Episode Seven, Part 6:
You Mean the World to Me

Open your eyes now, it's time to see if you can reach me. 
She'll be a scar now, and I will still let her bleed all over me. 

Sol was pacing around nervously behind the bushes, everyone waiting for her command to know what to do. She had been right in her prediction that Targo would flee inside the labs once they realized their guards had been shot down, but she hadn't prepared to wait so long before ordering her people to attack. 

The moment she saw Nova return alone, she knew something was wrong. In the few seconds that it took for Nova to explain what had happened, Sol seemed to have forgotten how to breathe, unable to bare the weight of something happening to Wynn right before she was about to save Elara and Kodiak. 

Everyone besides Bas, Wynn, and Lyra were there - and Azha, who had headed back towards the forest to try and locate them, concerned why they were taking so long. 

Crouched down on the ground, Ares and Quill were sitting close to one another, succumbing to their own questions about what had happened. They knew their sister was in the building no more than a hundred metres away from them, but now it was their brother who seemed to be driving their anguish, and they didn't know what to do with that fear. 

"Quill..?" Ares murmured softly between them, his eyes staring straight ahead at the forest, searching for where he imagined Bas and Wynn running from. 

Quill looked over, not saying anything, but acknowledging that he was being spoken to. 

"I think... If something's happened... Wynn wouldn't want us to hesitate, even for a moment, at focusing on Elara." His words were heavy with guilt, as if he felt like he was betraying his brother for even mentioning the idea of pushing the thought of him aside, but he knew in his heart that he was right about it. He was just afraid of losing him, too. 

Quill nodded, following Ares' eyes to the forest. He seemed to accept what Ares had said before he even had himself. He stood up, turning to look at the labs that seemed to be calling for him, and extended his hand out to his brother. 

Ares took hold of him, being pulled up to stand by his side. Sol looked over at the commotion, a knowing look on their faces as if she was aware of what they had decided. 

It was strange; for some reason, she didn't have the strength to make the choice they had done: to get their people out of the labs and not drop everything for Bas and Wynn. The Nobel Sovereign - the fearless leader of Basilisk - looked to the brothers for their instruction. 

"It's time." 

/// 

As he opened the door of the room, Kodiak could hear the chaos erupting throughout the building, as Targo became aware of Basilisk' presence outside. 

He pushed the door slowly, confused to find it empty, all except for one person. They were standing at the end of the hall, their back towards Kodiak as they glanced back and forth at the second hallway in front of them. 

For a moment, Kodiak felt racked with shame at what he was about to do, but then he remembered that - this guard he was aiming his gun towards - was just another person standing between him, and getting Elara home. 

He pulled the trigger, watching as the bullet struck the girl in the back, seizing her life without even a moment to scream out in pain. 

With the threat eliminated, Kodiak was able to leave the room and cross the hall, glaring desperately through every window until he saw her... 

He burst into the room, tucking the gun back into his waistband, softening completely at the sight of her. 

Almost as if he was afraid he could hurt her, Kodiak approached her cautiously, standing on the far side of the bed so that he was facing the door, ready to protect her against whoever entered. 

His eyes flickered down to Elara, unsure what sight hurt him the most: the wires and needles that were surfacing all areas of her body, with trails of bruises left behind to show how much she had endured; or the look of pain that was so deeply etched into her face that it seemed almost as though she would never be able to smile again.

"Elara?" Kodiak murmured, carefully running his hand along her forehead and down the side of her face. She didn't stir or even respond to his voice, completely under the spell of the simulation. 

The Sovereign knew how far along she was, and that every minute she was under Phase 4 was a minute closer to her being killed. He wasted no time in beginning to peel all the patches off from her skin, all the readings they were recording suddenly cut shorts. 

Within moments, the door slammed open, bringing a sudden halt to Kodiak's rescue mission, and Kane stood in the doorway, breathing heavily in anger, enraged at what he saw. 

The interference with Elara's procedure had sent an alert to a reader Kane had strapped around his wrist. He turned it off without breaking eye contact with Kodiak, as if to make a point that he had given himself away so easily so Targo. 

Kodiak refused to speak first, and if anything, became more motivated to strip Elara of all her attachments. It was only when Kane started moving closer, as if about to circle the room, that he stopped his actions and retrieved his gun. 

Kane stopped once the weapon was pointed at him, his hands up slightly, trying to find his bluff. He glanced down at the reader on his wrist, pressing a series of buttons, and seemingly waiting... 

Keeping the gun aimed, Kodiak used his other hand to continue trying to wake Elara, terrified of making a sudden mistake. 

The was a commotion at the door, and Kodiak glanced up, his heart sinking at the sight of Rhea hurrying inside, accompanied by five other members of Targo. 

She clearly wasn't expecting to find the Sovereign awake and at Elara's side, nor was she expected him to be armed and at an advantage to Targo. 

Rhea signalled for her people to take aim, trying to figure out what Kodiak's plan was, and how the thought of taking Elara away from them even seemed like a possibility to him. 

"Give it up, Kodiak. It's over." 

The boy shook his head. It would take a whole lot more convincing for him to lose hope in his people. 

"I won't let you do this to her." 

"It's already been done!" Rhea laughed. She was amazed at how he hadn't seemed to grasp that yet. "As soon as this phase is completed, she'll be under the Alteration, and then she won't even remember who you are." 

Kodiak squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, trying not to let her words get to him, even though he knew there was some truth to them. 

Not knowing what else to do, Kodiak moved his finger to the trigger of the gun, holding it more firmly in Kane's direction, with both hands on the weapon. 

"I'll kill him." 

"Okay." Rhea rolled her eyes, folding her arms impatiently. She didn't even have to think about her answer, saying it so nonchalantly as if he didn't even matter. 

Kane looked over at her, hurt and betrayal etched deep onto his features, struggling to believe what she had just said. 

"Rhea?" The man asked, emotion tugging at his voice. Suddenly, his affiliation towards her and her people dissolved, and he seemed to collapse into himself, staring over at his daughter; he wonder what it had all been about - if, after everything, Elara had been right about these people. 

Kodiak fought with himself, coming to terms with fact that he didn't have it in him to kill Elara's dad. He exhaled, directing the gun away and aiming it point blank at Rhea. 

She tilted her head, shifting her weight to her other foot, as if to ask him 'is that all you've got?' 

"If you shoot me, they'll shoot you, and you'll never get Elara away." She pointed out. "Give up while you still can. There's nothing you can do." 

Tears stung in Kodiak's eyes as he looked down at Elara, trying to shut out the thoughts screaming in his mind; but he knew it was the only way. 

Kodiak shifted the gun down, pointing the barrel towards Elara. Everyone in the room drew a sharp intake of breath, never in a million years being able to predict that. 

Rhea seemed to be listening to him now, terrified of what was going on in his mind, and what sort of choices he was capable of making. 

"What are you doing?" She asked, concern beating fast in her chest. 

Kodiak looked over at Kane as he spoke, recalling the words he had previously said to him in warning. "She can't be the Heir if she's dead, right?" 

Rhea looked around at her guards, as if asking them what they were going to do, or how they were going to get to Elara without harming her. 

"You wouldn't..." Rhea trailed off, eyes darting between him and the gun. 

She was right: Kodiak had no intention of hurting her, ever, and the very sight of his hand holding the gun towards her was tearing him apart, but he had to do it. 

"You shoot, I shoot." He lied. "Your move." 

Rhea was out of options, right in the palm of Kodiak's hand, and she knew that they were surrounded outside with no where else to run; the reality of their Heir escaping them was beginning to dawn on her, and she didn't know what to do with the fear of failure slowly creeping in. 

Kodiak watched on, giving his best efforts to keep his hand from shaking and to refrain himself from reaching out to Elara. He was wasting time - stalling, waiting for the moment when-!

Rhea's stare flickered past Kodiak to the large window behind him, eyes widening at what she was seeing. It was a confirmation for the Sovereign: a verification that his people were outside, right behind him. 

/// 

Sol stood in front of the window, staring in relief at what she had found. But the feeling didn't last long, instantly noticing Rhea and the group of armed guards facing Kodiak, ready to shoot within a second. 

Their presence was known to the people inside, and Sol noticed Kodiak glance over his shoulder, no doubt being able to see them all in his peripheral vision. As if to say 'I see you, I know what to do,' Kodiak slowly moved his hand to his sight, revealing his possession of the gun. He twisted it around slowly, trying to distract Targo from his actions by speaking to them, until he could get the gun to face the window. 

Sol knew exactly what to do, whispering harshly at everyone to duck down to the ground, out of line from the window. Confused, everyone followed her order and crouched down below the base of the window panel. Once Sol was certain that everyone was positioned safely, she reached her hand up, knocking her fist against the glass twice, then throwing herself to the ground, shielding her head in advance. 

A second passed, then the glass above them all shattered, flying inside the building and out onto the ground as a result go Kodiak shooting at it. 

As soon as he pulled the trigger, Kodiak lunged forward, covering Elara's body with his to shield her from the explosion. The sudden impact took all of Targo by surprise, and in the few seconds that it took them to figure out what was happening, Basilisk had jumped inside, immediately shooting at their enemy. 

It took a moment for the chaos to cease, and the dust and dirt in the room finally cleared, allowing everyone to see what was left. All of Targo were on the floor, dead and unmoving. Kane was trembling in the corner, untouched by the bullets, but his hands shaking, frozen in defence above his head. 

As Sol glanced over all of them, giving herself the confirmation that they were all truly dead, she noticed someone was missing... And of course, it had to be Rhea. 

Sol looked over at Kodiak, who - in the midst of everything had found a moment to look at her. He couldn't bring himself to smile, despite how relieved he was to see her there. 

As his attention drifted back to Elara, Sol ordered for Lois and Stella to search the building for Rhea, making sure every other threat of Targo was eliminated. 

Once they left, Sol hurried over towards Elara; both Kodiak and Ares were on each side of her, working together to remove the remaining wires and needles, until there was just one left. 

Kodiak held his hand on the needle, hesitating to pull it out of her, knowing what consequences there might be. Ares looked up at him, wanting to ask him why he had stopped, but hoping he would explain by himself. 

"Kodiak?" Quill's voice broke the silence, approaching from the window to see why everyone had stopped. 

"What's wrong?" Ares asked, desperately looking his sister up and down to see what Kodiak could. 

"She's already in Phase 4..." The Sovereign answered. 

Quill and Ares shared looks with each other, none the wiser to what he was telling them. Fenn squeezed past the edge of the bed, moving to stand next to Ares, right where Elara's head was. He took over for the Sovereign, speaking. 

"He means that's she's already in the simulation, and because Phase 4 is the last stage before the Alteration, it's the one that..has the most potential to kill her." Fenn answered. "Pulling her out of it early could leave long term damage, or it could still end up killing her." 

Fenn looked softly at Ares, regretful that he had to be the one to break the news to him, knowing how loud his fears had been screaming at him on their venture over. 

The realisation was settling in, and whilst both Ares and Quill were trying to figure out which risk to take, Kodiak had already decided. 

"We're pulling her out." He declared, resuming his grip on the needle, about to take it out until Ares called out to him. 

"Stop!" He yelled, reaching over and grabbing onto the Sovereign's wrist. 

"Didn't you hear him? It could kill her!" 

"I know! I know, I've been here with her as they put her through every other phase that came before. I heard her screaming all night long because she was in so much pain. Just look at her, Ares..." He pleaded with him. 

"I know you don't want to lose her, but I'm telling you that I don't think she'll survive. I don't think she'll make it out of this alive." Kodiak looked back and forth between Ares and Quill, desperate for just one of them to listen to him, to realise that he had seen things they hadn't. 

As Quill was about to speak, trying to reason Ares into agreeing with Kodiak, the sounds of approaching footsteps suddenly became noticeable, everyone turning their attention towards the door, worried about who might appear. 

Sol raised her gun, ready to shoot, but she was caught by surprise. 

Wynn was the first appear, hurrying into the doorway, unsure what he would find. He panicked briefly upon seeing Sol's gun, but she was quick to pull it down, overwhelmed at all of the feelings that came with his return. 

His eyes drifted over towards Elara as Bas and Azha appeared behind him, having caught up. He managed to exhale, as if the world had finally managed to slow down now that his sister was here, but Sol knew that something was wrong. 

He looked miserable, inconsolable, completely desolate. She glanced over Bas to see if he was any different, but there was no light in his face; the two of them were weighed down by a weight that was tearing them apart, and Sol knew what it was. 

"Where's Lyra?" Nova asked, glad to see that the two of them had made their way safely out of the fire. When they didn't have the strength to reply, the relief on her face slowly dissolved, fearing what was already true. 

Wynn looked over at Sol, as if she was the one he wanted to tell more than anyone else, and shook his head sorrowfully, unable to say anything at all. 

Ares looked between his brother and the Nobel, taking a moment longer to process what had happened. 

"Wynn?" He let go of Elara, knowing that Quill and Kodiak were this to take his place, and turned to face his brother. 

Wynn managed to bring himself to look up at Ares, the hurt in his eyes telling his brother everything that he couldn't. He wanted to pull him in and be there until all of the mourning went away, but everyone in the room knew that they couldn't rest until Elara was out of the woods. 

Kodiak forced himself to speak up, interrupting the suffering the filled the room, begging for consent to take the needle out of their sister. 

"I have to take it out." He declared, struggling to wait any longer. 

As if suddenly brought back to reality, a voice grew from the far side of the room. 

"You have to let her complete the process." Kane beseeched, bringing himself up to kneel. "Y-you'll damage her if you take her out. She has to conclude it." 

The feeling of empathy vanished from Ares' heart, and he pushed past Wynn, lunging straight towards his father. Kane stood up, not reading his son's body language, expecting to find some sort of benevolence from him, but he couldn't have been more wrong. Ares slammed his hands against his father, shoving him vigorously into the wall behind him. 

"A-Ares-" Kane muttered out, trying to prove to him that the pain of his hatred towards him hurt more than the pain of the collision. 

Ares pulled his gun out without thinking, steering it to face his father who was still on the ground, never having wanted to hurt a person more than he did then. His hands shook and tears fell freely from his eyes. 

"Take it out!" He yelled over his shoulder to Kodiak, his fear balancing out his anger. 

"P-please. It'll-" 

"You're the only one who hurt her!" Ares screamed, refusing to hear the words he knew his father was trying to say. 

"I should kill you!" He yelled, his breath heavy and loud, swallowing the sound of his cries. 

Kane, in disbelief at what had just been said to him, searched the room for Quill and Wynn, looking to them like he was waiting for them to challenge their brother. But they stayed silent, both dropping their gazes to the floor, as if they would stand by Ares no matter what happened. After all, they had accepted their father's death a long time ago, and losing their father today would be one of the last things they would remember to feel. 

"I should kill you!!" Ares repeated, raising his voice as loud as he could until it broke. 

Seeing how much the gun was shaking in his hands, Sol hurried across the room, approaching Ares cautiously as she peeled the weapon from his hold and resumed his place - keeping the gun aimed at his father, but able to withdraw herself from her emotions. 

As Ares allowed himself to catch his breath, he wandered back over to the bed, making it just in time to see the final needle released from Elara's skin. Kodiak, Fenn, Quill and Wynn all stood with him, waiting for her to wake up any moment. The room was quiet, until: 

"Why isn't she waking up?" Quill said, not sure who exactly he was asking. 

"I-I don't know." Fenn answered nervously. He gently lifted her head up, checking the back of her skull for any hidden wires or obvious injury, but there was nothing. No explanation as to why she remained unconscious. 

As Fenn laid her head back down against the bed, Elara began to move; it started as a twitch in her leg, then up to her arm all along her left side until suddenly her body was convulsing. 

"She's seizing." Fenn muttered, hurrying to move away anything sharp or potentially dangerous. He reached down to her hands, defeated to find them chained up, overcome with a worry that he wouldn't be able to stable her. 

"Her hands!" He exclaimed. "She's tied down. We need to get the chains off of her." 

Sol's ears piked up at the commotion behind her, a sudden realisation. She retreated her aim from Kane, able to predict that he was too cowardly to try anything, and joined the others at the bed. She pulled from her pocket the set of keys that Noah had given her - initially from Kodiak who had stolen them from Kane. 

"Try these." She said, chucking them over to Fenn. 

He scrambled to fit each of them into the lock, thankfully not having to try too many of them out until he found the one that matched the handcuffs. Once he had his side free, Fenn passed the keys to Kodiak who did the same for her other hand. 

"Turn her onto her side. Carefully." Fenn instructed; Kodiak and Ares were quick to follow orders, cautiously shifting her to face Fenn's direction, hoping he would know what to do. 

Everyone waited on edge; Quill biting his nails, Sol pacing around the bed anxiously, and Bas keeping his eyes shut tight - praying that they wouldn't have to know the pain of losing a sister, too. 

After a few minutes had passed, Elara's body came to a rest, and she was no longer convulsing. She seemed to sigh heavily, like she could feel a relief wash over her, and sleep was just sleep. She stirred a little against the bed, slightly nuzzling herself against it, in a search for comfort. 

Kodiak smiled, spilling out a few tears as he looked up to her brothers. "She's okay." He murmured, running his hand through the ends of her hair. 

All three brothers turned to each other, their nightmare nearing its end as they wrapped their arms around each other, holding on tightly for a moment. 

Wynn was the first to pull away, needing an escape from the emotion he was feeling, and pushing himself between the two of them to get to Elara's side. 

"We should get her home." He looked to Sol. 

Nodding in agreement, Kodiak reached down, about to lift her from the bed. 

"Wait! Kodiak-" Sol stopped him, hurrying over to his side. She placed her hand on his arm, gently pulling him away, suddenly realising that it was the first time she had held him in a while. 

"I don't think you should carry her. You look like you haven't had easy go of it, yourself." Sol spoke softly, looking him up and down. 

Kodiak glanced down at Elara, having imagined himself to be the one carry her back home, but knowing that Sol was right. 

Wynn began to move around to their side, taking it upon himself to fill Kodiak's place, but he was met with the same response. 

"Not you, either." Sol whispered, her hand lying softly on his chest. She hesitated - both her and Wynn glancing down at her hand, and she pulled it away shyly. 

"I'll do it." Ares announced, knowing he wouldn't face any objection, and hurried to his sister. Slowly, he lifted Elara free from the bed, holding her close and securely to his chest, both of her legs slung over his arm. 

Lois and Stella - who were at the doorway - turned and led the way out of the room, keeping their weapons ready as they guided Basilisk out of the labs. The world that was waiting outside consumed in fire. 

Seven // Part Six
After all, they had accepted their father's death a long time ago, and losing their father today would be one of the last things they would remember to feel.

So happy with this chapter! I'm kind hoping that they'll only be one more chapter left, but I'm worried about how much I want to put on it. If I keep it to one more chapter (because so far, S1+2 go up to ep7 part 7), then it will be a reallllyyyyyy long one.