Episode Four, Part 5:
Small Sacrifices

In losing grip and sinking ships, you showed up just in
time. This love is good, this love is bad, this love is
alive back from the dead. These hands had to let
it go free, but this love came back to me.

"Have we figured out why it wasn't working?" Athena asked, running her hand along the machines by the empty medical bed, unable to fathom the idea that her equipment might have been broken.

"Everything suggests it's working," one of the guards answered. "There's no malfunction; nothing appears to be broken. We've restarted everything just in case, but it should be good to go."

"We'll try it again," Athena announced, making no indication that she was going anywhere. Instead, she sat down on the edge of the bed, dropping her head into her hands and letting out an exhausted breath, unable to hide how stressed she was.

Hoping it would give him a couple of moments to update his friend on what had happened, Kodiak slipped out of the door - not before smuggling a handful of MediPens into his pocket - and began heading towards the holding cell where Wynn was being kept to bring him back to the trials.

Still in the room, Athena finally looked up at the rest of the guards who she knew were waiting for her command.

"This has never happened before," she said. "And as you've all put it, the machines are working fine. The only explanation that I can think of is that the boy - Wynn - did something to stop the trials."

"Did something? Like, to the machines?" Someone asked.

"I don't know," Athena sighed, disappointed in her lack of an answer. "But I'm certain he had something to do with it, I just don't know what... He has siblings here; people he cares about. We'll use them until he confesses."

One of the guards picked up the clipboard from the counter, scanning through the list to try and identify who Wynns family were.

"Surname was Bell, right?" They asked.

Athena nodded.

"There's two on here: Elara Bell and Quill Bell-"

"Use the girl," one of the other guards spoke up.

"Your reason being?" Athena searched, not opposed to the idea, just curious over the confidence projected in his answer.

"She left her table the other night and caused a scene. She's why everyone had to go back to their cells early. I remember her friends saying her name, not to mention she looks so much like her brother."

"I'll go get her," Athena nodded. "Which cell is she in?"

"Cell 11-" The guard frowned. "Hang on... Cell 213. I guess she's been moved. It looks like Ammon was the one who authorised it."

"Okay," Athena said, glancing around for him. "Where is he?"

"He must have left."

"Alright. I'll find him on my way to getting the girl. You guys just make sure everything is ready for us by the time we get back."

////////

Wynn sat on the metal bench in the cell, bouncing his knees up and down, unable to stop himself from panicking. What had he had done? Why didn't it work? Had he messed up everything?

He looked up at the sound of movement outside of his door - finally catching a break from all of the thoughts running wild in his head.

"Hey, I-I don't know what I did wrong," Wynn didn't waste any time in blurting out his apology the moment Ammon reached his holding cell, terrified that he had somehow ruined his entire plan.

"It's alright," Kodiak told him. "I don't know what happened, either. No one does. They've restarted the machines so hopefully, it'll-" He cut himself off with a heavy sigh, hating himself for what words had come out of his mouth: hopefully. "So it should work..."

"Kodiak-"

"I'm so sorry, Wynn," he said, pulling off his mask, desperate for him to see how terribly he meant it. "I know it was hard enough to go in there the first time. Once it's over, if it works, I'll make sure you never go through it again."

"It's okay," Wynn said, resting his hand on his friend's shoulder. "It'll be worth it in the end. Are you here to take me back?"

Kodiak nodded, struggling to get a deep breath in.

"Athena's a little irritated you might cop the brunt of it," he said, completely unaware of the discussions that had taken place after he left.

"Yeah, no kidding," Wynn chuckled. "Still, she doesn't seem half as bad as Rhea."

"She isn't," Kodiak said, having a hard time admitting it. "What she's doing is wrong; the things the prisoners on this ship have to go through for her mission are... Unforgivable. But it's not for some messed-up, wicked intentions. Deep down, I really do think she's doing this to save people, which is what makes it so terrifying."

"Well, whatever the case," Wynn muttered, "we're going to get our people off of this damn ship before she can any more of us for her mission."

Kodiak nodded, suddenly remembering something. He reached into his pocket, pulling out three of the devices he had grabbed on his way out of the medical wing.

"What are these?" Wynn asked

"They're MediPens," he answered. "What I used on Elara to sedate her during the incident in the mess hall... I need you to try and get one to Dreea and Riv. Just in case something happens after the trials and I'm not around to help you."

"Kodiak-"

"I'm serious, Wynn. If the trials don't go to plan then I will be killed. I need to know you're going to do everything to get everyone else off of the ship, no matter what happens to me," he said waiting for a response, but Wynn was too hesitant to give one. "Promise me, no matter who dies or survives, you'll keep going for Basilisk; for your family."

Wynn nodded, almost afraid of the desperation in Kodiak's voice: it was as if he was already sure that it wasn't going to work. "I'll hold on; I'll keep going. I promise."

"Good," Kodiak let out a deep breath, having the answer that he needed. He dropped his gaze, mumbling something to assure himself, but Wynn still heard it.

"Half the fight of staying alive is wanting to."

//////// 

Dreea and Elara shared a cautious glance which each other as their cell door was approached, both of them wondering what could possibly be happening.

"Stay back," Dreea warned, standing up from her bed and ordering Elara to stay where she was.

They waited as the door opened, both expecting to see a masked guard on the other side, but it was someone else instead; someone they both recognised from the screens on their first night, but unable to recall who she was.

"You must be Elara Bell."

"Who are you? Why are you here?" Dreea asked, standing in the way of the younger girl.

"Athena Archelaus," she held her hand out for the Sovereign to shake, not surprised when her gesture was rejected. "I'm the founder of Neptunum," she said. "I need to take Elara-"

"Not without me," Dreea didn't miss a beat, refusing to let Elara be whisked away without her. Everyone knew how vulnerable she was as of late and Dreea was no exception to the sea of anxious thoughts that entangled around her wellbeing.

"It's okay," Athena assured her. "Her brother is where I'm taking her - Wynn."

Dreea bit on her cheek, looking over at Elara. It seemed Athena was telling the truth, after all, but she was still hesitant to trust her.

"Dreea, it's alright," Elara said, stepping past the Sovereign. "I'll be safe."

"Elara, we don't know what these people are planning to do with us-"

"I know, but you trust Wynn, remember?" She said. "So do I. He'll keep me safe."

Dreea sighed, having no choice but to cave and allow Elara to move past her towards Athena. "Make smart choices," she said. "And if it comes to it, use all the training I've taught you."

Elara nodded. "Trained by the best makes for the best. I'll see you in a while."

Before she could let the fear consume her, Elara followed Athena's lead out of the door, half expecting there to be a team of guards positioned outside to take her away, but it was just the two of them. Athena didn't even place any handcuffs on Elara, seeming to off her complete trust which Elara wasn't sure what to do with.

"Where are we going?" Elara asked.

"To the medical wing."

"The medical wing? Is this because of what happened in the mess hall? One of the guards already took me there; I'm fine."

"What happened in the mess hall?" Athena turned over her shoulder, frowning in confusion.

"Nothing," Elara shook her head, worried she had said too much. "What's this about? Why the medical wing?"

"To run a few tests," Athena said. "Your brother wasn't willing to cooperate so he passed the task down to you."

What was she talking about? Elara wondered. Even in spite of the fact that she had a terrible feeling about what these people were planning on doing to her, the most suspicious thing was that Athena had said she was being taken somewhere because of Wynn. He would always choose to face something if it meant she didn't have to; he would always take her place... So why wasn't that happening now? Why was Athena lying about him?

"What are the tests?" Elara asked.

"I'll explain once we get there," she said, still having complete confidence that Elara would follow her, and she did.

As they approached a fork in the hallway, Elara was certain she could hear a voice she recognised coming from around one of the corners. As Athena moved ahead to turn right, Elara looked in the opposite direction, puzzled why she had convinced herself that it was Wynn's voice echoing in her ears.

And then suddenly, Elara froze. Not breathing; not blinking - nothing. It was as if the entire universe had come to a stop, leaving her behind in the impossible sight before her.

This wasn't possible...

The same fear that had made her act impulsively in the mess hall was the same fear that was hallucinating the ghost of the man she loved who was right in front of her. Kodiak was dead. The suffering of her heart over the past six months could testify to that, but yet, even as she blinked - caught a breath of air again - he wouldn't go away.

Perhaps what was just as strange was that Wynn was walking beside him, talking with a determination etched onto his face as if he wasn't in complete shock that Kodiak was alive, because he was... She knew it now: Kodiak was alive.

After what felt like an eternity of lingering in the middle of the hallway, Wynn and Kodiak finally looked up, either sensing that someone was standing in front of them, or they noticed the movement of Athena as she turned back around for Elara.

She'd never fathomed it being possible ever again, but Elara met eyes with Kodiak who seemed to reflect the same state of shock she was in, noticeably losing his breath; weakening at the knees; trying to hold himself together.

"...K-"

"Ammon," Athena's voice dominated over Elara's disbelieving murmur, thankfully cutting off the attempt at calling his name. "Mask on, remember?" She said, gesturing at the helmet Kodiak was cradling in his hands.

Kodiak gulped, drawing his eyes off of Athena for a split second - acknowledging her question - but he couldn't refrain himself from looking back at Elara. He swallowed down a reluctant breath, slowly forced into hiding himself as the helmet stole the vision of him away from Elara again.

At a loss for words, Elara flickered her eyes over to her brother, desperate for an explanation. Was he seeing this too? Did he realise Kodiak had been dead for months, yet was standing right in front of them!?

There was empathy in his eyes; Elara knew there was so much he wanted to say, but for reasons she couldn't fathom, he had to remain quiet. Still, the emotion on his face was all the confirmation she needed: Kodiak was really alive.

"Where are you going with her?" Kodiak interrupted - his voice not sounding the same under his disguise, but Elara could still hear how shaky it was, nonetheless.

"I'm taking her to the trials since Wynn - here - didn't..." She searched for the right word. "Respond. Sorry for the miscommunication; you had already left the room by the time we had decided what to do, and I didn't realise you had gone to get him."

"We should continue on with him," Kodiak said, prepared to do anything to make sure Elara didn't face the trials.

"Not right now. I'm interested in seeing if it's genetic, something specific to him, or if he sabotaged the machines somehow."

"He has a brother!" Kodiak blurted out. "I-I saw it when I was looking at the files the other day," it was a quick save - a way to explain to Athena how he knew that Wynn had a brother. "Besides, the girl looks pale. I thought we decided it was in our best interest to use their strongest first, as we have so many of them?"

What the hell were they talking about? Elara wondered. Why was Kodiak acting as if he didn't know her name? And, the question digging in her heart with every breath she took, how the hell was he alive!!!?

"I appreciate your help, Ammon, but I just want to get to the bottom of this. It's been stressful enough trying to make sure the machines haven't malfunctioned and the last thing I want is for Wynn to cause any more trouble, as that's what I assume has happened. If you could please take him back to his cell and then join us in the medical wing to assist me?"

As Athena was talking, Wynn was searching his mind for every possibility of how to stop Elara being taken. He couldn't let the plan for apart. He couldn't let his sister suffer the trials. He couldn't let them take her.

Without a moment to think anything through, Wynn took a step forward to Elara, grabbing onto her arm and pulling her towards him, simultaneously pulling one of the MediPens from his pocket and flicking off the lid, having to jam the device into the side of Elara's neck.

She choked - confused and terrified about what was happening to her, only beginning to understand when she felt the familiar effects of the sedative wear her down.

Things were starting to piece together, but she was running out of time to solve them... Had it been Kodiak all along? Had he been the guard who had sedated her in the mess hall? The same guard who trying to counsel her afterwards? The same guard who brought Izzy to her?

She tried to look over at him but her eyes rolled shut, disappearing into the back of her head, stealing her consciousness away.

"What the hell have you done?" Athena snapped, not knowing what to do as Elara collapsed into Wynn's arms.

"No one lays a finger on my family," Wynn muttered, carefully lowering Elara to the ground - her hand falling just out of reach of Kodiak's feet.

"Fine. It'll just be you, then," Athena challenged him, hoping to scare him into the realisation that he would still have to face the trials.

It wasn't that Wynn didn't have the strength to face them; it wasn't that he wouldn't take his sister's place in a heartbeat, because he would, but there was gut-feeling surfacing in his chest. Something that set off internal alarm bells as he recalled what Athena had mentioned to Kodiak - that the trials didn't work because Wynn had done something; because he sabotaged the machines somehow.

Knowing he needed to buy Kodiak some time to figure out what had happened, he did the only thing he could think of. Wynn pulled out a second MediPen from his pocket - knowing Athena's biggest concern had been that Elara was no longer viable for the trials, rather than how he had managed to secure the drugs in the first place.

He unhooked the cap, jamming the pen into his own neck just as he had done to his sister, surprised by how fast the sedative was taking action on him.

He fell down to his knees, momentarily wondering if he had destroyed his chances at being able to protect Elara, but reminded himself that Kodiak was there, now.

"This boy is going to be the death of me," Athena huffed, unsure what to make of the two unconscious bodies she now had by her feet. "How did he manage to get the MediPens in the first place?"

"He probably swiped them when he was in the medical wing," Kodiak lied. "The same way he must have managed to prevent the trials from proceeding: without us knowing."

"Well," Athena sighed. "It'll be a good 24-hours before the sedative is out of their system completely. We'll hold off until tomorrow."

"Good idea," Kodiak said, dropping his gaze to the girl by his feet. "I'll take her," he said.

Athena looked up, simply curious to see if he had a reason why.

"I assume you're going want to see if the boy has anything else on him we don't know about. I'll take the girl to recovery and figure out what we do with her depending on the trials tomorrow."

"Okay," Athena agreed, pulling out a radio from her side and beginning to call for the assistance of some guards.

With Wynn taken care of, Kodiak crouched down beside Elara, carefully pulling her into his arms and picking her up from off the ground, feeling a little part of his heart breaking all over again as he felt her lie limp in his arms.

But even so, everything was different now. It wasn't a part of his plan and he had no idea how it would change everything, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was that he was there and Elara was too, and after what felt like a lifetime apart, she was finally in his arms again, asleep with the knowledge that he had found a way back to her. 

Four // Part Five
The man she loved who was right in front of her.

Kodiak came back. ♡
And Elara knows.

Can we just talk about that lyric up top!?
'In losing grip and sinking SHIPS, you showed up JUST IN TIME. This love is good, this love is bad, THIS LOVE IS ALIVE BACK FROM THE DEAD. These hands had to let it go free but THIS LOVE CAME BACK TO ME.'

I have been SO excited for this scene. I have had it in my head and it is one of my favourite moments in the entire series (just you wait for the next chapter = feels overload).

16/11/20.