Legacy
The stars bathed the forest in a light glow. Clarke breathed in the crisp night air and looked around. She knew these woods. None of Skaikru had spent as much time in them as she had. Even the darkness could not make her feel lost. She walked on, her boots cracking twigs and leaves crunched under her foot as she went with a sense of purpose. She knew where to go.
As she carried on up a slight bank, her eyes widened at the sight of where the trees began clear. A young man was sitting, staring up at the stars with brown hair that was slightly shorter than when she had first met him. She glanced to her right at the entrance of the bunker, a thousand memories caressing her soul. It had been a long time.
She took a nervous gulp, her mouth painfully dry. She had known to come here but she didn't know what was next. Her foot hovered forward but she retracted it, hesitant to step closer.
The young man seemed to know and he turned, wearing that same easy smile.
'Finn,' she breathed.
'Come on, Clarke,' he called over, 'we might actually see a shooting star this time.'
Clarke's mouth dropped open as Finn sat on the edge of the bank and turned back to gaze up at the canvas of the night sky. Her heart hammered against her rib cage but she had barely walked half a kilometre to get here. She'd let him die. She hadn't thought she'd seen him again, she hadn't wanted to...not after the visions of him that haunted her after his death.
She wiped away the solitary tear and steeled herself, thinking of the people she had left behind. She needed answers.
She stepped forward until she was next to him and lowered herself to the muddy ground. She scanned his face that was still tilted upwards but he chuckled at her, finally meeting her shocked gaze.
'You never can stop...'
'How are you here?' Clarke asked, stunned and not entirely confident that she was truly ready to know the answer.
'I was here first, remember?'
Finn had all that same confidence and graceful ease to him that he had possessed when she had first met him. She had envied him for that. The group had seen her as bringing everyone down when she was trying to keep them alive. It's why she had insisted to Finn so vehemently that she could, in fact, be fun. He could embrace happiness in a way she simply couldn't comprehend.
'Then how am I here?' Clarke asked, impatient. 'Where are we?'
'The art supply store, you know that.' Finn sighed, content.
'I don't understand.' Clarke said quietly, pain flooding through her. 'You were gone.'
Finn's lips twitched gently and there was a tenderness to his eyes.
'Not gone, Clarke. I just wasn't there.' Finn said gently.
'So ALIE killed me.' Clarke muttered bitterly.
'They'll save you.' Finn told her reassuringly. 'Then you'll have to go back to the fight. They already have, really.'
'If I'm going soon then explain.' Clarke urged, as realisation hit her and she never had any doubt that her people would do everything to try to save her. 'If you know anything -'
'You're here now.' Finn replied, clearly feeling no need to hurry up the conversation. 'There's no time here. You can't be dislodged. What happens, stays. Who did you want to see, Clarke?'
Clarke could tell he knew the answer. A twinge of guilt rippled through her but he knew her too well and she couldn't help it. She'd wanted to see him so much.
'My dad.'
'So why do you think you ended up with me?'
Clarke subconsciously glanced at the stars. They once were her home. It was strange to think of life on the Ark. She hadn't even been on the ground for one year yet but life felt so much more real. They were free but it had cost so much. Her father had tried to save them all, and the Ark, at all costs. He never got to see the ground...but maybe he would have wanted to find a way to stay. He loved the Ark. Going to Earth was her mother's idea.
'He never came to the ground.'
Finn nodded sadly.
Clarke's eyes narrowed and she realised what her true fear was now. It had not been just facing Finn.
'Are there others here?'
'Yes,' Finn said, 'but don't worry. They're at peace. You have nothing to fear.'
Clarke bit the inside of her mouth fighting tears. She had murdered an entire civilisation. Whole families had been wiped out because of her. She doubted that they would ever let her be. Now she was among the ghosts she had created.
'So this is death...'
'No,' Finn said, 'not exactly and it isn't for always, Clarke. This is just a place we have for when it's needed.'
'But I thought whatever happened, stayed?'
'It's complicated.' Finn laughed but Clarke frowned, which made Finn simply laugh harder.
'Becca wasn't the first to try to extend humanity-'
'How do you know-'
'People have made it to the City of Light before and died. ALIE can't totally erase who someone is. When their bodies cease to work, their spirits are left.'
'Spirits?' Clarke asked quickly.
'It's just the way it's described.' Finn said, shrugging.
'Is this connected to the Flame?'
'No.' Finn shook his head. 'Becca became more thorough. There are no past commanders here. She must have found a way to lock in the commanders - they were her chosen ones, after all.'
'Does that mean they can't come here at all?' Clarke asked, more baffled than ever at how to connect with Lexa and find a way to beat ALIE; she half expected ALIE to jump out from behind the trees or for her memories to torture her again but she felt much more in control in her heart than her head would allow.
'There could be a way.' Finn said. 'But Becca didn't design this reality. It's a harder boundary for her people to cross over.'
'So who did design it?' Clarke asked, but at this point she expected any questions to lead to more questions and fewer answers.
'People who knew us better than we knew ourselves,' Finn sighed. 'War was always coming. There was an arms race, Clarke. It was only going to end one way.'
Clarke knew well enough that this was true. Maybe Finn had been right; guns had been just the first step. As soon as they had armed they had been led to the path of war, but maybe without them they would never have had any chance at all. Clarke wasn't sure what was right anymore, and she wasn't even sure being right mattered.
'They couldn't undo the bombs. People would always want them for protection,' Finn said, sardonic, 'so some scientists found a way for when it would all end in failure.'
'Immortality.' Clarke breathed quickly.
The Flame would have given Lexa this. If all of the Commanders were held inside it then Lexa could never truly die so long as the Flame lived. Yet she had taken no such Flame and Finn had certainly never taken one of ALIE's chips.
'No,' Finn said firmly, 'this isn't for always and it isn't even all of us. This is our imprint. This is our legacy. We are held here until we are free.'
'I don't understand. You said there was no time-'
'And there isn't. It's about placement...it's about peace. It's complex, Clarke, but I stayed until I could see you again.'
'So you'll leave?' Clarke said, worried.
'No, you still need help.' Finn replied.
'So the dead just wait?'
'Our legacy isn't so easily forgotten;' Finn said, nudging her shoulder playfully, 'or at least I like to think so.'
'It's hard to believe.' Clarke admitted, in awe. 'It's like you've just been waiting in a room out of sight. Were you really there? Did I really see you after your death?'
'No,' Finn replied sadly, 'any vision you had of me was your grief. I couldn't get back to you. I was not there. I was gone from that realm. You had to come here, and you aren't the first to have done so.'
Clarke looked at Finn, bewildered.
'Think, Clarke.' He smiled.
Clarke looked at him, aghast.
'Is it one of us?'
Finn chuckled at the request for a clue but he consented to nod.
Clarke's brow furrowed for a moment before realisation dawned upon her.
'Lincoln!'
'Yeah,' Finn nodded, proudly. 'He was brought back too.'
'Why hasn't he said anything?' Clarke asked, torn between annoyance and confusion.
'Would you? He was gone for moments and then he went back to a life he had always known. I think that's why he wanted to stay in Arkadia so badly. He was scared of what was out there. He could connect, he'd already crossed the boundary. I think he saw Arkadia as a haven from whatever was inside of him and whatever was outside of our camp.'
Clarke thought back to Lincoln's words...we've all got a monster inside of us...he'd been put through so much pain that no wonder he might have believed he was broken after seeing death.
'But he understands.' Clarke said, her eyes bright.
Finn nodded.
'But how the hell do I get through the City of Light and beat ALIE?' Clarke asked, brushing her hair back and she sounded faintly panic stricken at the prospect.
She knew now of ALIE's true power. ALIE had killed her, or almost killed her. Clarke wasn't entirely sure what had happened but she knew that ALIE wouldn't stop either. It was going to take everything to beat her.
'Trust Raven. Trust our friends.'
Clarke nodded. She turned slightly behind her to the trees as there branches gently blew against the wind. She was sure she could hear voices faintly in the air and once again she was filled with purpose.
'So you're with me now?' Clarke asked, standing up slowly.
'When haven't I been?' Finn teased, remaining where he was sat.
'Okay, I need to talk to Raven then.' Clarke muttered, more to herself.
The voices were growing louder but Finn made no acknowledgement of them. They belonged to her only. She tried to shut them out, as she looked at Finn again and he spun round in his seat, crossing his legs and looking up at her expectantly.
'Is a woman called Costia here?'
Clarke rolled her eyes in annoyance at herself. She didn't even know why she asked.
'Yeah,' Finn smirked, 'but don't worry, Clarke. Lexa loves you.'
'That is not-'
'Of course not...' Finn replied smugly.
'Finn,' Clarke started in a warning voice.
'We both know you have to go.'
'I just meant-'
'Oh, I knew what you meant...'
'Finn!'
Clarke jolted gasping and there was a roar of movement as she was pulled into a tight hug. The floor was hard beneath her and her body ached all over. Blonde hair covered her as her mother sobbed over and Clarke breathed in relief when her mother let her go.
Clarke pulled herself up to a sitting position as her mother wiped tears from her eyes. Lexa's mouth was hanging open in shock and Clarke forced herself to pull her eyes away from her. Her gaze flicked to Lincoln for the briefest of seconds and there was a look of fear but understanding there. Clarke didn't turned her head to look at Raven, who was watching her from near the screen.
'I need your help.'
Raven rolled her eyes.
'I know that - and I've got a plan.'