Episode Six, Part 4:
N e v e r   L o s e   Y o u   //
L o v e   I s   N o t   E n o u g h

Some truths get tired the longer we wait. 
If truth is north, than I'm true south. I 
can't figure it out, God knows I've tried. 
Always look up till my eyes give out.

Sol paced anxiously around the gates, waiting for everyone to finish grouping together and making sure they had divided their resources evenly among them all. She could see her people watching as they were scattered around the grounds of Basilisk, more than likely tired by now of seeing their Nobel continuously leave with the people from the Bunker. 

She glanced around, imagining all the things she could hear if they were close enough. 

"Hey? You holding up alright?" Dreea walked over, a stern, yet worried looked on her face. 

"Not really." Sol sighed. She scuffed her feet against the dirt; there was a trail near the gates where the grass had worn down more than any other part, as if even her home held the signs of her leaving all the time. 

"What will my people my think of me? And what will when I lead all these people to their death," she gestured at the group around the gates, "or when the war comes tomorrow, and I've let two of the Sovereigns go?" 

"You're overthinking." Dreea informed her. "Everyone is too focused on tomorrow to spare a thought about where everyone is going. We've got this all worked out, River. As long as everyone sticks to the plan and goes where they need to go, then Basilisk will survive. You just focus on bringing Kodiak home, and let me and Joren work out the rest." 

Sol nodded, finding some relief in her friend's words, but still unable to shift the darkness in her mind. 

"Sorry to interrupt." A voice spoke up, approaching from behind Sol. She turned around to see Zara and Atlantis making their way over, hinting at their desire to talk to the Nobel. 

Dreea nodded at her, stepping aside so they could have some privacy. 

"I heard what you did for my Atlantis." Zara began. 

"Mum-" Atlantis whined, slightly embarrassed. 

Zara grabbed onto her good arm, bring her to a stop. she glanced back at Sol once she was quiet. "Now you go save us all, okay?" 

Sol nodded lightheartedly, not thinking too much of what was being said, evidently noticeable to Zara. She let go of her daughter and took a step closer, this time taking both of Sol's hands into her own. 

"I don't want to cross any boundaries here, or say that I could take anyone's place, or that it's what I am for you - but coming from a mother, I want you to know that all I see in you is strength." Her voice was firm - full of passion, desperation; pride. 

"I may not be your family, but I can see that you want to protect Atlantis, so I wanted to tell you, River, that I stand with you." 

The words slammed into her chest, stealing her breath away, but it didn't hurt the way she expected to. Somehow, going against everything Sol thought she was, she burned Zara's words into her heart, as if somehow, they had meant something to her. 

The next thing she knew, Zara wrapped her arms around her frame and held her safety. She had a mother's touch; an embrace - a warmth that Sol had been missing almost her entire life. She hugged back, exhaling, then having to ill herself to pull away. 

Zara smiled fondly at her, overcome with emotion, perhaps sensing the start of a very fundamental bond. She grabbed onto Atlantis again, quietly leading her away, leaving Sol alone with her thoughts. 

From the front of the gates, standing with his brothers, Wynn looked over at Sol, seeing everything that had just happened. The last time they had spoke about it, Sol was adamant that she didn't have a sister, but after what he had saw, he had a feeling Sol had changed her mind. 

He left his things with Ares, drifting through everyone to make his way to her. 

"Hey." He breathed, bringing himself to a stop. 

Sol was pulled out of her trance, finally realizing that she wasn't alone anymore; she wiped under her eye, not able to figure out how moved she was by Zara's words, or that she had teared up. 

"How are things between you two?" Wynn asked, nodding in the direction Atlantis walked off to. 

Sol turned around, following his gaze, not ready to talk about it. 

"Fine." She answered quite nonchalantly, not feeling completely present in the moment. "I have to go find Noah. Make sure he gets out of Basilisk alright." Sol mumbled, swiftly moving past Wynnlow and leaving him alone. 

He sighed, disappointed, feeling her shoulder brush against his softly as she walked away. He dropped his head, torn between his emotions - what everything meant - before finally walking back over to Ares and Quill. 

Sol opened the gate, handing everyone a torch as they huddled closer together, awaiting her instructions. 

"Once we get to the river, we'll split up in our teams. Bas, Lyra, Nova, Lois, Azha and MaReya - you guys will be following me. Noah is leaving Basilisk though an undisclosed exit..." She announced. 

"He will meet us by the river. As for the second group: Ares, Wynn, Quill - you guys will have Fenn, Foster and Stella with you. Both groups have someone from medic," she informed them, nodding towards Fenn and MaReya, "but it's important that you listen to your team leaders. For you guys, that'll be Foster. Once we get to Blood Caves, we need to get in contact with each other and assess the situation for the best way to approach Riders' Labs. Everyone clear on what needs to happen?" She asked. 

There was a chorus of replies, most people nodding as they picked up their bags and followed the Nobel out of Basilisk, wondering if they would ever return home. 

/// 

Wynn was walking beside Ares and Quill, following the lead of Basilisk's Guards as they followed the safest route up to Blood Riders. There was a fear burning inside of him that had kept him quiet until now; a fear that felt so real; a fear that was more like a memory, than anything else. 

Ares was walking in the middle; he could see that Quill was focused on the path ahead - determined to get to their sister, but Wynn was phased out, as if he was walking without even knowing where he was. 

"Hey, you alright?" Ares nudged his arm, looking over at Wynn. 

His brother seemed to snap out of his trance, not even aware that Ares had said something to him. 

"How are you holding up?" Ares asked again, pressing for an answer. 

Wynn sighed, adjusting the grip on the rifle he had been given, feeling a little bit afraid of who he was as he held it. 

"I'm worried that what were doing is just, somehow, going to make everything worse." He confessed. 

"Worse?" Ares asked. 

"Yeah," Wynn frowned. "Like, if we retaliate, they'll put Elara at risk." 

"I know what you mean." Ares chuckled sadly; miserably. "But I honestly don't think they'd hurt their Queen. It wouldn't make any sense... Just try to focus on Kodiak being there with her. You know, at least she's not alone." 

Wynn sighed, trying to let that small spark of hope be enough for him, but it wasn't. "And Noah... I just-" he bit on his tongue, debating whether to continue. "I don't think he's good for Sol. F-for Basilisk." he corrected himself. 

"I'm sure she knows what she's doing. He did leave his little brother behind at Basilisk, so it's not like he has nothing to lose." Ares added in, trying to reason with Wynn. 

"Yeah, well, he's still Blood Riders." Wynn mumbled under his breath, unable to shake the unnerving feeling away. 

Beside them, Quill sighed heavily; he didn't seem able to re-catch his breath after his exhale, and his panic was quickly noticed by his brothers. 

"Quill?" Wynnlow asked, looking across Ares to see him. 

"I-I'm fine." He dismissed them. "I just need a minute." He picked up his pace to walk alone, trying to bring his racing thoughts to a silence. He couldn't stop thinking about the night their mum was killed - how he had got there just a little too late to do anything; how it felt so similar to what was happening now, only with their father being the one to try and take Elara away from them. 

With his head kept looking at the ground, Quill began to notice a pattern forming beneath him - a trail left behind by someone. He didn't think much of it at first; it was only a few leaves scattered among the mud, but as he glanced around at his surroundings, seeing that there weren't any leaves of that kind around - not on the ground, not even on the trees themselves, his instinct told him to follow. 

He glanced up at Fenn, Foster and Stella up ahead, debating whether to alert them to the tracks he had found, but was afraid that his questions would be dismissed. He turned around, looking over his shoulder at Ares and Wynn who seemed to have noticed that he had stopped walking. In quick thinking, Quill crouched down to the ground, pretending to tie his laces which allowed for his brothers to walk past. 

He stood up, continuing a couple steps in their direction before quickly diverting to his right, demanding to know if the trails were left behind by someone from Targo. 

He began running, a foolish hope that the answers were right under his nose, that he was on the verge of a breakthrough, of doing something that mattered. 

"Quill?" The sound of his brothers calling for him stop his chest from rising, a fear that they would try and lead him away. 

"Quill!?" 

"Where are you?" 

The fear in Wynn's voice echoed among the trees, almost enough for him to call back as a guilt seared under his skin. But there was rustling, hurried footsteps as they ran - and it didn't take long for the group to find him again. 

They were relieved to have sight of him at last, but frustrated that he was ignoring their calls. 

He was still ahead of them - the distance between them decreasing as Wynn and Ares hurried down, trying to figure out what he was doing. 

"Quill, stop!" Ares yelled. "Where are you going?" 

He finally came to a stop, turning around to face them with desperation weighing him down. "There's a trail!" He confessed. "Someone left it here. Someone obviously wanted to remember where they were going." 

"Quill-" Wynnlow sighed. 

"No, it could take us to Targo!" 

"Targo are at the labs." Wynn reminded him. "Noah and Lyra told us that." 

"You just said it yourself that Noah is still a Blood Rider. And you still trust Lyra after everything she's done? Last time something like this happened, she was the reason Elara was in danger. They- They didn't even say they saw her there, just Targo. For all we know, they could be hiding her somewhere else." He cried. 

"It's okay." Wynn murmured, carefully treading down the slop to move closer to him. "I know. I know how you feel, but this isn't the way to get her back. We stick to Sol's plan-" 

"And if that doesn't work?" Quill asked. 

"Then we'll come up with our own plan." Ares answered. "No one is giving up on finding them, Quill. But what we're doing tonight - we have two teams trying to help us in the midst of war. You have to have a little faith." He pleaded, wanting nothing more than for him to realize that he was alone in his fear. Ares extended his hand out, waiting for Quill to step forward and allow them both to hold him up. 

He nodded, teary eyed, but trusting that this plan had to be seen to it's end. He stepped forward, beginning his climb back up the slope, only for his movements to cease. The mud gave in under him and his foot slipped backwards, causing him to lose his balance. Quill stumbled backwards falling over the edge of the slope, his hands only just catching onto the side of the cliff. 

"Quill!" Ares screamed, immediately hurrying down to him. 

Everyone sprung into action; Fenn, Stella and Foster hurrying down to reach the boy, desperately figuring the best approach to pull him back up. 

Stella ripped into her bag, emptying everything out in search for a rope, moving onto Wynn next and holding him back so she could check his. Fenn and Foster did the same, both coming up empty handed as they looked down to Ares who was lying on the ground, holding onto Quill's hand for his life. 

When Stella finally let go of Wynn, he laid down beside his brother, reaching to grab onto his other hand. 

"I've got you. I'll never let you go." Ares breathed out, feeling his energy drain with every exhale of his chest. 

Without any other option, the group grabbed joined in, climbing on the backs of the two boys to help pull Quill up. 

"Okay, everyone on 3, we all pull!" Foster announced, checking to make sure everyone had a secure hold on him

"1,2, 3!" Everyone heaved on his count, trying to pull Quill up from the ledge, but they couldn't. Wynn was slipping down himself, the added weight on his back making it harder for him to pull. 

"Guys..." Quill whimpered, gazing down at the drop below him. All he could think about was the impact; how bad was it going to hurt? And he would never see Elara again... The more he thought about it, the more the latter seemed to paralyze him. 

"We got you." Wynn wheezed, squeezing his eyes tightly to focus on keeping his grip. 

"Try again!" He roared to the group, refusing to give up. 

"1... 2.. 3!" Foster yelled. 

As if suddenly overcome by a superhuman force, the combined determination of the five of them was enough to lift Quill back to safety. 

Ares rolled over onto his back, lying firmly on the ground; he pulled Quill straight into his arms, holding the weeping boy and allowed him to sob into his shirt, refusing to let go for anybody. Wynn leaned down too, wrapping his arms around the both of the as the three brothers stayed like that for a while, the reality of what they might lose sinking in. 

"I-I just wanted to h-help. I wanted t-to do something that m-mattered." Quill trembled, afraid that he wasn't enough to save his sister. 

"I know, I know." Ares murmured, resting his hand on the back of his head. "You're okay." 

"I-I think we need a change of plans." Wynnlow confessed, finally bring himself to sit up. Slowly, Quill was able to let go of Ares, feeling the steady ground surrounding him. 

"If we're all together and something happens, that leaves Elara with no one." 

Ares nodded, not wanting to be without of them after what had just happened, but he knew that it was the best intentions for Elara. 

"Call Riverly." He said to Wynn, wondering if his agreement would tear them apart forever. 

Six // Part Four

Never let you go.

Family isn't blood. Family is the people you love most in the world.