So, a few things I want to talk to you guys about before we get into review replies and such

First of all, I'm going to be taking down the current poll regarding the title of the sequel to this story, as one in particular has a clear margin. To give you some idea of the timeline, the sequel will begin with the Ark coming down. Not the 100, but the entire Ark, so the sequel is 1 ½ in-universe years away. I'm also thinking about adding Caris and Niylah to the harem, because why the hell not?

Second, I wanted to ask you guys what you want to see done after the sequel. You see, I have this plan to have our Creed-verse heroes (the characters in this story) crossover-ed with various other franchises, mostly for amusing kick-assery, sometimes for more serious stories. So, tell me what you would like to see them do, WHY you want them in that universe, who (if anyone) you think they should be reincarnated as in that universe (as opposed to simply being born there as themselves) and finally if you think anyone from that universe should join the harem (and why). The various suggestions will be put on a new poll which you can then vote on.

As a side note, I'm already working on a roflstompy Fear The Walking Dead/The Walking Dead crossover, just because it is basically a given and there are more than enough serious FTWD and the 100 stories! Also working on a ME one, because roflstomp.

Thirdly, you will notice influence of various other franchises growing in the story at this point. This is not for fan-boying, but is (as revealed somewhat at the end of this chapter) setting the foundation for future events.

Fourth, I hope none of you are disappointed with the Fall of The Mountain. I can only make sword charges against modern weapons so interesting without repeating paragraphs every page. Later battles, large scale army conflicts (like against the Ice Nation) will probably involve a bit more detail.

Finally, there is a bit of an info dump at the end of this chapter regarding some of the basic details of the incumbent Empire of Mankind. It is only partial at this time, but full details will be released soon enough. As a note, the naming conventions are based on the Garlean Empire in Final Fantasy XIV. These are not to make the story 'cooler' or anything like that, they will be a serious part of the new culture and society being created.

NOW FOR REVIEW REPLIES!

MobiusVariant: If I put that in past chapters, it was in error. It goes Daine, Daja, Samara, and Ailyn, the last two being within a month or two of each other.

LadyLozzy97: You flatter me, my dear lady. But yes, I did it purely because of messing with Finn…and I feel like I need to shake things up a bit, you know?

DarkPoetess: Most of my stories are like this now, at least the ones that still get updated. My older stories are, well, older. I have improved a fair bit since then XD

Betagamma: Lexa might get a little annoyed, but she is far more likely to demand a baby of her own than cause an actual rift in the harem. I'm sure a little internal power struggle would be more realistic, but I hate writing families arguing or abandoning one another. I hate reading 'em too, for that matter.

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Nothing Is True (Save For The Blood We've Shed)

Chapter 16

The Destroyer of Worlds

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Their preparations were complete, the army ready for battle. As predicted, the prisoner rescue force had been less than pleased to be relegated to what amounted to babysitting during the most important battle in (Post Final War) history. Fortunately, a few threats of being left behind entirely or even sent back to Polis in disgrace and shame had convinced them that their assigned mission was good enough. Maya Vie's faction were ready to do their parts, and the various generals and clan leaders had perfected their plans of attack. All that remained was to act, and so Clarke waited for the perfect weather to launcher her assault. True, much of the battle would be indoors, but the element of surprise, and that of dramatic tension, would be theirs if they went unseen until on the very doorstep of their enemies. Fortunately it took, it took a mere two days after the orgy for the perfect weather to arrive, in the form of a thick mist that filled the forest, dropping visibility down to a matter of feet, cold and wet enough to hamper heat detection devices employed by the Mountain Men.

So it was that Clarke Griffon, Princess of the Sky and Mentor of the Brotherhood of Assassins, led an army of three thousand tribal warriors to the very entrance of Mount Weather. More than enough to secure Mount Weather properly, as well as everyone inside it. More than enough to absorb the doubtlessly horrific casualties they would take storming corridors filled with modern weapons when armed only with sword and spear. Double-clicking the PTT on her radio, she waited for a moment and received the same in reply. The separatists were in position to destroy the Acid Fog and other defenses. Pleased, she turned to her army and raised Rhongomyniad high, its powers manifesting in a pure golden light that washed over them like a tidal wave.

"Brothers and Sisters of The Coalition, we stand upon the precipice of legend! Songs and Epics, Plays and Poems, all will be written of this day until the stars burn out and darkness consumes all of Creation! They shall laud our praises and all shall know of our glorious and noble actions here today! Some of you will perish in this battle, and I would spare you that if I could, but know that those of you who fall will never be forgotten! You are steel and you are doom, you are fire and you are death, you are more than merely mortal! You are the Champions of Mankind, and you shall know no fear!" she roared, pouring strength, courage, and subtle guidance into the gathered warriors, filling them with the virtues. "WE MARCH FOR MANKIND!"

"AND WE SHALL KNOW NO FEAR!" three thousand throats thundered together as three thousand arms raised three thousand weapons high, and she turned back towards the door, drawing Excalibur and unleashing its power in one smooth movement. The air screamed as a wave of white-blue energy leapt forth and smashed into the doors, obliterating them and the automated defenses lurking in the room beyond. Through the settling dust did she stride, cloak swirling around her and weapons shimmering with power, her harem at her heels as she led her people against their most ancient and hated foe.

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Cage Wallace, President of Mount Weather and Grandmaster of the Templar Order, clung to his desk as the Mountain shook around him. Turning to his monitors, he quickly brought up the camera feeds for the main gate, cursing vilely at what they revealed to him. Though most of them had been destroyed, enough survived to show quite clearly the image of Clarke Griffon, accompanied by four Master Assassins, lead an army of degenerates into his kingdom. Judging by the golden glow surrounding her weapons, she was wielding multiple Pieces of Eden, which meant his soldiers couldn't possibly stop her. That was fine with him, he though with dark savagery, moving over to a long, sturdy case and opening it to pull out his own Sword of Eden, one that the ancients had called The Sword of Mars. He would rather kill the bitch himself.

Buckling the sheath around his waist, he returned to his desk and put on a headset. Activating the PA system for the entire complex, he spoke, addressing ever living being within its confines.

"This is President Cage Wallace. The Mountain has been breached by a degenerate army. All civilians are to evacuate to level five and seal all entrances. All military personnel except for Team Omega are to deploy in defense of the civilian populace. Any and all measures are authorized to preserve our people." He said calmly, before switching to a direct line to the Command Center. "Activate all internal and external defenses immediately."

"Sorry Cage, but your men are just a little…tied up at the moment. They won't be able to commit mass slaughter on your behalf anymore. Clarke should be up to see you soon, though, so don't worry about getting lonely." Instead of his loyal soldiers acknowledging his command, the taunting tones of Maya Vie resounded, and her snarled with rage as she hung up on him. Casting the headset aside violently, he plucked a radio from his belt. "Omega Team, come in!"

"Go for Omega." A crisp male voice responded instantly, and he smiled cruelly as she contemplated the delicious agony that he was about to inflict upon his enemies.

"Commence Base Delta Zero." Her ordered, and there was a heartbeat of silence before his order was acknowledged by the crews of his missile trucks, who would even now be exiting the mountain via a secondary exit gate. Even if the savages won today, their precious 'city', and everyone within it, would be ashes when they dragged their battered and bloody bodies back home. Now all he had to do was wait for the mortal enemies of his Order to bring themselves into arm's reach.

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"How much further until we reach the Control Room, Raven?" Lexa asked her Sister as they stepped through yet another spread of bodies, this one containing more Maunon bodies then Coalition, thank the Maker. She shuddered to think of what their losses would be already. She had lost nearly one hundred warriors already to what Raven had called a 'heavy machinegun', which had shredded her leather and fur clad warriors as their charged it. Fortunately, Raven had been able to scavenge weapons and explosives from the defender's bodies, and their losses had dropped significantly once she started lobbing 'grenades' around corners into other defender squads. She was really quite glad to have her harem-sister along, despite her more or less civilian status, given how many ambushes or 'heavy machinegun teams' she had cleared out for them.

"Five minutes or less. The rebels already control it, but they have loyalists trying to break in." Raven responded, listening intently to her radio via an earpiece as she walked, brow furrowed in concentration. "Ten soldiers armed with assault rifles, but they're distracted by the attempts to get through the door. We should have the element of surprise, but I can't use a grenade without risking the people and tech inside the room."

"We'll take care of it, then. They don't have any surprises for us, do they?" Lexa asked calmly, really hoping that they didn't. She wanted to try and keep losses low for several reasons, not the least of which being a desire to bring her domina fame and glory for laying the Mountain low with the minimal losses. Something that would be of significant aid when it came to claiming the throne and forming her Empire.

"It's just around the next corner. I would advise rushing them them. With any luck, the shock of having a horde of howling warriors with sharp and pointy bits of metal descending upon them should make them panic and lower your casualties." Raven advised a handful of minutes later, and Lexa nodded tightly, shifting her grip on her sword and waving her warriors into readiness.

"Charge!" she snapped once she felt them ready, and once more she attacked their ancient enemy in the midst of a swarm of her people, all howling battle cries. The Mountain Men shrieked in shock and fear, and their wild gunfire scythed through the charging tribals. Over a dozen fell, their blood spraying across their kind, but the fire was wild, uncoordinated, much of it wasted on empty air or the metal of the corridor. Then they were upon the soldiers, and Lexa's heart sang with the thrill of battle as her blade bit into one of them, his hot blood spraying across her face as he fell with a choked scream. She pulled her blade free of his flesh and turned on another, driving the iron point through this throat. Around her, her people slaughtered the others until all lay dead, their blood painting floor and wall and flesh alike.

"Well done!" Raven commented briskly as she deftly navigated the carnage to arrive at Lexa's side, ignoring it as best she could and remaining focused on the main objective. She knocked briskly on the Control Center door, which hissed open a moment later. A gesture had Lexa following her sister inside to meet the spokesperson and, arguably, the leader of the rebel group.

"Maya Vie, I'm Raven Reyes. This is Heda Lexa kom Trikru, current leader of the Coalition of Tribes and defacto second in command to Clarke Griffon. Lexa, Maya Vie." Raven introduced them, rather unnecessarily. The two sides were well aware of just who the other was, but the niceties must be observed. Even if only for some semblance of calm and order in the midst of all of this blood and chaos. "I take it you were able to seal the entrance after we got in and pump the radiation out, given that your aren't dying terribly right now?"

"Yes, as Clarke forsaw. It is a pleasure to meet you both. Or, at least, as much of a pleasure as it can be under the circumstances, anyway." Maya responded, eyes flicking behind them for a moment before returning to the duo. "We've managed to seize control of all automated defenses and seal the civilians in on level five, as well as isolate most of the fireteams both from vital areas and one another. You people successfully control the prisoner area and are rapidly approaching Level Five as well."

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Indeed, Indra and Octavia were at that very moment leading their force over the corpses of friend and foe alike. Unsurprisingly, they were encountering the heaviest resistance both in terms of numbers and firepower. Not only heavy machineguns, but flamethrowers, grenade launchers, even shoulder launched rockets. Both were very firmly not thinking about what their overall losses were, fearing the answer, but they soldiered on grimly. They had duties to perform and orders to follow. They could not allow themselves to falter now.

Rounding another corner, Octavia paled as she saw the shining, lethal form of a minigun emplacement. Even as she opened her mouth to scream a futile warning, the barrels began to spin, clicking rapidly as they primed…and Clarke appeared from nowhere, golden spear gleaming as she smashed into the squad from the side with a howl of anger and challenge. The shining shaft spun and twirled as deftly as its wielder, shattering bone or slicing flesh in a deadly dance that left her allies gaping. Within a minute, all of their would-be killers were dead and the Sky Princess had vanished again.

"Well, we were about five seconds from being a smear on the walls, floor, and ceiling. Lucky for us, Clarke can now apparently turn invisible, teleport, or both. Shall we crack on then?" Octavia said brightly after a minute of stunned silence, moving forward again.

"You damn Sky Children will be the death of me, you know that? Life was simple and uncomplicated before you lot started dropping out of the sky. Maker help me when 100 more of you show up in five months." Indra grumbled as she followed, her warriors dutifully at her heels. It was only a half-hearted grumble, of course, and Octavia took no offense from it, but rather amusement.

"You'll get used to it, I can guarantee you that Clarke is just getting warmed up." She responded in a rather commiserating tone, resisting the urge to pat her mentor's shoulder reassuringly. Banter was one thing, but she doubted that Indra would tolerate more, especially in front of warriors.

"Joy unbounding." Indra responded, dry as a desert, as she readjusted her grips on her twin shortsword, eyes roving constantly for potential threats. "We should be moments from the objective now, yes?"

"Yes, that should have been our last serious obstructions. After we arrive, we might have to subdue guards inside the room itself, but if they're smart they will voluntarily stand down for the sake of the people." Octavia didn't sound too positive about their chances of avoiding any further bloodshed, and the general couldn't help but agree. Fear was immensely difficult to control, it made predicting someone's actions difficult and unreliable at best. They could hope everything would work out peacefully, but counting on it would be the very height of folly.

Fortunately, when they arrived at the entrance to the massive room holding the civilian population of The Mountain, the guards were already on the ground, bound hand and foot, with the four Slave Assassins standing guard over them.

"We're sorry to have stolen some of your thunder, sister, but our domina didn't wish to risk any further dangers to you after that close call a few minutes ago." Ailyn told her calmly, though Octavia could see her eyes scanning her for injury beneath the beak-like hood.

"I don't need or want to be coddled…" Octavia started to grumble, only to yelp and scowl at Indra as the ex-gladiator rapped the top of her head sharply with the knuckles of one hand.

"If Clarke wanted to coddle you, you would have been left behind in TonDC with Costia. Do not allow pride and a desire to prove yourself- whether to her, to strangers, or even to yourself- cloud your judgment and your good sense." Indra lectured her sternly, and Octavia nodded a little stiffly in acquiescence. She didn't want to be treated any different than anyone else, and she couldn't bear it if Clarke treated her like a weak link to be protected. She would prove her strength!

"Besides, you have already made many kills already, Octavia. Everyone will know and acknowledge your strength after today." Lincoln added as he and his three lovers (Tris having joined their family not long ago) approached, receiving greetings from the duo. "None who know you would ever dare to call you weak, but you are green, inexperienced, facing enemies that can kill with the push of a button."

"And she cares for you so much, Sister. Allow her to do what she can to giver her some sense of peace." Daine added, before moving off to God only knows where with her fellows, leaving a blushing but confused Octavia to wonder aloud why they called her 'Sister'. To her consternation, there was much muffled snickering and hidden smirks amongst her fellow warriors, and all refused to acquiesce to her demands of an explanation, only becoming more amused. Even sweet and helpful Tris would only say that 'it wasn't her place to say' and 'it would be made clear soon, she was sure'.

Biting down on the urge to bark and snap at the utterly unhelpful individuals all around her, Octavia squared her shoulders and entered the room, pushing the doors open and striding through. She knew she cut an impressive image, her hood hiding her face, her cloak swirling around her. As Indra and Lincoln's quartet followed her within and spread out, she lifted her voice to address the owners of the hundreds of terrified faces her sweeping eyes saw.

"I am Octavia Blade, former inhabitant of Project: Ark and an officer of advisor to Clarke Griffon. I have been authorized to inform you of the following facts: we control your command center, your lower levels, and this room. As we speak, she is on her way to confront and execute Cage Wallace. Once she has done so, we will decide who else will face an executioner for the crimes committed against the Coalition of Tribes." She announced evenly, proud that her voice never wavered once. "Those deemed innocent of deliberate and explicitly malicious crimes against humanity will be provided a cure for radiation exposure and will be integrated into the Coalition. When the guilty have been judged and the innocent relocated, the entire interior of The Mountain will be burned and all entry and exit pathways destroyed."

There was an immediate clamor as more than half of the room leapt to their feet and begin shouting at her, one another, or simply shouting for the sake of shouting. Octavia left them to it for several minutes, before letting out a piercing whistle drawing attention back to herself.

"Listen, I understand that this is an…upheaval to your lives and understanding of the world." She said, ignoring how absurdly insufficient her words were to properly encompass the situation. "I know that you will be, are, confused, angry, and scared. But no matter what horror stories you have heard about the tribes, you should know that they are an honorable people and will not harm you unless you attack them."

"What gives you or this Clarke the right to dictate terms to us, to tell us what to do and how to live our lives?" someone shouted, and Octavia snorted as many gave shouts of agreement and encouragement.

"Perhaps I wasn't clear: Mount Weather has fallen. Your soldiers are dead or captured. Your president will be a corpse soon enough. Resistance is futile and suicidal. Your only hope of survival is to yield to Clarke and serve her loyally." She responded bluntly, folding her arms over her chest sternly. "Take my advice and behave yourselves."

"A fine speech, hopefully wisdom will prevail. Maunon or not, slaughtering helpless civilians is not at act I would aspire to or find joy and honor in." Lincoln murmured as she turned back to the group, who nodded in agreement with his words, garnering a pleased smile from Octavia.

Any verbal reply she would have made was lost when a young female voice cried out in warning. Octavia twisted even as the sharp report of gunfire shattered the air. The bullets, intended for her heart, instead mostly missed. One did not, smashing into her left shoulder like an anvil, and she screamed at the pain of the wound. Her right hand drew the pistol she had been assigned to carry 'just in case', and her return fire had the guard who had shot her collapsing like a puppet with cut strings. She wavered for a moment, before dropping like a stone, even as her companions reached out to her.

"WARRIORS! Disarm the Maunon! Kill anyone who resists!" Indra roared angrily as she knelt beside her bloody and whimpering apprentice, pulling apart her armor and underclothes to get at the wound, even as her warriors flooded into the room, weapons drawn. Ignoring the alarmed cries of the Maunon, she began to press against the wound in an effort to staunch the bleeding.

"Let me through, I can help her!" she heard the same voice that had called the warning plead, and she looked up to see a young girl begging with Kira and Kara, who remained impassive, and Indra cursed as she realized her own medical efforts were failing. A barked order had the twins escorting the girl over.

"If she dies, the likelyhood of your people surviving Clarke's ensuing wrath is nonexistent." She informed her bluntly, who shuddered in fear before steeling herself and getting to work, mildly impressing the dark-skinned general with her courage and determination. "Who are you, Mountain girl?"

"Keenan Mykulak, the closest thing to a medic you'll find here that won't try to kill this girl on a matter of principle." She responded briskly, brow furrowed as she gently probed the wound. "The good news is that the bullet made a clean exit, it won't need to be dug out of her. The bad news is that it probably damaged bone or tendon, maybe both. She needs modern medicine, and soon, to avoid the arm being crippled or lost entirely."

"Just patch me up enough that I don't bleed out. Clarke can make it as good as new, her tech is literally outta this world. Ain't you noticed you ain't dead yet?" Octavia grumbled, pain butchering her verbal skills, and Keenan blinked as she realized that her patient was right. Despite direct, extended exposure to outsiders without decon procedures, she was still perfectly healthy. Could Octavia really have been telling the truth? Could they finally be cured and become free of Mount Weather?

Shaking herself free of her thoughts, she tore strips off of her shirt to make bandages and a binding to keep them in place. She was going to stand and return to her people, but Octavia's good hand caught her own in a grip of steel, holding her close. Surprised, she looked back at the girl and saw she was shaking her head.

"You're people aren't too happy about you helping me. You're staying with me for the time being." She was informed bluntly, and she became abruptly aware of how much angry muttering was going on behind her, mostly focused around her 'betrayal'. She nodded her acceptance and helped Octavia stand, though she remained in place holding the injured Second and supporting her weight. The Mountain suddenly quaked and shook, garnering screams of fear and confusion from its inhabitants, and Octavia chuckled darkly. "That would be the boss lady now. Seems like she is pissed as hell about something."

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In fact, Clarke Griffon was seething as she obliterated another squad of soldiers with a contemptuous swipe of her power-soaked blade, eyes blazing gold as she felt Octavia's pain through her more-than-human senses. She was going to butcher Cage and get O to Avalon for treatment, and then she was going to decide if she was particularly interested in sparring anyone in the Mountain, or just destroying them all and having done with it. The filth had dared to harm someone she cared for, again. Intellectually, of course, she knew that she would keep her word when she had calmed down. She was, after all, a fairly kind and merciful person by nature. At the moment, however, she was feeling not thinking, and she wasn't feeling particularly kind at the moment.

"CAGE!" she roared furiously, smashing open yet another door to find yet another empty room. Snarling in frustration, she kept moving, kept hunting. "Cage, stop hiding from me! I swear to God and the soul of my father that you are going straight to the Devil today! Come out and face me, Templar!"

An awareness blazed at her senses and she spun around, arms raising to protect herself, but she still caught the Templar's boot to her chest, sending her flying across the room with such force that she became embedded in the wall.

"You let your anger cloud your awareness. I should have gone for a beheading and finished this in a single move." Cage commented casually as he strolled towards her, a broad smirk on his face, The Sword of Mars humming in his grip. "I never would have thought that the Mentor of the Assassins would be so easily caught off guard, so easily laid low by emotional turmoil."

"Don't get arrogant, worm." Clarke growled back, the wall cracking and falling away as she freed herself from its stony embrace, Excalibur crackling with energy. "That Piece of Eden might give you inhuman strength, speed, and durability. It might even put you on par with the enhancements of my own Excalibur, but you are merely a human enhanced by a tool. I am half-Isu, and I could destroy you with nothing more than my fists if I so wished it. Fortunately for you, I have no desire to sully my garments with your filthy, pestilence –ridden blood, so I will destroy you with the greatest Sword of Eden ever forged. Make your peace while you can Templar, though I don't doubt you will find the Gates of Heaven barred against you."

"A battle for the ages then. The bloody and corrupted darkness of the Sword of Mars, against the Holy Light of Excalibur. It really is a pity that you are so contaminated by your Order's delusional beliefs, you would have made a powerful ally against the degenerates." He responded, apparently unmoved by her words as they began to circle one another slowly.

"Mankind deserves to possess free will, to forge their own path and create their own futures. It is not for one such as you to play God." She rebuked him, and he scoffed in amused contempt, shaking his head.

"Mankind is stupid, foolhardy, and self-destructive. Without perfect, absolute, and unyielding control, they will destroy themselves. It is inevitable, you know it as well as I." he retorted, charging to attack, and it was Clarke's turn to scoff as she easily blocked his strike with Excalibur.

"You want to make yourselves gods, and use this purported wish to protect in order to further your ambitions. It was your order which gave rise to the greatest butchers and amoral scum in human history, and it was yours that nearly destroyed the human race by taking the Final War to the nuclear level.' She was quick to point out, locking blades with the older man and exerting her strength to slowly force them towards his body.

"Typical Assassin arrogance, proclaiming evil in those to disagree with your weak-minded views! How much good came to the world from your anarchist beliefs compared to my own Order's imperialism? My Order created civilization, imposed order upon the chaos, while your own tried to lay all those works low!" he sneered in response, breaking the deadlock and attacking again in a flourish of steel. Conversation ceased as both combatants, having said all they wished to say, focused entirely on cutting down the other.

First blood soon went to Clarke as she opened a long, shallow wound along Cage's left thigh, an essentially superficial wound that nonetheless would spell his demise, for it slowed him down and weakened his stance. Despite that, he was rather impressive and opponent, weaving a tight defense that Clarke could not penetrate, blade nipping out to score several shallow wounds on her when the opportunity for a counterstrike presented itself. In the end, however, he was an average man wielding a powerful weapon with rudimentary blade-skill. Clarke was an expertly trained combatant, physically superior in every way conceivable, fighting with an arguably superior weapon. Her final blow pierced his stomach and pinned him to the wall like a butterfly on display, his sword clattering to the floor as he fruitlessly clutched and tugged at the holy blade, trying to free himself.

"Humanity is free now, Cage. Free of tyranny, free of your Order's cruelty and war-mongering. Have you any last words before I send you to Judgment?" Clarke asked almost kindly, seeing no sense in being cruel to the rapidly dying man, no matter how much she hated him and everything he stood for. Of course, he had to literally spit on her gesture, a glob of blood landing on her cheek. He spoke even as she wiped it free, wishing to see her pain to his words before he died.

"Go ahead and kill me, bitch! You might have won this battle, but I will win the war! By the time you return to your filthy, degenerate hovels you call a city in Annapolis, you'll find nothing but ashes!" he coughed and cackled, blood dripping from his mouth, death only seconds away. "You and your people might have thought we had no technology beyond guns and such because we didn't use it! No, we had an entire arsenal, but why bother using it until we could live free of the Mountain? Well, it doesn't matter now, so my most fanatical soldiers have just fired a dozen HITFAEs at your little city! All your women, your children, and what passes for your civilization! All of it is about to be consumed by the heart of the sun!"

Enraged, Clarke poured her power into Excalibur, and with a blinding flash and a howl the last true Templar Grandmaster perished, burned away at the atomic level to leave not even ashes behind, only a scorch mark on the wall and floor. Claiming the sword of Mars and sheathing Excalibur once more, she swept from the room with all the speed her inhuman body could muster. She arrived at the Control center just in time to hear Raven frantically declare that a dozen rockets were now enroute to Polis, as Cage had said.

"There is nothing that I can do to stop them from here! Only the launch trucks can do that, and the crews just blew the trucks and themselves straight to Hell!" Raven cried in despair, fingers flying across her keyboard as she desperately searched for something, anything that could be done.

"Probable damage?" Lexa asked grimly, fingernails biting into her forearms, utterly helpless to do anything to protect her people. Something she loathed, as well as something she hadn't felt since Clarke had arrived. It seemed that the Maunon had no limit to their cruelty either, because they were somehow showing an image of Polis as it was, a timer ticking down the minutes to its destruction. She was about to see her people and her city die, and all she could do was to watch and remember and mourn.

"Depending on how the warheads land, bad to total. What they are carrying was intended to destroy and burn the toughest targets of the Old World. Your buildings might as well not even be there for all the resistance and durability they will be able to display in the face of such devastating power." Clarke responded bleakly, sorrow and guilt filling her voice, and Lexa felt tears threaten to fall as she realized the very people and place she had sought to safeguard all her life would instead be destroyed through her actions. All she could do was pray to The Maker that their passing would be swift and painless.

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The citizens of Polis were going about their days more or less as normal. After all, imminent fall of The Mountain or not, the world kept on spinning and the tasks required to keep the Coalition alive and flourishing knew no rest or interruption. Besides, it certainly wouldn't do for the Heda and Sky Princess to return victorious and find everything in shambles! It would be nothing less than utterly shameful.

Despite the normalcy, though, there was a definitive sense of light and levity in the air, permeating the city and its people, and why shouldn't there be? The Mountain would finally fall, ending its reign of terror and blood whilst ushering in a new era of peace and prosperity for the Tribes. Something that hadn't existed in this world since long before The Fall. None of them were really sure just how they would go about living in such a fantastical world, given their overwhelming lack of any experience whatsoever, but the possibilities were quite literally endless.

It was fortunate, perhaps, that many of them died with those happy and optimistic thoughts filling their minds and their hearts, for so absorbed were they in their daily lives that they did not hear the rockets approaching, did not sense them strike their target, and they did not feel the single, searing instant as the air skyrocketed to over five thousand degrees and reduced them to less than ashes in a single moment.

Those that did see and hear the incoming projectiles reacted in two groups of thought: confusion and protection. The confused simply stood and stared, trying to discern what these strange flying objects could be, for they were not be any kind of bird that they were familiar with, nor did they move and act as the Sky Princess' method of arrival had, which meant it was not her people. The procetive ones, though they knew little more than the confused, knew all the same the face of danger when they saw it. They hurled themselves over those that they loved in a noble, desperate, but utterly futile attempt to shield them from the coming threat, but against such a weapon there is no defense that even the most desperate and loyal could offer that would succeed.

The rockets struck like the Wrath of God, immolating everything in their blast radious and setting aflame that which lay outside of it. In less than a minute, all of Polis would be in flames. Within five hours, it would be nothing more than a smoldering pile of rubble and ash populated by the dead and those dying swiftly in mind-shattering agony, their bodies literally falling apart from the heat. A mere five percent of the city's population would survive the cataclysm, mostly towards the very outskirts of the city. Much later, after the war with the Ice Nation and the consolidation of humanity under the banner of the Empire of Mankind, it became an Imperial Preserve. A monument, never to be built upon or lived within or entered once more for all time. A tomb and testament to what the First Empress saw as her greatest and most painful of failures. A reminder that confidence in excess leads to death in excess. A reminder that victory is achieved and a war ended only when one's enemy says that it is. That only when one's enemy decides it shall be so does the death and pain end, for until that moment they can resist and bite and destroy all that which is within reach.

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"ALIE, deploy medical drones to Polis. Stabilize anyone you can for rescue, transport those that won't survive long enough for the warriors to arrive to Avalon, I'll deal with the fallout of using the tech so blatantly later. Prepare Avalon for immediate relocation to the nearest suitable area here and do so when ready." Clarke said into her radio with a calm that she most certainly did not feel as she turned away from the feed showing the carnage, not waiting for the AI to respond before changing channels. "Galina, did The Vault survive the attack?"

"Yes, and the first batch of the cure, but externals are showing that not much else did. I'm so sorry, Clarke." The century-plus old Assassin said sadly, and Clarke closed her damp eyes and locked her emotions away carefully. She couldn't afford to fall apart, she still had a job to do.

"Nothing you could have done. Get that first batch ready for dispersal as soon as possible, I want to get the rebels out immediately. The rest can sit and stew while we do SAR as far as I am concerned." She responded with a parody of a comforting smile, even if the other woman couldn't see it. Placing her radio back on her belt, she addressed the room at large, allowing none of her internal agony to show. "Get me casualty figures for our troops, organize groups to clean-up the dead. We'll bury the soldiers in their Mountain and send our warriors along according to your traditions Lexa. A third of the army will remain here to maintain the status quo, and the rest will immediately make for Polis to perform search and rescue. Make sure it is warriors we trust who remain here, then return."

"By Your Command." The founder of The Coalition saluted and moved to carry out her commands by nature of habit, her own pain crushed, for the moment, below the iron heel of Discipline.

"Maya, I presume that this Keenan is a relatively decent and trustworthy individual person to have caring for Octavia's injury?" she addressed the girl, who nodded a little rapidly in response, a touch of fear in her eyes. "Good. Raven, take Ailyn and the others. Retrieve Octavia and Keenan and bring there here. I'm going to give enough doses of the cure for Maya and her most trusted allies, as well as Keenan, to be inoculated. Everyone will be transported directly to the Imperial Palace in Avalon and remain there. I'm not going to take the risk to their safety from either side once news of Polis' destruction spreads."

"Of course, Clarke." Raven nodded her acquiescence and quickly gave her lover and Mistress a reassuring hug and kiss on the cheek, before departing with four extremely protective and trigger happy Assassins. She knew that they would ensure the people she loved would be safe, even if they had to slaughter the rest of the Maunon to do it.

"Maya, make sure it is only the people you have no doubts or qualms about whatsoever, understand? Their presence in your faction doesn't necessarily ensure as such." Clarke's voice was too soft for anyone but Maya to hear, but nonetheless allowed no argument or misunderstanding, and Maya nodded again silently in acceptance of the command, for a command it was. Nodding curtly in response, the blonde spun and swept from the room in long, angry strides. Once she was gone, Maya let out a long, shaky breath that she hadn't realized she had been holding. That had been extremely intense, the radio conversations hadn't done either leader any sort of justice whatsoever, especially when it came to their sheer presence. Now, she would have to put a lot of thought into just whom from her faction fit Clarke's requirements.

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The Golden City, The City of Light, The Eternal City, The City of The Fae. The city-ship named Avalon had been given many titles and appellations assigned to it, each and every one of them deserved and well-earned. It was a physical representation of the absolute pinnacle of Isu technology, or at least that which survived the great cataclysm at the end of the brutal and devastating Isu-Human War. While it could not sail through sea or sky as a boat or a plane would, it could phase itself from place to place and remain anchored anywhere its masters desired, from the highest clouds to the deepest abyss of the sea.

Now, it moved to the ruins of central Washington D.C., nearly equidistant from Polis and TonDC. Everything in its landing zone was atomized instantly: trees, animals, water, ruins, even a few bandits, leaving the city sitting in a brand new clearing that extended two full miles past the outer walls. Almost immediately, small medical drones, little bigger than a pre-war ambulance, poured out in an effort to find and stabilize whomever they could. A much larger craft, a troopship of sorts, headed towards The Mountain after retrieving a solemn Galina and her first patch of the cure. It settled to the ground nearly a mile away from a small secondary exit shaft, and the Assassin moved to meet the group, consisting of Clarke, her Harem (the three Ice Nation girls included, but minus Costia, who was in TonDC and thus irretrievable without causing widespread panic), Keenan, Maya, and Vincent.

"You're sure that this cure will work, right? I'm not really too keen on dying in hellish agony, you know?" Maya asked nervously as she watched Galina fill a syringe with a pitch-black liquid. Keenan whimpered softly in agreement from behind her, while her father Vincent (the only one she could honestly say met Clarke's command, which was a sad statement about her faction's members) frowned silently, though he gave a small, slow nod to indicate he felt the same.

"Of course, of course, don't be so nervous about it. One simple shot in the arm and you can dance naked in the rain as much as you like with no ill effects. Well, you might get hypothermia and covered in dirt, but that's another matter entirely." Galina said reassuringly, trying to inject some levity into the situation as she gripped Maya's arm tightly and injected the cure into her veins. "This also acts as a powerful immune booster to protect you from other germs or diseases you might encounter out side. After living in such a sterile environment for so long, you people have bred your immune systems into a terrible state of irrelevancy and impotency."

The three Mountain Men reacted with shock and no small amount of fear at that, though it did make some sense. Everything was so heavily filtered and cleaned within their former home that most germs were eradicated. Those that weren't could put someone on bed rest for a week or more, sometimes even kill them, despite the fact that they would be considered minor issues at worst by the old world. Without exposure to anything it had to fight, their immune systems would be severely underprepared and underdeveloped. Once all three had taken their shots, Clarke stepped forward and addressed them.

"I have to warn you, as someone who went through it myself, that you might find yourselves starting to, well…freak out at all the sights and smells and sounds you will be encountering for the first time ever. We'll give you some time to adjust, but anything more than five minutes and you'll have to do it in Avalon. We can't afford for the Tribes to find us flying around before I can slowly introduce how their world is changing to them." She warned them with a small, genuine smile, and they hesitantly made their understanding know, even with the apprehension that was billowing out of them in waves. She gestured for them to follow Galina and get started outside, leaving her with her harem, Indra, and Lincoln's family. "Indra, you're in command here, with Lincoln as your number two. I'm leaving you mostly Wood and Boat Clan warriors to hold the area, they should cause the least problems for you. The rest of us are going to Avalon and will be staying there when I take command of SAR."

Though some very clearly wanted to protest, especially that last bit, all of them had heard the note of pleading and pain in her voice. The destruction of Polis and Octavia's near-death experience combined had obviously shaken her very deeply and very, very badly, to her very core. She obviously needed to get as many people as possible to safety and keep them there, lest she lose them. She needed to see and take solace in the fact that they, at least, were still alive and relatively unharmed.

The tribals, naturally, were understandably reluctant with climbing into a giant, flying metal box. Wildly alien technology aside, all their limited experience with such things told them that they tended to smash into the ground at great speed whilst on fire. The finer details, of course, on the differences between the two devices and circumstances were lost upon them. Fortunately, they loved Clarke enough to do it despite their extensive and intense misgivings. With a soft hum and a barely discernible sensation of movement, the transport streaking towards Avalon, a trip that would take a handful of minutes at the most. As per her instructions, ALIE guided the transport directly to the Imperial Palace, touching down just outside the main gate.

"Welcome to Avalon's Imperial Palace. Drones will guide you to the quarters that have been prepared for you. ALIE is omnipresent, so if you need or want anything else, just ask her and she'll get it done." Clarke told the trio of Mountain Men briskly, clearly wanting privacy with everyone else. "If you will excuse us, we need to get Octavia care and begin planning our next move."

With a respectful, if decidedly curt, nod, the blonde led her family away to the Imperial Suite, leaving her guests to be shown to their own plush quarters. Within moments of their arrival, Octavia's shoulder had been completely healed, leaving the Imperial Harem (or most of it, anyway) to comfort one another.

"I am sorry, beloveds, I have failed you deeply." Clarke sighed in a voice seeping pain, guilt, and self-loathing as she stared blankly at the ceiling. "I was arrogant in my power, my assets. I assumed that there was nothing that the Mountain Men could possibly do to disrupt my ever-so-clever plotting, and because of my hubris Polis was destroyed with nearly all of its people. I will not ask forgiveness from you, because I know that I do not deserve it."

"You're not God, Clarke. You can't control the future or force events to turn out the way you want them to. Yeah, you made a mistake and a lot of people died, but being a leader means losing people you care about and are responsible for. Sometimes because you make a mistake, and sometimes for the greater good." Octavia told her bluntly, remembering the history lessons her brother had given her, in particular one from The Battle of Britain.

Churchill had to choose between sacrificing a town to the Luftwaffe,or defending it. The latter would have told the Axis Powers that the Allies had broken their codes, and therefore would have changed them. The inability to listen in on enemy communications would have been devastating to the war effort, rendering the advantages it gave the Allies obsolete and making future attempts to regain it all the more difficult. As a result, he hadn't warned the town, which had been heavily damaged in the unopposed attack.

"Besides, none of us imagined that they could have had that kind of firepower tucked away in reserve. After all, they would have used it by now if they had it, right?" Raven added supportively, and the others voiced their own agreement and assurances. In the end, however, all Clarke did was smile faintly and change the subject to their immediate future.

"The loss of Polios will be a major blow to our desires for a relatively smooth integration of the Maunon, and consolidation of your power. Nia will milk it for all that it is worth in an effort to discredit you and I after we destroyed the Mountain. She will have to watch herself, though, blatantly attacking us would be suicidal at the moment." Lexa mused thoughtfully, eyes distant as she plotted. "The people will likely be extremely divided, those who condemn us and those who praise us. Already the warriors have called you Wanheda, the Commander of Death. A holy warrior sent by the Maker to guide Mankind to glorious paradise."

"No pressure then." Clarke scoffed lightly in mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion. She was tempted to drown her sorrows in sex and the domination of her lovers, but Costia was still in TonDC, and they had rescue operations to plan. She would personally lead the warriors into the ruins of Polis to extract the survivors located and stabilized by ALIE. She wouldn't feel right enjoying herself in such a way while people suffered. The downside of that internal veto was that she had nothing to do but stew in her regrets and self-flagellation until the army arrived. "Get cleaned up, there are showers, baths, and hot tubs aplenty in the suite. Then get some sleep, because I doubt we will have the chance for quite a while once the warriors arrive for Search and Rescue."

"And what will you be doing?" Lexa asked, eyeing her suspiciously, wondering why she was so eager to be alone when she obviously needed comforting companionship instead. When she did not reply, Lexa sighed gustily and padded over to her Mistress, tugging her onto her feet. "Come on, let's go."

"Lexa, what are you doing?!" Clarke protested rather feebly, giving a few token tugs of attempted escape as Lexa gestured for the others to follow her, eyes determined and set stern.

"ALIE, direct us to the nearest hot tub large enough to hold all of us." Raven instructed the omnipresent AI, guessing correctly what Lexa's intentions were. "Follow this corridor for 100 feet, then take a left into the Imperial Harem, Consort Reyes. The largest hot tub in Avalon is located there." The AI responded promptly, and Raven blinked at the mode of address.

"Consort?" she asked curiously.

"As a member of the Imperial Harem and Imperial Family, you are afforded various honors and titles beyond any you might earn for yourself. Alternate modes of address are Your Grace, Dame, Hetaira, Lady, Honored One…" the AI explained, and Raven cut her off as the list continued to grow.

"I get the picture ALIE. Jesus, just how many of these things did getting together with Clarke slap on us?"

"Depending largely upon profession and rank, a multitude. Depending upon internal rank within the Imperial Harem and the Imperial family, several more become applicable." It responded, and Raven snorted in amusement, but Octavia frowned in thought.

"Hetaira? Doesn't that mean prostitute?" she asked, not entirely pleased with the possibility, even if she hadn't given herself to Clarke yet. Mostly out of pride…and fear. Fear that Clarke would reject her until she proved herself a worthy addition, an asset.

"Although it came to mean that, especially under the Roman Empire, the word itself actually means 'Companion'. The most famous example being The Companions of Alexander the Great." The AI explained, and Octavia smiled a little at that.

"The Companions of Clarke." She mused aloud, sounding quite pleased with it despite her own unofficial status, and the others hummed in agreement, before her eyes widened suddenly. Spinning to point at the four slaves, she cried out. "That's why you called me Sister in The Mountain! You're all Clarke's lovers!"

"Of course we are, Sister, just as you will be someday soon. As soon as your faith grows strong enough to inspire you into action." Ailyn responded easily with a passive smile that had Octavia fighting the urge to scowl and snap at her.

"Don't worry, Sister. Mistress wouldn't want you to go to her until you are totally ready. She can wait for you, as long as you need." Daine chirped in agreement, before her eyes darkened dangerously. "Unless you plan on toying with her and then abandoning her for another. That would hurt her terribly, which would make me very angry."

Octavia got the distinct impression that she was being threatened. Despite the offense she felt that the girl had dared presume she would ever treat Clarke in such a way, she was actually rather reassured. Such an action indicated that Daine, if not her fellows as well, was honestly fond of Clarke, genuinely cared about her and was loyal to her. Which meant that when shit inevitably hit the fan with the Ice Nation, they wouldn't betray Clarke. That knowledge tempered her reaction to the accusation rather nicely.

"I could never do that to Clarke, nor anyone else. I will give myself to her when I feel worthy of her and not a moment sooner. She has always been the one to save me. When I am strong enough to protect her, then I will be ready." She said firmly and evenly, tone making it clear that this was not a matter of discussion. She also ignored the concerned look Clarke was sending her.

"So, ALIE, was it? What else can you tell us about this Empire of yours?" Lexa, the only Grounder even close to comfortable with the idea of the invisible program's existence, asked in a deliberate change of topic.

"On the orders of Her Imperial Majesty, I began compiling Human and Isu laws and organizational structures to create the most ideal and least flawed system of government possible. Predominant influences are the Roman Empire and various fictional renditions of the Empire of Mankind."

"As such, the Empire will be fairly unique, a constitutional, meritocratic monarchy ruled by an Imperial Family. However, in an effort to prevent the internal treachery and kin-slaying rife in such examples, as well as to prevent unsuitable rulers, the Imperial Family following your own generation will be drawn from the High Houses, each named and founded by one of you, the first Imperial Harem. When a member of one of these Houses acts in a suitably heroic, honorable, or otherwise exceptional way, they can be brought into the Imperial Family as a part of the Line of Succession."

"The Imperial Senate will be formed by the hereditary titles of the aristocracy, veteran warriors named by the current ruler, and elected civilian officials. While the Empress technically has absolute control, in practice the Senate is of significant import as well.

"Various basic titles will be included as a part of every individuals name based on rank, proffesion, or both. Clarke, as Empress, would be introduced as Clarke zos Griffin. Raven would be introduced as Raven eir Reyes, while Lexa would be Lexa fae Trikru."

"The following are the relevant modes of address for everyday life:

Zos: Emperor/Empress

Fae: Heir Primus

Yae: Member of the Imperial Family

Wir: Member of the Great Houses

Eir: Member of the Imperial Harem

Ban: a regular civilian

Aan: a slave."

"Members of the military or civilian leadership would bear additional titles before their rank and house, to enforce loyalty to their duties by quite literally placing it before their families. Anya, for example, would be Anya van Trikru yae Trikru. Legatus (general) Anya of the Trikru (military force), of House Trikru. Of course, each of you will need to devise a proper House Name in order to prevent such confusion as Anya's name might currently produce."

"Alright, we get the picture ALIE. Just, uh, print us out packets or something, this is way to much info for right now." Raven took it upon herself to end the lecture on the intricacies of an entire new system of government and society that ALIE was obviously just beginning. Lexa gave everyone an apologetic look for what she had inadvertently started, though they were more amused than annoyed.

"By The Maker…" Ontari, who along with Echo and Sylvanas had thus far been utterly silent, as they fretted over Clarke's decision to bring them along and risk exposing their true allegiances. Not for any danger they would be in, but that their people's suffering might be greatly enhanced by their absence and inability to influence events from within as planned.

The others saw what had drawn the soft exclamation, for they had arrived at the Harem's hot tub. Except that this hot tub was roughly the size of an Olympic swimming pool, though shallow at both ends, with small sections of water only a foot deep set apart, which according to ALIE were for pregnant lovers and those with toddlers too young to properly swim.

The group stripped and quickly showered, scrubbing the filth of battle from their bodies before gleefully scampering into the steaming water. A chorus of moans filled the air as the heat sank into their bodies, soothing aches and soreness and nerves alike. Somehow Octavia managed to miss Clarke's cock, thus ensuring her continued ignorance to its existence, with doubtlessly hilarious results when she finally did discover it.

ALIE, monitoring them remotely of her own initiative, couldn't help but frown as Raven's readings showed several inconclusive anomalies. Even Isu technology, however, could not detect a baby less than a week old, and so she put it from her mind, steadfastly ignoring (as she had for centuries) the dark, cruel voice in the back of her mind whispering treachery and evil to her. She would not fall prey so easily.

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"If you have cleansed yourselves and eaten, I have been authorized to direct you to the Imperial Gardens so you can be amidst nature without being in danger as you would be outside Avalon." The voice of the AI named ALIE spilled from the ceiling of the Mountain Men's suite, and both girls shot to their feet and turned twin doe-eyed expressions on Vincent, who chuckled and rose as well, if in a slower and more controlled fashion than his charges.

"That would be greatly appreciated, ALIE, thank you. We'll try to keep from passing out from excitement, though I can't guarantee it. There was not exactly a great deal, of, well, anything in the Mountain besides steel and stone." He agreed, allowing the girls to pull him out of the door after the bobbing drone that would doubtless serve as their guide.

"You could be in worse company if you did. Clarke told me that she had a great deal of trouble maintaining mental, emotional, and physical equilibrium when she first arrived planetside." The AI commented in response through the drone. "The Ark was probably not too different from your own lives, maybe even worse. You, at least, could go out and see life."

"Perhaps, but one could argue that being so close to such wonders yet never able to touch or smell or hear it is worse than not having it at all." The older man observed mildly, and ALIE hummed softly in thought and consideration. The walk was silent for several minutes before they reached a large door.

"You have given me much to consider, but for now let me show you the wonders of the palace gardens." She said as the door hissed open, the drone leading them out into the sunlight. The trio would spend the next several hours wondering about the expanse of the grounds, learning about the many plants and animals that called it home.

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Boom, there you go. Leave reviews, etc.