Chapter Text
Chapter Two: Strange New World
Lexa woke to the ground shaking beneath her and Clarke’s name on her lips. She shifted her gaze and body, finding herself in a cryopod. Only the pod had been damaged by wreckage from—
Another shake of the earth, accompanied by a loud boom, had the missing pieces falling together. They were being bombed. But by who and how? As far as she knew, no one on the ship had explosives.
She swung her legs over the edge of her damaged pod, Lexa’s eyes instinctively moving to the one beside her. Clarke’s pod was empty, as were the other soldiers’ cryo shells. That left Lexa wondering where they were. Nevermind that she didn’t recall going back into cryo. So what the hell had happened?
Lexa rose to her feet, finding her legs wobbly beneath her. This, of course, spurred even more queries. How long had she been asleep? And where the hell was the medical team? None of this made sense. If only—
Booted feet were headed in her direction. Maybe it was Clarke or one of the others. That gave her hope until she found herself on the wrong end of a gun for the second time today.
“Hands up! Put them in the air now!” A man in a strange mask demanded. He and seven others had their weapons trained on Lexa.
“Look, I don’t know what’s happening. But I’m not a threat.” Lexa calmly replied, raising her arms above her head. Not that she wasn’t prepared to lay these fuckers out if needed.
While each person seemed familiar with their rifles, Lexa felt confident she could overpower them. This was especially true, given her last interaction with someone pointing their gun at her. Lexa wasn’t sure if it was all a dream, but she recalled every detail before Abby sedated her and the others.
Lexa didn’t know where her strange powers originated. Nor was she confident in all they entailed. But whatever caused the funky lightning had granted her powers and made Lexa even more badass than before. If these men tried to harm her, they’d be in for the shock of their lives.
The man expelled a scoff. “You’re Eligius. They’re all a threat. Now go! Down the hall with your friends.”
Any intentions of attacking these soldiers faded with the possibility of seeing Clarke, Raven and Anya. So with a calming breath, Lexa complied—if only to see her unit safe. Still, she wondered what he meant. Eligius was a threat? What did that mean, and who were these people?
Lexa focused all her senses on these soldiers and her surroundings as she followed their leader out. The first thing she noticed was that they weren’t on the ship as she initially presumed. The walls were concrete, not steel. A bunker, maybe?
Second came the telltale signs of war. The scent of gunpowder and scorched flesh invaded Lexa’s nostrils. Soldiers rushed their wounded past the door to the pods on stretchers. The booms and pops of gunfire and bombs flooded Lexa’s ears. All of these were sensations Lexa believed she’d never again experience. Or rather, she’d hoped to never see war again.
There were dozens more armed men lining the corridor, with several more rushing in the opposite direction. One of them mentioned something about insurgents, sending Lexa’s mind spiraling. What the fuck was happening?
She ran through every detail of her last memories before Lexa’s world went dark, trying to figure out how they had gotten to this point.
A storm unlike anything she’d seen, with strange green bolts of lightning. The rest of the team had been struck by these fluid-like tendrils. But Lexa, Monty and Maya found safety beneath a tree. She recalled thinking it was strange. The bolts only hit the clearing. It was almost as if the trees warded off the lightning. But Clarke and the others were in a clearing, leaving them in the open.
Lexa knew it was unwise to leave the tree’s safety. But she couldn’t watch Clarke or the others die. So she ran toward the blonde and Atom first. Given the number of times she’d scolded Clarke for acting without a strategy or one’s emotions, Lexa should’ve known better. But her heart outweighed the screaming in her head, telling Lexa this was a fool’s errand.
Something struck her from behind, just as Lexa reached Clarke. A glance down found a branch had impaled her through the heart. Lexa recalled thinking she was about to die when her world suddenly turned black.
When she woke, Lexa was surrounded by the emergency medical team. Abby was fussing over Clarke, while Eric inspected Anya and Raven. Lexa’s physician was Harper, who let out a surprised gasp when she realized the commander was awake.
That’s when everything went to hell. Jaha showed up with Bellamy, Nate, Jasper and Octavia. Jaha seemed calm as he strode up to Lexa. But after a glance around, Jaha pulled out a sidearm and aimed it at Lexa’s head.
The idiot should’ve known better. Within a fraction of a second, Lexa disarmed him and pinned Jaha to the ground, pointing his fallen weapon at the bastard’s head. To her surprise, Bellamy, Nate and Jasper rushed to Jaha’s aid, not Lexa’s. They didn't aim their weapons at their commander and order her to stand down. Instead, they opened fire.
Once again, Lexa thought for sure she was dead. But the bullets bounced off her, causing everyone’s eyes to widen in astonishment. None were more shocked than Lexa. But she shoved any questions aside in favor of teaching these dumbasses a lesson. She was about to kick their asses when Kane showed up and commanded them all to drop their weapons.
Jaha insisted Lexa be arrested, which only further agitated her. If not for Kane, Jaha would’ve died then. But instead, she complied with Kane’s request to stand down and allowed them to handcuff her to the rover. That’s when–
“Lex!” Clarke exclaimed, immediately drawing the commander’s gaze and pulling a relieved sigh from Lexa. Clarke was alive. Thank the gods or whoever might be responsible.
Clarke wasn’t alone, making Lexa feel even more at ease. Raven and Anya were with her, too. All three women appeared as shell-shocked as Lexa felt. Their confusion mirrored her own, leaving Lexa more perplexed than before. She’d hoped the other might know something, anything. But it seemed she was wrong.
What the fuck happened? How did they get here? Were they still on Esperanza?
Lexa was so distracted by her questions that she was only vaguely aware their captors were binding her wrists. Or that her friends also had bindings on. Was this a dream? Were they having a mass hallucination? Or was it just Lexa who was halfway to the loony bin and too far gone to realize it?
It didn’t matter. For now, even if it was a delusion in Lexa’s mind, Clarke, Anya, and Raven were alive.
“Are you alright?” She asked, her eyes on Clarke, though her question was meant for everyone else too.
Clarke showed no signs of injury or pain. If anything, she appeared as confused as Lexa. A glance at the others found them in the same boat. Their expressions were equal parts of befuddlement and annoyance at their current situation. But none appeared frightened. They were, after all, professionals. This wasn’t the first time they’d been captured. While the four women could easily escape, it was plain they were biding their time, waiting for the most opportune moment.
Anya scoffed. “If you call waking up with a gun in your face, alright. Then, sure, we’re all rainbows and unicorns over here.”
“I’m okay,” Clarke replied, after a slight rolling of her eyes, then the blonde’s gaze swept over Lexa from head to toe. “Are you?”
Lexa shrugged. “Having a shit day, but otherwise…”
“Well, I’m just fucking peachy.” Raven interjected. “Anyone else demanding a refund on our little honeymoon trip to Crazy-ville? Or is it just me?”
Rae’s expression said it all. She was two seconds from going apeshit if these goons set another hand on her. Frankly, Lexa felt the same. But she felt it was the least likely path to gaining some answers. Unless the others had some, that is.
“Where are we?” she asked, gaining blank stares from the others.
“I was hoping you might know that,” Clarke replied with a disappointed tone. “You were awake before the rest of us last time, so I thought maybe…”
Lexa shook her head. “No fucking clue. Last thing I remember was your mom stabbing a needle into my neck.”
“So nobody knows what’s happening. Fucking wonderful.” Anya grumbled.
“Maybe…” Lexa started, only to pause when the presumed leader of their captors hit her jaw with the butt of his rifle.
“Shut the fuck up! All of you!” The masked man demanded, gaining murderous glares from the four women.
If it weren’t for the hundreds of enemy soldiers surrounding them, Lexa would fuck this asshole up for striking her. Instead, Lexa studied him more closely. The mask seemed to be a bull’s skull. It had two horns and a long snout. But it was larger than any bull Lexa had seen. Granted, she’d only seen them in movies, never in person.
She was tempted to teach this prick a lesson in manners. But decided it was counterproductive–for now, that is. Once they had answers, this douchebag would be the first to be on the wrong end of Lexa’s fists.
“What do you want from us?” she asked behind a clenched jaw.
The man took two steps forward, so the tip of his mask was inches from Lexa’s face and chuckled. “I’m sending you back to your people with a message. You’re going to tell your commander this is our valley, not hers. Now get in the fucking truck.”
He shoved her roughly toward a rover that had plainly been through hell. Bullet holes and burns were scattered across the full exterior. A look around found signs of a bloody war in every direction.
Explosions and gunfire could be heard in the distance, seeming drawing closer. Someone was pushing them back–or trying to. A few of the blasts, presumably from mortars, were only a few hundred meters away. Soldiers scrambled toward the front, ignoring the four prisoners. They were in a deep trench leading to the bunker they pulled Lexa and the others from. Eligius’ corporate symbol adorned the entrance of the bunker.
Over Eligius’ logo were words seemingly written in blood. Jus drein jus daun.
Lexa narrowed her eyes in confusion. She didn’t recognize any of the words. What did they mean? And who were these people? It was soon apparent their captors were not from the ship when their leader began barking orders in a strange language, presumably the same one as the words on the bunker door. A glance at Clarke, Raven and Anya found them as confused as Lexa.
The truck lurched forward, its wheels struggling against the thick mud and occasional potholes that were undoubtedly caused by the skirmish. They had four guards, with two more men in the cab. Their leader stood directly behind the driver, using the sight of his weapon to scout ahead. Occasionally, he opened fire, but Lexa couldn’t see if he hit anyone.
“Who are you fighting?” Clarke asked one of the guards.
He pointed at the four women. “Your people.”
Lexa’s brow furrowed. What was that supposed to mean? Last she recalled, their people, as he called them, were asleep in space. Esperanza was uninhabited–or so they believed–so where did all these soldiers come from? Were they already living on the planet? Why didn’t the probes report there were indigenous people?
Clarke shook her head in disbelief. “I don’t understand. There was no one on this planet when we arrived…”
“Which is exactly how your people wanted it,” the sentinel to the left growled, drawing befuddled glances.
“Those Eligius bastards tried to float my grandparents.” The first guard added, further confusing Lexa. “If not for Russell Prime, I’d have never been born.”
“None of us would have,” another man piped in, further confusing the women.
Floated? What did that mean? And who was Russell Prime? These men mentioned their grandparents … which begged the question–
“What year is it?” Raven asked with wide eyes, gaining a wave of laughter from their guards.
But their leader had enough. “Shof op! Emo bilaik baga. Oso na teik em ge trashsaka.”
“Tristraka na frag em op,” One guard replied with a shrug, then glanced at their prisoners and grinned. “Fifty credits says they don’t make it ten meters.”
His words prompted a wave of bets, each differing in distance, suggesting Lexa and the others weren’t headed to safety. Wherever they were taking them, it was dangerous. She only prayed these dumbasses were wrong in their estimation of Lexa and her crew’s abilities.
Finally, the truck came to a halt.
Lexa gasped at the sight. This place must have been a forest once. But the trees were little more than charred remains. The kaleidoscope of colors that once filled the forest was now a dull mixture of muddy grays, puddles of crimson, and scorched blacks. There was barbed wire along either side of the clearing, presumably meant to keep enemy soldiers out.
“Welcome to no-man's-land,” the leader offered with a devilish grin that grew wider when the clouds above swirled into a vortex. “And right on time, too.”
Lexa immediately recognized the verdant cyclone. It was the same as the one the day everything went to shit. Already, strands of lightning flooded the clearing.
“Go, go, go!!” the guards shouted, pushing the women with the barrels of their rifles.
“What is this? You said–” Anya began, only for the lead soldier to smirk and point at the opposing side.
“Your people are on the other side. I suggest you run faster than that dumbass over there.” He gestured at a man several hundred meters to their left. Like them, he was forced out of a truck. The man stumbled as he crossed the clearing, only to be struck by a bolt that vaporized him.
“What the fuck?!” Raven exclaimed, her eyes wide as the entire clearing erupted in bright verdant tendrils.
This was the same storm, only there was no place to hide from the bolts. Lexa spun around, prepared to fight back. Her hands may be bound, but she would not let that hinder her. But a glance at the leader had her stop in her tracks. He had his gun pressed to Clarke’s temple.
“You look like the kind of woman who likes to stir up trouble,” he said with a smirk. “Either we shoot you and your friends here and leave your bodies to rot, or you try your luck in no-man's-land. The choice is yours.”
Lexa never wanted to throttle someone as badly as she did this bastard. But she couldn’t risk losing Clarke. The man was right. If Eligius was on the other side, then crossing the empty battlefield was their best bet. At least, she hoped it was.
“Off you go!” He commanded, ensuring Clarke was between him and the commander. “Your friend will be right behind you.”
Lexa sent a wary glance at the clearing. She was probably going to die. Hell, they all were. But what other choice did they have? Whatever gifts she exhibited before had yet to rise to the surface, leaving them helpless to stop these men from killing Clarke if Lexa hesitated. So, with a sharp breath, Lexa entered no-man's-land.
Raven, Anya and Clarke soon followed in a furious dash toward the safety of the other side. Or at least Lexa hoped it was safe. This place certainly wasn’t.
On either side of her, lightning struck. Behind them came bullets, likely meant to keep them from turning back. There were others crossing, too. But none of them seemed to have luck on their sides. Lexa considered zig-zagging to avoid the green tendrils, however, there was no way to predict the strikes. Instead, she ran straight, her tensions waning slightly when Clarke, Raven and Anya matched her pace.
She spotted armed men ahead of them, each wearing Eligius patches on their vest. The others were right, their people were on the other side. But then who were the men that woke them? Where had they come from?
Of course, these questions grew as they reached the Eligius soldiers, all of whom gasped and muttered, “they’re Primes!”
Primes? Didn’t the others mention Russell Prime? But what did that mean?
“Hands up!” A man with a gray beard commanded. “Identify yourselves!”
The four women gave their rank and names, surprised by the reactions from the others. “Holy shit! It’s them! The original Primes!”
Original Primes? Lexa glanced at the others, finding them as baffled as she was. What did this mean? Were they referring to the powers she and Clarke have? Did Raven and Anya have them, too?
“We need to bring them to Commander Wald,” a woman with short bleached blonde hair suggested, the name immediately causing Lexa’s ears to perk up.
“Indra Wald?” She clarified, praying they might see a familiar face and gaining a slight smile from the woman.
“She said she knew you. But I always thought they were fairy tales and bedtime stories.” The woman replied, then gestured for the foursome to follow her. “This way.”
The blonde woman led them into a set of trenches not dissimilar to the ones in the enemy camp. Like the opposing side, there were hundreds of soldiers here, each of them gazing at Lexa and her friends with awestruck expressions. Whispers echoed through the maze of trenches as they made their way to what appeared to be a command center.
This side appeared more organized. They passed through barracks, an infirmary, a mess hall, and what looked like a small market. There was a slight tension beneath every surface, as often occurred in war. But these soldiers were far more orderly, seemingly made up of professionals rather than the unorganized mess across no-man's-land.
Finally, they reached a staircase encased in concrete. They followed the woman up four flights, pausing at a table with a map. There were radio operators here, perched along one wall with another set of workers pouring over a digital map with dots showing enemy soldiers. Behind these operators stood a formidable-looking woman, who was plainly in charge.
“Mother,” their blonde guide offered, dipping her head respectfully. “We’ve found them … the first Primes. Or rather, the enemy has.”
The woman turned, revealing a familiar, albeit scarred, face. She looked worse for wear, the evidence of many years of war written in jagged lines. Her hair was short and mostly gray, with wrinkles all but announcing the passage of time. Over her left eye was a black patch, with scars spanning most of her face, neck and arms. Still, there was no denying who she was–Indra Wald.
“Commander Woods! It’s about time your unit showed up,” Indra sternly offered. “I could use a few veterans, especially Prime veterans.”
“Doctor Wald … you look–”
“Old and crotchety.” Indra bluntly replied, glancing at their blonde guide. “Or so my daughter tells me.”
Clarke gazed at Indra’s daughter in disbelief. “Gaia?”
The woman smiled warmly. “Mother told me you and I used to play with dolls when we were at the space station. But I’m afraid I don’t remember it.”
Lexa gasped. She recalled Indra’s daughter vaguely. Lexa had only seen her in passing, but remembered that Clarke was fond of the little girl. But this wasn’t a toddler before them. Gaia was an adult, seemingly in her late twenties or early thirties. Which could only mean–
Clarke shifted her gaze to Indra. Her sapphire eyes swept over the woman’s features, no doubt finding it familiar and foreign at the same time. “How many years were we in cryo?”
“Hmm.” Indra’s eyes narrowed as she counted the passage of time, then sighed. “Thirty-one years.”
Lexa’s mind spun. Thirty years? How had they gone from little more than a camp to this mayhem in such a short time? What the hell happened?
“I know you have questions.” Indra added. “I’ll be happy to answer them, but they must wait until we’ve secured the southern perimeter. The insurgents have mounted an assault, and you’re just the help we need right now.”
Though Lexa wanted nothing more than to demand answers, the soldier in her immediately rose to the surface. “Debrief us.”
The situation, though the details were still fuzzy in Lexa’s mind, was rather straightforward. Insurgents had crept past their defenses and flanked Indra’s men. They had civilians stationed there, as it was guarded by ten thousand soldiers. These people had no means of retaliation. They were farmers, tradesmen and healers. This forced Indra to move her finest soldiers off the front line to push the insurgents back, leaving them divided on two fronts.
Indra went over it all on the map, ensuring the team knew every pathway in and out. There was a station with extra ammo along the way, if needed, and medical supplies further south. Indra’s men were holding back the insurgents in the far southwest corner of their stronghold.
“We’ll handle the insurgents, Doctor Wald,” Lexa promised, as she and the others geared up. “Once we’re there, your men can fall back to provide covering fire.”
It seemed weapons had gotten a major upgrade in the last three decades. Each of their rifles had sights that could sense heat signatures, allowing them to spot enemy soldiers behind cover. The armor was less evolved, made up of the bones of indigenous creatures who had apparently kept both sides on their toes. Still, it would be enough protection from enemy bullets.
“I’ve no doubt you will, Commander. I’ll be on comms if you need reinforcements.” Indra dipped her head, then moved to the table with the map, barking orders at her team.
With those last words, Lexa and her team were en route to yet another battle. Strangely, this was the most at home Lexa had felt since waking up in her pod. There was a peculiar comfort in heading to battle, which Lexa knew she should be ashamed to think. Perhaps it was the soldier in her.
A glance on either side found a similar calm had swept over Clarke, Anya and Raven. This was familiar territory for them, the only thing they knew in this strange and terrifying world. She only prayed they could deal with the insurgents swiftly, because Lexa was dying for answers.