Chapter 20

"It's time to go," said Manu, and Clarke felt a lump in her throat, and tried to swallow the anxiety. She and Bellamy were in the back ranks of the Azgeda formation, fully equipped with leather armor and a shield and blade. Clarke and Bellamy didn't believe it was a good idea to paint any Ark symbols on their shields, but in order to please the culture they were masqueraded in had obliged in at least putting the Ark trinity on both their forearms.

Manu mounted his horse and galloped to the front of the formation, a group of 50 or so fearless warriors. It wasn't really the back, like Clarke thought. Sure it was the back of the formation, but each formation didn't have any others in front of it. It was just one long stretch of formation next to formation. Sometimes she could see Lexa, trotting to a fro on her horse, assigning commands and sharing tactics with her officers. A part of Clarke felt guilty for joining this battle behind Lexa's back, but she just couldn't sit back and not be a part of something so paramount involving her people, especially her people's blood and future.

"Listen, everyone!" Lexa projected to the mass of warriors under her command. "We are only fighting those with weapons! Lincoln has said that many have shown eagerness in joining us, but were fired upon by their own people for doing so!"

The warriors grumbled in disgust.

"If there are any still left willing to join us, we will take them. Be vigilant! There is a man called Jaha, and he is their leader. I would prefer that you capture this man, if possible. Bring him to me alive!"

She then looked upon the faces of her warriors as they let her orders sink and then began to speak once more.

"I know what some of you have said and may be thinking, that you are risking your lives for Skai people or for territorial conquest… know that this battle is for peace. For an alliance! To assure peace between our people and a population that needs salvation from a tyrannical government. We will not be a people who lets others be repressed and put into slavery by their own government. We don't abandon people who ask for our help. Today, we will put an end to any hope their corrupt leadership hopes to grasp. This day will end on our terms, following our plan for the Skai people and their relationship with us. Their guns will be our only obstacle, just like our skirmishes with the Mountain, but we will overcome them, crashing and overriding like a tsunami upon the shore. Be brave and help push your fellow warrior, for the faster we push through their outer defenses, the sooner we guarantee victory!" The Grounders roared and cheered, smashing their swords, spears, and clubs against their shields and stomped their feet, and all this rumbled the dirt beneath their feet. Lexa looked upon her warriors in approval and then lifted her sword arm, which only made the warriors cheer even louder.

Clarke's heart beat with adrenaline as her mind tried to control her fight or flight instincts. Her mind was spinning through a cycle of thoughts, asking herself if she was actually going to kill her own people if she needed to, asking if she was just trying to infiltrate to protect key people, like her mother and the Hundred. But she didn't have time to reach a conclusion, because in an eruption of energy, Lexa called out the charge, and they all began to rush forward.

In the Processing Center, that the remaining Hundred were locked in, Murphy was pacing with a purpose.

"We can't just sit here!" He shouted to the others, who were sitting about the room with dejected energy.

"We also can't just go out there and help fight," Monty offered. "We're safer in here, and its best to let Lexa and her warriors handle things. We don't need friendly fire or confusions."

"Yeah, well, I prefer to have a hand in determining who is gonna control my life," Murphy said, looking down at Monty with a disgusted frown. "I'm not just gonna sit here and wait to see the outcome." He went over to the cell door and stuck his arms through it, reaching out. "Hey, guard!"

The guard jolted, and turned to look at them quickly before looking back to a window he had been staring out of.

"Hey, hey!" Murphy tried again. "What's going on out there?"

The guard turned around again and flexed his fingers on his rifle. "The Grounders are here…" he said, his face getting pale at hearing their reality.

"You don't wanna be here, do you?" Murphy tried, holding onto the cell bars. "You'd rather be doing something to protect yourself… probably even protect the people you care about, too, than standing here waiting for a flood of Grounders to storm this packed room…"

The guard looked back and forth between him and the window yet again, as a tumultuous battle cry sounded off not too far away. The guard swallowed and blinked hard.

"How about this?" Murphy lowered his voice, and the guard primed his ears to hear the proposal. "You let us out of here… that way you can go control your own fate, and let us do the same. Trust me, none of us are gonna snitch… we will just say the Grounders busted us out… we will be the last thing on Jaha's mind when this is all over…" gunfire filled the air, popping sporadically. "… if he's still around, that is…"

The guard reached for his keys quickly, surprising Murphy, as he flipped through the ring and found the one he needed, inserting it into the lock and swinging the door open.

"God help us all," the guard murmured, sweat rolling down from his hairline. Then, he dropped his rifle on the floor and turned out the door. "God knows I'm not gonna get caught with that thing. I don't wanna die!"

"I cannot believe it…" Monty said, coming over to stand by the open cell door, all the other hundred making their way over too.

"Yeah, well…" Murphy leaned down to pick up the rifle and slung it over his shoulder, "Sometimes, life is more precious than duty… I don't know about the rest of you," he addressed to everyone else, stopping before making his way to the main door, "Fight or run, but let's get out of here."

Lexa felt her horse gallop in slow motion. She knew every second in every battle was dangerous, but there was nothing like the first thirty seconds, when a charge was what seemed to set the morale. She heard the snapping and popping of bullets being fired, slicing into the cavalry all around her, men and women sighing or shouting their last breaths as they fell off their steeds, or tumbled forward as their beasts were taking down in the spray instead. She never understood how she survived every charge she ever led, what plan the universe had that made her more worth surviving over others, if worth was the deciding factor. The Ark guards knelt behind flimsy palisade barricades, and she could tell which one was a trained warrior over those conscripted at the last minute, simply by those who squeezed their trigger a bullet at a time and those who held their finger down in a frantic spray.

She pulled up her reigns at the same time all the riders up and down the line beside her did, and a wave of mares leapt over the wooden spikes, bringing time back to its normal speed. Some horses were shot under their bellies, which was a mistake for the Arker soldiers underneath the charge, who were crushed by the lifeless body of the animals as soon as they fired. Lexa reached up, winding up a strike and slicing and hacking away soldiers that were in her path. Her eyes moved from target to target, her system full of adrenaline as she tried to differentiate between threats and civilians. In this battle haze, Lexa's eyes landed on Jaha, who was being escorted frantically by some more guards. She tried to direct her horse in the direction of his escape, but now she had reached the heart of the camp, and there were frantic Arkers running about, trying to not be trampled or slashed.

"There he is!" She shouted in Trigedasleng, hoping that some of her warriors would hear. "Capture Jaha! Go!"

"Yes, Commander!" shouted a voice that was rapidly coming close from behind her. Trotting past her with skill was Manu, the Azgeda force surging behind him and spreading into the chaos.

Manu was mission-set, and pressed his heels into his horse's side sharply, urging it to gallop faster. Many civilian Arkers had to jump out of the way, with plenty of close calls. He didn't care if he hit anyone, to be honest. If the so-called innocent Arkers didn't want to get caught up in this, maybe they should have stayed indoors. Jaha and his bodyguards rushed into the dropship and were about to close the door when Manu pulled his horse to a sharp halt and lept off the animal, charging with a battle cry towards the door.

The guards froze wide eyed upon seeing him charge, and that delay was enough for Manu to change his turn sideways, baring and bracing his left shoulder to slam into the metal door, pushing the guards back across the open area inside the dropship.

"Jaha," Manu declared triumphantly, "surrender yourself to Heda Lexa!"

A guard raised his rifle, and with annoyance, Manu swung his blade down on the man's arm, cutting it clean off. He didn't even get to shriek in terror, his face simply went pale and his eyes grew in shock at the hot, dark crimson blood spurting out of his elbow. He fainted from shock, but would probably pass away during this sleep due to blood loss. The other guard, on the other hand, looked from Jaha, to his own arm, to Manu at least three times before Manu spoke once more.

"You don't have to waste time deciding what you should do," the Ice Nation ambassador said, "You will lose this battle without a doubt. So, why give your life for a man who won't be your ruler?" The guard dropped his rifle as if it all of a sudden turned into something rotten and disgusting. "That's right, just give up," he laughed.

"Listen, you're making a big mistake," Jaha tried, realizing that he couldn't rely on firepower anymore to save his life. Perhaps he could use words instead. "You are all doing this for just a hundred delinquents. They are criminals. You can't trust them! Your commander just wants to set them free! They're bad people!"

At this Manu lowered his sword arm. "What do you mean, they're criminals?"

"That's what they are… all of them."

"Even Clarke?"

"Especially Clarke, we were in the process of delivering justice when your commander raided us!"

"What did Clarke do?" Manu asked, intrigued.

Jaha licked his lips nervously, knowing he just might make it out of here now. "Treason," he said, "She committed treason."

"Get up," Manu commanded. Jaha hesitated, lifting his hands up in the air with tentative instinct.

"I can get you into positions of power," Jaha started.

"Shut up!" Manu grumbled, grabbing Jaha by his collar. "Outside, with me, now."

The Azgeda elite pulled the chancellor outside of the dropship with him, welcoming them both to a scene of Arkers surrendering to the Grounder army. "Azgeda!" he shouted. Those who fought under the Ice Nation banner stopped their assaults and paid attention to their ambassador. But Lexa also turned, and so did Clarke and Bellamy, lost in the crowd.

"Heda!" he shouted out, "Explain this man's testimony!" He shoved Jaha a head of him, urging him to speak. "He says you have made a deal with criminals! How dishonorable if true…"

Jaha knew he didn't have much time, so he spurted everything out: "The Arkers who landed here before us are criminals, and we came down to not only continue our life, but to continue our justice system! We appreciate all your assistance, but I cannot let you pardon criminals you do not have the right to judge, nor can I let you put these untrustworthy individuals in positions of power! That is why I have done what I have! You must understand!"

The grounder warriors murmured among each other, making side comments of debate.

"So the Commander has been working with killers and thieves and assaulters…" Manu paced. "Why would you want to put these people into power, Heda, did you know about their status?"

"Stand down, Manu!" Lexa warned, pointing at him with her sword as she walked forward.

"And if you didn't know, its still unbecoming of a leader, if you can't deduct bad people from quality allies. And if you did… you're not fit to lead our clans. Who knows what other deals you have made, and other groups you have dirtied your hands with…" Manu continued. "You can't lead twelve clans…."

"Don't speak such words! That is treason!" Indra shouted, following Lexa.

"How ironic, because the beloved Clarke Griffin has also been accused of treason…" Manu smirked. "But I don't think I have committed a crime at all, if all I have done is point out something wrong a leader has done."

"Well Clarke would probably say the same," boasted a voice in the crowd. Manu turned to find the voice, and coming forward was Bellamy Blake. "Because she was accused of treason just for telling the rest of us a truth. Other people here were charged of other small crimes, taking medicine for people who were sick, hiding people who weren't allowed to exist…"

"You're one to speak, Bellamy Blake, you're a murderer. You tried to kill me! These are the people Lexa wants in charge. They shouldn't be leading a community! Do you want them in charge? Is that the kind of person you want your community to engage with?"

"You're not fit to be Heda!" Manu preached!

"Oh please," Lexa seethed back, "You've always just been looking for a reason to act out of order."

"Heda, I have real grounds to call your leadership to be evaluated. Even more so about Clarke… step forward, Clarke," Manu waved towards the crowd of warriors. "I'm sure you stuck beside Bellamy the whole battle…"

Clarke didn't want to, but she did anyway. She knew her courage was going to be questioned if she didn't.

"Want to you want, Manu?" she asked, summoning bravery to her voice as she broke from the crowd. She took a quick second to look at Lexa, and the eye contact pained her. All she saw was hurt and disappointment. She knew Lexa didn't want her to be here, and she didn't listen.

"I thought it was a gamble at first," Manu began, "but my intuition was too energized…" he reached for Clarke's arm and ripped off a leather bracer, and then rolled her sleeve up, revealing the Ark infinity symbol.

Clarke blushed and felt as hot as a furnace as she realized where this was going. She tried to pull her arm away from him, but she knew it was too late.

"Heda?" Manu asked in a faux questioning tone. "Let's see yours…" There were gasps in the crowd from Arkers and Grounders as people began to put the situation together.

"Don't you dare touch the Commander," Indra hissed, giving Lexa an excuse for her delay in response. Lexa swallowed hard but slowly lifted her corresponding arm and began to unbuckle her own bracer. Every pair of eyes watched silently.

"But that won't be necessary!" shouted Bellamy. With confidence and annoyance, he looked at Manu, brows furrowed, and rolled up his own arm, revealing the Infinity symbol as well. "If you're implying what I think you are, you're wrong. Clarke's my soulmate."

"No!" Manu grimaced in a sour tone. "That trick won't work on me, nice try! I made you two mark your bodies because I wanted to figure out if Clarke really was Lexa's soulmate. We would never have visitors become one of us in battle." He sneered when he said this. "The night where we all met for the first time, your soulmate drew a trident on your arm. I wasn't on Clarke's." He then turned his attention back to Lexa, "So… Heda?"

Lexa took proud steps forward and continued to strip her arm, and revealed the infinity mark on her forearm. "I am not ashamed to admit the fates," she said, addressing everyone.

"Everything you've done, you've done because of her, admit it." Manu accused.

"It started out that way," Lexa admitted, feeling everyone judge her. "But soon, when I knew the rest of them were coming, it was different. I had to protect us, and protect the hundred."

"But you knew they were criminals!"

"I knew they were scapegoats!" Lexa shouted back. "I knew they were people that their government found easy to toss away to meet an ulterior motive! To satisfy a worrisome quota. Some of them are selfless individuals who risked their own life to save another person. They knew the risk for something so petty, yet they did it anyway. Some of them are people who stood up to tyrants. The Ark was, and is, a community on the brink of a revolution. I bet more than half of these criminals, are just victims of their government's iron grip."

"We have people who have fought your leadership… do you see them the same way?" Manu snarled.

"It's not the same…"

"Oh really?"

"Yes."

"I don't agree."

"Then you have committed treason!" shouted Indra again.

"Yes, I know," Manu rolled his eyes. "We already came to this point and Clarke."

"I've let you speak long enough!" Lexa growled. "And I won't have you question my leadership. I never abandoned my people in anything I did regarding the hundred. Everything was still made with our safety in mind. It didn't become violent until this man," she pointed at Jaha, "tried to seize control."

"But they're his people!" shouted Manu.

"No they're not… not anymore." Lexa said. "They're mine."

Manu raised his sword arm, and with a quick swipe, brought his sword down at the Commander. Lexa parried with perfect timing, their blades ringing at the contact. And then a second battle broke out quick, Azgeda verses the rest of the clans present.

"Secure Clarke and Bellamy!" Lexa grunted as she parried another heavy swing from Manu.

Bodies crashed everywhere, and Clarke and Bellamy felt Grounders press against them, forming a protective wall with their bodies. Clarke could see in the small gaps between the crowd some of the Hundred making their way to the scene, some had guns, some had improvised weapons.

Jaha had taken this opportunity to take off. Who knew where he was planning on going, because Octavia Blake stopped him in his tracks. She must have rejoined the group after the first charge, when no one was paying attention to bodies on the ground anymore. Clarke couldn't hear it, but she read her lips, and was pretty sure that Octavia said "For my mother," before pulling the trigger. The Chancellor dropped to his knees and planted onto his face, dead.

Lexa's battle was coming to a conclusion too, both warriors huffing, exhausted and running out of breath and energy, but with one slight misstep from Manu, Lexa swung her sword down and cleaved Manu on his neck, down his left collar bone. Her sword wedged in his body and it took a hard yank to rip it out of him. He had no cry of pain or of shock. He simply succumbed to the wound and shock, and fell to the ground, his blood seeping deep into the ground.

Upon seeing their ambassador die, many Azgeda warriors chose to drop their weapons in surrender, others chose a fight to the death. They knew what would come of this. They would all have to stand trial for their involvement in this failed coup against the commander.

When all finally stopped stirring, the camp was quiet, watching what Lexa was going to do next. Her chest heaving with great effort, she slowly walked to the mass of grounders protecting Clarke and Bellamy, and they moved apart, making room for her to approach.

Clarke looked at her, hesitant if she was allowed to hug her or speak to her… everyone was watching. But Lexa took the reigns on the situation and placed a hand on Clarke's shoulder, and then, a kiss on her forehead.

It took a while for the Grounders to feel comfortable with Lexa's agendas when it came to running the clans, but many had understood her actions about when the Skaikru first arrived. Many saw it as a romantic story as tragic as the stories of the first world. Some saw it as a sign that the two communities must become one, or allies at the very least. What greater argument to believe that peace should exist than the universe making two leaders of two different worlds come together in love?

Clarke was restored to her position as Skaikru leader, and Bellamy was reassigned from ambassador to general of the Ark's new formal military. Over time, the Skaikru was granted a second piece of land, yet on the border of their original landing.

Many grounders worked with the Skaikru military, and trade grew rapidly for the new community. They had to be ready, because Queen Nia swore to take down the Skaikru, to avenge her ambassador and fallen warriors, claiming, she had a way to dethrone Lexa. Clarke and Lexa tried not to worry about it, for their love was now allowed to be celebrated openly. Next to each other, in territory, in person, in spirit, they braced whatever the universe sent their way. Everything they felt they could overcome, because, why else would the universe bring them together if it couldn't' be done?

THE END