Episode Three, Part 2:
You're Still a Traitor

Your darkness will be rewritten in a 
work of fiction, you'll see. But I 
promise you I'll keep you safe. 

Wynn led the group back to the beach, hand in hand with Sol who only seemed to grow more anxious with every other step she took further from where Chessca was. Knowing with certainty that it was what was bothering her, Wynn knew he had to say something.

"Maybe by the time Chessca is strong enough to come here, we'll have figured out our plans for going home," Wynn said. "And she'll wake up knowing that Terra Firma are dead and she'll never have to hear about The City of Targo again, or even see another person from there. Well..." He said, suddenly frowning as he listen back to what he said. "Except Izzy, and Liam, and me and Quill, and you, and-"

"I get it, I get it," Sol laughed, genuinely amused at him. "And I know what you're trying to do, so thank you. You definitely cheered me up, just not in the way you intended although, that's kind of typical for you."

"What can I say?" Wynn beamed, just glad that it had worked. "I bet I can think of some other ways-"

"Don't even finish that sentence," Sol shook her head, letting go of Wynn's hand and teasingly shoving him away from her as they walked, pretending to not want him to hold onto her again, but she was secretly glad when he did.

"Hey, I can see Izzy!"

Wynn turned over his shoulder to where Harlow was walking behind him with Bas, watching as he pointed through the near opening of trees where surely enough, Izzy was sitting with his sister on the sand.

"Remember that she might need some time alone with Elara, okay buddy?" Bas said to his brother, hating to crush his eagerness to see his friend, but knowing that Izzy's wellbeing was more important.

Wynn turned around after hearing their exchange, grateful to be able to tell Harlow the good news after the night of hell they had all been through.

"Actually, Izzy's feeling okay now," he said, watching the relief settle on their faces. "I'm sure she'd love to see you, Harlow. You should go over to her."

Harlow nodded after looking up at Bas, double-checking with him that it was okay, before he took off and ran ahead to his friend.

"I think someone's got a crush," Bas laughed in amusement, shaking his head as he began to follow after him, eager to see Izzy and Elara for himself.

"I don't think he's wrong on that one," Sol said, chuckling along with Wynn as the others passed by, already venturing out along the beach to see if all of their friends had made it out alive.

"I'm with you. Those two were inseparable in the Bunker. I'm kind of relieved about it, though; it's good for Harlow to have someone his own age around. I can tell he's missed that since Hayzel died."

"His sister," Sol recalled, smiling sorely as she pieced it together in her mind, remembering just how much the young boy had already lost in his short life.

"Yeah, twins," Wynn murmured, his thoughts locked on Hayzel for a moment, then on Lyra, then on everyone else from the Bunker he had lost. He shook his head to distract himself, not wanting to dwell on the past when for the first time in his life, the future didn't seem all too terrifying; when it seemed like a place he wanted to reach.

"Speaking of Izzy, I should-"

"Riv..."

Sol was interrupted by a familiar voice approaching from her vacant side; she looked over to see Kodiak coming to a stop a few metres away, somewhat surprised to see her there so soon. He looked nervous; like everything Sol was worried about, he was worried about, too.

"Kodiak," she breathed out his name, instincts taking over as she closed the distance between them both, almost jumping into the embrace she pulled him into. "I never wanted to hurt you," she said - needing to say it first; needing him to know it above everything else.

"I know."

"But Chess was dead, and I had to do something."

"I know-"

"And I wouldn't have let Tobias get away with taking Izzy-"

"River, I know!" Kodiak cut her off, laughing somewhat as he struggled to get through to her.

"Y-you do?" Sol asked, loosening her hands from around his neck and taking a step back, finally able to see him clearly.

"Of course I do," Kodiak said. "I never wanted to hurt you, either."

Sol let out a breath of relief, not knowing what else to do except hold onto him again. Her hands returned to latch behind him, and Kodiak gladly pulled her in, both of them finding ease in the other.

"Izzy's okay? Wynn said you got her back; how is she holding up?" She asked, pressed against his shoulder.

"She's fine; resilient beyond belief, but she's fine," Kodiak answered, clearly smiling into his words. Sol pulled away agin, needing to see the peace on him before she felt it herself.

She followed his gaze as he looked over at Izzy, Elara and the others, sensing as though she was getting a taste of her future as she watched Izzy and Harlow begin to chase each other around, almost forgetting entirely the night of horrors they had faced.

"Wait... They're all near Izzy-" Sol began to panic, instinctively turning as if she was prepared to hurried over there, but Kodiak grabbed onto her arm, laughing slightly.

"She's okay," he said. "Resilient beyond belief - just like I said, remember?"

"S-she's not afraid anymore?"

"I don't know; it's hard to imagine all that fear could be gone completely, but if you're asking if she's let us all back in, then yeah, she has. She jumped into me with so much certainty when she found us, that I could have sworn I almost fell over."

"What the hell happened out there? Wynn said she killed Calvin..."

"She did," Kodiak confirmed, feeling his heart twinge with a heavy burden; he worried that Izzy would struggle to forget the moment she first killed someone, let alone that it was Calvin; let alone that she had almost seen him and Elara be killed, first. "She found a way out of the shelter - which only reinstalls my faith in Tobias; how secure can it be if an eight year old can find her way out of it?" He shook his head in disapproval, swiftly trying to move on from having to talk about him anymore. "Calvin was seconds away from killing Elara and I, but Izzy got there first and she saved us."

"Hey," Sol murmured, smiling fondly at Kodiak as she nudged his side, seeing his pride begin to consume him. "All those stories Elara tells her every night; she learnt it all from her Great Sovereign Kodiak."

"Everyone says that," Kodiak murmured. "But I see so much of Elara in her... All that strength? Perseverance? It's obvious where she gets it from."

"Either way," Sol said, "blood or not, you're both a part of her. And if anything's to answer for how she made it through all of this - other than her own, sheer strength, it's the two of you."

Kodiak smiled warmly, slinging his arm around Sol and returning his gaze back to the others, slowly leading her over. "I just want them both to be safe," he told her. "Not safe as in for now, safe as in for always. As in we get to live, and don't have to worry about another clan that's right around the corner, or always prepare ourselves to be ready for the next attack... That's all Elara's known since she left the Bunker, and I don't want Iz to grow up knowing all of that, too. Is it too much to ask for peace? Something constant?"

"Home," Sol murmured back, cutting off his rambling.

"What?" Kodiak came to a hesitant stop, frowning as he looked over at her, not understanding what she meant.

"We'll go home, Kodiak. And we'll be safe, I promise. That dream of peace you have is mine, too."

"Home," Kodiak laughed softly under his breath as he repeated her words. "I feel like it's been years since I've been there. And with the flood having wiped everything out, is there even a home to return to?"

Sol let out a thoughtful breath, tracing her memory back to when Neptunum pulled them out of the Bunker and from the airship they were taken away on, she could see the ruins of Basilisk and the graveyard of fallen trees that stretched as far as she could see.

"I don't know," she told him honestly. "We'll definitely have to rebuild I'm pretty sure the Quarters will have been knocked down by the waves, but... It's where we belong. And what's the worst that can happen? We get there and it takes longer than we expected to put it back together? If only there were a couple of bunkers nearby that our people could shelter in; bunkers with beds for all of us, warm clothes, supplies-"

"Okay, okay, I get it," Kodiak laughed. "We can survive back there and rebuild, but how the hell are we going to make it off this island? This water stretches all the way to The City and from there, the mountains contain the flood waters at least, but the DeadLands is on the other side."

Sol ran a hand through her hair, nervously looking away from the others as Kodiak's question forced her to face what she had been avoiding.

"When we first arrived here after Neptunum, there was talk about sending Liam and a small group to try and find The City and source supplies. It might be an option again," she said. "Or we can make a deal with Tobias and secure what we can from Terra Firma's camp and hope it'll be enough to get us through these waters and cross the DeadLands."

"Huh," Kodiak scoffed. "I'm sure he'll agree to that, but be prepared from him to suddenly change his mind and keep all the supplies locked away from us-"

"Don't worry about him or what he might do," Sol said, reaching her hand out and cupping the side of his face, bringing him to look at her. "You're not going to lose Elara and Izzy. You're not losing any of us again. I know what Tobias did to you was cruel-"

"He did it to you, as well," Kodiak reminded her, nervous that she didn't hold the same, inconsolable anger for him as he did. "He's the reason you and Dreea and Atlantis almost lost Chess."

"I know," she assured him. "And I hate him for that, believe me. But as much as I hate to admit it, he could still be useful to us. We have to - me, at least," she corrected herself, "be cooperative with him. If I'm right, the guilt about what he did to Izzy will be eating him alive, and I can use that to our advantage. I'm going to get us all home, Kodiak. You're my people."

Kodiak looked at her for a couple moment, feeling his doubt slip away from him, and he started to nod. "I believe you," he said.

"Good," Sol smiled, moving her hand up to mess with his hair, earning a playful laugh from him. "Now go join the others; you've done good here - everyone looks safe. You deserve a break."

"You too. You coming?"

"No, there's something I need to do."

Kodiak frowned. "What is it? Are you going back to Dreea and Chess? How are they doing, by the way?"

"They're fine. Chess still hasn't woke up, but she's stable."

"...You didn't tell me when you're going," Kodiak observed, growing suspicious that there was a reason she had tried to avoid his question.

"I know," Sol rolled her eyes at him, laughing as he knew her too well. "I'll be back before dark."

"Riv..." Kodiak mumbled, taking a step closer to her. "Can't we just all stay together for a moment? It's still dangerous out there, and Dreea isn't back. We don't even have any radios out here; how will I know if something's happened to you? At least let me go with you."

"Trust me, you don't want to do that-"

"You're going to see Tobias?" Kodiak pieced it together. "Why the hell-"

"I promised you I'm going to get us all home. You don't need to worry about this. I've got it."

"Riv, I don't think this is a good idea."

"I know you don't, but I'll be fine. I'll see you in a couple of hours."

Kodiak huffed, knowing he wouldn't be able to change her mind. "Fine, but if you're not here even five minutes after night arrives, they'll be a full search party for you. I'm not kidding."

"I know you're not," she chuckled. "Now go join the others. Go on! I'll see you later." 

"Hey!" Kodiak called out, desperate to say one more thing before she left.

Sol turned around, shifting her direction from the forest to face him, wondering what was so important that he couldn't wait until she was back.

"I'm glad we're okay," he said.

Sol smiled fondly over at him, filled with the same relief that she knew he was feeling as well. "You're my family. We'll always be okay." 

Three // Part Three
I see so much of Elara in her. All that strength? Perseverance? It's obvious where she gets it from.

I don't think this is a good chapter, but I HAD to get something out.

I loved Kodiak talking about Izzy and Elara and how all he wants is now is to get them somewhere they can be safe for good. They really are his world and I'm so glad that Izzy's overcome her fear and realises that Kodiak makes her feel protected. 

Also, how cute was it when Kodiak told Sol that he sees so much of Elara in Izzy! It reminds me of when Aeryn said to Quill in S7 that she sees so much of Ares in him. Blood isn't what makes a family, and that's one of the biggest messages in this story, and I like being able to show that characters such as Quill and Izzy are part of their family through ways more important than blood connections. ♡ Adoptive family is real family. ♡

06/07/21.