Episode Three, Part 3:
Never Let Me Go

And if we hit on troubled water, I'll be the one to keep you 
warm and safe. And we'll be carrying each other 
until we say goodbye on our dying day. 

Wynn, Quill and Elara all screamed out in anguish as they watched the water steal their brother away from them. Quill collapsed to his knees, freezing in a state of shock as the rest of the flood came by. He couldn't move. He could barely even force his chest to rise as he struggled to draw in another breath. 

Elara shook her head, screaming out her denial into the world, still trying to get to Ares. She was the only reason why Wynn wasn't running down the cliffs - because he knew that she would run straight towards the water if he let her go, and he couldn't risk anything happening to her. To either of them. 

There was a hum of an engine sounding behind the siblings, a thud against the ground, and then the running of footsteps. They didn't turn around, even to see if it was Targo, they didn't feel anything else except the sudden and brutal loss of their brother. No fear for their own safety or concern about who was there with them. 

"Hey," A voice spoke from behind them, questioning and full of worry at what he was walking into. It was Kodiak, and assessing the situation, he realised that Ares wasn't there. The last they had heard from him was that he was stuck in the water, but with the flood already gushing down, it didn't take a second to figure out what had happened. He gulped away the horror, quickly jumping into action. 

Kodiak hurried over to Wynn, relieving him of having to worry about his sister as he pulled Elara into his arms, able to keep her secure without his emotions getting in the way. 

"It's alright, I've got you," he mumbled to her, trying to restrain her as she attempted to escape. He grabbed onto both of her wrists, keeping them crossed in front of her body so she couldn't move, only able to kick around and twist against his arms. 

Sol approached Wynn on his other side. She murmured his name delicately as she reached out her hand, resting it on his shoulder, but the moment that Kodiak had taken hold of Elara, Wynn was running away from everyone. 

As if he didn't even feel Sol at his side, Wynnlow darted towards the edge of the cliff, searching for a quick route down. It was steep and uneven ground, but it didn't matter to him. He took off down the slope, grabbing onto the trees as he ran down, trying not to fall. 

"Wynn!" Sol screamed out his name. She was running after him, determined to catch up to him. She couldn't lose him... Not Wynn. Not after everything. 

"Wynn! Please, you have to stop!" She begged, worried about how loud she was being. It seemed she was aware of the lingering threat of what waited below, and in his greatest 

But he couldn't hear her. Wynn had shut the entire world out, unable to think about anyone but his brother. Foolishly, he thought that if they could get to him, they could pull him out of the water before he swallowed too much of it in. As if he would die from drowning, and not from the impact of the waves or his body colliding with the ground. 

Wynn kept running, not letting anything come in the way of finding his brother, not even Sol. 

///// 

Back at the top of the cliffs, Kodiak was struggling to console Elara. Of course, she was a wreck, but it seemed that even him being there, holding tightly, wasn't enough. But it wasn't only her that he had to worry about. Quill was still on the ground, shivering in shock, desperate for someone to be there for him. 

Kodiak grunted, his arms wrapped around Elara's waist as he lifted her up, carrying her over to her brother despite her kicking. He pulled her to the ground, trying not to hurt her, but his main intention was to get her secure. 

"I have to get to him! Please Kodi, please let me go!" She cried, still trying to worm herself free. 

Kodiak bent down, sitting behind her, holding her between his legs with one arm gripping onto her, the other around Quill's shoulder, trying to comfort him as well. 

"It's okay. Wynn and Riv have gone down," he told her, knowing deep down that it meant nothing. He was now just as worried about Wynn's safety in running down the cliff, and what danger he was putting him and Sol in by doing so. But at least it gave Elara something to cling onto: to know that Wynn was doing all he could to reach their brother, even if it was a hopeless attempt. 

"You're okay. Just breathe. Just breathe..." The Sovereign whispered to the two of them, pulling Quill closer against him. The boy leaned his head against his shoulder, hollowed breaths escaping him, but still not a word. 

It broke his heart to see them both suffering so much and to know that there was nothing he or anyone could do to make anything better. It was a daunting enough thought for him to imagine what life would be like without Ares around, let alone for Ares' siblings who had already lost so much... 

With Elara crying against him, Kodiak spared a moment, pondering if Ares had died in vain. Had the flood worked? Had he sent it in time to reach Targo? Had Ares' final act been enough to save his sister from the evil proceedings of his father? He hoped so... He hoped that after everything that had happened, they wouldn't have to worry about anything else anymore. It was, after all, the least they deserved. 

Three // Part Three
It was a daunting thought to imagine what life would be like without Ares around.

17/04/20