Episode Four, Part 2: 

W h e r e ' s    M y    L o v e ?

"ɪ ɢᴏᴛ ᴀ ꜰᴇᴀʀ, ᴏʜ, ɪɴ ᴍʏ ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ. ꜱʜᴇ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴄᴀʀʀɪᴇᴅ ᴜᴘ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʟᴏᴜᴅꜱ ʜɪɢʜ ᴀʙᴏᴠᴇ."

Atlantis knew what she was supposed to do, but she was still terrified of messing everything up. Failure would mean Dreea wouldn't trust her, and anything that had or would happen to Sol, would rest on her. She followed down the hall closely behind her and Joren, breathing heavily to try and calm herself from everything that was about to unfold.  

Outside of the door to Eryx's chamber was Atlantis' mother, pacing around nervously. She hurried over to Atlantis when she saw her, grabbing her hands in her own, pulling her to the side. She glanced over at Dreea and Joren, careful that they didn't overhear their conversation. 

"Listen Atlantis," she began, keeping her voice low and steady, "be careful about what these people say to you, alright? I know you want to fit in here, but this isn't the Bunker anymore, alright? We have your dad back. We get to be a family. What he is doing here is so important, Larn." 

"Mom, I-" 

"I know you don't understand it all. All the plans he's made for us. But we can't afford to mess this up for him." 

"What are you saying?" 

Zara sighed, looking down briefly as she collected her thoughts. She pulled Atlantis further to the side so she was confident that the others wouldn't hear her. "If he wants a war babygirl, he's gonna have a war." Zara hands cupped the side of Atlantis' face, her fingers tucking any loose hairs behind her ears. 

"But just remember that he has the best intentions for you. To keep you safe. You're his daughter, after all." Atlantis swallowed away her fear, something not feeling right about what her mother said. She wanted to believe her, and in some aspects of it, she did. Yet she couldn't get Riverly out of her mind. 

"Atlantis." The girl turned her head, her mother's hands falling away from her as she turned to face Dreea. "You coming?" 

She nodded, quickly glancing over her mother one last time before Atlantis followed in to see her father. If she went along with the plan Dreea had constructed, then she be disappointing her mother, not to mention risking her father's adopted position as Sovereign. But if she reasoned with Eryx, she was certain she would become Dreea's enemy, and she would never have a chance to know her sister. 

"Atlantis?" 

She shook her head, forcing her eyes to glance around, locate the voice. She was alone with Eryx, Joren and Dreea, all of them looking at her as if they were waiting for her to speak. 

"Sorry. What did you say?" She coughed, putting all her focus into the conversation. 

"You guys arranged for us to talk. So, what have you come here about?" 

"Uh-" Atlantis choked, her words falling short, unable to say what she had been over in her head countless times already. 

"It's about your plans to attack Riders." Dreea stated. "It's a stupid plan." 

Eryx laughed, never not amused by the blunt delivery of how she spoke. "It's a plan that's been a long time coming." He corrected her. "Something that I was preparing for when I was Sovereign. I know it like the back of my hand, you have no reason to doubt me." 

"We have a lot of reasons, actually." 

Eryx closed his mouth, glaring harshly at Dreea, trying to intimidate her into silence. It was as if he hadn't know her all her life - hadn't known that there was nothing he could do to scare her, or make her step down from a challenge. 

"Even if you did actually put some thought into it, now's not the time. We're down another Sovereign." Dreea announced. "Kodiak's gone. Presumably out looking for Riv. Unless you know more, Eryx?" 

"Is there something you're trying to say, Sovereign?" 

"Yes." 

Eryx scoffed, aware that Dreea could see right through his lies, that she had figured out what he had done, but didn't have the proof yet. "It's a pointless search. She'd be gone by now, and the best thing for her would be to lead her people into victory." 

"Why are you so sure that she's dead? How do you know someone hasn't just... I don't know, taken her hostage, taken her out of sight?" 

Eryx twitched, his jaw tightening as he tried to suppress his anger. He was close to blowing his cover in front of her and Joren, and he knew that if that happened, his lies would be exposed to their people. 

"Because its easier for me to believe that than to think that my own daughter is out there in the middle of nowhere, suffering! Because at least if she is dead, then she isn't afraid, waiting somewhere, hoping that I'll find her. Now is that a good enough reason for you, Sovereign, or do you want me to tell you every other terrible thing that I've imagined?" 

"No." Dreea smirked. "I got what I needed to hear." 

Before Eryx could even speak, Dreea had turned away and was halfway out the door. Atlantis looked over at her father, noticed that his cheeks were flushed red, sweat beading on his forehead, his eyes refusing to look at anyone. 

Joren glanced over at Atlantis, concern written all over his face. "Eryx?" He spoke. 

"Eryx?" Again when he didn't respond. 

"What!?" His voice was loud and harsh in response, his anger flying out into the room. He exhaled, taking a second to calm himself, his voice more softer now. "What?" 

"What did Dreea mean by that?" 

"Mean by wh-" 

"Don't pretend you don't know. That she got what she needed to hear." 

Eryx sighed. "I don't know. Maybe that I think she's dead." He threw his hands up in surrender. "Maybe she just wanted a reason to blame me because her friend is gone and she doesn't have the answers she wants." 

"So why would you be the one to blame?" 

Eryx looked up, challenged by what Joren had asked, as if there was a battle for authority taking place. Atlantis stood beside them both, threatened by the silence that took over. 

Pulling himself from the relentless stare, Eryx grabbed onto Atlantis' arm, forcefully pulling her along with him. "Come on." He muttered under his breath, refusing to even give Joren another look. 

Atlantis stumbled to keep up with his pace, pulling her arm free when the were out of the room, rubbing her hand over the marks his grip had left. 

"You should know better than that, Atlantis." What striked first wasn't what he said, but the sound of disappointment in his voice seeming to drown out every other emotion. 

"What do you mean?" 

"You should have had my back in there. Stand up for your family. You knew what they were coming in to talk about, and you let them get to me like that." 

"Like you had River's back?" 

"...What did you say?" There was a hesitation in his words. A disbelief that she would say such things to him. 

Atlantis swallowed away her doubt, adjusting her stance so she stood up straighter, so she could speak away her fears. "You say you have your family's back, but can you say the same for Riverly? Because honestly, dad, the only people that I see doing something about her being missing, are not here. They're out looking for her." 

Eryx sat himself down against a counter, dropping his head into his hands out of frustration. Tension filled the room, slowly distancing the two from each other. 

"Are you really trying to tell me you feel bad for her? After how she treated you?" 

"How she treated me was not even close to deserving what's happened to her." 

"And what has happened? You obviously know so much about it, so tell me why she went missing?" 

Atlantis retreated back after Eryx lashed out at her. The way he jumped to his feet so aggressively, eager to silence her - she knew that he was someone capable of terrible things. 

"Say it. Go on. What did I do?" 

Atlantis looked away, not even sure of her own safety around him anymore as Eryx began approaching her. "Stop." She said firmly, holding out a hand. "Or I'll tell everyone what you did to their leader." 

"She was never a leader!" Eryx roared, his hands shoving the closest thing to him, sending a lone chair flying across the room. It crashed against the wall, splintering into pieces that lay on the floor. He laughed manically as he continued. "She didn't even win the vote. I rigged it so she would be chosen, so I could find you and you'd take her place. Her own people never even wanted her as Nobel in the first place. It was Dreea they chose."

It didn't change anything to her. It didn't change the fact that she was the one leading her people, that she deserved to be fought for, to come back and be Nobel. "Well they didn't chose you." 

Eryx stepped closer, his gaze hardening, turning to spite. 

"What are you gonna do?" Atlantis couldn't control the words coming out of her. They made her afraid. She wasn't confrontational, and she wasn't a girl who looked danger in the eye, until now. "Have me killed like River?" She asked. "You want a game? I'll give you one. But you won't win." 

There was a sudden space between them, Eryx now realizing that Atlantis wasn't afraid of him, that she knew what he had done. The anger spilled out of him, how his secrets had done, how the people he loved had turned against him. His hand collided with Atlantis' cheek, tears stinging her eyes as she fought them back, eyes full of betrayal turning to burn deep in his memory. 

"I could tell everyone about what you've done." 

Eryx recovered from his moment of guilt, sniffling back any remorse or apology that found light. "But you won't..." He tested her. 

"Not unless you exfiltrate your plans for war." 

He pursed his lips together, nodding his head in contemplation. He wouldn't admit it, but he was impressed at how she negotiated the conditions, how she refused to act on her emotions, even if it wasn't in his favour. 

"The beginning of a war is always silent, Atlantis. I only declared the battle." 

-

four // part two