Chapter Text
The Waverider groaned like a dying animal before it crashed. Sparks rained down from the ceiling as the ship spun out of the temporal corridor and slammed into the ground. Sara Lance gritted her teeth, white-knuckling the co-pilot controls while Gideon’s voice warned of power loss and gravitational interference.
"Brace!" she shouted, even though it was far too late.
They hit dirt. Hard.
The ship carved a path through a dense forest before finally coming to a jarring, shuddering halt. Smoke hissed from the console. Everyone groaned. "That," Nate coughed from the floor, "was definitely not a smooth landing."
“Gideon?” Sara croaked. “I’m afraid the Waverider has suffered extensive external and temporal damage,” Gideon replied. “You have exited the timestream in an uncharted Earth-based anomaly zone.”
“Translation?” Zari muttered. “We’re stuck,” Sara said, standing up and brushing ash off her jacket.
Outside was worse.
Massive trees loomed over them like giants. The air was thick, humid, wild in a way Sara hadn’t felt in centuries. There were no satellites, no buildings. Just the overwhelming silence of untouched Earth. “Where the hell are we?” Behrad asked, staring up at the sky. The sun looked wrong angrier somehow. Closer. Before anyone could answer, a horn blew.
It was deep and guttural, followed by the sound of footsteps fast, heavy, coordinated. They were surrounded within seconds. Warriors cloaked in leather and bone stepped from the trees. Their weapons weren’t just sharp they were worn used. Their faces were painted with soot and blood. No one spoke English.
Except one. “Drop your weapons,” the tallest said in a clipped accent.
Sara’s eyes immediately found her. A woman with fierce green eyes and war paint like wings. A commanding presence that matched Ra’s al Ghul on his best day and far more beautiful.
Sara grinned, even as a spear was leveled at her chest. “Well, you’re bossy. I like that.”
Lexa didn’t blink. “You are trespassing on Trikru land. Trespassing is punishable by death.”
Nate whispered, “We come in peace?”
Sara took a step forward, slow and deliberate. “I’m Sara Lance. These are my people. And we’re not from around here.”
Lexa’s eyes scanned her like a weapon. “You are dressed strangely. You do not carry yourself like Sky People.”
“We’re… travelers.”
“You speak like skaikru.”
“Only when I’m trying to flirt,” Sara said with a wink. One of the guards behind Lexa raised an eyebrow. Lexa’s expression didn’t shift but her gaze lingered on Sara a second longer than necessary.
“You will come with us.”
Sara smiled. “Lead the way, Commander.”
The village was rough, spartan, beautiful in its brutality. Wooden towers. Smoke pits. Layers of cloth and bone woven into armor and walls. Children stared at them with wide eyes. Warriors eyed their strange clothes and tech suspiciously.They were separated. Interrogated.
Sara, of course, got Lexa. They were alone in a tent lit with oil lamps and burning incense. Lexa paced while Sara lounged on a bench like she owned the place. “What are you?” Lexa asked finally.
“A complicated question. Want the short version or the version where we save the world?”
Lexa’s jaw ticked. “I don’t like liars.”
“I’m not lying,” Sara said. “We travel through time, fixing things. Something went wrong and landed us here. Wherever here is.”
Lexa stared at her, weighing every word. “This land is post-Fall. Nuclear fire wiped most of the world. You stand on what’s left of Earth.”
Sara blinked. “You’re telling me we’re in the future?”
Lexa crossed her arms. “I’m telling you that trespassers rarely survive.”
“You don’t scare me.”
Lexa stepped closer. “You should be scared.”
Sara stood too, close enough to feel the heat of her breath. “You’re not the first warlord I’ve tangled with.”
Lexa’s gaze dropped to her lips, just for a second. “You flirt too much.”
“And yet… you haven’t killed me.”
Lexa left the tent.
Sara grinned.
By day two Behrad had tried meditating. Zari attempted hacking a Grounder radio with a solar battery. Constantine summoned a fire demon, which backfired spectacularly and burned their bedrolls.
Sara? She was sparring with Grounders. Word had spread. The blonde stranger was fast. Too fast. She fought like no one they’d seen before. She moved like a ghost. Lexa watched every match. Sara knew. After defeating a third challenger with barely a bruise, Sara turned to Lexa.
“Your turn?”
Lexa arched a brow. “Are you challenging your host?”
“I’m flirting with her” .Lexa sighed but removed her cloak. The entire yard fell silent. They circled. Sara watched Lexa’s grip, her center of gravity. She was trained, precise. Sara liked that. They clashed. Sword to staff. Lexa ducked low, fast. Sara spun and kicked. Lexa dodged, landed a hit on her shoulder. Sara flipped her, but Lexa caught her arm and slammed her into the dirt.
They breathed hard. Faces inches apart. “I think I’m in love,” Sara panted.
Lexa’s lips twitched. “You’re dangerous.”
“I get that a lot
Later that night, Lexa came to her tent. Alone. Sara sat sharpening a knife, eyes flicking up as Lexa entered.
“Couldn’t stay away?”
Lexa didn’t respond right away. “You confuse my people.”
Sara leaned back. “I have that effect.”
“You fight like a warrior but act like a child.”
Sara stood slowly. “You don’t know me.”
“I know you don’t fear death.”
Sara met her eyes. “I’ve died before.”
Lexa frowned. “What?”
“I’ve died. I’ve been brought back. More than once.”
Lexa studied her in silence. “You speak like someone with too many ghosts.”
Sara stepped closer. “So do you.”
Lexa didn’t move when Sara brushed a lock of hair from her face. Didn’t flinch when Sara leaned in, slow. Their lips almost touched. Lexa pulled back at the last second.
“This is war, not courtship.”
Sara smirked. “Why not both?”
Day four and Clarke arrived. Sara watched the tension crackle between her and Lexa like lightning. There was anger, frustration, history. It was fascinating. Clarke glared at Sara like she already hated her.
Sara just smiled and said, “Hi. You must be the ex.” Lexa rolled her eyes. Clarke stormed off.
“That went well,” Sara said.
“She thinks I’m being reckless with you.”
“I am a little reckless.”
“I noticed.”
They stood at the edge of the training yard again, silent.
“You’ll be gone soon,” Lexa said.
“Maybe.”
“You don’t belong here.”
Sara nodded. “Neither do you.”
Lexa turned sharply. “What do you mean?”
Sara gestured at the chaos around them. “You’re leading warriors into endless battles when you should be… I don’t know, ruling a nation. Building peace. Raising hell at parties.”
“I am building peace.”
Sara tilted her head. “And how’s that going?”
Lexa’s expression softened. “Harder than I imagined.”
Sara reached out. “Let me help.” Lexa stared at her hand.
“You are… unlike anyone I have known.”
“Same.”
“You make me forget war.”
Sara leaned in. “Then let me help you remember something else.” They kissed. This time, Lexa didn’t pull away.
The Waverider rebooted on day five. Gideon announced that their timeline was stabilizing and they could leave at any time. Behrad wanted to go home. Zari missed showers. Sara… wasn’t ready. Lexa met her at the gate. The war paint was gone. Just a girl now, with too many burdens and not enough time.
“You’ll vanish,” she said.
“I could stay.”
“No,” Lexa said quickly. “This is not your world.”
Sara touched her cheek. “But you could be my world.”
Lexa closed her eyes. “I don’t have time for love.”
Sara smiled sadly. “You don’t have time not to be loved.” They kissed once more. Soft this time. Full of everything unspoken. Then Sara walked away.
The Legends took off at dawn.
Zari watched her quietly. “You okay?”
Sara didn’t answer. She just stared out the viewport as the Grounder village vanished beneath clouds. Constantine clapped her on the back. “You’ll see her again, Blondie. We always break time eventually.”
Sara smiled faintly. “I hope so.”
Back on Earth, Lexa stood at the edge of the forest. The strange ship was gone. The stranger was gone. But the memory of her lingered like a ghost, like a spark, like hope.
And Lexa whispered into the wind: “May we meet again.”