Episode Two, Part 1:
Some Nights

Bas swallowed down his fear, trying to discreetly reach for his own blade on his waistband, but he was approached by people from either side, quickly disarming him of his weapon before he could make a move. 

"What the hell do you want, Hannah?" He spat, holding both his hands up in surrender knowing that he had no power over them. If it wasn't for the gun pointed directly at his head, he would have been able to get away - weapon or not - but he couldn't take the risk of them killing him or finding Dreea, Atlantis and the rest of their group in the forest. 

"Some inside information-" 

"What? About Quill!?" Bas scoffed. "Forget it. I'm not telling you anything." 

"You will," Hannah smiled, nodding confidently at Josiah who was holding onto one of Bas' arms, giving him the signal to go ahead. 

Josiah loosened his grip on Bas, pulling out something that resembled a gun and bring it close to the boy's head. 

"What are you doing?" Bas resisted, trying to break himself free. He didn't want to die alone out there. He didn't want to die leaving Harlow on his own, to never have one more chance to squeeze him tight or tell him that he was the best part of his life. 

"Hold still," Josiah heaved, tugging Bas towards him as he pressed the cold, metal device against the back of his head, right where his hairline ended. There was a click, and then a sharp, stinging sensation that travelled all the way down Bas' spine as something was inserted into the back of his head. 

Bas wailed out in pain, but Lydian - who was on his other side - was quick to cover his mouth, not wanting to alert his presence to the rest of the group nearby. 

"What was that!?" Bas panted, clutching onto the back of his neck when Josiah let go of him, checking the back of his hand to see if he was bleeding. "What did you do to me? Is it... Is it a bullet?" 

He knew it wasn't possible; if it was a bullet, he would be dead already, but he couldn't even fathom what else it could be, and there were only a few drops of blood on his fingertips. 

"Not a bullet, no," Josiah laughed, moving over to stand beside Hannah and pulling something out of his pocket to hand to her. It looked like a remote - small enough to fit inside the palm of her hand and several buttons and dials that were connected to whatever they had done to him. 

"It's an implant," Hannah explained. 

"A- An implant? What is that?" 

"A genius piece of technology," Josiah marvelled. "Now, how much do you know about your Nobel Sovereign?" 

Bas was hesitant to answer, forcing himself to stand up straighter and conceal his fear. 

"I know enough," he said. "Why?" 

"Well, back in The City of Targo, Rhea wanted a backup in case The Alteration wasn't successful on Riverly, so we started working on this," Hannah furrowed her eyebrows, trying to recall exactly how long it had been. "Over a year ago," she said. "After Riverly became our Commander, it was forgotten about until suspicion raised that your people were in The City, then Rhea asked us to continue." 

"It's a shame she never got to see the finished project," Josiah sighed, appearing to be burdened by the realisation, but it passed within seconds. "But we get to see it." 

Bas took a step back, debating the risks of shoving Lydian off from him and hurrying away in the opposite direction. Her grip was tight on him, and even though he could easily get away, there was one thing holding him back: a foreign implant in the back of his head. 

"Just get to the damn point," Bas ordered. "What does it do? Why have you put it in me?" 

"I suppose we can tell you," Hannah looked to Josiah, pretending to contemplate it. "But you won't remember any of this conversation, anyway." 

"...What?" 

"We're going to use it to control you. Bas, isn't it?" 

He didn't nod, but the scowl on his face was enough of an answer for Hannah.  

"You're going to give us information about Basilisk, the Sovereigns - one in particular." 

Bas wasn't sure if she was referring to Wynn or Sol, but he knew it wasn't good either way. 

"Don't worry, it'll be like you're unconscious," Hannah told him. "You won't remember what you're doing or anything that happened when you were under the implant's control. Think of it like a dream: it'll already be forgotten the moment you 'wake up.'" 

"I won't tell you anyth-" 

Hannah pushed a sequence of buttons on the remote, not even letting Bas finish his sentence before she activated the implant, watching cautiously of the immediate effect it had on Bas. 

His eyes closed and his body tensed up, remaining that way for a few seconds with his head dropped down. The remote in Hannah's hand let out a faint beep, signalling that the implant was in control and Bas' eyes opened, looking straight up at Hannah and Josiah awaiting implant. 

"We need to test it, make sure it works," Josiah muttered, scanning his eyes up and down Bas to see if he was just pretending to be under their command until he could get away. 

Hannah nodded, wasting no time in stepping forward to him. 

"What's your name?" 

"Bas Blackwood." 

"What clan do you belong to?" 

"Basilisk." 

"The questions need to be deeper than that," Josiah huffed, pushing past her so he was the one in front of Bas. 

"Why are you out here with one of the Sovereigns and the people from Blood Riders?" 

"There's a shortage of food. We came here to understand why all the animals have left the forest." 

"Where are the weapons kept at Basilisk? Tell me the exact location."

"In the Sovereigns' Quarters. Down the hall, the first archway to the left, in the room next to the 3rd map room." 

Josiah glanced back at Hannah, convinced by Bas' answers that it had worked. "He wouldn't tell us that if he was conscious." 

"Fine, you were right," Hannah sighed. "Do you want a medal?" 

Josiah rolled his eyes, moving aside with Lydian, letting Hannah give Bas his first test of loyalty. 

"There's one thing I need from you before I can turn off the implant for now," Hannah said. 

"What do you need me to do?" Bas' tone was emotionless, completely void of any personality or awareness of what was going on. 

"I need you to bring me the person you love most in this world... Just so I know that this implant really works." 

Two // Part One
It's an implant.

Rest in Heavenly peace to sweet Naya Rivera. I grew up watching her on Glee when I was 9 and it's been so heartbreaking to watch the events of the past week unfold. Please keep her family, friends and loved ones in your prayers.♡

Luke 1:78-79 'Because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.'

14/07/20