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Gravity \| Book II: Brave New World	By : Prophecy Category: 1 through F > The 100 Views: 1370 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
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There is a war inside my heart gone silent
Both sides dissatisfied and somewhat violent
The issue I have now begun to see
I am the only lonely casualty
This is not the end though
- Sara Bareilles, 'Hercules'

Clarke was curled up on the dais, working on a sketch of the natblida novitiates while Lexa slept off another headache a few feet away on the bed, the air thick with the smell of peppermint oil. The headaches were coming more frequently and lasting longer each time, and Clarke was starting to seriously consider whether it was worth breaking Lexa's trust to have her mother brought in to examine her. She doubted Lexa would ever allow that, of course, so it was likely to result in nothing other than them arguing and Lexa refusing an exam anyway.

Of course, she couldn't and wouldn't violate Lexa's autonomy like that, but at the same time, she couldn't control the exponential growth of her worry, either. Particularly when she was in the quiet moments like this one, the worry seemed to fill her from the tips of her toes to the top of her head like the entirety of herself that lay below her skin was morphing into lead. Even if the Flame wasn't the cause, something was clearly going on and she couldn't help ruminating on all the things that could be wrong; all the things that might take Lexa away from her.

Just when she felt herself starting to spiral down into an anxious hurricane of "what-if" thoughts as she so often did these days, there was a knock on the door. Rather than call out, she set aside the drawing, not wanting to wake Lexa when she'd finally relaxed enough to nap, and went to the door, opening it a little.

Raven was pacing wildly in the hallway, already talking a mile a minute as Clarke stepped out. "Come on, we gotta go downstairs. The team's back, and they found the lab, and it looks like it's solar powered, because there were a bunch of solar panels and a couple of active drones there, which means the lab is probably still operational, too. If we can find the rest of the solar panels that power it and get them uncovered, we'll have a fully functioning lab unlike anything we've ever dreamed of. I mean, it sounds like it makes Mount Weather look like a cave for fuck's sake, we're talking a radiation chamber, equipment for gene therapy and DNA synthesizing, even a rocket ship. A rocket ship, Clarke. I mean, if we're gonna save the world, this will be the place to do it."

Raven stopped pacing and looked at Clarke in disbelief. "Why are we still standing here? Get Lexa and let's go! No time to waste."

Clarke opened her mouth and then thought better of it and tied her robe shut. "Give me a few minutes to wake her, and we'll meet you down there."

"Okay, but hurry! We've gotta get moving if we're gonna save the world." Raven didn't wait for a response, quickly heading down the hallway to the lift with as much bounce in her step as was possible. Clarke shook her head a little and turned to one of the sentries.

"Have some meal trays and coffees sent down to conference for everyone, please. Heda will take her lunch there today." Clarke paused. "Uh, quietly make Raven's a decaf, though."

The sentry—Melli, she thought her name was—smiled a little as she ducked her head to her slightly. "Yes, Skaiplana."

"Thank you."

With that, she turned and went back into the bedchamber to get Lexa up.

______________________________________________

When they arrived in the conference room, Raven was pacing and muttering to herself, practically vibrating with energy. Octavia, Lincoln, and Echo were being patched up by healers, all of them looking a little worse for the wear. Echo in particular had a large and sloppily bandaged gash that ran at an angle across her face, cutting through both lips and barely missing her left eye, stopping just above her eyebrow. Clarke went over quickly and started assisting Nyko with her stitches.

"What the hell happened to you guys?" She said as she worked a line of stitches from Echo's eyebrow, mildly impressed at the girl's stoic face and lack of so much as a wince as she was subjected to both hers and Nyko's needles at once.

"There were a couple of drones that attacked us with bullets. I've never seen anything like it before, it's like they were waiting for us." Octavia looked a little shaken.

Clarke's eyes widened a little as she inspected Echo's wound closer. "A bullet did this?"

"Yes. I was turning when it grazed me."

Octavia sat up a little straighter, her face a mask of guilt. "It was because of me. I took one in the leg and Lincoln was taking down the other drone. She was coming back for me, it's my fault."

Echo's voice was firm as she snapped a reply. "It wasn't your fault. You didn't send the drones."

Octavia looked at her. "No, but you could have left me instead of almost dying trying to save my ass."

Echo's face remained nonplussed, shutting her eye as Clarke worked her way lower with the needle. "No, I couldn't. Ai sonraun laik yu sonraun."

Octavia looked at her affectionately and hopped down onto her bandaged leg with enough force that Clarke winced sympathetically. Echo watched a little unsurely as she approached, and Octavia held her hand out to her. Slowly, Echo took her forearm, swallowing hard and inclining her head when Octavia said only, "Mochof, lukot."

Lexa was smiling proudly as she watched their interaction. If the Commander of Death and the Azgedan spy who tried to kill her would risk their lives for one another, could become friends even, then there was genuine hope for peace between all of the clans, given enough time and opportunity. Certainly the end of the world could be a catalyst for forging better relationships across the board, if there was anything positive to come from it.

Raven, who was still pacing wildly, couldn't take it anymore and slapped her hands down on the table. "This is all very sweet, but tell them about the lab! Lexa, this lab—"

"Is our solution, Clarke told me," Lexa said good-naturedly. "What do you need from me, Raven?"

"I need you," Raven said, as if it should be obvious.

"Me?"

"Clarke, too." Raven nodded in the direction of Clarke, who had finished stitching Echo up and was in the middle of sipping a coffee and looked up with a mildly panicked expression on her face betraying the fact that she hadn't been paying attention.

"Uh.. I agree?" Clarke pretended not to notice the mildly annoyed look she got from her.

"This is important, Clarke. Like, mind-blowing, life-changing, save the world, important. I need both of you to come to the lab with us. Becca's journal has a lot of information about her creation of Nightblood, and I think she designed it not just to be bio-compatible with the Flame, but to be radiation resistant, too. If Abby and I can crack the recipe, we can—What?" Raven slowly and sheepishly realized everyone was staring at her. "Oh. Uh, I guess I should have started with, Bekka Pramheda invented Nightblood, huh?"

______________________________________________

Clarke had to admit, Becca's lab was even more impressive than she'd expected. Everything was crisp clean lines, shining metal and glass. There were control panels and lights and buttons everywhere, and Clarke couldn't even begin to guess at what function most of the things she was looking at served. After a moment of awed gaping, she looked over at Lexa and Luna, who both looked totally overwhelmed and totally out of place.

Raven, however, was completely in her element as she whipped her head around like a kid in a candy store, wide eyed and excited, with Abby trailing her. Clarke smiled a little as she watched Raven start circling the equipment, running her fingertips lightly over the buttons and levers, turning slowly with a smile and expression that brought Clarke back to the moment Raven had stepped out of the pod and took in her first breath of fresh Earth air. It seemed like it was a lifetime or two ago, but she thought Raven probably remembered the feeling as clearly as Clarke herself did; like the world was suddenly full of infinite possibility and hope.

And really, that's what the lab represented to all of them, she supposed. To humanity in general, actually.

Octavia nudged herself in front of them. “Hod op, Reyes. Let us clear the place first. There could be more drones roaming around."

Raven reluctantly paused in front of a set of monitors, unable to resist the temptation to run her fingers lightly over them. Murphy and Echo followed Octavia, their weapons at the ready, making their way through the first set of airlock doors.

Clarke dropped back to join the others, rubbing Lexa's back reassuringly. "You guys okay?"

Luna gazed at their surroundings, her voice even softer than usual with a note of uncertainty. "Yes." Lexa merely nodded, unconsciously leaning into Clarke's arm a bit more.

Raven, seeming to suddenly remember she wasn't alone in what probably felt like Nirvana to her, came back over and tucked a few of Luna's wild curls behind her ear before wrapping her arms around her waist loosely.

______________________________________________

Lexa was sleeping off another headache, curled up in a large and very modern bed with bright white sheets that contrasted starkly with her dark, tattered clothing, Clarke sat a few feet away in a comfortable recliner, sketching Lexa’s sleeping form, the room thick with the familiar scent of peppermint.

Lexa mumbled into the pillow incoherently and Clarke slowly lowered the sketchbook, watching her for signs of distress. Her arm stretched out and pushed into the pillow as she rolled over, murmuring Becca’s name. Clarke tensed a little and set the pad aside, standing up and going over to the bed, lowering herself onto the edge of it and gently rubbing Lexa’s bicep, over her tattoo.

Lexa was always more difficult to wake when she was communing with the past Commanders; even more so lately. Clarke called her name softly, increasing the volume and pressure of her rubbing slowly so as not to startle her.

After a minute, Lexa stretched and blinked sleepily as she woke, a little smile spreading across her lips when she saw Clarke.

“Hi,” she whispered groggily.

Clarke smiled, lightly fingering her wild bedhead. “Hey, Heda. Feeling better?”

Lexa nodded a little as she stretched her muscles awake slowly. “This is the most comfortable bed I have ever been in. Can we bring it home?”

Clarke chuckled and let Lexa’s sleepy arms tug her down onto the pillow beside her, wrapping her arms around the Commander when she rested her head on her chest. “You were talking to Becca?”

“Mhmm,” Lexa draped one leg over hers, her hand rubbing her side lazily. “She told me about another journal of hers that Raven needs. It’s hidden here in the lab.”

“More about Nightblood?”

Lexa nodded again, relaxing completely against her. “Maybe we should.. Let Raven know?”

“In a little bit,” Lexa mumbled, bringing another smile to Clarke’s lips.

“You wanna wait to give Raven potentially world-saving information to cuddle?”

Lexa kissed her chest softly. “Are you complaining about my priorities?”

“Definitely not.” Clarke shook her head, running her nails in random lazy patterns across her back.

“Good.”
______________________________________________

“Abso-fucking-lutely not.” Clarke’s voice was loud enough that it carried through most of the lab, echoing off all the metal equipment and tile floors.

Lexa’s voice, equally loud but with a much cooler tone, followed quickly. “I do not need your permission to do this, Clarke.”

“Oh, I think you do need my permission to let my mother try to kill you. Are you crazy? And you, “ she bit off with a vitriol that made even Echo wince, whirling on her mother like a tornado. “I can’t believe you’re going along with this, Mom.”

Abby didn’t even have a chance to respond before Lexa’s voice became even louder and slightly more emotional. “I don’t need your permission for anything. I’m the Commander, and it’s my duty, my responsibility, my destiny to protect my people. That is what being a leader is about, and you know it. And you are overreacting. These are Bekka’s notes, Bekka’s memory and knowledge. Bekka Pramheda wants to save the human race once more, and she says I will be fine.”

“I don’t think Bekka gives a skrish whether or not you’re fine, Lexa! One Commander dies, the next one is called, no big deal.”

“You are being completely unreasonable! You, Clarke, should understand better than anyone what must be done for your people.” Lexa snapped as Abby quietly leaned against a countertop, wishing the door was close enough for her to sneak out it.

“No, Lexa! What’s unreasonable is you doing something that could kill you just because the bitch who ended the entire world told you to! You’re completely disposable to her, and I won’t just sit here and watch you die!”

Lexa’s face hardened and her voice took on a deep, dangerous tone as several audible gasps echoed down the hallway from where the others had given up any pretense of acting like they weren’t actively eavesdropping.

“She saved the world. You think I am naive, Clarke, but I know the state of the world before. This way was not the way anyone would have chosen, but it was the only way. Too many people, not enough resources, fighting and killing each other for no reason, an infinite divide between castes. There—”

Clarke crossed her arms, her face the picture of rage and a razor tongue between her lips as she snapped, “That’s rich coming from someone who sits on a throne and lives in a palace, isn’t it, Heda?”

Lexa discernibly winced at Clarke’s sharp tone to her title, her entire body lightly shaking with anger that seemed to fill her from nowhere. Her face hardened and she rose to her full height, stepping forward until she was nearly nose-to-nose with Clarke, who visibly shrank a little under her stern glare as she’d expected.

“Those are amusing words coming from someone who grew up somewhere with the same caste divides—or were you unaware that your friend Bellamy cleaned toilets? That Raven didn’t have her own blanket until she was twelve? That Octavia never experienced a lack of hunger until you came to the ground? Your chancellors locked children away for being children, or for trying to warn people that your Ark was dying. Then they waited until the children were old enough to execute without bothering anyone.” The Commander’s voice was low and dangerous, a sneer on her face that Clarke hadn’t seen in a very long time but was chillingly familiar all the same. “The world we built here is far from perfect, but it is better than what your people built without Bekka.”

Clarke rocked back on her heels, her face becoming eerily calm as a dark glower crossed her face, her crossed arms tightening as she gazed into Lexa’s darkened eyes with renewed courage. “My people.”

A panicked expression crossed over Lexa’s face as the more rational part of her brain clicked on and she realized what she’d just said. “I didn’t mean it like that, Clarke. I—”

“How did you mean it then, Commander?” This time, Clarke’s tone sliced through Lexa’s gut with a sting that zipped through every nerve ending in every direction. “Oh, excuse me. Commander Grounder, that is. Because you’re only the Commander of your people, not mine.”

Lexa swallowed hard. “Clarke, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean t—”

“No, it’s fine. It’s great, actually. I’m glad I know how you really feel, at least.” Clarke turned on her heel and quickly made her way towards the airlock heading to the living quarters.

“Clarke!” Lexa felt hot tears gathering behind her eyes rapidly and she couldn’t manage to care if everyone present saw them or heard the desperation in her voice. “Beja, that’s not how I feel. I’m sorry, niron.. I didn’t mean it.”

Clarke stopped just short of the doorway. Her voice was quiet but sharp, her body tensed and her head tilting sideways just slightly, not turning to face her. “Go float yourself, Commander.”

The dams behind Lexa’s wide emerald eyes broke, tears running freely down her cheeks as she watched Clarke walk away from her once more. Her head began throbbing badly, but she barely felt it through the wave of full-body numbness she was suddenly filled with. She didn’t feel herself shaking as she began to cry, and was only vaguely aware of Abby wrapping her arms around her and drawing her into a tight hug against her chest, rubbing her back as she sobbed quietly.
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Gravity | Book II: Brave New World