Episode Six, Part 1:
Implant

Wynn walked up to his sister's tent, stepping inside to find Atlantis and Elara in the middle of a conversation.

"Sorry to interrupt," Wynn apologised, "but Elara, can we talk?"

Elara nodded, quickly pulling her boots on as Wynn turned to Atlantis.

"How are things going?" He asked. "Any update on the flood? I think Sol's finalising the numbers we can fit in each bunker."

"It's hard to say," Atlantis sighed. "One day, it'll look like we have a bit of time to prepare, then the next day it's like this: constant, heavy rain with no end in sight."

"Well, take it easy," Wynn assured her. "I think Bas is in the Quarters if you want to work on it with him."

Atlantis nodded her thanks in Wynn's direction before he followed Elara out of the tent, waiting a couple of moments until he found the courage to tell her what he needed to.

"Everything okay?" Elara asked, sensing his hesitation.

"Yeah, fine, I just... Needed to talk to you about-"

"About Quill?" Elara sighed, kicking her way through the puddles as she spoke. It was the first time Wynn noticed how hopeless she seemed about the situation and he worried that it wasn't a case of him overreacting anymore, but that things were really as bad with their brother as he feared.

"No, about Kodiak," Wynn said, carefully studying her reaction.

She looked over, eyes wide with desperation but the glimmer of tears he could see told him that she was still just as heartbroken as ever.

"He had another seizure," Wynn began, seeing her visually crumble a little. "He's okay," he was quick to assure her, "but I thought you would want to know-"

"I do. Even if he doesn't want anything to do with me anymore, I need to know he's okay."

"Ell, I can't tell you why things are going the way they are right now, but you didn't do anything wrong. And he does care about you."

"I gave him every chance to tell me that when he met me outside of camp the other day, but he didn't say a word. It's okay, Wynn. I know people don't stick around forever. I've known that for a while now. I shouldn't have expected Kodiak to be any different just because I thought he loved me. Mum, Dad and Ares are all gone. Love doesn't make people stay: it's as simple as that."

"Elara, you shouldn't tell yourself that," Wynn sighed, heavyhearted at his sister's words. "He loves you; Ares loved you; and in their own ways, Mum and Dad did too, but I know that doesn't matter as much... Just don't make yourself believe that every time someone leaves, it's because they want to. I was going to leave, remember?"

"You were going to leave to save me and Quill and everyone at Basilisk."

"Yeah, but I didn't want to. Especially not right after you and Quill had lost Ares, but I was going to do it. And I know Sol didn't want to, either, but it's the same: she did it to save us."

"Maybe you're right," Elara said, "but he still made it look pretty damn easy to walk out of my life."

"Well, it isn't for him," Wynn said. "I'm sure he hates this just as much as you."

"Not possible," Elara said.

"Trust me, it is..." Wynn mumbled, giving away to his sister that there was something much deeper going on beneath the surface.

"...What are you saying?"

Wynn glanced over at her, trying to figure out if it was the best thing for her if she knew the truth about what was happening, or if this was something worth trying to protect her from.

"Wynn!?"

"Something's happened to Kodiak. Something that's making him do all these things he doesn't want to."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"He told us that someone put an implant in him. When it's activated, it can be used to control him. Maybe that's what made him kill Diego or end things with you."

"If you're right about this, then maybe killing Diego could be a part of that..." Elara contemplated. "But if he was controlled into the situation with me, then why hasn't he tried to fix things when the implant hasn't been activated? You said he knows about the implant, so he obviously knows what he's done."

"I don't think it's as simple as that, Ell," Wynn said. "He's known about it for a while and he wasn't going to tell any of us about it... He wants to deal with it all by himself."

"Don't let him!" Elara panicked. "Don't let him go through this on his own-"

"I won't, don't worry. None of us will. He doesn't want any of us to mention it again, but Aeryn and Fenn are already trying to figure out how to get it out of him. Believe me, I don't want to see anything bad happen to him just as much as you don't. He's our family. I'll stop at nothing to make sure he's okay."

"...Wynn?" Elara asked, suddenly sounding quite fragile.

He looked over, letting her know to ask whatever was on her mind.

"Does he know who gave him the implant?"

"Yeah..." Wynn breathed, having to bite back his emotion.

"Who?"

"Who do you think?" Wynn asked, looking over at her with miserable eyes, seeing the way she tried to deny her suspicions, but she knew there wouldn't be any other answer.

"Hannah..."

"Yeah," Wynn confirmed. "But I don't think Quill knows, and I don't want him to until we're sure about everything; until we're sure that she's the one that gave him the implant and that she's the one behind all of these things that have been happening to us."

Beside him, Elara's head was swarming with a rage of her own, trying not to explode over the knowledge of what was happening to both Quill and now Kodiak, as well.

"Hasn't she caused enough trouble around here?" Elara snapped. "Why don't you just banish her from Basilisk? You're a Sovereign; I'm pretty sure you can do that. Hell, I'll even do it if no one else does soon."

For a moment, Wynn was amused at her fieriness and enjoyed hearing someone else despise Hannah as much as he did, but it was his job to deal with the grievous challenges life threw their way, not his sister's.

"I want to so badly," he said, "but we can't. Dreea and I have already threatened that to Hannah, but she knows we can't, either."

"Why not?"

"Because of Quill," Wynn's voice dropped in heartache, his eyes gazing at the ground. "She won't survive outside of this camp, let alone with a flood coming, and I can't let Quill go the rest of his life feeling like I killed her. He'd never forgive me... And I couldn't do that to him; the three of us have already been through so much - a lot more than most people could ever comprehend - and I'm not prepared to add another thing onto his list of traumatic experiences."

"Just as long as she knows that she won't be in the Bunker with us," Elara folded her arms, huffing out a deep breath. She waited for Wynn's comment of approval, but he remained silent, unsure what to say in reply to her.

"Wynn..." Elara shook her head. "Tell me she's not getting a space in one of those bunkers... Not over some of your actual people like the guards or the medics or-"

"I just told you," he said. "If she's not in one of them, she'll die, and whether it's direct or not, that'll be because of me. It's like you said: I'm a Sovereign. I have the power to ensure Hannah has a spot in one of the bunkers, and if she doesn't, that's because I didn't choose for her to be in one."

"She's already taken too much away from me," Elara mumbled, hurrying ahead of Wynn and abruptly changing the direction of where she was headed.

"Elara!" Wynn called out for her, jogging to catch up, but she refused to slow down. "Elara, where are you going?" He asked again, trying to latch onto her wrist but she managed to avoid all of his attempts.

As the cluster of tents came in sight, panic stirred inside of Wynn's stomach as he figured out where she was walking towards.

Without so much as an announcement of her presence, Elara burst her way into Hannah's tent, glaring around in search of the older woman.

"What do you think you're doing!?" Hannah exclaimed, standing up from her bed and meeting Elara halfway. "You're just allowed to walk into anyone's tent nowadays?"

"Save it, Hannah," Elara snapped, refusing to offer any explanation or justification behind her actions. "You're even more pathetic than I thought if you really think you'll be getting inside one of those bunkers."

Hannah laughed in her face, feeling her own fury ignite inside as she saw Wynn hurry in, moving to stand behind his sister.

"The minute Quill finds out you guys are planning to leave me for dead, then you'll be the ones that are dead to him, not me."

"Quill will be with us. Where he belongs," Elara stated. "And just so you know, he doesn't think for even a second that you're his mother. He just wants answers. Nothing more."

"Is that why he's on his way over here to see me?" Hannah raised an eyebrow, nodding in the direction of the tent's entrance which was hanging open, offering the three of them a clear view of the path up to the tents where Quill was walking.

Elara's heart broke in her chest, unable to come up with a reason why her brother was coming to see Hannah. She glanced up at Wynn, hoping he would know what to say, but he was just as defeated as she was.

With the fear of losing him kicking in, Elara turned back around to face Hannah, hoping that if there was any trace of humanity left in her, it would be enough to see the agony trailing in tears down her cheeks.

"If there's one thing that I can't ever be wrong about, it's this: Quill is my brother and I am never letting anyone take him away from us."

///////

Quill was walking up to Hannah's tent, keeping his head low as he observed the way the water pooled by his feet. As he approached the path to the tent, Quill looked up to locate Hannah's tent, but something else caught his eye.

He could see Elara hurrying off in a storm of rage, seemingly giving Wynn an earful as he latched onto her wrist, trying to slow her down. Elara gestured wildly in the opposite direction and as Quill followed with his eyes, he realised she was pointing at Hannah's tent.

Anxiety grabbed hold of him, twisting his stomach into knots. He also felt an incredible amount of guilt as he continued his path, even though he knew in his heart what he was there to do: tell Hannah that the relationship she thought she would be forming with him, wouldn't come.

"Quill!" Hannah exclaimed, smiling brightly as she appeared at the entrance to her tent, waving her hand out to beckon him closer. Quill didn't fight against her hold on him, but he hesitated at letting her pull him inside, taking a moment to look back over to his siblings.

At some point, they had noticed him and were both staring over at him, devastated and furious expressions on their faces.

He couldn't understand why, or who they were angry with, but right as he watched Elara turn and run away, Quill was whisked into the tent, not having a chance to figure it out for himself.

"I'm glad you're here-"

Her words completely went over Quill's head and he stumbled for a moment, still trying to look outside to see if he could see Wynn or Elara, but he couldn't.

"W-were my brother and sister just in here?" He turned to face her, his lip quivering in emotion.

"You mean Wynn and Elara?" Hannah asked. "Yes, they were; didn't have the nicest things to say, but they were here-"

"What did they say?" Quill asked. "Why did they come and talk to you? ...Were they looking for me?" There was a glimmer of hope in his voice, and Hannah knew it, quick to distinguish it.

"About that..." Hannah bit on her bottom lip, awkwardly moving over to sit on the edge of her bed. "They came to talk about the flood."

"With you? Why? What do you have to do with anything?"

Hannah let out a heavy sigh, trying not to take his words so personally.

"I'd rather not say. If you're anything like me, I know you'll dwell on it."

Quill couldn't see the manipulation in her words and focused only on getting an answer.

"What did they say?" His voice was lower, more serious, more demanding.

"They wanted to inform me that they would put me in the same bunker as you. I think it's because they're not sure if they'll make room for the others: Lydian, Josiah, Liam, the kids..."

"...Did they say who else would be in our bunker?" Quill asked. He had never once had a doubt that he would be given a space, but he never considered where Hannah would be, let alone if she would be inside.

"No, but they made it pretty clear what they were implying..."

"And that is!?" Quill asked, feeling like something was lost in translation.

"Quill..." 

"What!?"

"You're not going to be in the same bunker as them..."

Instincts told Quill to deny it; even after the rough patch they were all going through and the obvious distance he had made for himself out of fear, there was no way Wynn and Elara would ever make a decision like that... Right?

Seeing his hesitation and his lack of an argument, Hannah jumped in, continuing her attempts at damaging his relationships with his siblings: the people Quill loved more than anyone else in the world.

"They figured with all the space that's come between the three of you, that this would be good for you guys; either it'd make you closer when we all return to the ground, or you guys will finally realise where you stand with each other. You won't have to worry about any of these awkward confrontations or trying to fit in. Besides, you've never been apart from these people since you met them. Trust me, Quill, this is a healthy decision. I'm actually really impressed with Wynn for being the one to suggest it-"

"This was his idea?" Quill felt a collapse inside his chest... Something breaking and splintering him with every, fractured piece.

"Well, I mean, I was thinking it too, but they were the ones to approach me about it. Him and Elara."

"I saw them as I was walking up here..." Quill mumbled, trying desperately to find a reason why she was wrong. "Elara looked angry... Why would she be angry if this was their idea?"

Hannah rubbed on her shoulder to soothe herself, nervous that her lie wouldn't be believable. "Things did get a little heated, I'll admit."

At his raised eyebrow, Hannah knew he was demanding a proper explanation.

"I was upset with them that they seemed to have already organised everything based on the assumption that you would be with me. I know I told you I was thinking it too, but they'd clearly made up their minds quite quickly. And I know you've mentioned that you've always felt quite close with them, so I guess I was just surprised that they wanted this, too. I told them they should at least consult you about this, but they insisted they knew what you would say. I thought you deserved your own choice, so things turned...unpleasant. I'm sorry; I know you care about them, but they were really making me furious at their disregard for you. I know Elara must be a couple of years younger than you, but I couldn't control my emotions, not even around her."

"They really don't want me anymore.."

"Sometimes, the people we are the surest of are actually the ones we end up being the most wrong about. The person you love more than anyone can walk out of your life and never look back, even though you know you'll spend the rest of your life waiting for them. People change and it can turn out that we never really knew them like we thought we did. That's okay. You live through it. You find someone else to call home."

"But Wynn, Elara, Ares... I don't want anyone else. I want them."

"I know," Hannah murmured, standing up and wrapping her arms around Quill, him falling completely limp in her hold. "But you have me, and I'm here, and I want you: my son; my only child; my boy... I'll never let you go." 

Six // Part One
The person you love more than anyone can walk out of your life and never look back, even though you know you'll spend the rest of your life waiting for them.

Yep, that was definitely about my best friend.

03/09/20