Episode Three, Part 1:


Episode Three, Part 1:
You're Still a Traitor 


As if he had been politely waiting to allow Izzy to enjoy the reunion with her family for a few minutes, Tobias eventually began to approach everyone, lingering nearby and signalling his intent at speaking to them.

As he walked over, Elara immediately pulled Izzy closely against her and began walking in the opposite direction, determined to keep Izzy as far away from him as possible. It seemed that her willingness to talk to him earlier had only been for the sake of getting into the shelter, and now that she had Izzy back, she never wanted to see Tobias again.

"Quill, go wait with Elara and Izzy," Wynn said, encouraging his brother to keep his distance as he gently pushed him away, not wanting Tobias to try and harm another one of his siblings. Thankfully, Quill nodded and followed Wynn's orders - like he knew he would - and it left just himself and Kodiak to face Tobias, both of them waiting with strong arms folded.

"Sovereign Kodiak, Sovereign Wynn-"

"What do you want, Tobias?" Wynn sighed, knowing he was probably the best one out of them both to lead the conversation. He could almost feel Kodiak's rage emitting onto him as he stood at his side.

"An update on the war," he said. "I spoke to several of my guards when you were with young Isobel; they seem to have the impression that it is over or, at the very least, most of Terra Firma Tribe have been killed."

"Most?"

Tobias nodded. "There are a few strays running loose - I will send my strongest surviving fighters out to finish them off, and then we will do a headcount. We will have to arrange somewhere for all of the bodies to be moved to, but it will be a good opportunity for us to know how many we killed. Hopefully we can identify some of their leaders and figure out if-"

"Calvin's dead," Kodiak cut him off, speaking with a voice heavy in spite. Tobias couldn't help but flinch slightly, not knowing what to do with so much anger, let alone with anger that he knew he deserved.

"How do you-"

"Izzy killed him," he said, watching the doubt settle on Tobias face. "Yeah, that's right. Even though you tried to take her away from us for good, and even tried to hurt Elara out there, she's still the one who put herself in danger to stop him. To kill the person for you who killed Ivy."

"Calvin is really dead... You are sure about-"

"I watched it happened, Tobias. I watched as someone tried to kill Elara right in front of my eyes again. I watched Izzy save us both. Yeah... He's dead alright."

"I would like to thank Isobel-"

"You're not going anywhere near her ever again; Izzy or Elara," Kodiak growled, almost laughing at how absurd his request was.

Tobias took a step back, realising that the damage had already been done and he couldn't expect forgiveness for his actions. At least, not without a lot of redemption. "I understand," he said. "And it is a regret that I will hold onto for the rest of my life - what I tried to put Isobel through - but I want to make it up to you if you let me. At the very least, make things right."

Kodiak rolled his eyes and looked away from the conversation, not interested in negotiating with him any longer. As long as he had made it clear that Tobias was never going to be able to endanger his family again, he knew he had done his job. Still, he waited a few seconds before ultimately turning away, abandoning the meeting altogether and returning over to where Quill, Elara and Izzy were waiting, leaving just Wynn to discuss a deal.

"You spared my life out there, Sovereign."

"I didn't have a choice. Don't get ahead of yourself."

"You still refused to hurt me-"

"I wanted to! Is that what you need to hear?" Wynn exploded a little, furious that Tobias was so insistent on apologising when it meant very little to anyone that could hear it. "When I saw you had Elara in a headlock, or that you were making me chose between her - my sister, and Sol and Dreea - who are also my family - I swear, I'd never wanted to hurt someone so badly."

"You have every chance to now-"

"You think that's a good idea? With a hundred of your people over there? What are you playing at, Tobias?"

"I am just offering you a shot at redemption; to do what you need to do to protect your family; to have the assurance that they are safe without having to worry. I wish I had taken my shot when Ivy was alive instead of being so forgiving. If I had been a little more selfish and killed Calvin when I had the chance, none of this would have happened. That is why I am trying to give you the opportunity: to do better."

"As tempting as it is, you and I both know I can't do that," Wynn mumbled, knowing in his heart that he had to be smart about his actions, but he couldn't help but grip his hand on his weapon belt, nevertheless.

"Thank you for your mercy-"

"I don't want to hear it," Wynn rolled his eyes. "One war's just ended, I'm not going to put my people through another one which is exactly what would happen if your clan found out I killed you. That's the only reason why you're still standing. Besides, I don't even know how many of Basilisk are still alive..." He muttered the last part to himself, suddenly realising that the relief of getting Izzy back wasn't the only thing he had been waiting on; he still didn't know if Chessca had completely pulled through, or if Sol and Dreea were okay.

"When we made an alliance, Sovereign Wynn, the deal was that your people would be safe on the island if you helped us stop Calvin's attacks and assist us in taking down Terra Firma Tribe. Your people have done that and even in spite of what I tried to do out there today - to the Sovereigns, to your family - that alliance is still on. Basilisk are safe here."

Wynn desperately wished Sol or Dreea were around to help him keep his cool as his patience was wearing thin. He didn't want to say something he would regret - which is what usually happened without Sol's correction - or tell Tobias to go screw himself and the alliance, which is exactly what he was thinking in all of his rage, and consequently put all of Basilisk in jeopardy.

"We were never here for the long run," he said. "The plan is for my people to go home and as soon as we're all in one place again, we're going to start that mission. Don't bother trying to make things better, just leave us the damn alliance and we'll be out of here soon."

//////////

The vast majority of Basilisk's survivors had ended up near the shelter upon realising that everyone had decided to gather there, making it all the more easier for Kodiak and Wynn to lead them back to their base at the shore.

Whilst Kodiak took care of counting their survivors and making sure their friends were all safe, Wynn cautiously took the trail up to the hideout to find Sol and Dreea, hoping with all that he had left in him that Chessca would still be alive.

He was lucky to have still be able to find the hideout given how unrecognisable parts of the forest were after the war, but when he tried to open it, he realised the hatch wasn't budging.

"Sol?" He called out, knocking on the wooden door softly, hoping that he hadn't mistakenly found another hideout that survivors of Terra Firma were hiding in.

After a few moments, Wynn could hear movement inside and before long, a red-eyed Sol opened the door, hurrying to step outside and wrap her arms around Wynn.

He noticed straight away that the tears in her eyes were far from dry and he worried that Chessca had taken a sudden turn for the worse; that in the time between now and when he had last seen her, the combination had failed and nothing could be done to save her.

"What's wrong? Is she... Is she-" He couldn't quite bring himself to say it, but Sol understood the panic in his tone and managed to find her voice.

"She's okay," she sniffled, pulling away so that Wynn could see her clearly - see that the tears were mainly those of relief and that despite all the torment her heart had faced in the past few hours, there was a trace of a smile trying to make it's way onto her face. "Aeryn said she's stable at the moment. She hasn't woken up, though."

"She will soon," Wynn murmured, reaching out and tucking Sol's loose her behind her ear, noticing how exhausted she looked and feeling his heart ache for her.

"Oh my gosh, Izzy!" Sol exclaimed, suddenly bringing her palm to her forehead as the realisation resurfaced; she had barely had a moment to think about anything other than Chessca, even though she had been down in the hideout with her for hours.

"Everything's fine," Wynn assured her, shooting a smile her way so she knew he was being genuine. "She's with Elara and Kodiak - they're all safe."

Sol let out a heavy breath, grabbing onto Wynn's arm for additional support. "Where are they now? How's the war looking?"

"Everyone's back at the beach," Wynn said. "Kodiak's doing a headcount; he seemed to have everything under control when I left. And the war's over, Sol," he exclaimed, grabbing onto her shoulder and squeezing firmly. "There may be a few strays from Terra Firma running around, but Tobias is going to send his people to finish them off."

"What about Calvin?"

"He's dead-"

"We're sure about that?"

"Yes," Wynn managed a faint laugh amused that after all of their history, Sol still found it hard to cope when things weren't in her hands. "Izzy killed him."

"Izzy killed him!?" Sol exclaimed, the shock in her voice gaining the attention of those inside the shelter and the next thing they knew, Dreea had made her was outside.

"Hey," she exhaled, immediately moving to hug Wynn just as Sol had done. He would have been surprised by how forward she was being with her emotions, but Wynn knew that what had happened to Chessca was something that had completely shaken Dreea, and her realising that no one else she cared about was seriously hurt, was a relief she couldn't put into words.

"I'm glad you're safe," she said, holding onto him for just a little while longer before stepping back in line with Sol, grateful to know that Atlantis was still inside the hideout to keep Chessca company.

"Yeah, you too," Wynn smiled back softly. "And I hear Chess has pulled through. You two saved her life out there with your quick thinking."

"Everyone knows it was all you," Dreea shook her head, unable to claim any of the bravery or heroism for herself. "You were the one who made the combination; you were the one who gave it to us to use for Chess. I hope Elara doesn't hate us too much. Man, and Kodiak..." She sighed, seeming to realise that her troubles were far from over. She didn't know what she would do if she had betrayed Kodiak.

"They're okay, and neither of them could ever hate you guys. I was actually just telling Sol that Izzy killed Calvin-"

"She what!?" Dreea raised her voice in shock, just as Sol had done moments ago.

Wynn laughed again, knowing that the reactions to the news would never get old to him. "She got out of the shelter and found Kodiak and Elara. Calvin was about to shoot them, but Izzy beat him to it and killed him first. They're all waiting back at the beach as Tobias and his guards are finishing off the last strays of Terra Firma."

"It's over..." Dreea sighed, feeling Sol's hand squeeze onto hers at their sides - news that felt like they had been waiting an eternity for.

"Yeah," Wynn nodded again, grateful to see them both easing up. "I know we still have a lot to figure out, like our plans to go home..." He said, trailing off slightly as he wasn't even sure where to start. "I was wondering what you guys are going to do; are you coming back with me to the beach?"

"I know it's what needs to happen, but we can't risk moving Chess," Dreea sighed, glancing behind her at the hideout, already feeling anxious at being without her for several moments.

"...I could go," Sol hesitated and immediately doubted her words - not sure if she was willing to follow through on them.

"You don't have to. Kodiak and I can manage it. I just wanted to see how things were going here."

"No, I think I should," Sol said. "I'm the Nobel: it's my job to show up for my people in the hard times."

"Hard times," Wynn clarified. " But I think this tops that. Cut yourself some slack."

"I'd love to," she forced a painful laugh, "but the guilt will eat me alive otherwise. I need to check in with everyone and once I know Kodiak's handling things, I'll come back and see how Chess is doing. At the very least, maybe being out of this hideout for a while will give me some time to start thinking up a plan and then we'll all be one step closer to going home. That's what this has all been about, right? Home."

"Yeah," Wynn smiled, grabbing onto Sol's wrist and tugging her in his direction. "The final fight."

"It's been a long time coming," she said, leaning into him for a breath of comfort before she would have to leave Chessca in the hideout.

"I'll go get the others," Dreea interrupted, not wanting to miss her chance. "They might as well go back with you if it's safe at the beach, rather than stayed cooped up in here all this time. Besides, I think Harlow's getting a little freaked out by what's happening with Chess. It'll be good for him to get out of here"

"Sounds like a great idea," Wynn said. "Besides, I'm sure Izzy will be happy to see him."

He looked down at Sol as Dreea returned back into the hideout, offering her a warm smile as he held her tightly against him. He knew there was still a mountain of worries that he couldn't see past quite yet, but he also knew - for the first time in a long time - that it was possible to get to the other side and with Sol at his side, like she always had been, Wynn knew he was going to get there. 

Three // Part One
Sol at his side, like she always had been.

Y'ALL, I can't tell you how sorry I am that it's been 18 days since my last update! I feel like I'm doing such a disappointing job with this last book!

I just moved countries again (for the 6th time in my life) on my own last week! I left my terrible job which I hated so much and I'm just settling in back home and hoping to start applying for jobs next week (but like hell will I ever work in childcare again, lol).

My life has been so hectic and busy and messy for a while that it's been hard for me to get in the  mood for writing or planning the rest of this book out, but I HAVE been working really hard on the surprise I have for you guys when this book ends!

I hope you liked this chapter because I actually really enjoyed writing this one given my accidentally-long break! I'm hoping that I'm back in the writing streak and I'll get more chapters out to you guys soon! I actually had this chapter all finished and ready to publish last night, but my internet coincidently cut out and I could not be bothered to wait around. Although, I don't know if it's jet lag still or just my crazy insomnia, but I could not get to sleep until 5 AM last night (ugh)! And the other night, I only had 3 hours of sleep which was apparently all I needed??- and then the other day I accidentally slept into 12, so my sleep schedule is a nightmare. It's definitely a high point in my life right now...

28/06/21. 

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