Episode Five, Part 5:
You'll Always Have a Family

It was the middle of the night by the time Sol and Wynn returned to Basilisk. Everyone was back now, and they knew Targo would have figured out that they had raided the labs, but that was a problem for another time. 

Sol and Wynn headed into the Sovereign's Quarters; only a few people had the energy to wait up for them: Kodiak, Dreea, and Ares. 

Sol was engulfed by her fellow Sovereigns, as Wynn was to Ares, each of them revelling in the small victory they had achieved. 

"How much did you get?" Kodiak asked, his voice wavering between hope and doubt. 

Rather than answering, Sol let a smile overcome her, and she pulled her bag around, opening it up for everyone to look inside. 

"Wow," Kodiak sighed, pushing his head up, out of his face. 

Ares came over to take a look, worried as he had only managed to secure one, but the fear melted away as he looked into the bag. Excitement consumed him and he pulled Sol in for a hug, letting go to do the same to his brother. 

"She's gonna be okay," he breathed out, smiling as he faced the Sovereigns. 

"For the meantime..." Dreea reminded him. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy seeing all of them so relieved, but that she couldn't stand to see them disappointed if it wasn't enough to keep Elara safe in the long run. 

"Well, Wynn grabbed a few things," Sol announced, looking to him to pull out his bag. 

Wynn understood, walking over to the closest table and setting out everything he had collected. 

"We don't know what half of it is," she said, "but we're pretty sure it's used to make the serum. Hopefully, Aeryn and Fenn can figure that part out. Until then, I reckon what we've got will last Elara for a little while." 

"Do we know how much of it we're supposed to give to her? Or how often? Did dad say that?" Wynn looked over at Ares, wondering if Kane had ended up revealing to them how to use it. 

Dreea and Ares shared a cautionary look, as it both remembering how the encounter between Kane and Ares had gone down, understanding why neither of them were particularly keen on talking about it. 

"Uh, no," Ares answered softly, all of his levity suddenly melting away. "No, he didn't mention that." 

Wynn could see that there was something off about his brother's reply, but Ares purposefully avoided eye contact with everyone, pretending not to notice their searching. 

"Where is she? Should we try and give her some now?" Sol asked, looking at Kodiak and Dreea for an answer. 

"No, but we can give it a go in the morning. She had a rough night again," Kodiak trailed off, sighing as he glanced at Dreea and Ares. 

"What happened? Is she okay?" Wynn looked to Ares, thinking he would be the one to respond, but he stayed quiet. Noticing the shift in Ares, and the panic in Wynn and Sol, Kodiak jumped to an answer. 

"A vision again." He said. "Probably because you weren't here, Wynn. She always seems to be worse when one of you aren't around - like it's a subconscious thought in her mind." 

"But she's okay now, right?" Wynn continued. 

"Yeah," Kodiak nodded, sounding relieved himself. "Quill and I have been with her. They're both in my room. You guys can go in there as well, tonight, if you like?" 

"No, but thank you." Wynn was appreciative of the offer. "You're right. It's best to let her rest. We'll try tomorrow." 

Kodiak returned the smile, gradually leaving the room with Sol and Dreea beside him, leaving just Ares and Wynn alone. 

Once Wynn knew they were alone, he turned to look at his brother, but he had his back facing him, trying to hide his emotion. 

"Are you okay?" Wynn's voice was soft but full of hurt - his chest suffocating with worry. 

"Ares?" He murmured his name, pushing for an answer. As Wynn took a step forward, Ares turned around revealing his eyes red to be red and his cheeks damp with tears. 

Wynn didn't say anything, but he closed the remaining distance and wrapped his brother in his arms, holding him close for a moment. His hand was on the back of Ares' head, feeling him shiver slightly, and willing to stay that way until he was okay. 

"I feel like we lost our dad today," Ares confessed. He slowly peeled himself away, nervously looking up to meet his brother's eyes. 

"What...happened?" Wynn struggled for words. Then the fear struck him; he glanced over Ares for any sign of an injury, placing a hand on the side of his cheek, tilting his head to inspect his face. "Did he do something?" 

"No," Ares murmured, pulling Wynn's hand away. "It's not like that... When he questioned where Ell was, Azha told him she was safe, pointing out that he didn't have Lili or Valarie with him anymore," Ares began to explain, not able to come right out and say it without revealing what happened at the start. 

Wynn nodded, the subtle ache returning at their lost family, but he buried the grief aside. 

"He mentioned mum as well, but.. But Dad just said that he still had Elara. Like he only had Elara." Ares confessed. "Like I was right in front of him, but he didn't want me. Us. That we meant nothing to him." 

Wynn sighed, feeling sick with despair, but he needed to be strong for Ares. 

"It kind of felt that way with mum, too." 

"I know," Wynn mumbled, dropping his head down for a moment. "We're all different people since we came to the Ground. Even Harlow," he pointed out, trying to prove to him that even the youngest surviving member of their family was indifferent to having changed. 

"It hasn't worked out the best for all of us. It doesn't make sense to me either how mum and dad could both become almost completely different people - like they're not even the same parents we had in the Bunker; and I know you're probably asking yourself how they could do this to their own children, or that it's not fair that we have to take care of ourselves from now on, but no matter what happens, you still have a family. Me, Quill and Elara are your family. Bas, Harlow, Azha, Fabian, MaReya - we're all your family. We've all changed, but we're still here." 

Ares looked up at his brother, blinking away his tears to be able to see him clearly. 

"So screw Dad; Mum, Lyra-" it hurt him a little, but Wynn had to accept that it didn't make him selfish to admit that - despite them loving him - they really hurt him quite terribly. "Screw everybody else too, if they have a problem with it, but all the family we have are right here and you're not gonna lose us. Who we have now, we have for the long run. Okay?" 

Ares nodded, reaching out for Wynn once again and finding comfort in him. As his eyes opened briefly, he saw someone standing in the doorway, forcing him to lean back from Wynn so he could see them clearly. 

"Kodiak was a little loud when he came into the room... I woke up," Quill mumbled, a little bit concerned at what was happening. 

Ares began to chuckle, wiping at his eyes as Wynn did the same. They both motioned for Quill to come over, squeezing him tightly between them in an annoyingly-brotherly way, making it so Quill couldn't escape for a few moments. 

When he got free, finding that he was laughing along with his brothers, Quill was still none the wiser. He received one, final push from Wynnlow, raising his hands up in surrender as he stumbled backwards. 

"For real though, are you alright?" He looked between the both of them, trying to determine who was comforting who. 

"All good," Ares smiled. "Nothing you have to worry about." He didn't want Quill or Elara have to know how much their dad had changed that day, or that it served as a final wedge between their relationship with him, so he kept it all in. Kane had put Elara through enough already - the truth about what happened at the labs maybe something they would never fully understand; and Quill was just lucky to have been spared. That he had two, fierce older brothers who would do whatever it took to prevent him from knowing the world like they did. 

Five // Part Five
It kinda felt like we lost our dad, today. It felt that way with mum, too.

I honestly love writing the relationship between brothers sooo much. It always seems like the easiest place for a guy to let his guard down, or be the most vulnerable at times. It's certainly how I see the brotherhood between Ares, Wynn and Quill. They're always there for each other. There's not a thing they wouldn't do. Especially to keep Quill safe as he's the youngest of the boys and the least exposed to all the violence of the ground. AHHH, I'M SORRY I LOVE THIS FAMILY SO MUCH. Also, adoption rep!! I wish more stories included this kind of relationship! It adds so much to the Shayman-Bell siblings and I just think it is just so heartwarming.

I've always known I'm going to adopt when I'm older, and I hope it'll be as complete as with Ares, Wynn, Quill and Elara. <3

PS: Do any of you watch those adoption journey videos on YouTube? Because honestly, some nights I'm up until 2AM watching them, sobbing my eyes out!