Chapter Text
Chapter 1:
Clarke woke to the sound of recycling air and the hum of machines all around. As she opened her eyes she saw the bright, blinding white lights of the Ark shining down on her. As she started to take in her surroundings she couldn’t believe where she was. It had to be a dream. There was no way she was back.
As she sat there in disbelief, looking at her hands as if they weren’t her own. They were too small and didn’t have the scars she was so used to looking at everyday. She heard a knock on her door and spoke with command in her voice. “Enter.”
She watched the door knob turn and heard the distant familiar squeak of the door as it opened. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw her dad peak around the door as he opened it. “Hi, sweet heart. It’s time to come and eat breakfast. You need to head to class soon. Don’t want to be late for Earth Sciences..”
Jumping from her bed, running with full force, he stumbled when they collided. “Dad.” she whispered. Not believing that he was truly standing in front of her again. Catching her breath and fighting back tears, she clung to him and memorized every detail of how it felt to be hugged by her dad again.
“Is everything ok? You haven’t hugged me like this in years.” Jake asked.
She slowly let him go and looked into his eyes. “Yeah, everything is fine, just had a strange dream and I’m happy to see you.” Allowing a moment of silence to fill the air she turned and grabbed her clothes that were laid out on her desk. “I’ll be there in a minute, I stayed up too late studying the textbook mom gave me and overslept.”
Jake looked at her with mild confusion in his eyes. “Ok sweetie but hurry. You have to leave for classes in the next 20 minutes.” He eyed her once more with concern dotting across his forehead and closed the door.
Clarke made her way over to the mirror in her room. What she saw took her breath away. She was finding it increasingly difficult to breathe. There was no way she was back. She got dressed and made her way to the bathroom. Dunking her head into cold water for 30 seconds she tried to wake herself from this dream, however it was unsuccessful.
Looking at herself in the mirror and taking in her current outfit, she had to be around 15-16 years old. Her body had no scars and her face looked like she was a child compared to the woman looking back in the reflection of the water on Earth.
Making her way to the table in the dining area of their quarters, she noticed both of her parents sitting down enjoying their rationed breakfast. She sat down, her mom to the right, her dad to the left. She stared at her dad for a moment longer than normal then turned and looked at her mom. She held a coldness in her eyes too mature for someone of her age. Her mom realised this but didn’t speak on it.
“Good morning, mom.” Clarke held very little warmth in her tone.
“Good morning, Clarke. Are you feeling alright?” Abby asked with mild confusion at the coldness she was receiving from her daughter. “Did you not sleep well?” thinking she was just tired and that was leading to her foul mood towards her this morning.
“I just overslept. I was reading the textbook you gave me on surgical procedures.” Clarke said, trying to sound as normal as possible. This Abby hadn’t made the choices her Abby had yet. She had to remind herself not to judge based on a past that hasn’t happened yet.
Breakfast was oatmeal and nutrient paste. Clarke had to choke down every bite. She remembers all the flavours and tastes of the foods on Earth. Jake cradles his cup of coffee watching her closely as she eats. Abby became absorbed into a record for her upcoming day, and is oblivious to the conversation going on between father and daughter.
Clarke tries to play at normalcy. She answers small questions from her dad, nods when he jokes about the test she has coming up. She asks her mom about her overnight rounds. She hasn’t quite figured out just how old she is yet. She looks at the pictures on the electronic picture frame on the kitchen counter, noticing her 15th birthday picture popped up.
“When can we start planning for my 16th birthday, dad?” trying to gauge where she is in time based on his response.
“In 3 months. You and Wells can plan out what cake you want us to make. It will take about a month to get all the supplies to make it.” Jake replied knowing he wished resources weren’t so tight right now. She remembers around this time from her last life, everyone was on a limited calorie intake, the hydrofarm had a failure in the algae farm 2 months ago, making rations tight.
Clarke got up from the table, placed her bowl in the sink, gave her dad a hug and left for class. She knew she would be 16 years old in 4 months now, only about a year and a half before she is to be sent to the ground. She had another year before her world upended last time. Jaha would try to execute her dad and then along with the Council he would send the 100 down again. Determined to be the person leading from the beginning, there were some changes she would need to make.
Walking to class on autopilot, she puts her head down not wanting to draw any attention. She can hear her classmates talking about the latest drills being run and ration allocation. All of it is normal and ordinary, but Clarke feels something akin to electricity running just beneath her skin. Suddenly she hears what sounds like a drowned out murmur, a thread of sound she could almost ignore.
At the start of the day’s first lecture the voice fades back in, this time it feels impossibly closer. Not exactly a thought, more of a presence. She hears the voice, calm and unwavering, it speaks one name… “Wanheda”.
Heat spreads throughout her body, her mouth goes dry. The teacher moves on through the lesson but for Clarke the words and voice blur together. She closes her eyes for a second and hears Lexa’s laugh at the edge of her memory and the two sounds collide, leaving her breathless.
Clarke closes her eyes and tries to ground herself. Opening her eyes, she is standing in a darkness that feels endless and thick, but oddly comforting. Like a shroud she’s known all her life. There wasn’t a floor she could see but a feeling of floating in still water. In front of her was a white and blue light pulsing softly like a heartbeat.
Stepping closer, the glow sharpened into a shape of her own reflection, suspended in the void. The reflection looks exactly like her except her eyes and face hold a look she knows well. The hard choices made, mistakes carried in her heart, and loss that is unfathomable for most. Clarke felt the air hum around her, the light pressing against her skin like recognition. Though the space was eerie, something deep inside whispered that she was safe here. She was seen and she was whole.
Studying the reflection, her eyes in the mirror begin to burn with a vibrancy she has never seen before, a bright unnatural blue that seems to burn behind the irises as if a flame had been lit. She doesn’t feel warmth from this, she feels pressure. As if the world has been tilted and something ancient presses in at the edges of her. The mirror image of her mouth does not move at first, the sound of her voice does, the mouth follows after the first few words.
“Hello Clarke. You don’t know me but I know you. I am who you were meant to be, but sadly you never found your true potential.” The image’s tone is neither cruel nor kind, just absolute. “You have been chosen by the gods to right the past wrongs. You will be trained over the next year to become the goddess reborn that you are.”
The flame in her reflection’s eyes flutters like a living thing. Clarke’s first instinct is to step back, to run and try to think of a logical reason this is happening. Her second instinct is one that sits lower in her gut, is to press her palm to the glowing light where her reflection stares straight back and to ask the only question that matters.
“Why me?” she asks in a small but firm voice.
Her reflection smiles back at her in a way that makes Clarke’s heart ache. “Because you have learned what it costs. You loved, lost, and learned to choose peace for those who deserve it. You also learned when to choose war and death over peace. Because being Wanheda is not only a weapon but a burden only borne by those who can withstand the weight.”
Images flash behind the voice as if the glass is storing memories. The dropship screaming across a red sky, Lexa on a bluff leaning into a wind that smells like salt and ash. Hands, too many hands reaching for each other and only finding a blade. Clarke feels the images as pressure behind her own eyes, as if someone is rearranging the rooms of her life.
“You have a choice to make.” Wanheda says. “You will be able to have two people with you to rewrite the past, their memories intact from their previous lives. Think carefully. Teach them what must be taught. They must be soldiers that follow your command but also counsel when you need balance. Heda is your balance, without her you will be more prone to being short tempered and short sighted. Do not let what has been done become what will be again.Your reward for this will be that when you get to Earth, the moment you kiss Lexa her memories of you will return. She will be reborn as Heda incarnate as you are Wanheda.”
Heat pools in Clarke’s throat. She thinks of Lexa’s green eyes and the way her hands had once made the world stop moving. Her throat catches. “Why do I have to wait so long? Haven’t I suffered enough? I lost everything and everyone. I have been punished for all the mistakes I made and the lives I took. Can’t I just get in the escape pod and go to her now?” she asks.
“You woke where you needed to. One year before your father is to be floated and every mistake that follows, leading to the end of the world twice over. You have the ability to change the outcome. The children in the SkyBox will not be the first ones to go to the ground this time. You must make the changes necessary, for the Ark to follow your lead, before it lands on Earth. Hold your memory like a blade and also like a balm. Heda will need you, do not make us fail again.” Wanheda spoke resolutely and steady in her tone.
Clarke lets out a sound that’s half-laugh and half-sob. “What if I do not want to be Wanheda again? What if I just want to be a girl that falls in love with a Commander?” It is the most honest thing she’s said to anyone in a long time.
“You will still be her,” Wanheda answers in a calm, unyielding tone. “Being Wanheda is in the choices you make when everything tells you to choose violence, I am the mercy you grant when no one else will. I am also the vengeance you seek when Heda will not seek it because her hands are tied. She is Justice and fire. We are death and life. You remember why you loved her? Keep that., let it be the thing that steadies your hand. You will become the conqueror to stand by Lexa and lead the coalition into generations of peace, not just under your joint leadership.”
A cold wind of memory tears at Clarke then, and for a moment she is back on the ground. Lexa’s fingers in hers, the sun lighting up her smile as they hold each other in a warm embrace. It hurts like a bruise and heals like light.
Taking a deep breath, knowing exactly who she will need to take over the Ark. “If I can only have two people remember the past, I know exactly who I would choose. I need Raven and Kane. They can help me fix the mistakes made by the Ark before they even have a chance to happen. Kane can help me take control before it’s too late and make pragmatic decisions for the whole of the Ark. Raven is the genius that can make anything from nothing, but also call me out on my shit when needed.” Clarke said.
Wanheda nodded and didn’t speak again. In her reflection the blue flame fades and her pulse begins to slow. Clarke squeezes the edge of the desk until her knuckles whiten and breathes in until it hurts. She hears someone calling her name, a moment later a familiar voice calls out. “Clarke Griffin, care to answer the question for the class or were you too busy sleeping?” she hears a familiar voice ask her.
Opening her eyes slowly to see she was still sitting at her desk in Earth Sciences, “I apologize Mr. Pike, it won’t happen again.What was the question?” Her response, short and final.
“What are the essentials needed to survive 3 days alone in the wilderness?” Pike asked, confidence on his face she wouldn’t know the answer.
“Water, fire, shelter, and a clear mind” Clarke responded with a clipped tone.
Pike raised a brow. “Good start. Anything else?”
Her gaze drifted, her tone flattening into something older than her fifteen years. “Knowing who to trust and who to keep at a distance. You never know when you have a murderer standing right in front of you.” She responded, knowing that one also must not trust people until they prove they wouldn’t slit your throat in your sleep.
Pike and all the other students looked at her in shock. Clarke put her head down and stared at the desk, ‘So much for not drawing attention to yourself, Clarke.’, she thought to herself. After a few seconds, that felt like an eternity, Pike cleared his throat and continued the lesson. He kept an eye on her every so often for the remainder of class.
The other students would occasionally look at her and whisper but she didn’t care. Sitting there her mind began to work through all the changes that would have to be made. All the choices she would need to make going forward. If she had the power to change the past, she would make sure she doesn’t lose the ones she loves again.
She and Lexa are soulmates. They didn’t have a chance to be together last time. Now there was no chance she was going to let that happen again. This time, they would rule the world together. They will make sure that their reign leads to generations of peace. They will also make sure that no matter what happens, the Earth will survive humanity thai time.
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Clarke made it through the rest of her classes with minimal attention drawn to herself. Wells was concerned because she didn’t want to hang out after class like they usually did. She just told him she wanted to go and see her dad. Walking through the hall making her way to her dad’s office as Head of Engineering, Clarke bumps into a familiar face.
Clarke reaches out and hugs Raven. Raven returns the hug and then drags her to an empty store room in the engineering department. “What the hell, Griff? What is going on?” Raven asked.
Suddenly Kane walks through the door and they all stare at each other for a moment. Kane suddenly asked in Trigedasleng, “Do you remember too?”
Responding in kind Clarke’s response sent chills down both Raven’s and Kane’s spine. “Yes and I was sent back in time to right the wrongs made by us and the people of the Ark. I chose both of you to remember to help me fix the mistakes of the past before they repeat again. We are going to make sure humanity and Earth survive this time.”
Kane made his way over and hugged Clarke. They all made a plan to meet back in the equipment room tomorrow after breakfast. Kane would have both of them excused from work or school so no one came looking for them. It would give Clarke time to iron out her plan and go over everything with them tomorrow at one time.
They all parted and Clarke made her way back to the quarters she shared with her parents. She was quiet through dinner but engaged in conversation with her dad just to keep hearing his voice. She had missed him and wished he could’ve seen Earth last time. She would make sure it happened this time.
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She made her way to her room after dinner. It was as bland and tasteless as her food that morning. It was going to be tough to eat like that for another year but oh how she looked forward to eating deer for the first time again and smelling the Earth in the air.
Sitting on the floor meditating, calling out to Wanheda, she melded into the mindspace she was in during class. There stood Wanheda, this time however, she was dressed for battle. Leather armour reminiscent of the Trojans armour she remembered studying about in history, covered her body. She no longer was a reflection of Clarke but what she would turn into.
Her whole body, defined with muscle but her curves softened her warrior figure around the edges.
“You are a quick study. My last reincarnation took a week to figure out how to return to me in the mindspace.” Wanheda praised, an eyebrow raised in astonishment.
“I have had an AI in my mind before, it was simple to work out the how after your little visit during class this morning.” Clarke responded with a shrug. “I am ready to begin training. I want to be ready to start when I get back to Earth.”
“Ok Clarke, this is going to be painful. You will not wake for several days. During that time it will feel like years have passed. You will learn, grow, and become a goddess over that time. Your body will grow and change as you do while you’re here. When you wake up, you will look like me. You will also have all the generations of knowledge that I have as well. Once your transformation is complete you will wake. That is when you will start to make the changes you have already made plans for. Kane and Raven will be ready to follow your orders when you wake.” Wanheda told her in a calm voice, putting her at ease as she stepped closer.
Wanheda reached out and Clarke took her hand. When they touched, Clarke kneeled, feeling an overwhelming pain that has no words to describe. Her whole body was on fire and her mind was being inundated with information she never would’ve learned in 10 lifetimes. As her mind continued to file away knowledge her body was undergoing a significant transformation.
Over the following days, Clarke was placed in the medical bay. Her mom and dad, on constant rotations to make sure they fulfilled their commitments to the Ark but also be present for their daughter. Raven and Kane both snuck in to visit in the brief moments no one else was around. Wells came and sat next to her bed and talked to her almost everyday.
The transformation she went through wasn’t instant, it came in waves. Days of fever, of breath drawn ragged. Her body seemed to rebuild itself, muscles weaving tighter, her hair lightened where the sun had once touched it on the ground. Her skin grew tougher, as if the world itself was armoring her.
While her body underwent the physical change, in her mind she was becoming something else. The mindspace shaped itself into landscapes from her memories on Earth. The woods of Trikru, the ruins of Polis, and the fields frozen in the ash left behind by Praimfaya. Everywhere she looked, Clarke faced mirrors of herself. Each one a different version of herself. The healer, the killer, the girl, and the leader. She fought them all.
She learned to move like the wind, her steps silent, her strikes precise. She sparred against phantom warriors drawn from ages long past, grounders, Skaikru soldiers, even Nightblood champions whose names were lost to history. Each battle sharpened her reflexes until time itself seemed to bend, until she could see the motion of a blade before it began.
The goddess reforged her body with each victory. Muscles strengthened, scars fading into silver lines of power, reflexes honed beyond mortal measure. Her breathing slowed until it matched the rhythm of the world itself.
When she faltered, the goddess whispered, “You do not fight to kill. You fight to end the need for killing.”
After what felt like a lifetime training her body, then came stillness. For what felt like centuries, she sat in meditation before a pool of liquid light. In it, she saw the fall of empires, the rise of languages, the endless turning of human mistakes.
Knowledge flooded her. Everything from the engineering of the Ark, the chemistry of soil, the maps of the old world, the tongues of every tribe and people. She learned how to read wind currents, how to mend wounds with ash and leaves, and how to break bone with the turn of a wrist.
Her mind stretched until it touched the edge of madness, but Wanheda’s voice held her steady. “Power without wisdom destroys. Wisdom without power dies unheard. You must hold both.”
The last trial to learn was that of losing the ones you love. She faced the goddess again. Around them swirled the faces of the dead. Lexa, her people, the countless lives that had burned in the second Praimfaya.
To complete the rebirth, she had to bear their memories without breaking. She felt each life as her own, their fear, hope, and forgiveness. When she finally opened her eyes, tears streaked her face, glowing faintly in the light. Wanheda reached out and pressed her palm to Clarke’s chest. “Now you carry us all.” she said. “But remember, the goddess is not above the girl you also are. You will lead best when you remember what it is to be human.”
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After what felt like centuries of moments, time held no meaning here as Clarke’s body became honed perfection. Sweat and blood no longer existed in this place, only the echo of effort, the shaping of will. When she finally stilled, Wanheda stood before her again, the glow of her presence brighter than ever.
The goddess’s eyes were twin storms, endless and knowing. “You remember what was lost. Now you must remember why it was lost.”
Around them, a mist appeared and began to swirl around them, forming visions drawn from the old life. The Ark flickered into being. The metallic corridors, shadows of people moving through them like ghosts. Clarke saw her father, heard his voice, ‘They deserve to know the truth’ Then the scene shifted to Abby’s trembling hands, the message sent, and Jaha’s order echoing cold and final, ‘Float him’
Clarke’s throat closed. “I know,” she whispered. “I tried to forgive her.”
Wanheda’s gaze did not soften. “Forgiveness is not your task. Understanding is. You must know the fault lines before you can change their shape.”
The goddess raised her hand, and four figures emerged from the fog. Pike, Sydney, Shumway, and Jaha. Each stood motionless, bathed in a pale light. “Those are the ones whose choices poisoned the world.” she continued. “Some through fear, some pride, others through faith in power. If they live, the cycle repeats. If they fall, the path to peace may hold.”
Clarke stepped closer, studying their facies. Each held a different emotion in their eyes, Pike’s held conviction, Sydney’s was calculating, Shumway filled with ambition, and Jaha’s was misguided by faith. She could feel the echoes of everything their actions had cost. They had each caused execution, purges, and war.
‘You ask me to kill them,” Clarke said, her voice flat.
“I ask you to prevent them. You will not strike in vengeance, but to alter the weave of fate itself. Their removal is mercy for all who could die by their choices.”
The air hummed with divine power, heavy and cold. Clarke bowed her head “And my mother?”
For the first time, Wanheda’s tone wavered, the light around her dimming. “She was the first spark,” the goddess said. “Her love blinded her, and that blindness burned the world. You must not let her light your path again.”
Clarke’s heart clenched. “She will always be my mother but she stopped being my mom the moment she got my dad killed.”
Wanheda’s gaze met her, ancient and sorrowful. “Then love her as you can… but do what must be done if necessary.”
The mists stilled. Clarke stood alone again, surrounded by the fragments of both worlds. The past lives she had lived and the one she had to rebuild. Her jaw tightened with resolve. “Then I’ll do what must be done,” she said. “No matter the cost.”
Wanheda’s voice whispered through the darkness, proud and mournful all at once. “You are the blood of my blood, the strength of my will. Go, Wanheda. Shape the world anew before it shapes you.” By the time her eyes fluttered open, the girl her parents and Wells had known was gone. In her place was someone honed, steady, and unreadable.
The first thing Clarke felt was the rhythm of her own heartbeat. Steady, powerful, different. Her lungs filled with cold, recycled Ark air mixed with a tang of antiseptic that stung her nose. The hum of the medical equipment grounded her, pulling her from the fading echoes of the mindspace, the whispers of gods and death. The fire that burned her into something new.
She opened her eyes and light engulfed her. The ceiling lights were too bright, too clean. Not the canopy of trees she’d grown used to, not the deep, blood-soaked sky of Polis. Just the Ark.
Her body bore the faint silver sheen of that divine fire, her strength no longer something learned but remembered. Every motion carried the quiet grace of a warrior who had trained for millenia, every word the weight of ages. She was no longer just Clarke Griffin. She was Wanheda.
She was the bridge between god and mortal, destined to rewrite the fate of the world with her lover by her side. They would be the goddesses to heal the world and build peace. For them to bring that peace to their people, some fire and blood would have to be sacrificed.
“Clarke?” The voice broke through the static of her thoughts. Her gaze shifted and there he was. Sitting at her bedside with exhaustion lining his face, his hand hovering over hers as if afraid she might vanish if he touched her.
“Dad…” Her voice came out rough, but sure.
Jake’s relief was immediate and raw. He reached out, grasping her hand. “Hey, sweetheart. You scared the hell out of us. You’ve been unconscious for five days. Abby thought…”
At the sound of that name, Clarke’s expression hardened, the faint glow of divinity retreating behind the mask of control. Across the room, Abby stood near another bed with Jackson, discussing vitals in that brisk, clinical tone Clarke remembered too well.
“I’m fine,” Clarke interrupted quietly. “You don’t have to worry about me. Can you ask Raven Reyes to come here? I need to speak with her.”
Jake frowned, sensing the edge beneath her calm. “Clarke, what happened? You look… different.” His brow furrowed, studying her face, older somehow, sharper. “And how do you know that name?”
A smile ghosted over Clarke’s lips, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Let’s just say… we’ve worked together before.”
Before Jake could respond, Abby’s voice cut through the room. “Clarke! You’re awake!” Her mother’s footsteps were quick, almost frantic, as she crossed the space and began checking Clarke’s pulse, eyes darting over the monitors “How do you feel? Any dizziness? Nausea? You shouldn’t be sitting up yet…”
“Stop.” Clarke’s tone was calm but carried the weight of command, firm enough that Abby froze. “I already told dad, I feel fine.”
Abby’s eyes narrowed slightly, hurt flickering beneath her concern. “Clarke, I’m your mother…”
“And I’m not your patient.” Clarke’s gaze met hers, cold and steady “Jackson can tell me if I’m free to leave. I will not be your test subject over an anomaly that likely will never happen again."
The words hit harder than Abby expected. Her hand dropped, and for a moment, she looked small, guilty even. Jake glanced between them, sensing a storm. “Hey, let’s take it easy. Your mom was just worried about you, same as me kiddo.”
Clarke turned to him, and the difference was instant. Her expression softened, almost tender. “It’s ok, dad. I’m just done being handled.”
Jake’s lips twitched into a small, uncertain smile. “We just want to make sure you’re ok sweetheart. We have been worried sick since I found you in your room.”
“Exactly, you found me. You look out for me, not just train me to be the version of myself you want me to be.” Clarke looked toward the med bay door, resolve settling into her posture. “When Raven gets here, I need the room and to be discharged.”
Abby frowned. “Absolutely not! You’ve been unconscious for five days, now you wake up demanding to see people we didn’t know you knew and being disrespectful to me. You’re not going anywhere until I know what’s happening to you.”
Clarke rose from the bed slowly, gracefully, as if the world itself was adjusting to her presence. The monitors spiked briefly, reacting to the energy rolling off her. She didn’t seem to notice. “What’s happening,” she said quietly, “is I am making my own decisions. I can take care of myself, you’ve seen to that. ” Her eyes met Abby’s again calm, unflinching. “You made enough decisions for the both of us. I don’t need your permission do anything.”
Abby’s breath caught, the weight of Clarke’s words pressing against the unspoken sins she didn’t even know she’d committed. Clarke stepped past her, bare feet touching the cold metal floor. “Let me know when Raven gets here. I’m going to shower.” And with that, Wanheda walked out of the med bay, not a girl reborn but a goddess remembering.
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About 30 minutes after her parents left Raven walked through the door. She looked around med bay for a moment to see who all was still in the room. The soft hum of monitors was the only sound breaking the sterile stillness. Clarke sat on the edge of the med bay cot, a thin blanket draped over her.
Raven stood a few feet away, arms crossed, eyes scanning Clarke with a mixture of worry and disbelief. “You were out for five days, Griff. We thought we’d lost you.”
Clarke gave a faint, humorless smile. “You almost did.” Her voice was lower now, steadier, carrying something ancient that hadn’t been there before. “But I’m not who I was when I fell asleep.”
Raven raised an eyebrow. “Yeach, no kidding. You look like you’ve been training with Lexa and Anya your whole life. What the hell happened to you while you were out?”
Clarke hesitated, eyes dropping to her hands. “Between the world of gods and men… I was remade. Wanheda reborn.” The name carried weight, as if it echoed from somewhere beyond the Ark’s metal walls.
Raven scoffed softly. “You are saying you were transformed into a goddess in your sleep?”
Clarke’s gaze lifted, and for a heartbeat Raven’s sarcasm faltered. Clarke’s blue eyes glowed faintly in the med bay light. Cold and clear, like ice under sunlight. “Something like that.” She replied as the doors to the medical bay opened. Jackson walked in, just behind him a patient coming out of surgery was being brought in by a nurse.
A pause stretched between them before Clarke moved on. ““It is something we can talk about more later. There are too many eyes and ears around right now.” Clarke spoke in a hushed tone. “I need clothes. The ones I had don’t fit anymore.” She gestured at the ruined shirt, its sleeves ripped at the forearms. “Preferably something that lets me move.”
Raven blinked, shaking her head as if to ground herself. “Right yeah, you got it Griff. I’ll grab you something from storage, mechanics gear should fit. Maybe a bit loose but should get the job done. There is a lot I still don’t understand but you’re right, we’ll talk about it later.”
“Thanks.” Clarke’s voice softened for the first time. “And Raven, I need you to set up a meeting with Kane for today. We should meet in the same equipment room down in engineering. We’ll use it as our base of operations for now. No one else can know what we’re doing or what we know.”
Raven frowned. “You’re sure that’s smart? Abby’ll..”
“Abby doesn’t need to know,” Clarke interrupted sharply, the warmth gone from her tone. She stood, the blanket slipping from her shoulders, revealing the strength in her new form. “She made her choices. I won’t repeat her mistakes.”
The words hung heavy in the air. Raven studied her, this wasn’t just Clarke waking up different. This was someone reborn from fire and shadow, someone older than her 15 year old face had any right to look. Finally, Raven nodded. “Alright, I’ll make it happen. But you’re gonna have to tell me what the hell you’re planning.”
Clarke looked past her, to the steel ceiling that separated them from the stars. “Something that’ll change everything, again.”
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The med bay was quieter now. Sterile and still. The hum of machines fading into the background. Clarke sat at the edge of the bed, tying the hospital gown tighter around her waist as Jackson scrolled through her chart on a tablet at the other end of the room.
Raven entered, a duffel slung over her shoulder and grease stains on her fingers. “Figured if you’re gonna play goddess, might as well look the part.” Raven shrugged with a grin, as she tossed the bag onto the bed beside her.
Clarke smiled faintly, unzipping it to find dark mechanic pants, a fitted long-sleeve shirt, and boots that looked like they’d seen better days. “You’re a lifesaver.”
Jackson cleared his throat as he made his way over to them. “You’re clear to leave, Clarke. Vitals are strong and stronger than I’d expect honestly. Whatever happened to you, your body’s different.”
Clarke stood, pulling the new clothes on efficiently. “I’m aware.”
Jackson hesitated, his voice dropping. “Abby wanted to run a full workup…”
“I know what she wanted to do. She’ll manage without it.” Clarke cut in smoothly. “Thanks, Jackson.”
Raven gave him a small wave as they left. The med bay door sliding shut behind them. Once they were out of Medical they headed straight for the engineering deck to meet with Kane. Clarke had a steel look of determination while Raven held a look of awe as she watched her friend who had become a goddess among mortals.
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The storage room was dimly lit, walls lined with metal crates and unused tools. The faint hum of the engines carried through the floor, a reminder that life here was sustained only by the thin line between air and vacuum. Kane stood waiting for them, arms crossed, expression serious.
Clarke stepped forward, every trace of the uncertain teenager gone. Her posture was calm, centered, and commanding. “I need both of you to listen carefully. What I’m about to say will sound impossible, but I know that we can do it. Just, trust me.”
Kane and Raven stood in front of Clarke and listened intently. They said in unison. “We trust you always, Wanheda.”
“We failed in our last life. We destroyed the ground twice over because we refused to change. That ends now. We are going to reshape the Ark into what it should have been all along.” Her tone left no room for argument, her will as clear and unrelenting as her gaze.
Kane exhaled slowly, processing. “You’re saying Jaha…”
“...Is done,” Clarke finished. “You’ll take the Chancellorship from him, quietly. Piece by piece. You’ll remove the Council and replace them with myself and Raven. We can’t rule through fear again. Me and Raven will start working on the aircraft systems. Retrofitting the old ships and making sure more people get down safely this time. I will make a list of who is to be in what portion of the Ark when it breaks apart for re-entry.” She took a breath to look them both in the eyes and see that they are keeping up with her plan so far.
“I will take my graduation test early. That frees up my time to focus on preparing and training. We’ll need ground knowledge: agriculture, engineering, field medicine, ect for everyone that we plan to make it to the ground. The people who come with me have to build, not just survive. We also have to shut down enough of the Nuclear plants to stop the second Praimfaya before it ever begins. We will cull the dead weight before the next month is over, so those who will start war and put the group as a whole in danger will no longer be a threat.” Her eyes glinted like tempered glass, hard and unyielding. Beneath the gleam burned a steeled resolve, each word she spoke carrying a quiet authority of someone who expected to be obeyed.
“The Ark will be under my command before the first ship is sent to the ground.” The thought of waking Heda once she was back on Earth stirred a tremor in her chest, a need so fierce it hurt to hold. The pull to see her again felt older than memory, older than time itself. “Once Kane takes over as Chancellor we will turn these people into people who can survive the ground. Raven will also work with my dad on getting the system to limp us through as long as we can with the increased oxygen consumption as everyone starts training. The next year is going to be grueling and unrelenting but we will get through this together.”
Silence hung between them. The enormity of what she was proposing pressing down like gravity. Kane’s lips pressed into a thin line. “If you’re right… if we can change it…” He looked at her, the weight of old memory flickering in his eyes. “Then I’m with you. As I always was.”
Clarke inclined her head in acknowledgement, then turned to Raven. “You know what needs to be done.”
Raven smirked faintly “Already ahead of you, Wanheda.”
The name spoken softly but with reverence, filled the room like a quiet invocation. Kane’s posture shifted instinctively, as though remembering battles he hadn’t fought yet.
Clarke took a slow breath. “Once the ships are ready, I’ll lead the first mission to the ground, with Raven.”
Raven frowned. “Are you sure about that?”
“I have to be,” Clarke said. “Lexa is down there and I need to find her. When we meet, and when we…” She paused, her voice softening “When we kiss, she’ll remember. All of it. Being the goddess Heda, my soulmate and eternal flame. Every life, every choice, every mistake.”
Kane exchanged a look with Raven, both of them silent, both already accepting what she said as truth. Raven nodded slowly. “Then let’s get started.”
Clarke looked between them, her first two followers, her first believers. The Goddess of Death was reborn not as a destroyer, but as a conqueror. “Good, because this time, we’re not just surviving. Heda and I are reclaiming.”
The lights in the room flickered as the Ark cycled power, casting shifting shadows across their faces The three of them stood together, the quiet beginning of a revolution that would reshape humanity itself.
Clarke told them of all that she had learned and the training she had undergone. Neither of them could fathom the knowledge she had stored away in her brain or the strength she had coursing through her veins. She would be her most powerful and unlock her full potential when she and Heda finally reunite.
Now it was time for Kane and Raven to train with Wanheda to become the warriors necessary to help move the world forward when they made it to the ground. Clarke would make sure they could take care of themselves so no one could take them by surprise. They would be her counsel when Wanheda was asking for blood until she found her soulmate to balance her darker urges.
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Clarke and Raven make their way through the Ark from engineering back to the Griffins’ quarters. On the way there Raven instinctively followed half a step back and to the right of Clarke. She would always protect her blindside. Even if Clarke was Wanheda reborn, she was still like a sister to Raven. They would always be family, even if they didn’t agree on everything.
Once they made it to the Griffins’ quarters the door slips open with its familiar hiss, revealing Jake and Abby sitting in the compact, spotless common room. It was all brushed steel and recycled air. The hum of life support filled the silence like a heartbeat. A small metal table between them was set with untouched plates, steam long since faded from the meal. Clarke’s gaze shifted to the viewport where the curve of Earth shimmered below, so close yet impossibly out of reach.
Jake rose first, relief lighting his features. “Clarke.”
Abby’s gaze followed, sharp and assessing as always. “We were about to come find you. You shouldn’t be walking all over the Ark yet. Clarke, you were unconscious for five days, you don’t just go back to acting as if nothing happened after that.” her eyes narrowing toward her daughter.
“I’m fine.” Clarke said evenly as she stepped inside, Raven close behind her. “I don’t need rest or time. I need space.” Her tone carried the weight of command that made even Abby pause for a moment.
Abby blinked, taken aback by her daughter’s composure or perhaps by the faint authority in her voice that didn’t sound like a teenager’s at all. “You don’t get to decide that, Clarke. You’re still recovering…”
“I don’t take orders anymore,” Clarke said, her gaze steady, voice quiet but absolute. “Not from you, not from anyone.”
The room went still. Raven shifted awkwardly, eyes flickering between them. Jake looked from his wife to his daughter, trying to find the thread that connected them still. He had no idea why his daughter was angry with his wife but she was and nothing that was said seemed to ease the anger she held towards her right now.
“Hey,” Jake said softly, breaking the silence. “Let’s all take a breath, alright? Clarke just got home and it’s been a stressful last few days. No one is here to fight, we’re just happy you’re awake and back home.”
Abby looked at him frustrated. “Jake, she’s not herself”
Clarke interrupted, her voice like tempered steel. “I am more myself than I’ve ever been.”
Raven stepped forward, cutting in before Abby could snap back and before Clarke could do irreparable damage with her mother. “Ok, ok, let’s not do this right now.” She glanced at Jake. “Maybe Clarke should crash with me for a bit. Just until things calm down.”
Abby’s expression hardened. “She’s not leaving this room. Not when we don’t even know what’s wrong with her.”
Jake sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Abby, come on. Our daughter is standing, talking, and physically healthier than she has ever been. Whatever happened to her, she seems to be unaffected by it. If it helps her breathe a little, let her stay with Raven.”
Abby’s shoulders dropped, the fight bleeding out of her, replaced by something heavier. “I just don’t understand,” she whispered. “She wakes up and suddenly she looks at me like I’m a stranger.”
Clarke’s voice softened, though it carried no warmth. She remembered all the selfish choices her mother made that put her loved ones at risk or resulted in so many people dying. She couldn’t let that repeat and she couldn’t forgive her until she was able to prove she wouldn’t make the same mistakes again. “You’re not a stranger, mom. You’re just… not the person I thought you were.”
Abby’s breath caught. Her eyes betrayed her, showing the confusion and hurt behind them, flickering all at once. “Clarke…”
Jake placed a gentle hand on her arm. “Let it go, for tonight, Abby.” He turned to Clarke. “You’ll at least stay for dinner won’t you?”
Clarke hesitated but looked into her father’s eyes, his eyes showing his sincerity. It calmed her nerves and tempered her anger, “I’ll stay for dinner.” She agreed.
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The four of them sat around the small table, the sound of forks hitting metal plates filling the silence. Jake tried to keep the conversation moving with Raven. They talked about work, repairs, small things that didn’t matter. Abby mostly stayed quiet, her eyes on her daughter as if searching for something familiar. Raven sat across from Clarke studying her, trying to gauge the shifts in Clarke’s posture, the serene stillness that wasn’t human.
“So,” Jake said lightly, “you two have worked together before? Anything fun in engineering?”
Raven smirked faintly. “You could say that.”
Clarke’s tone was smooth, almost detached. “We’re reworking some old flight schematics.”
Abby held her tongue but Clarke could read she had something to say. When the meal was over, Clarke stood, stacking her dishes neatly. “Thank you for dinner.”
Jake reached out to hug his daughter. “You’ll let us know if you need anything?” he smiled faintly as he pulled away.
“I always do, Dad.” Clarke’s eyes softened as she looked in his.
She turned toward the door and Abby rose but Jake caught her arm before she could go too far. She stood where she was and watched as her daughter, taller, sharper, more self-possessed than any 15 year old should be, disappeared down the hall. Raven glanced back once, offering Jake a small nod before the door slid shut.
As they walked down the dim corridor toward Raven’s room, the silence stretched on for a while. Finally, Raven muttered, “You know she’s just scared, right?”
“I know.” Clarke said quietly. “But fear doesn’t excuse what she’ll do.”
Raven nodded and understood all too well the choices Abby makes when she’s scared. She could still feel the collar’s electricity burning the skin around her neck as Abby held the button down. The memory of the smell when her skin burned would never escape her.
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Raven’s quarters were small, barely large enough for two bunks and a shared desk covered in tools, scrap metal, and old flight schematics. Raven had already passed out on the lower bunk, one arm draped over her face, the soft hum of her breathing filling the stillness.
Clarke lay on the top bunk, staring at the ceiling. The lights were dimmed to a soft amber glow, pulsing faintly with the rhythm of the Ark’s systems. The air smelled faintly of ozone and oil mixed with the sharp sterility of the station. Raven’s scent.
She turned onto her side, one arm folded beneath her head. The silence pressed in around her, but her mind refused to rest. Every plan, every step she’d outlined with Kane and Raven played behind her eyes like constellations waiting to align. The ship repairs, the political shifts, the reactors that had to be neutralized, and the people who had to be trained. One year, that’s all she had before everything would be set in motion to reach the ground. She had to make sure the people of the Ark were ready this time.
Her throat tightened. She could almost feel the weight of the world below. The forests and the winds, the heartbeat of the earth calling to her through the void. And beyond all of it, a presence she could never mistake. Lexa. Clarke closed her eyes, and the name echoed like a prayer. She could see her standing in the soft glow of the Polis candlelight, the calm authority in her gaze, the fierce tenderness that lived beneath it. Her armor glinting in the firelight, her voice low, sure. Calling for Clarke, Wanheda and love all in one breath.
The memory of her touch lingered. The warmth of her hands, the stillness of her embrace, the way she’d looked at Clarke like she was both salvation and sin. A single tear slipped free and traced down Clarke’s cheek, catching on the corner of her mouth. She didn’t wipe it away. “I’m coming back to you,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “No matter how long it takes. No matter what I have to become.”
Her fingers curled against the thin blanket as if holding onto that promise itself. Images flickered behind her closed eyes, the Ark rebuilt, children learning how to survive on the ground, fires burning out before they became another apocalypse. She could see Kane guiding the Ark through the landing, Raven flying the first drop ships, humanity finally learning to live again instead of just endure.
When the Ark was ready, she’d descend to the ground and find her. The air seemed to shift around her, soft and warm, like a breath brushing her cheek. For just a moment, Clarke swore she felt Lexa’s presence beside her. Not a dream, not a memory, but something real. A whisper carried on the edge of consciousness.
“Ai hod yu in, Klark kom Skaikru.”
Clarke exhaled shakily, eyes still closed. “Ai hod yu in, sentaim”, she breathed back.
Sleep took her then, not the restless kind that haunted her before, but the heavy, dream-filled sleep of a goddess preparing for war and love alike. Outside the small window, the Ark drifted in silence above the curve of the Earth, waiting for the day Wanheda would rise again to set things right.