Episode Two, Part 3:
Neptunum

When the waves are flooding the shore and I can't find 
my way home anymore, that's when I look at you. 

Wynn sat at the table beside Dreea and Quill, having made sure to take a seat that faced the entrance to the mess hall. He cracked his knuckles, tapping his feet against the ground continuously which caused the table to shake.

Where were they? He kept trying to figure it out as if he had any clue how to start answering; as if he could go off of his instincts like usual, but he couldn't. He knew nothing about Neptunum or what their mission was. The only thing that he seemed sure of was that once a day, a guard would show up at their cells and transport them to the mess hall - feeding them, keeping them alive for some unknown reason...

He could see a guard approaching the entrance and Wynn sat up a little straighter, hopeful that as he moved closer, he'd be able to see Sol and Atlantis trailing along behind him. But the final guard entered the hall - alone - and he sealed the door closed behind him signalling to the others to start bringing out the food.

"...What?" Wynn mumbled, glancing around in every direction to make sure that they hadn't ended up stuck at another table. "Where are they? ...Sol and Atlantis; they're not here?"

Beside him, Dreea joined in with his searching, struggling to keep her thoughts at bay. Everyone else at the table began looking around, all trying to locate their Nobel Sovereign and her sister, but they all came up empty.

"What if something's happened to them?" Wynn asked no one in particular, needing to express his fears somehow.

"Let's try to stay calm," Dreea responded, securing a tight hold on Wynn's wrist, unsure if it was for his comfort or her own. "I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation-"

"And if there isn't?" Wynn interrupted, looking at it intently.

"I... I don't know," Dreea answered. "But neither one of them are here; that means that they must be somewhere together."

"Not necessarily," Wynn said. "Luca and Dante were cellmates, and Dante was..."

"...Was what, Wynn?" Dreea asked, confused at why he had suddenly cut himself short. "Wynn? Talk to me."

"Dante's still not back..." He told her, continuing to glance around the mess hall just in case he was wrong. "And neither is Luca... They're both not here and now Sol and Atlantis are gone."

Dreea gulped, trying to gather her thoughts to find a reasonable answer to where their friends were, but she had nothing. Deep down, she was just as terrified as Wynn was at where the four of them had disappeared to, and who of their people were next.

"I can't just sit here and eat without knowing what's happened to them," Wynn said, already beginning to push himself to his feet. "I'm gonna speak to one of the guards-"

"Wynn, you saw what happened yesterday when Luca left his seat," Dreea warned him. "We can ask one of them when they take us back to our cells, but I'm not having you disappear on me, too. Right now, for whatever reason, it's just you and me, and I need you."

"Dreea..." Wynn sighed, so much anguish escaping with his breath. "Sol would do the same if it was one of us that was missing."

"Wynn-"

"Kodiak would have done the same... Please... I have to find out where they are."

Dreea chewed on her lip, glancing around at the people on their table; Quill and Elara seemed on edge about their brother's intentions and Chessca's big, earthy-brown eyes were on the verge of filling up with tears - unable to hide the fear that had its grip on her with both Sol and Atlantis being gone.

She looked back at Wynn, hating that one of her newfound weaknesses seemed to be his endless desperation to locate the people that were missing from him; the pleading look in his miserable, anxious eyes that had become such a sore sight for her. She didn't want to lose him, too, but she couldn't sit there and ignore the hurt that was already consuming him.

"Okay," she gave in, hoping she had made the right decision. "But please, be careful."

Wynn nodded gratefully, hurrying up from the table and squeezing onto his brother's shoulder as he passed by, trying to assure them that he would be fine as he began to weave his way around the tables, heading over to the nearest wall where a line of guards were waiting on each side.

They were all masked, but he knew they all had their eyes on him - some even debating whether or not to run over to him and force him back to his seat - but to Wynn's surprise, he managed to make his way over to someone without being interrupted.

"Uh, hey," Wynn mumbled, nervously glancing down to read what the guard's name-tag said: Ammon.

"Some of my people aren't here and we were wondering where they are. We haven't been told anything," Wynn said, watching closely at the guards on either side of Ammon - their name-tags reading 'Xander' and 'Leander' - fearful that they might lunge at him at any given moment.

"...You need to head back to your seat," Ammon answered, his voice muffled and distorted by his mask, thankfully concealing his anxiety at having been approached.

"I will," Wynn replied, "but I need you to tell me that my people are safe-"

"Dante and Luca, right?" Ammon interrupted, recalling the names of the two prisoners they had already taken in for the trials. "They'll be returned to their original cells in a day or two and you'll have them back here for rations afterwards."

"What about the others?" Wynn pushed.

"O-others?" Ammon peered around him, trying to count how many vacant seats he could see.

"Sol and Atlantis," Wynn nodded, tender at their names. "They're sisters and they're missing, too. They in one of the cells together, if that helps. And Sol's our Sovereign; the rest of our people will become worried if she's not around. Unless you guys want another riot on your hands, you should probably give me a reason to believe that they're safe."

Wynn could hear Ammon sigh under his mask, turning to glance at the guard labelled 'Xander' at his side. After a few moments of contemplation, Ammon turned back to face him.

"I need you to return to your seat. I'm sure your friends are fine, but I'll look into it."

"Funnily enough, but I don't believe you," Wynn protested, showing his refusal at following the rules.

Ammon fought to inhale a deep breath, trying to regain his authority in front of Leander and all the other guards who were drawn into their confrontation. He knew who Sol and Atlantis were - he and Athena had discussed them in the control room - but he had no knowledge of them being taken to the trials and for reasons he couldn't say, it filled him with sheer anxiety at just imagining they had already been taken.

"I need you to grab your cellmate and follow me," Ammon gave his order, stepping away from the wall and walking towards the table he had seen Wynn stand up from.

Unable to figure out what was going to happen to them, Wynn had no choice but to comply with Ammon's orders, hoping that they might just be taken to wherever Sol and Atlantis were being kept.

As Ammon hovered a few metres away from them, observing the rest of the tables and seeming to make a count of how many people there were, an idea popped into Wynn's head.

"Quill, Liam," he said, keeping his voice low so that Ammon couldn't hear. "I need you guys to swap wristbands. Now. Don't let anyone see."

"What's happening?" Quill asked, nervously beginning to untie his wristband and trading his with Liam's under the table. To their advantage, the steady delivering of food trays and guards moving around the mess hall allowed them to do as Wynn asked without being caught.

"I don't know, but at least you're in my cell, now, and Fenn and Liam are together," Wynn said, twisting his hand to reference the wristbands. "We have to follow the guard," he explained. "I'm hoping that wherever the others are, they'll take us there, too."

"And if not, then all three of us are on our own," Dreea pointed out, worried that all three Sovereigns being separated would have disastrous consequences for their people.

"If I find Sol, we'll figure it out together, but you're scary Sovereign; you're the most capable at taking someone down on your own."

Dreea forced a half-hearted smile his way, trying to share in his confidence for her, but for the first time in a long time, she wasn't so sure she was strong enough to face things on her own.

As Quill stood up, finally having Liam's wristband secured onto him, he waited to follow Wynn and Ammon, feeling slightly better about his odds now that he had his brother with him.

Before Wynn retreated back over to where Ammon was standing, he glanced at Elara, recognising the hollowing despair in her eyes at not only realising that she was without Izzy but now she might have to face whatever uncertainties lie ahead with her brothers, too.

"Don't worry, Ell," he said to her. "Everything's going to be fine. Just like I promised you."

Elara nodded bravely, unable to force a look of believability his way, having no choice but to watch both of her brothers turn and leave her. She felt Fenn wrap his arm around her from her side, trying to assure her that she wouldn't be alone, but it didn't matter: as soon as rations were over, she would be returned to her cell - void of all human interaction for another day. 

Two // Part Three
I'm not having you disappear on me, too. I need you.

Ah, I do love Wynn and Dreea's friendship. They've come a long way since the earlier seasons and I love how Dreea - the scary Sovereign who is fearless and independent and more than capable - has allowed herself to be vulnerable in front of people, especially Wynn who is not only one of her best friends, but her family. It wasn't a relationship I had planned out, it was one that just wrote itself; one that turned out to be one of my most favourites to write.

On a slightly different note, poor Wynn and Dreea (and Chessca)! You readers all know what's happened to Sol and Atlantis, but these guys are pretty sure something terrible has happened to them. What's going to happen next? And what do you think about Ammon? Do you like him, or no?

02/11/20.