Episode Five, Part 1: 

R a d i o     S i l e n c e

"We can't go back!" Ares screamed. He demanded that the Sovereign listened to what he said this time. He pulled on Kodiak's sleeve, forcefully turning him around to look at him. 

"I already told you we have no choice!" Kodiak pushed him away, shoving firmly against Ares' chest. He was frustrated that he didn't understand the reasoning behind Kodiak's decision, how he only said it because it was the only choice left. Quill and Fenn appeared behind Ares, gripping onto his shoulders to stop him from lunging forward any more. 

"That's my brother out there!" 

"And my best friend somewhere. But unlike Wynn, I'm not going to risk everyone's life when I know that River would want me to protect her people." 

"Just like you protected her, huh?" There was a moment of regret that borrowed under Ares' skin, quickly extinguished by the flame of his own rage. 

"Shut up." Kodiak warned him. 

"You've wanted to turn back every time something has happened. You've looked for every reason to go back to camp. It's only fitting that you want to leave as well now that my brother's gone." 

"You don't know what you're talking about." 

"I know that we now have two people missing, and you don't seem to be doing a lot to find them." 

"You really wanna know why?" Kodiak yelled, his voice breaking with emotion. Some of the others turned their heads, a few even moving away completely as if to not bare witness of the tragedy of his deceleration. 

Ares sighed, dropping his head down as the guilt washed over. 

"Because what if I find her, but I can't bring her home? It's just her body, and it's too late, because I didn't get to her on time?" 

"What if that's Wynn as well..." Ares' voice was soft, now. Quiet. Stolen by the winds that still ripped their way through the DeadLands, calming the storm between the two. 

"I.. I don't know." Kodiak admitted. 

"Hey," Quill interrupted, drawing Ares' attention to him. "Wynn's smart. He would've turned back home once he realized he got separated." He wasn't sure whether he believed it or not himself, but he wanted to, and for the sake of everyone else he had to make sure Ares did as well. "We should go back, too." 

Ares turned to face Kodiak, who now had the support of Quill on his side, trying to convince himself that it was the right thing to do. That the cracked lips and starving bodies were enough reason to abandon the possibility of Wynnlow remaining out there somewhere. 

"Elara's still there, remember? Fabian, Harlow, everyone else... We go back for them." 

Ares nodded, a deep self-loathing settling in, worried that if anything happened to Wynn, it would because of him. 

"There's one problem..."

Everyone turned to face Kodiak, confused at his sudden disposition. How a feeling so strong had managed to subside. As if he had completely lost sight of what he wanted moments before. 

"What are you talking about?" Quill asked, unable to figure him out. 

"The storm pushed us east. Gradually, we drifted off path." He explained. "We're however many miles away from where we started." 

"So what does that mean? Can we get back, or not?" Ares breathed. 

"Not the way we came." 

-76 miles away, Blood Riders 

Noah slouched in his chair, his arms folded and his gaze down towards the ground as a childish frown set across his face. He was tired of listening to his father. Tired of being told who he had to be when he didn't even know he was on his own. Every decision Rogue made for him set up the mold of who he had to fit in to, and the truth was that he made it nearly impossible for Noah to be anything else than what he wanted for him. 

"Sit up, Noah. A king never slouches." Rogue muttered as he walked past, kicking at the heel of his son's feet. Noah rolled his eyes, reluctantly shifting but keeping his arms crossed to prove a point. 

"I think it says enough that he still needs to be told how to be a king." Judas complained, eyeing over at Noah as she sat across from him. 

He raised from his seat, determined to give her a peace of his mind, but Rogue stepped in between, shoving Noah back down into his seat. 

"I'll do this without the pair of you if I have to." He warned, scowling at both his son, and Judas. 

"Tell me then, dad: who would you chose to take my place?" Noah looked up, enjoying the challenge, enjoying the power he had in the moment. He knew there was no one else his father wanted as heir to the throne, except for him. 

"Lyra." 

The proclamation caused both Noah and Judas to shift, each sharing a cautious look with each other, a unanimity to cease their bickering for their own sake. 

"You can't seriously consider Lyra as one of the elites?" Judas said, unable to fathom how Rogue could think of Lyra as comparing to her or Noah in a position of authority. "When it comes down to it, she could never make the tough decisions. She couldn't lead this war against Basilisk the way I can. Whether you chose to accept it, or not, her family is at Basilisk. That's who her loyalty is to." 

"My loyalty is to my home." 

Everyone turned around to see Lyra hovering in the doorway, completely emotionless like she had learned to be on the Ground, unfazed by the reminder of her friends as if she had barely thought about them at all. 

"And home isn't a person." She continued. "Home is the place that protects you, and for me, that place is Riders. I have my brother here...Olympia and Zayden." Lyra stumbled, almost forgetting about the two snitches that she had brought into Riders. She couldn't risk anyone finding out about them, otherwise she knew that her and Bas would be killed. 

Rogue took Lyra's word for it, believing that what she had at Riders outweighed any pain she felt when it came to sacrificing her family, but not everyone saw her like he did.  

As much as Judas hated Noah - most of her rage stemming from him being heir to the throne, the one person she seemed more intolerable for was Lyra. The outsider. The new favourite. Before she came along, Judas was certain of her place - knew that she was Rogue's Second if Noah ever failed... When Noah failed. Now she wasn't sure of anything. 

"What about Harlow?" Judas tilted her head, waiting to catch Lyra out in her weakness. 

"W-what?" She stumbled. 

Rogue looked to Judas wanting her to explain what she was talking about. 

"You have another brother, Lyra." 

Lyra couldn't say anything. She looked down, suddenly ashamed, refusing to meet anyone's eyes. A lump welled in her throat, tears stinging in her eyes as she refused to let them spill. It burned inside her head, begging for release, but she refused to stand before these people and appear any weaker than she already was. 

"And he's alive. At Basilisk with the rest of her family." 

"Is this true, Lyra?" Rogue asked, disappointed that she hadn't confided this truth in Riders. 

She nodded. "But he's young. He'll grow up without the memories of me. Give a few years and he'll barely know who I am." 

"I don't care about the child." Rogue interrupted. "I care about your future here. Whether you can guard our people, or not. If you can help us eliminate Basilisk. If your honour our code." 

"I do!" Lyra rushed. "I-I do care. I am Blood Riders." 

"And your brother?" 

"Bas is with us-" 

"The child, Lyra. You said he'll forget you. Can you say the same about him?" 

Lyra choked away the fear, every ounce of strength she had all poured into the smile she forced onto her face. "Of course I can. Like I said, home is not a person." 

"Good." Rogue clasped his hands together, looking to Noah. "Then she assists in the attack against Basilisk." 

"What? Dad, you can't-" 

"King Rule, this isn't a good id-" Judas sat up alongside Noah, desperate to change his mind.

"Enough!" Rogue silenced them both. "Noah, if you're not capable of making the tough decisions, then I'll find someone who is. Judas, you still have a lot to prove. Perhaps Lyra's presence will test your own loyalties..." 

-

five // part one

"I am blood Riders."