Episode Seven, Part 3:
Life Support

And I had a feeling so peculiar; 
that this pain would be for evermore. 

"What the heck?" The guard mumbled in confusion, shoving Sol into her cell and beginning to search around the small space. He glanced behind the door and under both beds, but his searches came up empty.

"Where is she?"

"W-what?" Sol mumbled, barely able to focus on anything other than the growing fears that she might have just left Wynn for dead.

"Your cellmate. Where is she? What have you done?"

Atlantis. Sol remembered, suddenly realising what was happening. She glanced around the room, confirming for herself that she had disappeared with Quill, and snapped herself back into reality.

"Hey, Elias, out here!" One of of the guards called from the hallway, their voice sounding heavy with concern.

The guard who had escorted Sol - who she now identified as Elias - had moved to the doorway and was looking outside to see what the problem was.

"This cell's empty. The boy in the trials belongs to this one, but the other guy's missing."

"Yeah, this one's missing someone, too," Elias announced, beginning to suspect what was happening.

"Don't worry," Sol muttered, riling herself up for a fight. "I'll make sure to keep you safe inside this one."

Before Elias could process what was happening, Sol had lunged at him and had pinned him down to the floor, quickly rendering him defenceless as she disarmed him and beat him unconscious. Further along the hall, in realisation of what their Nobel was doing, Fenn and Liam worked together to take out their own guard, still finding that they needed Sol to come along and finish the job.

"Thanks," Fenn let out a heavy breath, taking a moment to steady himself as he stared down at the battered guard by his feet. "We should probably get these guys out of sight."

"Exactly what I was thinking," Sol said, already retreating over to Elias where she wasted no time in grabbing hold of his legs. "Drag your guy down here; they wanted people in the cells, so that's exactly what they're gonna get."

Fenn chuckled, assisting Liam in lifting the man up and carrying him over to Sol where they threw him inside of the cell, making sure that neither one had a weapon or a set of keys left on them.

"Now what?" Liam asked, hoping that Sol had some sort of a plan.

"Do we go back for Wynn?" Fenn wondered.

"No," Sol shook her head, biting harshly on her lip until she tasted blood, wanting to find some other pain to distract her from the one tearing her heart apart. "We have to wait. For all Athena knows, we're secure in our cell. We need to find the others and I'm guessing they're with Elara."

"Okay. But, please tell me you know where you're going," Fenn said. "Because I don't want to have to fight through an entire army of guards as we're trying to figure that out."

"Of course I know," Sol assured him, already beginning to hurry along the hall. "And there won't be 'an entire army'," she said. "Did you not hear me outside that room? I killed most of them already."

////////

"Open up, it's me!" Sol banged on the door, torn between being discreet about it so she didn't alert anyone to their presence, and a desperation to hurry up and get inside the room. "It's Riverly! Let us in!"

The door opened a slither and Sol could see the familiar eyes of Chessca staring back at her in relief, gradually opening the door wider for everyone to step in. As soon as she was inside with Fenn and Liam, the door was shut behind her and an effort was made to barricade it closed.

"Hey," Sol breathed out, finding a moment of comfort as Chessca as pulled her into her arms, but it fizzled away the second she looked past her, seeing what a wreck Kodiak and Quill appeared to be as they hovered by Elara's bedside.

"Are you okay?" Dreea asked, moving close to her, trying to figure out what they were doing.

Sol nodded, afraid to say too much. "How's Kodiak? Does he seem to understand what kind of situation we're in? It's only a matter of time before Athena realises he's with us, if they haven't already figured that out. And... Elara," she dropped her head. "She's dead; I need him to accept that before he does something stupid like-" She cut herself off, not wanting to give Dreea or anyone else another reason to worry; she would figure out a way to save Wynn before they got off the ship, no matter what the cost.

"Like Wynn? Is that what you were going to say?" Dreea searched. "Come on, Riv. It's obvious he's not here. What's happened to him? Is he okay? Quill said something about Athena taking taking him, but he couldn't get much out..."

"He told her about the implant," she sighed, watching the disbelief settle on Dreea's face and Chessca's as she listened in. "They're running the trials on him right now."

"That could kill him..." Dreea declared, doing her best to keep her voice hushed for Quill's sake who she knew was sitting right behind him. "He knows that right? I mean, I get he can be pretty stupid sometimes, but he knows that."

"Yeah..." Sol nodded, unable to control her quivering lip. "I think that was kind of the point."

Dreea swallowed down a gulp of fear, instinctively grabbing onto Chessca's hand at her side for some sort of comfort.

"Well, you and Atlantis have set the coordinate for the ship; let's focus on that for a moment," she said, desperate to find something that felt within her control. "We need to locate a way to get off of the ship and to get out people out of the cells. I think the hard part is gonna be Neptunum's defences. Do we know how many guards they have? Maybe we should ask Kodiak, but I'm not sure how much he's going to be able to help us on this one. We have to find a way out, kill their guards, get out people out of the cells, and then make sure Wynn's with us, wherever the hell he is."

"And Elara?"

"Riv," Dreea frowned a little, not sure what she was asking.

"I'm not saying I'm holding out hope for Neptunum's combination," she said. "But we can't just leave her body here. She deserves more than that. Kodiak and her brothers deserve more than that. We have to take her with us."

"Okay," Dreea nodded. "We'll figure something out."

"You didn't manage to get to Wynn, did you?"

Sol looked over Dreea's shoulder to see Quill facing them, wondering how long he had been listening for.

"I-I did," Sol assured him, hurrying to move closer towards him, setting her hand on his shoulder.

"If he's dead, could you just wait a little longer before telling me?" He asked, completely void of all strength - the evidence heavy in his voice. "'Cause I don't think I can do this if he's already gone."

"He's alive," Sol told him, the lack of relief in her voice enough to let Quill know that things weren't good.

"For now, right? For now," Quill emphasised.

"For now," Sol repeated, nodding regretfully. She looked down at Elara, struggling to recognise her with her closed eyes and the ventilator down her throat.

"I need you to know that no matter who we lose on this ship, you will still have a family with me, Quill," she said. "Izzy, Bas, Harlow; with all of us in this room."

Quill nodded his understanding, setting his free hand over Sol's and squeezing tightly, the both of them knowing that it would never be enough; life would never be enough without Wynn or Elara.

"If it turns out Neptunum are right and this whole combination thing is real, what do we then?"

"I wish I knew," Sol whispered, moving closer towards Elara and running her fingers along the side of her cheek. She paused for a moment, glancing around the room to figure out where Kodiak was, only to find him shifting furniture around to build up his barricade at the door. "Maybe Kodiak can convince them that he's not part of Basilisk and make sure they use it on Elara, but everything's so unclear. And if... If the trials kill Wynn, I'll make sure they have enough of it to use on him, too."

"And if they don't?"

"Then I guess I'll be the next volunteer-"

"Riv-"

"I know it's hypocritical," she shook her head at herself, understanding that what she was saying was exactly the same as what Wynn was doing. "But if anyone deserves to catch a break in this world, it's you guys. I've taken his place before when it was The City of Targo that came in between us; I'd do it a thousand times over. If not for him, if not for Kodiak and Elara, then for you."

"I hear what you're saying," Quill said. "And I appreciate what you're trying to say, but even that - losing you instead, losing anyone - it wouldn't make things better at all."

"I know," Sol understood. "We don't decide who lives or dies, but that doesn't stop us from trying; from wishing we could take someone's place."

"So what are we trying now? Are we waiting for the results of the trials?"

Sol shook her head. "We need to work on getting everyone out of their cells, but considering that Athena already knows I killed a bunch of guards on my way to Wynn, I'm sure there's going to be extra security everywhere we face. If we can locate our strongest fighters first - the people Dreea's trained: Nova, Bianca, Foster - then that gives us the best likelihood of taking down their defences so we can get our people off of the ship. Once I figure out what Kodiak and Dreea are leaning towards, we'll make a move for our people, and I'll make sure to go back for Wynn. Just... Don't do anything stupid until then. Stay with Elara and Kodiak. I don't want to have to worry about the whereabouts of all three of you."

Quill nodded in gratitude towards her, moved by the sincerity on her face. As she turned away, moving to approach Dreea and come up with some kind of a plan, Quill shifted his attention back down towards Elara, cradling her hand in between both of his.

For all he knew, the world could change again the minute Sol left the room; either she'd come back with the combination to save his sister, or she'd come back to tell him that Athena had killed his brother in the trials, and against all odds, he'd have to find a way to go on living without both of them. He knew that wouldn't be the hard part; when his suffering finally exhausted him to sleep, he would wake up again hours later like clockwork and without a choice; his lungs would still remember how to breathe, even if he wouldn't remember how to, and every part of him would still be alive. The hard part would be wanting to stay that way; wanting to live in a world without them.

Quill let out a sharp breath, shuffling closer to Elara's bedside as he tried to find the courage to speak to her. "Hey, Ell," he whispered, unsure why he was nervous that someone would overhear him, in particular, Kodiak. Maybe he just didn't think he'd understand why he was about say what he was, or maybe it was because Quill wasn't so certain himself about whether it was the right thing or not.

"I'm trying to think of what Ares would say to you right now, or even Wynn if this whole situation hadn't exploded. I'm trying to think of what I should say to you because maybe you need that just as much, but I don't know what I'm doing, Ell. Ares and Wynn have been the ones to look after us for so long so I've never had to worry about it until now. Until now it looks like he might be gone, as well. But I'm going to try because if this is what it comes down to; if you need to know that to things will be okay if you come back, I'm here to tell you they will be, because I'll be here. I'm not brave or strong like Wynn nor have I been the one looking out for us since the Bunker days like Ares, because we all know that even back then, he was the one cheering us on or making sure everything was safe for us or just that we knew we had someone there. I know you'd need them, because Lord knows I do too, but I love you just as much. Even though I know I can't do everything they've done for us, you're still my sister and I still love you, and I hope that can be enough for you..."

He blew out a breath, feeling his lip start to tremble as he searched for a moment of courage. "Anyway," he said. "I know Kodiak's asking you to stay; everyone is, and I want that. I've never want something so badly except for Ares to still be alive, but I know what it's been like for you since we lost him," he told her, staring intently at her like he believed she was listening. "I've seen you suffer through the visions; face the threat of Rhea and our dad; watch as Ares was killed right in front of us; lose Kodiak and pretty much everyone else at one point... It's been hell, it really has, but above it all, you've survived. That's who you are to me, Ell: a survivor, and if you need to be reminded of that, there's half a dozen people here who will tell you the same, but I don't think that's what you're waiting on, is it?"

Quill shook his head, trying to force himself to stay quiet, but he knew in his heart that he had tell her. He had to tell her it was okay.

"What I'm really trying to tell you, because you deserve to hear it, is that if you can't face it anymore; if you need rest; if you want to go home to Ares and stop fighting... I understand," he whispered. "It's okay, Elara. I'll love for you always, either way. So will Wynn; so will Kodiak; so will Izzy... I just needed you to know that it's okay if you have to go. If you're tired. If you have to leave me too. It's okay."

He waited for a moment, somehow feeling as if the rest of the world didn't exist, and waited for Elara to move; to somehow say that she would live for him, or just that she wanted to live at all, but she stayed perfectly still.

Quill dropped his head, reminding himself that it was what he had expected, and decided to take control of the only thing he felt he had left in his power.

He squeezed Elara's hand one final time, setting it down by her side, and glanced around the room for Sol, hoping to confide in her about what he needed to do. But as he searched, checking in every direction, Quill couldn't see her anywhere.

The door to the room was still being obstructed by Kodiak so the only possible way she could have got out was...

He glanced over towards the panelling on the far wall, noticing the cover of the vent had been removed and was laying on the ground. She had gone to free the rest of her people and left Kodiak, Dreea and everyone else in the safety of the room.

He knew he had two options: either he could Dreea that Sol had slipped out without their knowledge and cause her to panic, or he could follow his Nobel Sovereign's lead and use the other's oblivion as his chance to escape...

With everyone's backs turned towards him, Quill drew in a deep breath of courage and climbed into the cramped vent, hoping that his blind faith would lead him straight to where he wanted to go.

////////

"Uh, Dreea?"

"One sec, Chess," Dreea muttered as she crouched on the floor, trying to make sure that the shelving unit they had positioned in front of the door was stable.

"No, something's wrong."

Immediately, Dreea had turned around, pushing herself to her feet as she stared at Chessca in concern, desperate to know what she was talking about.

"Are you okay?"

"Riv and Quill... They're gone."

"What do you mean-" Dreea began, peering past her to look further into the room, expecting to see Quill sitting at Elara's bedside, but Chessca was right: they were both gone.

"How did they get out?" She wondered, beginning to search the room in case for whatever reason, they simply couldn't see them from where they were. "How long have they been missing?"

"I just noticed," Chess answered. "But look at the vent. They must have climbed through whilst we were busy with the door."

Dreea sighed, trying to contain her frustration, but she couldn't understand why Sol would take on the challenge of whatever she was doing, on her own.

"Maybe Quill left and she went after him," she guessed. "Maybe they've gone in completely different directions. Either way, I owe it to Wynn to try and find them."

"Dreea," Chessca whispered her refusal, reaching out and latching securely onto her hand. "Please just wait here where it's safe until we know what they're doing."

"I'll be fine-"

"I know you'll be fine, but what about me?" Chessca asked. "Riv's already missing and now you won't be here, either."

"No, but Fenn, Liam and Kodiak are here," Dreea assured her, empathetic to the way Chessca was still afraid of being without her and Sol, even after all this time. She pulled her hand out of Chessca's hold and moved it up to cup the side of her face, delicately smoothing her thumb over her cheek.

"My guess is they've gone after Wynn or gone to evacuate the rest of our people somehow. Quill's not a strong a fighter, so I need to make sure he has backup. Not to mention that Bas isn't in the cells near everybody else; I don't want him to be left behind," she explained. "But you'll be safe if you stay with the others. I know Kodiak's an emotional wreck right now, but he'll still find a way to keep you guys safe. Just trust him, okay?"

Chessca nodded miserable for the sake of not wanting to give Dreea another thing to worry about, but she could see without a doubt how afraid she was.

Dreea pulled her in, colliding their lips together like she didn't know when she would get another shot at it, and lingered for as long as she could.

"I love you," she promised her. "So you know I'll make sure not to get myself killed out there."

"Good," Chessca replied, laughing softly as she wiped away her tears. "Because that would really suck."

////////

Quill pulled himself through the tight turn in the vents, relieved that he knew the room he was looking for was on the same level. He peer through the cracks in each panel he passed by, knowing that he was getting closer and closer to his destination until finally, he saw what he was looking for.

Before he stepped out of his hiding, Quill glanced inside the room, desperately praying that there wouldn't be a guard or someone else from Neptunum inside. He watched for several minutes - determined to be sure that it was safe - before he began to remove the seal to the vent and pushed himself out.

He was quiet - still on alert that at any moment, his plan could fall apart, and took cover behind one of the large, standing panels that divided the room up into sections.

He could hear people; some of the voices were familiar, but there were so many that he couldn't be sure if they all belonged to his people, or if some of them were from Neptunum. But then, as if by fate, someone passed by him, heading over to his side of the room where a large bookshelf stretched from floor to ceiling.

Quill peered around the panel to check the other side, taking his chance once he realised no one else was in sight.

"Izzy," he called out, trying to keep his voice hushed, hating to imagine the idea of his consequences leading to her getting in trouble.

But Izzy turned around, confused at who the voice belonged to as it was one she felt she hadn't heard in a long while, and felt a relief consume her when she saw Quill hiding behind the room divider.

"Uncle Quill," she beamed, dropping the book that was in her hand and hurrying over to him. She immediately embraced him, comforted to see that he was alive, and began looking around for any sign of Wynn or Elara.

"What are you doing here? I didn't see you come in-"

"Shh, shh," Quill hushed her, keeping her close to the wall as he tried to look out for the other children from the Bunker. "No one can know I'm here. I need you to stay quiet."

Izzy nodded, not understanding what was happening, but accepting her responsibility to stay quiet.

"...I can't see around the corner," Quill sighed, debating what he should do. He couldn't leave Harlow and the others here and just leave with Izzy, even though he knew in his heart that his people wouldn't leave the ship without them. He couldn't leave the other behind. He couldn't.

"Where's everyone else?" He asked, bending down low so he didn't have to project his voice.

"They're sitting down waiting for me."

"Waiting?"

Izzy nodded. "Damario told me to pick out a story for us. An 'educational' one," she added, rolling her eyes in amusement.

"I'm guessing Damario's a guy from Neptunum."

She nodded again. "He's the one who watches us all day... Uncle Quill, what's going on?"

"Nothing for you to worry about, I just need to get you out of here," he said, doing his best to conceal his panic for her sake. "All of you..."

"Why don't you just go talk to Damario?"

"He can't know," Quill answered, then, mumbling to himself, "there's no way I can get everyone out without him seeing..."

He took a deep breath, hating himself for what he had to say, but only managing to for the sake of Elara.

"I need you to do something for me, Iz," he whispered. "I need you to get Harlow over here as well. You can tell them... Tell them you need his help choosing a book! That you want it to be a surprise for everyone, but you need his help. Can you do that for me?"

Izzy frowned, beginning to grow nervous. She could tell something was wrong but he was trying to hide it from her.

"What if I mess up? Could I get you in trouble?"

"No, don't think about that," Quill said, squeezing onto her tiny hand. "Everything's going to be fine, okay? You can do this."

"...Okay," Izzy answered, trying to wipe away the fear from her face, not wanting to let him down.

She retreated back over to the distant side of the room, turning the corner and past the dividers which completely blocked Quill out of sight.

"What's wrong, Isobel?" Damario asked, noticing her empty hands. "Couldn't find one you were looking for?"

"Actually, I..." Izzy panicked when she saw Damario beginning to stand up, knowing that he was going to follow after her if she didn't stop him. "I want it to be a surprise for everyone, but I need Harlow to help me chose it."

"Harlow?" He asked.

"Uh huh," Izzy said. "Him and I were talking about one of the books the other day, and I need him to help me find it."

"Alright," Damario smiled at the idea, looking over at the young boy who was sitting cross-legged on the floor and gesturing for him to follow Izzy.

Harlow's face was scrunched up in confusion, but he listened to orders nonetheless, trying to recall the conversation he'd had with Izzy about the books.

"When did we talk about the-"

"Shh!" Izzy warned him, trying to keep him quiet until the reach the far end of the room where Quill was waiting. "You have to stay quiet and don't let the others hear you."

"What-" Harlow frowned, suddenly cutting himself short when he noticed Quill standing up ahead, holding a finger up to his lips.

"No questions, okay?" Quill said. "I need you both to climb inside the vent and do it as quietly as possible."

Izzy swallowed a mouthful of fear, looking over at Harlow to say that she didn't have any clue as to what was going on, either.

"Come on guys, I need you to do this," Quill said. "Everything's going to be okay; I know you're confused and wondering what's going on, but I need you to do this. Bas and Elara would be telling you to listen to me, so you need to do it for them."

"Are they okay?" Izzy asked, suddenly beginning to panic over the idea that something had happened to them.

"...They're fine," Quill said, unable to tell her the truth about Elara's condition. "Just please come with me. Please."

Izzy glanced at Harlow and realising that he wasn't going to make the first move, she stepped forward and climbed into the vent, pushing away all anxiety at crawling into the small space. She crept along, making room for Harlow as she could feel him follow after her, and waited for instruction.

There was a grunt from Quill and then a clicking sound as if a lock had been turned and somehow, she knew that meant they were sealed inside.

"Uncle Quill-"

"I know it's scary. But right now you need to push forward for a minute or two, just until we can be sure that they can't hear us in here. The vent opens up just ahead; you can either go straight or take one of the sides. I need you to turn right for me. Once we're there, then we can talk."

Izzy took a deep breath and forced herself through the vent, still trying to be as quiet as possible. Just like she had been informed, there was a fork in her path, and she turned the corner of the vent, finally shifting into a sitting position as she waited for Quill and Harlow to catch up.

"Now can you tell us what's going on?" She begged, struggling to hold back the warm pool of tears inside her eyes. "Because I'm really scared, Uncle Quill."

"Our people are getting off this ship tonight," he told them. "And Sovereign Riverly and Dreea are trying to get everyone else out, but I needed to come find you two because they were busy."

"What about the others?" Harlow asked. "Mabel, Dex, Joshua and Katherine are back there? Are they going to be okay? Why couldn't they come with us?"

"I couldn't have got all of you out of there without the guy realising. I know he might have been nice to you guys, but the people he's working for aren't very nice to the rest of us, so that's why the Sovereigns are helping us leave. And someone will go back for the others, but I knew that Bas and Elara would have wanted you two safe, so I had to get you out."

"Is that where we're going? To see them?" Izzy asked, her fragile voice begging for hope.

Quill let out a defeated breath, not able to bring himself to confess what had happened to his sister. "We should go-"

"Quill, are you kidding me? Man, you're just like your brother sometimes!"

Quill was startled by the sudden voice he could hear, looking past Izzy to see Dreea also in the vents, making her way towards them. He was lucky that although the vents were hot and felt somewhat claustrophobic, there was enough room for them to sit and move comfortably and more importantly, for all of them to fit inside.

"What the hell were you thinking!?" Dreea asked, unable to even spare a second of relief that Harlow and Izzy were safe. "You and Riv just disappeared on us without even telling us. Why? And where is she? We need to figure out what we're going to do about-"

"I don't know where she is," Quill cut her off. "I was..." He hesitated, quickly nodding down at Izzy when she was facing away from him and shook his head to inform Dreea that she didn't know Elara was dead, before he continued. "I was talking to Elara and the next thing I knew, River was gone and the vent was open. I don't know if she went looking for Wynn; she said something about needing to get our strongest people out of their rooms, but I don't know where she is. All I know is that I had to get to the kids before a riot break out somewhere."

Dreea frowned emphatically, unable to stand frustrated at him for too long. She glanced down at Izzy and Harlow, unable to avoid the fact that not all of the children were there.

"Where are the rest of them?"

"I couldn't get them out," Quill confessed, his voice soaked in misery. "I tried to think of something - of what Wynn would do, but I couldn't-"

"It's okay," Dreea assured him, having grown so protective of Wynn's family ever since he became a Sovereign. "You did good," she said. "We should take them-"

"We can't go back to that room, remember?"

Dreea nodded, thankful that Quill had realised before it was too late. "Riv something about sending everyone to the basement level of the ship. Kodiak mentioned the other day that no one goes down there, so you guys could probably stay hidden, but I need to make sure I have time to get to Bas."

"We'll go to Bas now," Harlow interrupted, not willing to have it any other way.

"Harlow, it might not be safe," Dreea said.

"I know. But ever since I moved into Basilisk, all you and my brother have been training me for is what to when I'm in a situation that isn't safe; how to make sure me and my family are safe. I know this isn't safe, but it doesn't need to be. It just needs to be survivable. That's what Bas always said."

Dreea sighed and looked over at Quill, torn on her decision. She was half amused that it seemed she had been outsmarted by a child. "Kid's got a point."

////////

Quill stood in the hallway keeping Harlow and Izzy close behind him, trying to keep watch for any guards as Dreea worked on getting the door unlocked.

"I hate to rush you-"

"Then don't," Dreea cut him off, refusing to listen to any more as she continued working on the door to Bas' cell, frustrated that her attempts weren't getting her very far.

A couple moments passed and then Quill mumbled her name, weary about saying anything else.

"What, Quill?" Dreea snapped, frustrated that he seemed to be constantly interrupting her.

"A... A guard," he stuttered, nodding in the opposite direction where a guard was hurrying towards them, appearing ravenous for a fight.

"Oh, good. He should have some keys to get in," Dreea said, abandoning the door and beginning to walk over towards the guard, meeting him halfway.

"I don't think it's gonna be that easy," she could hear Quill mutter behind her, but she rolled her eyes and continued onwards until she reached the guard.

"Izzy, Harlow - don't look," she said, watching as the guard who was no in front of her suddenly tensed up and his eyes no doubt widened in fear behind his mask.

Dreea sighed, inconvenienced to say the least, and twisted her blade - which she had discreetly been carrying up her sleeve - into the man's stomach a little deeper. She heard him grunt and then gasp for a breath, but she knew the damage was done.

As he fell to the floor, Dreea rummaged through his pockets for a set of keys that would open the cells, and pulled her blade out of his body, wiping the excess blood on his uniform.

"You were saying?" She said to Quill as she turned back towards the door, smirking as he tried to process how effortless it had been for her.

"N-nothing," Quill shook his head, grateful to have her there. "But good job."

"Ha, thanks," Dreea laughed, finally finding the right key to the door and kicking it open with her boot.

Immediately, Bas sat up from his bed, startled by the loud and forceful noise of their entrance as the door swung on it's hinges.

"Hey, Bas," she smiled, catching her breath as they all stood in the doorway. "Long time no see. It's that you're alive, although you look like s-"

"Thanks Drey," He cut her off, managing a smile as he pushed himself up from his bed, already opening his arms for Harlow who pushed past everyone else, still adapting to the fact that his brother was really alive.

"We're here to get you out, Bas," Harlow mumbled against him, thankful that for all the times Bas had been the one to protect him, he now had the opportunity to return the favour.

"Sounds like a good idea," he smiled, glancing up to see Quill hovering close by, the both of them relieved beyond belief that the other was okay and that against all odds, another part of their family was together again. 

Seven // Part Three
If you have to go; if you have to leave me too, I understand. It's okay.

Well that conversation broke my heart to put it lightly.
If you wanna make it hurt more, listen to Sleeping At Last's cover of Chasing Cars.

It's honestly one of my favourite scenes in the entire series and I've been so looking forward to writing this (I've had part of the speech written out for so long but I ended up adapting on it).

You might have noticed this was a long chapter? Yeah, 5.7K words! I'm serious about trying to get that 100K word count. I actually think I can do it now!!

Hope you all had a merry Chirstmas! Honestly,  I'm spending Christmas and New Years living all alone in a huge house and it was the tinest bit lonely, but for the most part, I like the solitude and hey, I can have all the leftovers to myself!

Happy holidays for the rest of the year!
Stream Evermore !

26/12/20.