Episode Six, Part 1:

O a s i s

It hadn't quite sunk in what Atlantis had declared, and what she had made for herself, but for any hope of ever knowing her sister, she knew she had to step up in her footsteps. With her mother watching, knowing that she was torn between her daughter and the man she loved, Atlantis ordered for Eryx to be placed into the cells, unable to meet the distraught eyes of Zara who begging for both of them to resolve their anger. 

"Dreea," Atlantis turned to face her, her own voice shaking with doubt. "I need you to...to shut off all radio transmitters." 

Dreea exhaled, weighing out the consequences in her mind. She grabbed onto Atlantis' arm and pulled her over to the side, making sure no one could hear them. 

"Atlantis, if I do this, we won't be hear anything if Riverly tries to send out another message. Kodiak's still out there with the others, and their radios won't function anymore. That means if something happens and they need get in contact with us, we won't know." 

"I know." Atlantis swallowed away her fear. It was as though the title of Nobel required a full amour that seemed to weigh her down instantly, pressing in on her rib-cage and stealing away the air from her first breath. "But if I don't, then everyone else will know that Riverly is alive, and sooner or later, Eryx will know, too. I can't keep him locked up in there forever. No one's going to take me seriously very long, and it's only a matter of time before people turn on me and resolve to wanting Eryx back in charge." 

"River is alive. For her to be able to send that message, it must mean she's close." 

"Then why isn't she back yet?" Atlantis shot at Dreea. "She obviously not safe, otherwise she'd be here. There's got to be something we're missing, and until we know what, this is my call." 

Atlantis waited for Dreea's agreement, unsure if she could handle everything without her support. Dreea nodded softly, pledging her support to the Nobel. 

"I'm with you." She told her. 

-

"Dreea, come in. Urgent. Kodiak." 

"It's obviously not gonna work." Bianca muttered to Kodiak. 

The boy stood up, stepping close to her, eyeing her down intimidatingly. "At least I'm trying something." 

"Yeah, and you've tried it about 20 times now and you've got no response. That Rule kid has obviously done something to the frequencies to stop us from contacting our people." Bianca informed Kodiak. 

"And how would I have done that?" Noah rolled his eyes, exhausted of the blame being thrown onto him every time something bad happened. 

"I don't know. I don't know how these things work, all I know is your radio is the only one that's working." 

"Yeah, and I haven't used it to call anyone, have I? Don't you think that if this was some sort of an attack that I would, oh I don't know, have to communicate to my team somehow?" 

"No, I reckon you knew this was going to happen, and everything's going according to your plan, right?" 

Frustration got the better of Noah and he pushed back on Bianca's shoulders, shoving her away from him. Out of reflex, Bianca pulled out a pocket knife and held the blade out towards Noah whilst he retaliated by drawing a gun out that was tucked in to the back of his shirt. 

Kodiak had already made his way over and walked out from behind Noah without a second thought and knocked the gun out of his hand before he could do anything. Noah was surprised, but by the way he didn't seem to challenge Kodiak's authority rather than the sudden disarming of his weapon. 

"I'll do this without both of you if you don't shut up and help me this out. Noah," he began, "do you know any reason why your radio is the only one working?" 

The boy sighed. "Since everyone else's radios aren't, doesn't that suggest that the fault is with Basilisk-" 

"Watch what you're saying." Bianca spat. 

"I'm trying to say that maybe someone from Basilisk is interfering with your ability to use your radios. Like maybe someone doesn't want everyone to hear River's message?" Noah snarled. "Ever thought about that, or were you too busy biting my head off to ever use your brain." 

Bianca was ready to chew him out again, but she was interrupted by someone from the group. 

"No, that makes sense." Fenn spoke up from his place beside Ares. "If Sovereign Dreea or Joren heard the call, then wouldn't they do whatever they could to make sure Eryx didn't hear it too? The only way to guarantee that is to block all signals. No messages in, no messages out." He explained. 

"Noah, turn your radio on." Ares spoke, suddenly standing up. 

Noah obliged and chucked his radio over to Ares for him to piece his mind together. 

"Riverly's message is still repeating." He announced. "Is there any way we could trace where the signal came from using Noah's radio?" Ares asked. 

"Yeah, but we'd need proper equipment for that. We can't go to Riders for obvious reasons, and it's not safe for us to go back to Basilisk." 

"The second Bunker!" Aeryn suddenly shot up, her voice loud with excitement. "Atlantis' Bunker. I remember them saying it was hi-tech. There's gotta be the resources in there we'd need to track the call. It's not too far away, either. A couple miles east and we'll be there under an hour." 

Kodiak looked around at everyone, sensing a mutual agreement. "Lead the way." 

-

Lyra arrived back at Basilisk with Jonas safe in tow. She was fortunate enough to avoid meeting Rogue and having to explain what happened to Noah. She knew there was still some loopholes in the explanation she had formulated, and was anxious or bearing the bad end of Rogue's wrath. 

The knowledge of Wynnlow's absence haunted her the entire way home. All she wanted to do was call his name until he found his way back to her, but it was as though she had accepted that she wasn't what was best for him right now, despite how badly she loved him, and the guilt of having to live with hurting someone you loved like that... It was consequence enough. 

She reached her tent, coming in quietly in case Bas was asleep. She knew it was selfish, but she didn't regret confining him to their tent if it meant keeping him safe. That there was good intentions behind keeping him on guards' watch, even if he was growing to despise her for it. 

Bas turned around from the matted sofa, a look of disappointment flashing across his face when he realized it was only Lyra. 

"It's just me." She announced, worried that she had startled him. "I came in quiet because I didn't know if you would be asleep." She told him. 

"Can I get you anything?" She asked. 

Bas didn't respond. Just like he hadn't done for the past 10 days she had tried speaking to him. Lyra came and perched herself down next to him, only for him to scoot away and quickly forget about her existence. 

"I'm sorry." She whispered, her voice strong with guilt. "I'm trying to keep you safe. You know I didn't want for that to happen." 

Bas shifted, turning his head a little. It was as though he knew that his bruises would be more visible from the angle. Lyra sighed and reached over towards the table, grabbing the damp cloth that she had left there earlier. 

Whilst he was looking away, Lyra leaned forwards and began dabbing the material over her brother's cheek. He flinched away, both out of pain, and out of resentment for her. She ignored his rejection and continued her attempt to nurse his wound's. 

"You've made it worse." She observed. "It was getting better, but you've been bleeding again." 

She finished wiping the blood off, and for the first time in a while, Bas met her eyes. She had imagined it numerous times over the past few days, every time trying to envision the most hateful and unforgiving look a boy could give his sister, but she had gotten him all wrong. 

The right side of his face was swollen so badly the his eye on that side had almost completely closed up, but the left eye stared back clearly, lashes coated over with tears, eyebrow arched down in misery. Then his lips started to quiver as emotion overcome him, and it all spilled out before Lyra could comprehend it all. Bas leaned forward, crashing onto Lyra's shoulder where he began to sob violently. 

She held the back of his head, keeping him close as she tried to consume all the heartache that he was pouring out. 

"I'm sorry." She murmured again, completely out of words. 

"They wouldn't stop." Bas choked out, his words catching in his throat. "I tired to go back in the tent, but they kept beating me. They said you gave them orders to not let me leave. That they should do whatever it takes to make sure I stay in here." 

"I'm sorry." The words came again, still not enough. "I didn't think they'd do this. I can't lose you, too." 

Bas pulled away, now eye level with her so he could see if she meant what she was saying. She did. 

"You didn't have to lose anyone else. You chose Riders. That meant you didn't choose me. I only came back here to save your life." 

"I know." Lyra choked. "But I can't leave, Bas. I... I need to tell you something." She began. 

"What is it?" Bas sniffled, wiping his nose and under his eyes. 

"Something's happened to Wynnlow." She said. "They can't find him. They lost him out in the DeadLands - like a desert - and they had to come back without him." 

Bas breathing hitched up again, starring at Lyra in denial, shaking his head to decide that she was lying. 

"Who's they?" 

"Ares, Quill and a few others. Kodiak's with them. He's one of their Sovereign's." She had hoped that the last statement would make thing a little better for him, but it absolutely nothing. 

"No." He muttered. "Ares and Quill would never leave him behind. Not on his own." Bas told her. 

"They didn't have a choice." 

"You have to let me go." His anger resolved to desperation, dropping to the ground as he placed his hands on Lyra's knees, begging for release. 

"I have to help find. You have to let me go." His words blurred together with emotion, Lyra barely able to separate each word from the last. 

"It's not safe, Bas! You're all I have left. I'm not letting you get hurt... Again." The guilt made a sudden reappearance, his mind unable to forgive herself for what she had allowed to him. 

"If you just let our friends go in the first place, then nothing would have happened to Wynn!" Bas yelled, standing up and beginning to pace around the tent. "You could have came with Ares and Fabian and joined us at Basilisk." He stated, then, "Why do you have ruin everything that we have left?" His words wounded her like the fists that had slammed into his face previously on her accord. 

"You don't seem to think about the fact that Hayzel is dead." He cried. "Our sister, Lyra." As if she needed reminding. "And I had to leave Harlow behind with the others because I thought it would save you. Because I thought you would come home." 

"Home isn't a person-"

"Home is whatever the heck home feels like!" Everything in the tent suddenly began to fly by the force of his rage. The words weren't hers. Or, at least they didn't belong to the Lyra that lived in the Bunker, and that was the Lyra that Bas loved, the one he wouldn't stop digging for until he knew for sure that she was dead. It pained him the way she tried to drill that idea into his head, as if she just wanted to forget everything she used to be already, regardless of how much that old self mattered to people like him. 

"Home is family." Bas said. "Family are the people you belong to.... I-I don't know if you belong anywhere," he said truthfully, "but I know I do. You've gotta let me go, Lyra. I'm trapped here." 

"If I let you go, they'll kill me."

Bas turned his head. He did't want to reply to that, but he had to, no matter how bitter the words tasted on his tongue. "You've made your choice." He declared. "This is mine. I go to Basilisk to be with my brother. And with my family." 

Bas tired to tell himself that nothing would happen to Lyra if he left, but he knew deep down that they were the type of people to punish her for something like this. Still, they had a brother alive, and he was young and full of hope that he would see them again, and Bas owed it to Harlow to keep as much of that hope blooming as possible before the realities of this world stole it away from him. As much he loved Lyra, too, he couldn't love the part of her that put her before everyone else at the end of every decision. Right or wrong, if she lived or died, this was a choice Bas had to make, and his choice was his family. His home. 

Six // Part One

I thought you would come home.

Home is whatever the heck home feels like.