Episode Five, Part 3:
Oikogénia

These weary eyes will never rest
until they look in yours again.
There's nothing that I wouldn't do. 
I'll find my way back to you.

Kodiak stood at the entrance to Sol's cell, secretly amused by how much of a fight she was putting up over leaving with him. Every time Kodiak made another step further inside, Sol let another threat spill out of her mouth and he knew that she meant everything she was saying.

Eventually, Kodiak knew that if he didn't get Sol to cooperate soon, then he would have to leave her in the cell with Atlantis, letting another day pass without her knowing the truth. He said the one thing he knew would get her to listen.

"One of the prisoners is asking for you," he said. "His name is Wynn. He's refusing to work with us until he speaks to you."

Sol frowned at the mention of his name, trying to figure out if the masked guard in front of her was telling the truth.

"Can my sister come with me?" She raised an eyebrow, trying desperately to hide all the fear that Kodiak knew was scratching under the surface. If he didn't know her so well, he wouldn't have even guessed that she was afraid.

Kodiak drew in a sharp breath. He wanted Atlantis to be there as well, but he couldn't risk so many of them being together and away from their cells in case Athena or someone else from Neptunum decided to do a headcount of the harvest.

"She has to stay here," Kodiak said, looking over to Atlantis who seemed to know it was coming.

Sol turned around to face her, almost as if to say 'I won't leave you if you don't want me to', even though for all she knew, Wynn might be needing her just as bad.

"It's okay," Atlantis said, then, lowering her voice so Kodiak couldn't hear, "maybe he has a plan. You need to find out what he has to say."

Sol nodded, knowing she was right. "Don't panic if I'm not back for a while. Keep Dreea informed if anything happens or Joren if she's not there."

Atlantis nodded, encouraging her sister forward and resuming her seat on her bed, already beginning to count the minutes until they were together again.

With a huff, Sol stepped out into the hall, waiting impatiently for Kodiak to hurry up and lock the cell behind him.

"If you've done anything to Wynn, there'll be hell to pay," she said, giving him a fair warning of what to expect if they had somehow hurt him.

"Your friend is fine," Kodiak assured her, not having to think too hard to imagine the worries that were on her mind. "This shouldn't take long, anyway. You'll be back with your sister before you know it."

Sol rolled her eyes and continued to follow Kodiak's lead down the hallway, completely unprepared for how her world would change come a couple of minutes. Once again, she memorised every sign and passageway they passed, trying to piece together a floorpan of the ship in her head in case she was ever able to escape Neptunum's captive.

After a few moments of walking and many twists and turns, Sol was finally ushered into a room attached to the cold, low-lit walkway Kodiak had hurried her through.

She was nervous for a moment, but strength seemed to find her as she realised that Wynn, Dreea and Chess were waiting inside. She wasted no time in hurrying over to them, ignoring the countless questions on her mind about why was sitting on a medical bed with a tray full of surgical instruments beside him.

"Are you okay?" She asked, throwing her arms around him for a moment, not having long enough to savour the feeling of him in her hold. "The guard said you were asking for me. What's happening here?" She looked over at Dreea and Chessca, hoping one of them would have an answer for her, but they only shrugged.

She turned back around to look at Kodiak, noticing that he was nodding to the other guard who was in the room with them, seemingly communicating something as he stepped outside, leaving just Kodiak alone with them.

"What's going on?" She repeated her question, more demanding for an answer this time.

Wynn slipped his hand into her hold, trying to keep her calm for what he knew was coming; he wasn't able to predict how she would react. Beside them, Chessca did the same for Dreea, sensing that she was holding off on showing how concerned she really was.

"I swear if you don't give me some sort of answer soon, you're not gonna live to see what's on the other side of that door again," Sol growled, becoming fiercely more protective for her family as every second passed, slowly inching closer towards him.

"O-Okay," Kodiak stuttered, suddenly more nervous than he thought he would be. "This is it."

Sol scrunched up her face in caution, making sure everyone was shielded behind her as Kodiak reached up for his helmet with trembling hands, finally finding the courage to reveal himself.

It started as blond peaks of hair falling loose from its cover, then icy-blue eyes which were glimmered over in tears staring back at them until finally, it was Kodiak.

Sol couldn't breathe, despite the weight that seemed to instantly evaporate from her chest; she felt like she was suffocating; choking on her misery as it left her, but lingered like saltwater against her lips as it trailed along her cheeks.

There was movement behind her and then before she knew it, Dreea had run past her and enveloped Kodiak in her embrace, holding him so tightly that he was at a loss of breath, too. She watched as Kodiak wrapped his arms around her, burying his face against her neck, flickering his eyes over to Sol as if beckoning her over.

It was real, she assured herself, not understanding how - only that it was. A moment passed; a whimper escaping her, and then Sol ran over to Kodiak and Dreea, squeezing on tighter to them than she ever had done before.

"You're okay?" She whispered, not daring to pull away anytime soon.

"Yeah," Kodiak whispered back, smiling into his words. "I'm okay."

"I love you so much," Dreea murmured from his other side, feeling like she had a piece of Heaven in her hands; someone she never wanted to lose again.

"I love you guys, too," Kodiak replied, having waited too damn long to say it. He looked up slightly, feeling somewhat incomplete. "Wynn," he mumbled, "get over here."

Wynn smiled from his position on the bed, wasting no time in jumping up and hurrying over to his fellow Sovereigns, once again trying to wrap his mind around how the four of them were safe; how they were alive; how they were all together after everything they had been through.

"How are you here?" Dreea asked, finally pulling away so that she could see his face. "Have you been here all this time? Or since we arrived on the ship?"

"Since the flood," Kodiak answered, wiping under his eyes but it was no help at stopping his tears from free falling. "Neptunum picked me and Bas up - and yes, he's alive, too."

He watched the relief drizzle down Dreea's cheeks and she latched her hand onto his arm, needing his strength to keep her upright.

"It's a long story," he said. "Wynn and Chess will fill you in when you have more time-"

"You guys knew?" Sol looked between them both, trying to figure out how long they had known for.

As they nodded, more questions filled her head. "How long? Who else? Elara? Harlow?"

"Yeah, they both know," Kodiak answered, smiling at all of her demands. "And not long; Wynn and Chess have only known since they were missing for a few days. That was me behind it, by the way."

"Thank gosh," Dreea cracked a smile, shaking her head at him. "We were getting ready to launch a full-blown riot if something didn't start to make sense around here... But, what is happening? You have a plan to get us out of here? Please tell me that's it."

"I do," Kodiak assured her, moving over towards the door. "And it starts with getting the implants out of Wynn and Chessca."

"...Implants," Sol muttered, suddenly struck with a memory. "You had one too... Hannah gave one to you. That's why you were acting so strange that entire time; you and Bas."

"Yeah," Kodiak dropped his head, sore at the memory. "In her plot to take Elara and Wynn away from Quill, she put one in me so she could control me; so she could make me hurt Ell and take her focus away from her brother. That's why I ended things with her... She's also the reason why Harlow went missing and why Diego found out about the flood from Chessca, and why I killed him..."

"Kodiak, I'm so sorry," Sol whispered, moving closer to him again. "I'm sorry we didn't protect you from her-"

"You guys did nothing wrong," he said. "You got everyone in the bunkers: Elara, Quill, Harlow, Chess. Besides, it's over now. At least it will be when I get the devices out."

"I'm confused," Chessca spoke up, glancing over at Wynn to see that he was just as puzzled as she was. "Why do you want to remove them? As far as I'm concerned, they stopped working the day we moved into the bunkers when Hannah died. Why take the risk on getting them out?"

"There's no risk," Kodiak assured her. "They're deactivated which means there'll be no interference when we pull them out. Bas and I had to cut ours out of ourselves when Neptunum picked us up, so we know it's safe."

"So then what's the urgency? Why can't we just leave them in?" Dreea asked.

Kodiak chewed on his lip, feeling like he was suddenly the one who was at a complete loss of information. "How much do you guys know about Neptunum?"

Sol and Dreea shared an anxious look with each other, regretful to give their answer.

"Not enough," Sol sighed.

"They're running trials," Kodiak informed them. "Pain trials to figure out the limits of pain people can tolerate and how to reverse the damage when it's fatal," it was a speech he had memorised; one he had delivered so many times that he didn't even need to think about it. "We tried to put Wynn through the trials the other day because I needed him to test something for me, but it didn't work... The trials didn't work on him which has never happened before, and I'm sure as anything that it's because of the implants. If Athena and everyone else realises this device is in his head, they'll figure out a way to reactivate and I don't want to imagine what she'll do with that information."

"Why don't you put me through the trials?" Sol volunteered, not willing to see Wynn suffer if she could easily take his place.

"Because I wasn't even planning on telling you I was alive until Elara found out, and it was important that it was Wynn because I had a chance to tell him-"

"Tell him what?"

"Not to think of me," Kodiak answered. "They use your memories - like The Alteration, only worse. These people here all think I'm a guard called Ammon including the guy who is waiting in the hallway for us, and if they were to put one of you through the trials and they saw me in your memories, they would figure out I was one of Basilisk. I need Wynn to go through the trials - because Athena is determined to try it out on him again - and I need to know that it's possible for him to withhold the memories of me. If it is, then I can stall long enough so that I can change the ship's navigation to nearby land and get us the hell off of here."

"And if it doesn't work?" Dreea asked, everyone seeming to fall into a quiet realisation. "What happens then?" She said. "If Athena realises you're not who you say you are."

"It doesn't matter what happens to me."

"Kodiak," she warned, her voice heavy with disapproval.

"Who knows?" He shrugged, somewhat defeated. "Maybe they'd kill me, maybe not. But I have to try: I have to try and get you guys to dry land. You've made it this far thinking I was dead, you could do it again if it actually happens."

"That's not going to happen," Dreea said. "You've got the three of us here, now: we'll work it out together. We'll survive together just like we always do."

"I know, I know," Kodiak said. "Let's not even worry about it right now. We just need to get these implants out whilst we have a chance."

Dreea looked over at Chessca, torn between wanting her safe and wanting to stay and convince Kodiak to not risk his life for anyone, but she knew him... She knew she wouldn't be able to change his mind in whatever time they had together.

"Okay," she gave in. "We'll get the implants out. But I'm serious about you not having to do this on your own, Kodiak."

"I know," he repeated again, smiling fondly at her as he made his way to the door, ready to let his friend in. "And the name's Ammon, remember?"

"Got it," Dreea nodded, standing aside as Kodiak stepped out into the hallway, returning after a couple of seconds with Xander behind him.

Everyone was a little nervous as he entered - no one sure how much they could trust him or if he was only getting close to Kodiak to try and figure out his plans. But Xander walked in and removed his helmet, beaming a welcoming smile at everyone as he made his way over to the medical bed, wasting no time in getting everything ready for the procedure.

"Who's going to go first?" He asked Kodiak, waiting for further instruction.

Kodiak looked between Wynn and Chessca, not even sure of the answer himself.

"I'll go," Chessca raised her hand, wandering over to the bed and sitting upon it. Dreea took the stool at her side and Sol perched herself by Chessca's feet, both of them worried that it would somehow hurt her.

"Are you ready?" Xander asked.

"Yep," Chessca nodded, squeezing on tight to Dreea's hand, feeling Sol rest her on her leg - both of them seeming to bear the weight of her fears for her. 

Five // Part Three
It started as blond peaks of hair falling loose from its cover, then icy-blue eyes which were glimmered over in tears staring back at them until finally, it was Kodiak.

I've been waiting a long time for this reunion. ♡ Kodiak, Dreea and Sol are one of my favourite relationships/family dynamics to write in this series. I love being able to write scenes between these three and recall their experiences as growing up as a trio and being there at each other's sides for their entire lives. I also really love how Wynn is now a part of that relationship/family dynamic and the love they have for each other has extended onto him.

Kind of S6 vibes in this chapter as we have the four Sovereigns and Chessca!

Next chapter is going to be interesting! And this one was definitely better than the last and thankfully had a significantly higher word count, too!

By the way, the song up top is Find My Way Back by Eric Arjes and it is perfect for Kodiak and the theme/storyline of this season! Highly recommend you check it out (it's from Teen Wolf ♡)!

22/11/20