moved upwards before finally settling on her head. Clarke detected a large amount of brain activity and for a second she was worried Lexa had a brain injury that she had missed.

That was not the case, though, Clarke realised. If anything, it seemed like Lexa was dreaming, but that still felt like an incomplete explanation. Clarke focused more on the weird phenomenon and she frowned as she realised that the brain activity was being induced somehow.

It was as if something or someone in the room was interacting with Lexa's brain. Clarke scanned the room with thermal vision revealing there was no one around not even any guards. It definitely wasn't the poison and so Clarke found herself stumped.

That lasted until a thought came into her head. Clarke remembered the advanced crossbow that Maine had used. The arrow had flown faster than a bullet and the pain had almost crippled Clarke once it had pierced her. Clarke hadn't been shot yet, but she was sure that was easier than taking that arrow head-on.

It was obvious between Ontari's new poison and Maine's crossbow, that the traitors were getting a boost in their war capabilities. Therefore, it was entirely possible that instead of it being a person or even a poison affecting Lexa, it was a machine.

It was with that in mind that Clarke activated her technopathy. A new plane of existence was opened to her mere moments later. Immediately, the equivalent of a roaring flame washed over Clarke confirming the presence of a machine of sorts.

It was amazingly complex and well and truly beyond anything Clarke had scanned before. It felt like it was right underneath her nose and she realised why that was as she tracked the marvel to its location.

Lexa's neck.

Clarke brought her hand to Lexa's neck causing goosebumps to rise on the Commander's neck. She reached below Lexa's hair and sure enough, her finger came across a small, vertical scar.

"Why is it inside you?" Clarke said as she looked down at Lexa whose eyes were fluttering rapidly beneath her eyelids.

Lexa wasn't able to answer and so Clarke decided to get some answers for herself. She tried to gently 'poke' at the device, but much to her surprise she got pushed back. Hard.

It reminded her of the security that the Mountain had, but far and away more advanced. In something so small too. Clarke tried a gentle prod again and this time she was pushed back with more force. Enough force to cause tingling in her head.

Gentle wouldn't cut it.

Clarke prepared to break down the security of the technological marvel. Just as she was about to push forward again, her surroundings shifted to a dull grey. The hum of machines whispered in her ear and the air became colder.

"Welcome back, Clarke," An annoyingly familiar voice said, "Have you grown taller?"

"I'm busy," Clarke said even as she settled into a worn leather chair, "Why did you bring me here?"

"I wouldn't recommend doing that," Darah said from behind her desk, "That tingling you felt was a warning. Another attempt would have probably liquefied your brain with a sharp burst of radiation. Not even nightblood would have saved you or that girl playing at being a leader."

That sobered Clarke up quickly.

"I thought nightblood processed radiation," Clarke said causing Darah to snort, "What's so funny? I thought you'd be upset at another weakness in your 'perfect' design."

"The Novus is perfect!" Darah's tone was frigid, "I made no mistakes whatsoever. You don't even know–"

Darah cut herself off mid-rant before switching moods on a dime, "You must excuse me, Clarke. I think being alone in here has had its effect on me. You don't come here often enough. Sometimes I think you just ignore me."

In all honesty, Darah's mood swings did put Clarke on edge. It was hard to tell if they were genuine reactions or just a facade. Darah struck Clarke as the type of person to act this way just so she could gauge Clarke's reactions. Yet, it was entirely possible that Darah's mind was not all the way there anymore if it ever had been in the first place.

So, Clarke did her best to not react. She took slow and deep breaths. Her shoulders rising and falling with every breath she took. Finally, Clarke was able to get her anger under lock and key...

"Did Luna teach you how to do that?"

...For a few seconds.

Clarke slammed her fist onto Darah's desk making it collapse inwards. The desk crumbled away but everything that was on it remained suspended in the air by red energy. Darah simply waved her hand and the broken table was restored to its former state.

The red glow around the items faded away.

"You need to get your anger under control," Darah said unaffected by the show of violence, "You're about to fight a war. You need to dial back on that anger. I guess those meditation sessions with Luna did not work so well. Maybe you were distracted by something or someone?"

Clarke did not rise to the bait, "What do you know about war?"

"More than you would give me credit for," Darah said feigning hurt, "Do you think I got a military contract so easily? I had someone very near and dear to me on the inside put in a good word or ten for me. It's a shame how things worked out between us. She–"

"Why did you call me here?"

Clarke felt the familiar exhaustion that came with dealing with Darah begin to settle on her. It bordered on torture for Clarke to speak to Darah and she wouldn't let things get dragged out even more.

"You're still a novice with the Novus," Darah's lips quirked and it disturbed Clarke that she knew it was because of the unintentional rhyme, "It took you until nightfall to purge the poison from your cute friend's system. I can give you the edge in the final battle and unlock your full power. You have only scratched the tip of the iceberg, Clarke."

There was a glass of water on Darah's desk that Clarek noticed was swirling rapidly. The water rose out the glass to form a miniaturised copy of Luna's rig.

"I must admit it was awfully clever of you to bestow so many powers on Madi," Darah said as the rig collapsed back into the glass, "It's a good thing she's an orphan. She'd scare any siblings she had. You're raising quite the killer there, Clarke."

Clarke leapt over the table before pinning Darah to the floor. The woman did not struggle even as Clarke pointed a glowing purple hand in her face. Darah looked past the hand and straight into Clarke's eyes that radiated purple psionic energy.

"Tell me why I shouldn't blast your head off right now?" Clarke pressed her hand onto Darah's forehead. A psionic blast from this close would almost certainly kill Darah.

"There is no limit to what you can do, Clarke," Darah said her voice staying calm even as Clarke pushed down harder with her left hand, "Arkadia, your friends, your mother, Madi and your two...dalliances can all be saved."

"You are always bending over backwards to save everyone. I know that you're tired. Let me help you," Darah said and her voice was as soothing as the spray of the sea during summer, "I can fix the problems you're having."

The unasked question hung in the air.

The idea was so very tempting. Darah knew more about the Novus than Clarke did. Would it be so bad if Clarke got some help from her? They already needed as much help as possible to deal with Maine who was as far away from ordinary as Pluto was from Earth.

That was excluding Azgeda. Clarke had taken ages to purge the poison from Lexa's system. Ontari could and probably already had made a lot more. Clarke wouldn't be able to save enough people if she worked so slowly.

That's what made Darah's offer tempting. It wasn't worth mentioning that Clarke's inability to deal with poison was Darah's fault. Not when Darah could potentially get rid of that weakness altogether.

"I—"

Before Clarke could answer, her surroundings rippled away into a blurry miasma of colours and shapes. She heard a muffled voice from somewhere near her before finally regaining her sight and vision.

"Vale, Clarke," Darah said, far too cheerily for who she was, her voice fading away into the recesses of Clarke's mind.

Lexa was helping her up onto her bed and Clarke tried to protest, but she clutched her head in pain as her sense of pain returned. Clarke reached for the back of her head and she grimaced as she saw the black drops on her fingers.

"Stay here," Lexa said as she gingerly picked her boots off the ground, "I need to find who did this to you–"

"Lexa."

"If it is anyone from the challenge, I swear–"

"Lexa."

"I will kill them–"

Clarke grabbed onto Lexa's shoulders, the grogginess from waking up replaced by concern for Lexa. She seemed tense and her eyes were twitching as they stared holes into Clarke.

"I fainted," Clarke said her voice belying how tired she was, "No one got in here or is even near hear. I made sure of that."

Lexa calmed down at Clarke's words before recoiling and taking a step back. Clarke bit her lip as Lexa returned to the hostile attitude she had before the Challenge.

"Why did you heal me and not Nyko?" Lexa said her tone slightly confused and hostile.

"Roan stabbed you in the ankle with a poisoned dagger and then you cut off his hand," Clarke said and a there was a flash of recognition in Lexa's eyes, "It's not deadly, but you won't like it."

"What did the poison do?"

"Your powers are gone," Clarke said before she saw the panic in Lexa's eyes, "Temporarily. I tried my best, but it could be anywhere from a day to a week."

Even to a month or beyond, but it wouldn't be wise to drop that on Lexa right now.

"How did Azgeda make something like that?" It sounded like it pained Lexa to give the Ice Nation credit which was understandable, "Why only now?"

Clarke knew why of course. It was her fault after all.

"They're not working alone," Clarke said almost too quickly, "I've seen a poison like that once before. At the Mountain."

The Mountain was anathema to them both, but in this case it was an unavoidable topic. Clarke had managed to wrangle her way out of confessing her failure to Luna, but she couldn't bring herself to do the same to Lexa. Not after what Roan had done.

"Those robots we fought, the Guardians," Clarke said but of course Lexa did not forget them, "I got hit with a needle that had some substance on it while I was using my ice manipulation to destabilise one of them."

It was at once both easy and difficult to admit to her failure. On one hand, Clarke felt as though her mistake was colossal hence her suppression of it, but on the other hand, it felt good to let it spill from her lips.

"I haven't been able to use my ice manipulation again," Clarke said which seemed to stun Lexa, "It's gone. Forever. Ontari's poison is similar to the substance used on me even if it's not as effective."

"Azgeda must have gotten their hands on one of the defeated Guardians," Lexa said and Clarke felt like an idiot for forgetting about yet another important thing.

Clarke had not once pondered on how the Guardians would be safely destroyed. It hadn't even registered in her mind when she had flown over the forest around the Mountain and not seen even one left.

She had been so focused on staying away from the Mountain and the mountain of corpses she had made that she had put it out of her mind. She had sort of assumed they would be useless while offline or that Skaikru would do something about if it were deemed important enough.

"I should have destroyed them all before leaving," Clarke said and she clenched her hands into fists, "We wouldn't be in this mess if I had done that."

"Do not think like that," Lexa said her tone hot with anger, "You had done enough...thanks to my decision. In any case, I had overseen the destruction and disposal of the Guardians. If Azgeda have any, then it is due to my error. Not everything that goes wrong is your fault."

Lexa's response was sweet. Sweeter than what Clarke felt she deserved or expected from Lexa. That seemed to match her life on Earth this far. Clarke could not help, but feel she did not deserve the pleasures she has had on Earth.

From the many friendships she had within Skaikru to her sheer power to the close bond she had made with Madi and Luna. They all felt like something she should not have. The warmth Lexa had shown her multiple times was at once heavily desired and yet felt wholly undeserved.

She had to get her mind back on track, though. Wallowing would do nothing, but her and most likely the people around her. Ironically, people getting hurt seemed to be the direct result of her actions in any case.

"I didn't kill all the Mountain Men," Clarke said as the final pieces fell into place, "Cage and Lorelei got away from me. The son of their leader and their doctor. The Guardian is complex, but if Azgeda had help from Cage and Lorelei then they could reverse engineer most if not all of the Guardian's functions."

"That is not ideal," Lexa admitted with a click of her tongue, "All is not lost. The Guardians that could not be destroyed were discarded into the acid lakes of Podakru. It would be suicide to retrieve them. What of the ones that flew away? Did you fight any of them at the Mountain? Then or recently?"

Clarke had not even seen any hint of the Guardians both times around let alone fight any.

Were they stored elsewhere? Mount Weather used to be a government facility so it was possible that they had satellite sites scattered across America.

It would also explain how they wreaked havoc across the entire Coalition whilst only having radiation suits and limited air supply. Even Luna had fought squads of Mountain Men while deep in Floukru territory which was well over half a day from Mount Weather at walking speed.

"They were none there, but I'm sure there's a hint of where they're stored in the Mountain," Clarke said verbalising her thoughts, "I should check the Mountain for something like the arrow Maine fired at you. I'm sure there are some weapon caches in there."

"What arrow?" Lexa said before her gaze dropped to Clarke's ruined shirt, "Are you alright? Did you dive in front of an arrow even after our fight? To save me?"

Lexa's expression was the pinnacle of surprise her mouth hanging open just a bit. The admission had just slipped out of Clarke and it was only now she could see the gravity of what she had done. She had been acting on pure instinct and a sheer panic to not let Lexa get hurt.

Clarke could only nod, "It was the woman Bellamy faced in that old building. Maine. Her bow was very advanced– better than the guns Skaikru have. The arrow was so quick and Roan had just stabbed you. I did what I had to do. My healing took care of it."

"You did this in the arena?" Lexa still had that air of stunned disbelief to her voice, "In front of everyone?"

"You could have died," Clarke said and she paused for a few seconds, "I couldn't let that happen."

Instead of inquiring more about the bow or Maine, Lexa only asked one question.

"Why are you so confusing?"

It was said with just as much warmth as frustration and Clarke felt her throat close up from Lexa's searing gaze. Words failed her as she stared into twin green pools that slowly faded to black as Lexa's pupils expanded.

"I—"

Clarke didn't quite know how to answer that.

"Your life was, and still is, in danger," Clarke said instead, "Our relationship is...complicated, but I wouldn't let you die. You're a strong and very loved leader. You would do anything to save your people. Just like me."

The green had almost entirely faded from Lexa's eyes replaced by an endless black.

"If I had to choose, I would always be on your side," Clarke said averting her gaze as her heart thumped away, "Whatever choice you make tomorrow, I trust you to make the right one."

Clarke couldn't quite bring herself to look at Lexa after her words. Perhaps it was too heavy for this time of day and perhaps the seas of uncertainty swirling within her had just flooded out before Clarke could regain control.

"You are feared within the Coalition for your power," Lexa said her voice soft and shaky, "My predecessors tell me to strike you down where you stand. To take your power for me. It would appease those plotting against and you still trust me?"

Clarke knew all that not just from her experiences with Lexa but also from her time with Luna. Clarke didn't fully know what it was like to be a novitiate or to lead a Grounder clan let alone a whole Coalition.

However, what she did know was that she trusted Luna and that she trusted Lexa to do the right thing. She could be wrong, but Clarke knew she had to have faith.

Instead of throwing them to the wolves, Luna had taken Clarke and Madi in despite the backlash she could have faced. This was different and yet almost exactly and Clarke knew she could never face Luna or herself if she threw Lexa to the wolves.

"I do," Clarke said turning to Lexa, "I have to look after my people. Everything I do is for them."

Perhaps, Clarke should have been clearer with her words. 'Her people' had grown to include Luna, Madi, Anya as well as Lexa Clarke could now, but Lexa seemed to put her walls back up after Clarke's answer.

"I see," Lexa said and the facade she always wore was now fully back in place, "Head over heart. Just like a good leader."

"Lexa, I—"

"—will strike you down," Indra's abrupt declaration sucked the magic out the room, "Stand down. Now."

The sound of footsteps coming down the hallway silenced Clarke. There seemed to be a fair amount of arguing as well and Clarke could recognise the voice of Raven over the cacophony of angry voices that drew closer.

"Lexa and Clarke are not to be disturbed, girl," That was Indra's voice surprising Clarke that the Trikru leader addressed them her by her name, "Anya, take her back to her room."

"Clarke got hit with an arrow meant for your Commander and she's been healing her from noon to sunset!" Raven didn't seem to take all that well to Indra's suggestion, "Now let me through or I'll let myself through."

Why did Raven have to be so...Raven?

"Relax," Raven said dismissing Indra's threat, "They're both standing up. I can see them clearly."

Oh, that explains it. Indra thought Raven was gearing up for an attack when instead she had simply activated her X-ray vision. It was a reasonable assumption to make, but now there was no reason to delay things any further.

"Stand down, Indra," Lexa's authoritative tone had not diminished despite her earlier trials, "You can come in. All of you."

Lexa waved her hands to open the door, but they did not do so much as twitch. Clarke could only put it down to muscle memory and it made Clarke a bit worried that Lexa's lack of powers may be evident.

Clarke was already wary of an attack by Azgeda. Nia surely knew the poison had worked even if they did not know how well it had worked. The likelihood of some second attempt at eliminating Lexa was still sky-high.

It was Indra who decided to open the door. Raven nearly bumped into the older woman as she walked in at the same time. Anya trailed behind them looking exasperated with it all.

"I was worried sick for you," Raven said pulling Clarke into a hug, "Why the hell would you jump in front of an arrow? Anya said your blood sprayed everywhere like you were shot."

It had definitely felt like she'd been shot.

Clarke returned Raven's hug and her eyes met Anya who was staring at her and Raven. The intensity of Anya's gaze made Clarke feel a bit awkward and she separated from Raven.

"I wish to speak with Le–Heda alone, Wanheda," Indra said to Clarke.

Clarke was somewhat glad for the interruption. The air between Lexa and her had shifted from the professional air when they were discussing the Guardians. A pause would do them both some good. Still, though, she felt inclined to staying right here despite Indra's wishes.

"I will speak to you later, should I have the time, " Lexa said and it was that which convinced Clarke to leave the room, "I am sure your people are worried for you as well."

Lexa gestured towards Raven to solidify her point. Raven had a deep frown on her face that grew less hostile as Lexa brought attention to her. The bad blood between the two, though one-sided, would not help anyone.

Clarke ignored Lexa's tone in the last sentence.

"Let's go, Raven," Clarke said, "I need to make sure you guys are all okay."

"I will come with you," Anya said surprising Clarke somewhat, "There is still a bit of, uh, hostility in the air. My presence would help deter any issues on your way to your rooms."

"Of course, let's go."

"Anya, return once you have escorted Clarke to her room," Lexa said not even mentioning Raven's name which didn't go down all too well with the mechanic judging by her face, "I will speak with you after Indra."

"I understand, Heda," Anya bowed causing Raven to roll her eyes. Thankfully, no one said anything if they even noticed it. That was that and Clarke was the last to leave the room

They left Indra and Lexa behind and Clarke brought up the rear as Anya and Raven got into a conversation that was pretty lighthearted. A reversal from the awkwardness from just a few moments ago.

Clarke was thankfully not drawn into the conversation. She wasn't sure she'd be able to match Raven's enthusiasm. The last thing she wanted was people fussing over her so she had to get her act in order.

Their worries were more important than hers.


"You left Cage and Tsing alive?" The disbelief in Raven's voice was palpable, "And you're only telling us this now? I thought you got them! You got everyone else!"

As expected, Raven did not take well to the news. It was understandable though since Tsing had tied Raven down to a bed and drilled her for bone marrow.

"There's no changing the past," Bellamy said to Raven, "Clarke had already killed hundreds of them. It's not that surprising that two people would sneak under her radar."

"It's probably more than that," Octavia said also not sounding particularly mad, "Is there anyone else we should care about? What about that creep? Emerson, I think?"

"Dead," Clarke said after a moment of reflection, "He tried to use a grenade on me and I kicked it back to him."

"Okay then," Bellamy said probably a bit put out by the visual that conjured, "Anyone else?"

Clarke wracked her brain to think of anyone important. None were coming to mind. Dante was dead. Emerson too. The only person that came to mind was—

"Diana," Clarke and Raven said at the same time.

"You knew she was in there?" Raven asked in surprise, "How did she even get there? I thought you killed her after what she did to Roma."

In hindsight, Clarke could see how Raven would think that. Clarke had very nearly killed Diana, but she held off on it for no other reason than being tired. If anything, Clarke had assumed Diana would be dead within a few days without her powers.

"I left her near the Mountain," Clarke said her eyes landing on Madi who was sleeping on Octavia's bed, "This was before we knew there were blood-sucking monsters in there. I just assumed she'd die. I guess some Reapers found her."

"I saw her in a cage with the other Grounders and I electrocuted her," Clarke admitted with a frown, "If I wasn't so desperate to escape with Anya then I might have actually killed her."

Speaking of Anya, the Grounder had been summoned by Lexa a while ago. The sun had already set on Polis and truth to be told Clarke was feeling rather hungry.

"She might be dead either way," Raven scoffed, "Cage and Tsing took her with them. At best, they're using her for information on Skaikru and Clarke. Outdated information."

That was to their knowledge at least. It was possible that Diana knew more about the Novus than she had let on, but Clarke highly doubted that was the case. Darah was far more likely to let someone get hurt using the Novus than to write down valuable information.

"Diana isn't a top priority,' Raven declared her gaze filled with anger, "I want Tsing, though. That bitch will pay for what she did to me."

"So what are we waiting for?" Octavia said rising out of her seat, "Azgeda used that serum on Lexa. They're clearly working with Cage and his goons. We should cut this off at the head."

"The evidence is circumstantial at best," Clarke sighed, "The only ones who have encountered the Guardian serum are me and Bellamy. They would just laugh it up as some sort of ploy by Skaikru. We aren't a part of the Coalition so our words will not hold much weight with the generals."

"Can't Indra do the memory transfer thing?" Octavia asked growing a bit more agitated, "She's trusted, isn't she? Why aren't you trying to stop things from getting worse? Do you want a war?"

"Don't be stupid, O," Clarke scolded the younger girl, "There is nothing we can do to stop this. The Grounders want war and like it or not, we're caught up in it. They already dismissed Indra's findings the first time, they'll do it again now."

None of the generals against Lexa had been involved in the challenge after all and they were all perfectly healthy. It was just like chess. You had to move your pawns first before using your better pieces. That was the key to nearly every gambit.

There was a knock at the door and Clarke turned to Raven. She seemed to get the wordless query as her eyes turned a bright yellow. Bellamy and Octavia were both prepared as they pointed their hands at the door.

Clarke sidled over to cover Madi who was still asleep on the bed before Raven revealed who was behind the door.

"It's Anya...and Indra," Raven said the latter's name as if she were eating expired food from the Ark, "They're looking really sour too. Well, at least Anya is. Indra always looks like someone shoved a wrench up her—"

"Now's not the time," Clarke said cutting Raven off on the, not insignificant, chance that she could be overheard, "They're probably here for a good reason."

Clarke walked to the door and opened it. Anya and Indra Indra didn't try to enter so Clarke remained in her spot in the doorway. Anya was standing a bit behind Indra so Clarke turned to the latter who took it as a cue to speak.

"Lexa has decided to induct Skaikru into the Coalition tomorrow," Indra's robotic declaration rattled Clarke and her friends, "The other clans have been made aware of the meeting, but not of its purpose. It would be wise if it remained that way for tonight."

"Is Lexa available?" Clarke tried and failed to keep her voice neutral. She would have preferred to have heard this from Lexa herself. To call a meeting so soon could, no, would end disastrously for everyone involved.

"She is resting," Indra said and Clarke knew her tone left no room for argument, "I've also posted guards to her room and on every floor. They have orders that no one may be allowed near her room."

Great.

"Is that all?" Raven said as she joined Clarke at the door, "Induction ceremony. Keep it confidential. We got it."

Indra glared at Raven before she stalked off leaving Anya behind. Clarke waited for Indra to disappear around the corner before turning to Anya.

"What's going on?" Clarke saw Madi shift on the bed and being aware of the rather late time she and Raven went out into the hallway.

"Lexa is awake," Anya admitted with a frown, "However, she needs time to think. She is unsettled... There is a lot on her mind. I do not think you confronting her would help matters. Just have faith in her."

The subtext of Anya's words was apparent to Raven as well.

"Did something happen between you guys?" Raven said to Clarke, "I swear if she—"

"Nothing happened," And it was far too easy for Clarke to lie to her friend, "Nothing important. I'll be back soon. I need to go do something."

Clarke caught Anya's gaze who looked a bit wary and she raised her hands, "I won't go see Lexa. There's something else I need to do. Especially with what I've learned."

"Alright," Anya said as she made to follow Clarke, "I can get you past all the guards if you want."

Before Clarke could even think of a reply Raven swooped in, "Uh, Anya. I actually need to speak to you about something important. In private."

Clarke quirked a brow at Raven. She had no earthly idea what Raven would want to speak about Anya with, but she wouldn't push things for now. They all had their secrets.

"I can take care of myself," Clarke said to Anya finally, "I'll be back as soon as possible."

From behind Anya's back made a hand motion that Clarke vaguely understood. She'd get filled in later. That made things even easier then.

Clarke turned on her heel turning on her invisibility cloak as she went. She had to release a small burst of air from her feet to muffle her footsteps. Thankfully, she had loads of practice from walking through the cricketing hallways of the Rig on many a sleepless night.

The last thing she saw was Raven guiding Anya into Bellamy's unoccupied room. The look on both of their faces was as serious as could be.

Clearly, there was nothing to worry about on that front at all.


Clarke really did owe Octavia a favour. Her invisibility was coming in handy as she walked past a multitude of unaware guards from a variety of clans.

She had expected it to be solely Polis guards, but there were guards from all the clans roaming the hallways. They were always partnered up with someone from another clan, but it was rather amazing to see how quickly Indra had organised it all without any pushback.

Clarke came to a halt as walking with a Trikru warrior was Luna. They were engaged in conversation about something, but judging from the smiles on both their faces it wasn't anything bad.

Good.

She pressed herself up against the wall as they walked towards her. It would be extremely awkward if she were caught right now. Only the tower servants were allowed to walk freely and Clarke was so close to her destination.

Luna walked past her and instantly her head swivelled towards Clarke. Luna's companion noticed the odd behaviour once his question didn't elicit a reply.

"What's wrong?"

"I sense someone not with the patrols," Luna said looking dead into Clarke's eyes, "Not here though. Further away. We should hurry before someone does something they may regret."

Okay, so Luna knew she was there.

As if reading her mind, Luna winked at Clarke before leading her companion in the opposite direction at a decent clip. Luna's power sensing was so accurate she could often tell who someone was without having to see them.

Clarke was glad Luna had recognised her signature so quickly and had also covered for her. It could have gotten messy if she hadn't. She walked faster down the hall before finally making it to the medical bay.

She had smelt the blood all the way from her floor and it had been easy to track it to its source. There were only four occupants in the room once she walked which was to be expected at this time of night.

Erid and Remus were both seated by a different bed. Lia was on the one and Jon was on the other. Both of the warriors were in a bad way. Lia had glowing red burns that were still a vivid colour while Jon seemed to shiver and shake in his sleep. The latter was wrapped in many bandages.

The two generals were silent and deep in thought so they were caught fully off guard as Clarke dropped her shroud and closed the door.

"Who's there?" Remus had leapt out of his chair and he was holding a dagger, Erid simply pointed her hands towards her as clouds of dust began to rise in the room.

"Calm down," Clarke raised her hands to show she meant no harm, "I'm not here to fight."

They didn't seem to trust her entirely as they stared her down, but eventually, they lowered their hands. Clarke sighed in relief as they stayed down. The haggard look on both their faces coupled with the indisposed patients nearby probably helped keep them docile.

Clarke walked towards Lia and Jon. Their bandages were bloodied and their flesh was slightly discoloured. Both Erid and Remus were reluctant to let her close and yet seemed desperate for her to intervene.

"Who healed them?"

Healed was being very generous.

"One of the lower Polis healers," Remus sounded annoyed, "They would not allocate a better healer to us. Not after the assassination attempt on Heda."

On reflex, Clarke grabbed at her stomach. The pain of the arrow burrowing into her was still fresh in her mind.

"You do understand why right?"

"We do," Erid said and for once she didn't look at Clarke with any measure of contempt, "It took me nearly losing Lia for me to see the error of my ways. Anyone else, myself included, would have killed her, but Heda spared her."

"Please help them, Skaifaya," Remus knelt before and after a few seconds Erid followed suit, "We have done our best, but we fear neither of them will make the night."

Clarke was grateful that they had seen the light. It made this all the easier. She decided to get this out of the way before any complications arose. Her hands glowed green as she started with Jon.

The healer from before had only sealed Jon's torn blood vessels. There were still actual holes in his muscles and bones. It was a miracle that he had survived for so long and a part of Clarke wishes she had come here earlier.

Remus and Erid watched her work closely. The loudest sound in the room was the winds blowing against the closed window reminding Clarke of just how high up they were.

It was nothing compared to being on the Ark, but that wasn't a fair comparison.

Clarke was able to heal all of Jon's injuries in less than fifteen minutes. The lack of a poison really allowed her to do her thing and she had gotten a lot of practice while on the Rig. She and Luna didn't hold back in their sparring sessions at all.

"Thank you, Skaifaya," Remus sounded rather overwhelmed as he took in the healthy complexion of Jon, "I do not know why I was so foolish as to gamble my brother's life away. I am in your debt."

"It's not a problem," Clarke said laying her hand on the shoulder of Remus who knelt before her once more, "He will be tired for a few days, but he'll recover fully."

Remus only bowed deeper at that which only made Clarke uncomfortable. A man so many years older than her shouldn't be worshipping her for saving his brother.

It was wrong.

"Will she scar?" Erid said as Clarke moved to Lia, "I do not care for how she looks...but I know she does. Lia having so many scars would hurt her and it hurts me when she hurts."

It was sweeter than anything Erid had ever said or done in front of Clarke. The woman was a vast departure from the proud and stoic general Clarke had fought months ago.

"Don't worry," Clarke said as she began to heal Lia.

Erid had shut her eyes close as if to not give herself false hope. Lia was better off than Jon, but the damage was still significant. Particularly around the joints where the chain had burnt some of her ligaments and joints.

Still, though, Clarke was able to fully heal Lia in even quicker time than she had taken for Jon. She would still have to take it easy for a bit, but she would live a full life and without any scars to boot.

"You–amazing," Erid said taking in Lia's rejuvenated state, "I have no idea how to thank you."

Cruelly, Clarke latched onto Erid's gratitude immediately, "Why did you go against Skaikru and the Coalition?"

The question was aimed at both of them, but it was Erid that spoke, "It all started with the attacks...the ones I thought you did."

"Why did you think it was me? Are there any survivors?"

"No," Erid's voice was burning with fury, "They would always succumb to their wounds. Sankru has a lack of competent healers as well as the herbs needed to treat burns. Only a few would mention seeing Wanheda, the title you got after the Mountain."

"The attacks were happening all over the Coalition, " Erid said her voice upset, "I thought you were seeking revenge for Lexa's actions. Ontari was the one who eventually convinced me you, Skaikru and Lexa were a problem."

"Was it the same with you?" Clarke asked Remus who nodded solemnly, "Why would Skaikru be at fault instead of just me?"

"Jus drein jus daun," Erid said tightly her voice a little shaky, "That's our way."

Blood must have blood.

"Skaikru had nothing to do with it," Clarke said a bit of anger bleeding into her voice, "They gave Sankru food and plants that produced vast amounts of water without needing much in return. Boudalan were given some of our own technology to improve your lives."

Clarke could see her words were getting to Erid. It would only take one more push to get her over the edge. Remus seemed to have caught on, but he remained completely silent.

"Skaikru were innocent."

"I saw your people in my lands!" Erid said the words spilling from her mouth, "They were spotted in many villages. They stayed with the frikdeina floating from village to village before disappearing. We assumed they left the desert. One of them was one of your leaders. A man called—"

"Jaha?" Clarke asked drawing a nod from Erid.

"Yes. My scouts only found them near our capital while the attacks were ongoing," Erid said her voice cracking now, "A Skaikru boy with the power to turn buildings to dust and disable with pain, he killed my leader. My father."

Clarke's frown grew impossibly deep at Erid's description. It could only have been Murphy. The boy had fallen off the face of the Earth and he was the last remaining of the delinquents who had powers.

Come to think of it, Clarke was sure he hadn't even made it all the way back to Arkadia from the Mountain. She had to herd all the Mount Weather citizens and delinquents as well as carry Costia so it would have been child's play for him to slip away.

The question was how did he get to Sankru? And what were he and Jaha up to? Why would they be running around with the frikdeina? According to Luna, frikdeina hated outsiders especially those with powers. Those with powers were the antithesis to the frikdeina who had made the mistake of being born to parents with genes screwed by radiation.

"Many clan leaders across the Coalition have been killed," Erid said shocking Clarke, "The affected generals had taken precautions to stop the news from spreading."

"...Which clans?"

"S-Sankru and Boudalan," Erid sounding a bit rattled by Clarke's terse tone, "Trishana, Ingronarona, Ouskejon and Yujleda."

"Those clans are strong. Only Trikru and Azgeda are stronger than those clans," Clarke said a hint of disbelief in her tone, "It would be impossible for Skaikru to pull that off just once. Let alone multiple times without Trikru noticing. It's far more likely their generals overthrew their leaders."

"It's why I remained a little sceptical until I could meet with Nia myself," Remus added sounding troubled, "My people will have my head for having sided with Nia."

Erid and Remus both seemed heavily conflicted, as if facts they never considered were being brought to light. Erid seemed to take it the worst as she raised her hands to her head in horror.

"What were Jaha and Murphy doing in Sankru territory?" Clarke asked and Erid still had enough about her to give an answer.

"They were on a fool's quest."

A very vague and unhelpful answer.

"I need to go," Clarke said her head filled with a myriad of thoughts, "I was not here, understand?"

Erid would probably only be better within a few hours and Clarke didn't have the patience to wait for that.

Remus nodded on behalf of a shellshocked Erid. Clarke took her leave as Remus began to calm Erid down. Her invisibility allowed her to navigate the hallways without much issue.

It was so odd that Erid and Remus had been swayed by such circumstantial evidence. Surely, neither general would have landed such important roles if they were this naïve.

There was definitely something more to it all. That being said, Clarke was sure she could trust then for the time being. Near as she could tell, they were fully honest with her for their whole conversation.

What was more worrying was the mention of Murphy apparently assassinating Erid's father. It could either be a copy like her with the Trikru villages or even worse it could actually be Murphy himself.

Clarke could admit it was hypocritical of her to not dismiss the accusations levelled to Murphy. That being said, she knew Murphy. He had beaten someone to a pulp after a small argument which led to his banishment and he had jumped at the chance to rule over the delinquents when Bellamy was still a jerk.

Everyone had the capacity for violence and that was just the truth.

If Murphy was responsible, Clarke would bring him to justice. She did it with Finn and she could and would do it again.


Raven wasn't all too sure if speaking to Anya about this was the right choice, but considering she had saved Raven then it was probably okay to trust her.

"You won't kill me or anything if I said something crazy, right?"

Anya blinked, "Excuse me?"

A bit of a false start.

"I'm starting to get suspicious of Indra," It was best to just take the plunge. Kinda like drinking a shot of the rancid Ark moonshine or at least that's what Raven's mom always told her. Although her dear mother tended to stick more to bottles than shots.

Anya did not react at all. Not really. It reminded Raven of Echo and Lincoln. Maybe stoicism was just a Grounder thing.

"Is this because of her...meeting with Nia?" Anya spoke slowly as if she could be overheard.

"No, I mean that's only a part of it," Raven said causing Anya to raise a brow. A silent cue to continue as she sat down on Raven's bed.

"Explain."

Raven plopped herself down next to Anya before gathering her thoughts. Indra led Anya's clan so if there was definitely a chance this could end ugly.

"She's just been weird in general," Raven said recalling her recent encounters with Indra, "She said this meeting would be clan leaders only, but it was actually the generals."

"We received word from many of the clan leaders that they felt safer sending their generals," Anya's dry scepticism crushing Raven's first point, "In the end, Heda decided to send for the generals instead of the leaders. Indra counts as both."

Okay, so her first point crashed and burnt. The next few were conjecture at best and insufficient to convince Anya, but Raven trusted her gut feeling. Her mom taught her that.

Though, that probably had to do more with the Ark's moonshine ravaging her mom's digestive system then eventually killing her.

"Let's circle back to her and Nia's meeting," Raven said turning to Anya who was a bit closer than expected, "Lincoln said Indra despises Nia and yet they were having a civil discussion with no one around to see them. Has she mentioned what she spoke about to you?"

Anya wasn't as quick to shoot her point down this time.

"No."

"Has she told Clarke anything?"

"No."

"What about Lexa? Does she even know Indra met with Nia?"

No answer.

"I'll take that as a no," Raven said a little smugly before going for a more understated tone, "Listen, Anya. You know Indra better than I do, but something about that meeting with Nia is just making me uncomfortable plus she's been super mean to me. I don't think it's impossible that she and Nia are—"

Having heard enough, Anya leapt to her feet and stormed towards the door. She turned the knob, but Raven was able to kick the door shut causing Anya to freeze.

Raven's world spun as Anya teleported behind her before turning and pushing her towards the door. The doorknob slammed into Raven's lower back but the quick flash of pain was nothing compared to the anger in Anya's eyes.

"You know nothing," Anya stared down at her, "Indra has known Lexa since she was a child. I have known Indra all my life. She is Trikru and Trikru are not traitors. Even her runaway daughter was made Flamekeeper. Indra is grateful for Heda's blessing and benevolence unlike you."

Raven frowned at the vitriol spilling from Anya's mouth. The last part of her tirade hurt Raven deeply. Perhaps it was due to the casual dismissal of Finn's death or perhaps Anya had a way to make her words sting.

"That's different," Raven's words sounded weak even as a fire burned in her chest "Finn was killed—"

"I know you would not do anything to Heda despite your feelings towards her actions," Anya said as she crossed her arms. Her gaze turned towards the far corner of the room.

"Heda has done nothing wrong to Indra as well as Trikru. Indra would never stoop to Nia's level and conspire in the shadows nor would she jeopardise Gaia's position. It would be for the best if you did not mention this to anyone."

"Listen to me, Anya. I—"

Raven's words died in her mouth as Anya teleported away. The black smoke faded away leaving Raven alone feeling more than a little ashamed and embarrassed.

"There goes that," Raven sighed feeling as though a mountain was pressing down on her.

A good night's sleep would probably do her some good.


They were all still asleep.

Lucky.

Clarke could hear the rhythmic breathing of all her friends and Madi as they slept the night away. Clarke had been unable to find any sleep herself and that made her so envious of them all.

They'd all been asleep when she had returned from the medical bay and Clarke had holed herself in her room. After it became clear, she wasn't going to bed at all Clarke had kept herself busy.

There was only so much 'fun' to be had morphing chairs into bicycles and then into statues of bicycles before going back to chairs again. Clarke had nearly bored herself to tears before she decided to pick up an old hobby of hers.

One plate and a cup later, Clarke had a notebook with a pencil. The book was pretty large as one page was large enough to spread across her lap. It had been ages since she had last sketched anything and she had always been a fan of bigger drawings as her prison cell could attest to.

Over the course of the night, her nature scenes morphed to scenes on the Ark before they morphed to portraits of people she knew.

The first few were not pleasant to dwell on.

Her father smiling ghoulishly at her from behind an open airlock. Wells holding a makeshift chess piece in his hand even as there was a gaping wound in his neck. Roma with her shirt half-on and a large wound in the centre of her chest. Two drawings of a pile of corpses, the first corpses burnt by fire right down to the bone and the second had men, women and children that had been killed in a variety of ways.

It was only when Clarke focused on good memories that she was able to draw something worth smiling about. Madi smiling at her widely as she held a large fish in both her hands. A few of her teeth were missing and her hair blew wildly in the wind.

This one made Clarke smile.

From there, the drawing went from some form of self-flagellation to the enjoyable experience it had once been. Soon her book was filled with sketches of Octavia smiling widely as she swam in a glittering lake, Bellamy reading a book as he leaned against a tree and Raven tinkering away at an engine.

The sketches weren't entirely from memory so much as they were what came to her naturally. They were just situations she knew her friends would be comfortable in.

The lives that they so dearly wanted.

Clarke kept drawing and she shifted into another zone entirely. The next drawing took up two pages instead of one. The right had the inside of a large room with a jagged throne and the left was a bedroom with basic seascapes, seashells and paintings above a bed.

Clarke alternated from working on the left and the right and before she knew it she was done with both. She blew off the rubbings from her mistakes before finally taking it all in.

Lexa sat atop her throne, and much like the real version, this one wore armour as she reclined in her seat. Her hair hung freely and her face was devoid of any facepaint.

In the other, Luna laid on her side on the bed. Her eyes were closed and a small and warm smile was on her face even as tears flowed from her closed eyes.

The detail in these two eclipsed her previous sketches. From the rough, uneven floor of Lexa's tent to the very design of Luna's bed. Despite that, Clarke felt as though they were missing something and it came to her almost immediately.

She morphed the pencil multiple as she made the necessary adjustments to the sketches before finally, she blew off any dust to prevent the chance of any smudging. Finally, it was all done.

On the left, Luna's hair was a rich brown that seemed to capture the light in the room and in contrast, Lexa's eyes were a vivid green that almost seemed to have a light of their own.

Clarke put down her pencil which was now worn down to a nub as she took both the drawings in. Her hands trailed over the cool paper as she absorbed every inch of what was before as she lost herself in them.

It was only when the light began to peek into her room that Clarke realised she had spent far too long on drawing and who knows how long on admiring said drawings. That couldn't be healthy.

Clarke took care to close the book carefully before she took a hot bath. She went through her routine before finally she was decked out in her armour. She still had Luna's facepaint and she applied the pattern Luna had chosen for her a few days ago with the aid of a mirror.

Finally, she put her hair up into a simple ponytail before she exited her room. She knew that Lexa was one level above them and it took her extraordinary self-control to not sprint her whole way there.

The idea of Lexa having been attacked in her sleep while Clarke sat in her room and sketched (and admired her sketches) was unsettling. Their last conversation had ended all too early and now could be the last chance she had to complete it with any sort of privacy before the meeting.

She made it to the next level without having to use her invisibility surprisingly enough. Perhaps, Indra had called the guards off some time during the night. Clarke was about to head towards Lexa's room when she saw someone walking the other way holding a basket that jingled with every step.

Clarke disappeared around the corner before she could be seen. Her target walked around the corner and let out a shriek that was quickly silenced as Clarke slapped her hand over their mouth.

Costia's eyes were wide open as she tried to scramble away from Clarke. A strange and slightly noxious smell came off her, but Clarke dismissed it as she finally calmed the other woman.

"Clarke," Costia seemed to sense Clarke's fury as she spoke hurriedly her lips trembling, "I—"

"Listen to me," Clarke said causing Costia to clam up, "The little games you've been playing with me and Lexa? They stop now. I know you had a rough few years, but what's done is done. You ran away from Lexa while she was fighting a war. That is the only reason you got caught. If Lexa had known you were in there, she would have tried to get you out."

Costia's forehead wrinkled and her feet shuffled in what Clarke guessed to be discomfort. It was too bad she didn't quite feel like making Costia comfortable.

"You do need help to deal with all the terrible stuff that happened to you," Clarke said before pushing Costia against the wall even harder, "That doesn't mean you get to try and get into my pants. Whether you want me or you're trying to hurt Lexa—"

Or both.

"I don't care," Clarke said curtly, "I do not like you that way and I never will. So you can stop throwing yourself at me and hurting Lexa. This way you can actually keep a shred of pride. Lexa is a good person and a great leader. The last thing she needs is you running around trying to torture her at every turn."

Clarke was breathing heavily now, "Do you understand me?"

Tears were in Costia's eyes as she nodded frantically and despite her anger at the woman, Clarke stepped back and allowed her to move away from the wall. Her knuckles were white as she held on tightly to her basket.

Its contents made a loud metallic ring which piqued Clarke's interest.

"What's in there?" Clarke said and Costia stumbled over her from the change in topic.

"Oh, uh, I was going to bring Lexa some food," Costia said her voice still shaky, "She prefers the set that she keeps in her room so I went to get those and was going to take them down to her."

"She's not in her room?" Clarke asked drawing a shake of the head from Costia.

"Indra put her on a private level with a lot of guards and would not let me enter," Costia said standing up straighter now, "I was barely able to get through. Gaia was one of those monitoring Lexa's condition and she allowed me through. I suppose she wanted to spite her mother."

Indra was Gaia's mother? That was news.

In any case, there was no point in Clarke even being here.

"You can go," Clarke said before she made her way back to the stairwell.

"Wait, Clarke," And perhaps Clarke felt guilty when she rounded on Costia with a heated expression expecting another ploy from the woman.

"I am—," This seemed to cause Costia's face to slip from a morose expression to a more neutral one, "I am not sorry for what I have done and I hope you can understand one day."

Not likely.

Clarke turned away from Costia as she walked away. Clarke was well aware of Costia's gaze on her as she made her way back to her room. They had settled their differences and thought that had not been why she had come up here, it was a decent enough substitute.

Now, Clarke could prepare everyone for the meeting without having to worry about Lexa's wellbeing.

Of course, she would have to worry about everyone's wellbeing when it came to the meeting itself.


"We got ready in like ten minutes, at the crack of dawn," Octavia said as she walked into the room leaving the door open behind her, "And we have been waiting for hours on end. Thanks for that, Clarke."

Octavia threw herself onto Clarke's bed before groaning into the pillow, "How much longer do we have to wait? And why is your bed so much bigger and softer than all of ours? You made Madi sleep in my bed so you could have this all to yourself, didn't you?"

It turns out they did not have to wait for long.

An attendant knocked on the open door and announced that they had been summoned before the Coalition within the next ten minutes. This also saved Clarke from having to answer to an irritated Octavia.

"Stay close to me, Madi," Clarke said as her party prepared to make way for the meeting hall, "You're still my responsibility."

That was all Clarke said before they made their way out. They knew that they were walking into and knew that they had to be on guard from start to finish.

By the time they reached the meeting hall, Clarke had steadied her nerves. Anya was waiting outside and yelling at an attendant before she spotted them. She walked up to them and after a glance at Raven over Clarke's shoulder she spoke.

"Has anyone seen Gaia?" Anya sounded a bit frayed, "She has not been seen since the morning. It is important that a Flamekeeper is at this meeting."

"Then I believe it to be of good fortune that I am here to fill that role."

Clarke rolled her eyes as Titus walked towards them. He looked towards Madi and a smile spread across his face before he looked towards Clarke and Anya.

"I sent Gaia on an urgent errand outside of Polis," Titus said with all the grandeur and arrogance he could muster, "It could only be done by a Flamekeeper, unfortunately. Thankfully, I am more than willing and able to take her spot for this...induction. So you may call off those looking for her."

With that, he was gone and Clarke could not help the scowl that formed on her face. Clarke turned towards Madi who looked a bit unsettled and she put a hand on the girl's shoulder. It had the desired effect as Madi calmed down after a few moments.

Anya had already hailed a tower servant and barked off an order to call off the search for Madi. She seemed to be seething as she turned back towards Clarke.

"I hate that man," Anya said balling her hands into fists her posture stiff as a board. In an out of character moment, Raven reached forward to Anya but that only caused Anya to step away.

"Anya—"

"Now is not the time," Anya said and from Clarke's perspective, she felt as though she were intruding on something. She shook that off as Anya turned to her.

"The ceremony is about to begin. This will not take long. You simply enter and bow and then you will take the brand of the clans had mixed reactions to the news so be on guard," Anya warned not once looking at Raven.

"That's all?" Octavia said mirroring Clarke's own surprise, "Isn't there supposed to be more theatrics? Well other than Clarke getting branded?"

"There is some other stuff to be done, but our ceremonies do not take long," Anya said before adding, "In any case, a quick ceremony is what would be close to the best for now with the current situation."

"Thanks, Anya," Clarke said and she did mean it, "You've been a massive help."

Anya had really been an important part in smoothing over their introduction to Earth even if that was and still continued to be a difficult path.

"You don't have to thank me, Clarke," Anya said frowning slightly and she seemed to hesitate before adding, "You're doing far more than I ever could. Thank you for that."

With that, Anya turned and entered the room leaving them behind. Raven still looked rattled by whatever was going on between her and Anya, but she snapped out of it when Bellamy put a hand on her shoulder.

"You okay?" Bellamy's question seemed to bring Raven back into the land of living as she smiled albeit a bit shakily.

"I'm awesome," Raven said shrugging Bellamy's hand off of her, "Let's do this. We need to get back to Arkadia soon. Sinclair probably needs me to put out some fires and fix some circuits so we need to be done here as quick as possible."

No one bought Raven's false cheeriness, except for maybe Madi, but no one brought it up. There was a time and place for everything and there could not be a worse moment to broach that topic right now.

"You guys have to stay behind me at all times," Clarke said as airy music began to play from the meeting hall, "Keep an eye out for anything. If something goes down, you're all prime targets."

The music was joined by a beautiful voice singing in what sounded like Trigedasleng. Clarke could only decipher what was being said due to Madi's power, but she ignored it as Titus walked out and motioned for them to enter.

"You stop in front of Heda and your people must be seven steps behind you," Titus' instructions were simple enough to understand so Clarke didn't feel the need to even act as though she heard him.

That would definitely annoy him. Or at least she hoped so.

Clarke walked at the front of the group her gaze focused straight ahead. She didn't falter in her steps as she entered the packed room. The smell of burning incense hung in the air and the walkway to Lexa's throne had Coalition warriors on either side.

Lexa sat in her throne almost exactly like the drawing Clarke had made hours ago. She wore her warpaint and her hair was braided elaborately. Even then, Clarke could sense the paranoia Lexa felt or maybe that was Clarke's own feelings.

Lexa wore her normal armour but it was definitely thicker than usual, particularly over her vital areas. Her eyes seemed exhausted, but again that could be Clarke imagining things that weren't there.

Clarke stopped about three metres away from Lexa. The chairs of the generals were back in their original position on either side of Lexa and Clarke could only spare a quick glance to Luna who was right by Lexa before returning her gaze to Lexa.

It was Titus who spoke first giving an order to the choir Clarke had heard earlier. This song had more gravitas to it and it told Clarke more than anything beforehand that things were irreversible now.

"Clarke Griffin," Lexa said and her gaze seemed to penetrate right into Clarke, "Chancellor of Skaikru, Curer of Reapers. Killer of the Mountain. Skaifaya and Wanheda. "

The smell of incense intensified as Titus held a small burning bundle in his hand. He waved it over and the smoke surrounded her even as Lexa continued to speak.

"Time and time again your people have shown their strength and valour by surviving an unfamiliar world," Titus had now procured a metal bowl that was filled with more of the near hallucinatory incense.

The process was dragging on slightly, but Clarke stayed patient and vigilant.

"You, in particular, have shown to be stronger and more intelligent than any warrior I have seen before," Lexa said as she rose to her feet and she pulled out a dagger refusing the one Titus tried to hand to her.

Was that going to be used for the brand? Somehow, Clarke didn't think so.

"You reduced a hundred Reapers to ashes when they attacked your camp. You defeated eleven of my generals one after the other," Lexa said tightening her grip on the dagger, "You crushed the Mountain Men without any help. You have earned the respect and admiration of many of my people as well as my own.."

This was going differently than Clarke had expected and judging from the perplexed expressions of the generals, they too were perplexed by it all. What was Lexa playing at?

"I remember when we first met outside your people's camp after the Mountain," Lexa said still brandishing the dagger, "You wished for Skaikru to be independent of the Coalition and I allowed that."

There were some murmurs and hurried whispers at this. Clarke could see Livia and Ontari scowling at Lexa from the back while Luna seemed rather put out too as she tried to guess what Lexa was doing.

"As it is I cannot keep that promise to you," Lexa said causing Clarke to nod slightly, "Your people are on fertile Trikru land that other desperately desire and they are also targets for destruction. I must look after my people first and foremost."

Clarke balled her hand into a fist as dread began to fill her. The situation before her being all too similar to that night outside the Mountain's front door. She could hear Raven, Octavia and Bellamy shuffling behind her as if preparing for the worst.

"What I do now is not borne from any scorn or anger, but out of necessity," Lexa said as she reduced the space between her and Clarke to a mere foot. Her next words were a whisper only audible to Clarke.

"I know you will understand."

Clarke tensed as Lexa lifted the dagger and was ready to lash out until, to her surprise, Lexa swiped the dagger across her own hand. Rivulets of blood flooded out the woman's hand staining the dagger a deep black.

Lexa held the bloodied dagger towards Clarke, "Today, I wish to join our people and Skaikru together. The greatest way to do is by joining the two leaders together in one."

"There is no fucking way."

Octavia's words were a part of many as realisation slowly dawned on everyone. Even Titus seemed taken aback as she took a few steps back in shock. Lexa raised her bloody hand to silence the crowd and it worked as they were hushed into silence.

"Our people would irrevocably become a part of each other," Lexa's words filled the room with shock and bewilderment, "We would irrevocably become a part of each other beyond our death. Our beings bonded beyond this plane and into the next."

Clarke's body boiled with anger and shock and indecision. She had expected Lexa to induct her to the Coalition or to betray her to appease her foes. The last thing she had expected was this and which was, for all intents and purposes, a proposal.

Except this didn't seem like a marriage that Clarke could break off easily if at all. The generals all seemed to vary from shocked to angered to a despondent Luna who only nodded once before looking away from Clarke. Her face twisted into a deep frown.

Clarke took a deep breath before taking the dagger and making a deep cut into her palm. The pain did nothing to wake from what had to have been a fever dream and Clarke allowed it to clatter to the floor.

She shook hands with Lexa and she ignored the pain in her hand as their blood melded and dripped to the floor. By the time, their hands separated Clarke's wound was slowly beginning to heal itself.

"It is done."

It was as austere and brutal a wedding as Clarke would expect from the Grounders. No decorations, no fancy clothing or anything of the sort. Just words and blood.

Clarke had no idea what Lexa was playing at. All she knew was that she was going to blow up once this was all over which it appeared to be. She now understood why Lexa didn't want to face her before the meeting because now Clarke had no chance of looking for an alternative. Hence, she accepted.

The doors suddenly slammed open and in rushed Gaia looking haggled and distressed. She was so anxious she didn't even seem to notice just what she had barged in on.

"Gaia, what is the meaning of this?" Clarke said and a feeling of dread pooled in Clarke's gut as she saw tears flow freely from Gaia's eyes.

"The novitiates," Gaia said sounding disenchanted and broken, "They are all gone. None of them are left."

Gaia was carrying a sack in her hand and Clarke frowned as she saw the liquid dripping underneath it. She opened it and gingerly pulled out a decapitated head. The face was covered in a mass of wrinkles and warts, but crucially black blood leaked from below the neck.

The head seemed to have convinced Lexa despite how advanced the age was. Clarke knew the novitiate were children but at the same time, it was unlikely a nightblood could grow so old without being discovered.

Had someone used some sort of power to kill them?

"Nia," Lexa growled under her breath before turning to Ontari, "Where is your queen?"

Clarke pulled back on Lexa's arm as Ontari rose up out of her seat. Bulges began to protrude from beneath the girl's skin as she rose to her feet with an insolent smirk on her face. It looked as disgusting as Clarke knew Ontari was on the inside.

"I am right here," Nia said walking right into the room she took a few seconds to process what was in front of her before laughing deeply and cruelly.

"A bonding? With her?" Nia said her face twisted by a sneer, "You just wasted the rest of your short lives. We will not stand out simply because Wanheda has you under her thrall. It simply shows you are too weak to do what must be done."

"War is not the answer," Luna said as she rose to her feet, "Stop with this nonsense, Nia. Azgeda cannot win on their own."

"I will not stop until Ontari is the last natblida and by my count, there are four in this very room."

Four?

Madi.

*!*

Clarke raised her forearm and slapped aside a bone projectile from Ontari. By fortune, it was deflected towards Nia who simply snatched it out the air. Within a few seconds, the bone crumbled to dust in her hands as it underwent rapid decay.

Clarke felt an immeasurable and inexplicable rage just come over her body. She raised her hands up and in some vague way, she was aware that she wasn't quite in control, but as a massive fight broke out, Clarke found she didn't care.

Clarke fired a blast of fire at Nia, but it was swallowed up by a wall of shadows. Clarke traced the shadows expecting to see the man who had tried to recruit her and there he was. Atari. Her emotional state made her power fluctuate like crazy and by chance, her technopathy detected something on Atari's shirt.

It was quickly hacked and broken into and Atari's appearance melted away as he grew taller and wider. His hair grew longer and prominent scars made themselves known on his skin. Most damning of all, his right hand faded away like a mirage.

A small speck fell from Roan's shirt but he did not seem to notice until Clarke spoke.

"It was you from the beginning?"

"Clarke?"

"Who are you talking to?"

Clarke ignored the words she heard from two different voices as her wings spread out behind her. She crouched down for just a second before charging straight ahead at Nia and Roan.

Nia smirked even as Clarke swiped at her neck with sharpened claws. Her hand straight through them as if they weren't even there and as she turned back they were now standing at the window.

"Clarke!" shouted a young girl with long brown hair, "Wake up!"

Clarke ignored the girl's words as she sped towards the mother and son duo. Their arrogant smirks rubbing her the wrong way. She ignored the bloodbath around her as she zeroed in on them. She felt something brush her ankle, but she ignored that as she charged ahead.

Again, she passed through them like they weren't even there. She was now outside the tower and she scanned around for them. Clarke caught a flash of movement to her left.

She turned to see them floating in the air. They stood on the air as if it were solid ground. Roan's form morphed into that of his mother and all of a sudden Nia seemed to multiply as enough copies of her were created to blot out the sky.

The darkness enveloped Clarke like a cocoon and it was so dark she could not see even an inch beyond her face. She tried to enhance any of her senses, but they all failed her.

"How pathetic," Nia said from a thousand if a not a million position, "Your time will come, Wanheda. Livia!"

Clarke screamed and thrashed as she felt something prickly and slimy and hot and cold touch her skim before skipping away. In the darkness, Clarke could only catch a glimpse of an impossibly large and freakish abomination that chilled her to her very soul.

There was a bright light that penetrated the darkness and Clarke thought it was the sun finally breaking through the cage that Nia had made. She flew at the opening at full speed desperate to escape the horrors behind her.

She was wrong.

A yellow beam slammed into her and Clarke was sent flying across Polis at breakneck speed. She tried to slow her acceleration, but it was to no avail. Her body flew through building after building and through wall after wall until she slammed into a particularly thick and sturdy wall. Clarke fell for a few seconds before slamming into the ground.

Her neck was in excruciating pain and her teeth were all dislodged scattered across the floor. Her limbs and wings were all broken and shattered and Clarke could not move. She groaned as she tried to accelerate her healing, but it was a no-go. The sheer pain made it impossible for her to focus.

Slow and methodical footsteps drew her attention and Clarke groaned as she tried to flail and get away from whoever was near her. A foot was pressed into her back keeping her still and exacerbating the pain she felt.

"Apparently you're meant to be a badass," said a voice and Clarke felt the prick of a needle entering her, "We'll see about that."

Maine lifted her foot from Clarke's broken back and crouched down in front of her. A syringe was filled with her blood. From this angle, it was easy to see the grotesque scar on Maine's neck.

"You're still awake after that? Not bad. Not bad at all...Give them hell, then come for me," Maine said before she turned her gaze away from Clarke, "She looks mad. I'll be waiting for you, Clarke. Vale."

Just like that, Maine teleported away and a second later Luna landed, striking out with a spear at where Maine had just been. Luna discarded the spear as she took in Clarke's condition.

"L-Luna—"

"Do not speak, Clarke. Please." Luna said her voice frantic and urgent, "Just s-sleep. Everything will be fine when you wake up. I promise. Just...sleep."

Clarke felt something wet begin to drop onto her skin, but it faded away as Luna's hand glowed a bright white before it was gently placed on her head. Clarke heard Luna begin to hum a tune slowly and delicately even as her hold on consciousness slipped.

Clarke tried to speak, but her words failed her completely. Finally, the bright white was replaced by an inky black that Clarke fully welcomed.

She'd apologise to Luna later.


Author Notes:

...sorry guys lol.

I swear I had a mental block stopping me from writing or something. It's absolutely crazy. Sorry for making y'all wait this long and to make up for it I made this one 14K words long.

Let's see, not too bad. Raven's suspicious, Clarke is in love and married and also a broken pile of bones. Plus, Maine is still running around. What a weirdo.

I just had to have a fight break out in this one. War sucks, but I low key wanted the war to happen in the show even if Lexa killing Nia was pretty fucking cool too.

I'd love to hear from you guys, again. Presuming you haven't passed away from old age waiting for this goof to update his story.

Stay safe everyone and I'll see you guys soon. Totally. Definitely. I promise.

P. S. There was an accidental, pseudo That's So Raven reference in this lmao.

As I finished typing it, I just laughed as I saw what I'd done. I kept it in because that show was the bomb.