Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Groggy. She was groggier than usual. Her neck hurt like she had slept wrong on it, or maybe tweaked it the day before.

Lexa sat up, stretched, and felt along the usual muscles attempting to massage the ache out of them.

She froze. There was a small patch of dried blood at the base of her cervical spine, right where the flame resided. Her mind flashed back to the weird dream, or message from the commanders she had received during the night.

People from the sky? The fall of the Maunon. Praimfaya? Niron?

And that woman. Clad in unrecognizable garb, speaking gonasleng, then trigedasleng. Beautiful, shaken then composed, and so very sad. She didn't remind Lexa of anyone she had seen before, nor of any of the past commanders. The woman had known exactly who Lexa was.

She shook her head. The message had obviously been of great importance. Speaking with the commanders would clear things up.

She assumed the position, legs crossed, arms relaxed and hands on knees. A few deep breaths and she was in.

"Hello Lexa" the first commander, Becca Praimheda spoke from the head of her mentally conjured wartable. The other commanders sat around it, still and silent.

"Praimheda" Lexa responded reverently. Having the first commander so clearly accessible was not a gift Lexa would overlook. Her presence alluded to the importance of her weird dream, and she must have insight into it.

"We have much to discuss. I'm sure you have questions as well. To start, I do not know the woman who visited you, but I know how she did. Explaining it thoroughly enough to be believed would take entirely too long, so I will sum it up. She has already lived this life, and used technology from the future to come back in time. You are a key part of her plan to change what happened, hence why she saw fit to speak with you." Becca paused to let Lexa take in that information.

"Just her coming back in time caused enough change for that version of her to no longer exist. I might be getting too far into the weeds with this, but her message was artful. Just enough information about fixed events to save the most amount of lives possible." Becca almost sounded impressed at this. "Regardless, people will return from the sky, the Mountain will fall, and a wave of radiation will come. All within a year, or less than." Becca continued thoughtfully.

She looked up and tilted her head, as if thinking about the people up there. People she had forsaken in order to come to earth with the flame. They had survived against all odds for nearly 100 years.

"Pramheda, this death wave. The visitor said the people from the sky would be able to save my people. How?" Lexa asked.

"Bunkers most likely" was Becca's only answer, still obviously lost in thought. She turned her attention back to Lexa. "Hiding underground until the wave passed. Like our ancestors did all those years ago" Becca wondered what happened on the joint spacestation to cause them to abandon it, especially if they knew about the radiation wave. 100 years of any conditions would render most technology ineffective.

"The power plants."

"Plants?" Lexa was confused.

"Sorry, I was thinking about what could cause the wave." Becca apologized.

Lexa nodded, she didn't know what the first commander was talking about but that seemed like a conversation for later.

Her first priority was meeting these people from the sky.

As if reading her mind, one of the other past commanders simply said "send riders to the clans". A good point, people falling from the sky was sure to spark panic, and potentially cause backlash.

"Just a warning, necessary information only. There is too much we don't know" another added and the rest nodded in agreement.

"I shall tell them to watch the skies. That you all foretold of the sky people, and to not attack them. We will need them." Lexa postulates. This would be better received as a message from the past commanders, rather than a woman from the future.

There was only so much the people, let alone the flamekeepers, would take with suspended disbelief.

"Someone comes" Becca states. Their time was up.

Lexa opens her eyes and her chamber doors open, four armed guards entering. They move to search the room before Lexa asks "what is the meaning of this?"

"Heda, both of your night door guards were found asleep this morning. Both remember nothing. We are searching the tower for intruders" one of them answers as they search her chambers.

Lexa remained where she was. Giving them peace of mind, knowing they will not find anything. There had been an intruder, a beautiful blonde one from the future. They didn't need to know that.

Titus entered the room in a flurry of robes and scowls, and Lexa stood to meet him.

"Heda, you are well" he sounded relieved.

"The commanders spoke to me" she decided to break the news, diverting his worry.

He stopped, evidently shocked at her abrupt admission.

"They herald people from the sky, and the fall of the mountain" she continues. Titus would be pivotal in her endeavor, but too much knowledge of the future would cause him to question her. "Bring me messenger representatives from each clan. I must send a message to their chiefs immediately."

He bows, and practically scurries out to do as she bid. Finding the guards asleep must have frazzled him, typically he would question her and the commanders were not known to share warnings, only advice.

"Nothing found Heda, apologies for the interruption" spoke the same guard that had explained themselves upon entry. The four of them filed out and Lexa was left alone to begin her day.

Lexa dresses quickly and militantly, careful to clean off the blood spot from her neck. She makes her way to the throne room, where she meets with the messengers from the twelve clans. Her message is short and to the point.

"The commanders of the past spoke to me about people from the sky who will help us finally fell the mountain. Watch the skies and report back any strange occurrences immediately" She dictates. The messengers take this and hastily retreat to their clans to convey the message. Lexa knows the meat of her message will be conveyed, but the people may still see a group powerful enough to kill the mountain as a threat. She knows she would if the message had come through any other source.

She thinks about the beautiful sky girl and the message or warning or prophecy off and on all day.

Chapter Text

Clarke's neck hurts, like she slept on it wrong. She feels around and makes contact with three clumsily done sutures along a cut at the base of her skull. She freezes. It wasn't a dream.

There had been another person in her cell last night. There was a flash of light, then this woman had walked in, said something about saving the world, and promptly began having what looked like a panic attack. Then she had stabbed and choked Clarke out.

Clarke jerked upright, head spinning at the abrupt motion, and looked around. No sign of the strange woman, except a bag that was left on her bed and the wound on the back of her neck. Where had she gone? The cell wouldn't open from the inside? Maybe she was from the future. All Clarke knew was her head hurt and Hope was gone.

Hope? That was the woman's name. She was Dioza's daughter. Dioza who was still six years out from landing on EARTH.

The memories come rushing through the longer Clarke thinks about the future, which hasn't happened yet and has also happened before that she can remember because... Because of the mind drives! That's what Hope had done last night, implanted the mind drive from other timeline Clarke who she was now going through the memories of. Bardo and Sanctum and Elegius IV and Priamfaya and the bunker and the Mountain and Lexa and so much more.

Clarke took a steadying breath. No wonder her head hurt, this was a lot of memories to get abruptly airdropped into anyone's head. She hoped the others' mind drive assimilation had gone well and their plan was still on track. Even if it wasn't, they would figure it out. She also hoped Operation Lexa Livestream had been a success. There would be no way of knowing that until they met up in this timeline.

Clarke stood up, a little unsteadily at first, and stretched. Her body was unmarred but also unmuscled and slow compared to the Clarke who's mind drive was in her head. She would have to start the routine Beachkru had come up with back on Sanctum. It was specifically designed with the Ark's lack of resources in mind, as well as the fact that she was locked in a box for the next six weeks. They had combed through fitness books and websites and all sorts of other things to create the most advantageous routine for low calories small space exercise. It wasn't just raw strength she would need more of either, it was flexibility and reflexes and general fighting skills and practice she wouldn't be able to have until they were sent to the ground. She had thought of that already, and had her own routine on top of the general one Beachkru came up with.

For the next six weeks Clarke would train and get her body as ground-ready as possible.

---

Murphy, Miller, and Octavia all awoke with similar neck pain and return of memories not quite their own. Octavia's seemed to snap back all at once, and Murphy's were more gradual but steady. Miller, who had the least amount of time with one of the three kids in the skybox, was getting his memories unlocked in what seemed like batches.

The three all met up at breakfast, but kept a reasonable amount of space between each of them. They had not been interacting before and them all coming together at once would spark unneeded questions.

"Do you at least remember the routine? Or the plan?" Octavia questioned Miller. She was sitting at the far corner of one of the edge tables, mostly secluded from the rest of the delinquents. Miller had sat at the opposite corner of the same table, along the walkway in the middle of the communal space. Murphy had taken up residence along the opposite wall as Octavia.

"I remember the routine, and most of the plan, but it's all the stuff in the middle that's taking a while" Miller explains, head in his hands. He had a mild headache that wouldn't go away no matter what he tried, and they were unlikely to waste medicine on a kid destined to die anyway (for now).

"Mine started coming back from end on backwards. I remember everything after we landed on Sanctum, and being on the ring, or most of it. It's all coming back slowly." Murphy chimes in, fiddling with his hair. It was so much shorter not too long ago. Maybe he would cut it short again. Emori seemed to like it short on him.

Octavia nods in acknowledgement. She wondered how everyone else had taken to the drives. All three of them had different levels of adherence to it despite having the same method of implantation. The brain is a fickle thing indeed. She had already finished her meager breakfast of grey slop, and dearly missed fresh cooked meat and vegetables. She wouldn't be getting any of that for the next six weeks unfortunately. What they would be getting, is more exercise and trying to train up their bodies for the ground. There would be an effort to get some of the other delinquents to join in, but the idea of working out on meager rations waiting for their execution day seemed like an opportunity few would jump on.

"How were we going to do the hand to hand train up again? Just fighting each other will only get us thrown in solitary for a couple days" Miller questions, head still in his hands.

"Organized fight night" Murphy supplies, a grin on his face. He didn't get as much grounder training as the other two had, and was eager to get caught up. There's only so much good sucker punching his enemies would do for him. Weapons training was out of the question until the ground, not that they could even make weapons from the stuff lying around in the Skybox.

"Right, right" Miller replies, raising his head and looking up at the guard circling on the catwalk above.

"I'm going to start working out this morning, best to use the calories as they go in I think" Octavia says, getting up. She makes her way back to her cell leaving the boys to their own devices.

Pushups, situps, inverted row holds off her cot, squats, and high knees until she's sweating is all she's really able to accomplish this morning, but the slightly sore feeling in previously disused muscles leaves her feeling satisfied. She risks a glance over toward where she knows the boys' cells are and see them doing most of the same things. Murphy's cellmate is getting in his way and asking lots of questions according to his posture and the throwing up of hands at regular intervals. Octavia doesn't remember that kid, maybe he didn't make it to the ground last time? Oh well.

She begins stretching and thinks about the ground. Soon she would see Lincoln again.

Chapter Text

Raven woke up on the floor of some damn hallway, work unfinished, back and neck sore, and with a mind drive in her head courtesy of her asshole future self. She hadn't even let her ask any questions! Just knocked her out knowing it would all make sense once the drive took hold! Some real shoot first ask questions later behavior.

Luckily the drive had taken hold and Raven had access to all of her future/alternate timeline self's memories, including the long ass list of things she had to accomplish in the next six weeks. Integrate a lasercom system into the Ark mainframe? Easy. Get the drop pod ready for re-entry? Easy. Work out? Uuuuugh. Deal with Bellamy? UUUUUUUUUUUGH. A few other things she would deal with later, but those were the big ticket items.

At least alternate Raven had left her with some cool new tools to play with. Everything for the lasercom was pretty much ready, the main relay already built and in her bag. All she really had to do was install and test it. There was a system diagnostic tool dubbed 'the scanner' that worked on people and machines, a full set of sockets (!!!), one of the same communicators the others had, a set of HUD glasses courtesy of Bardo, and the mega-multitool courtesy of Sanctum. One of the nerdier members of the group had called it a 'sonic screwdriver' and the name had stuck. All in, a pretty good haul her alternate self had left her. At the bottom of the bag was one of those stun gloves, altered so it worked through touch alone. She didn't bother with it yet.

First things first. Check on Jackson. He had one of the fabricated mind drives and she really wanted to see how it held up in comparison to her original one.

---

Jackson woke up slumped over in his office chair at about the same time as Raven woke on the hallway floor.

It had been a while since he had fallen asleep on duty, having worked night shift for almost a year now. His neck hurt from how he had passed out, and from the events of the evening prior. As he began rolling out his neck, he felt the bandage pull, and the soreness of fresh stitches. He felt around and re-secured the bandage, not wanting any of his fellow medical professionals to think anything else of it besides his usual clumsy antics.

Jackson remembered working on somebody's chart, then seeing a much more aged version of himself enter the room. They hadn't talked much, and his alternate self had taken a, what did he call it, memory retention drive?, from their neck and placed it into his own, then he passed out. That's all he knew for certain. The more he thought about his alternate self, the more it felt like there were forgotten memories just under the surface he was so close to reaching. He sighed and leaned back in the chair, legs kicking out and making contact with a strange bag under his desk.

He reached down and retrieved the bag. It had probably been left there by his counterpart after he had passed out. In the bag was a couple of weird contraptions, and a letter. He opened the letter first and read the whole thing. It was from Nathan Miller, who was currently in lockup. The more he read the more he remembered about what had transpired between the two of them. Select memories came flashing to the forefront of his mind. The bunker, the end of the human race, Bardo, Sanctum, preparing for their return. He could remember most of the time he and Nate had spent together, and some of the time they had been apart, but everything in between seemed foggy.

He looked back into the bag, now recognizing the communicator, scanner, and HUD glasses. He had two sets of each, one for Clarke for later, and one of the stun shooting gloves. He decided, or rather realized, that the bag would be given to Clarke on her way to the dropship, packed with the stuff she would need in addition to the equipment already in there. His set of tech was set aside and the bag was shoved further under his desk where no one was likely to see it.

She would need some first aid and survival stuff, and had made a verbal wish list for him to acquire that he could not remember. Luckily they had also conveyed this to Raven in the case of something wrong with his drive. They had six weeks to prepare for drop day.

---

At a much more reasonable time of the morning, Jackson and Raven met up in the dining hall. They sat at different tables facing each other, and signed under the table at each other.

Jackson said he remembered some, not all. Raven remembered everything, and they could iron out specifics later. Jackson had his and Clarkes equipment hidden away. Raven had hers hidden as well. Jackson suggested Raven come in for a check up in the evening when he was on shift again so they could talk more, and Raven agreed. 8pm was the hit time.

Both of them had worked night shift the night prior and were rightfully still tired despite the impromptu nap they had both taken post drive insertion. They finished their meals and departed to their respective stations.

---

Raven waltzed into medical like she owned it, chatting up one of the nurses while looking around for Jackson. Once he heard her voice, he made himself available and called her over.

"Hey Doc, here for a quick check up" Raven quiped, sitting down on the bed furthest from other patients so they would have some semblance of privacy as they talked.

"Ok so, I remember everything when I was with Nate, his letter helped with that a lot, but everything else feels just out of reach" Jackson cut to the chase, knowing they didn't have a lot of uninterrupted time to chat.

"I wrote down Clarke's wish list for you, and also a brief outline of the plan and main issues we will come across on the ground. The rest of us up here are on a workout plan. Barf. But for you, I think a toned down version would be fine. The two of us and Clarke can't really do the fighting part of the plan but that's fine" she jumped right in, handing him a couple pieces of paper, repurposed book pages. He didn't want to know where she got them. They were quickly tucked in the back of his clipboard for later examining.

"Any issues in your normal day to day life?" he asked, partially as her doctor, partially making sure the weird partially surgical procedure they had done not 24 hours prior didn't have any weird lasting effects on her. He hadn't noticed anything besides weird dreams and feeling more tired than usual, which he signed to Raven.

"Not really, some mild fatigue, but I'm new to this whole night shift routine" She answered, then signed that she shared the weird dream sentiment. All clear here.

"Good, yeah a complete change in schedule can be hard on anyone. My first few days were rough, then about three weeks in I had some extra tiring days, but everything else has been smooth sailing." Jackson kept up their conversation. The more they seemed like friends the more they could interact without arousing suspicion outside of either of their workspaces. Before now the two had rarely crossed paths, but they would need more than that to make the plan before drop day and Raven's drop day run smoothly.

"Thanks Doc" Raven responded. Then more quietly said "Six weeks. Be ready." Jackson nodded in understanding.

"Well, yet again, a clean bill of health for our youngest zero-G mechanic in 52 years" He finished with a smile. Raven hopped up, shook his hand, and departed medical. She had lots of work to do.

Jackson returned to his desk to input the visit notes and look at the papers Raven had left him.

---

Raven had most of the Ark to herself in the wee hours of the morning, despite the occasional guard patrol. She had ample time to find a good location on the ring to jack into the mainframe with her lasercom basestation. Luckily there was a maintenance hatch just off from the room she had ended up sharing with Emori during their time trapped up here last time. She made quick work of connecting the appropriate power source and communication tap, and hiding them in a way they looked like they belonged there. She closed the maintenance hatch and congratulated herself on a job well done.

Step one complete, coms were installed.

"Little Bird to Earth, come in Earth" she spoke through her communicator.

Silence.

"Little bird to Earth, anyone there?" she tried again.

A brief pause then the earpiece crackled.

"...ven? It's Niylah... read you.." came garbled through her radio.

Raven pumped her fist into the air. She had positive contact, circumventing Mount Weather's jamming, and while it wasn't crystal clear, it was a good start. She ripped open the hatch again and began fiddling with the base station controls. Lower squelch, slight frequency alteration, update the date and time to the watch she now carried.

"Lynchpin this is Little Bird, I have you broken but readable, how me?" she sends back. Her fingers are crossed as she holds her breath in anticipation. She deliberately uses call signs even though the Ark doesn't have lasercom capabilities yet, just in case someone is able to listen in. Even if the mountain cant jam them, they still might be able to hear them.

"Little Bird, Lynchpin, loud and clear" Niylah responds, way more readable than the first response. Raven allows herself a small celebration at this breakthrough.

"Copy, any word from the rest of our forces down there?" Raven asks. She makes a mental checklist of those who would have coms with Niylah before she had set up the base station. Indra for sure, the others less likely unless they had spent the last 24 hours walking towards TonDC.

"Only Mama Bear, but that was when we first woke up and not again since" Niylah says. That's not surprising. Indra couldn't really afford to be walking around wearing strange tech, and would most likely check in at some point. She was sure the others would do the same now that the coms link was up. They agreed to check in once it was up, then hold off until just before drop day unless something happened.

"Not surprising. Thank you, and good luck" Raven finishes. She wants the line open for others to check in.

"You as well. Lynchpin out" Niylah exits the net.

A long period of silence occurs and Raven closes back up the hatch. She begins walking back toward Mecha station, when another voice graces her earpiece.

"Little bird, this is Roman. Co-located with Loverboy and Cockroach. We are all good here" Octavia reports in. Her, Miller, and Murphy were good. Or at least, had no glaring issues thus far with their mind drive adaptation. And at least one of those three had a working communication device.

"Roman, Little bird. Good copy, thank you" Raven shoots back quickly.

"All, Doc, Checking in. Over" Jackson quickly entered the net, indicating his was working as well. Raven responds acknowledging him and he exits the net again. That's 5/11 working communication devices including Indra.

Jackson checked in again, testing the coms he had for Clarke, and again was acknowledged by Raven.

"Little Bird, this is Rogue. I know it's a long shot but I have you loud and clear. How me?" croaks through a faint sounding Echo.

"Rogue, Little Bird. I have you the same. Good to hear from you" Raven responds, relieved. 6/11 working.

She was glad Echo's endeavor was a success, and she was mostly alright. Six weeks would be a long time to spend alone, but would be worse for her locked up in Mount Weather. And it wasn't like she could talk whenever, with all the other grounders around her and the Mountain's security abound. That did confirm that they Mountain's jamming was ineffective to lasercom thankfully.

"Rogue copies, out" Echo ends curtly.

More silence.

Raven continues her journey back to the mechanic section of Mecha lost in thought. There were unlikely to be any more check-ins this evening. Over half of the communicators working was definitely a good sign. They would inevitably soup up the communication relay in Polis as well, just in case. On to the next task.

Chapter Text

Gaia

She woke before dawn, and upon recalling the events from the night prior began meditating. Hopefully some peace of mind would allow her to access what her midnight visitor graced her with.

She knew they were trying to save the world. She knew where the dirtbike was. She knew she had to get to Polis as soon as possible. She knew she needed to visit her mother in TonDC. She couldn't recall much else.

She had departed the village before false dawn had graced the sky, wasting no time on the trek she herself had not done, but her future self had done twice already. The trek to the cave system she knew the bike to be in was long, but without having to stop at the villages for more than food and one night's rest, she made good time.

Gaia had had plenty of time to think and try to remember on her journey. After retrieving the bike, she would make a stop at her mother's village. There she would get her mother's help remembering whatever else she could. Then she would make for Polis to unlock the bunker, and begin the process of taking Titus's place as head flamekeeper.

She remembered Clarke telling her that Titus had killed Heda Lexa last time, whilst trying to kill Clarke herself. He had gotten the idea into his head that Clarke would be Lexa's downfall, and was the main driver of “love is weakness” which had to go. Even if she couldn't take him down by the time drop day rolled around, his antics after would surely lead her Heda to lean on her for any sacred duties.

She retrieved the dirtbike, having no trouble with the controls. Evidently the mind drive had transferred the physical memories better than the event based ones. Kill switch, bike in neutral, ignition. The battery status displayed gave her pause. She had hoped to make it to TonDC today, but would have to stop and let the bike charge up at some point.

No matter, she had 5 weeks and 6 days to accomplish this part of the mission.

---
Emori

The night of traveling had taken a lot out of her it seemed. Emori woke past first light to her brother shaking her and calling her lazy under his breath. She took that as a good sign; he didn't realize what had happened.

Her day passed quickly, scouring the landscape for tek, thinking about killing Allie, worrying about her fellow Beachkru members. She convinced Otan to stay there for another night, retrieving the dirtbike she had been given once the sun went down.

Otan was surprised when she wheeled it into camp the next morning, but none of his questions were laced with suspicion as she had expected. They packed up and with the addition of their new bike, made a steady pace towards the City of Light.

Emori would be the one to defeat Allie. Once she took down the drone defense system the lab and house would be hers for the taking.

She hadn't been wearing the communicator or HUD glasses, as she didn't want unnecessary questions from her curious brother. The second night, she walked a short distance from their camp and tried to radio out.

“Any station, this is Sandskater. Checking in, over” she broadcast, waiting with baited breath for a response.

“Sandskater, this is Cockroach. That's a good copy, glad to hear from you” came Murphy's relieved reply. That means the Ark base station was online and functioning. Gods bless Raven Reyes.

“Cockroach, status here is good, I remember everything and I miss you. Won't be able to constantly monitor, but I will check in per the schedule. Sandskater out.” Emori ended the transmission, shoulders slumping in relief.

“Sounds good. I miss you too. Cockroach out” Murphy shoots back, then silence again.

Getting access to Becca's island was even more important now. The Ark base station relayed all the communicators aboard the Ark to the ground, but once the rest of them were down here, they would need the rest of the pre-planned relays set up. Including the one on the island.

There was always more work to do.

---
Indra

To her credit, Indra had waited until the sun was fully up before trying the communication device.

“This is Mama bear, radio check” she said, for the third time now. The only ones likely to reach her were Niylah and maybe Gaia, but she had to try. She wanted all of her family, her final kru, within reach as soon as possible.

“Indra this is Niylah. I read you. Good morning” finally comes through. Indra scrambles to respond.

“Lynchpin this is Mama bear. Call signs, remember? We don't know if the Maunon is listening” she warns. Even at the end of their training Niylah hadn't been good with not using names over the radio. For that matter, neither had she. Being back in the presence of the mountain had made her significantly more careful.

“Right, glad you made it. Any issues on your end?” Niylah asked, skipping the call signs altogether. Indra shook her head.

“All good here, and you?” She shot back. Niylah replied in the negative, and then abruptly left the net. Her father or someone looking to trade had probably interrupted.

Despite being the holder of all their equipment, Niylah was a good friend to everyone in their little band at the end of the world. Indra was glad she had made it back alright.

Indra stowed the communicator in one of her belt pouches, and began her day. Until Raven set up the big communicator in the sky, Niylah would be the only one she could routinely contact. They had planned for this, and Niylah would be the main on-ground relay point before the dropship came down, bringing more of Indra's family back to Earth.

For now, all there was to do was wait.

---
Niylah

Her father had woken her, asking about the weird injury to her neck. She brushed him off, making a comment about who she slept with being none of his business, and luckily he had left it at that.

She had put on the communicator just long enough to get in contact with Indra before her father yelled for her again. A couple of people looking to trade had approached and duty called. She had always been better with the customers than he had.

The rest of her day was a blur of customers, broken up by retrieving and organizing the equipment she had been left. By the time night fell, she was too wired to fall asleep and decided to take a walk, communicator in ear just in case. She had almost made it back to her shop before Raven's voice crackled through.

Their conversation told her that step one on the Ark was complete and communications were up. Hopefully the rest of their band would be checking in over the next few days. She had already planned to listen in overnight when her father was gone, and really any other chance she got. Going through everything they had experienced, then the prep for this event, and now being separate from everyone was doing a serious number on her psyche.

She would have to keep herself busy these next six weeks.

---
Echo

The nightmare inducing sounds of someone else being pulled by Mount Weather Medical staff for draining woke Echo from the worst sleep she had gotten in ages.

Probably the worst sleep she had gotten since being trapped by the mountain the first time.

A quick glance told her the coms and other items were still out of sight from the floor waiting for her. The head piece for the communicator was firmly in her ear. It had been specially designed by her, Raven, and Emori to not be found if she were searched again in Mount Weather.

She heard some crackles come through early in the morning, probably just after dawn, but nothing since. She would have to wait for the big communicator relay thing to be installed to see if they could breach the jamming of the Mountain. What had Raven called it? A base station on a space station?

She waited all day, stewing in her own thoughts. Helping Roan and killing Nia and how Lexa would react to her were on the front of her mind. Even the scant rations provided by the Maunon weren't safe from her train of thought.

That evening, she was woken from more terrible sleep by Raven's melodious voice in her ear. They chatted for a bit, then Echo left the net.

This time frame was good for literally everyone but her, because all she could do was wait.

Chapter Text

The six weeks had gone exactly as planned.

Raven had memorized Bellamy’s schedule and began fixing up the drop pod. Jackson had acquired most of the items on Clarke’s wish list. Octavia, Miller, and Murphy had conditioned their bodies as best they could and practiced unarmed hand to hand thanks to the guards looking the other way every Friday from five to seven PM. There were a handful of other delinquents that had joined them after the first few weeks, including most of Murphy’s makeshift gang from the first go around. Clarke had done more pushups, situps, and squats than she could count. They were ready.

---

Raven had approached Bellamy from behind. The typical buzz of morning movement aboard the Ark let her do this easily, and before he had time to react, she had dragged him into some storage closet.

“What the… who are you?!” Bellamy exclaimed, pushing her off of him and trying to escape.

“Hold it there shooter. You want to hear me out, I promise” Raven placated. Her hands were up but her stance said anything besides harmless, ready to intercept were he to try getting past her. The glove on her right hand also bolstered her confidence. She knew he already had the gun with which he had shot Jaha last time, and if he reached for it, she would beat him to the draw.

He paused, looking at her suspiciously. “Shooter, how did you- who are you?“ he began, sneer making its way onto his face.

“I am Raven Reyes, and I have a proposal for you. I know what you are about to do but I have an alternate solution. We both know that in a couple of hours, our friends and family currently locked up in the skybox will be sent to the ground.” At his perplexed expression she clarified with a shrug, “working in the maintenance shafts has perks.” Every single change that Beachkru made would have to have a reasonable explanation, especially if it involved individuals that were naturally suspicious.

“I’m listening” Bellamy said haltingly. His posture relaxed a bit and he had stopped looking at the door like a quick escape.

“I want to go with them. To go to the ground. So I found and fixed up a pod. It has room for two and I know your sister will be on the dropship. I figured you would want to come with me rather than do something drastic and sneak on the ship.”

“What’s in it for you? I mean, why do you want to go to the ground?” he questioned.

“Why? Call it my scientifically inclined mind along with a sense of adventure. Who wouldn’t?”

“We don’t know if it’s safe”

“They are sending down one hundred kids. Part of the future of the human race. They must know something about the survivability” Raven lied. They hadn’t known jack about the safety of the ground the first time. One hundred kids had been sent down to die. She didn’t let the jaded feeling show on her face.

“So, you want me to come with you” Bellamy stated. Raven nodded.

“I do. I know you want to be with your sister. I am offering you a for sure, no strings attached, way to accomplish that. You would be a fool to decline.” The last bit she added just for her own enjoyment. She knew he was a fool in many facets. Hopefully with a good enough support system, he would be more help than hinderance this go around.

“Ok” he said, then looked to the side as if deep in thought. “I might have an issue with someone up here shortly. Related to my, uh, something drastic to get on the ship plan” He confessed.

“If it was criminal in nature, we can go to Kane” Raven led on.

“Kane? Marcus Kane? Hmm” Bellamy pondered his options. Kill the chancellor for a shot on the dropship or turn in Shumway and maybe take a drop pod with Raven. She could practically see the wheels turning in his head.

“Come on Bellamy, there are good people in there with Octavia and she will be just fine until we get down there. This is the right thing to do” Raven finished. She knew it wouldn’t take much to convince Bellamy at this point. He cared more about his sister than he did about himself. “I have it on good authority that she has been kicking ass and taking names in the skybox. She’s smart, and resourceful. My friends won’t let anything happen to her”. That was only kind of a lie. Miller and Murphy, and Clarke too, were on the same level as Octavia and the four of them would be fine once they reached the ground.

“Ok. What do we do now?” Bellamy asked, mind made up.

“We wait until the launch, then go rat out your contact” Raven supplied with a grin. Then they would wait until the time was right and finally go back to the ground. “For now, act like everything is fine, and for the love of all things mechanical DO NOT talk to anyone about our plan.”

“I wont, I promise” he answered.

With a final nod, Raven let him out of the storage room. She waited a moment, then messed up her hair just enough for people to assume things, and departed their meeting space, returning to her duties for the day.

---

Clarke was in the middle of drawing a landscape shot of the meadow Alpha station had landed in when her cell door opened.
“Prisoner 319, face the wall” ordered the guard.

FINALLY it was time. Clarke had been going a bit stir-crazy with only drawing and exercise to occupy her time.

“What is this?” she asks, sticking to the same script as she remembers it from last time.

“Quiet. Hold out your right arm” the guard demands, setting the case holding the monitoring bracelet on her bed.

“No, its not my time. I don’t turn eighteen for another month” Clarke protests. She tries to add a note of panic to her voice. She remembered thinking she was about to be floated.

“Quiet. Your arm” the guard demands again. She sees his partner ready his baton out of the corner of her eye. They were expecting a fight, and she was about to give them one.

“This isn’t right! There are rules!” she continues protesting, but it falls on deaf ears.

“Remove your watch” he says, holding the bracelet with both hands.

“No! It was my Dad’s!” Clarke yells, then jumps into action. She shoves him into her bed and dodges the first swing of the baton from his partner. She turns to him and kicks his arm hard enough to make him drop it. With a shove to him for good measure, she dashes past them out of the cell, and shuts the door.

She looks around at all of the other delinquents being herded by the guards toward the dropship. One level down across the way from her she spot Miller and Murphy, who spot her as well. Murphy gives her a quick salute. Miller sees him do this, and turns to look up at Clarke as well. He lifts a satchel to show her, and she recognizes it as the one Jackson had prior to them jumping back in time. He must have been able to acquire the items she needed and handed it over to Miller when he put Miller’s wristband on.
She was glad those two got to say goodbye for now.

If she remembered correctly, Octavia would be two levels below and on her side. No chance of seeing her before the dropship.

The door to Clarke’s cell opens, and the guards come out slowly, staring her down. She turns to act like she’s going to run when her Mom’s voice stops her.

“Clarke stop!” Abby exclaims, pushing past more guards coming up to meet her.

Clarke is supposed to say something. Something about it not being her time and execution but seeing her mother for the first time since she floated her above Sanctum, since she was taken over by one of the primes, stopped her dead in her tracks.
“You’re being sent to the ground, not killed.” Abby placates her daughter’s evident fears and Clarke snaps out of her almost teary reunion. She would see her mother again soon, alive and in one piece.

“What? But it’s not safe, we are supposed to get reviewed” Clarke snapped back to it. She had to stick to the script.

“The rules have changed. This gives you a chance to live. Your instincts will tell you to take care of everybody else first, just like your father.” That hurt. “Be careful. I can’t lose you too. I love you so much” Abby finishes, just as Clarke feels the tranquilizer dart hit her in the back. She embraces her mother one last time before darkness takes her.

---

Jackson had been the first to volunteer for the extra duty today, since he knew exactly what it would entail. Putting 100 monitoring bracelets on 100 unruly delinquents.

He had double and triple checked the bag for Clarke. Coms, HUD, scanner, glove, herb book, fire starter, knife, first aid kit, additional first aid kit, bottle of disinfectant, couple packets of yeast, measuring spoons, and empty test tubes with lids wrapped in a spare shirt of his. Everything on her list had been pretty easy to get, besides the yeast. This would be a much better haul than whatever she had been given last time.

He was first in line to grab a box of the wristbands, and stood ready at the door into the skybox, waiting for the guards to let them in. None of them were searched, showing just how frazzled all the guards were at this recent development. It seems like they were the last to know about this project. With how Kane and the rest of the council had been about all of this, Jackson wasn’t too surprised. Hell, he had been blindsided by this last time as well.

He beelined for the level where he knew Nate and John were once the doors opened.

“Skybox, Doc, incoming” he quickly warned over coms.

The doors on that level beeped and opened as he passed them, and he stopped at each one to apply one of the monitoring bracelets to the confused delinquent within before moving on.

He came upon Nate’s room, and once it opened he entered. Nate was already at the door and pulled him into a quick hug before holding out his right arm.

“The bag is for you as well. It’s got Clarke’s stuff in it” He said as he put Nate’s bracelet on.

“Thanks, we’ll make sure it gets to her” Miller replies, and they connect foreheads before parting.

Being able to say goodbye to each other was a luxury neither overlooked.

Nate followed Jackson as he kept moving down the hallway, linking up with John a few cells down.

“Octavia?” Jackson asked the two as John’s wristband was applied.

John hissed as it connected, then motioned with his head over the railings. Jackson looked over and down to spot the third criminal boring holes into his head with her eyes. He thanked John, and kept moving. The two younger men stayed on their level, joining the crowd slowly moving toward their destination. The chaos didn’t keep each of them from acknowledging Clarke above them once she came to the railing.

Jackson made his way to Octavia slowly but surely. He was almost out of wristbands at this point, but kept on if just to check in before he had to part from his fellow end of the world family members for the foreseeable future.

“Jackson. Glad you got to say goodbye to Nate.” She greeted him warmly despite the act of being a confused teenager she was portraying to the unknowing eye. There were cameras everywhere, luckily Nate’s doorway had been in a bit of a blind spot.

“Me too. Here. Are you ready for round two?” He asked quietly as he applied her wristband. She only nodded in response, a guard passing by herding other delinquents toward the dropship doors.

“Go time. Good luck up here” she said once the guard was out of earshot, shaking forearms with Jackson before following the flow of people.

Jackson applied all the wristbands in his possession, then made his way back to the main doors he had come from. Bag handed off, goodbyes said, and task complete. Time to go linger in the monitoring room.

Chapter Text

Gaia had reunited with her mother, gaining a bunch of lost memories back, and continued on to Polis where she opened the bunker and worked to strengthen her relationship with Heda Lexa. Indra had received her Heda’s message and prepped her guard to welcome her kids home, or rather, welcome the delinquents to the ground. Niylah had stashed three suits and their accompanying add-ons in the Art Supply Store bunker, then began gathering items for the delinquents. Emori had killed Allie’s security system, killed Allie, and set up the repeater on the island. She had also begun prepping the island lab for Raven’s arrival. Echo had waited. They were ready as well.

---

Two days after the messenger from Polis had informed Indra that the Skykru were coming, her daughter had arrived in TonDC. She had taken to wearing her communicator during the dawn hour just in case and had fortunately heard a transmission early in her day, eagerly awaiting her daughter’s arrival.

“Mama Bear, this is Flamekeepa. I am approaching TonDC from the south. Ditching the bike about half a mile out and proceeding on foot. Arrival in about 20 minutes. Over” Gaia had said. Those were the longest 23 minutes of Indra’s life.
She had spotted the cloaked figure as soon as she broke through the trees and had rushed to meet her, image be damned. She missed her daughter.

Their reunion was bittersweet. Gaia remembered her role to play, but hadn’t remembered any specifics from their time together from the bunker onward. The longer they sat and talked about it, the more relaxed she seemed to be, commenting on bits and pieces of Indra’s stories. It seemed like being told what had happened helped the mind drive transfer the appropriate memories into Now-Gaia’s head.

“And then we were taken, or transcended as the others called it. I was offered a choice by the image of my Nomon. She said I could stay on earth or go and be freed from ‘mortal chains’ I think. I chose to stay, as did you, and we became Beachkru. We lived on the newly regenerated Earth until Levitt found out about time travel” Indra told Gaia, who was nodding along.

“Mine was a young natblida that was killed by Ontari. The only one I personally sent” Gaia replied sadly.

Indra continued. “We made a plan. Many plans. We went back in time and planted mind drives in our past selves so they would know how to avoid the tragedies about to befall our people. The plans we made and tek engineered in those days were all to help us this time. We got a second chance and we weren’t about to waste it.” She thought about how to tell Gaia about her part of the plan when her daughter began speaking.

“I am to depose Titus, through neutral means, and make myself available to Heda as the next flamekeepa. I am to help guide her into ‘jus nau drein jus daun’ and welcoming skykru into the coalition, as well as gain access to the bunker for Priamfaya preparation. Have I missed anything mother?”

“No. That is all. Are you missing anything specific?”

“I do not think so, but I know all the specific things are in flux. I have confidence that I can figure out what I need to in order to complete my mission” Gaia states.

Her part to play had a lot of moving pieces, Indra remembers. Being flexible in her way of accomplishing the important parts was important and had been worked into the final plan. Some of the parts of her own plan had been subject to change, but as long as the main issues were dealt with, then there would be resounding success.

“Nomon, I have a few more questions regarding the plan.” She paused a second, as if collecting her own thoughts. “Clarke and our Heda. Bellamy and Echo. Kane. Abby. The other connected pieces. Do we need to intervene to accomplish the goal there? Or are we leaving it up to the fates?”

“My child. If they were meant to be, they will. We are leaving it to the fates as we should. There is no death on the other side of those choices, so they were not part of the plan. As nomon-natu wishes, so shall it be” Indra instructs. Mother nature had her ways, and who was she to get in the way of love?

“Understood. I think I remember a conversation similar to this with the others, although I was the one indicating nomon-natu’s will.”

Indra looks fondly at her daughter, lost to her for years before now in her current body, but seen only a scant six weeks ago in parts of her head. She was internally conflicted, but the child in front of her was very real, and very here, and needed her to be the mother she never could have been last time. Someone to know what was going on, to give advice, to lean on. She would be that if it killed her.

“I will continue on to Polis nomon, but I will visit. I will be on channel eight oh one every dusk. I will radio as often as I can, I promise.” Gaia motioned to her own communicator, peaking out of her shawl, then pushed it out of sight as she got up to leave.
Indra was sad to see her long lost daughter leave, but knew they would be reunited soon enough. Well, in the grand scheme of things that is.

The next day, a rider from Polis had informed her that Heda said to watch the skies, and people from the sky would arrive to vanquish the mountain once and for all. Indra took the information as the clan chief but was internally cheering the success of Operation Lexa Livestream. This message meant that it had, at least in part confirmed, been a success.

She had directed her scouts to watch the Mountain, and purposefully placed Lincoln in charge of the location where she knew the dropship was due to land in – 5 weeks and 4 days.

---

Emori was busy. She had spent the first few days rejoicing in her reunition with her brother. Then she got tek itchy. She wanted to build something, or destroy something. She was aching to use the knowledge she had been blessed with.

She told her brother she would be gone for a while, took the dirt bike, and rode off.

She arrived at the edge of the sea within the day. A boat was already there, outboard motor only needing something to power it, and she was on her way. The trip to Becca’s island was uneventful, not even the rogue sea monster got in her way.

Her arrival on the island was lackluster in and of itself. She opened the lighthouse bunker, ate some snacks, and was on her way. She had remembered to prop the door after hearing horror stories from John what felt like years ago.

Her first attempted breach of the barrier left her with a healthy fear of the drones, but no new bullet holes. She quickly remembered that Raven had hacked their system using a downed drone last time, and formulated a plan to do the same. Her lack of computer access system didn’t slow her down, but did delay the process. She returned to the bunker and was luckily able to locate an interface of some sort. “A touchscreen monitor” she remembered Raven calling it.

It allowed her to access the core code of the drone she took down David and Goliath style, and dragged past the security barrier. She hacked into the security system and disabled the other drones, then made a mad dash for the house on the hill. She knew the gods damned Allie code was stored there. As long as she destroyed it, the events of the City of Light would never come to pass, and her brother might yet live.

Once she got to the house, finding where Allie was stored proved harder than she thought it would. Without the nuclear power, the backpack she associated with the chip-maker was just a backpack. She scoured the house from top to bottom before she found the server stack in the basement. And then she proceeded to take a baseball bat shaped tree branch to every single one of them. No way was that psycho AI going to rapture the world’s populus. Not on her watch.

After her rage room actions, she destroyed every single thing in that house that could house code for Allie, just in case. You could never be too careful when dealing with a genocidal AI.

Once she had gotten the rage and panic out of her system, she plugged in to the tablet she had found in the lighthouse bunker. Nada. No attempted communication, or takeover, or begging or pleading. Allie was most likely dead. Well, as dead as a never alive AI could be.

She next set her sights on using the repeater on the island. She knew from Clarke’s recollection she would have to climb the whole damn thing and manually align the dishes, so that was no surprise. Having no ticking clock heralding the apocalypse round two behind her was also a welcome surprise, and she was able to properly align all three satellites to the Ark, Becca’s main satellite, and her auxiliary one. She then set them to follow those points, so they wouldn’t need to be manually re-aligned unless something went wrong.

Then like any good scientist, she tested it.

The satellites set by Becca were easy, they had a test program ingrained in them. A simple broadcast and response sufficed. The Ark was a different story. It was set up for information transmission and would require someone to be watching to confirm if it was successful or not.

Emori knew it would not, as is, work with lasercom. She added a dish, hardlined into the Ark transmission dish, hooked up to her communicator directly. This meant that she would only be able to communicate with the others on the lasercom network while in the range of a repeater due to her supplementary headset, but with all the work she could do on Becca’s island while waiting for them to come down, that was a non-issue.

“Littlebird, this is Sandskater. Come in Littlebird” She tried.

A pause.

“Sandskater this is Doc, Littlebird is otherwise occupied, but I can relay a message. It’s good to hear from you” Jackson eventually responded.

She had not been able to reach the Ark since that night in the desert. She was too far outside the direct range of the base station. No matter, Jackson was on the Ark, and he had heard her. Her test was a success.

“Doc, Sandskater. No message, just testing the relay on Pramheda’s island. Good to hear from you too. How is everyone?”

“They’re all good. Everyone else has reported in since the base station was set up. How are things on your end?”

“All good here. Sorry I’m late to the party, had an AI to kill. I cant wait to see everyone come drop day, break” She answered his un-asked question. “I’ll have to stay on the island for communications, so if I go dark don’t worry. Over”

“Copy Sandskater. Please let us know before you go dark. Otherwise, good luck and godspeed. Doc out”

Emori smiled. She knew he was going to convey all of this to the rest of the team, and hoped John would understand that she had won against Allie before the battle had even begun.

Now to explore the lab and the rest of the island. Hopefully there was something there that would help in the fight against Priamfaya. Not that it was a winnable fight in the first place.

---

Echo was waiting. Waiting and waiting and waiting. She was tired of waiting.

She began talking to her fellow trapped grounders. She told them about the skykru, and their inevitable freedom. She told them about Bellamy, and Priamfaya, and stories about the things of the future that existed – for now – only in her memories. She passed the time by sowing dissent. Real spy actions.

She constantly wore her communicator, it being undetectable enough that even Mount Weather security forces never found it. The rest of the grounders probably thought she was crazy when she talked to people that weren’t there. Her stories being so far-fetched probably added to the theory that she was crazy, but at least those that were tossed down the trash chute died with hope on their minds. Maybe some of them survived, who knows.

She was drained shortly after arriving, having been captured shortly before the decided upon six weeks. Not that she let the rest of Beachkru know that fact when they were deciding when to jump back. Six weeks had been extremely advantageous to all of them besides her and Clarke, if she remembered correctly. The knowledge that Clarke was going through almost the same situation as her was the only thing keeping her sane some of these days.

“Five weeks”

“Four weeks”

“Three weeks”

“Two weeks”

“One week”

“Three days”

“One day”

“Any minute now”

She found herself counting down until drop day. She knew the timeline after then was subject to change, and relied on Clarke-grounder communication to begin. For Wanheda to be born again. For so many little things to fall into place. Her time to shine was drawing closer and closer. When Clarke called in that the dropship was boots on ground, she was ecstatic. Her time to shine was drawing closer and closer. The past few weeks had sapped her of her energy but not her spirit. The inevitably of the mountain falling drove her like nothing else ever had.

Soon she would help kill them. Those that had captured her, thrown her in a cage, drained her people, thrown away their used bodies like trash. No more.

The mountain would fall by her hand, but under Wanheda’s authority. Soon.

Chapter Text

Clarke returns from unconsciousness slowly. She feels a weightlessness, straps holding her to the dropship seat, and Wells’ stare on her.

“Welcome back” he says.

“Wells why are you here? Let me guess, you heard what they were planning and decided to get yourself locked up. Do you know how foolish that was?” She chastises him. It was foolish. Him being here had made her life much harder from the get go last time around.

“I, I know. I’m sorry, and I’m sorry for getting your father arrested” He continues.

“They didn’t arrest him Wells, they executed him. And I know it wasn’t you that turned him in” Clarke states. It had been her own Mother, acting in a manner that she thought was for the good of the order. Clarke fought off the instinct to roll her eyes at the thought.

Wells was stunned into silence, and Clarke took the moment to look around. None of her Kru were on this level. Murphy and Miller were on the lower level and Octavia must have been on the higher level.

There was an awful jolt, and the dropship started shaking. They must have entered the atmosphere. The screen blipped on and Chancelor Jaha began his stupid ‘you are expendable, good luck’ speech.

“Your dad’s a dick Wells!” somebody yelled. Clarke had to agree.

“Spacewalk bandit strikes again!” another person piped up and Clarke looked over to see Finn beginning his spacewalk. He floated down towards them and stopped in front of Wells.

“Check it out, your Dad floated me after all” Finn snarkily commented.

“You better hang onto something before the parachutes deploy. We are already freefalling through the atmosphere, and coming in hot” Clarke shot back, not bothering to wait for Wells to say pretty much the same thing with less conviction.

“Don’t even think about it” She growls at the two unbuckling their seatbelts above her. They seem more inclined to listen this time, but only paused at her words before continuing.

“You’re the traitor who’s been in solitary for a year” Finn stated, brushing her comment off. You know, like an idiot.

“You’re the idiot who took the fall for his girlfriend wasting an entire month’s worth of oxygen on an illegal spacewalk” she snapped back, before yelling up at the other two “Stay in your seats!”

Finn jerked back as if shocked. Sufficiently cowed, he held onto the central railing in front of her and motioned the other two back. Thankfully, they complied, getting back to their seats as the parachutes deployed.

The two copycats landed on the floor below them, but didn’t appear seriously injured this time. Finn however, was jerked out of his own grip and yelled out in pain. Serves him right.

“You ok spacewalker?” she asked. He hadn’t had time to give his name, so moniker it is. Finn’s only response was another pained groan.

“This ship is over a hundred years old, so the thrusters should kick in soon” Wells says, mostly to himself since Clarke is craning her neck to see if the other two boys are alright. They are still moving around, which was a good sign, trying to find something or someone to hold onto for the final landing stage.

The thrusters kick in, and the dropship comes to a slightly abrupt landing. They all pause as the power flickers, dust settling in the newfound gravity.

“Listen” Monty breaks the silence. “No machine hum.”

“Woah, that’s a first” Jasper comments.

Clarke quickly unbuckles and checks on the two almost spacewalkers. One of them got a gash on his head, the other is uninjured.

“Thank you for listening” she leaves out the ‘to me’, “I’m glad you’re ok”.

She ignores Finn and descends the ladder to the lowest level. Miller and Murphy, along with Murphy’s lackeys and a few of the ‘gunners’ that flocked to Miller in the absence of Bellamy’s ‘leadership’, meet her at the bottom of the stairs and they all move through the crowd to the dropship doors.

“Clarke?” she hears Octavia’s voice through the low din of the crowd. She feels her face relax into a smile as she turns toward the voice of the girl moving towards her.

“Octavia, look at you. So grown up.” She means the exact opposite, and Octavia knows that, throwing her arms around Clarke in greeting.

“That’s the girl under the floor” someone comments, and Octavia shakes her head.

“I’m about to be the first person on the ground in a hundred years” she says mater of factly.

“What if the air is toxic!” a voice asks.

“We’ll be dead anyway. Might as well try” Clarke reasons, pulling the lever. The door opens and the crowd of delinquents falls silent, taking in the bright and green and alive landscape they have landed in.

Octavia walks slowly down the ramp, then jumps off onto the mossy ground. She turns with a triumphant smile and arms overhead yells at the top of her lungs “We’re back bitches!”

The delinquents cheer and scatter to explore their new home. Clarke joins Octavia in front of the ramp, bumping shoulders with the shorter girl.

“We’re home” she says quietly. Octavia shoots her a grin and nods. It was good to be back.

Clarke looks back at Miller and Murphy, then motions with her head over to the left. They will ditch their followers and meet up with her somewhere over there shortly.

Finn comes staggering out of the dropship, cradling his arm and calls for her with a pitiful “um, hey princess”.

Clarke sighs and looks over at him, immediately noticing the way one shoulder is higher than the other. He must have dislocated it trying to break his fall. If that was the only injury, he should count himself lucky.

“Come here spacewalker” she directs, turning toward him. He short-steps over, kicked puppy look in his eyes.

“Your mom was head of medical on the Ark, right? I hope you know what you are doing” he comments as she helps him take his jacket off. Yep, definitely dislocated.

“I do, and you need to listen to me very carefully. Put your hand on my shoulder.” He complies. She moves so his elbow is close to his own body, and they are now unfortunately close to each other. She pulls downward traction on his elbow with one hand and begins massaging his trapezius and pec minor muscles, trying to loosen them up.

“Relax” she directs, and he does so slowly. After a few minutes of this, she says “slowly pinch your shoulder blades together”. He does so, and with a gentle shift, his shoulder is back in the socket.

“Woah, I thought it would make a noise or something” Finn comments, rolling the now relocated shoulder.

“No, that method is a low impact one. If it hadn’t worked, the next one would have, and would have hurt a lot worse. It’s going to be sore for a few days. Let me know if it catches or bruises weird, or if it pops back out” She states clinically. No use in him getting the wrong idea. Although, he probably already had.

“Thanks Princess. Sorry I was an idiot in the first place” He sheepishly admits, running his hand through his hair. Stupid boy.

“Don’t let it happen again” is all she responds, turning away to meet up with her Kru.

Luckily for her, he doesn’t follow. Instead, he sees fit to bother Wells, who had retrieved the map. She hears Wells comment that they had been dropped on the wrong mountain, and Finn comments about him holding the map upside down. God, did she have to do everything last time?

Breaking through the treeline, she spots her folks huddled out of sight of the clearing the dropship had made. She joins them as they look up at her with warm smiles.

“Well. Eventful, but different from last time for sure” She states.

“You’ve got that right” Miller comments, handing her the satchel they had been examining before she walked up.

“First things first I suppose” Clarke reaches into the bag and pulls out her communicator. “Ark Main this is Wanheda. We are on the ground.”

“Wanheda, Little Bird. That’s a goooooood copy!” Raven radios back.

“All, Wanheda. Role call” Clarke barks. One by one the rest of their Kru reports in.

“This is Cockroach, collocated. All good”

“Wanheda, Doc, All good”

“Flamekeeper here. All good in Polis.”

“Little Bird again. Got the Bell secured and we are all good”

“Loverboy, collocated. All good”

“Ni-Lynchpin. All set for your arrival here”

“Mama Bear. So good to hear from all of you. See you soon”

“Rogue. So damn ready to get out of here”

“Roman, collocated. All good”

“Sandskater checking in. Allie is dead and I am so good”

Everyone was online. Everyone was in position. Everyone was ready.

“All, Wanheda. Good copy, godspeed, and we will see you soon. Wanheda out” She exits the net.

“God I’m glad everything worked out. And I am so glad to be out of that damn skybox” Murphy exclaims with a big stretch.

Clarke nods in agreement. Being alone in solitary for six weeks was so much worse after everything they had done. Nothing but the thoughts in her own head to keep her company, and her mind was her own worst enemy. She began rummaging through the bag, tossing Murphy the fire starter, and Miller the knife.

“Fire and spears please” She requested. They knew it was really an order, and could have been left unsaid but they just nodded and got to their tasks. Octavia looked expectantly at Clarke, who handed her the herb book and test tubes, as well as the shirt they were carried in.

“Prioritize pain and antibiotic ability. And the red seaweed” Clarke directed. She knew Octavia could sneak around better than the rest of them, and Clarke would need as much of those natural remedies as Octavia could carry.

Miller overseeing weapons would set him up as her general amongst the delinquents, and Murphy in charge of fire would make his lackeys more inclined to hunt and cook. Giving all the delinquents a task would keep them out of trouble as much as possible. The first two deaths had been avoided, more to come.

Clarke walked back to camp and saw that both Murphy and Miller had regained their followers. Miller had a few people with knives already sharpening some sticks, and others ripping pieces of the dropship off to use as blades. Murphy and his lackeys were huddled as he tried to explain what they would need for the fire.

Clarke zeroed in on Jasper and Monty, who were chatting up Fox and Harper respectively.

“Hey. Would you all do me a favor and grab a couple more people to help set up a water purification station?” She asked, then added “I found some stuff to make alcohol with, but we need drinking water first”.

“Oh What? I was going to say no but then you said the magic word” Jasper said, already moving toward another group, Monty in tow.

“We need something to boil it in, and something to make a still out of!” Clarke called after him, knowing those endeavors were in good hands. Best to keep the yeast to herself for now. At least, until they find some wheat or honey or something.
“You got it Princess!” Jasper called back.

Damn it, the nickname had stuck. Again. Damn Finn and his big mouth.

Speaking of Finn, he and Wells were still looking at that damn map, speaking back and forth in hushed tones. Clarke walked over, and overhearing something about ’20 miles’ she knew they were talking about Mount Weather.

“That is too far for us to reach before nightfall. Besides, we are not prepared for a trip like that as we are now.” She butts into their conversation and Finn looks satisfied. He had probably been saying something along those lines just before she interrupted.
“We know there’s food there, how much prep do we need?” Wells questioned, brows furrowed in thought.

“Well, for one, that would take us about, oh, seven hours on flat ground at a steady pace. Besides, I don’t think anyone else would want to wander through the mountains for hours with no food or safe water and one person cant bring enough food back to feed all of us” She explained. He better see reason, she wasn’t trying to get somebody speared on day one like last time. That big river monster fish might make good dinner though.
“Fine. What do you propose Clarke?” he questioned.

“I already have a group working on water, and fire, and weapons. Soon we will need to go find food and make shelter. You know, the main things needed for survival. I might have been Pike’s best student, but you were pretty close behind me Wells” Clarke reasoned. Shelter was definitely next on her list.

“Shelter then. We could sleep in the dropship” Finn suggested.

“Most of us could fit, but it would be a tight squeeze. We can use the parachutes to make tents” Wells said, already moving toward one.

“Just need tent poles or something to prop them up with. We will also need hammocks for the drop ship and something like sleeping bags, so we shouldn’t use all of the fabric for tents” Clarke thought out loud. The boys nodded along, then began bickering about the breakdown of fabric for each use.

“I will leave that project in your two’s capable hands” Clarke comments over her shoulder as she walks away. They would need more people to help with this, but as night drew closer and adrenaline faded, more people would be willing to help. Sleeping comfortably was a big motivator on the ground. Having a plan in place with two people to direct would make the later process much smoother.

Clarke grabbed Murphy then Miller, and with their groups peacefully working on their tasks, the three went off to hunt. They were able to bag a deer, Murphy spearing it with a successful lung shot after Clarke tracked it into a meadow. The three dragged the deer back to camp and got to work dressing it.

Murphy’s group proved to be awful cooks, but two kids from Farm station took over from there, happy to finally contribute to the camp. Murphy took his lackeys and joined Wells and Finn in making tents. They ended up taking over the top part of the dropship and a few of the already made hammocks. That was to be expected, as Murphy had taken in mostly loners or the real degenerates last time, and their personalities didn’t change much.

Miller had returned to his group, and they piled all the finished weapons next to the fire. Plenty of spears for hunting parties, as well as a few swords for later. He challenged one of his guys in unarmed hand to hand, both laughing and commenting all the while. The sentiment of goofing around carried to others, who paired up to spar on their own. Clarke finally got a chance to see the work they had been putting in for the last six weeks.

As the sun began setting, the delinquents started making their way to assorted bed locations, or pairing up and wandering into the woods to do as repressed teenagers were apt to do. Finn tried to ask Clarke if she wanted to go, but she turned him down briskly.

“What about me Princess?” Octavia asked with a wink. She had just returned from gathering the herbs for Clarke and had stashed them nearby.

“You know, I wouldn’t mind a walk” Clarke accepted, and the two future grounder pounders sauntered off arm in arm.

“Finn is going to have an aneurism” Octavia laughed once they were out of earshot of the dropship. Clarke giggled along with her as they made their way deeper into the forest.

“God I hope he gets the hint” She comments. “I’m going to have to lay down the law come tomorrow to avoid the night time acid fog deaths” she continued, already thinking about Trina, Pascal, and Atom. Although, that had been because Octavia disappeared last time.

“I’ve got a solution, on my expedition, I found a freshly dead rabbit. Pretty sure acid fog got it. We could make an example of it, with radiation fog or something as the reason it died. Then you could say something about ‘if the animals run, so do you’” Octavia suggested.

“I like it, lets do it” Clarke responded. She was glad to have Octavia to lean on and the absence of Bellamy had only helped their relationship strengthen.

They approached the Art Supply Store bunker and cracked it open, careful not to disturb the ground around it for easy hiding later. Inside were the suits Niylah had left, their accompanying tech and weapons, along with a couple of grounder clothes sets and a bunch of weapons. Clarke and Octavia quickly got changed and grabbed their weapons of choice. A short sword for Octavia and a couple of daggers for Clarke fit the bill just fine.

Clarke made sure to keep her hair covered as she exited the bunker. The only other grounder with light hair she had seen was Niylah, so she didn’t want to stand out in case they were seen.

They met Indra on the bridge. She had beat both of them there, since she didn’t have to make a pit stop to change. Once they had scanned the trees for scouts, Clarke and Octavia dashed for her. She heard their footsteps and opened her arms, and they both enveloped her in a fierce hug.

“Girls, I’ve missed you. These past six weeks have simply dragged on” Indra told them, still hugging and not willing to let them go yet. Octavia had been like a daughter to Indra, and Clarke was practically family.
“We missed you too Nomon” spoke Octavia.

Clarke eeked out of the hug first, wanting to give the first and second time to reconnect. This was the first time they had been apart in years. Probably since the bunker.

She took the time to look around. The cursed bridge was the easiest location but hardest mentally to justify as a meeting place. Once they had their meeting with Anya, they wouldn’t be able to use it anymore. By then, hopefully Trikru would be able to take in some of the delinquents, and they could go see Indra whenever they wished.

“Miller sends his love” Octavia breathed out as she pulled out of the hug, and Clarke saw Indra smile softly at the boy’s sentiment.

“Send my love back, and tell Murphy I miss him as well, even if he was a little shit at this point last time” Indra laughs as she responds.

“The mountain?” Clarke questions, back to business.

“Yes. It’s been quiet. No different from last time. I do plan on taking out the cameras I found, but figured it better to wait for you all. Skykru tek and everything.”

“Smart. We should have first contact with Lincoln in a few days. Then we can get down to business” Clarke nods as she speaks. Indra was indeed smart, and thought things through before actioning them.

“That should be here shortly. Once he reports back about the people from the sky, I will confer with Anya and have him make first contact. Anya may want to interrogate someone before making our presence known. Who is that to be?”

Clarke and Octavia look at each other. Clarke herself was really the only one that had any kind of bond with Anya last time, but after being the messenger on Operation Lexa Livestream, she would probably not be the best fit for Anya’s first contact. Just in case. Murphy was out, as he took the brunt of it last time, and Miller wasn’t really the best for intercultural first contact. Raven was coming down soon, but they didn’t know how soon.

Indra answered her own question before the two could finish their unspoken conversation.

“Raven, unless Clarke is the only option?” She asks, knowing the answer.

“Yeah” and “Yep” the girls responded at the same time.

“Alright, I’d better be heading back. Nyko gets anxious when I take midnight walks for too long” Indra waved and began heading back across the bridge, as the girls bid their ‘goodnights’ and returned the way they came.

The walk back to the Art Supply Store bunker was in silence, both trying their best to move silently. Only a few twig cracks betrayed their wishes. They changed and headed back to the dropship, pointedly ignoring the looks they got by Miller’s appointed guards once they returned. Octavia turned in for the night in one of the shoddy tents that had been set up in their absence, and Clarke conveyed Indra’s well wishes to the boys.

“Aw, she’s thinking about me” was Murphy’s response, full of sarcasm. Clarke knew he was actually touched by her consideration, but didn’t want to show it. Miller had just smiled at her message. He and Indra had gotten close in the bunker, but mostly as comrades. Going through something like that would have anyone getting close to trusted friends.

Clarke found another half empty tent with a somewhat flat space and crashed for the night.

Chapter Text

“Why is her heart rate so high? She’s over 120 Jackson. That’s not normal. What is going on down there?” Abby panics. Her daughter is - doing something - at zero dark thirty.

“Abby, the sun has just set down there, she’s probably fine. I’m sure she has a lot to do this evening” he tries to calm her. He knows full well that Clarke and Octavia are meeting up with Indra, as he overheard on their main communication channel earlier. Abby doesn’t know that and is acting like the same overbearing mother hen he remembers, staring fixedly at the screens.

“Ok. Ok you’re right. I’m sorry, I am just worried. We’ve had eight dark tiles already, and I’m looking for answers where there are none”

“Abby” he begins, putting his hand on her shoulder. “It’s been peaceful all day, let me take over for you and go get some rest.” He pulls her gently but firmly away from the screens. Part of his job up here was running emotional interference for Abby. Another part was to start getting Kane on board with their plan, despite him still acting like a dick.

“Alright. I will. Thank you” She acquiesces and departs the command deck. Jackson lets out a sigh of relief. The stress of the day must be weighing on her if she was willing to go to bed so easily.

Clarke wasn’t the only one with vitals outside of normal range. There were a smattering of red borders on the monitoring screens where hearts were racing. Delinquents conducting delinquent activities. Nothing to concern himself about. He sat back in one of the comfier command center chairs for a boring night.

The night passed uneventfully. Luckily Abby didn’t return until after Clarke and the others had conducted their morning exercise, spiking their respective heart rates again.

“Anything of note?” Abby asked as she swept into the room.

“Good morning to you too” he answered, turning from the screen he had been watching to greet her. “One more tile dark, no spike in vitals beforehand. I think they are taking them off.”

Abby stops in front of the tile in question. Another previous thief had gone dark. Jackson might have just cracked the issue that had kept her up last night.

“I hope so. The rest of the council will be in today to get a read on the situation and we should absolutely bring that up as our running theory. Good job. Ill take over here for now.”

Jackson nods, beating a quick retreat. He hadn’t lied, but he didn’t want his face to give away that he knew more than he was letting on. It was a good of a time as any to get in a quick shower and meal before the Council comes stomping in demanding answers. After that, he could bed down for a while.

---

Stomp in and demand answers was exactly what the Council did. He had arrived back in the control room a few minutes before they did, with just enough time to comfort Abby before their inevitable interrogation. By the time he had returned, three more kids had taken off their wristbands.

“That’s twelve dead” one of the old farts commented.

“Twelve offline. We don’t know for sure they are dead, since we can’t communicate with them” Abby supplies, voice even. “Jackson, will you tell them our working theory?”

“Sure thing” he steps in. “There was no spike of vitals leading up to their disconnection, as we would see if the radiation had killed them. All of the ones that went dark were abrupt, and most of them were kids that had been marked as unruly by the prison system. We think they are taking the wristbands off as a show of protest.” He ends his speech with a sense of finality. That is exactly what the kids are doing and he knows it.

Some of the council nods along, others frown. Having been operating on facts for so long, they couldn’t simply be swayed by a hypothesis. No matter how realistic it was.

“I think we have enough to go on to make a decision. Council meeting in two hours. That includes you Abby” Kane remarks, and the members head for the door.

Jackson waits a second before letting out a sigh, shooting Abby a sidelong tired glance, and heading out himself. He needed to catch Kane alone, and now was the perfect chance.

“Little Bird, Doc. Quarry on the move. Headed toward Farm from control” he radioed quickly.

“Copy that Doc, Little Bird and co en route” he hears Raven respond.

He follows a short distance behind Kane, keeping him in sight but far enough away not to arouse suspicion. He sees Raven at the far end of the hallway with a nervous looking Bellamy behind her and calls out.

“Councilor Kane, may I have a word?”

“Doctor Jackson, now is not really a good time” Kane begins but Jackson cuts him off.

“I really must insist. Please” He gestures toward one of the classrooms insistently and Kane slowly enters.

Jackson signs to Raven to wait until he gave a signal, then enter. She flashed him the OK symbol in response. He followed Kane into the room and shut the door.

“Councilor, I know this must be difficult for a man of black and white to understand, but we are operating in unknown territory. I would greatly appreciate you keeping an open mind when it comes to all things on the ground. Those kids might be expendable in the eyes of the council, but they are smart and tough and strong-willed. If anyone can survive down there, it’s those kids.”

“I understand you want to believe in them. I want to as well. But until we get some kind of confirmation, we must assume the worst. I believe there is a saying in the medical field about the most likely solution being the right one, something about horses and zebras?”

“Yes, well, I for one would like to hold out faith for the zebra in this situation.” He paused, then continued on. “There is another thing I wanted to talk to you about. A traitor in your midst.”

Raven opened the door. Her and Bellamy entered and stood calmly, and like he was trying to hide, respectively.

“Doctor Jackson, what is this?” Kane asks with a thinly veiled threat behind his tone.

“Hello councilor. My name is Raven Reyes, and this is Bellamy Blake. We have some information that we think you would like to hear.” Raven butts in, then pushes Bellamy forward. “Go on.”

“Councilor Kane. I was approached a few days ago by a senior member of the guard. He gave me a handgun and told me about the plan for the dropship. My sister was to be on it. He knew this and told me that if I shot the chancellor, he could get me on the ship” Bellamy begins his story, wringing his hands in front of him the whole time.

“I have something as well. I can get you Nigel, leader of the black market trading ring. But we need something from you in return. Or at least, inaction when the time comes.” Raven allows Kane time to process this.

“Wow. I have a lot of questions for you two, but first. Jackson did you orchestrate this?” Kane is stunned but turns it to anger quickly facing Jackson again.

“No, only facilitated the meeting” he answers curtly. Not entirely a lie.

“Alright. Bellamy, right? Who was it and do you have proof?” Kane turns back to the boy.

“I have the gun and jacket he gave me, as well as the time and place I was approached. I know you can have the cameras checked for corroboration” Bellamy pauses to take a breath. “It was Shumway.”

Kane at least has the courtesy to look shocked.

“Getting Nigel will require a bit of a trap. I will approach her, asking for something, she will decline, then offer it up in exchange for something else that I would be floated for if I were caught ordinarily. I will get it, bring it to her, and then when she gives me what I want you can spring the trap” Raven interrupts his thought process. “She will never expect me to be working with you, considering my history and my mother’s patronage of her little shop. Easiest bust in history because all you have to do is watch and wait.”

Kane is still shocked, eyes wide and staring at her now. She lets him process what they just threw at him, knowing it all seems too good to be true.

Jackson takes this brief moment of silence to jump back in.

“Surely Shumway was not working alone, and Nigel would be a huge weight off the guard’s back as well” though Kane shouldn’t need much more convincing.

“Alright! Alright.” Kane throws his hands up. Maybe they overwhelmed him with all this at once, but they didn’t have a lot of time to get things done. “First things first. I need you” pointing at Bellamy, “to come with me down to Guard Command. Bring the items. We will deal with the traitor first. Then” he points at Raven “I will be available for when you are ready to spring the trap. It sounds like you all have this figured out already. You couldn’t have picked a worse time.”

They probably could have gotten Nigel before this point, but they wanted to stick to the script as much as possible.

“Surely you have heard of Murphy’s Law Councilor” Raven pipes up sarcastically. Jackson quickly throws her the chill out sign. Now-Kane probably wouldn’t take well to backtalk from Raven, let alone anyone.

“I have. It gets proven again and again despite my best efforts” he answers tiredly. Maybe he wouldn’t be so insufferable this time.

“If you all would excuse me” Jackson makes his way to the door, skirting around the three others. His part was done and he really wanted to go to bed.

“See you later Doc” he hears Raven whisper, also taking her leave of the situation. She would probably go continue working on the drop pod. It was almost ready, and they were way ahead of schedule. He waves goodbye to her, and heads back to his room.

Raven does return to the drop pod. She and Bellamy would need a not-faulty pressure regulator this time, so getting the one from Nigel in order to refurbish it earlier than last time was high on her list. Abby hadn’t been able to join her last time since they only had one suit because of it. Getting another suit was out of the question, so a working regulator was the only option.

Getting Kane on board would allow her to keep the regulator, acquire two radios instead of one, and ensure Abby wasn’t in the crossfire of his rampage after she left. Jaha not getting shot also helped with that, although it introduced its own variable into their plans. Jaha’s motivation last time was back and forth at best. Once his son had died, all bets were off. Hopefully Clarke was keeping a handle on that down on the ground.

She allowed her thoughts to drift as she exchanged the seals on the door to the pod.

Kane and Bellamy would be a good pairing at this point. Bellamy needed someone to guide him on the right path. If Kane played his cards right, he could get Shumway and Diana right away. Or, he could let it play out and catch them before the unity day bombing. Knowing him, the first option was the most likely. That would also keep the first Exodus ship from launching prematurely.

As long as they killed Mount Weather before the ship launched, it should make it to the ground in one piece. That would add to the living population on the ground, and their supplies. With that many less people on the Ark, maybe not all of them would need to come down in the first place, keeping them out of the way for Priamfaya. They had touched on that idea during their planning phase, but needed way more specifics before they could make a decision.

With access to the Ark mainframe, Raven now had all the specifics she needed. Or, they could use the ship to transport people back up here before the wave happened, fuel dependent. Time to run some more simulations.

There was also the human variable. Everyone on the Ark wanted to come to the ground.

And explaining how they knew about Priamfaya would be difficult until it drew closer.

Or they could blow up a few reactors beforehand to lessen the wave.

She shook her head. This line of thinking would get her nowhere. She needed to get to Becca’s lab to run the simulations as soon as possible.

---

Later at the council meeting, Kane broke the news to the rest of the members that he had uncovered a plot to kill the Chancellor and thwarted it. They voted against culling some of the population, with Kane voting against this time. Talking with Jackson, Raven, and Bellamy had changed his mind. He would hold out hope for the kids on the ground.

Chapter Text

The sun crested the horizon and Miller was up. Despite his random living arrangements over the last couple of years, he couldn’t shake his internal circadian rhythm. The rain last night had lasted only a few minutes, getting everyone’s hair wet but not much else.

He planned to begin his day with some well-needed exercise, more now that he was getting an appropriate amount of protein in his diet. Food on the Ark was just barely enough to keep you alive, and the food in the Skybox was even less than that. Despite his body being used to it, his mind was not, and he constantly operated in a state of hunger. Speaking of hunger, the deer had been eaten completely last night, and breakfast would need to be figured out before the rest of the delinquents rose.

Fish was the easiest solution. Easy to catch, easy to cook. It wasn’t ideal for breakfast, but until they had a steady stream of food coming in from gathering or trapping, it was really the only option.

He shook one of the kids next to him awake, Spencer, and motioned for the kid to join him outside their tent.

“Grab a spear, we are going to get some breakfast” he explained while the kid rubbed sleep out of his eyes. They got moving fairly quickly, enlisting the help of another delinquent that was already awake, Mary.

Thirty minutes later and they were at the stream where the giant river creature had shown up last time. Miller hadn’t planned on killing one of the beasts this morning, but if it showed itself, it would be breakfast.

No dice on the river beast, they must have been too far upstream for it. They did manage a good haul of other fish, and some exploring led to them gathering some edible herbs that would make a decent fish stew if cooked together. Miller couldn’t remember if they had made a cookpot yet, but that was an easy fix once they got back to camp.

More of the delinquents were up by the time they returned. Miller was able to hand off the fish to a couple of the kids that had been in charge of cooking the deer yesterday and got to work forming his band of miscreants.

Murphy had a group that had flocked to him already since being on the ground, so all of those kids were out of the question. Miller had already befriended Connor, Miles, Dax, Katie, Roma, Diggs, and Atom back up in the Skybox, so they were an easy choice. Monroe was a harder nut to crack, as she and Harper were close. With Harper came Monty, and with Monty came Jasper. They had decided to keep Jasper out of the fighting this time. He and Monty would do better in camp, making tech or alcohol or whatever Clarke wanted them to do. Then there were Mary and Spencer, who he had already tasked with helping with the food this morning.

If he could get Monroe, the total of folks in his guard force came up to ten. They would be the first batch to be trained up by him personally, then the rest of the delinquents could be brought up to speed. Well, most of them. His rule was no one under the age of 15 would be trained in fighting. The few of them that had come to the ground had proven themselves to be unreliable at best.

As the chosen members of his guard woke, he gathered them by the fire.

“We need to be prepared. We don’t know what else is down here. I know most of you joined our fight club back on the Ark, but now we have weapons. I’m going to train with a spear, and the rest of you will join me. The rest of these kids will depend on us to protect them from whatever else is out here” He told his guard force.

“What IS down here? I haven’t seen anything” someone questioned.

“The deer survived. I think it’s safe to assume whatever eats the deer also survived, and what if it mutated as well? Miller’s right” Octavia chimed in as she approached. “I’m in” she quickly added, grabbing a spear.

Octavia spun the spear experimentally, getting a feel for the makeshift weapon as Miller’s guard force looked on. She finished a flourish with the end pointed at Miller, grin on her face. It had been a while since they spared, and she was itching for a fight.

“Why don’t we start with just staffs” Miller suggested the safer option, not wanting to scare the rest of his group. Using staffs made it easier to pretend like they didn’t know what they were doing, as neither of them had really mastered them. He had come closer, using mainly a polearm while in the bunker. He knew Octavia’s weapon of choice was the sword.

“Sounds good to me. I would hate to kill you” Octavia bantered, tossing the spear aside and picking up one of the unsharpened poles to use as a staff.

“After breakfast” Miller insisted. He was hungry, and he knew his followers were too. Thankfully Octavia gave in, being hungry as well after her and Clarke’s midnight stroll.

He gravitated toward Clarke, as did Murphy and Octavia, the group eating in relative silence.

“I have my guard picked out.” Miller supplied between bites of fish stew.

“Mine as well” Murphy piped up. He had gotten more people to follow him, including Jasper, Monty, Harper, Wells, and Finn. They would be the camp centric crew, a well needed sector for prolonged living here.

“Good. We will need to make first contact soon, as well as let on about the acid fog. We don’t know for sure when Raven will be here, but she should give us a heads up a day or so beforehand. I was thinking we could use first contact as the reasoning behind why we know about the fog, but the first batch comes in like two days.” Clarke explains, then turns to Octavia. “Any sign of him?”

“Not yet, but I’m sure somebody was watching at sunset yesterday. They didn’t follow us, just watched the dropship” Octavia supplies. The ‘he’ in question was of course, Lincoln. A look of longing took over Octavia’s face as she fell silent.

“Sounds like we warn about the fog now, then work on first contact” Miller concludes. They didn’t know why Mount Weather had siced the fog on them the first time, but it had taken out two of past-Bellamy’s gunners, and then Atom. If it was due to proximity, they were already in danger.

As far as any of them knew, Mount Weather knew they were there, and it was only a matter of time before they came to ‘rescue’ them. Befriending Trikru instead of fighting them would inevitably escalate that timeline.

“Let’s do it now. Everyone is up and moving around. Better they know about the fog sooner rather than later” Octavia states. The rest nod and finish their breakfast. Miller and Murphy return to their acquired groups, now larger with the addition of others that had sat down to eat and chat.

“Good morning!” Clarke begins, standing next to the fire pit with Octavia at her flank. “I hope you all slept well. I have news for you all and I would greatly appreciate your attention.” She waited for everyone to quiet down with some pointed glares from Miller and Murphy at folks that wouldn’t shut the hell up.

“First, the Ark is dying. My father was the engineer that discovered a flaw in the life support system that would kill us all, and wanted to go public with it. He was arrested, floated, and I was locked up. We were sent down here as a litmus test of the ground’s survivability. Our friends and family are up there waiting for the all clear so they can join us.” A pause for dramatic effect as some people start whispering amongst themselves. She continues once the conversations die down.

“Our communication system was fried in the landing, so the only method of talking with the Ark is the wristbands that are sending our vital signs up there. Please do not take them off. There might be a way to use them to talk to the Ark, so having as many working ones available once we figure that out is extremely important.” More muttering from the crowd at this.

“Screw the Ark!” one of the older boys, Randy, yells out.

“Screw you, my family is up there!” someone else yells out. One of Murphy’s crew.

“Screw You!” he responds. “My whole family was floated! I would have been too if I was old enough. I’m not going to sit here and listen to the Princess boss us around.” He turns to Clarke and scoffs “who put you in charge anyways.”

“Ah there is always one.” Murphy gets up, motioning to his crew to stay put. “My family is gone too. All my friends are here. But unlike You” he holds up his still braceleted wrist, “I know that most of the people still up there are good at heart. Plus, we wont be able to survive without them” he lies. They would literally be fine.

“Up there are our doctors, our engineers, our support system” Clarke continues on, now walking towards the troublemaker. Murphy sees her shoot him a look, and he backs off.

“There are things here on the ground that we don’t understand. Things that we could never have prepared for. I would offer to let you run away and try to make it on your own, but we will need everyone here for the best chance of survival.” She stops right in front of the boy, arms at her sides. The three others knew that Clarke had this handled and made no move to assist, not wanting to undermine her authority.

“We found a dead rabbit yesterday that was covered in boils, nothing else near it was effected. And that storm last night. Even the things that shouldn’t have changed due to radiation are different than we expected. We have to stick together.” Clarke adds on the point about the rabbit as a scare tactic, if the other kids saw something they didn’t understand, they were more likely to careful of it.

“I don’t care about what we expected! I was sent down here to die by your precious council and I don’t want to listen to our mini council down here. I want to enjoy this while I have it. Freedom. And you are trying to take that from me!” Randy is agitated now. His hands are balled into fists at his side, shaking as he spoke.

“I am trying to keep us alive.” Clarke keeps her voice calm. A quick glance around her showed that the rest of the delinquents seemed to be listening to her more than Randy.

“Shut Up!” he exclaimed. “I could keep us alive and free better than you ever could.” Clarke snorts out a laugh at this. Randy swings.

Clarke is ready for it, and dodges the swing. Randy is throwing haymakers, right and left over and over again, but Clarke just backs up.

Even if he is defeated here, the likelihood of him causing problems later was high. Something must have set him off for him to be so angry this early in the day. No one down here had died, no one had been seriously injured, and his rage didn’t make any sense.
“Randy, you and I both know that’s not true. Please, think this through. I don’t want to fight you” Clarke tries calming him down, but he just keeps swinging.

She blocks his next hit with her forearm, and in his moment of surprise, uses his own momentum against him to pull the offending hand behind his back. He cries out, and almost dislocates his own shoulder shaking her off. He spins back around, arms in front of him protectively.

“But I really want to fight you. And mini-Jaha. And anyone else that supports you” He spits out, readying himself for another sloppy slew of punches. Clarke sighs. Of course Wells would catch a stray here.

He comes in for another round but Clarke doesn’t let him get close. She kicks out, making contact with his side and he lets out a noise of pain. She hadn’t even kicked him that hard. He swings again, right hook, and Clarke blocks, then returns with a jab right to his nose. The sickening crunch it makes is loud enough for the whole crowd to hear it.

Randy yells out and holds his hands to his nose as he stumbles back. No one stops him as he takes off, metaphoric tail tucked between his legs. Clarke notes that he is headed in the direction of Mount Weather. That would be a problem for later for sure.
The crowd is silent as he leaves, their attention gradually returning to Clarke. She dusts her hands off on her pants and returns to her previous place next to the fire.

“Well. Foolish behavior aside, we have work to do.” Octavia states, schooling her expression before the kids can see her beaming at Clarke.

“Right. Today will be more of the same as yesterday. We have some shelter, and some method of water purification. We need to form hunting parties and get familiar with the weapons Miller’s team made yesterday, thank you all for that. Then we need to think about the future of our camp. Murphy, I think you can handle most of the inner-camp things such as food storage and buildings. We will also need a wall, and some watchtowers so our chosen guards can see what’s coming in. I think that will be enough for today.”

“If you haven’t been chosen for a group already, please come over here and we can make sure you get to do something you want to” Murphy says, hands cupped around his mouth to be heard over the exited din of the crowd.

Clarke knew he would have to split the rest of them even further into groups, but he was more than capable of assigning his own lieutenants. A group for the wall, a group for the buildings, and a group to continue the work from yesterday would suffice.

A quiet whistle from Octavia had Clarke turning quickly to look at her. She was purposefully looking out into the trees, but turned to look at Clarke and mouth the word ‘scouts’ before walking in the other direction. Clarke tried to make her scan of the trees look natural, but upon seeing not one, but at least five Trikru scouts in the trees, she was sure they had noticed her staring. She forced her eyes to skip over them, pretending like she was surveying the camp.

There were too many for a simple observation mission. Clarke would have to ask Indra about it later.

The small alterations they had made to the timeline were already taking effect it seemed. If Anya had sent her own scouts, she must be close-by. That means unless Raven hit the ground in the next day or so, Clarke would be the one to get yoinked by the grounders for their version of first contact.

She walked over to Miller, who had gathered his group and was in the process of showing them how to properly hold the spear in his hands. She stood in the back of the group and signed to Miller about the scouts. To his credit, he didn’t react or try to locate them. He only nodded subtly to show her he understood.

Clarke conveyed the same message to Murphy under the guise of helping him decide who to put in what group. He stole some glances in the direction she had indicated, probably more carefully than she had upon being told by Octavia. Or maybe he just didn’t see them. He had spent the least amount of time around or training with Trikru out of the four of them.

Once most of the willing delinquents had been set upon their tasks, the four formed a hunting party and disappeared into the trees. They went in the opposite direction as they had seen the scouts just to be safe so they could talk.

“That was too many. Something must have changed” Clarke said what they all were thinking. They nodded in agreement, still scanning the trees.

“What was up with that kid, Randy?” Octavia asks, having taken up the rear guard in their little formation.

“No idea. Somebody must have said something to him earlier about the council, or something along those lines” Miller supplies from Clarke’s left.

“I don’t remember him from last time” Murphy adds from her other side, obtusely stepping on a twig and cringing.

“Hold here.” Clarke orders. “Anybody hear from Indra yet today?”

“Negative. Except for Raven and Jackson, the main line has been quiet” Miller responds. He had taken to sleeping with his ear piece in, just in case transmissions came through for one of them during the night.

“Hmm. I’ll have to ask her about the activity this evening” Clarke said thoughtfully. Now that there were more eyes in the trees, their moonlight meeting plan would have to be scrapped. They had planned for this, and Indra would check in at dusk as well as dawn if anything changed or they missed a meeting.

“We should have a rotation. I can take nights” Miller suggested, looking pointedly at Octavia.

“When I’m out gathering I can listen in, unless I make contact with him” she said, referring again to Lincoln.

“I can do some of the day, my hair should cover my ear if I do it right.” Clarke said thoughtfully, both glad and inconvenienced by having long hair again.

“That leaves me to pick up the times we miss.” Murphy finishes.

“Alright. I’ll take right now, but we should probably start actually hunting something” Octavia said, pulling Miller towards her. They left the other two to return to camp in comfortable silence.

Murphy and Clarke would make headway on setting up the camp for the day. Miller and Octavia returned with a couple of rabbits they had caught, reporting that they found good spots for snares. The deer from yesterday had been skinned and hung to dry out, and the rabbit pelts quickly joined them.

Their little home away from home was starting to look more like a real survival camp by the hour.

Chapter Text

At dusk, Indra finally called in.

“Mama Bear calling dropship.”

“Mama Bear, this is Wanheda, send your traffic.”

“Wanheda, The General ste raun hir. She has orders from Heda and has sent an entire lukot-gona squad to haz yu kamp op” Indra says, switching between regular English and Trigedasleng. The information she had to share was too important for Mount Weather to get a hold of. Clarke responds similarly.

“We saw. Any idea what they emo strat bilaik besides observing?”

“Negative. I still have Lincoln wocha yu op sentaim but had to pull all my other scouts back upon her orders.”

“Copy, tel os op if you hon op mou. Sonop?”

“Sha, will do. Mama Bear out”

A beat of silence passes then Gaia comes through.

“Wanheda, Flamekeepa”

“Go for Wanheda”

“We, osir, not os, are en route raun Mama Bear as well. Unsure of touchdown, but it will be en won o tu sintaim.”

Clarke breathed out a conflicted sigh of hope and stress. Lexa was coming to TonDC, but was so much earlier than last time they would have to seriously change up some plans.

“Copy. Reason?”

“Fingers on the pulse. Krash daun de Maunde. Something like that.”

“Got it. Seems Operation you-know-who Livestream was a success.”

“That’s a big affirmative. She’s been chat op mou kom foutaim hedas, and asking about visions.”

“If you can, let us know when you arrive.”

“Will do. Flamekeepa out.”

Clarke looked around her at Murphy, Miller, and Octavia. They all shared her conflicted look, knowing that they would be up late tonight changing plans that had been seemingly set in stone since Sanctum. They had met up outside the range of the scouts Octavia had spotted earlier, knowing that dawn and dusk were Indra’s check in times. They had already known something had changed, due to the presence of the scouts, but to this extent this early? Maybe Operation Lexa Livestream had worked too well.

“Well. TonDC is about to be very busy” Murphy states.

“No kidding. I just hope the Mountain doesn’t catch wind of this and try to strike” Clarke responds, rubbing her temples. She didn’t want a repeat of last time with the missile, especially since they weren’t exactly welcome in TonDC yet, and rescue efforts would be solely on Indra.

“Oh crap I didn’t even think about that” Octavia gasps. She had been instrumental last time in helping with the aftermath. She was acutely aware of what a repeat would look like.

“Let’s focus on one thing for now. Anya’s scouts are in the trees, just watching, but we don’t know when or if that will change. We need to step up our training efforts just in case. Also, make sure nobody goes off alone. No need for somebody to screw up our group’s relationship with the grounders before it even starts.” The others nod in agreement with Clarke’s statement. Murphy lets out a very audible sigh, remembering his capture and subsequent torture and release last time.

“Raven won’t be down for another couple of days. Looks like you are our sacrificial lamb this time Clarke” Octavia comments, bumping shoulders with the other girl.

“This has pushed the timeline up, but most of it can stay in the same order. We might need to run some parts concurrently, since there will be a lot of moving parts the closer we get to killing the mountain. I will sit down tonight and try to draw it out for consideration tomorrow. We are going to need all hands on deck for that for sure. As far as first contact and the initial treaty goes, I think we can stick with tech and medicine. We should have enough here for Raven to make some walkie-talkies, and Jackson provided me with more first aid stuff than I could have dreamed of last time. I should be able to treat just about anything Anya wants to test me with.” Clarke paces as she thinks out loud, the others not moving from their circle as they think over what she is saying.

“That requires injuries to treat, that we haven’t inflicted. Or reapers that we haven’t captured. Or showing them tech we shouldn’t have. I don’t know Clarke, I think this might be more diplomatic than ‘Look what I can do for you’. At least we can tell them about what the Ark has in store once it comes down” Miller comments. Clarke stopped pacing long enough to look at him and sigh.

“You’re right. They were so much more receptive to things they could see for themselves than promises of capabilities last time, I defaulted to path of least resistance. We cant really predict what will happen until it does, all we can do is hope for the best and prepare for the worst.” Clarke is acutely aware of what she did to secure their treaty last time, almost killing Lincoln in the process. “Until the mountain falls, assume the treaty is in flux. If anything convinces them we are better as friends than enemies, it will be that.”

“I see him.” Octavia whispers just loudly enough for the other three to hear her. They look at her, but she quickly looks away from where she was just focused on and shakes her head. Now was not the best time for her and Lincoln to meet again.

“Alright. Time to head back. My hammock is calling my name” Murphy suggests, not letting on that anything had changed. He knew Octavia was itching to contact Lincoln and rekindle their relationship. He felt for her, as his distance from Emori was weighing on him as well. All good things in time, he thought to himself.

Even with the sun recently set, they still had a bit of light left with which to make their way back to camp. The four of them traipsed through the woods and emerged silently from the edge of the woods, Murphy and Miller rejoining their groups, Clarke and Octavia slinking off together to one of the so far unclaimed tents. Most of the delinquents had opted to sleep in the dropship, still not accustomed to life on the ground, but that just meant they had their pick of sleeping location.

Clarke had a difficult time getting to sleep, mind racing with half-baked plans and the excitement of seeing Lexa again so soon.

---

Echo had just gotten to sleep when a new batch of victims arrived at the harvest chamber. One of them in particular sparked her interest. A red-headed boy, maybe 18, skinny, and seemingly un-scarred.

Oh no.

The mountain men had acquired a delinquent. Way sooner than last time. Way sooner than they had wanted. Something drastic must have happened for the time frame to be this far escalated. He couldn’t be drained, she needed to keep him from being drained, they couldn’t afford for the value of the delinquents’ blood to be discovered yet.

She had heard the radio exchange between Clarke, Indra, and Gaia earlier, and hoped somebody was still listening.

“Laik Rogue, all col up. Der laik won hir chon luklaik skykru. Ha copi” she whispers frantically into her cupped hand.

“Rogue, Loverboy. Is it a ginger kid, about my height, broken nose?” Miller responds.

“Sha, emo ron we?” she asks, stomach sinking at the confirmation.

“Yeah, he didn’t like Wanheda taking control and tried to fight her. You can see how that turned out for him. We saw him leave but didn’t think he’d get caught so quickly. I’ll let the rest know. Over”

“Copi, Rogue out” she finishes, head still spinning from the revelation.

Branwada boy, running away from the only semblance of safety he knew in this world just because he couldn’t handle being told what to do. If it were up to her, she would let them drain him a few times and see if that changed his attitude. She knew she had to delay that as much as possible, even if it meant being drained herself to buy the others more time.

Gods she couldn’t wait to kill the mountain.

Chapter Text

Clarke went through every swear word in the book when Miller told her about Echo’s late-night message the next morning. She knew she should have sent Octavia after him. Better dead by their hands, than alive in the hands of the mountain. This, on top of everything else that had happened yesterday, was really starting to make this seem like a whole new timeline rather than the same one they were just editing. Clarke had used the early morning hours to work out much harder than anyone else, and much harder than she had before. Nothing like some stress as the perfect pre-workout.

The rest of the morning passed peacefully and according to plan. Miller trained his warriors, now fifteen strong, on using the spears they had made. Murphy had assigned his lieutenants and their charges - including Jasper and Monty to ‘refreshments’ - the wall was coming along, and the smokehouse would probably be done later today. Octavia had taken a few of the younger kids under her wing and were showing them how to set snares and weave baskets. Clarke had done something similar with the less athletic older kids, instructing them on how to skin and process the catches the hunting teams brought back, or for the queasier folks, what to gather from her herb book.

After a lunch of rabbit stew, Clarke took some of the older kids on a gathering mission. They had just stumbled upon a patch of some kind of edible tuber, when the call of the fog horn rang out.

Clarke bolted upright, looking in the direction that the horn had come from. The dropship. It must have been one of Anya’s scouts.

“What was that?” one of the kids asked, looking at Clarke for answers that she could not give.

“I don’t know, but probably nothing good” she answered, trying to keep the panic out of her voice while trying to remember what kind of shelter was around here.

Then the animals started running past them, away from the direction of the dropship.

Clarke mentally ran through every curse word in the book yet again.

“Woah! What’s going on!” one of the other kids exclaimed, pointing out a flock of birds flying overhead away from the fog.

“One thing I know, when the animals run from something, we should too” Clarke quickly remarks, picking up her basket of tubers and encouraging the others to do the same. She could tell they were starting to panic and would scatter if she didn’t direct them somewhere now. There was a cave system back the way they had came from, but that was towards where the fog was most likely coming from. The Art Supply store bunker was too far north of them to be able to reach it in time. That left the parking garage.

“This way, we should find shelter until we know what’s going on” she started helping the other kids grab their gatherings and herded them towards where she remembered the garage being. Hopefully it wasn’t full of reapers this time.

They made it just in time. The fog had caught up to them as soon as the entrance to the garage was in sight, and despite some minor skin irritation, everyone had made it to safety.

Clarke helped the others remove their outer layers and found some water for them to rinse off the irritant with, really nothing more than a puddle of standing water but it did the trick.

“What. The hell. Was that” one of the kids asked haltingly once everyone had calmed down a bit.

“I don’t know. Some kind of acid fog?” Clarke supplied, beating the nasty yellow residue off of her only good jacket. “I think the air from the lower levels is keeping it out. We will have to wait here till it passes”

“At least we have the food we gathered. I hope everybody else is ok” the same kid said. The others made assorted noises of agreement.

Clarke just looked at the entrance, head spinning with questions of her own. And anger. And frustration. Mount Weather tried to kill them, again, a day earlier than last time, and they had captured one of her charges. A problematic one, but one of her people nonetheless. She couldn’t wait to kill Cage and his ugly ass face again. She wanted nothing more than to radio the three back at the drop ship and check to see if they were ok, but with so many other kids around her, she wouldn’t get a chance until night fell.

---

Back at the dropship, the instant the fog horn had rang out, Miller, Murphy, and Octavia had jumped into action.

“Everybody in the dropship!” the boys had yelled, almost at the same time. Their chosen people had been the first in, followed by the rest who were rightfully spooked by the unfamiliar noise and the giant cloud of yellow they could see through the trees.

Miller and Murphy ushered people in, standing at the door and watching the cloud rush closer and closer. Octavia was gently encouraging – ie yelling and shoving – the stragglers, looking over her shoulder to gauge the distance from the cloud when she saw some of the scouts that had been in the trees running their way too. So much for a carefully orchestrated first contact. She made sure they were in front of her, and everyone she could find was already headed that way when she felt the first burn of the fog. She yelled out in pain and picked up the slowest person, making a mad dash for the dropship doors.

With everyone they could see onboard, Miller pulled the lever and the door closed. The three shared a look and Murphy headed upstairs to help coordinate the impromptu sleeping areas on the upper levels. They had all seen the scouts come in.

“Outer layers off, leave them by the door! We don’t know what kind of weird chemical that was and I don’t want to breathe it in!” Octavia began barking orders as the kids and their new scout friends quickly complied. Once the pile by the door had been completed, and everyone had settled down, they realized they had gained some new additions to their little band.

“Um. Who are they?” Roma asked Miller, pointing at the group of scouts near the door. Four of them had made it in, Lincoln being one of them. Since they had complied with Octavia’s order, they stood there awkwardly without their typical Trikru armor, looking to the untrained eye like normal people.

“Uhhh” was all Miller could muster. His adrenaline fueled mind couldn’t be bothered to come up with any kind or reasonable explanation or even a question in response. He had no idea what to do in this situation.

“Who are you?” Octavia took over, the eyes of literally every other person on this level trained on her. She stepped between the scouts and the delinquents, slowly, not to startle either group but to make sure none of her people intervened. She knew this was a very delicate situation and needed to dance the line of protective and curious carefully.

“We are gonas from the congeda.” One of them answered quickly.

“I don’t know what that means” Octavia replies slowly. “My name is Octavia Blake, what’s yours” she tries again.

The scouts and Lincoln look at each other, then Lincoln steps forward. Octavia fights hard not to show any kind of reaction, digging her pointer fingernail into her thumb to keep from crying or screaming or rushing into his arms.

“I am Lincoln, kom Trikru.” He begins. The other scouts give their names as well, following his lead. Octavia isn’t listening.

“Hello Lincoln. Where did you all come from? We didn’t think there were any survivors down here” she continues, trying to ask reasonable questions of him. This was not a great time to build rapport, but fate never had her in its good graces.

“I am from a village not far from here, and you all are from the sky, yes?” he asks already knowing the answer.

“From space. We have lived in a space station for the last, well, since the bombs fell almost a hundred years ago. We thought we were the last of the human race, but it looks like that isn’t true.”

“No. The twelve clans have been here as long as anyone can remember.” His answers are short, testing the waters between them.

“Twelve clans huh? That sounds like a lot of people. Oh shoot. Murphy!” Octavia turns and yells up through the hatch.

“Yeah?” Murphy calls back down.

“Give me a headcount up there!”

“One sec” she waits for his response, counting the people on her level. 39, not counting the grounder scouts.

“I’ve got 42 up here, including myself” Murphy calls down. That brings the total up to 81 people accounted for.

“That’s 81 of us in here” Miller confirms for her. “19 unaccounted for.”

“I hope they were able to find shelter in time. Who knows how long this will last” she mutters under her breath.

“There’s a bit of a gap up here, we sealed it with some of the parachute fabric but we should be able to tell once the fog dies down” Murphy shouts, almost reading her mind. She forces her shoulders to relax. The group with Clarke surely found shelter, she just wishes she knew how many had gone with their fearless leader.

“Clarke took a bunch of them, I think like nine total. Plus there were a few hunting parties out. And our runaway. That should be everybody” Miller counts in his head. Three hunting parties had gone out in groups of three, plus the nine with Clarke, plus Randy. That was all 100 located. They would have to wait and see how the hunting parties faired. Octavia and Murphy know his count is good.

“There are 100 of you? Only 100?” one of the scouts asks, obviously prying for information. Octavia stifles a laugh.

“One hundred delinquents under the age of 18, sent down here by our leaders to see if it was safe to follow. They sent us down here to die.” She lets some of her anger seep into her voice. Maybe downplaying their force would kick them in the teeth later, but it had slipped out before she could think it through. Although, showing the grounders what a hundred kids could do would set the adults up for success later. Whatever. What’s done is done.

“Why you? Why not older, more experienced members of your clan?” the same scout asked. Oh right, the word delinquent probably didn’t translate properly for them.

“We were expendable” she stated. “They needed to reduce population, and we were all healthy enough, I suppose.”

The scout falls silent, mulling over her answer.

“As for why now, our home is dying. There were, or are, too many of us up there for the, uh, life support systems to keep up. It has a problem, and they can’t fix it. So, we all have to come to the ground” Octavia explains. Most of that is true, as far as she knows.

Once she broached the topic of the Ark, more people piped up, and the scouts seemed overwhelmed with the new words and explanations of life on the Ark. A metal box in the sky? Preposterous. Octavia let the others take over, telling their stories and answering the scouts’ questions. She scooted closer to Lincoln.

“So, how did you all survive down here?” She asks him.

“I know not how the first kru survived priamfaya, but we live life down here much differently than you do up in the sky” he begins. He seems to open up, and talks about his early life in the village, growing up into a warrior, and really anything else Octavia asks about.

The more time passes with both groups trapped in the dropship, the more at ease they seem around each other. Despite their vastly different living arrangements, the two cultures have more in common than they ever could have realized the first time around.

Murphy is conveying the actions of those on the ground floor of the dropship to the upper levels when he notices someone crying quietly in a dark corner. Charlotte, the youngest member of the 100, killer of Wells last time, and maybe again this time. Not if he could help it.

“Hey squirt, what’s got you turning on the waterworks?”

“I, I’m scared” she answers, hugging her knees to her chest. She’s trying to make herself smaller than she already is and it’s breaking his heart.

“Hey, I’m here and I won’t let anything happen to you. What has you so scared?” he asks, taking a seat next to her and offering her a shred of cloth as a handkerchief. To be fair, there are quite a lot of things she could be scared of right now.

“All of it. There is so much going on and I can’t, I don’t, I don’t know” Charlotte answers shakily, taking the offered cloth and wiping her face.

“There is. A lot going on I mean. Can I tell you a secret?” he lowers his voice to a whisper. “I’m pretty scared too.” He pauses for a second as she eyes him questioningly. “But I know that bravery is just doing scarry things while scared. Or maybe that’s courage. Either way, most of us are doing everything down here for the first time” which isn’t exactly a lie, “and we are doing our best to figure it out as we go.”

Charlotte nods and sniffles. He continues.

“I think we all are being brave, especially right now. Especially you. Despite everything, I have seen you try to help however you can. That seems pretty brave to me.” He smiles and winks at her, and she returns his smile slowly.

“I want to be brave. But I’ve been having nightmares.” Her face falls again. “Seeing my parents floated. Seeing Him” She motions upwards, meaning Jaha. “Every time I see him I remember them” she motions downstairs this time, indicating Wells.

“Well, ah, Wells is not his Father. I think he is a better man than his father ever was. I know telling you this won’t fix that, but maybe, if you talked with him, you could start to see the good inside that kid. He has been a big help down here, just like you, and maybe working through your fear of him will help with the nightmares also.” God he hopes this isn’t anything like the trash Bellamy had thrown at her last time.

“Will you come with me? I don’t think I can be that brave on my own” she confesses.

“Of course. I’ll even introduce you two if you want.” He agrees quickly to her request, already planning on being there to keep her from killing Wells if left to her own devices. And he wouldn’t let her have a knife this time either. Better safe than sorry.

“Thank you, Murphy. I’m sorry if I’m being a burden”

“You’re not. I promise. Everyone is valuable down here, and our mental health is just as important as physical health” He says, mostly believing what he’s saying. All it takes to ruin their plans is one person going off the deep end.

Charlotte relaxes significantly at this and smiles over at him. She had obviously been holding onto this for a while, maybe even while still in the skybox. Murphy wondered how many of the other kids were harboring internal struggles like hers.

“I think it would be best to wait until after we can go outside again squirt. Being trapped in another tin can isn’t the best for life changing conversations” Murphy advises. Charlotte agrees, but doesn’t resume crying, which he takes as a good sign. He stays seated next to her, watching people come up and down the ladders, waiting their turn to talk to the grounders or ask about what others have said to them.

This was certainly a life changing conversation between the two groups, but had only happened because they were all trapped in this tin can. Oh well. It all seemed to be going well so far, no weapons had been drawn or punches thrown at least. Now all there was to do was wait out the acid fog and see what happens afterward.

Chapter Text

Meanwhile, up in the Ark, Abby is freaking out.

“They all went red, all at the same time! Something must have happened to cause such a widespread spike” She rants to Jackson. He had just gotten to sleep when he was paged to come to the control room.

“It could have been anything, and look, most of them are going back to normal” he tries calming her, but she is not having it.

“But what caused it? Not knowing what is going on when my daughter is down there is going to drive me insane. I need to talk to Sinclair, maybe there is a way to reverse engineer the wristbands to be able to communicate with the kids.” She was pacing in front of the screens now, arms crossed and hand on her chin in thought.

“What about one of the engineers? That way Sinclair can keep working on the life support problem.” Jackson suggested. This was the perfect time to introduce Abby to Raven.

“Who would you suggest?” Abby asked, pausing her pacing. She hadn’t had much interpersonal contact with engineers besides her husband and Jaha before he became chancellor.

“I know a very smart and very creative young lady who would love a challenge such as this. She’s the youngest zero-G mechanic in 52 years and won’t let anyone forget it”

“Well go get her! The sooner we get her started on this the better. Although, she will need clearance to even come into this room and get read onto this project” back into thought Abby went, resuming her pacing. All this red tape really didn’t help with getting assistance here.

“Why don’t we go meet her outside of here. I think we both could use a break from staring at these screens, and the monitoring will be in very capable hands” Jackson adds, gesturing toward the young man sitting behind the control table.

Abby sighs. “Alright. Lead the way” she gives in.

Jackson does so happily. He walks her directly to where Raven is working on the drop pod. 

“Raven, I’ve brought somebody to meet you” he begins, not bothering to knock.

“Holy sh-cow Jackson! Let a girl know before you run up on her conducting illegal activities!” Raven yells at him. She was pretty much done with the bulk of her aforementioned illegal activities, just needed to close the trap on Nigel and fix the pressure regulator.

“Hey! Maybe don’t mention, you know what, never mind. I think we are just going to bite the bullet on this one” he considered playing off her comment, but at this point it would take Abby like no time at all to put the pieces together in her own head. “Yeah we are-”

“We?!”

“-Raven. Is fixing up a drop pod and will be joining the 100 down on Earth. She’s going to bring down radios so we can finally talk to these kids. And she’s going to help keep them out of trouble with the help of another person who already knows about the mission” Jackson explains.

“He’s on his way down here now, you could have just said his name. And Kane is with him” Raven adds. 

“Kane knows about this?” Abby is stunned. Of all the sticks in the mud, Kane was never one she would have thought would be in on something like this.

“He knows OF it. Honestly the least he knows the better, I might have them wait in the hallway” Raven thinks out loud.

“Well, now you don’t have to worry about the communication aspect. We will have two sets of very capable boots on the ground within the next couple days?” The last part was a question directed at Raven.

She nods and adds “plus two fully functional radios and extra parts just in case.” Plus nobody would be trying to throw it in a river this time. “Anyways! Dr. Griffin it’s nice to meet you, Clarke is a fine young woman and speaks highly of you.” She holds out her hand and Abby shakes it.

“Please, call me Abby.” She wondered how Raven and Clarke knew each other. Maybe they had crossed paths when Clarke went to visit her late father at work?

“Alright, Abby. Well I think we got the gist of our plan - Wait. I will temporarily need to borrow something that only you can provide. I don’t need it yet, but I will come find you when I do. Just trust me, it's for the good of the mission.” She almost forgot about the morphine Nigel would ask for. Better to get Abby on board with the illegal stuff as fast as possible. Plus she would make sure it got back to Medical after Kane made the bust. No harm no foul, right?

“Oh, Ok. I’ll see what I can do.” Abby said, still kind of out of her element. In a few short minutes she had gone from freaking out about weird vital signs from the kids on the ground, to enlisting help from a very young mechanic, to collaborating with said mechanic and her most trusted friend to commit something - or more than one somethings - very illegally. And Kane knew about it. She needed to sit down. 

“Cool. I’ve got interference to run. Jackson can you take it from here?” Raven had already started walking away when she asked.

“Got it” he shot back quickly. He got a peace sign over the shoulder in response.

Then he and Abby were alone in the hallway with a 130 plus year old drop pod. She abruptly sat on one of the metal crates lining the space. This would be a lot for anyone to take in, let alone a council member and the chief of Medical.

“I understand if you need time to think about this. I will be available to answer any questions you have.” Jackson reassured her. No pressure, at least not from him right now.

---

Raven was waiting for Kane and Bellamy as they neared the hallway door. 

“Howdy, I hear Operation Catch the Traitors went off without a hitch?”

“It did. Shumway led us right to Diana. I know they weren't working alone, but were definitely the minds behind the plot. They were both floated privately yesterday evening.” Kane confirmed what Raven already knew, Bellamy nodding along. He was wearing the uniform of a more junior guard again and seemed more at home in it this time.

“Did you rejoin the guard?” She asked. That wouldn’t be bad for him, but it would be yet another change in their plans she would have to work around.

“More or less” he explained. “I am kind of an assistant for now, on probation. That way I could work closely with the councilor here on this operation. After we - do our thing - we will have to wait and see if he lets me stay.” A pensive look crossed his face. He was internally warring over choosing his sister or being a part of something bigger than himself. A classic Bellamy conundrum.

“As much as I appreciate not knowing about illegal activities that I am inadvertently assisting with, I do really want to know what you all are up to. It won't hurt other people up here, right?”

Kane had every right to be curious, but Raven couldn’t help but snicker at his phrasing. “No councilor, no one up here will be hurt, mentally or physically, by our actions. You have my solemn swear as a mechanic.” 

The only aftereffects of their actions were good ones. They needed ground coms up so they could start the process for mass-exodus, and so the others could kill the mountain, and report on the grounders, and so much more.

“Alright. I am no stranger to the weight of that swear Ms. Reyes” he said, shaking his finger at her. There was the Marcus Kane she knew and loved, the responsible and respectable father figure. She shot him a shitty grin, to which he responded in kind.

“Perfect. Give me three hours, then I’ll come find you and we can bust Nigel.”

“I’ll see you then.” Kane gave them both a curt nod, and walked back the way he came from. Raven turned to Bellamy.

“Dude. Do you want to see the pod?” Raven whispers conspiratorially.

“You mean my only chance of seeing my sister in the next few days which might kill us both? Absolutely."

“Let’s go.” She grabs his hand and drags him into the closed off hallway. Might as well introduce him to Abby while she’s here too.

---

Lexa is going to Lose Her Mind.

The sky girl that invaded her dreams was the leader of the force on the ground, if the descriptions the scouts gave were accurate. She’s real, and here, and a fellow leader? Uh oh.

They had stopped for the night about a third of the way to TonDC, after getting kind of a late start. That had been all Titus’s fault, saying something about needing to be there for all of her people and not banking on people that fell from the sky. She had yelled at him until he gave in, and she had insisted on another flamekeeper accompanying her on this journey. A friendly girl named Gaia had stepped up. 

They were supposed to arrive on the following evening, but now they were set for mid-day the day after that. She was getting antsy. She wanted to see this Skaiprisa - something the scouts had taken to calling her - for herself. She needed to know if she was the same as in her dream, if she looked at her the same way the dream girl had, if she was still so sad.

Lexa shakes her head. No time for Lesbian Activities, they had a mountain to kill.

Gaia approached Lexa early in the night, but after their little camp had been set up and the meal had been eaten. 

“Heda, something is on your mind” she stated. Gaia always seemed to do that, turn her questions into statements. 

“Yes, we are eminently approaching the cusp of something no commander before me has had to deal with. Their advice only carries so far” and they kept calling her a hopeless lesbian. They didn’t say that part out loud, but she sure felt it. 

“Indeed. However, you have personally brought multiple clans into your coalition. Surely this can be compared with that” Gaia supplied, taking a seat next to her by the fire. 

Lexa let the silence stretch between them before answering. “I suppose you are right. They are another clan, one with something to offer the coalition. They will be treated as such.” Gaia’s only response is a nod. 

Gaia knew good and god damn well Lexa was being a useless lesbian about this. She had seen that look more times in the last few days than she had ever seen on her Heda’s face before. Ever since the scouts reported back on the blonde haired leader of skaikru, and even brought a sketch of her, Lexa had been pensive. She needn’t have worried about them to her mother. These two twin flames would undoubtedly find their hearts in each other again.

“The Skaiprisa is in good hands with Anya. While she can be a bit brash with other leaders, my faith in her ability to facilitate a treaty with Trikru is unshaken.” Lexa confesses. She hopes Anya and Indra don’t scare off the sky girl. 

Gaia bites the hell out of her tongue. She knows Clarke can hold her own against Anya, and her mother would be more likely to take Clarke’s side if it came down to it. Anya should be the one worried about Clarke. She says nothing of the sort. 

“I do not think it has come up before, and I apologize, Heda. The Trikru chieftain is my own Nomon. She will do what is best for her people, no matter what” Gaia volunteers this information freely. She hopes Lexa will take this as reassurance, not a threat. Lexa doesn’t know that Clarke is more Indra’s people than most of Trikru is right now.

“I see. It had not. This trip is not solely business for you, it holds a personal touch as well” Lexa comments, seemingly amused.

“I assure you, it is business first. Always” Gaia gently insists. “I will not look a gift horse in the mouth at it also being a chance to see ai nomon again.”

“I had no doubt. You will have plenty of time for catching up with her, I am sure.” Lexa secretly shared the personal touch of this trip, and had no room to judge a simple mother-daughter reunion.

“Thank you Heda. I will not soon forget this” Gaia bowed her head in thanks, and departed from the fire. It was drawing late and her bedroll was calling her name. “Goodnight Heda.”

“Goodnight Gaia. Sleep well.” Lexa responds, yet unmoving from her position.

She has some more sapphic yearning to get out of her system before going to bed, lest she dream about the beautiful sky girl. Again.

Chapter Text

They had to wait all night for the acid fog to dissipate. Clarke had taken watch in the middle of the night, and used the time to check in with the three back at the dropship. Armed with only a flashlight she had explored the lower levels of the garage. There she had found an old suitcase to sit on, far enough from the other kids to be out of earshot.

“Dropship, Wanheda. Status”

“Wanheda, Cockroach. 81 up. Plus four gona”

Oh. That was certainly a kink in their plans. Murphy had whispered, so it seemed like they were all stuck in the dropship still. He hadn't sounded panicked, so the scouts were at least behaving. One hell of a first contact.

“Oh my god. Copy. I have eight others here with me. Still missing nine and our defector.” 

“Confirmed” 

“I'll let you know once we start heading back, it's pretty thick over here still. Please make sure to do the same”

“Will do”

“Wanheda out”

She didn't want to compromise him any more than their conversation already had.

“Wanheda, Little Bird” Of course Raven had heard that.

“Go for Wanheda.”

“What, literally, on earth is happening down there”

“Fog came through, separated some of us, break” so much information was about to be left unsaid. Clarke hoped Raven could thoroughly read between the lines. “9 unaccounted for. Are you tracking Rogue's transmission from last night?”

“Affirmative, Doc was on shift and caught it”

“Good. Seems like some of the watchers got trapped in the dropship with our folks. We are in a garage nearby. Definitely need to escalate the plan, all facets” Clarke finishes. She needed Raven down here with her as soon as possible to get rid of the mountain. 

“Wow. Didn't see that one coming. Understood, all pieces are ready, Bell and I can touchdown tomorrow afternoon”

God bless Raven Reyes.

“That's the best news I've heard all day. We'll see you soon.”

“Sounds like you've missed me, see you soon. Little Bird out”

Clarke got up and stretched. She took a second to look around the level she was on. A smattering of vehicles were still parked here, most of them seemingly undisturbed. Besides the suitcase she was sitting on, there didn't appear to be much else left behind, at least nothing the group with her could reasonably carry.

She unzipped the suitcase and realized she had struck gold. The cool stagnant air of the parking garage had helped preserve the nearly 100 year old items inside the case, including a bunch of clothes. She felt her own threadbare shirt and grinned. Maybe being trapped here wouldn't be a complete waste of time. 

Clarke zipped the suitcase back up and used her flashlight to look into the car windows around her. All of their batteries should be long since dead, and they were unlikely to set off any alarms if they had to break in to retrieve the treasures within. Doing the actual retrieving would be a task for the morning, but she couldn't help looking into each car she passed on her way back up. She brought the suitcase with her to show the others what she had found. Once back on the first level, she resumed her post near the door, watching the fog make shapes outside.

---

By the time Clarke woke again, the fog was gone and the sun was streaming in from outside. Evidently the last person on watch had fallen asleep, or simply had gone back to sleep once they realized the fog was gone. Clarke woke the others and showed them what she had found while exploring last night. They were all notably excited by her find, and the potential of more.

The group went level by level, constrained by the only two flashlights that had been brought with them in the gloom of the garage, breaking into cars and rifling through what they found. Most of what they found on the first level had been destroyed by the weather, or fallout, or who knows what else, but the vehicles on the lower levels were where the good stuff was at. Clarke had slowed the group down once they reached level two. They didn’t need to go breaking into every single car, especially since some of them had nothing in them to begin with. 

In the end, they had found quite a few backpacks of school-like use, a couple of bug-out bags, and a whole bunch of other random stuff. Every blanket and article of clothing they found was grabbed, as well as anything that looked remotely like survival gear. They even found a hatchet stashed under a seat, a lucky find indeed.

Once they were satisfied with their haul and everyone had packed what they could carry reasonably with the rest left near the entrance for retrieval later, the group of nine delinquents walked into the daylight.

Clarke hadn’t been paying attention. She was laughing and joking with the other kids when they left the garage. She hadn’t noticed the army of grounders surrounding the doorway, waiting for them to exit. Someone else noticed them first, and they all froze.

There were between 15 and 20 of them, Clarke realized at first glance. They were in a semicircle around the entrance, spears or swords pointed at her and the other delinquents, but mostly her. 

Silence blankets the grove, and hoofbeats sound in the distance. Clarke can’t tell where they are coming from, the noise is echoing weirdly through the forest. She slowly sets the bag she was carrying down, and raises her hands in surrender. The other kids follow suit, still stunned into silence by the appearance of humans other than them. Fiercely armored and armed ones at that.

“There’s. There’s people down here” one of the kids, Sterling, says.

“What the hell man, I thought we were the only ones left” one of the others echoes the sentiment. 

One of the warriors speaks quickly in Trigedasleng and motions at Clarke with his spear. He had said ‘You. Leader of the sky people. Our General will speak to you’, but she was the only one that understood it.

“What did he say? Was that even English?” the other kid pipes up again.

“Something about a leader, I think they mean me” Clarke says, motioning for them to shut the hell up, finger to her lips.

“Sha, Skaikru heda na chat op kom Heda. Nau” the grounder states.

“That almost sounded like English, chat op must be speak with. Their leader wants you to speak with them?” One of the girls, Lisa, deduces. Smart kid, Clarke would have to keep an eye on her.

“Well, out of the acid fog frying pan and into the scary ground survivor fire I guess, lets go” the boy Clarke couldn’t remember the name of spoke up again. He reached down to grab his discarded bag and one of the grounders threw their spear. 

Clarke moved without thinking, only having to shift slightly to interrupt the spear on its trajectory for the boy’s chest. She swatted it away, and it skittered across the ground, missing the boy entirely. 

“Don’t move a muscle” Clarke growled out at her charges. She was glad to see they froze again. The warriors Anya had sent were awfully jumpy. Clarke wondered if something else had happened overnight.

“Solo skaiprisa. Nou gona, nou goufa” The grounder demanded, gesturing at Clarke again. She noticed the one that had thrown the spear was getting glared at by a few of the other warriors, and was stepping back into the trees.

“Just me? No gonna, I don’t know what that means” Clarke tried to get the warrior to clarify for the sake of the other kids with her.

“What? We can't let them take you alone Clarke!” Came a voice from behind her. She didn’t bother turning around to see who had spoken.

“I don’t think we really have a choice here guys. They seem pretty, uh, demanding.” These kids were going to get themselves into trouble if they kept it up. “Besides, if they wanted us dead, I would put money on us not having made it past the doorway” she drives her point home. 

“Solo skaiprisa. Hos op” the warrior sets his spear upright and nods over his shoulder, then beacons her over with his hand. 

Clarke walks over to him, hands still up, and hears the hoofbeats draw closer. She turns to look over her shoulder at the scared faces of the kids.

“Once they let you go, return to the dropship and tell Murphy or Miller what happened. Make sure the stuff we found gets divided out evenly.” She hopes the boys can calm this group down, as they would definitely be freaking out once they got back. Hopefully this little display doesn’t ruin the work that the group trapped on the dropship had made for grounder-skaikru relations last night.

Her voice had remained calm, and the faces of the kids got a bit more relaxed. Some even nodded in response. Their eyes all shifted to the horses as they entered the little clearing, jaws slack in awe. This was their first time seeing horses outside of books or screens.

‘She’s going to flop around like a sack of grain’ Clarke hears one of the warriors comment, and a few others laugh. She tries her very best not to glare at him, simply raising an eyebrow instead, as if trying to understand what he said.

Clarke allows herself to be bound by the wrists, in front of her body thankfully, and helped onto one of the larger warhorses. The warrior that had done most of the speaking swung up behind her and immediately kicked the horse into a canter. Clarke did Not, in fact, flop around in the saddle, but did grip the horse's mane a little too tight in order to keep her balance. The ride wasn’t too bad, until they turned onto the road toward where she knew TonDC was, and a bag was thrown over her head. 

She didn’t anticipate a warm welcome, nor a prisoner's welcome to TonDC, but this was kind of a weird mix of both and it was throwing her off. She smelled cookfires before she heard the bustle of the village and it brought an unseen smile to her face. Maybe she would see Indra here. She hoped the kids would be able to find their way back alright. She hoped this meeting would go well. Then they slowed to a walk. She smelled more horses, so approaching a stable most likely.

The bag was ripped unceremoniously from her head and the light blinded her for a second. Clarke blinked rapidly as TonDC came into view. She remembered the large pole in the center of the town, and the war room. She remembered how it all looked after the missile had hit and her heart thumped its protest. She wouldn’t let it happen again.

There were kids running around, a few stands with traders hocking their wares, warriors and normal citizens walking the streets, all sorts of the normality of village life she had missed since Priamfaya. She wouldn’t take this opportunity for granted, and tried to take in as much as possible.

Then she was dragged down from the horse.

“Hey! I could have got off by myself” she glares at the warrior in question. “I didn’t need the man-handling.”

He just shrugs, and points in the direction of a house on the town’s outskirts. It really did look like a normal house. No metal bars over the windows, just normal wood shutters. No pit for her to be chained up in, just some late blooming flowers in placed stone box outlines. Suspiciously normal. For the life of her, Clarke could not get a good read on what was going on right now.

The warrior who had pulled her off the horse began pushing her forward, hand firmly on her shoulder. He stopped her in front of the door and knocked before Anya herself answered.

Clarke blinked hard again, this time to keep from showing her relief. Anya was definitely on Clarke’s list of regretted deaths that haunted her from last time. Seeing her so abruptly here, and alive, was a lot to take in.

“Ah, yu lida Skyprisa in. Os. Ban os op” Anya says with a wave of her hand, dismissing the guard. He bows and departs, leaving Clarke and Anya alone. Anya gestures past her into the house, and Clarke walks in the door. It’s literally just a normal house. 

Anya must take Clarke’s searching look as one of someone who had been living in the sky for their entire life, instead of what it really was. Confusion.

“Sit” Anya practically demands. A small table and two chairs are the only furniture in this room. Clarke sits.

“Leader of the Sky people. Your coming has been foretold by our Commander. She says you will bring down the mountain that has been plaguing our people for generations. She also said you all were not a threat. I disagree. My scouts were told to watch your camp, and three of them have not reported back. What do you know about that?” Anya begins her interrogation. Of course she thought we kidnapped her damn scouts. Wait three? But there were four according to Murphy. Who was the fourth? Did she not know about the acid fog attack last night? 

Anya slammed her fist down onto the table in front of Clarke. Whoops, she must have been lost in thought for too long.

“Speak Sky girl” Anya hisses, now glaring at Clarke as well as looming over her. 

“Um. I have no idea what you are talking about. Any of that. We were trapped in that parking garage all night. This nasty fog came out of nowhere and started burning so we sheltered there” Clarke began, mind racing trying to find a way to salvage this interaction. 

“Let's start simpler. You are the leader of your people, yes?”

“That’s not really simpler. I am in charge of those of us on the ground right now, but not of my people as a whole. Is that what skaiprisa means? Sky girl?” Clarke finishes her answer with a question. She was doing exactly what she had told the others to do if they didn’t know what to do next. Play dumb.

“Not quite. What do you mean as a whole. There are more of you somewhere else?”

“Yeah, there’s like almost two thousand of us still aboard the Ark. How many of you all are there?”

They keep up this question and answer, neither willing to let their questions be halted first.

“There are more than four times your number down here. Where is this ‘Ark’?”

“Oh right, the Ark is a space station currently in orbit. How did you all survive down here? What with the bombs and all”

She can tell Anya wasn’t expecting that kind of question. She pauses before answering, narrowing her eyes and shaking her head.

“We live normally. We survive. How will you kill the Maunon?”

“Again, no idea what that means. Maunon? The mountain? What mountain?”

“THE Mountain. Near where your ship crashed down. Who kill our people with the fog and take them, never to be seen again unless as ripas.”

“What, Mount Weather? There’s people there?”

“Yes, who control the fog and take my people.”

“What the f- ok so evil people live in Mount Weather and they want you dead. Or to keep you away? Do You know what they want?”

“We do not know, only that they turn our people into monsters and kidnap others. They’ve been doing it for generations. Now. How will you kill the Mountain?”

“Well we’d obviously have to get inside of it first, find out what’s going on, how they are controlling that crazy fog, why they are taking your people. Then we would turn off the fog and whatever else weapons they have, and probably take out whatever archaic security system they have, and kill the leaders. Among other things of course” Clarke begins spitballing and Anya just stands there, staring at her.

‘Heda was right. These skykru are bold, and might just be able to do it’ she utters to herself in Trig. 

Clarke hides a smile. What she has just said barely even scratches the surface of their plan for Mount Weather. 

“Ok so another question for you. What language is that?”

“Trigedasleng. What we are speaking now is English, or Gonasleng as we call it. What weapons do you have? My earlier scouts reported seeing crude spears and small knives, but nothing else.”

“You think they would send 100 delinquent kids anywhere with guns? That’s a recipe for disaster.” She laughs at this, and at Anya’s perplexed expression. Here come so many more questions.

“Delinquent kids? What do you mean. Surely some of you are warriors, we saw you training”

“Oh that? Yeah a few of us have prior guard training or learned from our parents, but none of us are actual ‘warriors’. The watching part feels kinda rude”

“So, your leaders sent you down here without weapons. How did they expect you to survive?”

Clarke lets out a laugh at this.

“They didn’t. Honestly, they sent us down here because they need the oxygen we wouldn’t be using to prolong their available time up there. Maybe to fix it, maybe just to buy time to figure out who to kill next. We don’t know for sure.”

“Why kids? The future of their clan?”

“We are all criminals. Every crime on the Ark is punishable by death. Unless you are under the age of 18, then they lock you up. And send you to die on the ground apparently”

Anya looks at her differently. Almost pitying. Almost.

“I think we got off on the wrong foot. I’m Clarke. What’s your name, pretty grounder lady?”

“Anya. I would prefer you call me General Anya, not…pretty grounder lady.”

“A general, under a Commander. Sounds like you guys use a more militaristic system of government. Yet you called me Skaiprisa, as did the warriors that came to snatch me up.” Anya’s eyebrows raise at the word snatch, but quickly go back to normal. “It almost sounds like a title, Sky something. What does it mean?”

“Princess. My scouts heard your people call you it. Is it not your title?”

Clarke busts out laughing. Freaking Finn and his big mouth.

“No, no that’s more of an insult honestly. Or really a nickname I don’t like. It’s like how you reacted to ‘pretty grounder lady’ and completely contradicts my entire leadership style and efforts in keeping these idiots alive” It feels good to explain this to somebody, even if they don’t really care.

“I see.” Anya steps back, then sits down. Their rapid back and forth now over, she was evidently satisfied with Clarke’s honesty and ability to keep up in their conversation. 

“So, Skaiprisa” she begins with a twinkle in her eye Clarke had not seen before. “It seems we have the makings of a truce. Between the invading members of the Sky kru, and Trikru whose lands you have fallen into. I have determined you are not a serious threat to the coalition, and will let the Trikru chief conduct their own truce building meeting with you. For now, please do not leave this house unless to use the outhouse” She points at the door and kind of to the right. Clarke is sure she could find it if she needed to. “Do not leave this house for any other reason. I will be back soon.”

And then she leaves Clarke alone in the house. 

Clarke waits all of five seconds after the door closes before scrambling for her communicator.

“This is Wanheda. The General got me. In TonDC. Totally fine. Over”

“Wanheda, Roman. Good Copy. Mama Bear already told us right when you rode in. Your group got back not too long ago, yelling about you being kidnapped, and the hunting parties all came back in one piece. Everyone, as of right now, is accounted for.” Octavia updates her. 

“Please tell me the scouts went home as soon as the fog lifted. I just got seriously questioned about their location.”

“Affirmative, the three of her scouts should be back in the village soon, and Mama Bear’s boy is with them.”

So Lincoln was the fourth scout Murphy had mentioned. That made sense. Octavia must have been happy to see him again, even considering the circumstances. She was sure O would think the same of her once Lexa arrived in TonDC.

Chapter Text

Before the sun had fully risen, Miller pulled the lever to open the dropship doors, freeing the delinquents and grounders trapped inside. They had talked all evening and well into the night, waiting for the fog to dissipate.

Octavia had taken lead on most of the conversation, and the other kids had spilled more information than Miller was comfortable with to the scouts. They had no reason to suspect that all of that info would immediately be taken back to the grounder general. Some of it would go all the way up to Lexa eventually.

The scouts now knew they had no weapons, no training, and no experience on the ground. They also knew Clarke was their leader, and Miller, Octavia, and Murphy were the next in command. Clarke being their leader was already apparent to the scouts, but they accepted Octavia as the stand in for Clarke's absence. That was fine with the boys. They knew their role here.

The scouts left soon after the doors were open, but thankfully Lincoln stuck around. 

Murphy began barking orders at his lieutenants in an effort to get the camp back up and running after their unexpected interruption yesterday. The living were hungry. 

Finn took a hunting party out, and two other pairs went out to look for the missing hunters from yesterday. Monty and Jasper dumped the water that had been sitting out and directed people to get more. A group went to the river for water, some stayed there to fish, led by Mary. Wells and a few others got back to work on the smokehouse and wall. The younger kids, led by a boy named Hunter, went around airing out the tents and beating any acid fog residue off the sleeping bags inside. Murphy took up a spot in the middle of camp by the now dead fire, being worked on as well, and resumed carving a table leg he had previously abandoned. Miller took his gunners through their normal morning workout. 

Everything was back to normal to the untrained eye.

Octavia took the hustle and bustle as a good opportunity to try Clarke on coms.

“Wanheda, Roman, Over.” She waited a few seconds. Nothing. She tried again, no response. No matter, Clarke was safe last night, and would radio in when she got the chance.

Speaking of chances.

“Would you, show me how to use that?” Octavia asked Lincoln, pointing to his sword. He was watching Miller and his group train, no longer hiding since the pretense of observing unseen had been shattered last night.

He just looked at her before she added a “please?” She saw the exact moment he caved cross his face even before the confirmation crossed his lips.

“Sure. Although we should start with something else. Something not sharp.” Octavia quickly found a misshapen spear and broke it in half. These would do for training swords. She couldn't wait to be able to carry a real sword again.

“That works” Lincoln stated once she returned to him. He reached out and she handed one over easily. In her absence he had taken off his armor and sword, setting them in a pile at the edge of the woodline. 

She let him win every time, except the last match, where she allowed herself to get the jump on him. She kicked out his knee, parried his panicked thrust and held her stick-sword against his throat.

“Very good” he praised her, pushing the stick away with his hand and offering his own to her. She grinned, taking it and returning it to the pile of spears next to the fire. Her and Murphy shared a sly wink before she turned back to Lincoln.

“I should head back. But I will return.” His choice to stay instead of returning with the other scouts would be overlooked by Indra, but not the others surely there to witness the arrival of Skaikru. 

“May we meet again” Octavia says, extending her arm for a shake.

He takes her forearm, tilting his head before responding “Mebi oso na hit choda op nodataim.”

He departs, and Octavia joins Miller's group, showing them what she had ‘just learned’.

Clarke's group returns, carrying their finds from the garage and yelling about people on the ground. Miller tries his best to calm them down as Murphy directs them toward the fire. The items get consolidated and the returners learn that Clarke was taken by grounders not long ago. 

A long conversation later, and the eight that were with Clarke were no longer freaking out. They were told about the scouts in the dropship, and that the grounders probably wanted to talk to Clarke, and that she would be OK. 

Two of the missing hunting parties returned during their conversation, so some of the story had to be repeated. The hunting parties had found shelter in separate caves and met each other on the way back this morning. Their catches had been skinned and mostly processed already due to the long wait out of the fog, and were quickly made into lunch for the others. 

The last missing hunting party showed up around noon, as they had gone further out and had gotten lost before being found by one of Murphy's search parties. The news of the grounders was shared again, and now everyone was up to speed. 

Everyone was back, except Clarke and Randy, who were unfortunately accounted for.

Then Indra radioed in. 

“Dropship this is Mama bear. Come in”

“Mama Bear, Roman”

“Wanheda is here, brought in by the General's scouts.” Indra made no comment on Clarke's condition, implying she was fine. Or at the very least, not being tortured.

“Copy, some of her scouts were stuck with us here last night, including our boy” 

“We were wondering what happened to them. Only two came back this morning, so we assumed the worst. I’m sure they will arrive here soon”

“One might be a while. I had him show me some sword techniques” Octavia adds, smile gracing her face and bleeding through into her words.

“I see. All good there?”

“Affirmative. 98 up here.”

“Good copy, Mama Bear out.”

---

The radio chatter that had come through during the earlier parts of the day helped keep Raven awake and told her three things. Clarke got taken by the Grounders, all the delinquents were accounted for, and the dropship camp was doing just fine while Clarke was gone.

She was proud of Murphy. After everything that had happened on Sanctum he really seemed to grow up and would make an excellent leader of the delinquents when it came time for that part of the plan.

Raven walked into the mess hall furtively. She approached Nigel at her counter before being stopped by one of Nigel’s goons. 

“It’s not meal time yet” he said, hand on her arm threateningly.

“I’m not hungry, I’m here to trade” she shoots back, shrugging off his hand. “Before you try to tell me I’m in the wrong place, just let Nigel know it’s her little bird.”

“Well well well” Nigel interrupts. “How long’s it been, little bird?” she croons, motioning Raven over.

Raven stops in front of her and leans in, hands on the counter.

“I need a pressure regulator.” She cuts to the chase, time running out.

“What for?” Nigel asks with faux innocence.

“Regulating pressure. Before you ask me for some weird sexual favor, just know, I have something worthwhile to trade” Raven doesn’t even want to think about the Chief of Electrical right now. She’s so close to being back on the ground.

“Well, I see you got your Mom’s sense of humor, but not her willingness to meet my requests. Besides, I don’t move machine parts anymore. It’s too dangerous. How about settling for some herb or moonshine like everybody else?”

“Save the act for someone who doesn’t know better. Tell you what. I’ll come back at mealtime with my trade, you get the regulator, and we’ll see if you think they are worth it. Deal?”

“You are going to have to make it seriously worth my while, Raven. Kane is watching my every move.”

“We’ll see. Back in a few” Raven turns and leaves before Nigel can question her any more.

She stops by medical, where she meets up with Abby. Her request for the three ampules of morphine is met with a tilted head and a look of disapproval, but her insistence wins Abby over. She retrieves the glass and hands them to Raven discreetly. 

When the mess hall is a bit more busy, she approaches Nigel’s counter again.

“So, little bird, what have you brought me?” Nigel asks, sliding the tray under the plexiglass screen in front of her. Raven takes the meal bar and replaces it with the ampules, making sure to flash the security cameras behind her for proof’s sake. 

“Oh, friends in high places I see. Alright, come to the back” Raven is very glad Nigel took the deal, she really didn’t have time to come back later and steal the regulator. 

Lo and behold, it is the same busted regulator that Nigel supplied Abby with last time. Raven takes it and is gone before Nigel can say anything else to try and sway her.

She goes immediately to the guard station that Kane frequents.

“I traded her morphine for a pressure regulator. Here's proof of my half of the trade, but I need to keep it. The morphine needs to go back to Medical” Raven tells Kane rapidly, leaving no room for argument. 

He stares at her, then purses his lips into a displeased line and nods. 

Once again, she’s off before he can try and stop her. Raven Reyes is a woman on a mission and nothing will stop her now.

The pressure regulator, it turns out, just had a faulty O-ring inside it. Raven was able to scrounge up an extra one and replace it. 

A few hours later and everything was ready. She found Bellamy in one of the lesser used hallways, backpack slung over his shoulder and hand pressed to the clear wall overlooking the Earth below them.

“You ready?” Raven asked, startling Bellamy out of his pensive stare out the window. She hadn’t tried to sneak up on him, it was force of habit at this point.

“Yeah, I’m ready” he said, straightening his guard jacket and trying to look composed.

“Relax, your sister is down there waiting for us” Raven puts her hand on his shoulder. She knew the other boy was nervous, she was too. Although her excitement heavily outweighed her nervousness and she hoped she wasn’t giving him a look that screamed ‘mad scientist’. Damn, that would have made for a great call sign.

Then Kane rounds the corner.

“Wait.” he calls out, as Bellamy and Raven instinctively turn to run. Kane is alone, and looks unarmed.

“I don’t know what you all are up to, or who else is involved, or a lot of things that I would like to know. At this point, all I know is whatever it is, is happening soon. I wanted to wish you good luck” He explains, hands up so to not spook the two in front of him. Raven laughs, despite her best efforts.

“Don’t worry Dad” she begins sarcastically, “we’ll be safe. And in-” she looks at her watch, “-about thirty minutes if everything goes to plan, you will know exactly what we are doing.”

This statement seems to both make him more worried, and kind of relieved.

“I know you said no one would get hurt, but the secrecy is driving me nuts” He was still fishing for information, and Raven didn’t have time to give it. She fished the stun glove out of her pocket and put it on. Desperate times, and pushy father figures.

“I’m sorry we couldn’t let you in on the plan Kane” she starts, forgoing the usual title she addressed him with. She walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder. “But we really don’t have the time” she states, and activates the glove. He goes down. 

She turns to Bellamy. “Time’s up. Let's go.”

They run as fast as they can to the drop pod.

The drop goes exactly as planned, especially with the new manual navigation and re-entry system Raven had rigged up. Wouldn’t want Mount Weather to get a chance at killing her again. For the fourth or fifth time, but who was keeping track? (She was.)

“Ground Control, this is Major Tom. We are coming in hot.” She transmits once they hit the atmosphere through the lasercom.

Raven says this mostly jokingly for Bellamy's sake, since his death grip on the seatbelt looks close to breaking it. He gives her a watery smile, then goes back to trying to strangle inanimate objects.

“Copy that, Major Tom, once you touch down we will be en route to intercept. See you soon Little Bird” she hears Murphy respond sarcastically. 

They land with no issues, thank god, although Bellamy had looked ready to pass out once the parachutes deployed.

After the thud of pod on ground contact, they both pause, taking in the situation.

“We made it” Bellamy breathes out a sigh of relief.

“Of course we did. I practically rebuilt this pod from scratch. I wouldn’t let any old piece of machinery take me out.” Raven brags back at him. She gets out of her seat and makes sure the radios were still in one piece. They were.

She opens the side door closest to her and takes a deep breath of fresh, not recycled, Earth air. Bellamy looks outside, jaw slack in awe. He remembers about the seatbelt he has tried to strangle and unhooks himself, falling out of the seat and landing awkwardly on the floor of the pod.

Pushing past her and completely forgetting about his backpack, Bellamy spins in a circle, similarly how she did the first time she landed all those years ago. Raven smiles fondly at him taking in the landscape, and continues her work of firing up the radios. Their batteries should have plenty of charge even without a supplemental power source for a call up to the Ark. The first one crackles to life and she sets the frequency to the one she knows as the Ark-Wide network. Better make a big first impression.

“This is Li- Raven Reyes calling the Ark, come in Ark. We have safely made it to the ground. Does anyone read me up there?” She broadcasts. 

No point in waiting around, she begins packing up the other radio and the rest of the things she brought into her bag. She is in the middle of throwing Bellamy’s pack to him when a response crackles through the radio’s speakers.

“Raven? This is Sinclair. What are you doing?” 

“Sinclair! I am on the ground, surely you saw the pod launch about thirty minutes ago. I am down here to fix the dropship radio, as any good mechanic would do.”

There is no immediate response, and Raven can easily imagine the absolute chaos that is currently happening in the control room.

“Raven this is Marcus Kane. I am glad to hear that you two are alright.” There is an unspoken question in his transmission, but Raven reads it loud and clear. He’s mad.

“Kane, sorry about that last bit. We really needed to get going. Send Callie my love. We have to get a move on now, but I will get the dropship radio up as soon as possible. I know there’s a lot of kids down here that are eager to talk to their parents again. Raven out.” She also sends back something unspoken. For Kane to shut the hell up.

He won’t but she can always hope for the best.

“Alright Bellamy, lets finish packing up here and get ready to find that dropship” She turns to the dark haired boy, shutting off power to the radio in the process. The transmissions from folks on the Ark would just drain the battery and she had no plans to answer questions right now.

Bellamy complies, taking the first radio and stashing it in his pack.

“How do we know where the dropship is?” he asks, now looking around like the trees are his enemies.

“Well, That way is North” she points North, directly behind him. “And judging based on our relative location in space at the time of the pod drop, we should have landed just East of them, max 15 miles away.” Bellamy just looks at her confused. 

“So we walk due West, and once we see signs of 100 delinquents running around in the bushes, we follow it. Bam, dropship found” Raven finishes with a ‘ta-da’ pose, arms outstretched. Or they could wait for Murphy or Miller or Octavia to come find them, but this way is faster. 

The two made slow progress, mainly because Bellamy was not used to having to step over things littering the ground. About two miles in, Octavia found them.

“Bell?”

“O? Look at you! Oh my god it’s good to see you!” 

The Blake siblings embraced and over Bellamy’s shoulder Raven and Octavia had a silent conversation with facial expressions alone.

Good to see you. He’s been a pain, but not so bad. Lincoln? Working on it. Good for you, hope Bellamy doesn’t freak. Oh he will. 

The siblings end their hug and chat while Octavia leads them the rest of the way to the dropship. 

Finn sees Raven before she sees him. 

“Raven?” he calls out, his face a mix of disbelief and happiness which quickly morphs into dread before he is able to stop it. 

“Finn!” Raven uses the relief of seeing him alive again to pretend like she is happy to see him. She knows him for what he is, and although his death weighed heavy on her, she is not eager to reconnect in the same way current-Raven would have. She lets him pull her into a hug before, of course, some other girl butts in.

“Finn, who is this?” she asks, putting her arm around him possessively once the two break from their hug. 

“Uh” Finn says stupidly.

“Hi, I’m Raven Reyes. And you are?” Raven says politely, holding out her hand for the other girl to shake.

“His girlfriend. Nice to meet you” the girl says abruptly, not shaking Raven’s hand. “How do you know Finn?”

Of course.

“We practically grew up together. Both of our parents were gone and he was all I had for a long time.” Raven deliberately skips over the long-term girlfriend part. 

“Hmm” is all the other girl says. Raven thinks she remembers this girl being one of the unfortunate souls that ended up sleeping with Bellamy in his hoe phase last time around, but can't be sure. To be fair, so had she.

Raven parts ways with the two lovebirds, and rejoins Octavia and Bellamy. Octavia gets the attention of the camp and introduces them. After they share in the welcoming committee and answer some questions about how they got there, Raven gets to work.

Monty had seemingly not taken apart the radio or video coms system yet, so Raven really had her work cut out for her. She quickly radioed the Ark with an update.

“Ark this is Raven Reyes, come in”

“Raven, this is Sinclair. Go ahead”

“The coms system down here is pretty busted, but I should be able to set the video link back up. I’ll have to scavenge from the radio on board, but I still have the two I brought just in case.”

“Copy. ETA on video coms?”

“Probably tomorrow morning. I will set somebody else on radio watch while I fix it, so if it’s not me who answers, don’t panic.” She would rather be the one to communicate with the Ark about the grounders, but she had bigger fish to fry. Letting the kids talk to their parents or friends or whoever else would do wonders for the morale of camp. Although, after last night, the camp still seemed to be buzzing about the grounders and in generally good spirits.

“Copy that” is Sinclair’s only response. She knows he is worried about her, but he really needn’t be. 

The word about a video coms link spreads quickly around camp and Raven has her pick of volunteers to help set it up or watch the radio while she works. Miller steps in to organize the radio watch, and Raven takes Monty and another person she knows has worked with mechanical stuff before as her assistants. There is always more work to be done.

Chapter Text

“Hello Clarke of the sky people.” 

“Hello. You must be the Trikru Chief that General Anya told me about” Clarke didn’t really want to play dumb, but the two warriors that had been sent to watch her were still in the house. 

Indra quickly dismissed them with a nod of her head.

“I think Trikru leathers suit you better Clarke” Indra comments once the door closes, breaking out her bright smile. 

“I’d have to agree, I forgot how little these hand-me-downs insulate from the cold down here” Clarke shoots back, returning her smile and pulling the older woman into a warm hug. 

“Once we get this ‘treaty’ made, I can get you something else. We’ll call it a gift of good faith.”

“You are a godsend. Do you know when I’ll be sent back to the dropship? I know the others have everything under control, I’m just feeling a bit cooped up here” Clarke shrugs as she explains. She doesn’t want anything to happen to these kids, but knows she is doing better for them by being here right now.

“I can’t say. I know Heda will want to speak to you” Indra winks at her and Clarke blushes, biting back a guilty smile.

“Of course. The mysterious girl from the sky. Anyways, treaty?” Clarke changes the subject.

“Right. We will fell the mountain, delinquents will share their tek and medicine with Trikru, and we will help support them through the winter, taking in any as seconds who prove themselves capable and wish it. Once the rest of Skykru comes down, we can sort out territory.” Indra recites their pre-made points, easier the second time around for sure. Now that they both knew what their people were and were not capable of, filling in needed niches was simple. 

The harder part would be Skykru joining the coalition, but that was a problem for a later date.

“Perfect. Has Lincoln returned from the dropship yet?”

“Not yet, although I’m not sure he will report in today. On foot the journey will take him multiple hours at least.”

“I’m curious what he will say about his unexpected stay with the people from the sky.”

“And I’m curious if he will deign to mention Octavia.” The two women share a conspiratory smile. 

A comfortable silence embraces them in the house. They both know that ironing out a treaty such as this should take a lot longer than the few minutes they had been talking. 

Clarke speaks up again. “We really changed a lot already, huh.”

“We did. This never would have happened last time. We have already saved so many lives in the short few weeks we’ve been back, with countless more to come.”

“Not the mounon. Theirs was written in stone the second they took the first grounder.” Clarke remarks. There was evil in that mountain, and it had to be cleansed for her people to survive. Survival of the fittest. And there was no-one more fit than the ones that had survived till the end of the human race, and then beyond.

“Survival of the fittest” Indra echoes her unsaid thoughts. “I hope Echo is alright.”

“She’s probably itching to get out of there. I only wish we could have freed her sooner. An inside man is just too helpful to pass up.”

The two are interrupted from their friendly conversation by a warrior busting in to report that Anya’s missing scouts had returned unharmed. 

Interrupted for now, Indra leaves Clarke to her own devices in the house and goes to check in with Anya and the scouts. She has to keep up appearances as the Clan Chief after all. She makes sure to grab a badass looking leather jacket in Clarke’s style for the girl on her way back. Wanheda would need to look the part once the time came. But also, she wanted to take care of her adopted kids. She made a mental note to begin collecting spare clothing for the rest of them, as well as the other delinquents.

---

They came for Randy in the evening. At least, Echo thinks its evening. It’s hard to tell the time in here besides the radio calls she hears from the outside. 

She yelled, and slammed on the bars of her cage. They usually took the more lively prisoners, but they had their eyes set on him this time. None of the so-called doctors paid her any attention besides an initial glance. The guard with them however, tried to stare her down. He stayed behind when they took Randy. 

She couldn’t wait any longer. The guard made a mistake, getting too close to her. He muttered something about savages, turned to walk away, and she snapped.

Her arms were through the bars in a flash, grabbing his uniform and dragging him toward her. She had him in a chokehold faster than he could call out. His legs kicked futilely against the cage below her, then finally stopped. She held for another few seconds, ensuring he was out cold, then got to work. 

One arm holding him up, the other grabbed his keys, radio, pistol, and key card before she let him drop like the dead body he was about to be. She unlocked her cage and climbed out. She was free. 

The initial plan was kind of already screwed up, so why not nip some issues in the bud while she was at it. No, her real reasoning was much more primal. They had hurt her, and her people, and the threat had to be neutralized. As long as Clarke was the one to take credit for the fall of the Mountain, Echo had free reign to terrorize the occupants.

She looked down at the guard. It might have been the same one she helped Bellamy kill last time, she couldn’t be sure. Before he could wake up and cause more problems, she clinically broke his neck. Then she stripped him down to his skivvies and threw him down the trash chute to the reapers. 

Echo knew she would never pass as a guard in here. All the ones she had seen were cookie cutter versions of the same man. Using his uniform and key card would only keep her hidden for a short time, but enough time to take out the missiles and acid fog. Hopefully.

She cut her hair short, easier to manage that way, shrugged on the guard’s uniform, and retrieved her stashed items from the top of the cabinet where future-Echo had left them. She was ready. She bid a quick goodbye to her fellow grounder captives, promising to come back for them, and exited the harvest chamber. 

Mount Weather overwhelmed her, even when just looking at the plans Raven and Clarke had drafted up back on Sanctum. There was just so Much in there. Luckily for her, the missile silo and the fog room had been easy to remember, as well as the ventilation shafts that would allow her access to them. The harvest chamber had been on its own section of the ventilation system and Echo knew the closest access hatch into the main shaft was about 100 feet down a hallway past medical. 

She slunk through the in-between room, scanned the key card, and was out. Well, in Medical. Luckily for her, there was only one person there for their treatments, and they didn’t even look up when she entered. She avoided showing her face to the cameras as best she could and hooked a quick right, headed for the door. All clear so far. And no scanner on this door. 

Echo knows that she should wait for these people’s rest cycle to be underway before trying to walk down a hallway and open a ventilation shaft hatch, but she’s not worried. She’s angry. The stun-gun-glove firmly placed on her hand and the pistol at her side furthered her sense of unrelenting fury. It would take a miracle for her to be stopped right now.

She did have to keep hidden, which was the only reason she scanned the hallway before entering. Still all clear. Maybe there was a higher power looking out for her, or the universe was throwing her a bone for once. She noticed the camera right above where the hatch was on the wall, and promptly shot it with a stun before it could pick her up. Then she punched it, just for good measure. It hurt, but in a way that made her feel satisfied. The guard’s radio was silent, maybe they hadn’t noticed her yet.

Echo quickly removed three of the bolts on the hatch cover, and wished for one of the sonic screwdriver things two of the others had gotten. She screwed the opposite corner bolt back in to use to prop up the cover and slipped in, setting the cover back on that bolt to at least make it look natural. They wouldn’t notice if it was just slightly crooked, right?

Minutes of slow, silent, crawling later and she had made it to the central shaft. There she finally radioed to the others.

“All, Rogue. I have an update.”

“Rogue, Wanheda. Good news I hope?”

“Negative. Well. They took the boy for something, outside of the harvest chamber so they know he’s not one of us, break.” She took a breath. “I got out. I’m in the vents right now. Took out a guard and I have their radio.” Ripping off the band aid was the best way to break the news.

Silence.

“Rogue, Little Bird. What the hell” Classic Raven response.

“I know. I couldn’t sit there any more. I wasn’t seen, and I’m about to take out the two big threats. Hope that doesn’t screw up any more plans.”

“Wanheda. No that should be fine. Try to lay low, we will be boots in ground soon. ETA morning of day seven.”

“Copy, I will send updates and stay out of sight. Rogue out”

Clarke had sounded tired over the radio. Echo felt just a little bit guilty about springing this on her while she was in the middle of important grounder relation activities, but what’s done is done. 

The acid fog was first on her list. She disconnected the tanks of chemicals from the mixing vat and neutralized the existing fluid. They wouldn’t know anything was wrong with the system until they tried to use it again, and by then, it would be too late. 

Next was the missiles. The easiest way that she knew of to ensure they wouldn’t be used was to blow them up, but that was too high profile. She needed something more discreet. And they would need the fuel for later, so it had to be reversible. Maybe something with the ignition? Or the power to the launch systems? She had to think about this one for a while. What if the bay doors malfunctioned so they couldn’t be launched from within? It was perfect. 

She climbed up to the roof of the silo, and found the perfect thing. The door's opening mechanism was powered by one single cable. So she unscrewed it. Then for good measure, she unbolted the highest section of ladder and arduously carried it down to the bottom floor, hiding it just out of sight below the missile’s booster nozzles. They wouldn’t be able to fix it rapidly, and that would give her time to stop them if they tried. Or they would launch it, melt the ladder, and the missile wouldn’t leave the mountain successfully. 

Espionage work completed for now, Echo grabbed some tools that were lying around, as well as a fire blanket to use as bedding, and returned to the central ventilation shaft. She would spend the next two days hiding, eating and drinking whatever she could find, and checking on her work just in case. All in all, it was a job well done.

Chapter Text

Anya had finished eating breakfast and was wrapping up her morning training session with Tris when the rider came to find her.

“Heda comes” he had told her before galloping back the way he had come.

Her former second had initially been expected yesterday evening, but messengers on horseback had kept her updated on the Commander’s progress from Polis. No matter. Anya told the Trikru Chief and decided to meet Lexa at the edge of the village. She tacked up her horse in record time, and kicked the beast into a gallop before realizing she was being hasty. It had been a while since she had seen Lexa and she was rightfully eager to see her. 

Anya meets the traveling party about a half-mile from TonDC. Thankfully her horse had slowed to a lope by that time, not letting the accompanying guard know just how eager she had been. 

“Heda, I am glad to see you made the journey safe.” She says, bowing her head in a show of respect.

“General, good to see you again” Lexa responds, motioning beside her.

Anya maneuvers her horse to take up the indicated place beside Lexa. She seemed to be in a good mood for one about to meet with an unaffiliated clan chieftain. Although, from Anya’s interview of the sky girl, these two were about the same age and had similar mannerisms. Plus all of her reports on the sky girl could have put Lexa’s mind at ease about this meeting. 

“How did your meeting with the Skaiprisa go?” Lexa asked, prying for information. She wanted to know as much as possible about this girl.

“The meeting went smoothly. She is a formidable conversationalist, and firm in her convictions if not a little out of her depth. She gave as good as she got, I will say. The girl is a spitfire” Anya comments freely. She misses the look Lexa gives her.

“You did not harm the girl” Lexa asks in a way that is more of a threat than Anya expected.

“No, Heda.” She quickly responded. “She spoke of being abandoned by the rest of their people in the sky, and the capacity for violence ingrained in her people. She planned the fall of the mountain like it was a simple task and spoke like someone wiser than her years.” Anya pauses, then admits “I would very much like to continue speaking with her.” to the raised eyebrows of her former second. 

Anya wanting to talk to somebody? Almost unheard of.

Before Lexa can dive deeper into Anya’s statement, the older woman continues. “I called her ‘Skaiprisa’ which she took offence to once made aware of its gonasleng meaning. She equated it to what she had called me before I told her my name. ‘Pretty grounder lady’” Anya admitted the last part quietly to keep the other guards from hearing. Lexa turned almost beet red from trying to keep from laughing out loud.

Of all things the sky girl could have called Anya, that was absolutely not something Lexa could have ever dreamed of. 

“How was her temperament? I assume the ones sent to retrieve her were not polite nor rude” again a question phrased as a threat. Although this one was said with myrth carrying over from hearing Anya’s last two admissions.

“Tired. Sore. Adaptable. She was - animated - in her responses. Being taken from her people did not seem to phase her.” Now that Anya thought about it, that was kind of weird. From what she had learned of the sky girl, she had been constantly surrounded by her people from birth due to their living arrangements in the sky. She hadn’t acted like a captured chief, more like she was supposed to be there. Anya doesn’t say this out loud, but her expression seemed to tip Lexa off to the train of thought.

“Comfortable?” Lexa supplies, and Anya nods in confirmation. “Odd. I will keep that in mind. Thank you for your insight.”

“Sha, Heda”

The two ride the rest of the way into TonDC in silence, unaware of Gaia massaging her own temples behind them. Of course Clarke had been comfortable, but she didn’t have to go and show it to the freaking general. Gaia had heard every word, and would be having a conversation of her own with Clarke once the opportunity arose. 

As the traveling party enters the village proper, cries of ‘Heda!’ from the people surrounding them. Indra takes notice and moves through the crowd to make a path and to welcome their Commander to her village.

“Heda, my mother approaches” Gaia says from behind Lexa and the Commander steers her horse toward the older woman. They meet and Indra leads them to the stables so they may hand off their horses.

“Is the Skyprisa available?” Lexa cuts to the chase. 

“Sha, Heda. She is awake and ready for your arrival” Indra answers, gesturing to the house Clarke was being held in. The girl had woken a short while ago and practically scarfed down her breakfast. She must have been tired to have arisen so late in the morning, Indra thought.

Lexa wastes no time, immediately walking over to the door and giving a perfunctory knock before entering. The guard on duty departs the room as soon as he sees who has entered, biding her a bow in his departure. Lexa turns to look at the sky girl, sitting at the table in front of her recently emptied plate.

She is the girl from Lexa’s dream. Her hair is longer and she’s in different clothes, but it's her. Lexa lets her eyes take in the girl before she blinks hard to clear her head and begins.

“So. You are the leader of the ones who invaded my lands.” Lexa states, stalking closer.

Clarke can't stop looking at her. Alive. Real. Right in front of her. She needed to respond to Lexa. Now.

“You are the one who wanted to speak to me so badly General Anya sent warriors to kidnap me in front of my people.” Clarke claps back, remembering their first interaction all those years ago. She didn’t shy away from the incoming beautiful woman, nor did she show any sign of weakness or fear. Lexa stopped next to the table and remained standing.

“I am Heda, Commander of the twelve clans. My word is law and my wishes granted. Do you have an explanation for me, Klark of the Sky People?”

“My people are returning to the ground. I’m sure you’ve been told why. We didn’t know there were people down here, survivors. We just want to survive, no, we want a life that means more than just surviving.”

“I understand that. There are things in this world that has been lost to us, and your people can help us get it back. My people from the mountain. The use of tek. And things that can make our lives better we haven’t even thought of. Priamfaya” Lexa hadn’t brought up Priamfaya to anyone else, it had stayed between her and the commanders. She scoured Clarke’s face for any hint of recognition at the word. Clarke didn’t react. Not even a raised eyebrow. Something was up, surely she would question the word in this context but she showed no sign of anything. Lexa didn’t know what to think about this.

“And we could use your people’s expertise on the ground. I think our peoples can help each other. I already made a treaty with the Trikru chieftain, but as for an alliance with the coalition, I don’t think I have the authority to do so for all of my people.” Clarke made sure to only use words she had heard from Anya or that Indra would have reasonably said in their treaty meeting. 

Lexa wasn’t convinced. 

“Klark kom Skaikru, yu chich raun tings yu nau sin klin. Yu sin ai thru, how?”

“I don’t know what that means.” Clarke lies. “Chich? Klin? Those I don’t understand. No se que lo esta diciendo” Have a taste of your own medicine. Lexa looks taken aback at Clarke’s use of Spanish, then quickly schools her features back to the scary commander look.

“Yeah, it's not fun not knowing what people are talking about huh?” Clarke snarks at Lexa. Then more softly she says “Que hermosa, te extrañado mucho, mi amor.”

God bless Raven Reyes.

“I said ‘you talk about things you shouldn’t know. You see through it’. Now tell me what you said” Lexa growls, looking at her expectantly. Ope, might have pushed too far.

“I said ‘I don’t understand you’” Clarke says, looking down. Please don’t ask, please don’t ask.

“What else.” Busted.

“Then I said I think you are very beautiful” Clarke paraphrases, leaving out the most important and incriminating part.

“Oh” Lexa is taken aback again. Anya was right, this skygirl is bold. 

“Sorry” is all Clarke offers in response, still looking down guiltily. Lexa is fighting a blush harder than she has ever fought anything in her life, but like with other fights, she wins.

“No matter. You have your treaty, and the fall of the mountain awaits. Chief Indra knows where to find me once you are ready to discuss war plans.” Lexa needs to get out of there before either girl does something they definitely won't will regret. She’s almost to the door when she hears it.

“Lexa” Clarke says softly. Lexa turns back towards the sky girl. She had not told Clarke her name. Clarke knew that. She didn’t want to lie to her niron. Never.

“How did-” Lexa cuts herself off. She knows how Clarke knew. It was the only explanation.

“I said ‘You are beautiful, I’ve missed you so much, my love” Clarke admits, not meeting her eyes. She didn’t want to see. Didn’t want to cry.

Lexa doesn’t respond. 

“You know, I wasn’t there for your vision. That was other me without the mind drive. At that same time Hope was in space with me, putting it in this body. So I could fix our mistakes this time. So I could save everyone. Including you.” Then more quietly “especially you.”

Lexa feels like if she moves, or breathes too loud, or speaks, this spell will be broken. She doesn’t know what most of what Clarke just said means, but she knows what it means to her. This is the same woman from her dream, who knows more than she lets on and has a plan to save the world. To save Her.

“I know about things I shouldn’t because I’ve seen it before. This isn’t my first time living through this. I’m not seeing through you, I am looking right at you.” Clarke finally raises her head and meets Lexa’s eyes. She feels a tear breach the banks and slide down her face. She lets it fall where it may. 

They hold the silence, just taking each other in. Lexa doesn’t notice an answering tear slice through her warpaint.

“I need. I need you to let me do what I will, for the good of everyone.” Clarke chokes out, slowly leaving the chair and walking toward Lexa.

Lexa doesn’t move anything but her eyes, locked onto Clarke’s.

Clarke kneels in front of her, just like she had all those years ago.

“I, Clarke Griffin, Wanheda, Mountain Slayer, Keeper of the Flame and the Key, swear fealty to you, Lexa Kom Trikru, Heda of the Coalition, Commander of the 13 clans. From one hundred and thirty four years ago until the moment of my death. I am yours.” Her voice is steady and her mind clear for the first time in a very very long time.

“Rise. Klark of the Sky people.” Lexa answers automatically, mind less clear than it ever has before. She recalls her vision. 'They will prove their desire to help immediately upon meeting you. Wanheda will kneel to you' the messenger had said.

Clarke rises unsteadily to her feet, leaning subconsciously toward Lexa. A hand twitches, then stills. 

One of them steps forward, then the other, then they are breathing the same air, foreheads pressed together and eyes closed. Hands steadyingly placed on hips and shoulders. Just taking each other in.

Then, whispered between them like a secret:

I survived past the end of the human race to find you again 

I feel it so deep in my soul I can't think of anything else

I know

I feel, You

And I you

How do I miss something I never had?

I’ve missed you for so long

I left you?

Not your choice, not your fault

My spirit and yours-

Intertwined. Through transcendence and beyond the solar system

Forever and always

Yours

Yours

---

Outside, Gaia leans back on the door and looks up at the canopy of branches above her. This had not been a part of the plan, but she knew it would happen eventually. Anything that happened because of this could be taken care of in time. These two wouldn’t be disturbed if it killed her.

Chapter Text

On the morning of their sixth day on the ground, Clarke rode back into the dropship camp. 

The first thing she noticed was the Trikru warriors intermingled with the delinquents working together to build their wall, or training Miller's gunners. The sight of all her people working together nearly brought a tear to her eyes. 

The next thing was Raven and Bellamy. Them being there wasn't a surprise to her, but it was supposed to be, so she acted accordingly.  Hello's were exchanged, and Raven got a hug and Bellamy got a firm handshake. 

Last was Niylah's presence. Clarke hadn't been on her coms much in the past couple days, just due to the proximity to the grounders. Evidently one of the others had saw fit to let her know the mountain operation was about to begin. She had traveled there under the guise of trading, and seemed mostly sold out of her normal wares already.

Clarke didn't come back empty handed of course. Indra had loaded up the collected extra clothes and blankets she had gathered onto a pack horse and sent it with Clarke back to the dropship. She handed it off to Murphy for distribution. A handful of trikru warriors had joined her at Indra's behest. Something about not losing her to the mountain. The more the merrier Clarke supposed. She was going to give them the slip when the time came anyways.

The later part of her previous day was spent in the war room telling the grounder leadership what she needed from them in order to take out the mountain. They would need to set up camps around the mountain for quick response in the event they were actually needed for fighting, but primarily to care for the freed grounders once they made it outside. Each camp was supposed to have a healer, but they were dreadfully short. Niylah being here added one, but Clarke would be needed elsewhere and couldn't take a camp herself. She made sure the camps closest to the access door would have the healers, and left the rest to Indra to manage.

Her group was a whole different story.

Miller had gone to the supply bunker from last time along with a few of his gunners. They had brought back a bunch of blankets and two pistols. He knew the rifles were there, but they really wouldn't need them this time, so they were ignored. One of the pistols was for Clarke, and the other was given to Murphy as the least melee weapon inclined one of them. 

Clarke waited until the ruckus of her return had died down before calling the other members of beachkru over for their mission brief.

Raven's job was to set up the kill switch, and Miller was to get her there and defend her until it was ready. Their part wouldn't come until later so they were each allocated one of the Disciple suits to avoid detection until the time came.

Octavia would go find Echo, bringing her one of the suits, and they would take out the guards and ensure Mount Weather couldn't retaliate with the fog or missiles that Echo had already taken care of. Once the mounon got desperate, who knows what they would do to try and retaliate against the grounders or the delinquents. 

Once the switch was pulled, those four would meet up and take down as many reapers as they could find. Clarke would do her best to save them afterwards, but they needed to be knocked out and tied up before anyone else tried to use the tunnels.

Murphy was to stay with Clarke. Just in case.

The first problem they came across was the number of suits on hand. They only had three. Raven and Miller kept theirs, no questions asked. The remaining one was left with Octavia so she could get to Echo unseen, much to her chagrin.

“What about Murphy, I think he needs it more than me” she tried to protest.

“Murphy and I will be just fine. Especially with you and Echo clearing the way for us. But that requires you getting to her unseen” Clarke told her. That finally got through to Octavia, but she didn't seem happy about it. She wanted Mount Weather to fear her.

“You can take it off once you get to Echo. Hell, you can even give it to her if she wants it” Raven said, knowing Echo wouldn't take it either.

The only other option was give it to Clarke and leave Murphy behind.

“Actually, you might be onto something there.” Murphy stated. Clarke could just go invisibly to the command center with Raven and Miller, rig the air, pull the lever, and then meet up with Echo afterwards. 

The consensus was that this plan was better, despite only having four people in Mount Weather for the initial assault, one stuck in the vents until everyone was already dead.

Octavia insisted on still coming with the initial wave, on the promise that she would duck into the first vent they found and move unseen to Echo. Then they could wreak as much havoc as they wanted.

Murphy would stay behind and keep the camp in line, a task he seemed eager to do. 

Raven made sure the radio guard during their assault was Monty, and got him mostly spun up on the plan. And by that, she told him they were going to explore Mount Weather with a large contingent of grounders and he was absolutely not to tell the Ark what they were doing until she gave the all clear. Maybe not even then. She settled on him telling the Ark they were just exploring the Mountain bunker. She would handle telling them the truth when she got back. Miller volunteered to carry one of the normal radios, leaving Raven mostly hands free for her task.

After the mounon were taken care of, Clarke would be the one to let the grounders in at the top access, backed by their people that had been locked up. There would undoubtedly be people that wanted to look and see how the mounon lived, as well as proof of their death. Clarke would take lead on this, thereby taking up the Wanheda moniker once again.

Clarke had gotten Indra on board with supplying the manpower to drag all the mounon out of Mount Weather for burning. Indra's people were a whole different story. When she had told the mini war council that she planned to take down the mountain with five teenagers without weapons or weapons training she had nearly been laughed out of the room. The only saving grace had been Lexa, who had promptly told them to shut up or leave. Once Clarke started talking about specifics and using the mounon’s own tek against them, more of them had started to actually listen. 

Those five teenagers without weapons or training were now down to four, plus Echo. Oh well, even the best plans only last until the first contact with the enemy. With their plan the way it was now, first contact would be once Miller broke into the command center and their death warrant was already signed.  

They forgot about Bellamy. 

Bellamy needed a job to do, otherwise he would follow his sister around like a puppy. Clarke suggested radio watch, but he would inevitably get bored with that. Miller suggested sending him to TonDC, but he would not stay there. Murphy suggested bringing him with, and having him follow Octavia until she could ditch him in the vent system. That way he could sit tight until the fighting was over, and still mostly know his sister was safe. That was also declined for the high chance of it backfiring and Bellamy ending up captured or killed.

Then Octavia suggested that she talk to him. The others agreed to let her try, otherwise he was getting sent to TonDC.

Somehow, she was able to convince him to join one of the camps closest to the entrance to Mount Weather. He would be first on scene for the captured grounder rescue, and could do the best for as many people as possible. He would be improving grounder-delinquent relations, and he would be close in case something happened to Octavia. In lieu of being on the assault force, this was his best option, and he took it. He also was put in charge of the supplementary radio Raven had scraped together, so the folks inside the mountain could let him and the surrounding grounders know when they had accomplished the mission.

It all boiled down to Clarke, Raven, Miller, and Octavia entering the mountain and  O splitting off to go find Echo. The other three would take over the command center, rigging the air and taking out any guards they found. The level would be pulled. The alarm would sound, and the mounon would die. Clarke would open the main outer doors while the others wrangled as many reapers as possible into medical for detox. The harvest chamber would be cleared, and the captured grounders would be received by their friends waiting outside. Everything else would be left up to personal discretion. They knew the dangers of over planning, and were more than capable of dealing with any malarkey that arose during their assault.

They left for their forward jump-off point, one of the camps nearest to a reaper tunnel entrance, just after dinner. Murphy waved them off, once again taking control of the camp and ensuring the others didn’t follow or freak out.

Equipment was checked. Each member of the assault team, as well as Echo, Indra, and Gaia, had a good radio check on their personal lasercom. Bellamy, Murphy, and Miller did a quick radio check on the normal satellite radio as well, despite the jamming from Mount Weather they seemed to read each other just fine. Raven noted that was probably because Mount Weather was listening, and radio silence was enforced after that. The HUD glasses were tested on the members without full suits, all working normally. Clarke and Raven each had their scanner devices, and Miller had his lockpick set. Raven had her sonic screwdriver. 

Weapons were checked and sharpened once they got to the camp. Octavia had her sword from the Art Supply Store Bunker and Miller had a couple of shortswords, his newly acquired polearm being left behind for the sake of stealth. The suit’s invisibility had it’s limits, covering backpacks, but not hand held weapons. Bellamy, needing something to do with his hands, sat next to Octavia and sharpened his new sword in clumsy strokes. When they left in the morning, he would depart with a grounder to lead him to the camp nearest the main entrance to the mountain.

Clarke noticed the grounders giving them a wide berth, and realized just how suspicious they looked. This formerly deemed ‘not a threat’ group of delinquents was operating like a well trained strike team. She mentioned her realization to the others, but there wasn’t really anything they could do about that now. Let this camp think what they wanted, their legend was about to be spread through the 12 clans anyways.

These were the untrained kids about to take down the mountain that had terrorized them for generations. Of course they were locked in.

Chapter Text

They departed well before dawn, three slipping into suits while the other kept watch. Bellamy was sent on his way, still unhappy with the situation, but resigned to his job. The importance of communication with the outside forces was not lost on him.

The trip was shorter than they expected, the adrenaline coursing through their systems making it easy to revert back to their extensive training before the jump back in time. They slid through the forest like murderous smoke.

Three activated their invisibility once in the tunnels. Octavia led the way, HUD glasses shining a light blue glow on her face as she snuck through the once familiar mineshafts. They passed a few bins, all empty save one. A quick scan from Clarke, a shake of her head, and they continued on. 

The crossroads up ahead held three reapers around a camp fire. Octavia moved like she was going to take them out before an unseen hand on her shoulder stopped her.

One to be a murderer, who will bring death.

Miller pointed out each suited member’s target, then signed the count down. Three, two, one. They shot their stun rounds concurrently, dropping all three reapers before they had even realized anyone was there. Octavia, Miller, and Clarke make quick work of tying them up for later.

The group continued on, Octavia dispatching one reaper here and there by herself. She had swapped gloves with Raven, much preferring the tactile response of touching her enemies before they fell instead of simply shooting the stun at them from afar. The rest understood.

They finally reached the lab access door. Octavia stood guard down the hallway, out of sight of the cameras. Raven and Clarke worked on the cameras while Miller started on the door. Feeds were looped, and the electronic lock on the door was hacked into in short order. Clarke whistled, and Octavia joined them. The door swung outward. They were in.

This section didn’t have the same air ventilation system as the others, having been built long after the main bunker. Octavia took up the rear, donning a white coat that had been hanging by the door as camouflage. The door closed behind them.

Since it was still so early in the morning, there were minimal personnel in this section. The strike team went room by room, clearing them. Octavia and Miller, being the only ones with melee weapons, were a well oiled machine taking out the mounon they found systematically. Their swords dripped with blood, leaving a trail of death in their wake. If you asked any of the team who had taken out most of the mounon, the consensus would be Octavia. 

The way she glided from target to target, covering mouths and slicing throats, was almost beautiful in its own violent and practiced manner.

Miller was satisfied with following behind her, taking out the second found in pairs. He was one of Bloodreina’s original generals after all. He covered mouths and stabbed clean through the chest of those he took out, his blade finding the gaps in ribs that only experience could ensure. They would bleed out faster, and didn’t have time to cry out in shock.

Clarke and Raven trailed behind, scanning for signs of life or anyone the other two missed. The suits and glasses proved to be accurate, telling the frontrunners exactly where the life signs on the level were. By the time all four reached the stairs up, there were no signs of life in that section besides their own.

The mag lock on this door was quickly dispatched by Miller. The group continued into the harvest chamber. Octavia, as the only visible member, shushed the surrounding grounders. 

“We are freeing you all. Today. We just need a little more time.” She assured them.

There were two currently being drained, and the strike team quickly lowered them down. Clarke disconnected the collection tubes from their arms and wrapped the site with gauze before the grounders were left behind. Their lack of blood would keep them from following, but wasn’t enough to kill them just yet. 

“Make sure they don’t leave until we say the coast is clear” Octavia tells the closest ones still in cages. Most of them just stare, but one nods their understanding, and the group continues on.

The key card scanner is taken out by Miller, who just shocks it and shoulders the door open. If the Mount Weather Security force was watching, they would have already noticed something was wrong. Speed was their best friend right now. 

Similarly to when Echo had broken out, Medical was quiet upon their entrance. Two people were in bed, presumably receiving treatment from the grounders that had just been freed. They left them be. Maybe the system would keep pumping, sending air directly into the mounon’s bloodstream, maybe it would automatically shut off. It mattered not to the strike team, death for all mounon was imminent.

They passed through the door out of Medical and into the hallway. All clear for now. Raven and Octavia snuck over to the same ventilation system hatch Echo had used, but upon noticing the missing bolts and slightly askew cover, shared a look. Raven moved the cover, whispered a ‘happy hunting’, and Octavia slipped inside. Then Raven replaced the cover and returned to the others.

They were currently in the middle of the third level, and would need to descend all the way down to the bottom floor to get to the command center. The central stairs would get them down to the fifth level, and they would have to either hijack the elevator or climb through vent shafts to descend the last two. They moved toward the stairs.

One to be a monarch, whose crown will weigh heavy.

Clarke led the way, having traveled this path twice to the other’s once. Although, last time she had avoided people and cameras as much as possible. This time, they wouldn’t find her. She still avoided bumping into anyone, or making enough noise to be noticed over the steady hum of the bunker’s life support systems in the background.

They came upon Dr. Loreli Tsing and Clarke paused. They hadn’t seen Randy, despite clearing through all of the medical lab area on their way in. Nor had they seen him in the discard mine cart. Following Dr. Tsing would be their best chance of finding the boy. She turned and quickly signed this to the others, motioning for them to continue on to the command center. Raven and Miller silently complied, parting ways with their leader.

Clarke turned back just in time to see the doctor heading toward the elevators. She followed, slipping into the elevator just behind her. There wasn’t anyone else in there, but Clarke waited. She could, so easily, take out the doctor right now, but wouldn’t be sure to find Randy in that case. Despite his attitude, the boy was still one of her people. 

The elevator ride was short, just down to the next level. Clarke hadn’t spent much time here. The doctor exited and hooked a left, Clarke following close behind. They passed through multiple security levels of doors with a couple of close calls, Clarke having to contort herself to avoid coming into contact with her quarry. They arrived at one that looked like it led to a storage room. It required a retina scan. Clarke knew this was indicative of top secret access only. This might be it. 

Inside the room was the missing delinquent. The room was square with smooth walls and fluorescent lighting reminiscent of the lights on the Ark. There was no furniture besides the gurney Randy was strapped to and a rolling cart holding assorted medical instruments. They must be using it just to hold him, with any lab work being done upstairs. Clarke noted the bone drill on the cart, flashing back to the last time where she had helplessly watched it hurt her friends and family from the cameras in the command center.

Randy seemed to be unconscious, and had an IV line going into his arm coming from one of the drawers on the cart. The lack of blood in the line told Clarke they were using a pressure infuser, and actively pushing something into his system. She turned to watch the doctor more closely. She was just taking his vitals, noting them on her clipboard. Clarke stepped closer to look over her shoulder.

Subject 1

Bone marrow extractions: 3

A slew of vitals records from the last three days.

Notes: Subject recovers well, possible to retrieve a sample a day for three days now. Uncertain of max number of days subject will remain alive for sample retrieval. 

She was using him as a lab rat, probably planning with Cage to capture the remaining delinquents to use them in a similar manner and let their people walk in the sun again. Too bad, Clarke was here to shit all over those plans.

Clarke was so engrossed in reading Randy’s chart, she didn’t prepare for Dr. Tsing to lean back and promptly bump into her. It startled her and she moved without thinking, drawing the dagger at the small of her back and stabbing Dr. Tsing right through the neck.

She grabbed the offending location, fell to her knees gurgling, and looked around panicked. Clarke grabbed her hair, leaned her back, and stabbed her through the eye socket. Dr. Tsing’s arms fell limply to her sides and once Clarke released her hair, fell face down onto the ground. She would bear it so they didn’t have to. Randy was not going to be used as a lab rat any more.

Clarke took a second to think. The retina scan would make leaving him and coming back nearly impossible. She didn’t know why he was unconscious, or when he would wake up, and she couldn’t carry him very far. She didn’t know this level very well, and it wasn’t on the maps they had made from last time. She would have to take him with her and stash him somewhere he wouldn’t be found until later, or maybe Octavia and Echo could take him.

“Roman or Rogue, Wanheda” She called over the lasercom.

“Go for Rogue, colocated.” Perfect, the two had already met up. 

“I found our missing delinquent. We are in uncharted territory on Level four. I can get him near the access by the elevator, but not much further. Can I leave him with you for now?”

“Affirmative, Roman and I are en route to receive.”

Clarke smiled and began prepping Randy for movement. She disconnected the IV line, then opened the drawer to see what they had been pumping into him. The bag in the automatic infuser just said saline. Either they were just keeping him hydrated, or had put something else into the line, she couldn’t be sure. 

No sign of him waking up, Clarke decided to leave him on the gurney until she got closer to the air shaft, cameras be damned. Plus it would help distract the command center for Raven and Miller to get into easier. She might end up as the distraction, but as long as the juice was worth the squeeze, it wouldn’t matter. She pushed open the door and dragged the gurney out into the hallway. 

All of those doors she had followed Dr. Tsing through were one way security, and all she had to do was walk through them to get back. She made it back to where the elevator was and quickly took out the cameras nearby with well placed shots of her pistol. She located the hatch into the vent system. With a few quick turns from the dagger to take out the screws holding the cover to the wall, she was met with the smiling faces of Octavia and Echo.

“Good to see you again” Echo began, climbing out of the hatch and scanning the hallway for threats.

“You as well, glad you are alright” Clarke answers.

All three turn sharply as the elevator dings. Clarke begins frantically undoing the restraints on Randy while Octavia and Echo move to intercept. The doors slowly slide open and multiple members of the Mount Weather Security Force pile out. 

Echo takes the ones on the left, Octavia the right. They move like women possessed, slashing and shocking and punching and shooting until all of the security force is down. The elevator doors slide closed.

“Well, that was eventful, and I’m sure it won't be the last batch they send. Let's get a move on” Clarke directs, having gotten Randy unstrapped in that time.

Echo helps Clarke lift the boy into the hatch, with Octavia on the inside pulling. Clarke scanned him quickly, still unconscious, still breathing, drill sites on his humeral heads and one on his iliac crest. The girls shifted him all the way into the vent, then down past a bend in the line away from the direction they had come from, out of sight from the hallway for sure.

“Alright, I’ll be back for him, but I have a lever to go pull. Check on him every once in a while until I come back” she says to her two assassins. They voice their confirmation, and Clarke turns to the elevator. Snagging a badge from one of the guards, she enters and presses the button for level seven. 

One to be mad, whose ideas will change history.

Raven and Miller had made it down to level five through the central stairs no problem. They dodged the people milling about and made their way over to a secluded corner in a mostly empty hallway. They entered the vent system and descended the very handily placed ladder all the way down to the lowest level. They had made it.

Clarke’s radio call came through and the two looked at each other.

“She is going to beat us there if we don’t get a move on” Raven tells Miller, moving quickly to another vent cover.

“They are going to go after her once they see him moving around” Miller comments, following her.

“That gives us a bit more wiggle room for infil, but not much” Raven responds, already working on opening the grate. 

It opens, and they crawl out. Right into the art warehouse from last time. Miller knows where he is now, and quickly moves toward the door out of the room. Raven doesn’t bother to replace the cover and follows him.

They move unseen out of the room and through the hallway, until they get nearer to the elevator. They notice a lot of yelling going on, orders being barked and yes sir’s in response. Security is freaking out, and must have found out about their little incursion. The two carefully skirt around the mob of guards near the elevator and continue on toward their actual targets. Dante’s office houses the missile control panel, which would need to be taken out of commission. That was their first stop. Once they removed that threat, locking access to his office could be done from within the Command center which happened to be just further down the hallway. 

They arrive at the Oval Office, and Miller kneels down to work on the lock while Raven stands guard. With his new and improved skills and tools, it takes him a grand total of 20 seconds to open the door.

They enter, and Dante himself is the only occupant. He sits behind his desk looking around confusedly, eyes darting in search of whoever had just entered his office. Miller wastes no time, and shoots him with the stun. Then he goes around the desk and finishes the job, sword sliding between ribs slickly. They leave Dante slumped over his desk, taking his key card and exiting silently.

Back down the hallway, the command center is abuzz. They had seen the cameras on level four go out, and now the guards they sent were not responding. Something was seriously wrong. Then their own command center door opened, to no one there. A hiss sounded and something metal clanked along the floor, then the door closed again. Someone had thrown one of the sleep gas grenades into a closed room.

Miller smirked at Raven. Path of least resistance strikes again.

“The suits should keep us from inhaling it, let's go” Raven says. 

“I’ll go in first, just in case.” Miller opens the door again, walking in and taking a deep breath. His job was mostly done, so if the smoke knocked him out their plan would still work.

Nothing, still conscious. 

He waved Raven in and got to work dragging the affected security force members outside of the room. She sat down at the main life support control desk and cracked her knuckles. Time for some alternate timeline revenge.

Finding the controls for the air system was a breeze, she hadn’t even had to write code or break passwords. Assigning the air flow direction to the lever to her left required some coding, but nothing too difficult once she found the right input. Everything was ready, and then Clarke walked in.

“How are we looking?” Clarke asked, standing over Raven’s shoulder and peering at the screen.

“All set.” Raven motioned to the lever. 

“Good. Here we go for round two” Clarke muttered it to herself, placing her own steady hand on the lever. She would bear it so they didn’t have to.

Chapter Text

Gaia had accompanied Lexa to the main camp. She wore a headscarf to conceal the earpiece of her lasercom system, wanting to know what all was going on inside the mountain during the operation. 

Bellamy’s arrival at dawn signified that her counterparts were on the move, and probably had already reached the mineshafts. He had taken up residence in the same tent as her and Lexa at the commander’s behest. Having the radio man in close reach was important to her, even if the radio itself was still a mystery.

Gaia knew there would be a lot of waiting involved in the early part of the day, but it still made her antsy. It didn’t help that Bellamy and Lexa were antsy as well. Bellamy had been shaking his damn leg for the last hour and Lexa had taken to pacing the width of the tent. Gaia was seriously considering telling them both to chill out, when shouts came from outside.

Lexa and Gaia stormed outside, Bellamy remaining behind to listen to the radio. There was a mountain man, Emerson if Gaia remembered correctly, walking toward their tent with his hands raised. He was flanked by two of Lexa’s own guard, and seemed unarmed.

Gaia remembered that Lexa had taken a deal made by the mounon last time and her heart sank.

“Please, I am Carl Emerson, Mount Weather Security, and I have a message for your Commander” He was saying over and over.

“I am the Commander. What is your message Carl kom Mounon” Lexa spat. She stood in her full commander glory, arms behind her back looking down at the taller man.

He stopped in front of her, as enforced by a spear to the neck, and began to speak.

“My leader wishes to make a deal.”

“I do not make deals with goufa snachas.” 

“Just hear me out. We would like to make peace with your people. We will release all the outsiders, your people, that we have taken.”

“Why”

“A show of good faith. We only ask that you cut ties with the kids in the dropship.”

“The kids from the sky? Why?” Lexa asks.

“We have committed atrocities against your people for generations, but only to keep ourselves alive. If you were in the same situation, you would have done the same or similar.”

Lexa snorts, but keeps listening.

“We recently found that those kids can heal us. We know you have had contact with them, but in exchange for all of your people, we just want them. Surely you can see the benefit in that?” He almost sounds desperate, and Lexa knows it. She looks back at Gaia.

“Heda, sen foutaim hedas in.” Is all Gaia says. She knows Lexa won't take the deal.

Lexa levels her gaze at Emerson, who shrinks under it. 

“You misunderstand Carl kom Mounon. Those kids, they are also my people.” And then she nods to the guard and turns back to the tent, walking away as Emerson’s detached head hits the ground. 

A swift death he didn’t deserve, but received anyway. 

She returned to her command tent, pointedly ignoring the questioning look from Belomi. Gaia could answer his questions.

---

Clarke pulled the lever. 

“All, Wanheda. Air is coming in. I say again, air is coming in.” She transmitted over lasercom for all her people to hear. Their mission had been a success. 

Assorted replies of cheer came through their channel.

Clarke turned to Miller. 

“Let Bellamy know we did it. I’m heading up top.” She told him, already making her way out the door.

She removed the helmet, and replaced it with the jacket Indra had given her from her backpack. Invisibility was now moot, as all of their enemies were dead. She made her way to the elevator, guard key card in hand.

Octavia and Echo were on the move, Randy in tow back on the gurney. They had told Clarke their plan and she confirmed it. He would get taken to Medical, then they would meet up with Miller and Raven for Operation Grounder Release and Operation Reaper Revival. 

Miller and Raven were finishing up in the command center. They force unlocked all the doors except to the President’s office and the command center doors. Those they set to only unlock with specific key cards, so nobody would just happen to get in. Motives good or bad, they didn’t want anybody messing with self-destruct sequences or missiles. Then they took off towards Medical as well.

Octavia and Echo had made it there first, and had transferred Randy to one of the beds when the other two entered. Hugs were exchanged with Echo, since they hadn’t seen her since before the time jump, and they got to work. 

Now visible, the grounders in the cages were wary of the newcomers to the harvest chamber. Echo and Octavia were the only ones they had seen before, but after a very brief explanation, and a lot of unlocking, all the grounders were out. Raven led them to the central stairs, with the others helping along the more infirm grounders, and they began their long climb to freedom.

Clarke opened the door and was met with the searching faces of the closest two camps of grounders. It seems they had practically stormed the hill as soon as Bellamy had relayed the ‘all clear’. 

“The mountain has fallen. Your people are on their way up the stairs now” She says, gesturing behind her.

Raven crests the stairs and sees the sunlight coming through the door. She waves on the former prisoners, and they seem to gain a second wind. They reunite with long lost clan members just outside the mouth of the entrance. 

Clarke locks eyes with Lexa.

Pain, shock, awe, relief, peace, war, finality, and so much more crosses both of their faces. 

You stayed.

You did it.

They just stare at each other for what feels like forever, before each are interrupted by members of their own forces.

“Heda” Gaia says softly, snapping Lexa out of it. “They did it.” She lets a bit of awe seep into her voice.

“They did it” Lexa echoes, allowing a brief smile to cross her face.

“Clarke” Raven says. “Quit making heart eyes at her. We have stuff to do.” She sounds stern, but Raven is secretly enjoying the whole interaction.

“Right. Also, shut up” Clarke responds, shoving her almost sister playfully. They do have more stuff to do before they can call it a day. The big emotional part is over, but the work never ends.

---

The dragon has a fourth, lesser known head. The martyr.

Clarke is leading Lexa and her entourage through the mountain when it hits her. They took three samples from Randy. Gaia had told them about Emerson, and presumably they used one to test its efficacy. Where was the third? 

Her question is answered when they are in Medical. 

Clarke had stopped to check on Randy, still unconscious, and the grounders were looking around while Raven explains what some of the equipment in the room is, and what it does. To the best of her knowledge of course. She makes sure to emphasize what good it can do if left in well-trained hands.

Cage had the missing dose.

Somehow, against all odds, he had avoided detection and had found them. He steps into the room, raises his gun, and fires. 

He was aiming at Lexa. He had missed. Or rather, someone had reacted quicker than he had. 

Gaia had stepped between them and had taken the bullet instead. 

Clarke had seen him come in out of the corner of her eye, and responded before any of the others had even processed what had happened. She drew her own pistol, and shot him square in the forehead. 

The room exploded into yelling and movement. The grounders dove for cover, or to rescue their Heda, the remaining members of Beachkru drew their weapons or readied their stun gloves. Clarke ran for Gaia. She knew the threat was neutralized. She had to help her friend.

It was a stroke of luck this had happened in Medical, she thought, before beginning to bark orders at the others.

“Rae, get me a med kit. Miller, try to calm them down and clear the room.”

She began her exam, visually checking for injuries. One hole in Gaia’s shoulder, blood steadily seeping through the cloth, its darkness masked by the shade of her clothing. And she was in a 100 year old state of the art medical center. Gaia better not die.

Clarke told her so.

Clarke began stripping Gaia’s top half, exposing the injury site. Right side, heart was probably ok. No bright red spurting blood, minimal arterial involvement. Clarke slapped her hands over the holes while she waited for Raven to bring her something to cover them with. 

“This is really not how I thought today would go” Gaia laughs weakly, then coughs. “What is your girl going to think of this?”

Clarke doesn’t know, and doesn’t really have the wherewithal to care. Gaia is not dying on her watch.

“Got it” Raven says, sliding up next to Clarke medkit in hand. It’s one of their pre-made ones, not a Mount Weather first aid kit. 

“Chest seals. Two” Clarke orders. Raven takes the first one, placing it over the hole on Gaia’s chest as Clarke removes her hand. They roll her, injured side down, and Raven slaps on the second one, wiping away the accumulated blood first. 

“Get her on a bed” Clarke says, taking hold of Gaia’s right arm. Raven takes her left, and Miller and Octavia take a leg each. They get Gaia on the bed with a groan of pain, and Clarke begins thinking.

“I need an IV kit, Raven see if they have anything for pain, maybe a chest tube. What else what else” Clarke is still holding Gaia’s arm.

“Yu gonplei ste odon” She hears from over her shoulder.

“Like hell it is. Death is not taking her. I won’t allow it.” Clarke snarls back. “I need suture kits as well, Raven!” 

“Got it!” the mechanic yells back.

“What can we do?” Octavia asks, gently placing her hand on Clarke’s shoulder. 

“Are you two emotionally stable?” Clarke asks, knowing Octavia and Miller spent quite a lot of time with Gaia in the bunker and would be the most likely to start freaking out.

“We’re good” Miller answers. “Room is clear except for the Commander and two of her people. And us” he doesn’t say Echo’s name but she is included in that ‘us’.

“O help Raven find what I asked for. Miller, take Echo and check on our friends in the lab” Clarke says, referring to the reapers they tied up earlier. They still needed to save as many of them as possible.

“Got it” they both answer, taking off to their respective tasks.

Clarke takes a deep breath. 

Gaia is breathing faster now, they would definitely need that chest tube. God she wished she knew where the surgical suite was. 

Raven comes back with the IV kit and a suture kit.

“Octavia is looking through the meds, going back to look for a chest tube” she updates Clarke before taking off again.

Clarke puts the IV in Gaia, giving her something to do with her hands. She needs blood.

Octavia comes back just at the right time, vial in hand. 

“She needs blood. Sit down. I’m gonna have to direct line it.” Clarke tells Octavia before running off to find what she needs. “Raven, where was the IV stuff?”

Raven points and Clarke is off like a shot. She finds what she is looking for, a big ol needle and some filtered tubing.

“Big poke” she tells Octavia as the needle goes in. Gaia weakly laughs at that. She would need another IV kit to give her any meds for pain. Blood first. The Ark being all universal donors was super helpful right about now. 

As the blood starts flowing, Clarke realizes her mistake. They were both nightbloods and the grounders would freak out if they knew. She shouldn’t have sent Miller and Echo away so soon. 

Crap.

Clarke tries to block out the sight of nightblood coming from Octavia, but to no avail. Lexa sees it. 

“Natblida” she whispers, staring at Octavia.

“Not now. Please” Clarke says just loud enough for Lexa to hear and although the Commander had questions, she respects Clarke’s request and takes her people out of the room. 

“Well that’s certainly a problem” Gaia says, then winces.

“Quit talking and let us save you” Octavia quips, smiling down at the other girl. “And hey, now we are officially blood sisters.” Gaia returns her smile, but doesn’t respond.

“Once you start getting dizzy, let me know.” Clarke tells Octavia. “Loverboy, I’ll need you back here soon” she radios Miller quickly. Who else could she use? Raven, herself if it came down to it, Bellamy but she didn’t know where he was right now. “If anyone sees Bell, send him my way” she adds through lasercom.

“Copy, I’ve got him, headed back now” Miller responds. 

“I found lidocaine and a whole kit for chest tubes” Raven says, laying her finds down on the bed next to Gaia.

“Ok, that’ll work for later. I was thinking more like morphine or ketamine” Clarke says, and Raven goes back to look for more.

She sets up the chest tube kit, telling Gaia what is about to happen and using the lidocaine Raven found to numb the area. She inserts the tube, but leaves it clamped until they can find a one way valve for it. Clarke really should have brought a beefier med kit with them. 

Luckily, the place Raven found the kit has a whole bunch of chest tube drainage system things. Clarke wastes no time in familiarizing herself with and hooking them up. A lot of blood comes out once the clamp is released. Calling back the others was probably a good idea. 

Luckily, Mount Weather was well versed in blood collection and dispersal, so after Clarke discontinues Octavia’s line, she is able to use their own systems to get exactly one unit from Miller and Bellamy. Echo and Gaia turn out to be incompatible blood types, despite the nightblood mutation. 

Once his unit is drawn, Octavia takes Bellamy out of the room to explain what is going on. He gave blood willingly, but seeing that his sister had done the same had seemed to confuse the boy. She just told him they had gotten close while on the ground and she wanted to help save her friend. He accepted this, but didn’t let Octavia out of his sight for a while afterwards.

Clarke stitches up as much of the internal damage as she can, then the exterior stuff as well. She only had to cauterize a couple of bleeders. Gaia was stable, and that’s all that mattered.

“So. What’s going on?” Randy had woken up right after Clarke had finished stitching up Gaia’s back. He was sitting up in the bed and looking around at the absolute mess that Medical had turned into.

“Oh jesus, sorry, I was not expecting you to wake up any time soon” Clarke exclaimed. “You’re safe. We are still in Mount Weather but we got rid of all the people in here. I’m going to have to have somebody else explain the rest to you, there’s a lot.” They send him down the hallway to talk with Octavia and Bellamy, only slightly limping from the drill he had taken to the hip.

“The reapers” Echo said in realization, grabbing Miller and moving down that way. They would be waking up now as well, and the restraints would only last so long. Getting them up to medical was kind of out of the question now, but the lab would work in a pinch. 

All of their plan components were in order, and no one had died. Clarke counted this mission as a success. She knew Lexa would have many, many questions, but this time Clarke wouldn’t disappear into the woods. This time, she would stay.

Chapter Text

Day 5: After the events in Chapter 16

Clarke and Lexa stood like that, bodies pressed together in a way neither had experienced, not even in the previous timeline, for what seemed like an hour. And not long enough.

Clarke never wanted to let go, but knew. She knew Lexa needed answers. She hadn’t meant to tell her, but she had been caught unprepared for Lexa’s tone of voice, demanding answers to questions she didn’t need to ask. Clarke had forgotten how hard it was to tell her no. She never could, and wouldn’t again. 

Lexa was the first one to break their silence.

“I may not know you, but my soul does. The commanders do. I’ve seen you in my dreams, some of my own mind’s creation” Lexa holds Clarke’s cheek, wiping a stray tear with her thumb. “How can that be?” she asks softly.

Clarke meets her gaze. Smiling, with sad eyes. Sadder than Lexa thought she had any right to be.

“It’s a long and convoluted story. If you have time, I would love to tell you. I think a shorter version will have to suffice for now so your people don’t think I’m in here strangling you or something.” She closes her eyes again and presses herself into Lexa again, head on her shoulder, pulling her in gently. 

Gently enough for Lexa to pull away. She doesn’t.

“Six weeks ago, I returned.” Clarke speaks in hushed tones into Lexa’s shoulder. Just loud enough for the other girl to hear. “I used a mind drive to store my memories from the last timeline I lived through, and I planted it into my past self so they - I - would have the memories of my past life. Similar to what the flame does for you, but it doesn’t work on different people. I remember everything from last time when it all went wrong and I’m fixing it so everyone can live and be happy.”

Lexa just holds her. The closeness isn't something she’s used to, but as long as it keeps Clarke near her and talking in her soft voice, Lexa is happy to just be present. She gives a hum of partial understanding, and waits for Clarke to continue.

“Last time, your last life. What happened?” Lexa asks when Clarke doesn’t respond. She is stroking the sky girls back comfortingly. She didn’t mean to start doing it, her body just automatically did. Like it knew what Clarke needed subconsciously.

“We fought, like a lot. We came down from the Ark immediately into a war we didn’t want. I tried to stop it, over and over. Then we had a common enemy. The mountain. We were working together, and had gotten close. Then they offered you a deal. Your people for mine. You took it. I destroyed the mountain. Then I ran away.” Clarke pauses here, memories of the past flooding her head. 

Lexa presses her lips to the crown of Clarke’s head, not helping her train of thought, but keeping her from spiraling nonetheless. She shifts so her chin is resting on Clarke’s head instead and allows her to continue.

“You sent someone to bring me back. I had become a symbol and Nia was trying to kill me, but you wanted to keep me safe. Among other reasons. I was angry, and was convinced to kill you. I couldn’t. I knelt to you, securing Skykru as the 13th clan. You killed Nia. Some members of Skykru slaughtered Trikru, thanks to the effect of Azgeda, and Skykru was the enemy once again.” Clarke paused again. After that, they had spent the night together, and it was the best night of Clarke’s life. Until that moment. Until a stray bullet had taken her love from her.

“Go on” Lexa prompts, knowing Clarke just needs a reminder. The other girl is clearly working through a lot just telling her this. While she isn’t happy with the other timeline’s actions, she knows there were vastly different circumstances at play and wants to hear how it ends.

“I was leaving, until I saw you. I wanted to stay, I really did. I couldn’t. And then, you were killed by a bullet meant for me.” Clarke doesn’t tell her about their evening together. She doesn’t want to push. She wants to fall for Lexa all over again, and of her the same.

Lexa just keeps holding her, rubbing circles on her back, waiting for her to continue.

“I, I.” Clarke takes a steadying breath. “The nighbloods you know were all killed by a usuper. I took the flame and ran. I found my people in shambles. The same artificial intelligence that had ended the world was taking over their minds. It wanted you, I mean the flame. I ended up using nightblood to take the flame, and destroying the AI. I saw you while I was in there. I finally told you I loved you. And then you were gone. Again.” 

Clarke’s tears soak into Lexa’s shoulder. After a minute she composes herself. She rushes through the rest, skipping parts that aren’t important because Lexa isn’t in them.

“Then we learned about Priamfaya. We found a bunker, but there wern’t enough spots. They held a conclave, since there were no more nightbloods it was clan champions instead. Octavia won, and gave every clan equal spots. Some of my people, seven of them, went back up into space and I got left behind. I survived, thanks to synthetic nightblood, with a nightblood child I found. It was just us for nearly six years. Then the Elegius prisoners arrived. We fought, honestly a lot happened there, but we ended up destroying earth again. We returned to space, traveled for 125 years and ended up on another planet. There some of them had mind drives, and were being treated like gods by their people. They would steal people’s bodies, erasing their minds and putting themselves in charge instead. We killed them. Then we found the anomalies, and went to another world. They were preparing for a ‘final war’ there, but had to kill my daughter to get the key to it, so I killed their leader. You were the face of the judge, but it wasn't really you. I failed the test. Raven re-took the test and Octavia stopped the fighting, and we passed. Humanity got to transcend. But not me. Some of my friends stayed behind with me, and that’s where we figured out we could time travel and come back to fix everything. We used the mind drives just in case something happened to our original bodies, which it did, and now here we are.” Clarke finishes, but remains standing where she is.

Lexa is stunned. The girl in front of her, in her arms, has truly lived over a hundred years, and on multiple planets. She has killed more than Lexa ever has, and most of it was for the right reasons. “Klark. You have been through so much. And yet you decided to come back, to do it all again. Why?” she asks.

Clarke lifts her head, looking at Lexa again. 

“For hope. For living instead of just surviving. For you.” The girl sounds broken. The sad look on her face all made sense now.

“I have been taken from you multiple times. Yet I keep coming back” Lexa states.

“And I keep coming back to you” Clarke responds.

“Heda!” Gaia interrupts from outside. The two jump apart, trying their best to look like they hadn’t been doing anything untoward. “The war council is assembling, yourself and the Skaiprisa are expected.”

“Understood, we will be there shortly” Lexa called back through the door. She took another look at Clarke who was wiping her face and schooling her expression back into the one Lexa had seen upon initially entering the house.

“We will talk more after all of this, Klark” Lexa promises. 

“Of course, Heda” Clarke responds, sad smile flickering over her face.

The two exit the house and join the war council, ready to take the first steps into ensuring this timeline is better.

---

Day 7: After the fall of the mountain

Clarke knew it was time to face the music. 

“If I needed any proof into your statements, this would suffice” Lexa said, the first words she had spoken to Clarke since they parted nearly two days ago. Clarke had felt the distance every single second they were apart.

She had left Gaia in Niylah’s capable hands, the reapers in the lab were being watched by Echo and Miller, and Octavia had taken Bellamy and Randy back to the dropship camp with Raven. She was the only one still wandering around the mountain, looking over the carnage she had caused once again. 

“Yes, I. I believe this would be proof enough” she says noncommittally. She doesn’t really know where to start.

“Klark. Look at me” Lexa says softly. They are alone in the hallway, she can afford to drop the Commander mantle here and now. 

Clarke turns to look at her, peace settling inside her as soon as her eyes make contact with her niron.

“You did this before, what has changed?”

Clarke knows what Lexa is trying to do. She isn’t looking for answers, more of an explanation into why she isn’t relishing in her overwhelming victory.

“Me” is the simple answer, but a head tilt from Lexa spurs her to explain. “I know who some of these people were. I know the solution they were searching for. I know acutely well what I would do for my people. I took the easiest route. I could have ended this differently, but it would have changed too much, and caused so many more problems for me later on. I chose the path of least resistance at the expense of 382 souls. Again.”

Lexa doesn’t think, just acts. She takes Clarke’s hand in her own and pulls the other girl closer. They meet in the middle in a firm embrace. Clarke wasn’t the only one that felt their time apart so strongly.

“I lost everything, over and over again. I won’t lose anything this time. Not if I can help it” She sobs into Lexa’s shoulder. The contact had snapped the thread keeping Clarke’s tears at bay, and she let herself just feel.

“When I saw Cage with the gun, I couldn’t move fast enough. I could have lost you again. I had just found you again” Clarke continues sobbing, hands grabbing fistfulls of Lexa’s armor, whatever she could find. 

“I’m here. You didn’t lose me. I’m here” Lexa reassures her. That just makes Clarke cry harder. 

The two just stand there, in between disfigured bodies in the hallway of the bunker where Clarke had just exterminated an entire people, for the second time, and feel. 

“Tell me, Klark” Lexa says after Clarke has settled down, her sobs now infrequent sniffles. “What made me fall for you the first time?”

Clarke laughs.

“Out of all the questions you could ask, you start with that one? Not how is Octavia a nightblood, not how does time travel work, not how did you take down the mountain?” She asks, leaning back to look at the other girl. Lexa is smiling down at her.

“Yes. That is my most urgent question.” Lexa pulls back and Clarke releases her death grip. The two begin walking back towards the elevator as Clarke tells her about their first meeting, Finn, the missile, how love is not weakness, and all the other little interactions they had before the mountain last time.

“From what you tell me, I fell first.” Clarke confirms with a nod. She knew it to be true.

“And you can cure reapers?” Clarke nods again. They enter the elevator and Clarke hits the button for level three so Lexa can see for herself.

“We captured as many as we could find. They are currently in the lab being prepped for detox.” At Lexa’s inquisitive look she added “getting their minds back. The Mounon was drugging them.” This seems to satisfy Lexa’s unsaid question and she nods.

“Will you come back to Polis with me?” Lexa’s next question is not entirely unexpected, but it still stuns Clarke at the change of pace. She looks at the other girl, seeing a soft vulnerability in her face. Clarke smiles.

“Of course I will” she answers, and sees Lexa’s face light up. She would do anything to see that look over and over again. She wanted to always see Lexa happy.

“I am glad. I want you to be able to enjoy Polis in its full glory.” Lexa needn’t have elaborated. She had Clarke from the moment she asked the question.

“I can’t wait” Clarke says. “Anywhere with you is sure to be wonderful.” She takes great joy in seeing Lexa blush, even when she tries to hide it.

Clarke would follow Lexa anywhere, until the ends of the Earth and beyond.

Chapter Text

Jackson wasn't supposed to know the kids on the ground. He wasn't supposed to want to talk to them, to make sure they were ok, besides the work of a doctor trying to monitor test subjects. It was supposed to be impersonal. He shouldn't ask to video chat with them, with his found family. So he talked with them on lasercom instead.

“Ground, Doc”

“Doc, this is Loverboy. Our channel”

Jackson switched to his and Nate's frequency.

“Nate, I've missed you. How are things going down there?”

“Good, we just got back from the mountain and are planning out what we are going to tell the Ark about what we've been doing the last couple days. How are things up there?”

“Busy. Ever since you guys called in there has been a lot of moving pieces with the Exodus ship preparation and letting the citizens know what's going on. Since Kane got rid of Sidney, it's been peaceful, but I'm still keeping an ear out for internal threats.”

“Fair enough. Shoot, I've gotta go Eric, but I'll talk to you again this evening. Love you”

“Endlessly”

The line goes dead and Jackson takes his earpiece out. He had a meeting to sit in on with the council, anticipating the radio call from the delinquents imminently.

The meeting starts with the usual reading of the notes and old business. Then the radio in the middle of the table crackles to life.

“Ark, this is Raven Reyes. Come in, over”

Jaha practically jumps out of his seat, reaching for the hand mic before Sinclair can get it.

“Raven, this is Chancellor Jaha. We read you.” He says, much more calmly than he appears. Jackson makes a mental note to tell Raven about that later. She would probably think it was hilarious.

“Chancellor, long time no see - or speak I guess. Wells sends his love of course, we've been pretty busy down here. I'm sure you all have been as well.”

“Indeed. Now please, I've been told you have an update for us.” Cutting right to the chase of course.

“Right. Well, the closest grounder clan and us have officially made a treaty. We helped them take down their biggest enemy, and they will help us survive through the winter. The coalition as a whole will need some more convincing to let us join them in an alliance capacity, but Clarke and I are working on that now.” That was only partially a lie. Raven was working on Priamfaya planning and Clarke was working on Lexa.

“That includes us I assume.” Jaha stated.

“Kind of. You see, they know you all up there won't listen to Clarke, in a leadership capacity. But they sure will. They are treating us and you all like two separate entities. Clarke is laying the groundwork, but once you all get down here, you will have to make your own Alliance with the grounders. We aren't exactly our own clan, but that doesn't matter to the Commander.” 

“Their Commander, Clarke has met with him?” Jackson knows Raven is cackling right about now.

“Chancellor, Monty Green” the boy had evidently taken over for Raven, who Jackson could almost hear in the background. “Yes, they met two days ago when the Trikru Chief and Clarke made their treaty.” The boy sounded puzzled, probably wondering why Raven had busted up laughing and practically shoved the mic into his hands. 

“I see.” Jaha takes the change in speakers in stride.

“We would like to know how the Exodus plan is progressing up there” Monty says. Jaha narrows his eyes, suspicious of the knowledge the kids on the ground seem to have acquired.

“It is going well. We have the seven remaining ships ready to go. We are making some last minute alterations so each ship can bring down 150 people instead of the 100 they were designed for. Obviously that doesn't cover everyone, but some have volunteered to stay behind for now until we can come back for them.”

“Copy, that should be reasonable enough. The Ark should have the capabilities to house them for a good while now that the strain on the system will be lessened.” Monty was a smart kid, being able to extrapolate information from the bits and pieces Jaha and Raven had shared with him.

“That's the idea” Jaha confirmed, handing the radio over to Sinclair's outstretched hand. 

“Monty, Sinclair. Head engineer. With the updated ships, we will be able to bring down half of our people any day now. Do we have any kind of infrastructure we can fall in on? How was the Mount Weather bunker?” Sinclair rapid fires questions at the boy.

“Mount Weather is an option, but the grounders won't like it” Monty starts trepidaciously. “The mountain is kind of a sore subject for them. I think if most people didn't live in it, it would be OK, but you'd have to check with Clarke.” 

“Tell us more about Mount Weather.” Sinclair insists, unaware about the can of fetid worms he was opening.

“I don't think I'm the best one to talk about it. Let me hand the radio off.”

There is a long pause, and you could almost hear a pin drop in the council room if it weren't for the steady hum of machinery in the background. All eyes were locked intently on the radio. 

They only knew a couple things about the mountain. The kids had been directed to go find it, and the supplies within. They hadn't.  The grounders avoided the mountain like the plague, and had enlisted the 100's help with taking it down. A group of them had done so, solidifying a treaty with the group of grounders whose lands the dropship had ended up in. That was about it.

“This is Nathan Miller. I will start from the beginning. The dropship landed more than a day's walk from the Mount Weather Bunker, so Clarke and the rest of us elected leaders decided to stay here for now. At least until we were ready to make the trek. The second, no, third night we were here, acid fog enveloped the camp, causing everyone to have to take cover. The fog burns our skin and lungs, and prolonged exposure would have killed someone. It also caused us to meet our first grounders, who took shelter in the dropship with us. The grounders told us that the people in the mountain were abducting their people, and used the fog like a weapon to keep them away.” Here he paused, taking a breath. “The Mountain men had attacked us for no reason.” He paused again for dramatic effect. It worked, as the council room was filled with whispers and scattered gasps.

“Anyways, the next day the grounders took Clarke to meet with their leader, or leaders I guess, and they made the treaty. All we had to do was help them take down the mountain men.” Nate said it like that was a simple process.

“So the people in the bunker, had survived from before the bombs fell?” Sinclair asked incredulously. 

“Yeah. I guess their bodies hadn't gotten accustomed to radiation like the grounders and ours had, so they couldn't go outside without radiation suits. They were using the grounders as a human dialysis machine to keep themselves alive, and throwing their bodies away once they were done.” Good thing Nate stopped here, because that revelation set the whole room off. 

Once it had quieted down, Sinclair spoke up again.

“So you all took down the mountain men. How? And they are all dead?”

“We did what underage delinquents do best. We picked the lock. The grounders did the rest” Nate lied through his teeth. This was a much more reasonable explanation than the truth. How would he explain that four juvenile delinquents and a grounder had used alien technology to infiltrate a bunker that had been impenetrable for over 100 years, hacked their life support system, and killed them all? The lie also took the blame off of them in the eyes of the adults still in the sky. 

Needless to say, the room erupted again. 

Jackson knew that by the time the first Exodus ship had reached the ground, Mount Weather would be wiped clean. No sign that anything had happened there and no proof of Nate's lie. The only one that would know the truth, besides Beachkru, was Bellamy. Even then, he only knew what he had been there to see, and was sworn to secrecy by his sister.

“Hello, Raven again. So you see, if you guys just come down and take over the mountain, the grounders may see it as a threat. We still have a few months before winter hits, so we should be fine. Or we can send some people to live at the Trikru village. We haven't gotten that far yet” yes they had, that was exactly the plan. “The sooner you all get down here, the sooner you can start learning from the grounders and making your own village, city, whatever.”

“That's a good point, Reyes” Sinclair remarked. The council had a lot to talk about, but her reasoning was sound.

“Thanks, I'm full of them.” She snarked back at her mentor, trying to ease the mood that she knew was currently suffocating the council chamber.

Jaha motioned for Sinclair to give the radio back, and he reluctantly did.

“Ms. Reyes, may I speak to Clarke?” He asked.

“Um, Clarke is kinda busy right now, but I will let her know you want to talk” Raven replied. 

Oh? Clarke should have returned from the mountain with the others. Jackson would have to ask what was going on once he could find a second away from prying ears.

“Alright, well I would like to speak with the Commander or the chief of the Tree-crew at their earliest convenience to begin formulating this alliance. If she can make that happen I would be much obliged.” Jaha was good, thinking ahead like that. And him asking Clarke to facilitate it boded well for his view of her.

“Sure thing Chancellor. Anything else while you have me?” Raven was trying to wrap things up here, probably eager to tell the others all about their conversation.

“That's all for now. Thank you Ms. Reyes” Jaha confirmed. He handed the radio back to Sinclair, but only for him to hear Raven exit the net.

“Well” Jaha addresses the room. “Sounds like we have an alliance to prepare for, and dropship slots to assign.” 

The room resumes its hustle and bustle as Jackson slips out, following Abby. She notices him, and waits for him to catch up.

“Sounds like your girl is really taking charge down there” Jackson comments as he reaches her. 

Abby looks about ready to cry, but chokes it back.

“I couldn't be prouder” she manages to say, giving Jackson a firm smile.

---

Clarke hadn't returned with the others. She trusted Echo, Niylah, and the welcome addition of Nyko to watch over the reapers and Gaia, but still wanted to be there in case something happened. She knew her Beachkru counterparts would handle everything back at their camp, and in Octavia and Bellamy's case, TonDC. Those two had gone back with the local warriors as the Skykru representatives, updating Indra on all that had happened including Gaia getting hurt.

Clarke had enjoyed seeing the look on Nyko's face when she explained indoor plumbing, his eyes going as big as saucers. The man hadn't left Gaia's side, allowing Clarke to check on the now awake and very angry reapers. Echo and Niylah had been instructed on the weaning dosages and times for Red, and had the detox process handled. Going cold turkey hadn't gone very well for Lincoln last time, so taking a more gradual approach especially with those that had been on it for longer had been the best possible option. It did require constant monitoring, and the two had worked out shifts.

Clarke had offered to fill in as well, but the other two women had firmly declined, promising to radio her if anything needed her attention.

Clarke had nothing pressing to attend to. With her own worst enemy being her idle mind, she went to go find Lexa.

Lexa and her entourage had exited the mountain, but hadn't gone far. Their camp was moved to the meadow at the mouth of the main entrance, and the off duty warriors were exploring the surrounding area. Since the mounon had kept them at a distance, this was all fresh territory to examine.

Clarke entered Lexa's tent like she owned it, startling the other girl, before they both realized what had happened. Clarke just laughed while Lexa shook her head smiling. They were both still jumpy from all the action this morning.

“I figured now was a good time to answer more questions, unless you are needed elsewhere” Clarke says shyly. 

“There is nowhere else for me to be" Lexa responds, motioning for Clarke to join her sitting at the table. Nowhere better for her to be than at Clarke's side, she means.

Clarke sits.

They talk for hours, before Clarke finds herself nodding off. The events of the day, of the past 6 weeks, of the past 134 years, catching up to her. She hadn't meant to fall asleep, but once she had relaxed back into the chair, listening to Lexa talk about her childhood, she had felt her eyelids get heavy. 

The radio still in Lexa's tent crackling to life startled her awake, much to Lexa's amusement. They both listen to the back and forth between the Ark and dropship, Clarke laughing and Lexa tilting her head questioningly at different points.

“Your people lied to their leader” Lexa states, eyes trained on Clarke.

“We have to keep up appearances. Plus, they know I am their leader, not Jaha” Clarke reassures her.

“So, who else is like you?” Lexa asks finally. Clarke knew this moment was coming.

“I want you to be certain that you want to know before I answer, because you aren't going to like it.” She knows this is a make or break moment, and holds Lexa's gaze.

“Octavia is one” Lexa states confidently. “The others with you in the mountain as well. Bellamy?”

“No, but he was important last time, and is Octavia's overprotective older brother. The others are correct.” Before Clarke can continue, Lexa asks the question.

“Any of my own people?”

“Yeah. There's-” Clarke does a quick head count. “- eleven of us. Myself, Octavia, Miller, and Murphy from the dropship. Raven. Jackson is still up on the Ark. Emori is at Becca's lab. Echo, Niylah, Indra, and Gaia.” She ends with the big reveal. 

Lexa's face doesn't change, and that almost feels worse than an outburst.

“Indra, Chief of Trikru, and Gaia, a flamekeeper.” She muses, still mulling over the revelation. 

“You know how I told you some of my friends stayed behind with me after everyone transcended but me? That was them. Plus three others, but they don't exist yet in this timeline, so it got weird and now they are gone.” Clarke feels the need to explain, well aware that this could seem like a setup. 

“Fourteen people at the end of the world. You all must have gone through a lot together.” 

“We did. So much” Clarke sighs out. So much.

“Thank you for telling me, Klark. I will admit, Indra and Gaia surprised me. After hearing your ‘short version’ of what happened last time, I guess I should have expected those two. Or those similar.” 

“If I hadn't told you, who wouldn't you have guessed?” Clarke was glad Lexa had taken the news so well, and the mood had shifted back to a simpler banter.

“Maybe Anya, or someone she trained. Luna perhaps.” At both of these names Clarke cringes. Lexa picks up on it immediately. “How did they die?”

“Anya and I escaped Mount Weather together last time, trying to get help. To find you. But she didn't make it. My people shot at us before they recognized me, and she was hit. Luna fought in the clan chief conclave for the bunker, and lost to Octavia.”

Lexa looked disappointed hearing of her mentor's previous death, and raised her eyebrows at hearing that Octavia beat Luna.

“Really?” She asked, looking for details.

“Really” Clarke responded. “It was down to just the two of them, and Octavia got the jump on her after Roan and Luna fought in the black rain.”

“Roan? Of Azgeda?”

“Oh, yeah Nia used him to challenge you, you killed her, he became king of Azgeda and fought in the conclave for them.”

“And black rain?” She follows up.

“Rain that showed up before the death wave. It is full of radioactive water and burns on contact” Clarke explains.

Lexa doesn't have another question ready. The two sit in silence for a beat before Clarke breaks it.

“It's funny. That was my whole life, but now it's just stories. Things that will hopefully never happen again. Little insights into personality and character, but not an exact template of how people will act. The old Clarke is well and truly dead.” She looks down at her hands clasped on the table.

“The dead are gone, Klark. And the living are hungry” Lexa says, holding out one of her hands across the table for Clarke to take.

Clarke laughs, taking it in hers.

“You told me that last time, too.” 

Clarke's stomach chose that moment to make itself heard, protesting the lack of breakfast or lunch yet that day, and they both crack up at its impeccable timing.

“Let's feed the living, why don't we?” Lexa asks through her own laughter, and Clarke nods. 

The two stand and make their way outside to see what the Commanders Guard have rustled up.

Chapter Text

Once the arduous radio discussion with the Ark was complete, Raven got back to work. There was a lot of untouched tech at the dropship that could be traded or used by the delinquents. She had to admit, Monty had gotten quite a bit started, but her experience would take this thing down to bare bones.

Octavia's previous training session with Lincoln had proved to be source of much curiosity among the more fighting inclined of the delinquents, and Miller had his hands full with training. Once Murphy suggested that they go learn from the grounders, Miller had started a list. 

There were 18 kids that wanted to become a warrior's second, and three additional recruits to his gunner force.

Murphy and Raven would go with the warrior hopefulls to TonDC. After passing them off to Octavia, the two would continue on to Polis and eventually Becca's lab. Miller volunteered to stay behind at the dropship, waiting for the Exodus ships, with the rest of the delinquents. He had been feeling the distance to Jackson more after being back on the ground, and wanted to stay close-by. He couldn't wait to see his father again either.

They couldn't afford to leave any key group alone. There was too much at stake. 

Only having two real radios was kind of a pain. Raven was able to make a shorter range equivalent from the bits and pieces laying around on the dropship. The main two would be stationed at the dropship, and at Polis with Clarke. Octavia at TonDC would be at the far end of the range on the smaller radio, but the delinquents there deserved the peace of mind it would bring. Raven would drop it off on their way to Polis.

Gaia had to be monitored for 7 days before it was safe to move her all the way back to Polis. Luckily, the morning of Day 8 on the ground, Clarke partially cleared her and made the announcement.

“All, Wanheda. Flamekeeper is safe to move back to Mama Bear. Our procession will swing by the dropship on the way. Sound off in sequence where you are now, and your next steps. Over”

“Cockroach. Dropship. Little Bird and I are waiting on you to take us to TonDC, then Polis, then we break off to the lab.”

“Doc. Ark, Exodus.”

“Flamekeeper. Alive”

“Little Bird. As Cockroach said.”

“Loverboy. Dropship. Waiting on Exodus down here.”

“Lynchpin. The mountain. Once the reapers are healed, Rogue and I are heading for my home.”

“Mama Bear. TonDC. Waiting here for multiple arrivals.”

“Rogue. With Lynchpin. Splitting off at her trading post, heading to Azgeda to cause more trouble.”

“Roman. TonDC. Training, liaison work, the usual.”

“Sandskater, last but not least. Lab, waiting for my man and best friend to arrive.”

Everyone had their own tasks. Now that the first threat was dealt with, they could start thinking about Priamfaya.

---

Clarke, Lexa, Gaia, and the Commanders Guard left the mountain shortly after the Beachkru check-in concluded. Gaia was resting comfortably on one of the carts, being fussed over by a still worried Nyko. Clarke was doing a much better job than him of hiding her desire to hover over her casualty. It also helped that Lexa insisted Clarke ride next to her.

It was a short few hours ride to the dropship, making it there before the sun had reached the middle of the sky.

“Sooooo, can I ride?” Raven asked once everyone leaving for TonDC was prepped and ready to go.

They had to wait while the delinquents loaded up another cart with things Raven had told them to bring. Not many of them had anything besides the clothes on their backs that was worth bringing.

“Sure, we'll have to share” Clarke laughed, reaching down to drag the mechanic up behind her.

At the looks on the 18 other delinquents (plus Murphy's) faces, some of the guard force had held out their hands in the same manner. One of them even got off to walk, letting two kids ride his horse instead, which he led. The sight brought an unabashed smile to Clarke's face.

This time would be better.

Clarke looked over at Lexa in time to catch a hint of jealousy on the Commander's face. One raised eyebrow was the only indication she gave that she had seen it before Lexa turned away.

“Gon TonDC!” Lexa ordered the force, to the answering cheers of her guards.

They stepped off, delinquents wishing each other good luck as the 21 departed for the grounder village.

The ride there was mostly quiet, delinquents trying their best to walk silently like the grounders, or stay on the horses they had elected to ride. They had to stop halfway there when Monroe had asked to switch out, hips already aching. The grounders laughed, but allowed it. These sky kids were not warriors, but they might be soon.

The rest of the ride was much more talkative, a few brave delinquents taking Monroe's break in the silence as their chance to talk to their co-riders.

As they approached TonDC, they were met by riders. Indra, Anya, and a few Clarke didn't recognize.

“Hei Heda, ha don yu sojun?” Anya asks.

Indra simply rushed to her daughter's side. The two conversed rapidly in Trigedasleng, Indra taking over the duty of fussing over her daughter from Nyko, who was now talking with one of the sky kids also on foot.

“Hei Anya, ai sojun, don fonki. Yu gona don tel yu op ha Maunde krash daun?” Lexa responds to her former first, the two now riding next to each other with Clarke and Raven on Lexa's other side.

“Wow, grounder princess looks a lot better now that we aren't at war” Raven comments just loudly enough for Clarke to hear. Clarke elbows her in the ribs, a little harder than she meant to judging by the ‘oof’ Raven let out.

The noise gains the attention of both grounder women who glance at Clarke and Raven.

Anya's gaze lingers on Raven's arms wrapped firmly around Clarke, but quickly returns to talking with Lexa.

“If you call her that, she might beat you” Clarke whispers at Raven.

“Ooh, kinky” the mechanic responds, wiggling her eyebrows far too obviously.

Little did Clarke know, Anya heard everything. The normally stern woman was fighting a lot of facial expressions right now.

“I thought the Skaiprisa was bold, but her pretty ‘friend’ might have her beat” she says to Lexa in Trigedasleng, not bothering to lower her volume since there was no way these Skayon could understand her. Right?

“Oh keryon” is all Lexa can utter in response.

“What? She is pretty, although the two seem close. If the brown haired one is anything like the blonde, we might have a couple of spitfires on our hands” Anya continues in Trig, oblivious to Raven's slight blush and Clarke's poorly hidden laughter.

“Oh Raven, I'm SO glad you could make this journey with me” Clarke really lays it on, at the three other women's expense of course. She even lays her hand on Raven's thigh, in clear sight of Anya and Lexa. 

It only stays there for another second before both girls crack up. 

“I'm so glad I came, being able to lay eyes on these muy hermosa y guapo people” Raven adds, mid laugh.

“Alright alright, we are almost there" Clarke says to her counterpart, pointing out the village ahead of them.

“Why are you red, what did that mean?” Anya asks Lexa suspiciously. Her former second knew something she didn't and she wanted in on it.

“One of those words means beautiful. I do not know about the other one” Lexa answers, not meeting Anya's eyes. 

“How do you know? It is not any language I have heard bef- hmmm.” Uh oh.

Sometimes Anya is too smart for her own good, both Lexa and Clarke think, shooting each other a quick side-eye.

“You didn't.” Raven states, already knowing the answer. Thankfully she actually said it quietly enough for the others to Not hear this time.

“OK listen-” Clarke manages to whisper back before Raven's laughter cuts her off.

“Ooh this is gonna be fun. Or awful. Or awfully hilarious.”

“To be fair, that's like the only word she knows. And amor. But that should be it. I was feeling feisty and let it slip. And then, everything slipped out.”

Raven stops laughing.

“Like how much everything?” she asks, now totally serious. Clarke hadn't told them Lexa knew yet.

“Cliff notes, sobre ella y yo.” Clarke says guiltily.

Raven lets out a sigh. “I don't know why I expected any different. We already said screw the plan a few times and we've only been down here like 8 days. Me even less.”

“Sorry Raven.” 

“Ahh it'll buff. Who am I to stand in the way of amor.” Raven assures the blonde, now giving Lexa a side-eyed glance of her own. “You have to tell the others for sure.”

“I will. Once we get to Polis.” Clarke promises. Well, she'd tell Indra later tonight.

Cries of “Heda” and surprisingly enough, “Wanheda”, ring out as they enter the village proper.

“Damn, Commander of death. That was fast.” Raven remarks, oblivious of the way Anya almost broke her neck looking over at her.

“A bunch of them were there” Clarke explains. “When you commit genocide then save a life in quick succession it tends to leave an impact.”

Lexa considers covering for Raven and telling Anya she must have heard what it meant while in the mountain. 

Clarke beats her to it.

“Although Wanheda rolls off the tongue better than Death's commander. Heard that one earlier too.” Truthfully she had. The Commander's guard had adopted the title in lieu of “Skaiprisa” once she told them what it meant to her. Upon approval from their true Heda of course.

Anya's suspicion is lessened, but not quelled entirely. She would speak with this - Reivon - later.

Raven catches her mistake. “Oh she's definitely going to beat my ass now” she whispers to Clarke, then more audibly, “I hope I get wined and dined before she eats me alive.” 

“Raven, if you don't stop while you're ahead, I'M going to beat your ass.” 

“Don’t threaten me with a good time, but message received” Raven gives in with a mock salute. Clarke doesn’t see it but doesn’t need to. She knows the other girl’s mannerisms well.

Their destination is the Chief’s house. Indra’s house has been practically taken over for the last five days, by Anya and her people, and now the Commander and hers.

And now Clarke and her people as well.

Anya had prepared for this, directing her forces to move out into the woods in their usual campaign tents. They hadn’t been happy about it, but seemed to have obeyed reliably.

Their victory dinner awaited, the hunters having had the extra day to prepare, and the village was lively with conversation. A large fire had been built in the center of TonDC, reminding Clarke of where the bodies had been burned post Finn, last go-around. She quickly shook off the memory. They were here to celebrate. 

The nutrient and fun deprived delinquents had a blast. They chatted with the warriors that knew Gonasleng, ate till they were fit to burst, and laughter filled TonDC.

The local warriors were significantly more welcoming to the sky children than they had been before. It helped that they were under the watchful eyes of their Clan Chief, a war general, and their Heda. 

Although, each of those women were mostly keeping their eyes on specific people. Indra didn’t let Gaia out of her sight, even when Octavia disappeared with Lincoln during the night. Anya was boring holes into Clarke and Raven, and Octavia until she disappeared. Somehow Murphy had avoided her scrutiny, although it may have been due to his absence from Clarke’s strike team in the mountain. Lexa only had eyes for Clarke, interrupted by various warriors congratulating her victory. But it wasn’t hers, it was Clarke’s.

Clarke had her fair share of congratulations given, in Gonasleng and Trig. She accepted both graciously, tone of voice conveying enough for her to understand even if she didn’t already know the language. 

Some of the previously trapped grounders had specifically thanked Octavia earlier on in the night, bequeathing her with a nickname all her own. Kikakeepa. Survivor keeper or life keeper, depending on who you asked. She was the one that had promised them safety, and returned later to rescue them. They knew Clarke had orchestrated it, but Octavia without the suits’ invisibility had been the face of the operation to them. She did her best not to show what it meant to her, having a nickname that touched on life, rather than death this time.

Raven wasn’t lucky enough to get a nickname. That didn’t bother her, she was already the youngest zero-G mechanic in 52 years. What other claim to fame did she need?

The night ended peacefully, grounders and delinquents alike shuffling off to bed at regular intervals. The kids had taken a longer journey than they ever had before and were rightfully tired. The grounders knew getting drunk as all hell was not a good idea with so many high ranking people on the prowl. Common sense had prevailed, if even for one night.

Anya had decided not to question Raven that evening thankfully. She knew the group would be there for a few more days, until Clarke was confident that Gaia would be alright recovering under Nyko or was well enough to make the trip to Polis. Where Clarke went, Raven was sure to follow. She wasn’t sure of the two’s relationship, but intended to find out. Among other things. Like what Raven had meant by ‘wined and dined before she eats me alive’. Anya was not familiar with that phrase, and had no intention to eat Raven. Well. Hmm. Not in the way it had come across for sure. So sue her, the brown haired sky girl was interesting.

As Clarke, Raven, and a few other delinquents bedded down, the calming sounds of the village seeped into their assigned room in Indra’s house. It had been so long since any of the Beachkru members had heard that, and the other delinquents probably never had. It took everyone a while to fall asleep, but being able to truly relax was not lost on them.

Chapter Text

Anya is unsettled. 

Everything is going too smoothly. No one is infighting, or putting up much of a fuss about the addition of 21 kids from the sky living with them in TonDC. Or that four of these kids took down the Mountain. Or that kids fell from the sky in the first place.

The peace was unusual, and she felt like the metaphorical other shoe was about to drop.  

She rose with the sun along with her warriors who were already puttering around their camp. Anya glared at the dew shining on the grass, knowing it wouldn’t be long before it was frost covering the ground instead. It felt like a glaring kind of day.

She made quick work of putting her sleeping bag away, experience had told her the moisture it would accumulate during the day would be a pain to deal with when it was time to bed down again. She hadn’t bothered to set up a tent last night, and was now regretting it as the morning breeze chilled her. The camp’s cookfire would be her next stop before going back into TonDC proper. 

Her glare must have indicated to her people the mood she was in. The only morning greetings she received were respectful nods of acknowledgement and a bowl of something handed to her by the warrior manning the cookfire. Porridge of some kind she surmised. She ate in silence, soaking up the heat from the fire.

“Mochof” was the only word she spoke to her people, just a quick thanks to the chef, before she departed for the village. Her people would have the camp looking much more put together by the time she returned, rather than the smattering of gear lying around that it was now.

The village was just coming to life when she arrived, opting to walk rather than ride the short distance. Even the birds she heard in the trees on her walk were far too carefree this morning. She made an effort to drop the glare she wore as it was not the villagers fault that she was unsettled. Actually, it was. The glare stayed put.

Anya found a good vantage point across from the Clan Chief’s house where she could watch its door and sat down. Sooner or later either Lexa or one of the Skyon would exit and she would get to work figuring out what on earth was going on. 

---

Clarke was the first to rise out of all of the delinquents, followed quickly by Raven and Murphy. Octavia had not returned to the house last night, but Clarke was not too concerned about that. She was much more concerned with the delicious smells beaconing to her from the kitchen area.

She almost threw on the outfit she had worn for the past eight days (minus the trip to the mountain) before realizing Indra had left them all with more extra clothes than most of the other delinquents would have ever seen in their lives. Being the first ones awake allowed the three to take their pick, mostly sticking to simple yet still very soft items.

Clarke entered the kitchen, empty except for Indra who was standing over a flat piece of metal filled with sizzling cuts of meat and eggs and some circular bread looking things. 

“Good morning Mama Bear” Clarke says happily, approaching the older woman. 

“Good morning Clarke” Indra responds, turning to face her with a plate already in hand. Then, more quietly, she says “The walls here are funny. They tend to have ears” in warning. Clarke nods in understanding and takes the offered plate.

“We will have to take a walk away from eared walls later” she says before taking a seat at a nearby table. Clarke had fully intended to tell Indra that she had spilled the beans to Lexa last night, but time and playing Mom to delinquents had kept her busy.

“Did Octavia come back last night?” Indra asks, back to manning the stove.

“Nope” Clarke says through a mouthful of food. Everything was delicious. She just didn’t have the heart to stop shoveling it into her face. 

Indra just hums at her answer. That might make for a good excuse for a walk later.

The two continue in relative silence until Raven, Murphy, and one of the warrior hopefulls enter the room commenting on how good it smells. They thankfully take plates from Indra, practically drooling at the sight, and join Clarke at the table. Derek, Clarke remembers.

Once again, the room is quiet except for the sound of vicious chewing and compliments to the chef in Indra’s direction. The older woman smiles, three out of the four present kids returning it. 

“I almost wish we were staying here Raven” Murphy adds, “we could be eating like this every morning.”

“Oh come on, you turned out to be a pretty decent cook. Lots more to learn and improve, but nothing to shake a stick at” Raven replies. As far as the other sky kids know, they are just accompanying Clarke to Polis. After that, they are free and clear to reunite with Emori at Becca’s lab.

“Yeah man, that rabbit stew the other day was the best yet” Derek chimes in. Oh this boy doesn’t even know what he’s missing, all four think in conjunction.

Slowly but surely, the other delinquents in residence trickle in. Clarke practically licks her plate clean then vacates her seat for someone else to take. She doesn’t go far, chatting with the others while waiting for Indra to be available. They have ‘an Octavia to find’. 

Indra serves a few more of the kids before handing off Chef duty to one of the Commander’s guard that happened to be on duty. The man seemed glad to have something to do other than stand around and look intimidating.

Clarke makes sure to let Raven and Murphy know that she's going to look for Octavia loudly enough for it to be heard by the others. A few offer to come and help, but Clarke turns them down. 

“I will come with you” Indra states, “Lincoln is one of mine. I know his usual hideouts.”

Anya saw the two women leave, but decided not to follow. If Clarke was with Indra, there wasn't too much trouble the sky girl could get into. She would wait for one of the other delinquents to exit by themselves, preferably Raven.

She didn't have to wait long.

Raven and Murphy exited the clan chief's house together but quickly parted ways. Anya got up and followed a ways back, so as to not arouse suspicion. The boy went in the direction of the town center, Raven towards the delinquents cart of trading goods and other assorted tek.

The skayon turned a corner, Anya waited for a beat then followed. She stopped to talk with a trader, Anya waited at least one building away. She looked around searchingly, Anya dipped behind a house.

Eventually the sky girl got to the cart and Anya approached from behind. She reached out to put a firm hand on Raven's shoulder, and promptly found herself flat on the ground, knife to neck.

“Oh crap” Raven's glare immediately softening to a look of guilt. “Sorry, I felt somebody following me and you surprised me.” The girl put her knife away and held out her hand to the grounder woman.

Anya was even more confused now. This Reivon had noticed Anya tailing her, allowed her to approach, then floored her so fast Anya, a seasoned warrior, didn't have time to react. Her scouts had not reported seeing many people training like this besides Miller's group, and certainly not Reivon. Besides, most of those that had been training were not nearly that proficient at takedowns.

She wanted answers.

Anya grabbed Raven's wrist, pulling her down to the ground with her, then rolling so she was sitting on the sky girl's lower back. Or at least that's what she intended. The other girl had rolled with her and Anya was now firmly seated on Raven's hips, the two face to face.

“Woah woah woah, uhhhhhh” is all Raven's brain can muster. She had apologized, what more did Grounder Princess want? Also, hot.

Anya snorted, then commented “you certainly have the audacity of youth.” She stood and let a very red in the ears Raven get up.

Raven had said the last part aloud. 

She wondered if Raven would hold the same sentiment had the girl not flipped herself. Anya turned before Raven could see that she was a bit red as well.

“So, what's up? I assume you were following me for a reason” Raven asks, having composed herself and dusted off the dirt from their scuffle.

“Yes, I have many questions for you” Anya answers.

“I will do my best to answer them. As long as you don’t try to attack me again.”

“You threw me down first.”

“Yeah, because you were acting sketchy, and snuck up behind me!”

“Sketchy? I do not know this word. Nor do I know the ‘wined and dined before I eat you alive’ you mentioned yesterday. I do not like not knowing things, Reivon.”

“Me either. Also, sketchy means suspicious. And wining and dining is an old earth phrase about dating that was bastardised to mean treating somebody to something nice before something bad, I guess. I don’t know its kind of complicated.”

“But it came from dating? Courting? Why would there be something bad after that?”

“Wow, guess you are confident in your ability to treat a lady right.” Raven has the audacity to wink boldly at Anya, not helping the older woman fight her still present blush.

“Of course.” Anya says with confidence. “How do you know how to throw daun like that?”

“Throw down, like fight?” Raven clarifies. She knows Anya is adding Trigedasleng into their conversation to try and see if she understands it. Best to play dumb just in case.

“Yes.” Anya confirms, crossing her arms.

“On the Ark we can’t really train with weapons, but we can practice stuff like that just in case someone tries to attack us. Although, it’s kind of faded out over the years with the punishment for acting up being so severe.”

“Explain.”

“Oh, any crime gets the death sentence." Raven says. Anya’s eyebrows practically levitate off her head. At this Raven continues “Well we don’t have the space to lock up criminals, other than kids, and they would be a drain on resources so we float them. Uh, send them out of an airlock and they die.”

“For anything?” Anya had heard some of this from Clarke, but having it confirmed felt different. 

“Yeah. Pretty crazy. I would have gotten floated for doing an illegal spacewalk but my boyfriend took the fall for me. He was still under the cutoff age so they locked him up instead, and then sent the kids in lockup down here.”

“Boyfriend?” Of course that was the part Anya focused on.

“Yeah, at the time. Finn. He was hooking up with another girl by the time I got down here so I broke it off.”

“He did not deserve you.”

“Do you?” Raven asks slyly, adding “Thank you” before the grounder woman can formulate a response. Anya takes a second to corral her thoughts. Is Reivon flirting with her?

“How did you take down the mountain?” She finally asks. Raven’s face falls. An interesting reaction.

“We used their own tech against them. Just like we said”

“Explain.”

“I reversed their air flow, and the radiation took care of the rest.”

“How did you all get inside so easily? And with no wounded?”

“Miller used to be a thief, so he helped us sneak in. We took out the cameras so they could not see us coming. Then we used their knockout gas against them so I could get access to the life support systems.” Raven leaves out the mention of an inside woman, and the suits. There was no good way to explain Echo, and the suits would just confuse her even more. Hell, it would have confused Raven herself if she had seen them all those years ago.

“I see.” At least Anya thinks she does.

“If you have more questions about the specifics, Clarke is probably the one to ask” Raven supplies. Tech is her thing, processes are Clarke's.

“Worry not, I have many questions for Klark as well. She is on my list.”

“Mmm, good luck with that. If you approach Clarke like you did me, well.” Raven looks down and raises her eyebrows, portraying disbelief.

“She is more formidable? Yet my warriors captured her easily.”

Raven barks out a laugh before covering it with a cough.

“Did they now? She let you catch her. She wanted to talk to you, or whoever was in charge down here.” Raven knows Clarke had vanished for months after the mountain last time, evading capture until Roan himself found her by accident.

“That makes no sense. None of this makes sense. You all know nothing of the ground and yet seem to know it well.”

“We originate from people who lived on the ground. We are taught Earth Skills, or survival, in school. We know about a LOT of things. And we use this knowledge as our power.” Raven is pretty proud of that, she spitballed it and it sounded pretty good.

“My scouts reported on you all frequently, noting all of your interactions. Leaders, fighters, providers. They said she was the leader, but only her generals interacted with the general public. And yet they all follow her word as law. She has no discernable skills, other than a fight with a larger boy and healing. Why is she your leader?”

“Um. That’s kind of hard to answer. We hold our healers in high regard up on the Ark, and she has good plans most of the time. I guess the big thing is people trust her judgement?” Raven finishes questioningly. That about sums it up, besides the fact that no one except Octavia and maybe Miller could land a hit on her.

“She is a healer, and your leader, and a fighter yet not a warrior, and a provider, and was one who helped take down the mountain, and yet is leaving her people to come to Polis.”

“Well when you say it like that it seems kind of far fetched.”

“I do not understand why she is in charge. And what will happen now that she is gone from your camp?”

“Miller will take charge. He still reports back to Clarke but he has everything under control till the rest of the Ark comes down and kids go back to their parents.” Raven waves her off like this is no big deal.

“How do your leaders get chosen?”

“The people choose. That way the leader has to do what’s best for the people in order to stay in charge.”

“And if she were to fall, who would take command?”

“Either myself or Miller. More likely Miller honestly.”

“Where do the rest of you fit into this?”

“Ok this is sounding like an interrogation, it’s my turn to ask a question.”

“Alright. What is your question?” Anya is surprised at the sky girl’s boldness, although from her conversation with Clarke all those days ago, she probably should have expected it.

“Why are you so interested in Clarke? Or all of us honestly.”

“She is, different, from anyone I have met. That goes for the rest of you as well. You are new to the ground and new to me, so I must investigate.”

“Ok that’s fair. What about me?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, why did you choose me to interrogate? Surely any of the others we brought with us here would have similar information to what I’ve given you.”

“You are interesting, Reivon. You do not fear me as you should, and answer frankly. Klark and my first conversation was similar, but her position was different from yours. I like being able to see more than one side of a story.”

“Soooo, you like talking to me?” Raven wiggles her eyebrows but Anya just rolls her eyes.

“I do. We will have to talk more, Reivon.”

“Sure thing. Although maybe next time don’t sneak up on me and I won’t toss you like a sack of potatoes.”

“I will be more prepared next time.” Anya tilts her head downward, evening her gaze at Raven warningly.

“Noted. Next time, I get thrown around.” Raven jokes. Anya just tilts her head. Raven takes that about as suggestively as one can and goes red again.

“You are an interesting one, Reivon kom Skaikru.”

“Thanks, right back at you Anya kom, uh, Trikru?”

Anya nods and turns to leave. Raven watches her go, then returns to the task she was trying to do before she was interrupted. Trade some of the scrap metal for new boots and bringing the handled radio to Octavia.

---

Indra and Clarke didn’t find Octavia, she found them.

“There you are, I heard you were looking for me?” She asks, walking up to the two engrossed in conversation.

“Yes, just to check in but while I have you both away from prying ears. I have something to tell you” Clarke acknowledges her, gesturing for her to join them.

Indra smiles warmly at the girl, then goes back to making sure no one else is approaching from behind Clarke where the village lies. They had gone a short distance into the woods for this talk, and did not want it to be overheard.

“All clear. What did you want to tell us, Clarke?” Indra asks.

“When Lexa and I met the other day, I snapped. I told her who I was, a synopsis of what I’ve seen, and bits and pieces of her and my past.”

The other two stare at her, then each other, then Octavia rests her hand on Clarke’s shoulder and Indra starts chuckling.

“Clarke, I love you, but you are a fool. We knew this would happen sooner or later. We could have placed bets on how long it would take you to cave to her.” Octavia says deadpan.

“How long Did it take?” Indra asks, eyebrow raised in anticipation.

“Like two minutes” Clarke lets out sheepishly.

“Called it” Octavia says, grinning at Indra.

“How long were your guesses” Clarke asks guiltily, head hanging.

“She said less than five, I guessed more than five, less than ten” Indra reports. 

“Face it Clarke, after surviving to the end of the world, we just know you too well” Octavia says mid-laugh, Indra and Clarke joining in.

The three women walk back to the village, heads a little higher and moods unflapable.

Chapter Text

Back at the dropship, Miller had done a frankly fantastic job of taking over the 79 remaining delinquents. His remaining guard force was training daily, and taking shifts watching the camp. He knew that there wasn’t anything specifically to watch out for but having something to do would keep people out of trouble.

With help from the force Indra had sent them, the smokehouse was up and running in no time. They had gotten better at hunting as well, padding their reserves for winter. If all things went according to plan, they would reunite most of the kids with their parents once they came down in a few days time and wouldn’t need the surplus of food to survive the winter, giving them a good survival buffer. 

They had been able to trade some of the items from the dropship with the local traders for some better clothes and shoes. This in addition to what Clarke’s group had brought back from the garage allowed everyone to have an extra set of clothes. They all had to figure out how to do laundry on their own, with some help from the grounders. They knew people used to beat their clothes on a rock in the river to clean them, but of course it wasn’t as simple as that. 

In addition to laundry and trading, the groups that had been in charge of building the survival items had switched to camp improvement projects. They had fashioned shovels out of tree limbs and pieces of metal from the ship, and began tilling garden plots or making walking paths through and around the camp. A firewood curing shelter was set up, not too close to the fire, just in case. The top floor of the dropship had been cleared out for storage, a novelty that the kids had not needed until now. 

The biggest progression in grounder relations had been the horses. Bellamy had traded a bunch of the scrap metal for the beasts so he and a few others could make day trips to TonDC. There was a small all brown mare allegedly prone to biting people with grey hair, which was not a problem among the dropship kids, but had been at the village. They named her Diane, reminiscent of the ancient Greek maneating horses owned by Diomedes. The other was a jet black stallion they named Beaucephalus, or Beau for short. Those kids treated those horses better than they treated each other. 

Somehow Octavia had convinced Bellamy to listen to Miller, acting as his second in her absence. He was mainly there to keep the camp running smoothly and helping with cross-cultural relations while she was in TonDC. She planned to return with Lincoln every couple of days to check in and see how things were progressing, and he went there to visit frequently as well. He knew as one of the two people older than 18 on the ground, he had a responsibility to all the kids, not just his sister. That didn’t stop him from worrying about her of course.

Miller and the group leaders formed a kind of council, making decisions for the group as a whole. Not everyone at the camp would return to the Ark’s exodus ships once they came down, as some didn’t have any parents, or the parents in question wanted to come to them instead. Getting the camp winter ready for as many people as possible was their first order of business, followed by future planning. So far, they only had around ten permanent residents, kids with no parents. There were a handful whose parents had told them they planned to move there, a total still less than their current residents. 

Finn and Wells were two who wouldn’t be joining the exodus ship. Thelonius had volunteered to wait for the second wave, either due to guilt over sending 100 kids down to die who had instead thrived, or because of some misguided sense of sacrifice for his people. Either way, those two were put in charge of future planning, drafting up plans for hard-stand buildings and infrastructure. They wanted to make a water tower, but would have to wait until some welding tools were sent down, promised by Sinclair to be on the first ship. They had seven days to wait, according to the report from the Ark on the Exodus timeline.

---

Raven had brought up the ‘Anya Problem’ on the ninth day. The woman was suspicious, and had obviously had more questions for the sky kids that she intended to corner them and ask. Raven had successfully fended off her line of questioning before it got too far, but only by a stroke of luck and some hardcore flustering on both sides. Not everyone else would be that lucky.

Since Anya had not been around that long last time, it was hard for the returners to judge if she was worth telling about everything. Lincoln was almost in the same boat, absolutely enamored with Octavia, but worth having on their side. The group came to a final decision after an evening of discussion. Octavia would tell Lincoln now, Clarke would take the brunt of Anya’s questions and tell her once the time was right.

Octavia was taken by Indra as her second officially on the tenth day. The eighteen other delinquents had been taken in by others among the grounders as well, having proven themselves resilient and trainable in the ring. Warriors willing to take a second were challenged by the delinquents, and their fights allowed the warriors to assess the kids. If they didn’t like the fight, or if they didn’t like the kid, another warrior stepped up to test them, allowing the kids and grounders to be matched up to appropriate teachers. It was a long day for the kids for sure.

After the ceremony that evening, Octavia pulled Lincoln aside. He started leading the way to their small tent in the woods, where they had been staying for the last few nights, before Octavia took charge and brought him to the river’s edge instead. Here the sound of water would mask their conversation, keeping it safe from onlookers.

“I have something to tell you, and you are not going to believe me.” Octavia started strong, knowing there was no good way to tell him that she had loved him before, seen him die, killed hundreds, lived on other planets, or time traveled.

“I will try to keep an open mind” he promised, taking her hands in his. The two were face to face, lit by the light of the moon in front of the river. 

“The reason I know so much, fight like I do, is because I have lived an entire life before this, and remember all of it” she starts. 

Lincoln keeps silent, brows furrowing but making no noise to allow her to continue at her pace.

“I have seen so many things. Done awful things for myself and for my people, and I carry that with me. I know of some events of the future, and we are trying to keep bad things from coming to pass. There are a bunch of us, Indra, Clarke, Raven, Murphy, and a few others in the same situation.”

“Indra?” He asks, surprised.

“Yes. She took care of most of us, was our rock, we couldn’t have done most of what we did without her.”

“So, you all remember your past life?”

“Just the 11 of us. Everyone else is living this life for the first time.”

“So, not reincarnation. Something else?”

“Yeah, the specific details aren’t important, but the reason I’m telling you is so if I talk of something I should not know about, you are not surprised. Well, I’m sure you will still be surprised, but I was hoping I would get a chance to love you again, and not lose you, and get your support through what is to come.” Octavia kind of starts rambling, vividly remembering seeing his body fall to the ground at Arkadia.

Lincoln takes a second to absorb this information. He really doesn’t know how to start, or what questions to ask, but it seems she needs to let it all come out in word vomit for now, so he will wait. He will support her, whatever may come.

“I know Luna. I know Trigedasleng. I know how to fight, hell I was the one that defeated Luna last time. I know the tragedy set to come, and we have a plan to fight it. I know you, better than you know me right now, but want to go back to how it was the first time more than you could know. I wish I could do it over again for the first time, without all I have done. I wish I could take out the mind drive and just forget. But I have a role to play. Maybe after everything is fixed. Or at least, after Priamfaya.” Octavia is talking to herself by the end. She didn’t even know if taking out the mind drive was an option, but she would have to ask Raven about it.

“Hod op. Yu throu daun gon Luna? And lived?”

“Sha, I did. I fought the best warrior from each clan in a final conclave for the bunker to survive Priamfaya. I won.”

“And Indra knows this, but still took you as her second?”

Octavia laughs shortly. “Yeah, we have to keep up appearances, pretend like we are the way we were the first time. I learned from her, and you, and a couple other people to become the warrior I am now” she explains.

“Ok.” Lincoln says after a beat of silence. “What can I do to help?”

“Nothing. Just be you. Let me fall in love with you all over again and support me when I need it. That’s all I can ask.”

“Of course.” He means it. Whatever she needs.

---

Echo and Niylah had done it. They had weaned the former reapers off of Red successfully. The warriors were in the clear, clinically. Mentally? Not so much. 

They remembered everything, all the evil they had done while under the effect of the drug. Some were able to be talked down, but one of them had run, and another had taken their own life the second they weren't being watched by either woman. The rest had banded together in their misery, knowing that they were the only ones truly knowing of what they had each done. Of how they could never return to their clan, let alone their villages. They were changed, irreversibly, for the worse.

The two returners spent the night of day 9 assuaging fears and comforting cries of distress. 

They suggested going to join Luna's clan. A fresh start, peace, healing. One of the warriors had been there before, and encouraged the others to join him, seeing the truth in the women's statements. Most of them agreed to join him and planned to set off in the morning.

There were two that declined. They didn't think they deserved peace. War, fighting, bloodshed, it was all they knew.

“What if I could give you a purpose. Fighting not for a clan, but for all the clans. For the coalition. Gon oson.” Echo suggested, already thinking about how having two additional warriors on her side would make her next tasks so much easier. 

The warriors, Ayrat and Trey, hulking monsters of men covered in scars and the lumps indicative of Red usage, agreed to fight with her for the good of all.

With everyone finally calmed down and decided on their paths for the morning, the groups rested in preparation for their journeys. The former reapers woke with the sour determination of fallen warriors, ready for the end of this battle and full of purpose.

Echo, Niylah, and the two warriors stepped off after the group headed to Luna's outpost, seeing them off with well-wishes and heartfelt goodbyes. The two groups knew they were not likely to see each other again.

The group headed north moved for Niylah's trading post first. The woman would stay there for now, before being called to Polis when the time came. They made good time, reaching the post in a day and a half. Echo and her two warriors stocked up on food and water before carrying on north toward Azgeda.

She told them the plan, only what they needed to know. They were going to wait for the signal from Polis and then dethrone Nia. Violently. The signal would be either verbal from Clarke or Gaia, or if Nia began marching on the coalition as she had last time. That power hungry crone would inevitably hear about Wanheda and make moves to take her power, then the coalition. 

The warriors in Echo’s charge agreed, she must fall. She told them about Roan, how he was a much better choice for ruler and not prone to needless slaughter like Nia was, but was currently banished as a condition of Azgeda joining the coalition. If Nia were to fall, her head delivered to Lexa by Roan, the commander may lift his banishment, allowing him to take the throne. 

The only problem was the three had no idea where Roan was currently. Echo knew Lexa had reached out to him to find Clarke last time, so she was counting on Clarke to send her his location eventually. Their current task was much more espionage centric. Sowing descent, ensuring any of the Exodus ships that landed in Azgeda were not harassed, and planting the idea that Nia’s era of rule was over. That and getting into positions where when the time came, they could quickly kill Nia.

Chapter Text

Gaia was stable enough for the chest tube to come out on the morning of day 13 on the ground. She was eager to get back to Polis, but at Clarke’s insistence, she would stay in TonDC for a few more weeks. The journey back would take two full travel days, and it was best if she had healed a bit more under the watchful eyes of Nyko and her mother before attempting the trip. Clarke could handle Titus for a few weeks.

The combined group heading to Polis stepped off at noon. Lexa and the Commander’s Guard, Anya and her warriors, Clarke, Raven, and Murphy were sent off from TonDC with cheers from the townsfolk. They would make it the 35 miles back to Polis within two days if everything went right (It wouldn’t). 

Raven was about to climb up onto the back of Clarke’s horse, when an unexpected hand was reached out to her. Anya did not say anything, nor did she look at Raven, just offered her hand to the woman. Raven and Clarke shared a look, then the brunette took the hand and was practically hauled up behind Anya. The grounder woman was strong for her size.

It wasn't that they were short on horses, Raven just wasn't that strong of a rider by herself. She would have much preferred a rover, or one of the dirtbikes. Even Murphy got his own steed for the journey, despite not having ridden by himself in what felt like forever. Alas, it was not just like riding a bicycle. 

Raven wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth, holding tight to Anya’s back and already planning on flirting her way out of the woman’s sketchier questions. Or just flirting in general, riling up Anya had been a worthwhile pastime while they waited to head back to Polis. 

Clarke, Lexa, and Anya with Raven all rode neck in neck along the path toward the capitol, similar to how they had ridden into the village. Clarke fell back a little bit to shoot the occasional knowing look at Raven, using Lexa to block Anya’s view of her. Anya knew exactly what Clarke was doing, each time the blonde fell back, Raven would clutch her just slightly tighter. The general used this time to shoot similar looks at Lexa, who was definitely returning a similar look. The four maintained amicable conversation until they stopped for the night.

At least they were about to, Clarke was the only one of the four who had dismounted when the roar of the Pauna rang through the forest. 

The horses freak out, some of the more spirited ones scatter from the group, riders still atop them or on foot chasing after their mounts. Clarke’s horse yanks its reins from her hands and takes off. 

The Pauna roars again, closer. They can almost hear its thunderous steps coming through the trees. The rest of the riders take off back towards TonDC, away from the incoming noise.

Clarke doesn’t blame them for running. She would too. Murphy took off with some of Anya’s warriors, the general and Raven following behind. Lexa’s guard stood their ground, waiting for her to follow. In the twilight, Lexa and Clarke lock eyes. Clarke is about to run towards her when the horse sees the gorilla, rearing and throwing its rider. The guard force takes off. The two women are left behind, one still on the ground.

Lexa not only got the wind knocked out of her, but also felt something in her ankle pop when she hit the ground. She frantically looked around, trying to catch her breath, when she sees Clarke step between her and the incoming mass of dark fur. 

Clarke has one of the stun gloves, and her pistol, trained on that damn gorilla. Once it breaks through the treeline and sees them, she starts blasting. She knows a little nine millimeter round won't do anything but make the beast mad, but hopefully the stun rounds will do something. The beast seizes up for like a second maximum at each successful stun round hit. 

Clarke drops her pistol, still firing at regular intervals with the glove, and kneels at Lexa’s side, drawing the other woman’s sword from its scabbard. 

Then Clarke walks the beast down like a woman possessed. Every second shooting another stun round and taking two steps closer. This has to work.

One last blast from her glove to buy her one more second, and she strikes. Taking Lexa’s sword in both hands, she swings for the beast’s throat. The sword is sharp, and bites through the thick pelt but only makes it halfway through the creature’s neck before stopping at the spine. 

The Pauna grasps at its neck and swings at Clarke at the same time, making contact with the blonde woman and throwing her across the clearing. Luckily she rolls upon landing and doesn’t hit any trees. She looks up to see it clumsily yank the sword out and take a few unsteady steps, blood flowing unimpeded from its carotid artery and jugular vein on that side. 

In its dying moments, the beast ignores Lexa and goes after Clarke again. Obviously it didn’t learn the first time because she shoots it with the stun glove again. And again. And again. Not even bothering to raise her body off the ground. It feels like she has been hit by a truck, and will most likely have bruises all over the left side of her body where the beast backhanded her. It doesn’t seem like anything is broken, but adrenaline is a hell of a drug.

The beast eventually falls to the ground. Clarke gives it one last shock for good measure, then lowers her arm. It isn’t moving, is barely breathing, and unless it’s biding it's time to bite her head off, is probably not going to last another minute.

Clarke rolls flat on her back and lets out a shaky exhale. Then she remembers Lexa. She shoots up, looking at the other woman, who is sitting up and looking at her. Its almost too dark to make out the other woman’s features, but Clarke could have sworn the look on her face was a cross between stunned and embarrassed?

That was the hottest thing anyone had ever done in Lexa’s presence. 

“Lexa are you ok?” Clarke asks, scrambling to her feet, then clutching her left arm to her side and running over. She quickly scans the brunette, noting no visible injuries from the fall from her horse.

“Knocked the wind out of me, and my ankle” is all she can squeeze out. This girl had just defended her from the legendary monster, taken a direct hit to the side, and was asking if SHE was ok? Clarke had killed it. Clarke had slain the Pauna, and was asking if she was ok. Lexa’s brain was mush.

“Your, oh jeez, your ankle? Let me see” Clarke pants out, holding her ribs gently. They might be broken, but she really hoped not. If anything else was going to run up on them right now, Lexa was their only hope of fighting back.

Lexa exposes the ankle, taking off her boot in the process. Clarke slumps down beside her, letting out a little ‘oof’ at the jarring motion. Is the sky girl injured?

“Shoot, your sword” Clarke utters, acting like she’s going to stand and retrieve the weapon before Lexa stops her.

“No Clarke. It’s fine, I have another. You are injured too” she states, gesturing to Clarke’s side.

“I’ll be alright, I’ve had worse” Had she? She couldn’t remember, adrenaline already wearing off and letting the pain seep into her body.

“It does not feel broken” Lexa states, rolling the joint and grimacing.

“It’s probably sprained, let me check-” she feels around the promontories of Lexa’s ankle. No indication of a fracture. “-yeah probably just sprained. Thank goodness.”

Lexa is taken aback. Clarke just killed the Pauna and is glad that Lexa isn’t injured? She’s about to say something about death not being the end and her soul carrying on when Clarke lets out a low groan, leaning to her uninjured side.

“We need to get somewhere safe. Let me wrap your ankle then we can find somewhere to hide out.” Clarke grabs a strip of cloth from her bag before quickly making figure eights around Lexa’s ankle. She makes another pained noise once she’s done, evidently having held it in while rendering care to the other woman. 

Lexa quickly throws her boot back on and tests the leg. She can bear weight, it just hurts. She retrieves Clarke’s pistol and her now blood covered sword, sheathes it in her belt, and helps Clarke rise to her feet.

“There should be a cave around here somewhere” Lexa leads the way, the two making slow progress. Lo and behold, there is an old subway system access tunnel not far and they take shelter just inside of it. 

The wind had seemed to pick up significantly in the last few minutes and Clarke let out another groan. “The hurricane. I totally forgot” she says, running her hand through her hair before facepalming. 

Lexa got started clearing a place for them to sit more comfortably and starting a fire to keep warm. She didn’t know what a hurricane was, but knew the storm would keep them trapped in here all night, and keep the warriors from finding them until the morning, at the very earliest.

Once the fire was started, Clarke inched closer and began taking off her layers. She needed to see just how bad her injuries were.

Lexa was very deliberately not looking in her direction. 

Once Clarke had stripped off her jacket and shirt, her legs had been spared from the beast’s strike, she said Lexa’s name softly. The other woman looks over.

“How bad is it?” Clarke asked, only being able to see some of the already bruised area.

“It looks, very dark” is all Lexa says. Clarke remembered that being a nightblood, the bruising wouldn’t present in the typical colors and may look odd to the untrained eye.

“Can you, I need you to check my ribs. I can't reach” Clarke admits sheepishly. Everything is sore and everything hurts, but the rest of the involved bones didn’t feel broken. There was definitely some creaking whenever she took a deep breath, which was kind of concerning.

“Alright” Lexa says, settling into place at Clarke’s left facing the slightly more injured woman. “What do I do?”

“So, just like, feel along the lines of my rib bones, and my collar bone. If anything moves that shouldn’t move, well, I’ll feel it” she laughs, then grimaces and groans at the jostling again.

Lexa’s hands are tentative, but unforgiving. She begins at Clarke’s shoulder, feeling around the acromion, then down her collarbone. Just bruises. Clarke closes her eyes to pinpoint the pain better, brow furrowed in concentration. “Collarbone feels ok, go back to my shoulder real quick” she instructs Lexa, who immediately complies. Acromion, trapizius, deltoid, humeral head, supriscapularis, all good. Bruised probably, but intact. Lexa’s hands are warm, and if she wasn’t in pain, might feel like a massage.

“Ok, oh this is gonna suck. Ribs please” Clarke asks. Lexa’s hands disappear from her body, then reappear at her side. “I think you can just - ouch - ok yeah just like that” Lexa beats her to it, firmly pressing along her side. She is careful around the already bruised area, but knows that if she isn’t thorough they might miss something. The rest of Clarke’s torso is much the same, pain but nothing out of place or broken thankfully.

“Your hands feel nice” Clarke whispers once they finish checking her injured side. Lexa is reluctant to remove them from Clarke altogether, now checking the sky girl’s arm. She smiles shyly at Clarke, who still has her eyes closed but returns the smile like she can feel it. “Ouch, guess I’m bruised there too” she says when Lexa reaches her elbow.

Lexa is more careful, looking before she runs her hands along any more of Clarke’s skin. This feels nice, domestic. She hasn’t had anything like this, well, since Costia. She notices Clarke lean more towards her as time goes on. The girl is obviously tired from their half-day of riding, and everything that happened afterwards. 

“Sleep now Clarke, you are safe.” Lexa stands, fetching Clarke’s shirt for her. 

“With you? I always am.” Clarke says sleepily, raising her good arm, the left only going up a ways before she scrunches her face and lets it drop again. Lexa helps her put the offending piece of clothing back on. 

“My pack should have a blanket in it, we can share. I think my side is going to keep me from thrashing around much.” Clarke motions to the discarded backpack. Lexa fetches it. 

There is a decent layer of leaves on the ground, but the extra layer will help keep the cold ground at bay for the night. The storm howling outside doesn’t reach them, and they should be alright until morning comes.

She lays out the blanket, and Clarke crawls onto it taking up a spot along the edge on her good side. Lexa draws her sword, intending on cleaning it before falling asleep. She notices Clarke curl into herself, and settles on a quick wipedown before joining her. 

One shiver is all it takes for Lexa to cave and roll over to spoon Clarke. She immediately relaxes, pulling Lexa’s arm around her subconsciously. Who is Lexa to deny her savior? She buries her nose in the blonde’s neck and drifts off soon after.

Lexa wakes to Anya kicking her. 

Normally she would wake with the sun, but where they had ended up was far enough back in the cave to keep most of the morning sun out. Hence, Anya kicking her awake like she was a child again. She shot a glare at the woman, noticing Raven grinning widely behind her, and Clarke still asleep in her arms.

“I saw the Pauna. Looks like you had an eventful night” Anya comments as Lexa carefully extracts herself from Clarke, laying the blanket she just vacated on top of the still sleeping woman.

“I fell, you saw, Clarke was the one that killed it” Lexa answers Anya’s unspoken question. At her former first’s eyebrow raise, she told the whole story in hushed tones so as not to wake Clarke. 

“Played some late night doctor huh?” Raven asks suggestively, and while Lexa has no idea what her words mean, the tone of voice conveys exactly what she means. Against her will, Lexa blushes. The mechanic chuckles, then asks “Ok but seriously, she got backhanded by a gorilla, is she alright?”

“She said she’s had worse, and it didn’t seem like anything was seriously injured last night” Lexa answers, looking worriedly at the sky girl. She would undoubtedly be sore this morning. “Did you bring any herbs, tea, breakfast?” she asks Anya and Raven. They rustle up the later, knowing Clarke would have some herbs in her backpack. 

“Clarke, wake up, you’ve been rescued” Raven says, shaking the other girl’s shoulder before realizing it's her injured one.

“Screw you Reyes, I did the rescuing” Clarke mutters as she slowly regains consciousness. She then follows it up with a lengthy “Owww” as she holds her side.

“Where’s your scanner?” Raven asks, eyeing Clarke’s bag.

“I totally forgot about that” Clarke whispers, nodding in the bag’s direction. “Oops” she whispers, just for Raven to hear, the girls sharing a conspiratory look and Raven chuckling. A quick scan confirms, nothing broken, estimated healing time 4 days for soft tissue damage. Raven returns the scanner to Clarke’s bag, digging around for some of the herbs Octavia had gathered the first day.

Clarke eventually gets up, adds some of the anti-inflamitory herbs to hers and Lexa’s tea for their assorted injuries, and takes some pain-reducing ones for herself as well. Lexa’s ankle was more swollen this morning, but after walking around on it a bit, the stiffness and pain had lessened. The commander’s guard had located and retrieved their horses, opting to wait outside the former subway tunnel for their leader. 

The original traveling party had all convened, none any worse for wear besides Clarke and Lexa fortunately. After the two had finished their breakfast and tea, they mounted up. Clarke only had a bit of trouble getting into the saddle with her injured side. She managed to get a leg up from one of Lexa’s guards, settling in for a slow ride. They had a lot of ground to cover, but were still on track to make it to Polis before nightfall. 

Lexa had almost offered to let Clarke ride behind her, but at the determined look on the other girl’s face, had let it be. She would check in later to see if Clarke had changed her mind. Lexa hoped she would. The girl deserved to rest after the night they had.

Chapter Text

Murphy didn’t enjoy riding horses, but he had to admit it beat walking by far. The trip back to Polis after the gorilla and the hurricane interrupted them was pretty uneventful. Clarke looked a bit messed up, but Raven had said she was ok, just bruised. Murphy felt a bit bad for having abandoned their leader, but she had gotten another legendary kill under her belt and gotten to spend some quality time with Lexa, so it was worth it. She even ended up riding with Lexa for the last bit of their journey. 

He knew Titus wasn’t going to like the two’s bond one bit, having taken the brunt of the flamekeeper’s rage last time. Murphy knew Clarke, and she wouldn’t go down without a fight. She certainly wouldn’t let the events of last time come to pass. 

As soon as they arrived in Polis, Lexa offered him and Raven guest rooms. Clarke was officially given a room next to Lexa’s for her longer stay. Murphy and Raven only intended to stay one, maybe two nights, so they agreed to share one of the guard barracks room down the hall from them. 

The radio was set up in Clarke’s room, and a quick check in with the dropship indicated they had weathered the hurricane just fine. Then the ark jumped in the call. It was Abby, Murphy recognized, and she wanted very much to talk to Clarke. 

“Clarke. We haven't been able to reach you in days, what’s going on?”

“Mom, I’m fine. We’re all fine. I’m in the capitol, Polis. It’s near old Baltimore.”

“I’ve been worried! We finally get in contact with you all, then you take off to Mount Weather, and only now do I hear from you?”

“Sorry Mom, there has been a lot of things going on here. Raven and Murphy are here as well. We are kind of representing the 100, well, 102, and standing in for you all before you get down here.”

“I know honey, I just wish I could have talked to you sooner. I miss you”

“I miss you too Mom.”

“Duty calls and the Chancellor wants to talk to you. I’ll see you soon Clarke. I should be on the first ship down.”

“Ok. I’ll see you soon Mom. I love you.”

“I love you too Clarke, take care of yourself.”

Murphy doesn’t see fit to comment. Neither does Raven. Clarke stares at the radio, waiting for the Chancellor to call.

“Clarke, this is Chancellor Jaha.”

“Chancellor. What can I do for you?”

“I was hoping we would get a chance to talk before you left the Trikru village, so we could arrange landing zones for the Exodus ships, and begin talks of the alliance with the Coalition. I assume Ms. Reyes was able to convey this to you?” She had, and that had been ironed out before they even jumped back in time. He didn’t need to know that though.

“Yes, and the landing area has been chosen. Prepare to copy, grid to follow” Clarke waits.

“Ready”

“First, 18S 2867 4312, Old Fairfax Airport. Second, 18S 2782 4332, Former Leesburg. Third, 18S 2730 4297, along old Lake Manassas. All of these points are within a 25 mile radius of Mount Weather, and have good flat spots with water access and former roads to access TonDC easily. The grounders have steered clear of pretty much 20 miles from Mount Weather, so any place within there is fair game, but those are the spots with the most potential.”

“And where did the dropship end up?”

“Just north of Old Leesburg, around 18S 2783 4336” she answered. 

“I see. Sinclair tells me our current projections line up best with the old Airport, and that puts us a ways from the dropship.”

“True, but it puts you all closest to TonDC. That and it would still be within a day's walk of the dropship” Clarke adds. The airport is the ideal location for Arkadia, but she knows if she pushes for it, they are likely to push back and choose somewhere else.

“Understood. We will get back to you all with the final decision. Were you able to get an audience with the commander for us?”

Clarke turns to Lexa and asks “Is now a good time? I know we just got back, and I can tell them to wait.”

“Have them wait. We can deal with that tomorrow.” Lexa confirms, absolutely not in the mood to deal with Arkers at the moment. Clarke nods and conveys the sentiment.

“Our audience will take place tomorrow.” She tells the chancellor.

“Thank you Clarke. We will call back then” Jaha says, effectively ending their conversation.

Clarke lets out a breath. Murphy and Raven do the same, having been on edge during the conversation as well. They knew they would not be able to leave until that conversation had happened. That gave the two not gainfully employed time to access the Polis bunker, and find Gaia’s hidden dirtbike for a faster trip to Becca’s Lab.

“When did he stop treating me like a child last time? Or any of them really. He calls you Ms. Reyes, but all of us kids sent to die by our first names. I know he wasn't really listening to anything I was saying, just using it to confirm what he wanted. I’ll bet they already planned on the airport landing zone.” Clarke rants to the other returners.

“Why do you not just take control from him? You would make a much better leader from what I have seen” Lexa asks, startling Clarke out of her anger.

“I need to be able to flex, to get stuff done behind the scenes to save the world. It’s all according to our plan” she explains tiredly.

“Am I part of your plan, Klark?” Lexa asks. Murphy takes this as his sign to vacate the premises and go do literally anything else. Raven follows close behind him.

“You were always part of my plan. I. I wouldn’t be here if it weren't for you. I would be back at the dropship, or here as an official ambassador. Our whole plan for the 100 to be separate from Skykru until the Ark comes down was driven by my want to be here with you. Not as an ambassador, that will be Marcus Kane, and not as the leader of my people, that’s Jaha unfortunately. Everyone has their roles to play, but mine was left deliberately flexible so I could be here with you.” Clarke doesn’t mean for it all to come out like this, it just does. She means every word. 

Miller was in charge at the dropship, backed up by Octavia and Bellamy. Raven and Murphy would meet up with Emori at the Lab to hopefully fight the wave. Echo was fighting in Azgeda, backed up by Niylah and her two former reapers, which Clarke was happy to hear. She didn’t want the former spy acting alone just in case, and the addition of two determined warriors was always welcome. Gaia was here as a backup to Titus’s inevitable fall, and Indra was running Trikru. Everyone had their set roles and backups except her.

Her initial role was leader, then band-aid. Filling in where she was needed for the continuation of the plan. If she had to be tied down somewhere, it would be wherever Lexa was. They needed her to keep the flame for as long as possible for stability, but Clarke had a much more personal attachment to the commander, making her the best choice for keeping her safe and sound. 

If any of the returners died, others would step in to take their place, ensuring the success of the mission. At any cost and whatever it took. Clarke was not in the same boat. If she was gone, her role would be absorbed by all. 

Lexa just looks at her. All of the things Clarke has told her are slowly falling into place. All of the sky girl’s actions are now making much more sense. She saw herself post-Kostia in Clarke, but the object of the girl’s loss was standing right in front of her. Clarke had sworn fealty to her within minutes of meeting her, had stepped between her and sudden death facing down a Pauna, had planned her replacements so she could be by Lexa’s side. 

It was devotion.

“Clarke” Lexa spoke finally, “I see you. I see the me in you.”

“Lexa, the best part of me is you.”

“Will you stay? With me. And be mine?” There is a vulnerability in Lexa’s question. Not that she expects Clarke to decline, but afraid of what that means for both of them.

“Of course. Without a doubt. I am yours.” Clarke states. There is no room for worry, only a firm conviction. Nothing would take her away from Lexa. Not again. 

The two stand, face each other and pause. Eventually Clarke breaks the stalemate. She has waited so long, and wants to wait no more. She closes the distance between them, her hands gently holding Lexa’s face as the other girl's hands settle on her hips. Firm, unyielding, holding her close. One last glance into Lexa’s eyes and Clarke leans in, eyes closing as lips meet. Finally. 

---

Murphy and Raven have managed to skirt around any of the flamekeepers lingering in the tower, their trikru clothing acting as very effective camouflage against discovery. They do not speak any gonasleng, resorting to hand signals and the occasional direction in trigedasleng to make their way to the temple.

Gaia said she left the key to the bunker under a suspicious looking rock behind the drop pod capsule. Murphy is the first to spot it, grabbing the key and beginning to clear off the crates over the bunker’s entrance. Raven blocks off the door. It’s late enough, but they absolutely do not want to be disturbed in this place. 

The bunker is dark inside, again. Murphy waves to Raven, who grabs a torch from a wall sconce and joins him. They make their way inside, walking slowly but surely through the airlock, down the catwalk, and into the control room. Murphy holds the torch while Raven fires up the lights. They would need to add an outside solar panel or something for the interim so they didn’t drain all the power before Priamfaya. Communication and Lighting systems up and running, the two continue on to the Sphere’s location. 

The room is bare and empty, except for the piano. Just the way they found it on their initial time jump. The sphere is still buried under feet of concrete, keeping it offline and safe from Bardo detecting its earlier activation. They leave it be.

The two depart the bunker shortly after, turning everything back off except the communications relay to conserve power. The key gets replaced under the rock and the crates put back on top of the blast door. It looks just the same as they found it. They unblock the main door, but slip out the back entrance just in case.

---

The next few days pass quickly, with the daytime hours being taken up either by Clarke yelling at the wall about something dumb that Chancellor Jaha said, or her and Lexa ironing out details of their alliance and what it entails. Titus and Gustus both make their presence known, having both been strong-armed by Lexa to remain in Polis during her trip to TonDC.

Gustus, as Lexa’s most trusted guard, is never far from her. He didn’t like Clarke at first, but after hearing about her excursion in the Mountain, and killing the Pauna to protect Lexa, he saw her in a different light. He almost seemed to respect her as a warrior, and allowed the two to be in rooms together without an escort, much to both women’s thanks.

Titus isn’t happy with Clarke’s presence, let alone how she looks at his commander. He has learned to keep his distance from her, and to keep his ‘love is weakness’ spiel to himself after being thoroughly yelled at by Lexa once again. He sat in on the radio conversations with the Ark, but Clarke didn’t see much of him otherwise. Both she and Lexa couldn’t wait for Gaia to get back and take over as the commander’s advisor so he could more permanently make himself scarce.

Raven and Murphy take off for Becca’s lab on the morning of Day 15, confident in Clarke’s safety and with all the heart eyes floating between the two leaders, her wellbeing as well. Raven is disappointed when she has to part from Anya, having thoroughly enjoyed flustering the older woman during their time together. But absence makes the heart grow fonder, right? 

They had no trouble finding Gaia’s hidden dirtbike, thanks to the lasercom giving them constant access to each other. Murphy had grown fond of the horse he rode back from TonDC, and wasn't a huge fan of riding bitch to Raven on the bike, so they made the arrangements through Clarke for them to take the horse as well. They packed 246 miles worth of provisions, and were off. 

---

On the seventeenth day on the ground, the Ark is ready to start the Exodus plan. The ships are prepped, holding 150 people each and enough supplies to begin building their settlement, along with surviving the winter. The parents of the kids already on the ground are given first pick of their seats, the rest filled with personnel necessary for living on the ground, excluding those that are still needed to run the Ark.

Once Jaha had informed those on the ground that they were ready to launch, Clarke conducts a final check in with the members of Beachkru.

“All, Wanheda. Final check in before Exodus commences.”

“Doc, About to board the ship, see you all soon.”

“Cockroach, Little Bird and I are about a third of the way to the Lab”

“Flamekeeper. Staying alive. Should be headed back to Polis in a few days.”

“Little Bird, as Cockroach said. ETA is the middle of day 21.”

“Loverboy. All good at the dropship, everyone is excited to see their parents again.”

“Lynchpin. At my trading post. Waiting on orders.”

“Mama Bear. Set for Arker arrival in TonDC.”

“Rogue. My two are emplaced, say the word and the head will roll.”

“Roman. All good. Relations are going good here, the seconds have taken to grounder fighting well.”

“Sandskater. Waiting on Day 21 I guess. I’ve been messing with the lab a bit, and there's a bunch of stuff here I haven’t seen before.”

“All, Wanheda. Good copy, keep up the good work. Break. Flamekeeper, Wanheda”

“Go for Flamekeeper”

“Did Nyko clear you?”

“Affirmative”

“Good. Glad to hear it. Break. Lynchpin, you are good to stay put for a while. Keep stocking supplies as previously planned. Break. Rogue, Wanheda”

“Send it”

“I’ve got a potential location for you, but you’ll have to bring him in to get his banishment officially lifted.”

“Copy. I assume he’ll need to do something for it?”

“Correct. He was last seen near the western tip of New York, near the Canadian border.”

“Copy that.”

“Wanheda out.”

All across the greater New England area, the scattered returners take up places outside to watch the seven dropships fall to Earth.

Chapter Text

Even though it was his third time riding down to the planet below from space, Jackson knew he would never get used to it. The shake of the ship, the difference between before and after breaking through the atmosphere, or the dreaded waiting for parachutes and thrusters to kick in all made him sweat and grab tight to anything within reach. He clutched his medbag to his chest and didn’t let go until the ship touched down.

He was one of the first ones to unbuckle, practically fall down the ladder into the cargo area, and pull the lever to open the ramp. Nothing felt as good as that first breath of fresh Earth air. Once Jackson opened his eyes again, he could see they had landed exactly where they were supposed to. There were three other ships within his line of sight, making a circle in the flat area of the old airport. They were all being opened now, people taking in the beautiful landscape. Shouts of joy filled the clearing, the people were happy to be back. 

Luckily, there weren’t any injuries upon landing. Jackson took the time to set up shop in a far corner of the ship to wait for the dropship kids and their grounder welcoming party to arrive. 

He didn’t have to wait long. It seemed that the kids had been in the area already in preparation for their landing. He joined the group of people happy to see each other again. Nate was around here somewhere.

“Eric” he hears from across the sea of people, eyes finally finding Nate’s. The two push through the crowd of happy faces, reaching for each other. They meet in a firm embrace. 

The rest of the crowd mills around them, too focused on their own reunions to pay any attention to the two men. Despite the noise and motion around them, it feels like peace. 

When they finally part, Miller points out the Trikru contingent breaking through the trees to the south.

“Indra is here” he says, smiling at Eric. 

Jackson pulls away, falling reluctantly back into his role as adult wrangler. He needs to find Abby and Marcus, to get them to greet the incoming grounders first. The rest of the council doesn’t matter right now, but those two will be the face of Skykru to the coalition. 

Marcus is barking orders at his guard force, directing the removal of the supplies from the ship he came down in. Jackson approaches him and tapping his shoulder to get his attention, points out the group walking toward them.

“We need to greet them, you or Abby are the highest ranking members of the Council.” he states, leaving the other man to make a decision. 

Marcus nods to him curtly, then takes Major Byrne and moves to meet the grounders.

“Greetings, Skaikru. I am Chief Indra of Trikru. Welcome back to the ground.” The woman begins at the approach of Marcus and Major Byrne. Her warriors stand behind her, still but not relaxed. They had been warned that these newcomers were skittish, and would be until their leaders had befriended the local forces. They were there as a show of force, and to help impartially where these skaikru would need them to set up for the night. After that was up to their leaders and Chief Indra. 

“Chief Indra, I am Marcus Kane, head of Ark Security.” He takes her outstretched hand in a polite but firm handshake. He misses the twinkle in her eyes, reminiscent of fondness for an old friend one hasn’t seen in a long time. “Thank you for the warm welcome, and for helping take care of our kids during this difficult time.”

“Of course. Not that they needed our help. They are a formidable force all on their own.” She speaks true. The kids would have been just fine without help from Trikru, but he wouldn’t know that. To him, they were still just criminal children sent to die.

“I am glad to hear it.” He releases her hand, resuming his politician stance and mask. She would have to break him of that.

“I have heard much about you, Marcus Kane. Clarke, Bellamy, and Raven seem to think you a good candidate for ambassador to the coalition.” She kind of name drops Bellamy and Raven here, knowing they worked with him to get down here, and had the best relationship with the man out of all the delinquents so far.

“Really? Huh. What all does that entail? Also where are those three? I don’t think I saw them with the other kids.”

“You would not have. Clarke and Raven are in Polis. Bellamy should be here, or with his sister. As for the ambassador role, I can tell you about it as we walk. I’m sure you have things to oversee, and I have warriors ready for tasks.” She gestures to the force behind her.

Marcus nods and begins strolling around their drop zone, Indra falling into place beside her old friend.

---

Emori had paced the entire floorplan of the lab more times than she could count in the last three days. John and Raven were due to arrive any minute now, and they felt like the longest minutes of her life. 

The two had kept up a good pace, cutting two entire days off of their initial estimate. Knowing that the Exodus ships were on the ground had really driven home the sense of urgency to begin the next phase of their plan. Priamfaya prep. Emori had set up the radio base station in the lab, and had been able to hear everything the Ark had said to Clarke and the commander. The alliance talks were going in a good direction, despite the way some of the Arkers talked to Clarke. The girl had practically ensured their survival, but some of them still thought of her as a helpless child. Ridiculous. 

A boat horn sounded, and Emori sprinted for the beach. They were here!

Raven and Murphy were just tying off the boat when Emori broke through the trees.

“John!” She calls out and he turns, face alight at her presence.

“Emori!” He calls back, running to meet her. He sweeps her off her feet in a ferocious hug.

“Hi Emori, it's good to see you” Raven adds, grabbing her and John’s packs from the boat. The horse had been left behind at the nearest village and the dirtbike had been stashed near where Emori’s was. John would miss the horse, she had been a dependable steed.

“Raven, get over here!” Emori demanded, laughing. She briefly parts from John to hug her friend. “Oh man it is good to see you, too.”

Eight weeks and six days without her people was too long. 

“What have you gotten into here?” Raven asks, throwing John’s pack at him and walking toward the direction of the lab.

“I got the lasercom and regular radios up, realigned all the dishes, reworked some of the security system, now it won't try to kill us.” She laughs along with the other two, then continues. “I was able to access some monitoring satellites around the world, and we have proof of the death wave threat, but I think we can lessen it.”

This revelation causes Raven to stop, looking at the other woman.

“Lessen it?” She asks, waiting for an explanation.

“Yeah, I think we can shut down some of the plants, since we caught it early this time. It won't stop the wave, but it should make the Earth recovery time faster. You’ll have to check my work, there’s so much we didn’t get to look at here last time.”

“Holy shit” 

“I know, right? We will have to run simulations to get more data, but the outlook is honestly good. Anything we do will help” Emori finishes. 

“That’s great news. Good job Emori” Raven praises. “Before we get into it, first things first. Gotta let the Arkers know about Priamfaya so the other half doesn’t come down.”

“Right. Radio is up in the mansion, let's go.”

The rest of their trek up the hill is spent by the two newcomers regaling Emori with tales of the delinquent’s escapades, the fall of the mountain, and the relentless flirting between Raven and Anya, courtesy of John. 

“Yeah yeah yeah, keep laughing. At least I didn’t cave within minutes of meeting my long lost lover.” Raven gripes.

“Who, Clarke?” Emori asks.

“Yeah, she told Lexa everything after like two minutes of them being left alone in a room together.”

“Damn, I should have gotten in on the bet.”

“Who was betting on it?” Raven asks, almost affronted that she hadn’t been involved in this.

“Oh, Octavia and Indra had an over-under of five minutes. I think Octavia guessed under. I would have too” Emori answers. If she had been in the same situation with John, she knew she would have done the same.

“Of course it was those two. Hey, I know Octavia already told Lincoln, but how long do you think it will take Indra to tell Kane?” Murphy asks thoughtfully.

“Kane? They weren't together, so I’m not sure if it's the same situation there. Hmm” Raven has to think about this for a second.

“I think she’ll ask the group before telling him.” Emori is certain that having Kane on their side is a good idea, but didn’t really interact with the man. Indra is known for being levelheaded, and wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize the mission without consulting the group.

“I think you’re right. I give it two days of Kane being on the ground before she asks though.” Raven finally decided.

“Deal, I’ll guess four days. Gives them enough time to interact cause he’s going to be busy for a while” Murphy pipes up.

“I’ll say three. Winner gets bragging rights?” Emori suggests, the rest nodding along. There isn't really anything worthwhile to bet with, but bragging rights are universal.

They reach the mansion and Raven bee-lines for the radio. Time is, as always, of the essence.

“Ark Main, this is Raven Reyes.”

“Reyes, this is the Ark. What’s going on?” replies one of her old co-workers from Mecha Station.

“I need you to get a message to Earth Monitoring. I’m at an old lab down here, and I just discovered something I need you all to check for me.”

“I’ve got a rep from Earth Monitoring here.”

“I just discovered that all of the nuclear reactors on this network are melting down, and the computer projections show a wave of deadly radiation is set to be released, razing the whole god damned planet, in like 180 days.”

“Holy shit Reyes, way to bury the lead. We will look into it, but I don’t think we have a way to access the reactors from up here.”

“Allegedly they withstood the first apocalypse, but were only warrantied for 100 years. It’s been about that long and they haven’t been maintenanced since the bombs fell. I’ll find a way to send you all what I can, but we might be screwed down here.” 

“Copy, I’ll, jesus christ, yeah I’ll let the appropriate people know. Send us what you can.”

“Will do. Reyes out.”

Raven turns off the radio before the questions can start pouring in. She looks over her shoulder at Murphy and Emori, who give her a thumbs up. That had gone well, all things considered. She switches to lasercom.

“All, Little Bird. The Ark has been told about Priamfaya. I say again, the Ark has been told about Priamfaya. Second phase alerts can go out now.” The grounders and the Skykru members on the ground need to be informed as well, if they didn’t already overhear that transmission.

“Little Bird, Flamekeeper. I copy.”

“Little Bird, Wanheda. Copy all.”

“Lynchpin copies.”

Then nothing. The others would be made aware at the evening check in if they hadn’t already heard. This phase of their plan was about to be kicked violently into motion.

Chapter Text

Clarke knew she had to make an appearance at Arkadia sooner or later. Truthfully she was delaying it as long as possible. Once Gaia had returned to Polis, she really didn’t have a viable excuse. The flamekeeper could keep Lexa updated and run the radio just fine, and would have the lasercom on to keep an ear out for the other Beachkru members. 

Clarke made sure the other girl was actually well enough for the trip she made, having taken a chest tube out of her like two weeks ago. Gaia was healing well, and keeping up with the physical therapy recovery plan Clarke had made for her. She was strong, and would be back to normal before the death wave hit for sure.

Lexa didn’t want Clarke to leave either, but knew that she would bring back the Ark members that were set to solidify the alliance and serve as the ambassador to the 13th Clan. Having one of their own come to fetch them would be more welcome than the warriors she had planned to send by themselves. Also, Clarke’s Mom was there, and from what she had told Lexa, she needed some quality time with her mother for sure. Lexa wanted to send a full contingent of warriors with Clarke, but for the sake of speed, only insisted on three well trained scouts to accompany her niron. 

They departed Polis on Day 24, intending on making a pit stop in TonDC to check on the sky kids that were being trained there. Clarke needed to show face to them, as well as the Trikru residents of the village, to keep up appearances as well. The group was scheduled to get there in one day, then change horses and take another day to reach Arkadia. The journey back was a straight-shot, but with the addition of the Skykru contingent, would take a few days to get back. It would be no less than four days before the two were reunited.

That was, if everything had gone to plan.

The little traveling band hadn’t even made it halfway to TonDC before Azgeda scouts dropped from the trees in front of them. The scout riding in front was pierced through by an arrow before he could even begin stopping his horse. His body dropped to the dirt in front of the warriors, horse continuing on through their line. Their bows were trained on the remaining three, who stopped as soon as they realized what was going on. Not a word had been spoken, but they got the message.

“We are here for Wanheda” one of the Azgeda warriors states, bow trained on Clarke. 

“You wont take her-” the scout to her left starts, before being cut off by an arrow through his throat. He clutches the area, then draws his sword to charge them before being stopped by another arrow through the eye socket. 

Clarke doesn’t move, she just watches in horror as the scouts Lexa sent to protect her are quickly dispatched. She should have taken the other girl’s advice and brought more. Of course Nia would have heard about the mighty Wanheda by now, craving that power for herself. She should have known better. But how did they know where she would be?

The last scout slowly maneuvers in between Clarke and the offending warriors. 

“Stop” she instructs him. He complies. “I need you to go back, tell them what happened. Now Run!” She raises her pistol, firing rapidly at the warriors as he spins his horse and takes off the way they came. He doesn’t make it far. There were more warriors behind them. Nia sent a snatch and grab crew as well as a cleanup crew it seemed. Her pistol clicked uselessly, the magazine now empty. 

At the sight of her firearm, the warriors in front of her had dove for cover behind the surrounding trees. Now that she was no longer firing, they peeked out again. She felt hands grab her arm, and she was dragged from her horse, gun taken away and thrown into the bushes. A sack was thrown over her head, and her arms were bound behind her. They weren't careful with her, and she took a couple fists to the face in the process.

She heard a few of the warriors muttering to each other before she was shoved in the direction of another horse. They threw her over the beast in front of a warrior, probably there to keep her from jumping off and running away. 

Clarke wondered if this is what had happened with Costia. She worried about how Lexa would find out. Indra would report on their missed arrival at TonDC this evening, if she couldn’t get to her communicator before then. 

The ride was bumpy, the Azgeda warriors keeping up a steady canter through the woods. Clarke didn’t know how far it was till the Azgeda capitol, but at their pace it was likely more than a day’s travel. 

The sun had set an hour before the warriors stopped for the night. Clarke was feeling more motion sick than she ever had in her life, having spent most of the ride like a horizontal sack of potatoes. When they finally let her off the horse, she collapsed to the ground. There would definitely be bruises all over her front tonight.

They left the bag over her head, but searched her for hidden weapons. They found the communicator, but not the earpiece, the damn amateurs. All she needed to transmit was the earpiece and proximity to the main communication device. 

She got her chance to report up her situation soon thereafter. The warriors had stepped away to talk, probably so she didn’t overhear them. She slowly retrieved the earpiece from her inside jacket pocket and slid it into her ear. Before she even had it all the way secured she heard the frantic call from Indra.

“Wanheda, Mama Bear. Come in!”

“Wanheda here. Azgeda got me. Tell Rogue and Lynchpin” Clarke whispered. She needn't have bothered. The bag was immediately ripped from her head as one of the warriors glared down at her. 

“Copy! Stay alive and good luck” Clarke hears Indra answer before the earpiece is ripped from her and crushed under the warrior’s boot.

“She had more tek, you should have checked her better!” the warrior yells at a younger looking man behind him. 

“Natblida?” the other man asks, and Clarke realizes one of the punches must have busted her lip earlier. 

The warrior in front of her grabs her chin to look better, confirming her suspicion.

“No matter. The Queen will deal with her” he comments, releasing her.

She gets checked more thoroughly this time, but there is nothing else for them to find. Clarke was cut off.

---

Indra had been calling for Clarke every 20 minutes after the sun had set. Her group had been due to TonDC well before dusk, and every second that dragged on was setting her internal alarm off louder and louder. When Clarke had finally responded, everyone else was already aware that something was wrong. Their evening check in time was interrupted by Indra asking everyone if they had heard from the girl at all today. No one had, but they were all listening in now.

“Mama Bear, Rogue. I heard. Taking the boys and heading for the capitol now. That’s probably where they would take her.” Echo reports after Clarke doesn’t answer Indra back.

“Mama Bear, Lynchpin. I copy as well. I’ll keep an ear out for her passing through here.” Niylah says. The most likely avenue of approach to the Azgeda border ran right past her trading post.

“Copy all. Bring our girl home safe” Indra says. Now was the hard part.

“Flamekeeper, Mama Bear.”

“I heard. She is not going to take it well.”

“I know. She still needs to be made aware of the situation.”

“Will do. Flamekeeper out.”

Gaia had to let Lexa know what had transpired. Indra did not envy her daughter’s task at all. 

---

“What.” Lexa’s face is stark white, all the blood having drained upon hearing the news. She was about to retire for the evening when Gaia had knocked on her door and entered without acknowledgement. Lexa knew that meant something was seriously wrong and had focused all of her attention on the flamekeeper as she broke the news.

“She was able to get in contact with us about five minutes ago. I came as soon as I heard.” Gaia explains. She knows Lexa heard her, not needing to repeat what the other girl never wanted to hear in the first place, let alone again.

Lexa doesn’t say anything. She can’t. The words are stuck in her chest. Her niron was taken, again, by the Ice Nation. It was all happening again. Her breaths come faster, heart pounding in response.

“Heda. Please take some deep breaths. Our people are already on it. We will find her, and kill the abductors.” Gaia tries to calm her commander, to no avail. She is already envisioning Clarke’s head in a box on her bed. 

Gaia crouches in front of Lexa. “In for four, hold for four, out for four, pause for four” she instructs. Lexa finally snaps out of it and complies. Eventually her breathing evens and her senses come back to her. 

“Thank you. Please keep me updated” is all she says to Gaia. The flamekeeper nods, taking that as the dismissal it was and departing the room. 

Lexa doesn’t sleep well that night, tossing and turning, thinking about Clarke and what could be happening. Even when she does manage to doze off, nightmares plague her sleep. 

---

Hundreds of miles away, Echo is getting to work. Her two warriors had located Roan and brought him to her in short order. He was exactly where Clarke said he would be, hiding out in a cabin by one of the former great lakes. The banished prince had come with them reluctantly, but once they told him they were working with Echo, he relented.

“Hello Prince Roan.” Echo begins neutrally. Her king is alive and well in front of her. She has a purpose for him, a way to lift his banishment and take the throne. Clarke getting taken had set them up in both the best and worst way possible. Echo only wished she had coms with the sky girl to make sure she timed it right, keeping Clarke alive with certainty.

“Echo. It has been too long.” Roan replies. He knows she wouldn’t seek him out for a social call, waiting for her to continue.

“I have a proposition for you. The Queen has ordered the capture of Wanheda, and she was taken from the Trikru territory earlier today.”

“She wants her power” he comments idly.

“Not only that. But primarily, yes. I work for a larger organization now than ever before, and we need you for the next part of our plan.”

“The coalition?”

“Bigger than that. Wanheda can explain better than I can. She is our leader. Regardless, your part to play.”

“Tell me.”

“You will retrieve her, take credit for her rescue and the death of the queen, and assume the throne.”

“And my banishment?” 

“Lifted by the Commander at the return of Wanheda to her.”

“Wanheda is important to the Commander. This is feeling awfully familiar.”

“I know. All we need you to do is rescue her and return to Polis with the Queen’s head. My team will handle the rest.”

Roan takes a second to look her over appraisingly. “You’ve changed Echo. You look - more convicted - than I’ve ever seen you. This cause you work for seems to suit you.”

“Thank you, Hainofa. I have finally found myself.” Echo knows he speaks true. She is confident in her cause and has good people surrounding her for the first time in a long time. If ever.

If Echo’s calculations are correct, they will beat the kidnappers to the Azgeda capitol, but will need to ride hard to get there. And they need to leave tonight. Roan has two horses at his cabin, and the former reapers agree to walk to the capitol, letting the prince and the spy take lead in this. They will make their way there as quickly as possible, but as a backup force to Echo’s espionage.

“Pack what you need, we leave as soon as possible” Echo tells Roan, already making her own preparations, and updating Gaia via lasercom. Roan watches her for a second before gathering his things. He will undoubtedly have more questions, but understands that now is not the time.

“Flamekeeper, Rogue”

“Go”

“Got the prince, departing last transmitted location now. Distance to winter capitol is about 250 miles. Any word from Wanheda?”

“Negative. And good copy”

The two depart Roan’s hideaway, traveling light and riding hard. They sleep only for a few hours before the sun crests the horizon, rising with the dawn and continuing on. Echo won’t admit it, but she’s nervous. She knows exactly what the queen is capable of, and doesn’t want Clarke to end up in her hands at all if she can avoid it.

Later that day, she receives word from Niylah.

“Rogue, Lynchpin. They passed into Azgeda territory yesterday evening. Got report from another trader about a group of around 10 unknown warriors and a captive traveling fast, northbound. Approximate crossing point 50 miles east of me.”

“Good copy. Any info on the condition of the captive?”

“Negative, my contact only reported there was one.”

“Thank you. Rogue out.”

---

Clarke and her Azgeda kidnappers stopped for the night, and Clarke learned that they were very close to the capitol now. Less than a day’s ride until she would be turned over to the Queen and the warriors would get rewarded for their efforts. Clarke didn’t have the heart to tell them their reward would likely be a quick death in order to cover the Queen’s plot for good. These fools should have known better, but their inexperience showed.

They had left her head uncovered during the night when they were resting, and one of them even gave her some water before getting yelled at by the same warrior that had found her earpiece the first night. He seemed to be the most experienced out of the bunch, and their impromptu leader. 

The warriors almost seemed scared of her, none of them coming close except to load and unload her from the horses. Her back, arms, shoulders, and stomach all ached relentlessly from the way she was being transported. And from sleeping tied to a tree, but any sleep she got was interrupted or uneasy. 

She knew she was due at Arkadia by now, and wondered if they were freaking out at her absence like Indra had. Her mom was definitely worried. This could spell disaster for all of their plans if her Kru didn’t put out the emotional fires sure to flare up in her absence. She thought of Lexa, and how this was sure to be an emotional blow to her. She couldn’t let the kidnappers see her as weak, and fought the well of tears threatening to begin at the thought of her lover alone again. She couldn’t do that to her. She had to live. Whatever it took. 

Clarke hoped Echo could find her soon.

---

Echo and Roan had made it to the capitol that same night. As planned, Echo returned to the Queen, reported on her escape from the mountain and was in turn questioned about the mighty Wanheda's actions.

Echo told her that when she was freed from the cages, the Mounon were already dead, all by Clarke's hand. She told her about Gaia being saved, and Clarke orchestrating the healing of the reapers. She didn't tell her that she had helped.

The Queen was glad to have her back, and let her retire to a guest room for the night. Nia told her that she would be present tomorrow, for the spectacle. She didn't tell Echo what it was, but she didn't need to. That's when Nia planned to torture Clarke for information, then kill her and take her power.

Roan hid himself in the castle, masquerading as a servant to stay close-by, but remain out of Nia's scrutinous sight.

Echo was called for the next morning, a few hours after the sun rose. Clarke was here. She hid multiple knives on her person, and reported as ordered to the dungeon.

There was Clarke, strung up by her wrists just as Costia had been all those years ago. She didn't look harmed, maybe a little bruised but evidently Nia had insisted on her arriving mostly unscathed. Echo was grateful of this, but didn't let it show.

“This scene brings back memories, Haiplana” Echo remarks, watching Clarke flit her eyes up at her, then return them to the ground. The girl was fighting a smile, taking joy in knowing what was about to happen.

“It does, does it not? I have faith this time will be much more productive. Even if she does not talk, her power becoming mine will be worth the effort it took to acquire her.” Nia stalks closer to Clarke, who raises her head at the Queen’s approach. She's glaring daggers at the grey haired woman.

Echo takes a look around the rest of the room. Two guards by the door, one designated torturer with tools on a bench to Clarke's side, Nia, Clarke, and herself the only occupants. Echo had passed Roan on her way down, so he should be waiting in the hall to take out any additional guards that came running. 

She palmed a dagger in each hand. The moment to strike was dawning.

“Now, the mighty Wanheda” Nia began condescendingly. “I can offer you a quick death, put my torturer out of a job, if you are to answer my questions.”

Clarke laughed. In her face. Loudly.

Nia struck her, a backhand to the face, cutting off the sound of Clarke's laughter.

“How did you take down the Mounon?” Nia asks, far too calmly. She took the girl's laughter as a sign that she wouldn't cooperate and was under the assumption that this was perhaps a wasted effort.

“Go float yourself. I took it down the same way I'll take you down, Nia.” Clarke doesn't bother with titles, continuing on smugly. “From the inside.” She looks at Echo. “Go loud.”

It takes less time for Echo to kill the two guards and the torturer than it takes Nia to turn around. The daggers already in her hands plunge into the chests of the two door guards, a third jumping from her thigh holster, to her hand, to the neck of the torturer. For good measure, she takes the time to loose another at Clarke's bound hands, striking true and releasing her.

“Natrona! Gonas, gon ai!” Nia yells before Clarke is at her. The knife Echo threw leveled at the Queen's throat.

“Thank you Echo. Is he outside?” Clarke asks, once the Queen shuts up. Her eyes are wide, locked on Clarke's determined gaze.

“Sha, Wanheda. The kill is yours, I will retrieve him once it is done.” Echo explains. 

“Hmm. It's too bad you couldn't curb your insatiable hunger for power. This ended up working out better than what we had planned.” Clarke castigates Nia, using the same tone the queen had seconds before. 

The older woman doesn't get a retort. The dagger severs her vocal cords before she can even try. Well, vocal cords, trachea, carotid arteries, and esophagus all in one fell swoop. She falls to her knees, gurgling helplessly, question in her eyes as she looks up at Clarke.

“You are a fool, and your reign of terror is over. Long live the Commander-” Clarke leans down to whisper into the dying woman's ear, “-and long live the king.”

Echo picks up one of the guards poleaxes, something to remove the queen's head from her body with, handing it to Clarke. This was still her kill after all.

“Funny how things like this tend to come full circle” Clarke comments idly to Echo, kicking the still struggling queen onto her back.

The blonde tests the weight of the poleaxe, then hefts it above her head and brings it down decisively. The Queen’s body stills, head rolling away before stopping at the wall.

The bag that was originally covering Clarke's head is now used for Nia's. Their grizzly tasks completed, the two take a breath.

“Can I borrow your coms?” Clarke asks, and Echo quickly complies, handing the device over. They would have to find where the warriors that brought her in put her stuff later.

Echo goes to retrieve Roan from the hallway, leaving Clarke to send up the good news.

“All, Wanheda. The Queen is dead. Headed back to Polis shortly.”

There is squelch as multiple people respond at once, stepping all over each other.

Once the noise ceases, one more transmission comes through.

“Klark?”

It's Lexa. Gaia must have given her the communicator as soon as she had heard. Her voice is tired, sad, hopeful, and so many other emotions wrapped into each other.

“Everyone else clear the channel” Indra transmits, beating Clarke to the draw. She sends a mental thanks to the older woman before responding.

“Lexa, it's me. I'm ok” Clarke says, holding back tears once again. “I'm still here, but I'm not hurt. I promise.”

“I thought I lost you. I thought, I thought the worst. I am glad you are alright.”

“I'm sorry. I know. I'll be back as soon as I can. Even the end of the world couldn't keep me from you.”

“I will hold you to that Klark.” She hears the laugh in Lexa's voice, even if she doesn't let it out. 

“I've gotta go now, but I'll be back in like two days.”

“I will see you then. Be safe.”

“I will. Wanheda, er, Clarke out.”

Clarke hears the door open, Echo and a very rugged looking Roan enter, the latter staring at the body on the floor behind her and the sack in her hands. She hands the radio back to Echo and addresses the prince.

“Hello Roan. I am Clarke, or Wanheda. As much as I would like to answer all of your questions, I would also like to return to Polis as soon as possible.”

“All answers in time I suppose. That seems to be a theme with you two.” His eyes flick between the two women in front of him.

“There is a passage to the stables that shouldn't be too heavily guarded. We should get going” Echo suggests. “Clarke, your gear should be in the room at the end of the hall.”

“Lead the way” she motions for the door and follows Echo out. Her equipment is right where the former spy said, and after a pit stop, they make their way outside of the castle. The hallway is littered with bodies, evidence of Roan's prowess in battle. They do not come across any other guards, thankfully.

Echo parts ways with them here, taking two extra horses for her warriors, intending to meet up with them and reunite with Clarke back in Polis later. Their goodbyes are short, Clarke thanking Echo for the save. After a stern word from the ex-spy to Roan about being nice to Clarke and a serious eye roll from the prince, they are off.

They don't speak until they are out of sight of the capitol, Roan breaking the silence.

“So. You are the cause that has brought so much life back to Echo.”

“Part of it. We are trying to save the world, and it requires all of us to work together as a team.”

“Hmm. And you and the Commander?”

“I forgot just how perceptive you are. It's kind of a pain in the ass, you know that?”

“So I've been told. I'll take that as a yes.”

Clarke hums noncomitally. They kick the horses into a manageable canter, both eager to get to Polis as soon as possible, though for vastly different reasons.

Roan has a crown to assume, and Clarke has a worried girl to kiss.

Chapter Text

Test 1: Control. Do nothing

Outcome: Wave of radiation destroys all life on Earth except in Shenandoah Valley

End result: Five years of heightened radiation levels on Earth, unlivable except for individuals with radiation resistant blood alteration (nightbloods). Plant life stunted for longer, deserts cover most of the land, bodies of water disrupted or contaminated. Animal life altered.

Test 2: Decommission one of the nuclear power plants on the Eastern Seaboard

Outcome: Wave of radiation destroys all life on Earth except in Shenandoah Valley

End result: Five years of heightened radiation levels on Earth, unlivable except for individuals with radiation resistant blood alteration (nightbloods). Plant life stunted for longer, deserts cover most of the land, bodies of water disrupted or contaminated. Animal life altered. 

Change: Safe area around the valley extended by one mile (estimated).

Recommendation: Decommission plant, shelter in bunkers for five years.

Test 3: Blow up one of the nuclear power plants on the Eastern Seaboard

Outcome: Wave of radiation destroys all life on Earth except in Shenandoah Valley

End result: Five years of heightened radiation levels on Earth, unlivable except for individuals with radiation resistant blood alteration (nightbloods). Plant life stunted for longer, deserts cover most of the land, bodies of water disrupted or contaminated. Animal life altered. 

Change: Safe area around the valley extended by one mile (estimated). Possible that the wave will get set off sooner by the change in radiation levels in the atmosphere caused by aerosolization of nuclear contaminated wastewater.

Recommendation: Destroy plant, shelter in bunkers for five years.

Test 4: Decommission multiple nuclear power plants on the Eastern Seaboard

Outcome: Wave of radiation destroys all life on Earth except in Shenandoah Valley

End result: Five years of heightened radiation levels on Earth, unlivable except for individuals with radiation resistant blood alteration (nightbloods). Plant life stunted for longer, deserts cover most of the land, bodies of water disrupted or contaminated. Animal life altered. 

Change: For each plant decommissioned, the safe zone around the valley is extended by n^2 miles. For each plant decommissioned, the likelihood of other safe areas in North America increases by (14.2n(75/3,120,000))*100 percent. Diminishing returns noted the further north or south the location of the potentially decommissioned plants are, related to safe area extension. With each decommissioned power plant, the potential for plant life return and lessened animal altering is possible, unable to compute.

Recommendation: Decommission plants, shelter in bunkers for five years (monitor for change to timeline based on amount of plants decommissioned).

Test 5: Blow up the first plant to melt down

Outcome: Wave of radiation destroys all life on Earth except in Shenandoah Valley

End result: Five years of heightened radiation levels on Earth, unlivable except for individuals with radiation resistant blood alteration (nightbloods). Plant life stunted for longer, deserts cover most of the land, bodies of water disrupted or contaminated. Animal life altered. 

Change: Delay in the onset of the wave. No other changes noted.

Recommendation: Shelter in bunkers for five years.

Test 6: Decommission multiple nuclear power plants in North America along the Eastern Seaboard, and blow up others between the Eastern Seaboard and the start of the wave.

Outcome: Wave of radiation destroys all life on Earth except in Shenandoah Valley

End result: Five years of heightened radiation levels on Earth, unlivable except for individuals with radiation resistant blood alteration (nightbloods). Plant life stunted for longer, deserts cover most of the land, bodies of water disrupted or contaminated. Animal life altered. 

Change: For each plant decommissioned, the safe zone around the valley is extended by n^2 miles. For each plant decommissioned, the likelihood of other safe areas in North America increases by (14.2n(3,120,000/75))*100 percent. Diminishing returns noted the further north or south the location of the potentially decommissioned plants are, related to safe area extension. With each decommissioned power plant, the potential for plant life return and lessened animal altering is possible, unable to compute. For each plant blown up between the Eastern Seaboard and the start location of the wave, values listed above are heightened significantly.

Recommendation: Decommission plants, shelter in bunkers for five years (monitor for change to timeline based on amount of plants decommissioned).

Test 7: Decommission all Nuclear Power Plants in the world.

Outcome: Wave does not exist

End result: No change to Earth

Change: No change to Earth

Test 8: Decommis|

“Raven, give it a rest!” Murphy yells at the mechanic, jolting her out of her furious typing.

“I’m trying to save the world, I’ll sleep when I’m dead” She yells over her shoulder, not vacating her seat at the computer.

“See, I didn’t mention sleep, you did. That tells me you need to go to bed. We can pick this back up in the morning, all three of us.” He starts dragging her chair away from the desk she has been glued to ever since finding the simulation software on Becca’s supercomputer.

“Fine, you win. I’ll go to bed. But we need to get moving on this as soon as possible” Raven relents, getting out of the chair before he can try to drag it up the stairs. She stretches, back cracking multiple times to Murphy’s disgusted look. “Don’t get old Murphy, it’s not fun.”

“You’re like, not that much older than me. Or should we start calling you Grandma” he jokes. Raven rolls her eyes, but doesn’t have a retort ready for his jesting. She must really be tired.

She lets Murphy shoo her up the stairs into the office she had taken to sleeping in for the past few days, leaving the other two with free reign of the mansion. They had taken turns cooking, but Murphy was the truly superior chef among them and had taken charge of the kitchen after both girls had almost set things on fire. 

Emori had recently been working on using the drones to transport things between the mansion and lab, as well as fabricating new parts for them with the fancy 3D printer on one of the lower levels. This place was full of goodies, and Raven was certain there were secret rooms they hadn’t found yet.

The Ark had turned out to be not much help in finding fixes for the death wave, although their research had confirmed what the returners knew to be true. There would be a mass meltdown of the reactors in around 6 months time. Well, the returners knew it would hit them on day 200 unless something changed, but the Ark’s projections were close enough. 

The thousand or so members of Skykru that were still on the Ark elected to stay there until after the wave, or until it was safe to come down. Most of them would rather be stuck there than stuck in the ground for the time it would take for the radiation to dissipate again. The thousand-ish already on the ground had slots in either Mount Weather or in the Polis bunker set aside for them already. Raven, Murphy, and Emori would stay on the island, along with any other Beachkru members that changed their mind before the wave hit. They had time to finalize their places, but somebody needed to be able to float around after the initial wave died down. 

Murphy didn’t leave the lab until Raven was practically asleep, not wanting her to continue working after he left. She had thought about it, but once her head hit the pillow, all the fight left her. The scientists of the 21st century really knew how to make an office feel like home.

She slept for 10 hours straight. Not a personal record, but still longer than she wanted. Emori is the one to wake her, bearing a gift of breakfast and news from Polis. Clarke was safe, Nia was dead, and lots of politicking was about to happen. Raven was glad to be away from all of that, and glad her found-sister was safe.

It was pretty on par with Clarke to get kidnapped and come out of it better off. This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened to the girl. Last time had been Anya, then the mountain, then probably once more with the grounders, then Roan, Elegius IV, and probably another time on Sanctum or Bardo. Then getting taken to see Anya and Lexa this time brought the total to what, eight times? Either the blonde was extremely lucky, or extremely unlucky.

“The simulations I ran yesterday show better outcomes the more plants we can decommission before the wave starts. I think today we bust out the map and start route planning.” Raven tells Emori through the last bites of a scarfed down breakfast. 

“So what, John and I take the bikes and ride around taking out reactors? What will you do?” 

“You guys can drop me off at Mount Weather for a rover, then I can take somebody with me and do the same. I could probably get some of the engineers that came down to make their own teams to hit more of them, but they will need to stick closer since they aren’t as safe from the wave as we are.” Raven explains. 

“Hmm. We are pretty unrestricted on our range as long as we can find shelter before the wave actually hits, right? That gives John and I the biggest buffer unless you take another nightblood with you” Emori thinks out loud. The reactors are pretty scattered, and getting as many taken down as possible will require them to cover a lot of ground. If they didn’t have to take into account coming back before the wave, they might even be able to reach stuff on the other side of the mountain range at the edge of Coalition territory to the west.

“What if there’s more like those in Mount Weather scattered elsewhere? People trapped in bunkers from before the bombs fell, I mean.” 

“Hold your horses braniac, one problem at a time.” Emori knows Raven, having worked closely with her for years now. This line of thinking was a good one, but they needed to focus right now.

“You’re right. Death wave first, repopulate the Earth second” Raven sighs. She will have to think about making more nightblood serum and communicating with potential bunkers and everything else regarding more people on Earth later. 

“Good. Now, map?”

“Map.”

Murphy joins the girls shortly after they pull the map of North America up on the big screen and start plotting known reactors, already in intense discussion about sectors and travel times and how long it would take to get two rovers up. He tried to join in, but besides weighing in on travel times, he was kind of out of his depth here. He decided to start collecting food and other supplies for their journeys. 

He considered decommissioning the air scrubber from the lighthouse bunker, but after talking with Raven and her talking with the Ark, the verdict was that it was unnecessary. The folks still aboard the Ark were working on fixing the life support system, and due to the Exodus of half the population, now had enough time to accomplish that before oxygen levels were critical again. Having to send up the rocket, then come back down, would have taken a lot of time away from their master plan. Those remaining on the Ark would survive until they could rejoin the rest of Skykru on the ground post-priamfaya.

The lighthouse bunker and the mansion were not stocked to last for years, but had plenty of supplies for three people. They would supplement with things they could hunt or gather, or grow in the lab greenhouse until the area was livable again. Having Monty on board would have been great, getting him started on the Algae farm to speed up the regrowth of Earth, and having that extra food security would have been nice. Murphy makes sure to remember to bring it up to the others later, once the power plant plan is complete. 

By the time he returns, Emori has a different map up on screen. She and Raven had pulled the data from the drones, showing them all the reactors still on, including the ones already burning. 

“We’ve been thinking too small” Raven begins, eyes not breaking from the screen in front of her. “They are all over the world. We could do it.”

“Do what? Stop Priamfaya?” Murphy asks incredulously. The two turn to look at him, the fire of determination in both of their eyes. They were seriously considering it. “Oh boy.” Raven starts furiously typing again.

Test 8: Decommission all Nuclear Power Plants in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia not currently burning.

Outcome: Radiation level increased in areas around plants currently burning.

End Result: Burning plants release radiation into the air, ground, and water surrounding the plants for years (up to 20,000 years, based on the halflife of the isotope used in Chernobyl). Assume 1,000 sq mi around plants in direct involvement, not including downstream effects or wind carriage of particles. 

Change: No wave of radiation. Areas around the burning reactors will see a rise in radiation, but effects are lessened the further the distance from the sites. Radiation rises to nearly life threatening levels around water and air current paths, rises to unsafe levels globally. Radiation dissipates more quickly than indicated in previous tests, final answer on timeline unable to compute.

Recommendation: Decommission plants, set up buffer zone around burning plants. Shelter in bunkers until monitoring indicates it is safe to emerge. Consider plants in Antarctica and Oceana not currently burning.

“Oh my god.”

Test 9: Likelihood of Team 1 with access to a solar powered all-terrain vehicle and Team 2 with access to an ocean capable boat and solar powered dirt bikes reaching all nuclear power plants not currently burning and decommissioning them all within 172 days. Assume 12 hours per power plant for decommissioning.

Outcome: 15-19 power plants decommissioned.

End Result: Teams highly likely to reach all possible power plants within 172 days. Potential for the amount of burning plants to increase as time goes on. 

Change: Plants successfully decommissioned. Damage to Earth is severely minimized. Areas around the burning reactors will see a rise in radiation, but effects are lessened the further the distance from the sites.

Recommendation: Team 1 attacks operational plants on North and South America. Team 2 attacks operational plants in Europe, Asia, Africa, Antarctica, and Oceana. Avoid burning plants.

“172 days. That was until the wave hit here last time, so that’s our max. We could stop the wave” Raven whispers, still absorbing the information.

“We could stop the wave” Emori echoes. Murphy doesn’t even know what to say.

Raven slowly reaches for her lasercom, takes a deep breath, and calls out.

“All, Little Bird. We can stop the wave.”

Chapter Text

Clarke’s ass is sore as hell from the breakneck pace her and Roan have been riding at for the last two days. Last night they had made camp by a river, and Clarke was able to soak the soreness and grime from the last few days away, but being back in the saddle since the sun rose this morning was making everything hurt again. 

Her complaints had just gotten Clarke laughed at by her grouchy traveling companion. Roan still seemed on edge to be so blatantly riding around in Coalition lands with his banishment not yet lifted. Clarke couldn’t wait until he and her were kind of civil again so he would chill out. 

She certainly didn’t help the mood, anxious to return to Polis as soon as possible.

Their conversations had been limited to the breaks from pushing the horses they had taken during the day. Roan wasn’t much of a talker, but the mystery surrounding Wanheda and Echo and his entire current situation was too much to ignore. Clarke had answered most of his questions truthfully, leaving out the more technical or unbelievable parts. 

Yes, she and her people came from space. Yes, she and a few others took out the mountain men. Yes, she saved lives with ease, as best she could. No, she wasn’t directly in charge of Echo. Yes, she had earned the spy’s trust. Yes, she was close with the commander, and No, she would not elaborate. Nosy ass. Yes, she was sure Lexa would lift his banishment. No, she wasn’t going to kill him. Yes, she had a plan for him but No, it wouldn’t be anything too crazy.

The guards outside of Polis stopped them, but once they realized who Clarke was, they waved her through, Roan in tow. Evidently he was not recognizable to them dressed like a vagabond. Clarke poked fun at him for that, to which he just glared at her. 

“Stop that” he says to her in the elevator. They had handed off their horses and immediately made their way into the tower.

“Stop what?” She asks, practically vibrating with a mix of excitement and nervous anticipation.

“That” is all he replies, gesturing at the entirety of Clarke. She shoots him a sidelong glare but does her best to calm down, at least visibly.

The doors open and the two step out, walking directly to the throne room that Clarke knows Lexa is most likely to be in at this time of day. 

The doors are opened for them by the guards and one of them announces into the room “Heda, Wanheda an Hainofa Roan kom Azgeda komba raun.”

All eyes are on her and Roan as they enter, but she only has eyes for Lexa. It feels like electricity is coursing through her as their eyes meet. 

Lexa doesn’t move from her throne. She can't react in any way unbecoming of the commander in front of the people gathered. But her eyes tell Clarke everything. She hasn’t slept well, if at all, in days. She’s physically holding herself back, knuckles white on the arms of the chair. 

“Clarke?” she hears come from her left. Her mom is here? She reluctantly drags her eyes away from Lexa to focus on her mom, who is pushing through the rest of the Arkadia contingent to get to her. “Clarke I’ve been so worried” her mom says as she pulls her daughter into a hug. Clarke returns the hug, eyeing the other Skykru in the room with them. Kane is here, along with Major Byrne and Bellamy. Octavia and Indra are in the back, along with a few other Trikru members. Those two give her a nod and a smile once she meets their eyes. There would be time for more hello’s later. 

She pulls back from her mom, muttering something about catching up in a second, and turns back to Lexa.

“Heda, I have returned from Azgeda unharmed with the direct assistance of Prince Roan. He has a gift for you, and we formally request that his banishment may be lifted.” She gives Roan an encouraging nod, and he cautiously steps forward with the bag. 

Lexa points with her chin and the warrior at her shoulder, Gustus it turns out, approaches the prince. The bag trades hands, and with a look inside Gustus humphs in approval.

“Heda, Nia ste Haiplana nou mou. Em ste daun.” He lifts a strand of hair for Lexa to see, then at her nod lets it fall back into the sack. Gustus hands it off to another warrior, probably for disposal, and resumes his position at Lexa’s shoulder.

“Very well. For your actions in service to me and my coalition, your banishment is lifted. You may take the crown of Azgeda as soon as you have re-pledged your loyalty. The ceremony will take place tonight. You will be put up in a guest room until then” Lexa announces. Her recommendation for him to bathe and look less like somebody who’d been living as a hermit for the last few years is implied. He bows, and takes his leave.

Clarke feels her mother guide her to stand with the rest of the Skykru and she goes willingly. 

“Now. Skaikru, since your Chancellor is not here, you must designate someone to take the mark of the coalition and announce your ambassador. You have until tomorrow to decide. The other clan ambassadors will surely want to begin negotiations as soon as it is officially announced. Until then, you all are dismissed.” Lexa forces her gaze around the room and assorted onlookers begin exiting the room. 

Skykru meanders out of the room as well, pausing in front of the elevator. Clarke takes up a space between her mother and Octavia. 

“That was a bigger welcoming party than I thought there would be” she whispered to the brunette.

Octavia shrugs and whispers back. “You sure know how to make an entrance, we were almost done already when you guys came in.”

The one time that being early inconvenienced her. Of course.

“I’m so glad you’re ok, honey. When we heard you didn’t make it to TonDC we thought the worst had happened. We were told you would most likely come back here, and we thought it best to go ahead and come here as well.” Abby dotes on Clarke while giving her explanation. Clarke lets her mom fuss over her. “I’m so glad, Roan?, was able to rescue you. We should have come here as soon as we landed.”

“I am too. But I’m ok, not hurt, see?” she tries to assuage her mother’s fears, knowing what’s coming.

“Clarke, you should come back to Arkadia with your mother. Now that we are here, you can relax.” Kane decides this is the perfect moment to interject. 

“I can't do that, I have more to do here. I’m sorry mom, but now that we know about the power plants, there is a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes that Raven and I have been working together on.” Clarke tries to let them down easy.

“Surely one of us adults can step in.” He tries to argue. God, she forgot how insufferable they had all been last time.

“Wanheda, Heda requests your presence” Gaia speaks up from behind them, startling her mother and Kane.

“Wanheda?” Kane asks before Clarke steps forward.

“You all just got here, but I’ve been down here for almost a month. I’ll come find you later, and I’ll visit Arkadia, once everything calms down” Clarke says as she joins Gaia. She’ll have to thank the girl later for the very convenient save.

She hears assorted questions follow her but doesn’t turn back.

“Who is she, and why did she call Clarke that?”

“They called her that when she walked in earlier too.”

“She’s working with Raven?”

“What does the Commander want with her?”

Clarke feels kind of guilty for leaving Octavia to field all of those questions, but knows as soon as the can of worms gets opened, it will never stop. She has more important matters to attend to. Well, one.

Gaia leads her up the back stairs to Lexa’s quarters, parting at the door and herself returning to Clarke’s room to check on the radio. Clarke opens the door and walks in.

Lexa is sitting on the bed, still in her warpaint and pauldron from the audience earlier. She doesn’t move to stand, just looks at Clarke.

Clarke closes the door behind her, never turning from the girl in front of her. She walks slowly over and takes a knee at Lexa’s feet, matching the other girl’s eye level with her own. Her hands rest gently on Lexa’s knees, grounding the both of them. Lexa’s hands move to rest on Clarke’s own, just holding. Clarke leans in, Lexa shifting forward to meet her, and presses her forehead to Lexa’s, both sets of searching eyes closed. 

They sit like that for a while. Just existing. No words floating between them. It is the first peace either of them has had since Clarke left Polis almost four days ago.

Clarke breaks the silence first.

“You were right, and I should have known better.” 

“That doesn’t matter now.”

Clarke pulls her hands from under Lexa’s, reaching for her pauldron. She pauses, then after a nod from Lexa, takes it off and sets it aside.

“Can I?” Clarke asks, pointing to Lexa’s warpaint. The other girl nods. She would apply different paint later for Roan’s ceremony.

Clarke finds a wash basin with a rag and brings it over. She resumes her kneel at Lexa’s feet and begins wiping the paint off her face. Lexa doesn’t move, just leans into Clarke’s stabilizing touch to her face.

As Clarke moves to put the rag away, the last of the paint off of the girl’s beautiful face, Lexa grabs her hand, reluctant to part from her touch even for a moment. Clarke smiles fondly at the other girl as she slowly releases her. The rag discarded, Clarke toes off her boots and throws her jacket onto a nearby chair before climbing onto the bed, scooching back until her head is propped up onto the pillows.

“Come here” she says gently, and Lexa complies. 

She shifts until she is settled along Clarke’s side, leg thrown over her hip and ear pressed to the blonde’s chest. She wants to hear her heartbeat. Her arms encircle Clarke’s torso, pressing as much of her to the girl under her as possible. 

Clarke runs one hand through Lexa’s hair, careful of the braids, the other hand resting on her back. Steadying. Feeling her breathing.

It takes Lexa less than five minutes to fall asleep. Clarke felt the exact moment she did, her breathing slowing and muscles relaxing. She knows Gaia will come get them when it’s time for Roan’s ceremony, and Lexa was probably more tired than she looked earlier.

It isn’t Gaia that disturbs them. 

Clarke was almost about to fall asleep herself when she heard whispers from the hallway. The door noiselessly opened revealing none other than Gustus. He was furiously waving off Gaia, but froze when he saw the two girls on the bed. Clarke puts a finger to her lips, hoping against all odds the warrior will be reasonable. He seems to understand, looking quizzically between the two. Evidently satisfied that Lexa is still breathing and not in any danger, he sighs, then whispers a warning to Clarke.

“You and I will talk later, Wanheda.” He backs out and silently closes the door.  

Lexa was still asleep thankfully, not having stirred at the interruption. 

Hopefully Gaia can talk some sense into the bear of a man before their ‘talk’. Clarke has little to no idea how it will go, since last time Gustus was so fiercely protective of Lexa that he poisoned himself in an attempt to stop the truce with Skykru. To be fair, he had thought that it would bring about her downfall, and it was before all the events of the mountain which had been an entirely different situation. For all she knows this could end up being a ‘what are your intentions with my adopted daughter’ kind of talk. That would be a first. Although, she was kind of surprised Anya hadn’t tried to have that conversation with her yet. 

Hell, maybe this would end up being a ‘Clarke disappears forever’ talk. She hopes not, it would be a shame to kill someone who cared so much for Lexa. Whatever. Plan for the worst, hope for the best, play dumb if the situation requires. Standard Clarke operating procedure in effect.

For now she would be here, exactly where she needed to be.

Lexa began stirring a while later, reminiscent of the time Clarke had been drawing her all those years ago. A couple of twitches, then she jolts awake looking around in a panic. Clarke lets her rise but doesn’t let go, shushing her and offering words of comfort.

“It’s ok, its ok. It was just a dream. I’m here. I’m right here Lexa.”

Lexa calms at her words, laying back down and relaxing back into Clarke’s waiting arms. 

“It wasn’t just a dream. The commanders were trying to tell me something.”

“What did they say?” Clarke asks, heart pounding. It better not be.

“Sometimes they speak directly, other times they show me memories, sometimes pictures. A snake in the grass. Not for me, but threatening nonetheless. Then a metal door, closed.” Ok that’s new. Clarke hums, but Lexa doesn’t continue. 

“Gustus walked in while you were asleep.” She tells Lexa. “He wants to have a ‘talk’ with me later.” Lexa groans and mumbles something about putting a lock on the door into Clarke’s shoulder. Clarke laughs, she should have thought of that sooner.

“I think it’s probably about time to get ready for Roan’s ceremony.” She tells Lexa.

“A while longer.” Lexa’s arms tighten around her, reluctant to let Clarke go. 

“Alright” Clarke caves, leaning down to plant a quick kiss on Lexa’s forehead. “I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.”

They are afforded that little while longer before being interrupted yet again. Two long knocks followed by three short are rapped onto the door and Lexa moves to get up before Clarke calls out “We’re up”. She knows it’s Gaia.

The flamekeeper enters and wastes no time.

“He is not happy, but will not kill you.” She says confidently to Clarke. Seems her talk with Gustus had gone as well as Clarke could have hoped.

“Great. Thank you for that” Clarke replies, then turns to Lexa. She laughs at the concerned look on her lover’s face before explaining. “She talked to him after he left, tried to smooth it over.”

“I see. Thank you Gaia.”

“Of course, Heda. Now, I have been sent to ready you both for the evening. We are set to begin shortly after sunset.”

“Got it, we’ll be ready. We’re actually up, I promise” Clarke says, letting go of Lexa as she rises fully and quickly doing the same. Gaia bows and vacates the room, leaving the two to their own devices. 

They ready themselves and join the others in the throne room once again. This time only Marcus and Major Byrne are present from Skykru, the rest seeming to have taken the time to explore the surrounding city. Clarke is glad, the sooner they immerse the most people in the grounder culture, the better for relations. 

The ceremony is official, but short. Lexa says a few words about Roan proving his loyalty, he takes the brand, and swears allegiance to the Coalition and the commander. As most of the attendees move to the banquet hall, Gustus stops her. 

“Now?” she asks. He nods, turning and leading her away. She follows, noticing Kane and Octavia both eyeballing the hell out of her, and noticing Octavia notice Kane noticing. If he follows, Clarke is confident she will take care of him.

They walk to the far end of the floor, away from any accidental prying ears. There is a table and chairs with a nice view of Polis outside. Gustus sits first, Clarke following close behind.

“You and Heda” he starts. “Explain.”

Well with that kind of start, it seems he is leaving the direction of the conversation up to her. So be it.

“I love her. I already swore fealty to her. I will protect her with my entire being. She means more to me than I could ever put into words.”

“Your absence weighed heavily on her. If you were lost, she would be devastated. You are a liability.” Ok so that was what he was getting at. 

“And yet, I returned triumphant. I am the commander of death, and no one on Earth can threaten me in a way that matters.” 

“Those are large claims, Wanheda. Can you show proof?”

“You know of my actions already. What more do you want?” She knows what he wants. He wants to actually see her fight.

“Tomorrow. Training grounds. I will assess you myself if I need to. She can not be threatened, physically or emotionally. You have a high standard to meet, and a responsibility to more than your own people. She is the coalition, and can not fall. Do I make myself clear?”

“You do. I will be there.”

“Good. Enjoy the festivities, but tread carefully.” With this cryptic statement he leaves her. 

Gods, what did she get herself into. 

She has just composed herself when Octavia slides into the chair Gustus vacated.

“We have to tell Kane something. He heard some of that, and is asking too many questions to the wrong people.” She warns the blonde, offering her a glass of some amber liquid. Clarke happily takes the glass and downs a few gulps before coming up for air. 

“Can you keep them all away from the training grounds tomorrow? Like deliberately away?”

“I can try, but Clarke. If he asks a grounder about the mountain, we’re busted. Or if he tells your Mom? Extra screwed.”

“I didn’t even think about that. Are they that close? I thought they hated each other right now?”

“I guess being on the ground sparked some kind of joint survival bonding. And are you really going to take on Gustus? He’s the head of the Commander’s Guard isn't he?”

“All I have to do is prove I’m good enough, not beat him. He’s probably already got guards picked out to assign to me permanently.”

“That’s true.”

“We’ll have to be careful about Kane. After my thing tomorrow but before the assimilation of the 13th clan ceremony tomorrow. You, me, Indra. Sound good?”

“Sounds good. I'll keep running interference.” Octavia and Clarke both get up before Octavia adds as an afterthought, “Bellamy?”

“Is he being a problem?”

“No, but the more he knows that I’m capable the less likely he is to cause any problems on his own.”

“Fair enough. Yeah, bring him too. If we can keep those two close, I think that would be for the best.”

“Same here. I love my brother but he needs a mentor. And Kane needs purpose or he’ll explode.”

Clarke laughs first, and Octavia joins in. Who knew parenting grown adults would be so hard.

They slip into the banquet hall separately and hopefully unnoticed. Well, Indra notices them, and Lexa notices Clarke, but that is to be expected. The two take their rightful places near their grounder counterparts and join in the festivities.

Chapter Text

Clarke was doning the training armor she had to borrow when Gustus arrived at the training grounds. One of the other warriors had offered her a basic leather chestplate and a set of bracers when she approached and she had accepted gratefully. They were a bit big on her, even tightened as much as possible with help from Octavia. At the arrival of the man, Octavia took her leave to go watch out for Skykru members. 

“Choose” was all the man had said to Clarke. She had only seen the man carry swords, while most of the Commander’s Guard used spears or some form of polearm. Surely he was trained in all manner of weaponry, and had a significant strength advantage over her. 

Something to put them on even ground. Something she had mastered during Beachkru’s training years. Something that wouldn’t kill her, or him, immediately if a mistake was made. Something she could fake being bad at.

“Swords” she decides, picking up one of the shorter one-handers from the weapons table. She sees him raise an eyebrow, but he does not comment. He simply draws his own sword from his belt and removes the scabbard, setting it aside.

They find an empty area, made difficult by the accumulating number of onlookers. The battle between the mighty Wanheda and the Commander’s personal guard was a spectacle not many wished to miss. Clarke noticed Indra had stayed to watch, and next to her was none other than Anya. 

“Rules?” Clarke asks Gustus, who turns to one of the other warriors expectantly. This grizzled older man must be one of the teachers here. He steps forward to act as referee, and lays out the ground rules.

“This is a training match. Fisas are nearby but can not work miracles. No heads, hands, or feet on purpose. The match ends when one of you is unable to fight, or taps out. Ready?”

They nod their confirmation.

“Begin” he says, raising his hand above his head, then dropping it quickly.

The two circle each other, Gustus holding his sword almost in Fool’s guard, Clarke gripping the hilt with both hands, sword between her and her opponent. Finally, she moves. A quick jab at his chest, which he blocks with a quick side swing, bringing the sword back on her. She blocks, bringing her hands up while the sword is pointed down. The two jump apart, continuing to circle. 

This time, Gustus moves in, an overhead swing that Clarke deflects. She steps in, instead of back as he assumed she would, delivering a slice to his own chest plate and continuing to move past him. They refocus and their swords cross as they face each other again. Gustus uses his superior strength and shoves Clarke back. 

To her credit, she doesn’t trip, but does lose her balance enough for him to get another swing at her. She barely avoids it, distance being her friend here, but feels the wind from his blade grace her chin. 

He keeps coming at her, now more carefully. His swings aimed at her shoulders and hips rather than the body shots he had aimed for earlier. She manages to deflect them all, making it look clumsy. She remembers Echo saying something about ‘the way of the drunken master’, and how she had a knack for it. That style seemed to fit here to counteract Gustus’s traditional Trikru training. 

Gustus gets too close, and one of Clarke’s deflections end with their swords catching on each other's crossguards. Her sword is ripped from her hands and ends up halfway across the ring that had formed of people watching. 

He shifts to level his blade at her throat, but she dives to the side before he can touch her. A quick tuck and roll has her regaining her footing next to her discarded sword. She grabs it and resumes her earlier guard, sword now pointed directly at the approaching man.

She sees the look in his eyes. He is getting serious, but there’s something else there too. Appraisal? Confusion? No matter.

A jab, swept to the side. Her counterslash parried. Clang of metal on metal, the two continue on. He fights like Indra did initially, Trikru improved. But she fights like Skykru-Trikru-Azgeda-Deciple, the Beachkru special. 

They continue to cross blades, slashing and blocking and counterslashing and blocking, until Clarke finds herself swordless once again. Before Gustus can deliver a winning strike, Clarke grabs his sword arm, twists and backs into him, and hip-throws him to the ground. 

The man, being completely unprepared for this, grabbed her arm in turn and brought her down to the ground with him. Before she can scramble away he places the flat of his blade against her neck, and she taps out in defeat. 

The cheers from the crowd are loud, but not loud enough to drown out what he says to her.

“Good. You were a worthy opponent despite your acting.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Pretending like you don’t know how. I look forward to fighting you at your best one day.”

Ahh, busted. 

The two rise, shaking forearms amicably. Gustus may have won, but Clarke earned his approval and that sure felt like winning to her. He departs, the members of the Guard that had accompanied him following behind, and Clarke walks over to Indra and Anya.

“You fought well, Skaiprisa.” Anya’s tone is laced with suspicion. Of course she noticed her acting as well, but wouldn’t come outright and say it.

“I thought we were over the degrading nicknames, General” Clarke shoots back. Anya shrugs.

“I am surprised you managed to land a hit on him at all” Indra throws in. Clarke knows she doesn’t mean it, and instead is warning Clarke that the action was what tipped the others off that she was faking. 

“Guess I got lucky” she replies, returning the now slightly duller sword to where she found it and removing her borrowed armor. She has some meddling Skykru to talk to, Indra as well. They need to ditch Anya soon.

Luck strikes again, as a scout runs up to whisper something to Anya. She listens, then nods a farewell to the other two women and follows the scout away.

Clarke and Indra return to the tower. Once in the privacy of the elevator, Clarke asks Indra about her thoughts on the fight.

“Was it really that obvious?”

“Not to the untrained eye, but Anya picked up on it.”

“Gustus did too. Oh well, she was already suspicious of me, what’s one more thing”

“Do not underestimate her, Clarke. Anya is formidable on her worst days, and cunning as well. I expect she will try to find out what is going on before we can find a good way to explain it to her.” Indra is right, of course. 

“Soon” Clarke promises.

Octavia meets them at the elevator, and brings them to the Skykru rooms. The only other occupant is Bellamy, Kane and company nowhere in sight.

“He was right here, Bell where’s Kane?” Octavia asks. The boy looks up at them, confusion on his face.

“He just stepped out for a second, did he not come find you?”

“God whatever, he can't have gotten far. Bellamy, we need to talk to you. I know some of this is going to sound crazy but try to keep an open mind” Clarke begins. Bellamy sits up in his chair. He had been waiting for this ever since Raven approached him on the Ark.

“There are some of us, including us three” Clarke motions to the other two women in the room, “that have advanced knowledge of the events that will happen here for the next six years or so. That’s how Raven knew you were going to try to shoot Jaha up in the ark, and how we got on the Grounders' good side so quickly.” He nods along, everything adding up so far. “Now, I could tell you all about the how or why, but I really don’t have time for that, and we can fill you in over the next few years. Are you willing to trust me?”

“I think so. You haven't steered us wrong yet.” Bellamy answers.

“Good. The biggest threat to our peace right now is the fear of the ground that all of the Arkers have. I need you, and Kane, to help us keep the peace and continue to build relations with the grounders. And I need you to let Octavia do what she needs to do.” Clarke is speaking quickly, leaving out huge chunks. “I know that’s a huge ask, but as I’m sure you have seen, she is not the same person as the little girl you helped hide under the floor. She is part of our plan to keep everyone alive. She is an incredible fighter, and dependable. I can't do this without her.”

Octavia smiles at Clarke before addressing her brother. “Bell, I will still be around. But I'm not your responsibility any more. If anything, you are my responsibility.”

Kane chooses this moment to return, startling the three women in the room. 

“O, you want to take him and explain the rest? We’ll handle this” Clarke suggests and Octavia nods, grabbing Bellamy and practically dragging him out of the room.

“You wanted to talk to me, Clarke?” Marcus asks her, suspicion laced in his voice. 

“Yes. Please, sit. We have much to discuss.”

He takes up the seat that Bellamy vacated, facing the two remaining women in the room.

“Alright, what can I do for you?” 

“You can stop asking questions to people that don’t know the answers, for one. The grounders call me Wanheda, because of what I did at the mountain. The kids follow me because I am the one in charge. The commander listens to me. You all that came down from the Ark are the only ones still in the dark about me. So ask me.”

“What actually happened at Mount Weather?”

“I, and a strike team, infiltrated the bunker, rigged the air, and killed them all. Then I saved a life. Hence, the commander of death. Next question”

He is stunned, but continues on.

“Why did all the kids on the dropship follow you?”

“I and my lieutenants put up a united front, attacked dissent with facts and authority, and provided for their needs. What else?”

“How did you earn the trust of the grounders so quickly?”

“I talked with their leaders early on, showed what we had to offer, and didn’t try to kill them or take their land.”

“How did you know how to do all of this?”

“There it is, the golden question. Were your people able to uncover the plans for the unity day bombings? Capture Diana Sydney? Arrive on the ground safe? We ensured all of that. Strategic people planted in specific places to conduct specialized tasks, all with the end goal of being better this time around.” Clarke turns to Indra, “And that’s with all the things not going according to plan down here in the first place.” 

“Clarke I’m not following, how did you know about all of that?”

“You wont believe me”

“I think he will” Indra adds, nodding to the sky girl. 

“He isn't who you remember Indra, not yet at least.”

“He never will be. We made sure of that already.” 

Clarke knows Indra is right. The massive trauma that Marcus undertook would never come to pass, and neither he, nor any of the other unchipped people on Earth would be the same as the Beachkru members remembered them in the end.

“You’re right. Ok Kane, I, no we, have gone through all of this already. What happened last time was so horrible, the entirety of the human race was reduced to about 1200, then 800, then 14 people. We lived on three different planets, saw the destruction of Earth twice, and met immortal beings. We traveled back in time to fix everything.” Clarke pauses here to let him absorb the absolute bomb she just dropped on him.

“Time travel?” is all he asks.

“Yes. Those of us remaining at the end of the human race traveled back in time to six weeks before the 100 of us were sent to the ground. Later, if you still need proof, check the camera in my cell the night exactly six weeks before the drop.” She takes a deep breath, then continues. “As I was saying, this isn’t our first time doing this, and we’ve already made significant improvements from last time. Roughly 400 less deaths from the Ark, 48 less deaths among the 100, hundreds less deaths from Trikru, just off the top of my head. And countless less deaths to avoid if we can stick to the plan. That’s where you come in.”

“How do I… I don’t know about the other, what, timeline that you are referring to? How do I fit in?”

“Keep being you, Kane. Do what’s best for your people. Represent Skykru to the coalition. But listen to us. Me, Indra, and Octavia for starters. We are here to steer you in the right direction, but you need to trust us.”

“There’s others like you?”

“Yes. But they will reveal themselves to you as is needed. I’m leaving it up to them. We are not just Skykru, or Trikru, or any other known Kru on Earth. But we are all Beachkru. Or Finalkru. Whatever we end up calling ourselves, you’ll know.”

“You’ll have to forgive me if this is a little hard to believe, Clarke.”

“I know. But I have already given you proof. All you need to do is have trust, and use your damn head.”

“I’ll try. But why now? What made you decide to keep this a secret in the first place, let alone tell me now?”

“One, because time travel is a ridiculous idea to the common man. Two, because if you had learned about our escapades down here from any other sources, you would have taken it as a threat, or worse, and would have been even less likely to work with us to save everyone. Three, I don’t want any of that misplaced suspicion rubbing off on my Mom. I love her, but you two were the biggest pains in my ass last time and kept me from getting done what needed to be done under the guise of protecting me.”

“That’s fair.” Kane says, and Indra chuckles at his admission. 

“Em sin klin chit em laik sen in.” Indra says confidently.

“Sha, taim em wich eso in, na ai raun.” Clarke answers, hoping for the best. “What other questions do you have?”

“I, don’t know. This is a lot to take in.” Marcus answers, brows furrowed at their Trigedasleng.

“Come find us if you have more. Do not keep asking Arkers or Grounders about it, especially the ones here.” Clarke warns him for both of their sakes. If Titus heard about any of this he would probably try to kill Clarke himself, if not all of the Arkers as well.

Marcus nods his understanding, and Clarke stands to leave. Indra follows close behind.

“Yu fig raun Titus.” Indra says after they are out of earshot of the Skykru chambers once again.

“I am.” She responds in gonnasleng automatically, no longer worried about eavesdroppers. “He remains the biggest internal threat.”

“How is our replacement doing on handling that?” Indra referring to her own daughter.

“Well she’s already proven herself, but I think it will take a big slip up from him to get them swapped for good. Even then, he still holds a lot of power.”

“Hmm” the older woman responds. 

As they crest the corner, the members of Skykru that were evidently out enjoying the capitol crossed their path. Clarke parts ways from Indra with a polite goodbye, stopping to talk to her Mom finally. 

Clarke tells her about all the wonderful things she’s seen on the ground, all the great food she’s eaten, and all the friends she’s made. She absolutely does not let the conversation slip into anything regarding what she has been up to, nor the sheer amount of danger she has been in. The more Abby thought Clarke was safe, the better. They talk like old friends rather than mother and daughter, Clarke thinks guiltily. She would have to think of a better reason than ‘I’m working with Raven’ to explain to her mom why she wouldn’t be coming back to Arkadia with them.

“So, you’ve been spending a lot of time with the Commander I hear.” Abby says, like she’s talking about a crush and not the other half of Clarke’s soul. 

Clarke lets a smile take over her face at the thought. “Yeah, she’s been really helpful in getting us settled in and everything.” God that sounded like the deflection of a love-sick teenager. Actually, she could play this angle.

“I see. I came to your room yesterday, but the girl there said you were busy.” Abby is prying, might as well let her have it.

“I was with Lex-The Commander. We were just talking, about my brief trip to Azgeda. You know, debriefing.” There we go, hook line and sinker. Anything that would indicate it was kind of a lie could be explained by a girl not wanting to tell her Mom she was absolutely in love with someone. Clarke can tell her Mom bought it by her eyebrow raise.

“We will have to talk more later, Clarke. I’ve got to go, but be safe. I love you.”

“I love you too Mom, you be safe as well.”

Clarke lets her go rejoin the Skykru contingent, glad at the outcome of all the interactions she had undertaken in the past day. Maybe everything would keep going according to plan now. The framework they all had set up was certainly holding up. It just needed to keep up until they could stop Priamfaya.

Clarke finds herself having walked to Lexa’s quarters. She knocks quickly, then enters, not bothering to wait for a reply. Lexa is not there. She is probably finalizing the preparation for the 13th Clan acquisition ceremony, or something else worthy of her oversight.

Clarke allows herself to flop down on Lexa’s bed, taking in the softness of the furs and the lingering smell of her lover. She was allowed this, she told herself. 

She slipped the ear piece of her lasercom into her ear, having traded sets with Octavia after her return from Azgeda yesterday. Hopefully Raven could make another earpiece to replace the one that had been smashed so they all could talk again. Octavia was attached at the hip to Indra right now, but it wouldn’t hurt to have more than one per person, just in case.

“Any station, Wanheda.”

“Wanheda, Lynchpin”

“Lynchpin, good to hear from you. How are preparation efforts going?”

“They are going well, I should be ready for the first shipment to the Bunker soon. Trade with Skykru has just been initiated through the wandering merchants in the area. I was offered a compass by one of them the other day. They seemed to think it was worth an entire tanned deer pelt.” Clarke heard her begin to laugh as the transmission cut out. The oddities Skykru could part with would be in high demand for a while. Something new and shiny must be worth a lot for just a compass to be offered for a whole pelt.

“Copy, good to hear relations are strengthening. First shipment within a week you think?”

“Maybe less, but yes.”

“Good copy, thank you for the update. Anybody else on right now?” Clarke had time to burn, waiting for Lexa to get back.

“Wanheda, Rogue.”

“My savior, what do you have for me?”

“Reunited with my two, but they do not wish to journey into Polis with me. I don’t think they are ready to be around so many people yet.”

“Gotcha, do you have an ETA? And they could hide out at the Art Supply Store or the Garage for a while.”

“Affirmative, two days. They will probably prefer the Garage.”

“Copy. Oh, the ceremony went well, your boy is now king.”

“Good to hear. See you soon, Rogue out.”

Clarke waited, but nobody else called in. She took out her earpiece and got more comfortable on the bed. She hoped Lexa would be back soon, even if briefly. 

---

Clarke hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but she woke to Lexa shaking her shoulder. 

“Lexa, hi, sorry, you weren't here when I got back” She explains, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. 

“That is quite alright, a good surprise to find you here. I have been held up all afternoon with petty squabbles amongst the clans”

“Of course. I had a busy morning but a free afternoon so I figured I’d wait for you here.”

“I watched your fight. You did well against Gustus.” Lexa is leading. She could have only watched from high above, her morning already taken up by her Commander duties.

“Yeah, I guess I gave away that I was pretending not to know how to fight well enough that Gustus and Anya both commented on it. Whoops”

“They are both very skilled warriors, I am not surprised. And neither of you show any signs of battle, which I am glad for.”

“You and me both. Here” Clarke pats the bed next to her. “Come join me.”

Lexa does so, resuming the position they had taken up yesterday afternoon. 

“We cant fall asleep this time” Clarke warns, stroking Lexa’s hair.

“Then you should stop that, or else I will not be able to resist.” The two laugh, but Clarke stills her hand nonetheless. 

“I should probably tell you what actually happened in Azgeda” Clarke begins. Lexa looks up at her questioningly. “It’s not like that, just didn’t happen exactly as we needed it to have for Roan to take the throne again.” She explains quickly, appeasing Lexa’s unspoken question.

“I assume you have a good reason for tweaking the narrative, but please, tell me.”

“Well, the night I got taken I was able to let Indra know, and she told Echo. She’s our Azgeda counterpart, used to be a spy, until the end of the world happened of course. Echo got Roan and got to the capitol just before I did. She set it all up, with Roan, so we could take out the Queen while arousing the least amount of suspicion with those loyal to her. It was kind of beautiful actually, coming in at the last minute to save me before anything happened. She gave me the kill. I am the kwinsleya, but we needed Roan to be unbanished so he took the credit.” Clarke explains quickly. Lexa deserved to know the truth. 

“It is that important for him to take the throne?” Lexa asks.

“Yes. That’s all. He and I worked together well last time, and the situation just worked out really well in general this time. Also, Nia was a huge bitch last time.” This gets a laugh out of Lexa. “Jus drein jus daun across timelines. It’s almost cosmic karma.” Clarke says this for herself. She enjoyed making Nia come full circle. Her having killed Costia and sending her head to Lexa, then being killed by Lexa’s lover and having her own head delivered. 

“I thought you didn’t like jus drein jus daun?”

“I don’t. But I like justice, and there is too much blood on my hands to have any kind of say against it. I-” Clarke stops. Her hands still against Lexa and she takes in a shuddering breath. 

“Think about the living, Clarke. You have worked tirelessly to ensure as many of our people remain living as possible. There may be none to claim restitution against you, but there are many, so many, that owe you their lives even if they do not know it. There is no shame, no guilt, in doing what is best for your people.”

“I wish you could see. See what I’ve done.”

“And I wish you could see how I see you.”

“That almost sounds like love”

“It is as it is”

A pause.

“So you’re not mad that I let Roan take the credit?”

“No, it was necessary. I trust you Clarke, and you telling me has furthered that more than you know.”

“I never want to keep things from you. You are too important to me.”

“Now That sounds like love.”

“It is.”

Another pause. This one they settle into, simply content to have and to hold each other. There are still words unspoken, but they are left there. 

---

That evening played out much like the previous had. Marcus took the brand, and one of the other Council members was identified to remain in Polis as the ambassador. Clarke didn’t remember the man, but he must have died either upon reentry or shortly thereafter last time. The director of acquisitions or something. No matter. He didn’t know her, and wouldn’t get in her way.

Chapter Text

“Exodus ships, Lab.”

“Who is that, Reyes?”

“Yeah it's me. Get somebody from Mecha on the line. It's urgent”

“Alright, one sec.”

“Reyes, It's Sinclair. What's going on, they said it was urgent?”

“Sinclair, thank god. OK I need you to send a couple of mechanics and Miller to Mount Weather and get as many of their vics up and running as soon as possible.”

“Hold on, I need more information before I just send people out. And I'll have to clear it with the head shed here.”

“We literally don't have time for that. One of those vics needs to be sent out to shut down the super-reactors in all of North and South America before they all melt down.”

“Right. I take it you were able to find a way for us to survive it?”

“Yeah, by shutting down all the reactors before the wave is set to hit, ergo, we need to start right now. I'm sending our route plan and the reactor control schematics to you now. Even with the best case scenario, we will still need to shelter in bunkers till the ambient radiation is at a survivable level again. That being said, those that go out will need to get back before it gets too high. Again, why we need to start right now.”

“OK yeah gotcha. Understood.”

“If I have to come over there and do it myself I am not going to be happy. There is so much other stuff I have to do right now.”

“Got it. We'll take care of it, you keep saving the world.”

“Reyes out.”

“They don't even know how accurate that statement was” Emori says from across the dining table. The three current lab residents were poring over a map mid-meal. They were acutely aware of the ticking clock, especially for Murphy and Emori, who would be crossing the Atlantic as soon as they had figured out how to get a ship that was ocean-capable. 

All the ship yards that existed before the bombs fell within 50 miles had been scouted using Becca's drones.  Nothing promising that wouldn't take a long ass time to fix up had been seen. They needed something that could cross the Atlantic with two dirt bikes aboard, that could be manned by two people, three max. 

“Luna” Raven says abruptly.

“Luna?” You think she'd help?” Murphy asks. He hadn't worked with the woman as much as Raven had last time, but remembered her being fiercely protective of her people, and only reluctantly helping them. Then she had rightfully crashed out and tried to get everyone killed, so that wasn't a good sign.

“We could get Lincoln and Octavia to bring her here? Show her what’s going on? She’s smart, I think as long as we don’t do what we did last time, it’ll work. And we know she has at least one ship capable of transporting an entire shipping container out to her rig.” Raven gets up and starts pacing across the kitchen. 

“Alright. Getting a ship from Luna is COA 1. Getting help directly from her is COA 2. What else?” Murphy starts writing down all the steps needed to make either of those courses of action happen, but there’s a lot of if’s.

“I’ll keep looking for something with the drones. COA 3.” Emori adds. 

“COA 4 is we make one of the better looking boats sea worthy, get to as many reactors as we can, and find somewhere on another continent to ride out the wave.” Murphy finishes.

“Heavy on 1 or 2. Or 3 honestly. We need to get her here anyways, so she knows what is coming. Murphy, get Octavia on coms and get her started on that. There’s no time to waste. Emori, you got the drones. I’ve got schematics to send.” The crew breaks to accomplish their tasks, but something is still nagging at Raven. Something they hadn’t considered. 

They had their route plans for each team. They were working on transport for each team. They had already taken care of the mountain, Allie, the city of light, the exodus problem, grounder relations, Azgeda. The Elegius IV team with their Damocles bomb wouldn’t come till later. What was she forgetting?

If she went with Team 2 across the ocean, then they could cover more ground. Split into two, Emori and Murphy by land and her by sea. If she went with Team 1 they would get it done sooner, many hands make light work or whatever. If she stayed here she could get started on the greenhouse and the algae farm. If she went to Polis she could get started on prepping the Second Dawn bunker there. 

But Raven isn’t alone. She has 11 other returners to count on. The only ones with set positions right now are Murphy and Emori, Gaia, and arguably Indra. Everyone else could be pulled to help, like how Octavia was going to get Luna with Lincoln, or how Miller was going to Mount Weather to get the trucks up. There shouldn’t be anything else pressing that would keep the others from getting re-tasked, right?

Raven had to draw it out, to actually see it. 

Per their last check in, a majority of their forces were in Polis. Clarke, Gaia, Octavia, Indra, and Echo was en route. The three of them were here, and Niylah was at her post, headed to Polis soon. Miller and Jackson were at the Exodus drop zone, along with the delinquents that hadn’t become a Trikru second. That was everyone, so why did she feel like she was missing people?

She thought of Hope, Jordan, and Levitt. Two not existing yet, and the third never to be seen as long as they could keep the world from getting absolutely destroyed (again). 

Listing out the non-returners that were important the first go around didn’t help either. Most of them had reunited with their parents. Wells and Finn were at the dropship. Bellamy was with Octavia. Kane and Abby had left Polis this morning for Arkadia. Sinclair was there, too. Wick was safely aboard the Ark. Shaw wasn’t here yet. Anya was being a menace to Clarke in Polis. Lexa, alive. Madi, probably in Shallow Valley still. Sanctum folks doing sanctum things. She wondered if they had transplanted Josephine successfully this go around, yet. That’s something they could have stopped, but with the weirdness between the Sanctum and Skyring bridges, hadn’t bothered. Dioza wasn’t here yet. Who was it? Jaha? No he was still on the Ark. 

Maybe it was an event. Having cut out a lot of the conflicts made everything move faster, and they could have overlooked something. All the main parts of their plan had been successful. All deaths were accounted for, unfortunately. 

Being so task saturated wasn’t good for keeping track of things, she decided. Once she sent out the schematics and the route plan to Sinclair, she got started on making another lasercom base station, for Team 2 to use to boost their signal from the other side of the planet. Emori getting the satellite link up was a huge help, but their little hand-helds would need a bit of a boost.

Maybe that was it? Coms? Clarke had asked her for a couple more earpieces, add that to the list. They had regular radios on the Ark, in Polis, at the dropship, and in Arkadia. And here. And the one Octavia had. Jeez that was a lot of coms stuff. She could make another small one for Luna, but it would probably only reach here. That was ok, better than nothing.

Maybe it was the uncertainty of their next steps that was getting to her. After all that planning, waiting on things to fall into place didn’t feel right. And she was sending two of her best friends across the world to complete a crucial task with minimal prep or equipment. 

And they still needed to test the bridge to Etheria for time dilation memory malarkey, in case they needed to do helmet hotswap with all the people going through to survive the radiation. Again, problem for later.

For now, Raven focused on making radios and earpieces. Something to occupy her hands and keep her mind quiet.

---

“Roman, this is Cockroach.”

“Cockroach, Wanheda. You need anybody or Roman?”

“Roman. Have her hail me when she can. Over”

“Copy, will do.”

---

“Cockroach, Roman”

“Roman, is your boy Abe with you?” Murphy was proud of that one, but Lincoln didn’t understand why his call sign being Abe was funny to the Ark born Beachkru members.

“Affirmative, he’s running around Polis. What’s up?”

“We need you to go to Luna. We need a boat, and might as well warn her. You able to swing by here for info, then head that way?”

“Copy. If we go straight there, we can make it in like two days, rather than the extra four it would take for a side-trip to the lab.”

“Right. Ok, is now a good time for a briefing?”

“Negative, I will call back later.”

“Copy. Talk to you then.”

“Roman out.”

---

“Cockroach, Roman.”

“Roman you’ve got Little Bird instead. Ready?”

“Send it.”

“Ideal situation, she gets us a boat and then comes here to see what is coming. Showing is better than telling her I think. That way when the time comes, all of her people won’t die and will be able to make it to Polis in time. If she won't come, give her your regular handheld.”

“Good idea. We’ll figure it out. Might be worthwhile having some of the former reapers on our side. I’ll see if Rogue can come with, she arrived this evening.”

“Brilliant. Let me know what you all decide.”

“Will do. Roman out.”

“Little Bird, Rogue. I heard. I concur. Going with those two, bringing my entourage. Add half a day to the ETA. Won't be joining you at the lab however, we’ll be returning to Azgeda afterwards to help with the King’s assumption of rule.”

“Good copy, and best of luck.”

“Thank you. You as well. Rogue out.”

---

After some changes to her people to tasks roster, Raven was feeling better about what was going on for the next week or so. The available people were dwindling, but needed tasks were getting done. All she could do now was continue prepping equipment, and wait.

Chapter Text

Clarke can't remember exactly when the first signs of Acute Radiation Sickness had shown up in Luna’s people, but it was roughly 20 days before the wave. 30 days to be safe. That left them with about 140 days to warn everyone, ready the bunker, send recon to Etheria, prepare their new temporary home there, and start shuttling people through. Easy.

Echo, Octavia, and Lincoln in tow had departed Polis for Luna’s rig that morning, getting an early start to their task. Clarke didn’t envy them, although with Lincoln’s help, Luna should be significantly more willing to listen to them. Plus, it was a clean slate this time. No harbored resentment, only guilt on Beachkru’s side.

Clarke was lost in thought, wandering the halls of the tower. The things on her to-do list were stagnant, but changed in their urgency by the day. She finds herself outside the chamber that housed the nightblood novitiates. 

These kids. Alive. Safe. 

She hadn't crossed paths with any of them yet. Not out of avoidance, but she hadn't exactly gone looking for them either. It hurt to think about. 

It hurt worse to think about Madi. This time would be different, and that meant Madi's family would be safe. The girl would be safe. She would get a normal life. 

When Clarke had told Lexa about the hidden nightblood child, her adopted daughter in another life, she had cried. Tears of loss, for even if they might meet again, it would not be the same. Lexa had not pressed her, and Madi would remain with her village until everyone was gathered to the bunker before priamfaya.

After the wave, or lack thereof if Raven's plan came to fruition, they could start thinking about the future.

Clarke steeled herself, and walked in. 

Lexa was sitting on the steps surrounded by bright eyed children. She looked up briefly at Clarke's entrance, giving the girl a fond smile before returning to the lesson at hand. Clarke took up space along a wall, intending to wait till they were done. Some of the kids glanced at her, but their attention went back to their Heda just as quickly. 

Aden was front and center, of course. The blonde boy seemed to be the oldest of the kids, maybe around 14 if Clarke had to guess. Too young for the greatness impressed upon him. They all were. 

Having turned 18 officially a few days ago, Clarke supposed that's how her Mother and the rest of the Skykru leadership felt about the 100. A different situation for the members of Beachkru, but the Ark adults didn't know that. 

Lexa is talking to them about trade routes, or something to do with how the clans interact. Greater as a whole than separated. Clarke admittedly isn't paying attention, still lost in thought. Then one of the kids asks about Skykru.

“They've been separate for so long, how do they fit in with the rest of us?”

“Klark, care to weigh in on this?” Lexa asks, motioning for the sky girl to come join her at the front of the little class.

“Hmm” Clarke muses, walking over to her lover. “That's a good question. Our way of life, rules, diet, leadership, everything is different than how it has been here on the ground. But each clan has their own traditions or culture as well. We are all joined by a common bond.” A pause for dramatic effect. “We all want to survive. Eventually be able to do more than just survive. We want to thrive.”

Some of the kids nod along. Then more of them start asking questions.

“What did you eat in the sky?”

“How old are you?”

“What animals are in the sky?”

“Chon yu Heda beliak?”

“How did you fall from the sky?”

A cuchony of voices ask. Clarke holds up her hands in surrender and laughs.

“Woah little natblidas, one at a time.” Clarke turns to Lexa apologetically. “Seems I totally derailed your lesson.”

“That is quite alright. We were almost wrapped up for the morning anyways.” She gestures to the herd of curious faces. “Feel free to chat with them, I must go find their next teacher.” 

Lexa rises to leave and shakes a warning finger at the kids. “You all be nice to Klark” she says, smile giving away her true feelings before leaving them alone with the sky girl.

The kids return their attention to Clarke, but before they can start barraging her with questions, she holds up a hand.

“I will answer your questions, but we need to do it one at a time. If you have a question, raise your hand please.” Almost all of their hands are immediately in the air.

Clarke points to a little girl off to her left.

“What animals did you have in the sky?” She asks, another kid dropping their hand, evidently having the same question.

“Unfortunately, we didn't have any animals up there. There wasn't enough room, and when our ancestors first went into space, they didn't get to bring any with them.” A chorus of ‘woahs’ and small gasps come from the kids. Clarke chuckles, then points to the next kid.

“If you didn't have any animals, what did you eat?” he asks, head tilted in confusion.

“Um, plants mostly. We grew a bunch of different kinds on Farm station, and then turned them into this ugly mush or bars, like plant jerky.” Clarke does her best to explain, but there's really no equivalent she can think of here on the ground.

More ‘oohs’ and ‘gross'es come from the kids. The next one asks if she speaks Trigedasleng. 

“I'm learning it, but it seems to be based in English so I can usually figure out what things mean. I speak other languages too.” 

That sets the kids off, all hand raising gone out the door.

Clarke laughs, but waits until they calm down before trying to speak again. Some of the kids have the decency to look embarrassed.

“That got you all riled up, huh? I know English, of course, some Spanish, and bits of some other languages still spoken on the Ark. Some of my friends know Korean, Russian, and I think French too. Remember how I said we all have a goal in common?” The kids nod. “We also have language. English, or gonasleng.”

The kids seem satisfied with her elaboration, and hands are raised once again. Before she can call on the next one, Lexa returns with a flamekeeper in tow.

“Looks like my time is up, but I’ll be back. That is, if it’s alright with your teachers.” Clarke looks questioningly at the flamekeeper, who looks at Lexa. She gives him a nod, which he reflects to Clarke and the pleading eyes of the kids. 

Children properly appeased, Clarke and Lexa return to Lexa’s room. 

“They seemed to like me” Clarke comments. “Or at least, liked hearing about the Ark.” She flops back onto Lexa’s bed, forgoing the table and chairs for a comfier location.

“I’m sure they liked having someone other than the flamekeepers or myself to talk to. Their curiosity knows no bounds.” Lexa joins Clarke, sitting at the edge in a much more business minded manner than how the blonde had come to rest.

Clarke takes note, and sits up to mirror Lexa. There was something on the other girl’s mind.

“I think it is time to let the clans know about Priamfaya.” Lexa continues, turning to face Clarke.

“I agree. Better to let them know as soon as possible so they can prepare for what will come if we aren’t able to completely stop the wave. That gives us some more wiggle room to get some of the more minor things done in the meantime, with hopefully, some support from the clans.” Clarke knows Lexa’s idea is sound. Her main concern is disbelief and resistance from the clans.

“Since you know best about what is likely to happen, I was hoping you would help me formulate what I need to say to them” Lexa explains. 

Clarke nods, rising to fetch a piece of paper from the makeshift desk in the room. She also grabs a book to write on, since Lexa has made no move from her position on the bed.

“There will be warning signs the closer we get. Insects dying out, radiation sickness, black rain. It hit Luna’s rig first, or at least we think it did. Probably from consuming fish soaked in radiation. Anyone that eats primarily ocean fish is likely to show symptoms first.” Clarke jots down bits about the warning signs, and the symptoms of radiation sickness. “We should be able to treat it at Mount Weather, but I know the people won't like that idea until it is almost too late.”

Lexa nods along as Clarke talks through it. She will have to make sure that information gets sent with the riders for dispersal to the clan chiefs. 

“Mount Weather can hold 400 people, maybe 500 if they pad the food reserves enough. The one here can hold 1200. If we can get people preemptively through to Etheria, they can set up for everyone else coming through. I want Skykru split between all three places. Enough to run each bunker, and the rest go to Etheria. It’s not going to be us and them ever again. There is only us.” 

“So any that get treatment at Mount Weather, stay there?” Lexa asks.

“That’s a good idea, yeah. If they don’t like it and are able to make the journey here before the wave, then I think that would be fine too.” Clarke doesn’t want to trap anyone there, but radiation sickness hits hard. It’s unlikely any of them would be well enough to travel between the time they got there and the wave hits.

“Giving them an educated choice” Lexa remarks, and Clarke nods. 

“As for how we know about the wave, I mean, the information coming from Skykru probably won't be received well. And if it comes directly from you, things might get called into question. I think we can find some middle ground there.” Again, Clarke’s logic is sound. 

“I will bring this to the past commanders and see what they have to say. Their advice on how I knew about you all coming down worked very well.”

“Once we’ve got the ‘how’ covered, I think that’s about it. Tell them what is coming, warning signs, where to go. Anything I’m missing?” Clarke asks, running through her mental checklist. 

“That should be good enough as a warning” Lexa confirms. She tucks an errant strand of hair behind Clarke’s ear. Any excuse to touch her.

Clarke catches her wrist, giving her palm a quick kiss before releasing it. 

“Go, talk to the commanders. I’ll stay here until you’re done.” She smiles softly at the brunette.

Lexa assumes the position on the floor, back against the bed. Neither her nor Clarke comment on Clarke’s leg touching her side. A few deep breaths and she’s in.

In her mentally conjured war room, the past commanders are all in their seats, including Becca Lexa notes.

“Pramheda. Becca. I am glad to see you again.” Lexa greets the scientist. She hasn’t been able to address her since the night of Clarke’s mental intrusion.

“Commander Lexa, I am here as the flame requires. I assume you have more information on Priamfaya?”

“Yes. Clarke and her people have confirmed the reactors are the cause, and have a plan currently in place to shut them off. Or most of them. It seems some are already burning” She explains, to the best of her knowledge that is.

“I see. Raven found my lab and my computer. Good. Now, I assume you are not just here to give me an update.”

“I was hoping for advice on how to inform the clans of the impending disaster. The information coming only from me, or only from Skykru is sure to lead to unrest and resistance to our plan. We need to find the best way.”

“Hmm. And there isn't a good way to show them proof until it is too late.”

“Besides bringing the Clan Chiefs to the Lab, which they will not do, no.”

“The most infuriating factor of any experiment is the human factor. But you have a few that already adhere to your plan, do you not?”

Lexa pauses to think. Skykru is on board with the plan, especially since they were able to confirm for themselves about the threat. Indra already knows, and will bring Trikru along with her. Roan owes her, but Azgeda is split in its loyalty right now. “Some yes” she answers.

“Could you use those few to sway the others?” one of the other Commanders asks.

“It’s Skykru, Trikru, and some of Azgeda. Trikru is the best bet to sway the surrounding clans. Flokru will most likely see signs first, and spread the accompanying word. Broadleaf as well.” Lexa muses. Again, this doesn’t help with spreading the word now, but will certainly confirm what she claims.

“Use a seer.” Someone suggests.

“No, that belief is long gone” Lexa shuts down that line of thinking before it gets out of hand. 

“What you said about Skykru coming was pretty well received. Why not just tell them we told you about it, and Skykru confirmed it.” 

“They won’t like that. Skykru is still new. Not yet trusted.”

“What about the other way around. That Skykru brought it up, we confirmed, and any that need proof can come to the Lab.”

“That could be it. It would help the other clans build trust in Skykru, and the proof would still be attainable within the time frame.”

“A journey from the southern tip of Broadleaf or the west Plains, 20 days?”

“Semantics. I think that is the best option.”

A couple of 'agreed's float around. With no better options, and no naysayers, Lexa is satisfied.

“I wish I could speak with Clarke Griffin, or Raven Reyes. I wonder” Becca trails off, obviously thinking about technological things Lexa had no business wondering about.

“Thank you all for your assistance.” Lexa courteously addresses the past commanders, and prepares to leave the mindspace.

“Oh Lexa, tell Raven about the bookshelf. There’s a Scooby Doo-esque lever there. She’ll know what I mean” Becca said quickly. Lexa has no idea what that means, but agrees to do so. 

Coming back to her room in Polis, Lexa is glad to still feel Clarke’s grounding weight against her. 

“I have a solution, and Becca has a message for Raven.” Lexa says, holding out her hand for the paper Clarke still holds.

“For Raven?” Clarke asks, surprised at the first words from the other girl being so blunt.

Lexa quickly scribbles down the plan for the message before slumping back against the bed. That correspondence took more out of her than usual. As had the one after Clarke showed up in her dreams, she remembers. Almost like the flame wasn’t operating at full capacity other times, or manifesting Becca took more energy. Regardless, she had answers.

“How does Becca know about, oh right it’s all mindspace stuff” Clarke answers her own question, much to the confused look from Lexa. “There was a time when I had the flame, and once I had another person’s mind drive in my head. She can access everything you know, more or less?”

“I think so, yes.” Lexa answers. “She wants her to know there is a bookshelf in the lab with a ‘scooby do lever’?” Clarke busting up laughing does nothing for her confusion.

“Oh my god Raven is going to love that. Hang on.” Clarke disconnects her earpiece from the lasercom and calls out.

“Little Bird, Wanheda”

“Wanheda, Sandskater, collocated.”

“Put me on speaker so she can hear”

“Done, send it.”

“Becca Franko told Lexa to tell you there is a bookcase in the lab, with a Scooby Doo lever on it.”

There is static on the line, and Clarke can just imagine Raven’s reaction.

“Wanheda, Sandskater. I have no idea what you just said, but Little Bird just took off running.”

“Copy, I figured. There’s a secret room in the lab and now she knows how to get to it.”

A pause.

“OKThankyouSandskaterOut” came the rushed reply, setting Clarke off again.

“Klark, what is a scooby do” Lexa asks.

“It's a TV show started in the 1970’s I think? There was a recurring theme of levers being disguised as books to open secret passageways throughout the series. That means Raven is probably going to rip every single book off of every single bookshelf until she finds it.” Clarke tells her once she has finally stopped laughing.

“Becca couldn’t have just said that?” Usually the woman is painfully straightforward.

“Oh man, yeah she probably could have, but that was so much funnier.” Clarke laughed so hard she had to wipe tears from her eyes. “If she hadn’t specified the bookshelf part, Raven would have torn everything off the walls too.”

Lexa imagines the mechanic running around tearing down things, and yes, that is kind of funny. Seeing Clarke laugh so hard she cried was good too. Lexa can't help but smile fondly up at the still recovering girl on the bed.

“I need to send riders, I will meet with you again later Klark” Lexa rises, preparing to meet with the ambassadors once again.

“One more thing” Clarke interjects, stopping her from leaving just yet. Lexa turns back and is about to ask what it is, until Clarke pulls her in by the waist and their lips lock.

If you asked how long she stood there kissing Clarke, Lexa would have not been able to answer.

“Ok, now you can go.” There is a conspiratory smile on Clarke’s face.

Lexa shakes the dazed expression from her own face and is almost out the door before she turns back to say something about clearing her schedule for the evening. Clarke just laughs and shoos her further out the door. Duty called.

Chapter Text

Octavia and Lincoln huddle around their fire, tossing on pine boughs at regular intervals to keep up the flame color, waiting for a sign from Luna’s people. Or to get knocked out and wake up in a connex if Octavia’s memory serves. Echo had turned around halfway there after Clarke had notified that Roan was already headed back to Azgeda, but the two remaining were confident they could make it happen even with her absence. Stability in the Ice Nation was important, too.

They took two days to get there, exactly on target as they had estimated. Having spent every moment together since reuniting at TonDC after the mountain had gotten them close. Octavia was reluctant to let Lincoln out of her sight, and the man had taken to her fierce determination, falling for her just as hard as he did last time. Octavia had elaborated on her earlier explanation, in bits and pieces, or just stories at this point. Lincoln dutifully listened, hearing about hers and his own past life, reapers and rescues and alliances and their destructions and bunkers and other planets. They had plenty of time for everything else, after all.

Luna’s people made contact with them just after dusk. Having recognized Lincoln, they approached from the beach and greeted him warmly. Octavia greeting them in Trigedasleng, clad in Trikru garb, and traveling with Lincoln led them to believe her as another refugee. 

The boat ride was uncomfortable, Octavia had to hang over the railing and throw up into the ocean, Lincoln holding her windswept hair away from her face. Out of everything that could have taken her down a peg, seasickness was not something she had guessed.

Luna greeted them upon arrival. How she knew Lincoln was coming, Octavia was apt to find out. They must have tech here of some sort. Raven would want to know about it.

“Lincoln, who have you brought here? I have not known you to take kindly to many souls” Luna said, shaking forearms with the man and eyeing Octavia.

Octavia schooled her face into a kind of relieved surprise, accurate for someone having reached their salvation from endless fighting. Inside, turmoil raged. Their last meeting had ended when Octavia had driven her sword through the other woman’s chest. Hence, turmoil. But it would be different this time. 

“Luna, this is ai houmon Octavia. Oso keryon ste mash op, it’s a long story. Is there somewhere we can speak, in private?” Lincoln explains, arm protectively around the girl in question. Luna nods, and gestures across the platform before leading the way.

The room Luna has led them to is deep in the heart of the platform, down two flights of stairs and surrounded by common areas. It almost looks like an office, Octavia notes. Steel shelves lined with assorted trinkets, a large desk filled with papers and the occasional book, and a couple of chairs, nothing more. 

As soon as the door closes, Octavia rucks up her sleeve and uses her thankfully not confiscated dagger to slice shallowly on her own palm. She shows the evidence of her nightblood to Luna.

After a lengthy stare, Luna growls out “Sit and explain.” She herself slumps into the chair behind the desk and motions for them to take up residence on the other side.

Raven had told her to say only what she or Octavia could prove. A smart decision really, Luna was more receptive to evidence than stories last time.

“I was made into a nightblood on the Ark about 10 weeks ago, so I could be implanted with a mind drive, similar to the flame.” She shows Luna her scar from the mind drive. “I am one of the Skykru that Heda Lexa warned all the clans about. I know this is a lot, but we really need you to believe us, and to help us.”

“So you are the Skykru commander?” Luna asks, head tilted in consideration.

“Not quite. There are a few of us like me. We are trying to prevent the world from ending. Again. In -” Octavia tries to remember “- about 170 days there will be a wave of radiation that destroys all life on Earth. Before then all of your people will get sick from radiation soaked fish and die. Unless we can stop it or lessen it and hide underground until it’s safe again.”

Luna takes a swig from some bottle she pulled from under the desk before responding. “This is quite the claim. Do you have proof?”

“We do. At a lab North of here is all the proof you could ever need.” Octavia confirms, knowing Luna is invested now. “To stop it, we need a boat that can cross the Ocean.”

“Go on” Luna demands, hands clasped on the desk.

“The radiation wave will be caused by old world tek breaking because they are too old. If we shut them down before they break, we can stop or lessen the wave. But some of them are on the other side of the world.”

“So a boat, to get to the other side of the world.” Luna seems to understand their need, even if she is still doubtful of what Octavia is saying. “Very well. I will have a boat ready at dawn to take us to this Lab. If there is proof of your claim, you will have your boat.”

Octavia and Lincoln share a sigh of relief. 

“Tell me. Everything.” Luna demands, much to their confusion. At their questioning looks, she elaborates, “I can tell. You know more than you say, Oktavia kom Skykru. We will leave here no earlier than the morning. We have time.”

Octavia can’t help but cringe. She knew Luna was perceptive, but didn’t know what all she should say. 

“One second. Let me check with my, uh, well, she can explain better than I can.” When in doubt, bet on Raven Reyes. Octavia pulls out her lasercom and switches it on. It was still without an earpiece since she gave it to Clarke and the replacement was waiting at the lab.

“Little Bird or Co, Roman.”

“Roman, Cockroach. You all right? How’s it going with Luna?”

At Murphy’s response, Luna eyes the communicator suspiciously, especially at hearing her own name. Ok so they probably didn’t have radios on the rig.

“Cockroach, I’m in her office now. We’ll be headed there in the morning, but she wants to know, more.”

“Alright, let me get Rae.”

There’s a pause, as to be expected. Octavia looks up from her communicator at Luna, who is almost glaring at her now. You know, they probably should have expected this too.

“Roman, Little Bird. Heard you have a curious cat with you. Shoot.”

“Little Bird, she wants to know more. What are my limits?”

“No time. No OTHER locations. Basically no bridge. Anything prior to Damocles is pretty much fair game, within reason.”

“That doesn’t really narrow it down. There was a lot prior-to. But I’ll do my best.”

“Good luck. Anything else?”

“ETA tomorrow or the next day. That’s all.”

“Copy, I have a museum to finish exploring. Little Bird out.”

“Rogue out.” Octavia turns the communicator back off, just in case somebody else has transmissions that shouldn’t be overheard. 

“Well, seems like I’m all yours. What do you want to know?” Octavia asks, hoping Luna will give her something to work with instead of shooting from the hip.

“Obviously all the things you can't talk about. But, we can start with your nightblood. How?”

Lincoln looks between the two women. He has no idea if he needs to step in. A headshake from Octavia had him relaxing back into his chair as the back and forth began in earnest.

“We made a serum. The first commander was actually a scientist that was in space when the rockets hit and that was one of her projects.” Octavia leaves the statement open to interpretation. She had to be careful not to put her foot in her own mouth, and let something slip that would lead to more difficult questions. Of course, Luna asks a follow up question she hadn’t been expecting.

“So Skykru can turn people into nightbloods?”

“Ahh, not any more. There was only enough for some of us.” Why couldn’t she have asked a normal question about Becca or something?

“How many.”

Octavia has to count. Herself, Raven, Murphy, Clarke, Jackson, Miller. Everyone else were originally grounders. “Six Skykru.”

Lincoln says her name warningly, but it’s too late.

“So there are others, not Skykru, that are now nightbloods?”

“Oh keryon” Octavia mutters, to which Lincoln says her name again, a bit more intently. That was a grounder phrase. It gets a look from Luna, but she seems intent to wait for Octavia’s answer to her previous question before asking another. “A few yeah.”

“Why?”

“So. They. Know. What’s going on.” She answers slowly. Surely this would intrigue Luna and lead to a more manageable line of questioning.

“And your mannerisms. They hail from multiple clans.” Of course she would change the subject.

“Yeah, the Ark had a bunch of different countries that originally had their own space stations which all merged to one for longevity's sake. We’ve got a mix of different cultures up there.” Surely that was a safe enough statement. Wrong.

“And yet you speak of matters of the ground. Skykru was due to land one month ago, not ten weeks.” Oh crap the timeline didn’t add up. That’s what she gets for specifying.

“We’ve. Been busy. Down here. Um-”

“I am asking difficult questions.” Luna interrupts. “About things you are not allowed to say?”

“Yeah” Octavia says curtly, rubbing her forehead before continuing. “I can tell you about Priamfaya, or the Mountain, or how we got to the ground?”

“Yes. The Mountain. Skykru slayed all of them, a feat that could not be accomplished for generations. How did that happen?” Luna has a sly smile, seeming content to hear about suggested things for now.

“That one’s easy. We broke in through the mines, and used the life support system to kill them all. Reversed the air flow, since they couldn’t breathe the outside air, and the radiation killed them for us.”

“So there is radiation in the air already?”

“Luna” This time Lincoln addresses the other woman. “We should be done for the night. It has been a long day for us.”

“I’d have to agree. Plus, any more about this and we’re veering into Raven’s territory.” Octavia has the capacity to talk about radiation, but only at the surface level. Luna would undoubtedly have follow up questions that she couldn’t answer without the mechanic on standby.

“I will show you to your room. Then ensure the boat will be ready in the morning.” Luna agrees, thankfully.

Lincoln and Octavia retire for the evening. Lincoln asks her about why they wouldn’t tell Luna everything, like how she had told him. She had to admit, it was reasonable for her to get told about everything, but like with him and Anya and Kane, the time would have to be right for all to be revealed. And that time was absolutely not her choice to make. 

The morning came, and the two were retrieved before dawn. As promised, Luna had a ship ready. As far as Octavia could tell, it would work for Murphy and Emori’s purpose. Large enough for two dirtbikes plus supplies, not too big for two people to man. 

And it was fast. They made the journey from the rig to Becca’s lab within the daylight hours, even while skirting the coastline. 

Thanks to a quick radio call from Octavia, the gang at the lab was all at the dock waiting to receive them. 

Luna is the only one from Flokru that comes to shore. At her own behest, the folks that came with them remained on the boat. She knew that their presence would keep her from getting the answers and proof she wanted.

“You must be Raven.” Luna addresses the mechanic. Emori’s tattoos gave her away as not Skykru, and Murphy was Murphy.

“Spot on. I forgot how clever you are.” Raven lets it slip, bold as brass. At a raised eyebrow from both Octavia and Lincoln, she explains herself. “Talked with Clarke and the others, we’re good.”

“Yeah that’s all you Rae, I had to tap out when she started asking me about radiation and who all got the serum” Octavia says, relieved to pass off the duty of answering questions.

“An inquisitive mind after my own heart. Well come on, lots to see.” Raven leads the way, waving Luna on after her. Emori follows close behind, leaving Murphy to chat with Octavia and Lincoln.

“How bad was it?” Murphy asks once the other girls are out of sight.

“Well, I showed her my nightblood, which she seemed to take well. Then she kept asking questions I absolutely could not answer. And you guys explicitly saying things I Couldn’t talk about just got those wheels turning in freaking super speed. I’d be surprised if she didn’t already have an idea of the truth.” Octavia practically rants to him. He nods along, having assumed their conversation immediately went off the deep end. 

“Sorry Octavia. It had to be you two” is all the sympathy she gets from him.

“I know. And you two are going across the ocean, so who knows what’ll happen with that. A very sensitive conversation isn’t all bad, I guess.” She returns. Truthfully, she was going to be leading the charge to Etheria so her situation wasn’t going to be that different. They saw Etheria briefly before they jumped in time, just enough to scope it out. All Team 2 had was hundred year old maps and satellite imagery.

“Yeah about that. Raven ran more tests, and it looks like the wave is starting earlier than we thought. It could start around day 160, maybe earlier. Our clock is ticking.” 

“160? I mean that’s not much sooner” she remarks.

“It’s like 20 less days than we had before, to ride all around multiple continents, decommission between nine and eleven reactors, and find some place to hide out just in case.” Murphy laughs shortly. “You know, what’s another impossible task?”

---

Answering all of Luna’s questions proved to be yet another impossible task. Raven did her best, then Emori took a turn, then Raven again. They wouldn’t be hard pressed to have her stay here and ask Raven about the alternate timeline until the time that the wave came.

As far as proof of the wave, they showed Luna the simulations, the satellite imagery, and the drone footage of the currently burning reactors. She agreed to give them the boat, as long as they could drop her and her kru members that had come with them off at another Flokru settlement along the coast. They’d still need a ship to ferry people back and forth from the rig, but should be able to get one seaworthy at any settlement.

Chapter Text

Echo knew one thing for certain and two things for sure. If someone causes problems, and you kill them, the problem goes away. If you create a vacant niche, something will fill it. Gut instincts are to be listened to, but not trusted blindly.

Nia had caused all three of these concepts to exist at once. 

Killing her had solved the problem of her trying to vie for power or attacking Skykru. Her niche was being filled by Roan, albeit with some loyalists that had since scattered. They needed to find Ontari.

The hidden nightblood wasn’t a big problem, since like past-Echo, she was a secret weapon and likely wouldn’t act of her own volition. Key word, likely. Echo had already altered the master plan more than necessary with her actions in the mountain, and fixing loose ends was on her.

Not being able to go all the way to Luna’s rig was an unfortunate side effect of promising her support to Roan, but it truly was a want and not a need. She needed to make sure he stayed in power. When Clarke had called to let her know that he was moving out to Azgeda early, she had bid her farewells to Octavia and Lincoln, and immediately turned herself and her followers around to catch up with him. Although, from the lasercom traffic she had overheard, it seemed to go well.

Once across the Trikru/Azgeda border, all three had donned the traditional paint - in her case - or white accented masks of Azgeda warriors. Catching up with the royal procession hadn’t been difficult. They moved slowly, not having the weight of the world on them affording time to travel at a reasonable pace. Echo and crew had not been afforded the same luxury, and rode hard well into the night to cover much needed ground.

“Hod op! Chon yu belaik?” Came the call upon their approach to the procession. It seems the entire Azgeda contingent besides the ambassador had come with King Roan. The ambassador that was soon to be replaced Echo thought to herself.

“Ai laik Echo kom Azgeda, emo laik Ayrat en Trey, ai gonas” Echo responds resolutely. She knows her two former-reaper’s clan affiliations, but that was their past and they had left it behind purposefully. They were her warriors, and none would question that.

“Let them pass.” Roan ordered his guard force, and she weaved between horses to meet him at the front of the procession. Her two had stayed at the rear, content to follow behind while close enough to hear her orders.

They had been extremely helpful in locating Roan, well trained warriors capable enough to be sent out on their own to report back at dawn and dusk on their mission. Otherwise they hadn't left her orbit, making camp on the outskirts of towns and Polis if she deigned to enter, staying ready for her next order as required. They really were good warriors, it was a shame they had been so violated by the mountain. She was better for having them at her side.

“Haihefa, I came as soon as I heard” Echo began, showing proper reverence to her king. He knew better than to take it at face value. “Why the early departure?”

“I thought it best to get an early start. With Heda and Wanheda moving a force already, the people need to see their king and be brought together.” Roan explains with uninterested ease. He doesn’t seem happy that there are things in motion that involve his people, but doesn’t have a say in it.

“Understood. Any word on our little problem?” Echo asks, referring to Ontari. The other loose ends would be soon dealt with, but this one eluded her detection.

“Not yet. I’m sure the court will know whereabouts, or past whereabouts at least. Oh” Roan reaches into his saddlebags and retrieves a book-sized wrapped parcel. “This is for you, courtesy of Wanheda.”

Something for her, from Clarke? She had just seen the sky girl, so this must be something developed in the last couple of days. “Mochof” she says, falling back to her warriors to examine the item further.

Two sketches of the rogue nightblood, a note, and a watch? No, a tracker with a device that showed where the tracker was in relation to it. The note read ‘Roan was antsy to take off, so I figured you wouldn’t be able to come back here before meeting up with him. Sketches are for your dudes, tracker for when you find her. Better safe than sorry’. She burned it after reading. One sketch was given to each of her warriors, since she had seen her quarry before she didn’t need one. She had to admit, Clarke was a talented artist. The sketches conveyed the nightblood’s likeness very well.

“Memorize her, then burn them” Echo instructed her warriors. The rest of the journey to the Azgeda winter capitol passed quickly.

Echo and her two broke off before entering the city, much to the rest of the guard’s displeasure. Obviously they weren't used to working closely with spies or unknown forces beyond their control. The former reapers would look in the outskirts and beyond, while Echo dealt with everything within city walls. She knew where to find them if things were going south.

Roan’s reception was a lavish affair. Not only had the man been un-banished, he also heralded a new age for Azgeda, and the people knew it. They greeted his traveling party in the streets, and Echo was glad to have broken off early. She wanted no part of that. A public appearance and a spy do not mix. She was glad Roan got the recognition he was well due. Last time they had all been a little busy for a real reception and feast, what with the City of Light and Allie and all.

Instead, Echo took the time to scope out the living quarters of all the secrets Nia had kept during her rule. Ontari’s former quarters looked like she had left in a hurry. Drawers left partially open, hooks in the wall left suspiciously empty, and something carved into a post. ‘Ai teikon fousen kwinsleya’. That did not bode well. 

“Wanheda, Rogue.”

“Rogue, Flamekeeper at HQ”

“Close enough. The secret weapon isn't here, and she carved ‘I’ll take on the real queen slayer’ into a post in her room. How copy.”

“Good copy. Any idea who she is referring to?”

“Negative, but could be anyone you can think of. I’ll update you if I find anything more.”

“Probably not the stallion. I’ll let Wanheda know.”

“Thank you. Also let her know I still don’t like that code name for him. Rogue out.”

She really didn’t like Roan’s code name being stallion, but hadn’t been able to think of anything better and unfortunately it had stuck. Gaia was right when she said it probably wasn't referring to Roan. Him getting the credit had been pretty high profile, and saying the real queenslayer negated that. That left Echo herself, Clarke, or Lexa. It was carefully guarded knowledge that Nia had Wanheda captured, and saw her the morning she was killed. It was slightly less guarded that Echo had been there as well. And of course, the idea that Lexa orchestrated the whole thing put her in Ontari’s sights. Or maybe Ontari was in fact referring to Roan.

Either which way, the nightblood was not here. Echo had faith that if she was still lingering around Azgeda, her former reapers would find the girl. That, or she would come find Echo. Clarke had enough people in Polis to find her if she had ventured that far.

That left her to deal with the dissenters and Nia loyalists. Easy. Espionage was what she had been trained to do from a very young age. Keeping Roan safe and in power from the sidelines would be a walk in the park.

---

Back at Arkadia, Jackson approached Marcus Kane. As acting ground-council head or whatever his title was as stand in chancellor, Kane had his hands full. 

Raven had called a few days earlier about some trucks at Mount Weather, and sent a couple of his best engineers with David Miller’s son to get them up and running. He was thankful to have a vehicle, but they needed all the mechanically minded people at the camp for winter prep. 

Grounder relations had been going well, Indra was very forthcoming especially after their conversation back at Polis. For some reason, she had their best interests at heart. While the grounders didn’t know anything about Ark technology, there was a near endless labor-pool at their beckoned call. From what he had gathered, Indra had pre-existing knowledge of who he was and his driving factors. That unnerved him at first, but she had grown on him.

And then there were the delinquents. Well, former delinquents, as they had indeed all been pardoned. They had followed David Miller’s son without question, even after they had been reunited with their parents. Most of them had taken to training with the guard on hand to hand combat, but only a few had shown interest in firearms. Out of the original 100, only 66 of them had come to Arkadia. 

Having some of the people he was responsible for being out of his direct reach felt, weird. The dropship had their radio, and TonDC had one too, but if anything happened it was a day's walk to either location. Going from everyone being on one giant spaceship to spread out over the ground was definitely new to him.

From Kane’s conversation, he assumed that Raven was one of those that Clarke had mentioned. Same with Jackson, since he was working with Raven on the Ark for their secret project. Murphy, Bellamy, and Octavia were possible candidates as well. Bellamy wasn’t one, apparently, which struck him as odd since he had been involved in the project, too. He figured Bellamy and himself must be in the same situation, trusted individuals that were being used by the returners. 

Jackson and Indra were the odd ones out. As the only adults that were returners, they stood out to him. One of the Ark doctors and a grounder chief were vastly different from a bunch of delinquent kids, so where was the link? How had they survived but he hadn’t? It didn’t make any sense. He would have to ask Jackson whenever they both had a free moment.

Luckily for him, that moment came sooner than he expected.

“Doctor Jackson, might I have a word with you? In private” Kane said, not in a requesting tone of voice mind you. He had just finished with the plans for the new mess hall, and crossed paths with the doctor outside of Medical. 

“Sure thing, just finished my shift.” Jackson knew this was coming. He hadn’t exactly been discreet with his dealings up on the Ark, and now that Kane was putting puzzle pieces together it was only a matter of time before he got found out. He looked around at the camp, still being put together. The dropships are encircled by an electric fence, a couple of buildings are currently being built or in use, but there was nowhere enclosed enough for a private conversation without disturbing the work of others.

Kane seemed to sense his thought process and gestured to the gate. 

“Care to take a walk?” he suggested.

“That works, let me just grab my jacket” Jackson agreed. Anywhere away from prying ears that wouldn’t know what they were talking about worked for him. A quick trip to one of the dropships and the two were out the gate.

Kane began once they were out of earshot of the nearest guard post, but still within sight.

“So, I have some questions, now that I’ve had time to think through what Clarke and Indra told me.”

“I figured as much. I don’t know what all they told you, other than doing what we say will save lives of course.” Jackson tried to joke, but Kane was already lost in thought.

“You are one of them, correct?”

“Correct. And Nate” he supplied. Kane looked up with furrowed brows, but it seemed to click in his head. He nodded and continued.

“Who else?” Kane asked.

“Did - did they not tell you about all of us? Oh well I’m sure you’ve figured out Raven by now. And Clarke, Indra, Murphy, Octavia. The usual suspects.” He pauses. Maybe Clarke didn’t want him to know about everybody else? That didn’t make any sense, the rest were grounders. Kane probably didn’t even know them yet. “Um, and then a couple more grounders, but I don’t think you all have met. Oh you know Niylah.”

“Hmm” was all Kane said, still thinking about his list of potential candidates. “Well who else knows? I thought for sure there would be more of you.”

“Yeah it got pretty chaotic after, well, all of it was chaotic. Lincoln knows, Octavia’s uh, boyfriend. And Anya suspects. She’s one of Lexa’s generals. Lexa was the first, and I think the folks at the Lab are telling Luna. That might be it.” Jackson didn’t tell anyone else, and nothing new had come through lasercom since Luna.

Kane looks at him incredulously. “Lexa. Commander Lexa? And who is Luna? And what is this Lab? Clarke said fourteen people at the end of the world?” He was just spitballing questions at this point, but Jackson had time.

“Ok, let's start at the beginning. Yes, there were 14 of us at the end, 11 now. Three of them don’t exist yet, and won't get their memories back once they do. Surely they told you about the time travel part?” Kane nods slowly. “Yeah, so the 11 of us got to keep our memories. Kind of. Irrelevant. We gave Lexa a heads-up, then once her and Clarke met again, she was told pretty much everything. Luna is the Clan Chief of Flokru, I think. She’s getting us a boat so Murphy and Emori can shut down reactors on other continents. Did they get to that part?” 

Kane obviously did not get that part, judging by his wide-eyed stare. “No. I know they needed a truck but not a boat.”

“Ok yeah a bunch of the reactors are in Europe and Asia so they are getting a boat. Might already have one, I’ll have to check. Mmm there’s a lot to unpack there. Oh, the lab is Becca Franco’s former lab/bunker/house off the coast of New York. Big computer in a bunker, with some other stuff too.” Jackson thinks that about covers that set of questions. He gives Kane a minute to mull over this new information.

“So, they are going to cross the Atlantic, and shut down reactors.”

“Yeah.”

“Alright, suspending disbelief that, what, a thief a mechanic and a grounder I presume, can get across the ocean. Then shut down all the reactors over there before they melt down. Then get back.” Kane stops. That was a lot of disbelief to suspend.

“Not quite. Just Murphy and Emori are going. I think Raven is going to stay at the lab.” Jackson offers, not helping Kane rationalize any of this.

“So.” Kane doesn’t even know where to start. “Raven is staying there? Can some of our people go to this bunker?”

“Ahh, no. It’s not safe from the wave of radiation. Well it might be if they succeed, but better safe than sorry.”

“Well where is she going? We need all the mechanics we can get.” 

“I see they didn’t tell you about our blood either. Really left all the answering to me huh.”

Kane throws his arms up, fresh out of words that convey the ‘wtf’ going through his head.

Jackson sighs, and begins the lengthy explanation of nightblood and mind drives. He doesn’t mention the Flame, since Kane wouldn’t need to know about that. The man stands and listens, but until Jackson pricks his finger to show him, it seems to go in one ear and out the other.

“Was this a benefit of living to the end of the world?” Kane asks. Here is where Jackson realizes his mistake. Linking radiation resistance to nightblood would lead to even more questions and requests that he couldn’t reasonably answer. 

“No, this was a lab made serum. We don’t have any more and we don't have the recipe.” That was only partially a lie. If they watched back one of the mind drives or pulled it up on the lab computer they would have it, but they didn’t currently have the means to make any. Besides the rocket that was only to be used in an emergency. 

“That would have been, ideal” Kane comments. Thankfully he sees fit to drop it as the first vehicle he had seen on the ground rolls into the former airport clearing. “Oh wow, they did it.”

“Yeah they did, looks like the transport truck and a Rover are up. Good, now we can really get this show on the road.” And Nate would be back with him, at least for now. Finding people to travel cross country to decommission failing nuclear reactors would not be an easy job. If he had to, Jackson and Miller would be the ones to go. That was last resort though.

“I’m sure the folks from Mecha are fighting over who gets to go, and Raven should be told we’re up so you all can get on with your time traveling master plan” Kane jokes, finally relaxing enough to see the hilarity of putting his life in the hands of 11 time travelers.

Raven probably already knew, since Nate went with the group, but Jackson nods along. Having the blessing from Kane would make his life easier, and Raven’s too. One less hoop to jump through for approval in their plans.

“Last question, for now, if you don’t mind” Kane says, turning to him.

“Shoot.”

“How did I die?” Jackson should have seen that one coming. “And Callie” Kane adds.

“She died on the Ark, before we came down. I think she was floated for helping Abby and Raven.” It was a long time ago, but he remembered Callie and Abby had been close friends. “You were stabbed by one of the Elegius IV prisoners. They came after the wave, and tried to take over the last habitable place on the planet. You were trying to make peace with them, and I think you were protecting Abby from one of them when it happened.” No point in telling him about his mind drive experience, hopefully they wouldn’t see Sanctum again.

“I see. Callie was gone, and Abby and I were close?” A pensive look crosses Kane’s face.

“Yea, very. It was a whole different situation then. A whole different world.”

“No kidding. Hold on, Clarke is alone in Polis right now? Out of you all, not counting our ambassador and his guards.” Kane had made sure the ambassador had two of the Ark guards with him, but he was still putting together the pieces of where the returners were and who they all were.

“She’s with Lexa, she’s fine. And Gaia is there. One of our grounder counterparts. Oh and Niylah should be going there soon. And Echo, no she’s with Roan. I guess they probably told him too.” Jackson is rambling now, Kane doesn’t need to know any of this. At least not yet.

“King Roan?” Kane asks, to a shrug from Jackson. “Alright, I said that was my last question like three questions ago. I’ll hold the rest of them until next time. We have some trucks to receive.”

“Lead the way, Vice-Chancellor?” Jackson responds questioningly.

“You know, that might be the best title I’ve heard yet. We’ll see what the Chancellor in the sky thinks of it” Kane laughs, and Jackson joins in as the two make their way back to Arkadia.

Chapter Text

On the morning of Day 35 on the ground, Octavia and Lincoln departed Becca’s lab for their return trip to TonDC. It was not lost on any of them that at this point last time the 100 were down to like 53, and most of them were locked up in Mount Weather. Even with all the wrenches thrown into their plan, they were doing better.

The news of the Rover and one of the transport trucks being up and running had been good news yesterday, setting up the North and South America team for success. The sooner they got on the road, the safer they would be. That, and the more time they would have if anything went wrong.

That sentiment wasn’t quite true of Team 2, as Murphy and Emori knew lots would go wrong on their journey. They had overpacked. Replacement parts for everything, if they could find them. Food enough for two trips there, in case the trip there was eventful. Murphy’s pistol from the Mountain, and the one from the bunker, and all of the ammunition they could scrounge up, plus a couple of swords and bows were their arsenal. An entire crate of survival equipment, not limited to water purification, fire starters, tarps, fishing gear, the works. A whole stack of books that Emori had insisted upon. A pair of gas masks that were laying around in the lighthouse bunker, that they hopefully wouldn’t need. Enough coms equipment to stock a bunker, more than they could ever need. 

The boat was stocked for the apocalypse. They were ready. 

Raven had insisted they take an old film camera Becca had stashed in her museum. ‘To take pictures of the wonders of the world, in case they aren’t there next time we cross the ocean’ she had said much to the rolled eyes of Murphy and Emori.

Luna was staying at the Lab with Raven for a while. She had a lot more questions to ask the mechanic, and she had no issue letting her two escorts go back without her. 

“Flokru will not fall apart without me. That is not our style” she said confidently. 

The matter was settled when Raven agreed. They hadn’t ironed out where she would be going during the wave, but staying put was the most likely option at this point. Having someone else with her until one of Beachkru could make their way to join her was a lot better than being there alone. None of them had truly been alone in a while, besides Clarke and Echo (kind of) pre-drop day.

The two cross continental bound Beachkru members and the two Flokru escorts were loaded up, and set off. One pit stop at an old shipyard to drop off the Flokru folks, and Team 2 was on their way across the ocean.

Raven and Luna saw them off from the dock. Standing at the edge and waving felt like enough to the mechanic. Her friends were more than capable, and certainly determined. With her and Luna's growing friendship, if anything happened she knew they had options available to keep on track. 

The former novitiate waved to her people, if only to say ‘safe travels’. With all of the information she had learned in the past few days, anything more than that felt like a lie. She didn't know if she would see them again, there was just too much residing on the backs of people she didn't know. 

Starting with the girl next to her. Raven walked with a psychosomatic limp whenever she was lost in thought, and the brief sparring she had seen between her and Emori had left her subtly impressed. 

She knew the reason behind the latter. Raven had spent a lot of time with the other girl. Training in space she had said. Years of practice in another space and time. The former was much the same. Raven must have gotten injured in her past life, and having to work with it for so long left a mental impression on the girl.

Luna wondered if any of the Commanders had similar issues, due to the similarities in the nature of the flame and the mind drives as Raven explained them. 

“You walk with a limp when your head is in the fog.” She said to Raven, meaning to elaborate before being thoroughly glared at by the mechanic.

“I know.” Raven shot back at her defensively, intending for the conversation to end there.

“You were injured, but last time. Is this kind of thing specific to the mind drives?” Luna elaborate carefully.

“I don't think so” the mechanic huffs, giving in to Luna's curiosity. “I think it's a me thing. I was the only one of us that got permanently physically injured last time.”

“Despite your quick wit, you speak carefully, Raven” Luna leads on. “What happened?”

“I got shot. Bullet got lodged in my spine and I couldn't feel anything below my knee. Technically that was over a hundred years ago, but about 8 real years. I've only had working legs for like a month and a half now.” There is no venom in her response, only cold facts. 

“You fight like nothing I have ever seen.”

“I had quite a few different teachers, even with my leg. Gotta be quick or else you die.” 

The two continue in relative silence until they near the lab. Luna breaks the silence once again.

“I would like to hear more about your teachers.”

“Well, on the ring, I had an Azgeda spy, a partially trained Ark guard, and Emori. Then later, after everything, a Trikru chieftain, three former disciples, one of which spent a lot of time with a former Navy Seal, a Trikru/Azgeda trader, and the mighty Wanheda. We trained for just about everything.” Raven explains briefly, knowing the amount of follow on questions will be immense. 

“A seal? The water dweller?” Luna asks, taken aback.

“No, she was in the military before the bombs fell. She and her people will get here in about 6 years.” 

“I have heard about this Wanheda. She is, curious indeed.”

“Yeah Clarke is a pretty complex person. Almost as complex as me.” Raven jokes, but ultimately knows Clarke's story would take up double the pages of hers if put to words. “She can be boiled down to one principle: her people come first. Always.”

Luna knows Raven is firm in her conviction there, but there's more to it. “That is a good principle for a leader to have. Yet you show animosity.”

“Hard not to. I've been on both sides of it. I've worked for and against it. But truthfully, that's always been what drives her. Even at her own expense.”

“She has lost people. People that were hers.”

“At some point she lost all of her people.” Raven thinks back, then continues. “Four times. We are all she had at the end.”

“I can not imagine. I would like to meet this Clarke.”

“Oh I'm sure she and Lexa will make a trip out here at some point.” Raven lets it slip before her brain can properly filter what she said. Too late, Luna caught it.

“Lexa.”

“Fuck. OK yeah, Heda Lexa. The commander.” Raven tries to backtrack. She knows Lexa and Luna have a difficult past, bits and pieces of it gleaned from Clarke over the years.

Luna chuckles softly at her scrabbling to cover her flippant words. “Worry not Raven, all will be well between us. What I meant was Clarke and Lexa?”

“Ahh. Yeah, I can neither confirm or deny. All. That.” She gestures widely with her hands, not wanting to spill the beans on that front. For all she knows, that would just put Clarke in the crosshairs yet again.  Not likely, but still.

“As the water wills it. Each may be a riptide or rapids or still pond, but together they are-” 

“Your perceptive abilities know no bounds huh. Together they are an ocean current, how about that?” Raven supplies. She knows the analogies Luna speaks of, and a relentless force such as an ocean current seems fitting for the two leaders.

“A current. Good.” Luna is satisfied with Raven's answer. It tells her everything the girl's previous response did not.

“Now. I have some senior mechanics and engineers to yell at if you'd like to join me. Or explore, just don't touch anything that looks like it would beep.”

Luna gives Raven a flicker of a smile before wandering into the lab, letting the mechanic return to the mansion where the radio is alone.

---

“Recon force, who do you want to give me?” Clarke asks Lexa in the privacy of the Commander’s quarters. After Clarke had returned from Azgeda it had truly become theirs, neither bothering to keep up appearances of being separate. The metaphorical cat was way out of the bag. If Nia had found out, then so had all of the other Clan heads. Clarke was hers.

“I know I can not change your mind, Klark. I do wish you could send someone else in your place.” Lexa didn't want Clarke out of her sight. Unfortunately, Gaia was the only other Beachkru in Polis at the time, and her duties could not be shirked. 

“I know. Next time others can go. This is a short trip, couple hours max. I promise.” Clarke tries to assuage Lexa's fears, but knows how she feels. She selfishly wishes Lexa could come too, but the Commander could not simply drop everything and go explore a new planet.

“You will have your suit?” Lexa asks, referring to the disciple suit she had worn at Mount Weather. Clarke nods in confirmation. She would be the only one in a suit, if only to get an edge over potential disciple incursions during their visit. “Good. I would recommend taking Anya, and a few of her trusted warriors. And a few of my own guard.”

“OK. I'm not taking both Gustus and Anya though.  Probably just Anya. And we'll have to break the news to her before we go.” Clarke was not looking forward to that conversation. 

“I will have her sent for.” Lexa rises from the loveseat her and Clarke had been curled up on, pressing a kiss to the blonde’s head before making for the door. Right before leaving the room, she calls over her shoulder “When would you be leaving for Etheira?”

“As soon as possible. Today if that’s reasonable.”

“Today should be fine. The next trip is the big one, yes?”

“Yeah, that one will take more prep time for sure.” 

Clarke hears Lexa instruct her door guard to gather five warriors for a quick recon mission. She walks down the hall to find Anya herself. Clarke takes the time to put away the drawing of Lexa she had been working on and to slip in the earpiece for her lasercom. They had planned on a big check in this evening, with her mission and Team 2 departing. The vehicles were ready, but from what she had heard earlier, it seemed like they needed to decide who would take them over the American continents. A bunch of people had volunteered, eager to see more of the Earth and do their part in keeping it green for the foreseeable future.

Lexa didn’t take long to return with Anya, the woman looking a little more stormy eyed than usual. A head tilt from Clarke was returned with a slight shrug from her niron. 

“What is this about?” Anya began once the doors were closed again. She stood in the middle of the room standoffish while Lexa rejoined Clarke on the couch.

“I need you to accompany Clarke on a mission, along with some of your warriors. A small force, maybe four or five should suffice. I am also sending five of my own guards on this mission.” Lexa starts to explain. Anya’s frown only deepens.

“So soon after returning, you are throw her out again? What is this mission?” She blusters. Clarke almost thinks Anya is coming to her defense in the matter.

“She’s not throwing me out, Anya. In fact, she doesn’t want me to go at all, hence all the guards accompanying me.” Clarke tries to calm the older woman, letting her hand subconsciously rest on Lexa’s thigh. Anya’s eyes zero in on the motion but Clarke leaves her hand there.

“Heda, chopro, sef chit ena plei au kom hir? Dis skaigada ste- em ste lan yu op laik un branwoda.” Anya speaks fast, looking directly at Lexa as she does so, head tilted down in a show of respect even if her words do not match the sentiment.

“Woah. I am not using her” Clarke quickly defends. Lexa rests her hand on Clarke’s and squeezes. “And there is nothing going on here that we won't explain. Please, beja, sit.” She gestures to one of the other chairs nearby. 

The stunned look on Anya’s face passes quickly. She does sit, albeit guardedly.

“Talk. Yu ste chichplei raun things you shouldn’t know of, Clarke kom Skykru. You and Raven both have given me the slip at every turn. Everything about you is suspicious and I want answers.” Her body is stiff, arms still crossed in front of her and eyes trained on the sky girl.

“I know Trig. I know how to fight. I know Lexa, mind body soul and flame. I love her more than anything. I have nightblood. I know what is going to happen here on Earth for the next six years unless we do something about it. I have people already doing things about it. What are your questions.” Clarke shoots information at Anya in giant speedballs. “And Raven is the same, except for the Lexa part. She’s one of the ones working on saving the world right now.”

Anya stares.

“She speaks the truth, fos. Proven to me again and again. Klark has earned my trust, and more.” Lexa adds for good measure. She and Clarke look briefly at each other, love and support reflecting in their eyes.

“How.” Their gazes shift to Anya, now a vision of righteous indignation. Which, fair. 

“Would you believe me if I said time travel?”

“No.”

“What if I said I had a chip, like the flame, that kept my memories from the first time we went through this.”

“That is certainly more believable.” Anya says slowly, mulling over the idea. “Is that the truth?”

“Both are the truth. Only one do I have tactile evidence for. The other is supported but harder to physically prove.” Clarke admits. Almost everything she had to support the time travel claim is knowledge that can be explained by other means. “Actually, now that I think about it, I guess your vision, Operation Lexa Livestream, was us.” Clarke sees Anya mouth the operation name before she responds.

“You. Reached the Commander in her dreams? You did that?” Aghast is an appropriate description of Anya at this moment.

“The short answer is yes. And here-” Clarke draws one of her daggers, intent on showing Anya her blood. Lexa grabs her wrist before she can. 

“Open wound, new planet.” Lexa states, then turns to Anya. “Will you take my word on Klark having nightblood?”

“Sha Heda” Anya responds, slumping back in her chair. “I’m sure I will see it at some point.” This gets a quizzical look from Lexa and a laugh from Clarke.

“Yeah probably. I think I’ve done pretty good so far, only the kidnappers saw my busted lip and they are all dead now.” Clarke explains as Lexa’s gaze rounds on her again. “Although Anya, we did a lot of training to avoid being hit. Didn’t want people to freak out if they saw it accidentally.”

“I suppose that explains how you avoided all of Gustus’ strikes. And why you didn’t fight my warriors that came to retrieve you.” Anya is obviously working through all of their interactions, now armed with this new information. As if a lightbulb goes off, her head shoots up. “So in the mountain. You all knew what was going to happen?”

“Kind of. Those of us that had been there before knew what needed to happen for us to have the least amount of casualties. Since we did it differently this go-around, some things were bound to be different. That’s the down side of time travel. Once you change something, everything else down the line changes as well.”

“Hmm” is all Anya responds. She supposes that makes sense. Lots of things are making sense now. “Why tell me this now? I asked Raven similar questions and she fleeced me instead of speaking true.”

“Same concept I guess” Clarke thinks aloud. “People won't do the same things as we remember, and it took a lot to earn your trust last time. We thought it would be better to, I don’t know, prove ourselves to you first. Raven probably thought flirting her way out of difficult questions was the best way to go. Art of deception and all. Changing focus to keep information from being revealed. I did something similar with you when we first met.” 

At this admission, both grounders raise an eyebrow at her. “Ok not like that, but our rapid back and forth kept the conversation from lingering on things I didn’t want to get into.” Clarke throws her hands up for emphasis. She hadn’t really been flirting with Anya at their first meeting.

“I see. But why?” Anya moves on quickly from that left fielder.

“Because we want to do better. In-” how many days was it now? “about 160 days a wave of radiation will reach here from across the Earth and kill everything in it’s path. That’s what we are trying to stop. And that’s what this mission is for. We need to see if one of our options for survival is going to work how we need it to, and then start building it up to support all the people we can gather.”

“What is this option?” Anya asks, immediately back to business at hand.

“Below Polis is a bunker with a, um, a gate to another planet where we can hide out until the radiation dies down. We need to get eyes on the location to start planning for a prolonged living situation.” Clarke keeps to the cliff notes. Anya seems receptive to information right now, and swamping her with technical talk would only lose her again.

“So a scouting mission. Why do you need so many warriors to go?”

“To protect Klark” - “Just in case” Clarke and Lexa say at the same time. Anya just raises an eyebrow.

“You expect an attack?” she asks both of them. Anya is frankly surprised Lexa would let Clarke go if she did.

“The people who use the gates, don’t really like other people. If they detect that we used it, they might come looking. I don’t think they can, at this point at least. But I don’t want to get caught off guard. Their tech is more advanced than Skykru’s.” Clarke says truthfully. She feels Lexa stiffen beside her and starts rubbing comforting circles on her lover’s back. 

“Klark you did not tell me all of that” Lexa says. 

“I didn’t? I thought I told you about Bardo?”

“Only about the cult. Not about their tek.”

“Oh, the suit is theirs. From at least 125 years in the future, not counting the weird time dilation that happens in some places. They probably have technological capabilities that are halfway in between what Skykru has now, and what I remember them having.” Clarke is rambling, honestly not having thought about what the cult was doing right now. The more pressing matter was Priamfaya.

Lexa breaks Clarke out of her train of thought with a gentle hand to her cheek, turning her head towards the brunette. Her eyes are searching, looking for something concrete to tell her that Clarke would be safe without words. 

Clarke gives her a soft smile in return, followed by a quick kiss considering their audience. “I’ll be ok. And I’ll tell you more about them once we get back. I promise.” This would be a good test of their current capabilities. They wanted the flame, to unlock the test and start their dumb ass final war. They would not get their hands on it, or anywhere near it, so long as Clarke still drew breath. She would make sure of that.

“I will bring my best, Heda.” Anya vows, once she has stopped grinning at her former second.

Her interjection breaks the mood, and all three of them begin preparing for the mission. 

On her way out the door, once Clarke is out of earshot, Anya turns back to look at Lexa. 

“Happiness looks good on you, Heda. I approve of her.” She means it.

Chapter Text

Revenge drove her like a knife through the heart. 

Her mark deserved the death she would bequeath them. Along with the death of anyone else involved, once the first life was taken. Or maybe she would make them watch. That seemed fitting. Wanheda being forced to watch helplessly as she took the lives of those closest right in front of her. 

First she had to get to her.

She had scoped out the tower for a couple of days now, noting the comings and goings of everyone. No sign of her quarry. But there had been talk of her, so she must be hiding in the tower, protected by the commander. Coward.

She had stealth on her side.

No one here knew her, or even of her existence. She was a ghost, only seen by the marks on her face, easily covered by a shawl. She looked like any other Polis visitor, here to take in the sights. But she had one thing that would get her in the tower for sure. Her blood.

She was tired of waiting. 

Then she saw her quarry enter the flamekeeper’s temple, dressed in odd dark garb, and flanked with more guards than she could reasonably handle. Twelve of them, it looked like. The woman flamekeepa who ushered them in was unknown to her, but well known to Wanheda it seemed. This was her chance.

She followed behind, slinking in and out of the evening shadows.

They had left a guard at the inner door. She quickly scoped out the building, but found no easily detectable alternate entrance. This would get her a chance to enter the tower instead, and lie in wait.

“Stop where you are.” Came a deep male voice. She had already made it in, and up two levels before being caught. “Who are you?” the man asked, suspicious of this shawled figure.

She tossed back her disguise and faced her questioner, ready to end him.

It was the head flamekeepa, Titus. She could work with this. He was known to be old in his ways, and would respect the blood only second to the flame.

“I am Bamana. I have been kept by Queen Nia for many years, unable to join my brethren in the blood.” She makes a small cut on her palm to show him, face unchanging from the pain. “I recently escaped, and I would like to learn as the other natblida do.”

The man sputters. A secret nightblood, kept away from the coalition? Good thing the queen was dead because that could have been bad. “A hidden nightblood? Preposterous. You should have joined your fellow noviciates once Azgeda joined the coalition, if not sooner. Please, follow me.”

This man was a fool. He trusted her venomous words at face value and would lead her right to the best possible hiding spot. In plain sight. 

She followed him, docile and quiet, while inside scheming and planning. This had been a stroke of luck, rather than the unfortunate capture she had assumed once confronted. Already being inside the tower would allow her to wait out Wanheda’s return from the temple in peace. Once night fell, she would strike. Perhaps she would even get away unseen and unscathed.

---

“May we meet again, Clarke.” Gaia said to the blonde woman, after ushering her and her entourage into the second dawn bunker. She would return in exactly three hours time to open the gate and allow the party to return. The code was in her pocket, on a slip of paper she would guard with her life. 

“We will. I promised Lexa I would return unharmed and so I shall.” Clarke responds firmly, shaking forearms with the shorter woman. Her holding the code was the least advantageous solution to their short trip, but the HUD glasses remained with Octavia, and the other suits were with Murphy and Raven. Hopefully with Becca’s lab at her fingertips, she could make more of the glasses, or something similar. That would be really handy.

“Wanheda, Etherea awaits” Anya castigates, snapping her out of the train of thought. 

They descend deeper into the bunker, and Gaia closes the blast doors behind them. They will not be disturbed during this process. She starts the timer on her watch, and returns to her duties. Three hours to go.

---

She hated the other nightbloods as soon as she laid eyes on them. They were significantly younger than her. Most had probably not yet taken their first life. They would be easy to slay. 

Unfortunately for her, they were all under constant watch. Either the commander’s guard, or the Polis stationed warriors, or the flamekeepers kept them supervised at all times. To sneak off, she would have to wait until all the goufas had gone to bed. Even then, she didn’t know if they would be watched even in sleep. 

The one who seemed oldest, Aden, was her biggest threat. As soon as she had arrived, the boy had eyed her suspiciously. She was a new threat to his promised ascension, which made sense. What hadn’t made sense was when his eyes widened and he immediately looked away from her, turning back to his studies. She hadn’t even done anything, so it was fairly unwarranted. Her instincts were screaming that something was wrong, but she couldn’t let this opportunity pass her by. She would kill Wanheda.

The rest of the natblida wanted to ask her many questions. Where had she been? How did she get her scars? What did they mean? Had she killed anyone? Silly childish questions. But, to keep up appearances, she fed into it. Poor poor hidden nightblood, kept out of sight of the public eye for soooo long. Forced to scar herself as a tool of the evil queen. Forced to take lives she didn’t think deserved death. 

Well they didn’t deserve the quick deaths they had gotten, she thought.

She said what they wanted to hear. What she thought they needed to hear to allow her into their fold. Foolish children. Death would welcome them away from this world soon. After her primary objective had been completed.

---

“Flamekeeper, may I have a word” Aden asked, polite as always. His appearance in the library was not unusual, but it being only him, no guards, no fellow nightbloods, was.

“Of course Aden, what can I do for you?” Gaia responds, motioning for him to join her at the table she had taken up residence at. Multiple books were open in front of her, all about the history of the surrounding areas. To any other it would look like she was simply studying the area’s history. Really, she was looking for other possible bunker locations.

“She is here. In the tower. The girl from Wanheda’s drawing.” He said curtly.

Gaia’s blood ran cold.

“You are certain?” she asked, fearing his answer. He nodded. Shit.

Ontari was in the tower.

“Where.” Her question was a demand, but Aden bore it well. 

“With the other noviciates. She is calling herself Bamana, and painting herself a victim of Nia. I do not know what she plans.” He tells her, face just as ashen as hers feels.

“She is unlikely to make a move in broad daylight. Keep an eye on her and have someone send for me if you learn anything. Thank you for letting me know.” Gaia knows what she plans. She plans to kill either Clarke or Lexa or both or both and the nightbloods to take the flame.

“Sha, Flamekepa” Aden gives her a bow and returns from wherever he came from. She had to tell Lexa. Clarke was safe, for now, but who knows what Ontari would do to reach her. 

On her way to the commander’s chambers, she instructs the guard of the nightbloods to double their watch, until she or the commander said otherwise. They would listen to her, as Lexa had impressed upon them that Gaia and Titus’s orders were extensions of her own. 

Lexa was pacing in her quarters. The meetings for today had already concluded, and the commander was using her few peaceful hours to wear a line back and forth in her own floor.

“Heda.” She begins, getting the other girl’s attention.

“What- Gaia, what brings you here?” She began with a snarl, but once realizing just who was there, immediately calmed, then started worrying again.

“Ontari is here. She has gotten in with the other nightbloods. I do not know how, but Aden just brought this information to me. He said she looked just like Clarke’s drawing. And she is convincing them that she is a victim of the former queen.” Gaia hadn’t even gotten a chance to confirm this information. Truthfully, Clarke’s drawing was the only thing she had to go off of either, since she had been on the trail when Ontari had come calling last time. A brief look at her burning corpse was all she had. 

“Oh. She has… joined the other nightbloods of her own volition?” Lexa’s perplexed look is answered by a nod from Gaia. “Has she done anything suspicious? She is definitely here to kill Clarke or myself.”

“I do not know Heda. I came to you as soon as I heard. Echo may have more information for you but I think we have enough to confirm it is her.” Until Clarke returns, or Ontari does something to arouse suspicion, their hands are metaphorically tied.

“Why am I just hearing about this now?” Lexa asks, mostly to herself.

“I do not know. I’m sure Aden came to me as soon as he could” Gaia defends the boy. She likes Aden, and he would make a good commander one day.

“That is not quite what I mean. Surely the others watching the nightblida would have told me of a new, older, nightblood as soon as she arrived.”

“Most of the usual teachers are away, only warrior teachers and Titus have been with them today.”

“Take me to them.”

“Heda, that is not wise, and you know it.”

Lexa glares at her, about to say something about questioning her decisions, before Clarke crosses her mind’s eye. She lets out a breath. “You are right, as usual Gaia. Are you able to keep an eye on them for me?”

“Until it is time to open the gate, I shall.” Gaia promises.

“And inform Clarke as soon as you see her. We will confront this natrona together.” The wheels are spinning in Lexa’s head. Why would Titus not immediately bring Ontari to her, or at least the knowledge that she is here.

---

Meanwhile on Etherea, Clarke is having a grand ol time. She has made sketches, rough maps, and plans for the future of the area surrounding the gate. Despite the mountain looming in the distance, and the constant gate in the sky that would probably turn everything green at night, it was a beautiful spot. After the first hour of a whole lot of nothing attacking them, even her guard force relaxed enough to enjoy the scenery. 

The weird thing was they had only seen small mammals around. The water sources near enough to walk to had creatures that looked like Earth’s eels, and salamanders, but no fish. And everything was small except the giant bird they saw fly overhead, freaking out all the grounders. Clarke knew from last time that Bellamy had found something with enough pelt to make clothing out of, but there was no sign of it now.

It wasn’t a show stopper, but definitely sparked some ideas in her head about bringing in animals to this new planet. Cows and sheep and horses for sure, anything that could be herded and corralled was a good bet. There was no shortage of grass for them to eat, and depending on how radioactive they already were, most would probably die on Earth once the wave crested. No matter its severity.

The first group would have to build fences and barns first. Then they could bring in the animals, and begin work on houses and permanent structures. There was plenty of wood around. But the animals would need to be initially kept by the gate. All of this planning was just another weight on her shoulders.

A couple of the warriors had drawn maps before, so once they agreed that the coast was clear for threats, they broke into teams and went in all different directions. They knew they were in a time crunch here, so the distance from the gate was kept short. 

In the end, they had crude maps of the surrounding 3 miles and a good description of up to 10 miles away. All in all, a successful mission.

Once everyone was back, and Clarke’s watch beeped, the gate re-opened and the recon team stepped back through.

---

“You are all dismissed for the night. Thank you for your assistance in this matter. Please meet us in the war room tomorrow morning after breakfast for the debrief.” Gaia greeted them mechanically from the bunker rec room. 

The other warriors happily trotted off, some getting out of the evening shift with this mission. Clarke and Anya stayed.

Clarke knew something was up due to Gaia’s greeting, and Anya knew something was up from Clarke’s reaction. Spending three hours uninterrupted with the Sky girl had told her that Gaia was another of Clarke’s people, and there was always things going on behind the scenes.

“What is it?” Clarke asks once it is just the three of them left in the room. Gaia raises her eyebrow at Anya. “Oh she knows, it’s fine” Clarke assures her, antsy to hear the news that had caused Gaia to act this way.

“Ontari is here. With the other nightbloods. Pretending to be a victim of Nia.”

“Oh of course she is. Couldn’t pick a better time.” Clarke almost yells in exasperation and rubbing her palms aggressively across her forehead. They could have seen this coming, and she feels like she should have seen it. The timing lined up, and the universe couldn’t let her catch a break.

“Who?” Anya asks, perplexed at the sky girl’s reaction. She knew there was a story there, one that hadn’t been told to her yet.

“She’s a nightblood. Not one of mine. One that Nia trained and kept hidden to use against Lexa one day. She’s a killer, and older than Aden. A trump card to the conclave. When we killed Nia, she disappeared and she wrote that she was going after the real queen slayer in her room. She’s either after me, Echo, or Lexa.” Clarke blurts out, trying to get Anya up to speed. “If she’s here that narrows it down to me and or Lexa. And she’s with the other nightbloods which doesn’t instill confidence that she won’t do something rash if confronted.” 

Clarke pauses, then slowly looks at Gaia.

“No Clarke, we have not made her aware that we know who she is.” Gaia assures her. Clarke lets out a sigh of relief.

“So she may kill all the children to get to you?” Anya asks, absolutely not helping Clarke’s mental state right now.

“Yes, General. That is a distinct possibility” Gaia answers before Clarke can. 

“We have to be very careful with this situation. She is a danger to any and all that find her in their presence.” Clarke warns, mind running wild with possibilities. “We will have to lure her out.”

“You must talk to the Commander first, she is already aware as well” Gaia supplies. Clarke smiles at the flamekeeper. If it weren't for Gaia’s calming words, Clarke might have gone storming in there, shooting first and asking questions later.

“You’re right. Let's go. You too Anya” Clarke directs. She will take all the help she can get right now.

---

“Surely you jest. Waiting for an attack is no strategy. We must act!” Anya blurts out, tired of hearing about luring out the interloper and waiting for her to make a move.

“As I’ve said. We can’t. The risk is too high for her to use the children against us” Clarke reiterated. “If it were me, I would wait till nightfall, then sneak up here to ‘my’ room. If we send away the guards we can catch her with no issues. Stun gun, remember?” Clarke waves her still gloved hand.

“Klark, why would we send away the guards?” Lexa asks, seriously questioning her niron's sanity.

“Oh cause she'll kill them.” Clarke states with certainty. “The less opportunities she gets to spill unneeded blood the better.”

“So, what then? You are bait and the three of us take her down?” Anya posits a good idea, but Clarke has one better.

“We don’t know if she is after me or Lexa. Assuming me, we could do that, or I could just shock her. You three wait in the other room in case she is after Lexa.” 

The three other women mull over this option, before Lexa objects.

“Klark. I do not want to leave you alone to face her, even with your suit. Let Gaia accompany you. That way, you have someone to vouch that she attacked you. Anya and I can take one nightblood upstart if it comes down to it.” Selfishly, she knew Clarke would be fine on her own. It was for her own peace of mind that she insisted.

“Alright, but if she smells a trap, she’ll probably run. Everybody needs to be cool until later.” Clarke keeps her suit on, layering a jacket and her swordbelt over it. Just in case she was wrong. “Gaia and I have our check in with our fellow Beachkru members here soon, once the sun sets. Would either of you like to sit in?” 

They both agreed to join in. Lexa usually did, and Anya was not going to pass up knowing more about this time travel master plan stuff. They settled into Lexa’s room as the sun dipped below the horizon.

---

She waited until the guards weren't looking, and climbed out the window. Through her day in the tower, she had realized that the likelihood of making it all the way to the top without being seen was near impossible. The journey would be too long to slash her way to the top either. Once a body was discovered, the tower would be on lockdown.

So she was climbing up the outside.

Her sword had been confiscated, so she was only armed with her boot knife. She’d killed with less. Plus, the mighty Wanheda would likely have some weapons in her room. 

She still hadn’t decided how she wanted the kill to go.

Should it be fast, to facilitate her escape? Slow to make the curse suffer? Knife, hands, rope, thrown out the window? She had so many options to choose from. Thinking about all the ways to accomplish her goal made the climb pass in no time at all.

She had reached the top, or judging by the lavishness of the quarters she saw through the open balcony, somewhere close. Oh nope, that was the commander’s quarters, and she was right there. 

Ontari ducked back down below the balcony floor and moved on to the next room.

This one seemed more apt for Wanheda. Sparsely decorated, but with a large piece of tek on a table in the middle of the room. She slunk over the railing and peeked further into the room. Most of the candles had burned down, and there was a figure on the bed in the corner. She listened for the sound of breathing, but was too far away.

She snuck closer, creeping along silently.

Then from behind her, she heard a low buzz and her quarry’s voice say “Dumb ass” before lightning struck her. She seized up, falling to the ground, fighting unconsciousness all the while.

She felt a knee press firmly into her back, hands brought around and something metal clasped around her wrists. How had this gone so badly? How had they known?

“I guess we sent the guards away for nothing” another voice said, this time from the bed. A different woman, the flamekepa that had welcomed Wanheda into the temple, rose from under the blanket.

Her heart felt cold. This had been a trap. She had failed.

“I’m glad we did anyways. Better safe than sorry.” Wanheda spoke again. Ontari wrenched her head around to look at the object of her anger. All she got in return for her sneer was a raised eyebrow. “Really? You’re caught Ontari. Give it up.”

How had she known her name? How had they known? She hadn’t told anyone of her plan, and Wanheda hadn't seen her before this. Even her own brief glance when the woman was brought in was barely enough to recall her face in any great detail.

“Never. I will have my vengeance.” She spat, twisting under the hold Wanheda had on her.

“Will you go get the other two?” Wanheda was ignoring her now, talking to her partner in crime. “Quit thrashing or I’ll shock you again.”

Ontari stilled. Wanheda had the power to harness the lightning? She did not relax. Any chance she got, she would reach down to her boot and-

Clarke patted her down quickly, finding the hidden knife easily. While Ontari was still, she tied a quick loop around her ankles as well. That really got the attempted assassin mad. Despite Clarke’s warning, she began thrashing again. 

“We finally meet, Ontari kom Azgeda” Lexa says calmly as she enters the room. Too calmly.

“What are we going to do with her?” Clarke asks, standing from her now thoroughly bound captive. The girl wouldn’t be going anywhere any time soon.

“Kill her” Anya says bluntly, to the sidelong glances of all three other women in the room. 

“That would be the easy answer, yes. Her remaining alive would constantly be a danger to all of us, and others” Gaia throws out there. 

“We can decide in the morning. The dungeons can hold her for tonight.” Lexa decided, to the grateful smile from Clarke. It had been a long day for all of them.

She is hauled to her feet, and unceremoniously dragged by Clarke and Anya to the elevators, where she is passed off to two of the evening guards.

“She is to be locked up, alone, until we come for her tomorrow. Do not let anyone in to see her besides us and the Commander.” Anya instructs the guards, ensuring they understand the gravity of the situation. They voice their understanding, and she is gone.

“Well. I didn’t expect her to come in through the window” Clarke jokes to Anya as they part for the evening.

“I think we are past expecting anything from her. Or anything.” Anya mutters as she walks away, “Damn time travelers.” She hears Clarke laugh behind her. They had much to discuss tomorrow.

Chapter Text

Main radio, evening of Day 34

“Reyes, this is Sinclair.”

“Go for Reyes.”

“Trucks are up and running, they just arrived at Arkadia. Looks like we got an suv and a big transporter.”

“Copy, let me talk to Miller real quick. Nate type.”

“Sure thing, I'll have him reach out.”

“Thanks Sinclair.”

Lasercom, shortly thereafter.

“Little bird, Loverboy.”

“Room clear?”

“Affirmative."

“Good, how'd the rover look?”

“It's good, ready to roll. I only wish there were more spare parts for it. Could use another spare tire.”

“What other vics were there?”

“Couple of quads, another transport truck in even worse shape than the first one. A skeletonized helicopter, no idea where the engine is, whole thing is gone.”

“Damn. That would have been sick.”

“Agreed. But yeah, definitely room for 500 here, needs some ag upgrades to compensate.”

“Sweet. Have they decided on who's going yet?”

“They haven't even told the general population about it yet. About anything. I think they are planning on making an announcement tomorrow.”

“Bro your mans better get on Kane about that.”

“He's working on it. They were talking earlier and now Kane looks like he aged 20 years in 2 days, so it probably went well.”

“Sounds about right. OK, role call tomorrow night. Everyone needs an update. Keep an ear out.”

“Will do. Loverboy out.”

“Little Bird out.”

 ---

Main radio, Day 35

“Ark main, ground command.”

“Ground this is the Ark. Go ahead.”

“This is Sinclair, I have Councillor Kane here with me. We have an update for the Chancellor.”

“I’m here Sinclair, what's going on?”

“You've been briefed on the reactor meltdown situation, sir?”

“That's correct.”

“Raven's solution is solid. We need to send out a team as soon as possible to start on our part.”

“Do you have individuals picked out already?”

“Only the core two for the mission. A driver and gunner haven't been chosen yet.”

“And you trust Ms. Reyes?”

“Sir, I would bet on Raven Reyes any day, and twice on Sundays.”

“Alright. Thank you for the update. We have almost finished the repair on the life support system up here. Should be complete in another couple of weeks.”

“That's good to hear. Anything else for us, Sir?”

“That's all for now. “

“Copy, Ground Command out.”

---

Lasercom, Evening of day 35

“All, Wanheda. Report.”

“Doc reporting in. You guys didn't tell Kane like anything. Got him up to speed. Trucks are here, and the assignments for Team 1 are being put out tomorrow. Arkadia is looking good for now.”

“Cockroach checking in. Currently in international waters. Ocean and wind currents permitting, we should make it across the pond in about 6 days.”

“Flamekeeper. All that went through to Etherea came back. Bunker is secure.”

“Little Bird here. With our Moon Goddess. Structural integrity of the lab should be good as long as we get at least a couple of those reactors done. The security around the island is back up, so if you swing by, let me know first.”

“Loverboy up. I won't be on Team 1, staying here to help coordinate. Thinking about starting to soup up Mount Weather. They've got quads there too. The kids at our dropship are doing good, but I'm making a trip to check on them as soon as Team 1 kicks off.”

“Lynchpin. My trip to Polis will start in two days once my Father returns. I was able to get a lot of cordage and tarps from the depot bunker you all told me about.”

“Mama Bear here. The skykru seconds are fitting right in. Surprisingly there has been no issues yet. They are all eager to learn, and show determination beyond what I expected.”

“Rogue. No sign of the secret weapon. I've taken care of a couple potential usurpers, but the word on the street is that most people are glad the queen is gone. I might send my two your way, Wanheda, as their talents could be better used elsewhere. The King is settling in nicely.”

“Roman and Abe. We are on our way back to TonDC, approximately two more travel days.”

“Sandskater checking in. Colocated with Cockroach. All systems green.”

“Wanheda. Ontari is here, we are setting a trap for her as we speak. The general is up to speed, mostly. She’s here with me. Etheria was exactly as we left it, but needs some domesticated animals. Planning is set to commence tomorrow morning. Break.”

There is a brief pause before she continues.

“Thank you all for the update. I think we can go down to once a week unless something pressing happens. I will have my coms available as often as I can, but if you can’t reach me, try Flamekeeper, then the main radio.”

“Wanheda, Rogue. Are we just going to skip over the part where you said Ontari is there?”

“I just found out myself. I’ve been off world all afternoon. There wasn’t a good time.”

“Copy, I understand. And it’s being handled?”

“Affirmative. I will update you once she’s in custody.”

“Copy, thank you.”

“Little Bird Wanheda.”

“Little Bird here.”

“Did you pick her call sign, or did she?”

“Oh that was all me.”

Clarke can practically hear the shitty grin through the radio.

“Luna, you can pick your own call sign, it doesn’t have to be Moon Goddess.”

“What would you recommend, Wanheda?” Luna responds, evidently having taken the radio from Raven.

“Literally anything. Keep it short though. Honestly we were using them because of Mount Weather, and our next reason is still six years out.”

“Rave- Little Bird said Selune. Is that acceptable?”

“That’s good. I like it”

“Copy. Selune, out”

“Any other business before I go catch an assassin?”

“Wanheda, Little Bird again. Are you and the Commander going to make a trip up here any time soon?”

“We weren't planning on it. Do you need us to?”

“Negative, just wondering.”

“If we do, would you like us to bring the General?” She can't help but tease the Mechanic.

“You and I both know good and god damned well that she will actually beat me, especially since you all told her everything.”

“I don’t think so, I think you’ll be surprised at how well she took it, and the fact that both of us flirted our way out of her questioning.”

“Ok that’s enough for the night you two. Wanheda, we will talk again in a week.”  Indra cuts in, putting a stop to the childish teasing between two of her adopted children.

“Yes nomon. Wanheda out.”

There are a few more calls to exit the net before Clarke sets her lasercom down. All is well.

---

Lasercom, night of day 35

“Rogue, Wanheda.”

“Go for Rogue.”

“Got her. She’s in the dungeon right now.”

“Copy, thank you for the update. Any idea on the plan for her?”

“Not yet. We are going to sort that out in the morning. Can you ask the King if he wants to take her?”

“I’ll ask, don’t hold your breath though.”

“Copy. Wanheda out.”

“Rogue out.”

---

Arkadia, Day 36

“Everyone gather around so you can hear me please!” Kane yells to the accumulating crowd. 

He gives them a minute to settle down and a hush falls over the clearing. They knew there was to be a big announcement, but most of them hadn’t been queued into the situation yet. 

Kane takes a deep breath to steel his nerves, and begins telling them about Priamfaya. The plans to mitigate it, the worst case scenarios, the contingency plans, the bunker plans, everything Jackson said he was allowed to tell them.

The crowd stares in a mix of horror and fascination at all of this. They had, not even a whole month ago, escaped a doomed space ship, to come to a doomed Earth, and get locked back up into bunkers for the foreseeable future due to dangerous levels of radiation. From one metal box, into a concrete one didn’t seem like that much of an improvement.

There were a lot of volunteers for Team 1 and their backups. So many that they had to make a list. No key personnel, no married couples, no one under 18, all the usual stipulations. Kane considered choosing randomly, but thought it best to leave that decision to the engineers already on the teams. The backup team would be on call to take the transport truck and rescue Team 1 if they needed it. A driver, assistant driver, and four guards were chosen for this task. An auxiliary list would be maintained to attach more people if the need arose.

Raven had insisted they plan for every possible outcome. The fate of the world rested on their shoulders. Or at least, the fate of all living things in the world.

Kane told them of the need to identify the people going to each bunker, and to the other location. He kept the description deliberately vague, only having a rough idea of this place himself. Mount Weather would be medical heavy, and the bunker would be Farm station heavy. Everything else, Beachkru had left up to him and the section leads. 

If you had told Councillor and Head of Ark Security Marcus Kane that he would be taking orders from a bunch of formerly locked up kids and grounders two months ago, he would have laughed in your face. The ground changed him a lot, and he knew it.

Chapter Text

It shouldn’t have surprised Nate that his Dad was chosen for the gunner position on Team 1. He was a competent and trusted Ark Guard, and next up for a look at officer at that. He was the best nonessential guard they could have chosen. That didn’t mean he would like it. 

Nate and Eric volunteered for the backup team, and were easily accepted. Having a doctor on the recovery team was a no-brainer, and Nate was a good cadet. Well, if cadet was the right word for it. 

Once the adults had come down, they had acknowledged the need for a go-betweener for the grounders and the rest of the Ark. Miller had filled that role. There was also a need for the guard force to be plussed up and trained on how to fight grounders, and use things other than firearms and stun batons. Miller had filled that role. Additionally, there was pushback from some of the delinquents still at the dropship about joining Arkadia, and their temporary leader was Wells. He had assumed the role like he was made for it, and he kind of was, but him being the child of the current chancellor didn’t make his decisions any less likely to be questioned. The muscle behind his decision? You guessed it. Miller.

Indra and Miller worked together to build the grounder-skykru training program and if he had to go rescue Team 1, it would be fine without him. Wells could handle working with Kane now that they had built a rapport. Indra and Kane were becoming fast friends and grounder relations were going very well. Miller’s roles were covered.

Jackson was another story. He was on the list for Mount Weather, due to his medical background. He was needed on an on-call basis for injuries sustained locally, and occasionally worked with Octavia back at TonDC for injuries there that needed attention before they could be brought to Arkadia. They used the main radio for this, but he could always be reached by lasercom in an emergency. Only by the members of Beachkru of course.

The additional tech was to be kept secret. No excuses.

Jackson was only allowed to be on the Team 1 rescue squad due to Abby being at Arkadia. And the fact that he was the only certified doctor that had volunteered. 

Team 1 kicked out the morning after the announcement was made. A mechanic and an engineer from Mecha, David Miller, and Reggie Smith-Harrison received the mission brief in one of the dropships, repurposed for a council chamber. The rescue squad, Nathan Miller, Eric Jackson, four Ark guards and four of Nate’s gunners, sat in on it for awareness. 

Kane went over the situation and mission. There were 153 days until the wave hit their location, so the team would need to be back and in Mount Weather no later than 143 days from now.  Other human factors? Unknown. They had their team, and the rescue squad, satellite monitoring from the Ark, and that was it. Assets at their disposal were slim. Radios, vehicles, firearms, and whatever melee weapons they saw fit to bring. 

“As of 19 October 2149, Team 1 will take a preplanned route to decommission or report back on the 10 nuclear reactors located in North and South America in order to ensure the survival of the human race on Earth.” Kane delivered solemnly to a dead silent room. They knew their purpose.

Sinclair took over at the execution, and the support component. He knew more about the nitty gritty of decommissioning the reactors, and had to get redirected by Kane a couple of times. The Mecha folks would get their own run-down later. Drive to the reactor, Mecha folks either report that it’s too far gone or turn it off, drive to the next one. The routes had been scoped out by satellite footage by the Ark in the last few days, and only minor changes had to be made to the route sent by Raven due to bridges being out or uncrossable terrain. Depending on where they were at, the rescue squad had a couple of pre-planned routes started for them. 

“I will be frank. This is your support” Sinclair began, motioning to the rescue squad folks. “Both guards on Team 1 have some medical training, Doctor Jackson will be able to give further guidance as needed, but you are on your own. Water and food will need to be sourced from wherever you are, as we can only run resupply with the rescue squad truck.”

Then Kane finished with the command and control. “Team 1, your commander is Reggie. If he goes down, David will take command. Rescue squad, your commander is Trakaner. Second in command is Lidel. Third is Doctor Jackson. I am the release authority for the rescue squad. We expect daily check-ins via the satellite radio in the truck at 0000 UTC if you haven’t already called up that day. There will be constant monitoring of the radio here. You will be reachable at all times, terrain permitting. Any questions?”

The Mecha folks were the only two to raise their hands, which Sinclair addressed. Any other issues would be dealt with on the road.

“Team One guards please go to the storage ship and retrieve your mission items” Kane ordered, and David and Reggie departed the room. 

Sinclair nodded to Kane, and the rescue squad was dismissed. Nate stuck around. Sinclair raised an eyebrow at this but commenced his brief with the Mecha folks on how to decommission the reactors. Nate took lots of notes.

Nate and Jackson had a different plan. Were the rescue squad to be dispatched, and the engineers were deemed unable to continue, he would take their place. If it came down to it, the two would take over the rover and send everyone else back. This was truly the worst case scenario, time running out and reactors still left on, where they would need nightblood to survive. All bases covered, the Beachkru way.

Kane was made aware of this plan, and although he didn’t like the idea of it, he knew there had to be a truly emergency level back up. Having that option in his back pocket eased his discomfort at this whole situation. They were sending a group of four in a truck with minimal supplies and backup, and almost no support, to save the world. 

Team 1 stepped off before noon. Good bye’s were said and well wishes given, and then they were off. As the Rover disappeared into the distance, Kane called all the councillors and section leaders back into the dropship. They had bunker locations to divy out.

---

“I don’t know” is all Clarke could say. Gaia, Lexa, Anya, and herself had gathered in Clarke’s room again this morning to discuss Ontari’s fate.

“She attempted to take your life. Someone under the protection of the Commander. The only answer is death” Anya argued. Lexa nodded along with her. 

That would be the simplest answer, and the most straightforward. Potential resurgence of the issue would be low, if not null. Keeping her alive would be a drain on resources. There was nowhere for her.

“She is a product of her upbringing.” Gaia adds, seeming pensive. Ontari being a nightblood did make this whole situation more difficult for her. She had been the only one to sit at the edge of Clarke’s unused bed, the other three were either pacing or standing antisly around nearby. 

“Echo called earlier, Roan doesn’t want her. He has his own problems to deal with right now. And if we send her anywhere she is likely to come back.” Clarke finally caves and sits next to Gaia. “We should keep her here” she eventually says. 

“What do you mean?” Lexa asks, pausing her pacing to stare at Clarke.

“Keep your friends close, enemies closer. Did that phrase stand the test of time?” the blonde asks. All three grounder women nod in response. “I don’t want to kill her” she finally admits, both to herself and the others in the room. 

“So what do you propose we do with her?” Anya asks pointedly. Her vote has been cast.

“There’s a couple options” Clarke begins haltingly. She really hadn’t thought through any of these herself yet, and was sure the others would see something she didn’t. “Keep her locked up until Priamfaya, then send her to Etheria so she can’t get to me. That’s the least hands on we could be, but leaves her as an unaddressed threat in the aftermath. Or we could try and break her of the mindset Nia gave her.”

“And that would mean teaching her what ‘right’ looks like. With the other nightbloods?” Gaia interjected, almost reading Clarke’s mind.

“Yeah. And I know that means putting them in danger. We would have to take the necessary precautions there, but it would be best for her I think.” The blonde responds.

“Klark. You know how crazy that sounds” Lexa cautions. 

“I know.” Clarke looks up at her, mouth set in a firm line of contemplation. “But soon the only people that can walk outside will be us with nightblood, and she would be helpful in the preparations to re-take the Earth. Unless..”

“Unless she’s sent to Etheria” Gaia finishes for her.

“Or banished” Lexa throws out.

“Or dead” Anya adds, unhelpfully.

“I’m going down to talk with her” Clarke states, effectively ending the conversation. “Once I come back we can continue talking about this, but I need to talk to her first.” She hadn’t gotten a chance to speak with the Azgedan nightblood last time either. Well, other than a few words here and there. For all Clarke knew, the girl could be in any state of mind.

“Do not speak to her alone. I can not come with you, there are other matters I must attend to.” Lexa has her own hands full with establishing the procedure of getting people to Etheria. She would be better off having Clarke with her, but the other girl was firm in her decisions. Clarke would join her later, assuredly.

Gaia and Anya join Lexa, heading toward the throne room as Clarke makes for the elevator. They will handle things with the clans, some of whom are resistant to the idea of Priamfaya in the first place. And they likely will be, up until the moment before their destruction.

---

“Wanheda. Good timing, we were about to send for you.” One of the guards at the dungeon greets her. “We didn’t know if she was to be fed, or what your plans for her were.”

“That’s ok, I’ll take it to her. How was she through the night?” Clarke takes a bowl of stew and spoon from one of the other guards.

“Silent. No one has gone in or out, or tried to.” He answers curtly. 

“Hmm. Thank you.” Clarke acknowledges him, and enters the now unlocked dungeon. She knows what she will find. Their demand last night had been too clear. No one had checked on the girl throughout the night.

Lo and behold. The cell Ontari was in is now empty.

Clarke unlocks the door and scours the area, just in case. Ontari is not there. Only a set of very bent and slightly bloody handcuffs, and a dislodged window bar is the only sign she was ever there in the first place. 

Clarke lets out a heavy sigh. If only she hadn’t sent the tracking device with Echo. If only they had let the guards check on her throughout the night. If only she had been able to make a decision last night. If only’s wouldn’t help her now.

She returns to the guards, telling them the news. Their faces are ashen, anticipating the worst at having let her prisoner escape like that, but she quickly assuages their fears.

“She was going to escape regardless. You all followed instructions and it’s not your fault. If you find her before I do, try to capture her. If you must, kill her.” Ontari will undoubtedly put up a fight, and Clarke doesn’t want the guards to prioritize her life over theirs.

Clarke’s trip back upstairs is silent. The look on her face tells all she comes across that she is working through something, and not to be disturbed. The crease between her brows was threatening to become permanent at this rate.

Her entrance into the throne room is heralded by a hush falling and all eyes being drawn to her. She ignores the Clan dignitaries and beelines for Lexa, Anya, and Gaia at the head of the table that had been brought in, now scattered with the rapidly drawn maps brought back yesterday. They needed to take this slower, but things on their end were always taking longer than they should.

“She escaped some time last night” is all Clarke says to the other three once she takes her place next to them. She briefly shows them the bloody handcuffs, keeping them out of sight of the Clan members. No reason for them to think she was torturing nightbloods in her free time, the rumors about her were already wild enough. 

Anya lets out a growl and stalks out of the room, probably going to yell at the guards or try and find the escapee herself. Clarke thought to follow, then decided against it. She was more needed here right now. 

Lexa rests her hand over Clarke’s, and they lock eyes. A quirked eyebrow is met with a frown and a sigh, and they leave it at that. Back to the problem at hand. To something they can actively affect right now.

---

The first group through would be a contingent of builders, or warriors that knew how to build things. They would set up the land immediately around the cave that the gate spat them out near to receive people and animals in a steady stream. Many of the clans wanted their people to go first, to get what they thought of as the best land for their people. 

Lexa was not having it.

Each Clan would provide builders, and each clan would get an equal amount of land around the gate to build on. They would need to do more recon before additional land could be allocated.

Clarke’s mind was going a mile a minute. How could they scout out more land on Etheria as fast as possible? The drones from Becca’s lab could help with imagery, and then be used to transfer the imagery to the lab computer and make better maps for them. She would have to bring it up to Raven, and to Lexa, once they were done here.

Once the Ambassadors started talking themselves in circles, Lexa kicked them out. She promised they would continue the conversations in a few days once they had more information, and left it at that.

“We need to make a trip to the lab after all.” Clarke told her once the ambassadors were all gone from the room. “I have an idea.”

“I agree” Lexa says, knuckles pressed to her temple. “Did I ever visit the lab in your, last time?”

“No, I guess you didn’t. I mean, no, not even in my or Madi’s head I guess.” Clarke answers. She looks at Lexa quizzically. “Why do you ask?”

“I think being there, with Pramheda, will be interesting.” Lexa responds. She doesn’t know what it means, but being in Becca’s lab is sure to jar some things loose in the flame. Or maybe not, they would have to wait and see. The uncertainty was not sitting well with her.

“Oh cause, hmm. I hadn’t thought about that. Do you want to stay back, just in case?” Clarke asks, mentally running through all the things that could go wrong.

“No, no nothing like that. Just, she may have thoughts about it while we are there.”

“I assume I am to stay here” Gaia states.

“Correct. As my head flamekeeper, you will need to run things at the highest level while I am gone.” Lexa concurs, offering an apologetic smile to the shorter girl. 

“Ok, it will likely take about four days to get to the lab, four to get back. Let’s say nine days total. Gods this would be so much faster with the Rover. Then we’ll need a day or so in Etheria, and then back and forth again. Unless Raven can hook us up with some tech so we can just send the drone back for processing. We’ll have to ask her if that’s possible. And printing maps, or a projection, or something.” Clarke starts rambling on again, losing Lexa and Gaia in the process.

“Klark.” Lexa interrupts the sky girl’s train of thought. “We will leave tomorrow. We need to make the necessary preparations today. Including our escort.”

“Anya and her people, for sure” Clarke says abruptly. Not only would the general and the mechanic’s reunion be ideal, but Clarke had taken a liking to Anya, and knew she could be trusted on this mission. “Your guard is up to you, but she’s my choice.”

Lexa laughs, knowing where Clarke’s head is at, but she also acknowledges the wisdom of that decision. “I think I must take Gustus this time. He was not happy about being left behind last time.”

Clarke internally groans, but agrees. Better safe than sorry, and the man was willing to kill and die for her niron. Besides herself, there is no one Clarke would rather have protecting Lexa. Raven might have some reservations due to their previous timeline history, but she would manage.

Preparations for their trip took the rest of the afternoon, but by the time sunset rolled around, they were ready. 

“Little Bird, Wanheda.”

“Go for the world’s best mechanic”

“We are headed that way tomorrow. Probably a four day journey. We need a drone to get imagery of Etheria and hopefully some way to project that imagery to show the clans once we get back. Think you can have something prepared for us?”

“Finally, a task worthy of my brainpower. You got it. See you all soon. Also, who is we.”

"Me, Heda, the general, the wildman, and co."

"Hmm copy. Make sure they are on their best behavior."

“See you soon, Wanheda out.”