Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author's Note: This chapter wraps up this little project. I'll be sad to see it go. This has really been a lot of fun. When I set out to tackle Lexa's betrayal of Clarke for this chapter, I decided the only way to do it the emotional justice it deserved was to show how far they had come together and what exactly Lexa was walking away from. So this looks at the development of their relationship from the day they meet until he moment Lexa leaves Clarke alone in front of the door. Enjoy!

Clarke

From the moment Clarke first lays eyes on Lexa, she knows this is not someone she should underestimate. The Commander may be just as young as Clarke, but she is cold as ice and stern as steel. At a word from her, even the most dangerous of her soldiers fall silent like obedient dogs. This commander is not some impetuous child. She is a warrior queen. She has only to wave her hand and Clarke would be dead before her body even hit the ground.

But she's also smart. Clarke can see the calculation in her eyes. This is someone who understands the art of negotiation. Someone Clarke just might be able to reason with. This girl learned the art of war at Anya's knee, after all. And if Clarke could reach Anya, maybe she stands a chance of getting through to the commander.

So she plays the only hand they have, and somehow it works. Lincoln's recovery buys them a truce. Clarke was right. Lexa is smart enough to see the value in what the Ark offers. But just as that victory begins to sink in, Lexa reveals the catch. She wants Finn. Dead.

It's only when Clarke has exhausted every line of argument and Lexa still refuses to budge that Clarke finally realizes how this girl manages to keep an entire Grounder army in line. She's not just coldly calculating. She's also heartless.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

The night of Finn's death only further solidifies that point. Clarke goes into the Grounder camp in one final attempt to save Finn. She puts her pride aside and begs for his life. Through her tears, she even offers to trade her own life in exchange for his. And for one brief moment, she sees something flicker across the commander's face. It looks suspiciously like sympathy.

But then it disappears behind those eyes of tempered steel, leaving Clarke to wonder if she only imagined it. She must have. Because the cold warrior in front of her with her head held high clearly feels nothing for Finn or for Clarke. She really is heartless.

It isn't until later that Clarke realizes how odd it is that a supposedly heartless commander would allow her to say good-bye.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

They're staring down at the pile of ashes that once made up the bodies of Finn and eighteen Grounders when Clarke sees her first real hint of emotion from Lexa.

"I lost someone special to me too," the commander says quietly. "Her name was Costia. She was captured by the Ice Nation whose queen believed she knew my secrets. Because she was mine, they tortured her. Killed her. Cut off her head."

She's looking straight ahead as she says it, and her tone is deceptively close to level. But as Clarke looks over, she sees that flicker again in Lexa's eyes.

"I'm sorry," she says. It's woefully inadequate. She knows it is. But it's all she has.

"I thought I'd never get over the pain," Lexa continues. "But I did."

It occurs to Clarke then that Lexa is trying, in her own stoic way, to give Clarke a piece of advice. Something she can hold onto to get herself through this.

"How?" she asks.

"By recognizing it for what it is," Lexa says. She turns to look at Clarke, and this time there is no denying that the flicker in her eyes is indeed a hint of emotion. "Weakness."

"What is?" Clarke asks in confusion. "Love?"

Lexa nods and looks away. But not before Clarke sees a flash of pain.

"So you just stopped caring?" Clarke asks. "About everyone?"

Lexa gives another wordless nod. Clarke turns back to the ashes, Finn's ashes, as she tries to process the implications.

"I could never do that," she says.

"Then you put the people you care about in danger," Lexa says flatly. "And the pain will never go away."

Lexa turns and walks away, leaving Clarke alone with the pile of ashes. Somewhere in the back of Clarke's mind, it occurs to her that Lexa has just contradicted herself. She said she stopped caring to protect those she cares about. Clarke's not sure how someone like Lexa could truly care about anyone. But the flash of pain when she spoke of Costia had been real. The almost-tremor in her voice had been real. The flicker of empathy, of solidarity, had been real.

For the first time, part of Clarke starts to wonder if Lexa is really as heartless as she wants everyone to believe.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Lexa's face is as stoic as ever as she stands before a bleeding Gustus, but this time Clarke is looking for the signs. She sees the too-straight set of Lexa's shoulders as she inhales, the subtle clenching of her jaw as she draws her sword, the slight flutter of her eyelids as Gustus gives her his final words of comfort. And when Lexa pulls her sword from his chest, Clarke sees the half second of paralysis as the action truly sinks in. The hints are so slight that Clarke doubts anyone else sees them. But she grew up learning to read the poker face of a woman who was both a doctor and a politician. She sees the signs, and she knows what they mean. Somewhere underneath all of the armor, Lexa does indeed have a heart. But she's hidden it well. Hidden it to survive. And apparently it's worked, because she doesn't come apart like Clarke did. She just stands there with her head held high, looking as strong as ever.

Maybe Lexa was right. Maybe emotions really are weakness. Maybe Clarke should give her way a shot. Even if it fails, it can't possibly hurt anymore than what Clarke's already feeling.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

It turns out Lexa's way isn't something Clarke can hold to. Caring about people comes to her far too instinctively. She saves Lexa from the creature without a second thought. Even when it makes far more sense to sacrifice Lexa and save herself, she instead chooses to stay in danger long enough to get Lexa out of it. She tells Lexa she did it because she needs the commander to hold the alliance together, but it's not true. At least, not entirely. The truth is that she didn't have time to think much of anything when she chose to save Lexa. She didn't do it for some grand tactical reason. She did it because that's just who she is. And call her an idiot, but standing her ground and shooting a beast five times her size to save someone else doesn't feel like weakness. It feels like strength. And if she is an idiot, then at least she's a brave idiot.

Lexa must come to the same conclusion, because she actually smiles. The expression makes her look far more human somehow. More like a girl than a warrior. But it's the warmth of her expression that surprises Clarke. It's the most she's seen from Lexa. If Clarke didn't know any better, she might even think there was something almost fond about that expression.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Apparently that moment changes something in their relationship, because Lexa is still sitting by their small campfire when Clarke wakes up the next morning. She stayed. And for the life of her, Clarke can't figure out why. It just doesn't seem like Lexa. Clarke had honestly expected to be nudged awake by the boot of some warrior Lexa sent back out upon reaching camp herself. But instead she turns around and there Lexa is.

And then Lexa shocks her even more by apologizing.

"I was wrong about you, Clarke," Lexa says. "Your heart shows no sign of weakness."

It's clearly meant as a compliment. But there's also something about the way Lexa says it, a kind of sincerity that Clarke has never heard from her before. Almost like it's an offering. It takes Clarke a moment to understand it. The alliance is rocky, but she knows Lexa will fight for it just as hard as she will. No, this is about something else. Something that sounds suspiciously close to friendship. Or at least as close to it as Lexa will get.

If the commander does indeed have a heart, then Clarke has a sneaking suspicion that she's just worked her way into it.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

She begins to doubt that assessment the day of the missile. The day Lexa stands by and lets an entire village be destroyed. Nobody with a heart could do that. Something like this would have never even occurred to Clarke. She only let it happen because Lexa was right, damn her. Anything less would have tipped their hand. But Clarke's pretty sure that line of reasoning does nothing to absolve her. And the guilt of it all is about to swallow her whole.

So she turns it into anger. She's going to kill the spotter, and then she's going to destroy Mount Weather. She expects Lexa to be onboard with her vendetta, but Lexa actually seems worried. That makes no sense. Lexa's the heartless one, not Clarke. Why should she care if Clarke gets herself killed? Probably because of the alliance. She still needs Clarke in one piece.

It's not until they're climbing up the hill with Lincoln and Clarke looks over her shoulder to see Lexa staring back at the smoke from the village that she realizes she was wrong. Lexa does feel something for what happened here. She may be better at rationalizing and shifting the blame, but she still feels the pain on some level. Clarke finds that oddly comforting. She's not alone with this. If she really is going to hell for it, at least she won't be going by herself.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

The waiting is driving Clarke crazy. They're so close to attacking Mount Weather, and now they just have to sit around and wait. Clarke tries to pass the time by going over the plan again and again, but all that accomplishes is heightening both her nerves and Lexa's irritation.

Lexa turns it into an object lesson just like she does with everything. She tells Clarke they have to be willing to sacrifice their people, to ask them to die. Only it's not that simple. Clarke cares about her people too much. She always has. And usually that feels like strength, but today, with the coming battle right on top of them, she's not so sure anymore.

But Lexa doesn't just stop with her usual "love is weakness" spiel like she usually does.

"You could be a leader your people look to," she says strongly. "Pour their hopes and dreams into. Someone they would fight and die for."

Normally Lexa talks to Clarke like an equal (which is probably a wonder in and of itself), but right now it sounds like she's about to fall in line herself. Like Clarke has only to say that word and Lexa will happily draw her sword. Like some part of her actually believes in the leader she seems to think Clarke could become.

"I never asked for that," Clarke says bitterly. "I'm just trying to keep us alive."

"You were born for this, Clarke," Lexa tells her. "Same as me."

She heads back toward her bed to try and get some sleep, leaving Clarke alone with the map to wonder what on earth it is that everybody seems to see in her.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Apparently respect isn't the same as trust, because Lexa tries to have Octavia killed despite Clarke's insistence that she isn't a threat. Clarke nearly severs the alliance right there. Only the knowledge that she still needs Lexa's army stops her. Lexa didn't just come after one of Clarke's people. She came after Clarke's friend. And that won't stand with Clarke.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Clarke demands. "You can't just kill everyone you don't trust!"

"Yes, I can," Lexa says flatly.

And there it is. That same blatant disregard for life. She may be willing to just throw lives away, but Clarke's not that person. She's already sold her soul for this alliance. She's not giving up someone else's too.

"Octavia is a threat," Lexa says. "If you weren't so close to her, you'd see that."

"It's because I'm close to her that I know she's loyal," Clarke insists. "Her brother is more important to her than anyone. She would never endanger his life."

"And you're willing to risk everything on that?" Lexa says as if it's completely stupid. "On your feelings?"

"Yes," Clarke says fiercely. She's finally had it up to here with Lexa's "love is weakness" mantra. Something has finally snapped inside of her, and she finds herself laying into Lexa without a single thought for the consequences it might have.

"You say having feelings makes me weak," Clarke says. "But you're weak for hiding from them. I might be a hypocrite, Lexa, but you're a liar."

She starts to advance as she talks, and rather than holding her ground, Lexa actually starts backing up. But Clarke is far too angry to be shocked.

"You felt something for Gustus," she says. "You're still haunted by Costia. You want everyone to think you're above it all, but I see right through you."

For one brief second it seems almost as if Lexa's entire soul has been suddenly laid bare before Clarke's eyes, and rather than a warrior queen, she finds herself staring into the eyes of a lonely girl who looks far too much like Clarke. Then a mask seems to come down over Lexa's face. The warrior queen is back and angrier than ever.

"Get. Out," she hisses. But Clarke has come too far to back down now.

"Two hundred and fifty people died in that village," she continues. Her tone is low, but her voice is harsh enough to flay Lexa alive. "I know you felt for them. But you let them burn."

Lexa swallows hard and the mask slips again.

"Not everyone," Lexa manages, and Clarke could swear there's moisture gathering in the corners of the commander's eyes. "Not you."

Something about the sudden vulnerability of her words makes it clear that she's not saying she saved Clarke because she needed her. No, Lexa saved Clarke because something in her couldn't let Clarke die. She had no problem letting half a village burn, but for some reason she couldn't let Clarke burn with them. There is emotion in her eyes. Real emotion. And not just a slight affection either. Lexa does indeed have a heart. And her heart cares about Clarke.

Clarke takes a step back, waiting for Lexa's mask to slam back into place. But it doesn't. Instead there is only Lexa. Not Lexa the commander, but Lexa the girl. The girl who cares about Clarke as far more than just a means to an end.

But even now, even in the face of that much emotion, Lexa still refuses to back down.

"I can't sacrifice my people anymore," Clarke says, hardening her heart against the tears that are definitely hiding in Lexa's eyes. "If you do anything to hurt Octavia, I'll tell everyone we knew about the missile."

She manages to get out of the tent without running, but only just. Her entire chest is tight and suddenly it's like she can't breathe. She's too shocked. Lexa cares. Really, truly cares.

And even more shocking is the discovery that something in Clarke cares right back.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

That discovery is confirmed a few hours later by the Incident, as Clarke calls it. But thankfully it's quickly overshadowed by Raven's flare. Clarke's head is already spinning in circles. If she stops to think about what just happened, she knows she'll end up drowning in a pool of her own conflicting emotions, and she can't afford that right now. The knowledge that they're finally going to war gives her something to focus on. She can think about the other later.

"Bellamy did it," Clarke says in relief as they stare up at the flare.

"You were right to have faith in him," Lexa says.

That admission, combined with her statement about trusting Clarke, says a great deal. They've come a long way in a short time. The alliance is strong, and so are they. And in that one moment, it's all worth it. They're going to take Mount Weather, and they're going to crush it. And after that, well, there'll be time to think about that later.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Clarke's never been good at waiting. Standing in front of the giant door is no different. Lexa, however, seems to be a reservoir of patience.

"What will you do when it's over?" she asks in an effort to stop Clarke's fidgeting.

The truth is that Clarke has no idea. She hasn't really stopped to think beyond this moment. She can't afford to. The coming battle will require all of her attention. She tells Lexa as much. Something shifts in Lexa's eyes, as if that's not quite the answer she wanted. Too late Clarke realizes what Lexa was actually asking. But she can't take it back now.

Thankfully, Lexa sails right on ahead.

"You should come with me to the capitol," she says. She makes it sound offhanded, as if it just occurred to her, but then she turns and Clarke sees the truth in her eyes. This plan has been brewing in Lexa's mind for a while. "Polis will change the way you think about us."

"You already have," Clarke says honestly.

And it's true. Despite the rough patches they've gone through, Lexa has indeed changed the way Clarke sees the Grounders. They're not just a bunch of savages. They're people with their own culture and sense of honor. And Clarke respects them for it. But it's not just about respect. She's come to genuinely care for some of these people. To care for Lexa.

Lexa must see it in her eyes, because one of her rare smiles crosses her face. Then the shooting starts, and that treasured expression vanishes. The battle has started. They're committed now, for better or for worse. One way or another, this all ends tonight.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

It's not long before all hell breaks loose. But it's not at all in the way Clarke expects.

First Lexa appears with Emerson in tow, yelling at her troops to stand down. Then people who look to be from the harvest chamber are trickling out of the main door with blankets around their shoulders. None of it makes any sense.

"They're surrendering?" Clarke asks in confusion. That has to be it.

"Not quite," Emerson says. He sounds far too cocky for a prisoner of war. In fact, he sounds like a victor.

He looks over at Lexa, and Clarke does too. What she sees makes her blood run cold. Lexa's face is hard as steel, her eyes betraying not a single glimmer of emotion. But Clarke knows her now. She can read Lexa's many masks like the back of her own hand. This is not Lexa's battle face. This is her preparing-to-kill-Gustus face. Her let-an-entire-village-burn face. Something is very, very wrong here.

And then Clarke's heart stops because suddenly she knows what it is.

"What did you do?" she whispers.

"What you would've done," Lexa says. "Saved my people."

Gone are all traces of affection. Lexa's voice is cold as ice. This is not the girl Clarke has come to care about. This is the heartless warrior queen who firmly believes the ends justify the means. Even if it means sacrificing people she cares about. Even if it means sacrificing Clarke.

But even now Clarke still can't believe it. Lexa couldn't do that. Could she?

"Where are my people?" Clarke asks.

It takes everything she has to keep the tremor of fear out of her voice. She can already feel everything starting to collapse around her. Months of preparation, of planning and training, have gone into this. Into saving her people. Lexa knows what this means to her. To both of them. She can't just throw it all away like that.

Or maybe she can.

"I'm sorry, Clarke," Lexa says coldly. "They weren't part of the deal."

No. No, no, no! Everything inside of Clarke is screaming now. Lexa can't do this. Not after what they've been through. What they've shared. But Lexa reaches over and cuts the rope holding Emerson's hands, and then there's no denying it. This is not just some bad dream or cruel joke. This is real. Lexa sold her out.

Love is weakness.

The words slam inside of Clarke's head like a battering ram. She's lost count of how many times Lexa has tried to drive home that lesson. But Clarke never thought she truly meant it. Sure, Lexa believed it. But Clarke thought it was just a way to mask her own vulnerabilities. She never actually thought Lexa would betray her. The idea has never even crossed her mind. She trusts Lexa. Trusts her with her life. And now...

Now she sees what Lexa tried to tell her all along. She's a fool. A damned fool whose feelings got the better of her. And now, because of her foolishness, her people are damned too.

"What is this?" Lincoln asks, coming up beside her.

"Your commander's made a deal," Clarke says. The words feel wrong in her mouth, and just saying them out loud makes her want to vomit.

"What about the prisoners from the Ark?" Lincoln asks.

"They'll all be killed," Clarke says softly. Her eyes are locked on Lexa's face, desperately hoping for some sign that Lexa feels this. That she can change her mind. That the heart Clarke believes in is still beating. But there's nothing. Only those steely eyes as stern as the day they met. It's like they've gone right back to the beginning. Like Lexa has wiped the slate clean and erased it all. Like none of it ever happened.

"But you don't care about that, do you?" Clarke asks coldly.

"I do care, Clarke," Lexa says fiercely. And for a second, Clarke almost believes her. She has to hand it to her, Lexa's good. So good she actually made Clarke believe she had a heart.

"But I made this choice with my head, and not my heart," Lexa tells her. "The duty to protect my people comes first."

She means it too. She's really going to stand by and let this happen. It's like Tondc all over again. Except this time, Lexa is watching as the missile destroys Clarke's people.

Not everyone. Not you.

This time she's going to let Clarke burn with them.

"Please don't do this," Clarke begs.

"I'm sorry, Clarke," Lexa says.

And there it is. The tiny flutter of the eyelids. The brief almost-swallow quickly halted before it can give too much away. All the signs are there, signs Clarke has come to know so very well. And that's when she knows. Lexa isn't doing this because she has no feelings. She's doing it in spite of them. And that makes it all a million times worse.

Lexa tries so hard to convince everyone that she's heartless, but Clarke knows better. For the first time, however, she suddenly wishes that she didn't. If Lexa was truly heartless, if she was doing this because she felt nothing, then at least Clarke would understand. At least then the betrayal would make sense. If Clarke meant nothing to Lexa, then of course the commander would toss her away in exchange for her people. But Clarke sees the signs in Lexa's face. She knows Lexa has a heart. She's seen it. Lexa can feel. She can hurt. And right now Clarke knows she's hurting. She can tell that Lexa knows this is wrong. But she's doing it anyway. Even after everything they've been through together, after everything they've shared, Lexa is still willing to sell Clarke out to save her own people.

Love is weakness.

The giant door swings closed, and just like that, Clarke's heart shatters.

Lincoln tries to stay, and he even fights back when Lexa orders him out, but in the end they subdue him. Clarke is too broken to even try and help him. It's over. Everything she went through, everything she's done, all the lives that she sacrificed... It was all for nothing.

The worst part is that they all tried to warn her. Bellamy, her mother, Kane, Octavia, Raven... They all told her not to trust Lexa. Even Lexa herself said it with her constant mantra about love being weak. But Clarke trusted her anyway because she knew the commander had a heart. She knew she could reach Lexa. She knew what they had was real. Lexa's smile when they were hiding from the creature, that was real. The moment in the command tent before the flare came, that was real. Clarke knows it was. How can Lexa just throw all of that away?

It's not just the alliance she's destroying here. She's destroying Clarke too. She may act like she doesn't care, but Clarke can read it in the depths of her eyes. Lexa knows exactly what she's doing. She knows what it's going to do to Clarke. Hell, what it's going to do to her. But she's still doing it anyway.

Love is weakness.

"May we meet again," Lexa says calmly. Like this is some temporary farewell instead of a catastrophic fracturing that will condemn everyone Clarke cares about to death. And then she's gone, leaving Clarke alone with the thousand pieces of her shredded heart.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

The Grounder army clears out in short order. The Arkers only stick around for a few minutes more before giving up and going home. Soon only Clarke is left, standing alone in front of the giant metal door. She's so close to saving her people, and yet she's never been farther.

Love is weakness.

It's ironic, really. Lexa tried so hard to drill that lesson into Clarke's head, but in the end it was her own betrayal that finally slammed it home. And yet as she stares up at the door, Clarke decides that Lexa had it wrong. Love isn't weakness. It's something worse. It's a double-edged sword. What once made her strong is now tearing her apart. And Clarke's not sure if she can ever put herself back together again.

But right now there are bigger fish. She needs to get inside that mountain and save her people. She's tried to be the good guy. She's tried to do this without anybody getting hurt, and it has backfired at every turn. Because the truth is, there are no good guys on the ground. That is what Lexa's betrayal has shown her. There are no heroes down here. Only survivors. Lexa and Cage have been playing by a different set of rules, and if Clarke wants to beat them, she's going to have to roll up her sleeves and join the game. Her people have to come first, and she has to be willing to pay whatever price is necessary to save them.

Even if that price is her soul.

She grits her teeth as her eyes bore a hole through the metal door. One way or another, she's going to get into that mountain. And when she does, the residents of Mount Weather are going to wish that Clarke Griffin never made it to the ground.

And that's a wrap. Please take a second to leave a quick review letting me know what you thought about this story. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far. You guys are awesome. I've also written five other stories for this show, and my most recent piece is a one shot called "This Is Life Without You" that looks at Lexa dealing with the fallout of her betrayal of Clarke. Also, my story "Exit the Hero" examines Clarke's thoughts leading up to and during her departure to explain exactly why she decided she had to leave. It's really a sort of sequel to this chapter and is also a companion piece to the ending scene of Octavia's chapter. Thanks for reading!