Episode Two, Part 5:
Some Kind of Closure

All these people think love's for show,
but I would die for you in secret.

On his brother's order, Quill stepped away from one of the doors to the shelter, allowing Wynn to kick his foot into it one last time, finally managing to break their way in.

He was half afraid that Wynn would have hurt himself with his constant beating against the the door, but he knew that they both had bigger problems to face in the meantime.

"You still got the gun?" Wynn asked, trying to stretch out the pain in his ankles before they moved inside, grateful for the few seconds it gave him to catch his breath.

Quill nodded. "And I picked up a blade from one of those guys over there," he said, gesturing to the pile of dead bodies behind them. "I know you always tell me and Ell to be double armed."

"Good," Wynn let out a breath of relief, glad to know his brother was safe. "Let's get Izzy."

Quill followed him inside, half expecting someone the people that were already in the shelter to start attacking them out of fear that they were from Terra Firma Tribe, but they all stood several yards away from the door, staring on at the brothers with wide eyes and terrified expressions.

"Izzy?" Wynn began to call out, barely caring enough to alleviate anyone's fears about who they were or what their intentions had been by breaking in. "Izzy, come out. It's Uncle Wynn."

He seemed indifferent to all the people cowering away from him and in his desperation to find the young girl, couldn't find a moment to assure the people inside the shelter that he wasn't there to hurt anyone.

A part of Quill wanted to introduce himself or state that he was from Basilisk - perhaps even discard his weapon so they knew he couldn't hurt them even if he tried, but when he looked over at Wynn, realising that he was making his second scan across the group without being able to spot Izzy, he knew that something was wrong.

"Does anyone know where a young girl called Izzy is?" Wynn finally addressed the crowd, looking at them all intently, hoping to pressure at least one of them into answering. "Hello!? She's eight; she has dark, brown hair, she's wearing a brown jacket, she's from Basilisk... She was one of the last people to be brought in here; someone must have seen her. Where is she!?"

Wynn glanced over at Quill, shooting him a look that let him know he was afraid - something which Wynn always tried to hide from his siblings. That's how Quill knew it was bad. That's how he knew something had gone terribly wrong along the way and he couldn't help but wonder if Izzy had ever even made it into she shelter.

"Katherine and Dex are supposed to be in here," Quill said, hit with a sudden realisation as he approached his brother. "Maybe they're all together. There's a few rooms back there - maybe they're in one of them."

Wynn nodded, realising that it was worth a shot. "Dex? Katherine?" He called out, hoping that they would recognise his voice and realise that he wasn't a bad guy who had raided to place to hurt them, but the same Sovereign who had been stuck in the Bunker with them for months on end.

To their relief, they both pushed their way to the front of the group, holding onto each other's hands as they pulled themselves through, relaxing when they realised it was Wynn and Quill.

"Hey, where's Izzy?" Wynn immediately asked, waisting no time in getting straight to the point. "She was brought in a little while after you guys. Has she been with you?"

For a spilt second, Wynn began to believe that the reason Izzy wasn't coming forward to them was because she was still afraid of every person that wasn't Elara, but when Katherine began to shake her head to his question, he knew things were worse than they seemed.

"She was too scared," Katherine said. "She's been sitting in the corner over there, crying a lot. She didn't want us to stay with her. I think she really misses Elara."

Wynn's heart ached at his words, motioning for Quill to head to the corner of the room Katherine had pointed towards in search of Izzy but he returned moments later, shaking his head in defeat. She wasn't there but at least it was a confirmation that the guard who had taken her from Kodiak and Elara had taken her into the shelter, after all...

"Does anyone know if there is another exit to this place? Some way she could have gotten out without anyone noticing?"

"What the hell has happened to my shelter?"

Wynn turned around, startled at the voice, only to realise that Tobias was suddenly standing in the broken doorway that he had created.

The last time he had seen him, Tobias was threatening Elara's life and begging to be killed. Wynn didn't know if anything had changed since then or if Kodiak and Elara had managed to speak any sense into him.

"Where the hell is Izzy?" Wynn fired back, refusing to let anything take priority over what he was here for.

"What are you asking?" Tobias frowned. "Sovereign Kodiak and your sister informed me that she was taken inside by my guard. They just found me in the forest and I agreed to let her go. She should be inside-"

"Well, she's not," Wynn spat, believing that this entire mess was because of him. "So why don't you tell us where she is or else you're going to have a really big problem on your hands-"

"Calm down, Sovereign," Tobias snapped, secretly trying to conceal how alarmed he was after what Wynn had told him. What did he mean that Izzy wasn't in the shelter? Where was she? "Assuming you two are the culprits behind this damage," he said, gesturing to the broken door behind them, "my best bet is that all the noise you made frightened her. She is probably hiding somewhere. There are a few rooms leading off from here that she might be shielding herself in. We will start there-"

"And then what? If she's not here? What are we going to do?"

"Sovereign Kodiak and Elara are on their way to us," Tobias let out an impatient breath. "We will cross that bridge when we come to it, but I believe that once Isobel realises Elara is here, she will run straight to her, no matter what else is making her afraid. As far as I am aware, she has been cautious of you and everyone else except Elara since she was rescued from Terra Firma Tribe. Is that correct?"

"Yes," Wynn huffed, hating to think that he was letting Tobias downplay the situation. "But after being in here without any of us for hours, I don't doubt that she wouldn't hesitate to run to me or Quill if she realised we were here... So I'm serious, Tobias... I don't think Izzy is inside the shelter."

//////////

Elara glanced over her shoulder as Kodiak pulled her along, certain that she sense someone was nearby. She didn't want to say anything in case she triggered Kodiak's anxiety again for no reason, but she didn't want to allow them to keep walking if they were slowly becoming surrounded by outside attackers.

"You're slowing down," Kodiak observed, glancing over at her. "Do you need to rest for a minute? Does something hurt?"

"No, I... I feel like someone's following us," she sighed, debating whether or not to pull out the gun that was in her waistband. She wanted to protect Kodiak, but she also wanted to never feel a gun in her hands again.

She could hear Kodiak's breath hitch in his throat beside her, and his grip on her hand noticeably tightened. "I think you're right," he said after a few moments. "But it doesn't sound like a lot of people-"

"As in, just one person?"

"...Yeah, maybe," Kodiak answered, not sure where Elara was leading.

"As in Calvin..." Elara clarified, watching as the realisation settled on his face.

"He's either killed Tobias already or he escaped," he said. "Hopefully the latter so the shelter will be open... Then, Izzy will be safe to wait with Wynn and Quill until we get there."

"So what do we do? Wait for him to jump out at us, or take initiative ourselves?"

"No. He can come out if he wants to," Kodiak said, raising his voice a little in the hopes that if it really was Calvin out there, then he would be tempted by his words. But as he looked back at Elara, tugging her in close to his side, his voice turned to a whisper. "I'm not going to let anything hurt you."

Elara nodded gratefully, wrapping one of her arms tightly around Kodiak's, almost joined at his hip. If she had the strength to fight, she knew she would have been yielding a blade in front of herself, desperate for Calvin to jump down so she could pierce it through him and defend her family, but she couldn't. She had to let Kodiak fight for her, and maybe that was a strength in itself: being vulnerable; allowing someone to take care of you.

They stayed standing beside each other for a moment, glancing around in every direction for a sight of who was following them, but they couldn't see anyone. Still, Kodiak was sure that it was Calvin.

"Are you going to come out so I can kill you, or are you too afraid?" Kodiak taunted him, knowing it was his best bet at luring him out. As much as he wanted to keep Elara far away from any danger, he knew they were like a deer in headlights just remaining where they were. Before they knew it, Calvin could assemble the surviving members of Terra Firma Tribe until they were all circling them, and then he'd have no hope at protecting her.

They heard a low grumble from the bushes nearby, as if it was a wicked sort of laugh that they weren't quite used to hearing; something that sent shivers down both of their spines.

"It's amusing that you think you could kill me, Sovereign. From what I recall, you were at my mercy when my people raided you at the beach. I had all of your people in the palm of my hands and I had the chance to kill you-"

"But you didn't, so come on... Give it your best shot."

"Kodiak, are you sure this is the smartest thing to be doing?" Elara muttered from beside him, wondering if she should just pull her gun out and start shooting in every direction until a bullet hit Calvin.

"Right now, he's the one who can see us," Kodiak explained. "He has the upper hand until I can get my eyes on him. Then I have no doubt that I can finish him off myself. We'll be fine."

Elara nodded, too nervous to say anything. Whilst she truly did believe with all of her heart that Kodiak would keep her safe, she didn't doubt in the slightest that he would risk his own life to do that. Mustering up all the courage she could find for the sake of protecting him, Elara pulled the gun out of her waistband and held it lowly at her side.

Before she could decide to go ahead and fire, Calvin mumbled out something that she was only able to process when it was too late. "If you insist..."

The next thing she knew, Kodiak had pushed her behind him, causing Elara to fall backwards onto the ground as he defend them against Calvin's sudden charge.

She lost her breath slightly, but she couldn't be sure whether it was from the impact of hitting the ground, or from seeing Kodiak in trouble.

It was a close fight. Elara didn't want to admit it, but Calvin was skilled with his blade. If Kodiak made even one wrong move, than it could all be over, but she knew the same could be said for Calvin; Kodiak was just as strong of a fighter as her; just as brave and daring and determined, especially when it came to his family. But did love conquer revenge? Did love conquer a madman who desired nothing other than unleashing his evilness out into the world on the people most undeserving? She hoped so, but hope wasn't enough this time around...

Kodiak yet out a yell, afraid at the sudden burning he could feel along his arm, worrying that the damage was worse than he thought. As he managed to shove Calvin away from him - gaining a few seconds in his recovery - he glanced down at his arm to see his sleeve ripped open and blood already soaking through. It wasn't major. He knew that. He wasn't going to bleed out in the next few moments and succumb to his injury like Chessca had, or even Elara, but it was enough to wound him; enough to give Calvin the advantage over him he had been trying to find.

"Kodiak!" Elara cried out, beginning to agonisingly push herself up from the ground, but he held a hand out to her to cut her off.

"Ell, stay down! I mean it!"

Elara didn't want to listen to him. She tried again to stand up, but Kodiak wasn't having it.

"Elara, stop!"

"I have to help!"

Kodiak didn't know what to say to her that would get her to listen, and he didn't have the time to figure it out, either. He turned his attention back to Calvin, blocking his next lunge and struggling to push him away again.

"Hand me... The gun," he said in between breaths, quickly glancing over his shoulder to see if Elara had heard him.

She hesitated, nervous that he was betting everything against being able to use it, but worried that he would freeze at the last moment when the trauma caught up to him; when Calvin turned into a reflection of Xander or even worse, Elara on the deck with her life bleeding out of her...

But she didn't have a choice. Elara couldn't get a clear shot on Calvin, especially not without the risk of accidentally hitting Kodiak instead. So she waited until she knew Kodiak was ready, watching as he used all of his strength to try and push Calvin away but at the last moment, he dodged Kodiak's hands and managed to lean past him, snatching the gun from Elara's outstretched hands before any of them could realise what was happening.

Calvin immediately hurried back, establishing a distance between himself and the Sovereign so Kodiak couldn't disarm him, and slowly let the corners of his mouth raise into a crooked, bloody, spine-tingling smile.

The gun was pointed at them both, flickering between Kodiak and Elara every few seconds, all depending on Calvin's constantly changing mind of who to kill first.

"So... Which of you wants to be the hero, and which of you wants to watch the other one be killed first?"

Neither had an answer for him, hoping that it would buy them some time to figure out a miraculous escape, but Calvin was indifferent to whether or not they cooperated. He moved the gun again, setting his finger on the trigger, and aimed at his decided target.

"It's only fitting..." He snarled. "After all, Romeo lost Juliet, first."

//////////

Izzy continued through the forest, not sure how far she had walked as it felt as if she was going in circles. She had become completely disorientated - unable to figure out which direction she had come from, and where the beach was in relation to her... The only thing she could do we to keep on moving.

Within a few moments, Izzy had stumbled across her first dead body. She had never seen one before, not even when she lived in The City of Targo or with Exile Allegiance when she was younger. She had known people that had died - her father being the first person who always came to mind, but she had never seen someone dead, up close. It freaked her out. It made her envision her father's face on the person instead, and it was a sight that made her blood feel cold in her veins and her chest feel awfully tight with a feeling that, as familiar as it was to her as of late, was one that she couldn't quite put a name to.

As badly as she knew she needed a weapon, Izzy couldn't bring herself to take one from one of the many people lying lifeless on the forest floor. She couldn't touch them. She couldn't bear to feel death linger so closely to her when it felt like it had been crawling around her for the longest time.

Instead, Izzy retreated to picking up whatever she could find on the ground: sticks that looked sharp enough to cut someone if they got too close; broken arrows that might be useful if she could figure out how to use them; rocks that were big enough to hurt if she threw them right, but not big enough that they were too heavy to carry.

Once her hands were full, Izzy loaded her pockets with everything she had gathered, keeping only an arrow clenched tightly in her fist so she was ready to use it if she needed to.

All that was left was to find Elara, or Kodiak and her Uncles; someone that was a part of her people. She knew that if she managed that, then home wouldn't be too far away; she could be back on the beach with the rest of Basilisk before she even knew it, but only if she-

Izzy stopped in her tracks, frowning as she lifted up her foot, curious to see what bulky object she had stepped on.

A gun.

She flinched momentarily, afraid that she was about to hurt herself, but she forced herself to calm down. The gun was pointed away from her and as long as she kept it that way, nothing would happen.

With a deep breath of courage, Izzy discarded the arrow and picked up the gun instead, finding it a little too big for her to hold in just one hand. Thankfully, she did know how to safely carry it and told herself that it would be a good insurance for her until she found someone else - an adult who could take the responsibility off of her shoulders and protect her if a bad guy came, and she wouldn't have to do it herself.

She had never been more grateful for the constant, repetitive training from Sovereign Sol and Uncle Wynn in the Bunker; without it, she knew she'd stand no chance at being able to hold the gun with any conviction. Despite their practices being used solely with unloaded weapons, Izzy knew how to pull the trigger and knew - at least she hoped - how to aim it.

"I have to help!"

Izzy jumped at the voice she could hear not too far away, feeling unease grow in her stomach as she noticed how much fear the person seemed to be in. Someone needed help, she understood. What if that person was like her? Young and alone in the forest? Just like she had been when Calvin found her, the only difference being they had the courage to call out to somebody, and Izzy missed her chance at alerting Sol and Wynn who she knew had been nearby.

As if all the terror in her chest didn't seem to matter, Izzy found her feet running in the direction of the voice, trying to recall every single story Elara had told her about her Great Sovereign Kodi in the hope that she would find some sort of answer; something to tell her if she was being incredibly brave, or incredibly stupid.

She knew to keep her breathing quiet. As exhausting as all the running was, one thing that had been drilled into her from all of the Sovereign's training in the Bunker was to keep every noise to a minimum, including your own breath. If it came to it, someone it was safer to not even breath at all, so that was what Izzy tried.

She bit down hard on her lip to subconsciously remind herself to hold her breath, slowly beginning to creep closer towards the silhouette of a man she could see up ahead. It definitely wasn't her first choice - a tall, grown man - but she was prepared to approach them if she could determine that they were from Basilisk...

Taking her time, Izzy continued to move forward, glancing down at the ground in front of her to carefully calculate every step she took - purposefully avoiding dried leaves or odd-angled twigs that she knew would snap under her shoes.

"So... Which of you wants to be the hero, and which of you wants to watch the other one be killed first?"

If the words of the man weren't enough to paralyse her heart in fear, then the realisation of who the voice belonged to, was. She momentarily choked - hurrying to bring her hand up to cover her mouth to avoid making any more noise, and began to turn away back in the direction she had came from.

But - as she moved, a glimmer of something red caught her eye. Izzy couldn't help but take a second look, squinting her eyes to see through the heavy cluster of bushes and dead trees in her way, only to confirm what her suspicions had been: long red hair. Elara.

"It's only fitting..." She heard Calvin continue to speak, completely unaware of her presence, as was Elara and whoever else he was talking to. "After all, Romeo lost Juliet first."

She didn't understand what he was trying to say. The reference to an old tale went completely over her head - none of the world's oldest classics even coming close to Elara's stories about her people, but what Izzy did understand was that Calvin had a weapon pointed straight ahead and from the unfortunate things she knew about him, she knew he would use it if she didn't do something; she knew he would hurt Elara if she didn't save her.

Without any hesitation or second thought, Izzy pulled her now gun upwards, aiming it straight ahead and pulling the trigger, noticing that at the same time as her, Calvin pulled his trigger, too...

Was she too late? 

Two // Part Five
After all, Romeo lost Juliet first.

"And maybe that was a strength in itself; being vulnerable."

This might be one of my favourite chapters in the entire series!

I love SO much about it! I love the focus on Izzy! I love the Kodiak and Elara dynamic! I love the cliffhanger ending! I love Elara's internal monologue and the similarities between her younger self, and who Izzy is now!

I also am not always the biggest fan when it comes to writing fight scenes, but I really enjoyed this one! Not going to lie, a lot of that probably comes down to the fact that it's about Kodiak being so protective of Elara, but we'll take it as a win, no less.

I'm also so excited for you guys to read the next chapter! I'm going to try and get it out tomorrow if I can - because I'm so excited to write this part of the story that I don't know if I can hold off, but my job is pretty full-on and tiring! I'm supposed to be writing reviews for Froy's new show because I want to support him because he means so much to me, but I haven't been able to write the review for last week's ep (and the new ep came out today), and I feel like I'm failing that a little bit. I don't want to let anyone down! :(((

In good news (cue Drivers License by Olivia Rodrigo) I PASSED MY AMERICAN DRIVING TEST TODAY!!! WOOOO!!!! Hahah, it's only the 3rd driving test I've passed (Australia, England, America) and to be honest, I hope I never have to take another driving test again because they are NERVE-wracking and for someone with sever anxiety, it is not fun! When you throw the fact that I've gone from driving the sleepy streets of my hometown in the UK or the quiet suburbs of Philadelphia, it makes it a little more daunting that I'm now in L.A and having to deal with the insanely chaotic and busy driving around here! But, I did my first solo drive today (just to a local CVS) and it was v scary but I did it!!!

Anyway, I hope you guys liked this! I love the similar feel it has to Season 8, Episode Six. And by that, I mean a direct parallel to the episode where Elara was shot.

What do you think is going to happen? Two guns were fired: one at Calvin, the other at - Elara?

Have fun guessing!

08/06/21.