Bab 15: The Betrayal
Today the Eternals were forced to say goodbye to a good friend who fed them delicious meals. No one knew what to say it was so quiet you can hear the wind blowing. Debris blew over the tracks the last Deviant left behind as it escaped to the Ocean. The cold corpse laid there growing more stiff under his friend who loved him more than anyone else. Sakura gestured to Druig and casted a spell so he could hear her thoughts. She asked him to prepare a fire at the beach. This had to be done in order to move on. Druig nodded and brought the rest of the group to the beach. No later than an hour went by and she finally exhausted herself. She's covered in soot and blood from the attack, and all she can think of is that she promises she will remember. Sakura leaned in to comfort her by rubbing her back in a circular motion.
Sakura sighed, "You two must have been really close. I am so sorry."
"Ajak diagnosed me with Mahd Wy'ry thousands of years ago attempting to reset me so my mind wasn't fracturing under the weight of my memories. I begged her to allow me to keep my memories of Earth, and Gilgamesh volunteered to keep me safe knowing someday he would have to kill me."
"What is Mahd Wy'ry?"
"Here on Earth people have a similar disease known as post traumatic stress disorder. Whenever danger is near I panic, unable to determine the difference between a present or past memory. These memories force me to frenzy and attack anyone near me despite my relationship with them. I forget who I am from this world, and can only recall myself from another."
"Is that what happened?"
"I couldn't save him..."
"I am so sorry, Thena. We can cremate him on the beach."
Tears flowed down Thena's cheeks like rain. She nodded and kissed his cold corpse gently on the forehead. Remembering every human meal he crafted over years of practice, and when he used to make her laugh all the time. Sakura held on to Thena to comfort her as the boys gathered their strength. Kingo and Ikaris lifted Gilgamesh up off the dirt to carry his heavy corpse to the beach. A woven blanket Druig found was laid so they could wrap him inside. The rest of them gathered firewood for a large bonfire beside the calm waters of the Amazon. Sakura brought Thena to say her final goodbye. She whispered in his ears and took a step back, so Sakura could bring out her cloak of levitation to carry Gilgamesh to his final resting place among the flames. The human, Karun, spoke his prayers in sanskrit as the group stood in silence watching Gilgamesh turn to ash.
At first light Thena collected his ashes in a large black stone cup. She felt the breeze through her hair and the sand collecting itself around her feet. Taking short steps in the water until her pelvis is under. She poured the ashes over the surface of the water praying she will never forget who she was again. On the beach everyone was cleaning up after themselves and standing by for Thena. Sakura had her feet in the water far behind her in case she needed her for any reason. The silence is almost terrifying. From the corner of her eye she watched as Druig walk to her. He was upset that is friend was gone, but no one spent more time with Gilgamesh than Thena did.
Druig rubbed Sakura's back to comfort her, "Are you okay?"
"I hope someday I never have to see you like that. When he died his body completely changed, and he was just gone." Sakura cried.
"I can't promise I'll live longer than you, but no matter where I go I will always love you."
"Our home now is nothing but a wasteland, and you've lost another Eternal. We should go save the humans again."
"Why should we save the humans? What have they done differently from everyone else in the universe? They're a colony of ants born to die."
"I've fought side by side with the people of this planet. I can't allow their sacrifices to be in vain. If we don't stop the convergence my people will die. My friends will die..."
Sersi came to join the conversation, "Please, Druig. You can't stay here anymore. These Deviants are trying to keep us from killing their own kind. They have a conscience now. That makes them more dangerous."
"No, Sersi. That makes them us. Eternals and Deviants. Ashram children. You are asking me to take control of the mind of a celestial. I do not have that kind of power."
"We'll need Phastos."
"Well good luck. He gave up on humans a long time ago."
"Who's Phastos? Another Eternal?" Sakura asked.
Sersi smiled, "Phastos is our inventor. His cosmic energy allows him to create inventions to help humans advance. Some of what he had created brought destruction to the planet, so he's given up his life as an Eternal to live a normal life."
"He sounds like someone who has a big heart."
"He does." Sersi laughed, "Ikaris and I will go find Phastos in America. The rest of you head to the Domo. We will meet you there."
"Where's the Domo?" Sakura asked.
"Iraq." Druig replied.
"Of course it is." Sakura replied as she walked away.
The Eternals scattered to check on the damage they've caused. Searching for possible bodies laying among the corpses of giant beasts. Kingo came across a house with a caved in roof. Two bodies are trapped underneath. At one point they struggled to escape, but the weight of the house crushed them. Sprite found a brown stuffed bunny on the floor soaked in blood. A trail of blood left that house to the forest where the girl passed away from her fatal wounds. She wasn't going to get very far with all her organs hanging out of her stomach. Every battle leaves behind dead loved ones, and this is only one of many.
Close by Thena is picking up the pieces of sharp wood making a pile to start another bonfire for those who have lost their lives during this horrible event. She crafted a pile close to the center of the village so everyone wouldn't have to go far to attend the funeral. Sakura found what was left of the new church Druig built for the community. The two stood watching the metal fortress become a place of death for those who are trapped inside. Sakura opened a portal so those who were still alive could escape to the river.
Druig stepped inside to see the bloody mess, "So many people died, and for what?"
"We can only do so much to help while under attack. Human nature isn't always fight or flight. Some freeze in terror, and or loose any sense of who they were from shock. Leave the humans to attend to their dead."
"As you wish, Queen Sakura."
Sakura smirked, "Go collect our belongings if we have any left. I'll go check on the others."
"Be careful," Druig kisses her on the lips and holds on to her tight.
"I assure you everything will be okay now. Once we find the rest of the Eternals we can make a plan to save the planet and its people again."
"I will hold you to that."
Directly behind her the small Eternal, Sprite, passed by holding bundles of hay to cover the animal carcasses she found close by. A small pile of large pigs and piglets dead in the mud. Flies are having a feast. Naturally, Sakura is curious and joins her in this hardship. She picked up some hay in a bundle and tossed it in the pile. Sprite rolled her eyes and continued to toss more hay over the pigs. This will probably help them decompose better, or at least that's what she thinks Sprite is doing.
"I noticed every Eternal has a unique ability. What can you do?"
Sprite held her palms up to show small circle lights emanating from her fingertips. From the left to the right a bed of multiple colored flowers appeared blooming from the grass she put down. Vines grow from mud underneath tangling itself over the flowers. Sakura leaned in to touch it, but it vanishes if she attempts too.
"I can create illusions."
Sakura smiled, "You and I both."
"I can turn invisible to also avoid conversations I don't want to be in," Sprite vanishes and walks away from her. She moves on to a different area to work on.
"I guess I will see you later than..."
Next to the bonfire Thena built, Kingo is moving large tree stumps around the fire for people to sit down and enjoy the view of the fire. Pulling these huge trees all by himself left him exhausted. His body is covered in sweat. Kingo sat on the final tree he pulled over to the bonfire to rest his muscles. His friend was recording everyone from a distance including Sakura who decided to sit with Kingo. He was friendly enough to talk too unlike some people.
Kingo smiled, "What's it like to be the first human to have lived on more than one planet?"
"Nobody has ever asked me that question before. I feel as if I've lived more than one lifetime in such a short time."
"We all know how that feels."
"How did you hide for so long?"
"Well, some of us hid while others traveled to different countries. Before we came here Gilgamesh and Thena had built a home in isolation. Whereas I became part of the biggest family dynasties in movie history.''
Sakura giggled, "So I've heard."
"As you probably already noticed, Sersi and Ikaris are a couple, but he left her for reasons nobody knows. When he left she lived in London as a school professor for young children. Sprite lived with her because I had to leave her. People start to question why she's so young, but doesn't age. It's been hard, but we make it work."
"Where did Ajak go?"
"She lived alone in the United States. We visited her from time to time like she was our mother. Now that she is gone we have nobody to guide us except for Sersi who Ajak chose to lead us."
"This is a big responsibility. I hope she doesn't feel overwhelmed. When I ruled an entire civilization I had to make many tough decisions, but I was loved by my people nonetheless."
Druig came by to interrupt the conversation, "Hey, so how are we going to meet them in Iraq?"
"I have a private jet we can fly there together. I have a bar on my plane and a karaoke machine."
Druig laughed, "Where is it?"
"We parked it close by. I'll show you where the plane is."
Hoping the aircraft is still standing where it should be. Karun followed Kingo with his camera to record him talking about his short adventure here in the jungle. Birds are singing in circles in the trees. Sand magically formed to dirt further they traveled inward. Only six of them stand between layers of trees and an open space ahead. A space big enough to have planes fly to and from the Amazon. This time there's nothing but a wide open space. Not a single vehicle in sight. Druig stared at Kingo expecting him to explain why his private plane wasn't here like he said it would.
Kingo sighed, "Sersi and Ikaris used it to find Phastos."
"How do you expect us to get there now?" Sprite asked.
"I can bring us there." Sakura said.
"How?" Sprite said.
Sakura pulled out a double finger ring from her pocket, "I have Midgard Magic."
Sliding the ring on her fingers she waved her hands in a circular motion. Sparks flew and created a portal to another part of the world. A portal to Iraq. The Eternals weren't too surprised she had powers considering she lived on another planet for so long. Kingo put his hand through the portal for a moment only to return quickly. The different temperatures and time zones colliding under one spell. This trick is almost unbelievable.
"So you can travel anywhere on Earth whenever you want?" Thena asked.
"Indeed I can." Sakura replied.
"Is it safe?" Sprite asked.
"You are perfectly safe. Just don't go through them while the portal is closing or else you could lose a limb or two."
"That's not very safe." Kingo said.
Druig jumped through the portal and smiled at Sakura, "I trust her completely."
One after the other everyone jumped through the portal to a completely different world on the other side.
Sprite jumped through the portal smiling, "So we're leaving the humans to sort out our mess. I don't have any problem with that."
"We don't have time to handle dead that's not our own," Kingo reminded Sprite.
"I am sure if we stayed it would have resulted in conflict with the humans. It was best that we moved on." Thena added.
Instead of Oak trees decorated on sidewalks in square decor this place has desert palm trees. Buildings surrounded in tough sand from so many feet walking over them. Pathways were made with sand and concrete. Beyond the cities is more sand beyond comprehension. Civilians are on scooters heading home from work after a long day. Traffic is bumper on bumper for miles down the street. The day was almost over.
"Where do you think the others are?" Sprite asked.
"Waiting for us in Babylon." Kingo said.
"...or what's left of it..." Druig added.
Within a second Sakura changed her outfit to a cute black jumper with sunglasses to match a look of a tourist. In one swipe of her finger she gave Druig an attractive outfit under a black leather jacket. His sunglasses are hanging over his eyes only a little bit. A fantastic matching display between the two of them. The six of them reached a big blue gate near the town's end. This gate is decorated in animal art, and color. Behind this massive gate used to be a large community of people. Now the structures are destroyed, and or engulfed in sand. This place is so cold at night. Sakura sat down watching the Eternals relive the world they used to be in. No Ikaris, Phastos, or Sersi in sight. Druig sat down next to Sakura and kept her warm under his arms.
Druig kissed her on the cheek, "This was the first civilization we built from the ground up. We had parties almost every night, and fought Deviants during the day."
"This place must have been incredible. I wish I could have seen it."
"You can."
"What do you mean?"
Sprite waved her palms across the sky as her fingertips glowed in gold, "I can show you our home. A beautiful city where we worked hard to keep everyone healthy and safe."
A large display of tall structures made of clay and sand grew out of her illusion. People in traditional clothing are walking by holding massive baskets of food. Children are sitting nearby with their parents watching Sprite create magical hero stories of the Eternals. Thena was always running off to fight more Deviants by the gate while Gilgamesh drank his way through pure bliss. Sersi dedicated her life to helping the humans in whatever they needed. Every Eternal had a job to do in this old city. Sprite's illusion faded back to a cold wasteland.
Sakura stares in amazement, "I can't wrap my head around how different each continent is. Full of different communities, and colorful traditions."
"Indeed." Kingo smiled.
Everyone made the decision to camp out here for the night under Sprites illusions. That night Druig did his best to keep everyone who traveled near them as far away from them as humanly possible. The next day they waited until the afternoon. All three of them returned safely back to old Babylon. Ikaris and Sersi brought a heavy set African American man wearing rings on his fingers and small earrings. He wore a thin jacket over a stylish sweater vest over a white button down shirt. His jeans are dark but clean from desert dust.
Phastos took a good look at the collected group in front of him, "So we replaced our other Eternals who have passed on with humans."
"Phastos, this is Sakura. She is human, but she's an Avenger. Kingo brought along one of his human agents with him. He is a movie star on Earth."
Kingo smiled, "Welcome back."
"Okay, but why are you here?."
Sakura leaned on Druig, "I am here for emotional support. Druig and I are together thanks to Thor who brought him over to visit me in Norway."
Druig kissed her again, "We're having a baby too."
"I am not going to question that. We're here for the Domo."
Under Sprites illusion she kept everyone invisible to approach what was left of a massive structure in Babylons center. The section was blocked off for humans to discover what's underneath. They brought big cars holding tons of equipment to dig out what is left of this building. Druig controlled their minds to force them to leave. Once all the humans were gone Sprite undid her illusion.
"Where are we?" Sakura asked.
Druig pointed to the building, "We hid it under this big building. Now there's nothing left, except the Domo."
"Where is it?"
"In front of you."
On the palm of Phastos hand he pulled up an image of a triangle shaped spaceship. One swipe on that image brought the big ship to crumple everything around it. Emerging from more than thirty feet deep underground a fearsome black ship floats up to the sky. Below the ship a small opening reveals itself. Ikaris winks at Sakura and floats up on his own to enter the ship. Her cloak of levitation brought her up to the ship to enter a beautiful hallway. Circular carvings are covering the inside and outside of the ship. It's almost identical. Phastos gave those who were left behind foot platforms to float to catch up with everyone else.
"Sakura is really sweet," Sersi said patting Druig on the shoulder, "She can stay for as long as she likes too."
"Thank you, Sersi."
"You really love her, do you?"
"I do."
"You should stay here with her on Earth."
"I'll think about it," Druig replies catching up to Sakura in front of him. He leaned on her to play with her soft long black hair.
Kingo squealed with joy, "This is the perfect moment to film Karun you have to come up here."
"Yes, sir." Karun said, carrying his camera in his hands facing the group behind him walking down the long hallway.
Sakura watched Druig attempt to mind control Karun, but she stopped him within seconds, "Let them do what makes them happy."
"He's annoying."
"Oh, hush, it's not that bad." Sakura giggled.
To the camera Kingo began to perform his dialogue, "A foreboding atmosphere fills the air. An eerie stillness chokes our lungs."
Phastos walking behind him sighed, "What are you doing? You know you are creeping us out right now. You know that, right?"
A loud pop echoed through the hallway. Phastos gasped and looked down to locate where the sound originated from. Next to him he noticed Thena had stepped on a sealed bag of chips on the floor. No one else was surprised considering how the place looked like a disaster. Small nick-nacks and books are scattered all throughout the halls.
Phastos collected the bag of chips from under her foot, "Chips, it's just chips," He pointed out to everyone.
Kingo continued his dialogue, "As you can see, being an Eternal does not preclude you from having human emotions such as cowardice."
Closing in on a big room another character appears to be sitting on a massive golden throne reading a book at high speed. She's a beautiful African American woman with her hair tied back in a decorative ponytail. This woman has stayed here for centuries collecting artifacts from different time periods. Phastos screamed like a small child after witnessing this messy room.
Phastos whined when he entered, "What has she done? Is that a Sarcophagus in my lab?"
In front of the camera Kingo pointed to the figure sitting on the chair reading her book, "This is Makkari, or should I say Miss Havisham. None of us have seen her for centuries."
In sign language Makkari spelled out, 'Ready to go home?'. No one replied to her except with sad faces and sighs across their faces. She leaned back disappointed in their response, and tossed the book on a stack by her feet. Makkari stood up from her golden throne to speak to Kingo who seemed to be in the speaking mood.
Phastos had gold rings appear over his fingers. He moved his hands around staring above his head at the center of the room. A large circular display revealed itself to everyone in the room as he set up his plans to save the world. Thena picked up a large sword and swung it around as if she hadn't seen it in a long time. This sword put a smile on her face. That's all that matters. Sprite ventured through the room of random artifacts to read scrolls and ancient text from Makkari's collection. This knowledge brought her up to speed in what happened in parts of the world she never lived in. Makkari and Kingo are discussing what occurred these past six days of collecting everyone together after Ajak died. In the corner of the room Sakura watches Sersi and Ikaris roam the room searching for treasures. She's patient and stays out of their way by sitting down on a window display. Druig sits beside her to enjoy her company far from Ikaris.
"Did you miss me? Is that why you searched for me?
"Miss you? I tried to forget about you. I wasn't searching for you."
"I am having a hard time believing that."
Kingo scrunched his face, "Get a room, you two."
"What do you see in him?" Phastos asked while creating a possible solution to their problems.
"Phastos I need to control the mind of a Celestial."
"Okay, get ready for it." Phastos replied.
The Eternals circled themselves around a big platform display. At the center is a gold sphere releasing eight small particles of gold. These tiny balls formed to thin gold bracelets circling the sphere. Energy is flowing between every object floating in front of them. No one knew what to make of what Phastos is showing them at this point in time. Druig leaned over to Sakura pointing out the gold jewelry in his display.
Druig smirked, "Gold matches your beauty."
"What can I say? I was born to be a Queen." Sakura replied.
Kingo frowned, "Bracelets? You made us bracelets?"
The golden bracelets vanish to create a massive Celestial matching the description of the mighty Ashiram, but smaller than actual size. Karun is standing behind Kingo recording this fascinating encounter. Proud to be part of something a normal human would normally dream to be part of.
Phastos pointed to his lovely display, "So here's a little Celestial 101. Celestials are the most powerful energy generators in the universe. When Ashram made us he imbued us with infinite cosmic energy to keep our bodies regenerating. The bracelets in theory shut down our regeneration progress. And once that happens, our bodies accumulate extra cosmic energy."
"What for?" Sersi asks.
"Well if the Deviants can absorb our energy. What if we can absorb each other's energy as well? If I can find a way to connect us all, one of us could be immensely powerful, pulling the accumulated energy from the rest forming a uni-mind."
"Terrible name." Sprite said
"We'll Brainstorm... Brainstorm! That's a better name." Kingo said.
"No I invented it so I am calling it whatever I want."
Makkari waved for everyone's attention to sign, "So suppose Druig can, say... put Tiamut to sleep—Then what?"
"We find a new home for the humans on another planet." Said Sersi
"Are we building a big ship, too? Take a pair of each animal." Sprite asked.
"Sprite..." Ikaris said.
"Well, you know what never saved the planet, you're sarcasm." Phastos said
"Space colonization could take decades." Sprite said
"It can happen quickly with our help." Sersi said.
"What if we end up accidentally killing Tiamut? We could be responsible for billions of lives not being created across the universe. Boss, am I right?" Kingo said.
"Say something, Ikaris. You don't think we should be doing this?" Sprite said.
"Ajak chose Sersi to lead us. Sersi should decide." Ikaris said.
"Forget who Ajak chose. You're the strongest. You should be making this decision. Fine keep lying to yourself." Sprite whimpered. She stormed out like a child.
"Sprite..." Ikaris cried out and walked away from the group following his own path.
Phastos whined, "Okay, this is not..."
Kingo follows him through the hall, "Ikaris..."
"Don't run after him, Kingo. Guys...." Phastos said.
The group dispersed in all directions of the ship. Thena moved aside to make her own plans to defeat the Deviant who murdered Gilgamesh. Phastos is working hard to complete his plans watching Sersi step out to find Ikaris. Those who remained in the room stayed to wait for something to happen. Phastos brought up the planet in front of him to see a game plan.
Druig sat on a table near Sakura with his legs up on the table, "I'll do everything I can to put Tiamat to sleep. In the meantime maybe you should go to Nari."
"I have no doubt in my mind you can do this."
"Go see your son."
An alarm blared loud across the room. Flashing red lights across the globe display in the center of the room. Seems like the end of the world. Some parts are more red than others. Sersi runs as everyone jumps to their feet to read the display in front of them. Phastos pulls up a location close to them near the Indian Ocean revealing the most heated levels of where Tiamut will emerge first. It's too late.
"Oh, no," Phastos said.
"What about the Uni-mind?" Sersi asked.
"I haven't figured out a way to connect us, but I'm close. I'm very, very close." Phastos said.
"How much longer?" Sersi asked.
"I don't know, Sersi, Phastos screamed. He handed the orb to Makkari in the palm of her hand, "Find the point of emergence."
At the speed of sound Makkari vanished out of thin air to travel across the world within minutes. She is the fastest machine in the world. Phastos is struggling to find a key element to this new technology he is building. His fellow Eternals are on their toes waiting and watching as the alert grows stronger by the second. This Celestial is about to be born sooner than they've planned. Soon the entire planet will be destroyed in a matter of seconds.
Sakura tightly grips Druig's hand, "It's time."
"When we leave here you'll have to speak to Nari. Keep him calm."
"That's easy for you to say. My heart is racing."
"You are human after all..."
Ikaris storms through the hall to see his fellow Eternals in the big room full of old books and artifacts. Suddenly his eyes glowed gold and beamed the center display. Pieces of gold rings scattered throughout the room. Phastos was struck and landed hard on the floor. He wasn't able to stand up. Those who witnessed walked closer to this circle of Eternals. Gathering in numbers helps improve the possibility of winning.
Kingo yells, "Boss, what are you doing?"
"I've let this go on long enough."
Sersi runs in to help Phastos, "Don't hurt him! He lied to us. He already knew about the emergence."
Kingo, "No he didn't."
"Ajak told me everything when we left Babylon." Ikaris said.
"What" Kingo said.
"You were never gonna let us stop the emergence." Phastos said.
"No, I only wanted to protect you from the Deviants."
"If Ajak wanted you to take her place. Why did she choose me? What have you done?" Sersi cried out.
After she spoke everyone had a moment of realization. He had to not have been chosen for a reason. Sakura created Daggers out of thin air, and prepared herself for the fight of her life. Druig crossed his arms and blocked his girlfriend from view of Ikaris, "He killed her."
"I had to."
"She loved you." Sersi said
"Did she?"
"She loved you." Sersi repeated.
"Do you think it was easy to live with the truth? To know that one day all this would end? To keep on lying to you? If we gave humanity the choice, how many of them would be willing to die so that billions more could be born?"
"We're not giving them a choice. Is this why you're willing to kill? You are so pathetic!" Phastos said
"I'm an Eternal, Phastos. I exist for Arishem. As do you. It's who you are."
Phastos limped to him, "I wouldn't change a single thing about who I am. Born or made, but I do not exist for Arishem. I exist for my family!"
"Then you are making the same mistake Ajak did."
In a blink of an eye Makkari appeared with a smile across her face. She signed, "I found Tiamut."
In that moment Ikaris turned to her with his eyes glowing gold. He loaded his beam to finish her off if he had too. Phastos limped closer to him to maybe stop this once and for all, "No!"
Kingo jumps in front of Makkari to protect her, but she sped to the other side of the room. He was shot by the laser meant to kill her. She returned to the other side of the room to help aid his injury to his abdomen. He's lying on the floor in a lot of pain, "Get out of here!"
Confused, Makkari sped as far away from the Domo as she could within safe distance. Ikaris slowly moved forward to him but kept some safe distance between them with his hands extended defensively. Sersi is hiding behind the crowd crying, unable to make heads or tails of this situation. Kingo stands up to point his index and middle finger producing a large beam of light, "You do not turn against your family. Gilgamesh died because of you."
Ikaris stood firm and said, "You won't succeed against me. And I will kill every one of you if I have to."
"I wouldn't let you get the chance too." Sakura cried outl.
"This is not your fight, Sakura. Stay out of it. Go home to what is left of your family."
"Druig is my family."
"You may not be a coward like Loki, but I assure you are just as selfish as he once was."
Refusing to listen to this any longer, Ikaris tried to leave the Domo. Sprite ran after him to help him, "Wait, I'm coming with you."
"Sprite..." Sersi cried.
Thena walks through the doorway after she had been gone for so long, "What is this?"
In Thena's face Sprite flashed her illusions forcing Ikaris and her to disappear to millions of small bugs swarming to escape until they too vanished in thin air. Suddenly like a swarming fly, Makkari entered the room watching the silence between her friends. Sersi was still in tears cowering behind Kingo. She wiped her tears on her sleeves to move on from this personal situation between Ikaris and her. Phastos is rubbing his forehead to soothe his throbbing headache. Like it or not the planet is about to explode. This is the one and only chance to act now or never.
Makkari signed, "Tiamut is emerging from the Indian Ocean. If we act fast we can get there in time."
"That won't be as easy as it sounds." Sakura signed.
"I can't believe the one person who should be on our side is the one person we have to fight to make this mission possible." Phastos said.
Sersi cries, "I can't believe this is happening right now. He lied to our face..."
Thena took one look around the room, "What's going on? Where did they go?"
"Ikaris knew about the convergence from the beginning. He's going to try to stop us from killing Tiamut." Kingo replied.
"Why would he do that?" Thena questioned.
Makkari signs,"Why did Sprite go with Ikaris?"
Kingo sighed and crossed his arms, "Because she loves him. Oh, you guys didn't pick up on that? He really fooled us didn't he? Karun, let's go."
"Wait, where the hell are you going?" Phastos asked.
"I can't help you guys. I still think Ikaris is right."
"So, that's it, huh? Just gonna follow him?"
"I love the people of this planet, but if you stop this emergence you are preventing so many other worlds like this one from being created. I still have faith in Arishem, but I refuse to hurt any of you for my beliefs."
Makkari grabbed his shoulder and signed, "We need you."
"Even with my help we're no match, It's Ikaris, but I hope to see you on the next planet."
Karun sniffles as he follows Kingo out the door, "Thank you all for all you've done for humanity. It's been a great honor. I will miss you all."
Sakura waves to him, "Go be with your family, Karun, but don't tell them. It's for the best."
"I understand," Karun bowed.
Daylight was still upon them. The two left the ship to go back to the life they've had before this started a week ago. This wasn't a good sign. Alarms are still blaring in the background. Red indications are growing much larger. Time was running out too quickly. Druig sat down curled up in a fetal position leaning on Sakura standing beside him, "Look, if I'm gonna get myself killed going up against Ikaris we'll need to have a back up plan."
Phastos brought up his display again, "All of our powers, even if they are amplified, are not enough to kill a Celestial, so..."
"Well, Sersi did turn a Deviant into a tree."
"I'm sorry, what? You didn't wanna tell me that?"
Makkari signed, "You've never been able to do it before."
Sersi entered the conversation, "I don't know how it happened, okay. And I'm pretty sure I couldn't do it again."
"Well, now is the time to try, don't you think?"
"Phastos, that Deviant is dead. Our plan is to put Tiamut to sleep not to kill it. I can't kill a Celestial."
"Sersi, Sersi."
"We can't! We can't..."
Druig interrupted them, "It's okay, Sersi. I got this..."
"This is too much," Sersi said walking away. She left for a different room to think over her own plans in order to stop Ikaris without killing him either.
"Druig...Are you really up for this?" Sakura asked.
"Thena once told me if you love someone you protect them even when their life depends on it. All I care about is keeping you safe.."
"You won't have too. I will fight for you."
"If you stay here Ikaris will kill you."
"I don't want to leave. What if I never see you again? Druig, I love you. I can't loose you too."
"Don't worry about me, I'll be okay."
"I will find a way. I always do."
Sakura gave him a peck on the cheek and created a large portal to the New York Sanctum. The group carefully watched them as she said her goodbyes to Druig noticing a large old staircase behind her. Little Nari runs down the long set of stairs wearing a red panda onesie. He's holding his red bushy tail to jump through the portal to give Druig a big hug. He was almost in tears seeing his favorite child again after being apart for so long. This beautiful moment brought tears to his eyes.
"I've missed you, lad," Druig smiled.
Phastos waved his arms in the air in shock, "Wait, you have a son? When were you going to tell us you had two kids?"
"Actually, Nari is Loki's son, but he loves Druig." Sakura said.
"How's that possible?"
Makkari nudged Phastos with a smile on her face, and she signed, "Stop, he has a heart if you can believe that."
"No I really can't."
Through the Portal two more tall figures enter the Domo, Stephen and Wong, taking in the scenery. The Eternals did not fear them, and neither did they fear them. This isn't the craziest room they've seen by far. Stephen turned to face Sakura standing next to Druig and the Eternals. He wasn't too surprised to see a bunch of mystical beings from another world.
Stephen pointed at her new friends, "I sent you to South America to retrieve healing herbs, and I found you a week later in a spaceship hanging off the soil of Iraq with my cloak."
"Stephen, these are the Eternals that came here over seven thousand years ago. I'll explain later. We have to leave before the war begins. It's not safe for Nari to be here."
"Seven thousand years ago? What war? Wait, is that the guy?"
Sakura pulled Nari away from Druig so she can pick him up, "We have to go, I'm sorry, sweetie."
"No, mommy. I want to go with Druig."
"So you're name is Druig, Ahuh?" Stephen questioned.
"You've been talking about me?" Druig smiles.
"I have had enough of this," Sakura complained. She closed the portal to the Sanctum and opened another one underneath Stephen and Wong to bring them back to New York as quickly as humanly possible. Before stepping through another portal she looked back imagining what she could do if she stayed, but she had a son to care for. The Emergence is approaching and the war is about to begin. Stephen struggled to find his way back to the front entrance of the Sanctum. Once he caught up to Sakura he returned the cloak to his shoulders. Wong walked through a portal from another part of the building she transported him too. A small quake almost swept them off their feet and knocked over relics from stands. A number of books fell from shelves upstairs causing loud banging noises. Sakura held on to Nari and shielded them from any possible debris as did Wong and Stephen. Ceramic vases fell from high heights smashing to a million pieces. The quake ended and every shelved item that remained stable stood proudly untouched. Stephen stared down at Sakura expecting a proper explanation for this chaos.
"Wong, take Nari, please."
"I don't have time to be your babysitter, Stephen. I have bigger responsibilities than you now."
Stephen rolled his eyes and summoned his cloak to take Nari far enough not to hear this conversation, "Make sure everyone in Kamar-Taj is safe."
"I am the Master of the Mystic Arts. Don't you forget it, Stephen." Wong said opening a portal so he could leave again.
"It's not what you think, Stephen."
"You lied to me."
"I forgot Druig was in South America. The Earthquake washed me ashore far from where I had the portal placed, then I found a civilians who needed my help. I went to the village realizing I was in Peru where Druig built his home away from the humans. I stayed to help him because his people were in trouble, but then the Eternals showed up."
"The Eternals?"
"Yeah, okay. We have a lot to talk about."
Over dinner for two Sakura explained everything in full detail of what she has learned about the Eternals and their true purpose. In order to save some time they've bought some take-out from a restaurant nearby to fulfill their deepest desire for Indian food. Sakura spread out the vegetables and meats over the counter and kept a nice hot pot of rice near the corner of her table. She serves Stephen starting from the beginning of when she met Druig than moved on to the annihilation of Earth. This planet will soon be gone before tomorrow. Stephen dropped his utensils and shoved his plate across the table. In one swift movement he stands up brushing his hair between his finger-tips. The floor starts to quake again, but much more than the last. Food splattered all over the hardwood floors staining any piece of fabric in its path. This time the quake wasn't going to end.
"Go help them save our planet."
"They told me I was human, and I should stay out of it."
"Stay out it? Are you kidding me? You have the power of illusions like Sprite. You can create weapons out of thin air like Thena, and have the strength of a thousand men like Gilgamesh. You can control minds like Druig, and can heal like Ajak could. By a single touch you can shape shift anyone or anything to something living or dead similar to Sersi the new Prime Eternal."
"Do you really believe I could save the world?"
"I believe you could save the entire universe," Stephen said releasing his cloak to aide her in the next mission.
A Mystical aura changed her natural modern clothes to a latex black spider suit. Over her head a golden crown and bendy horns appeared with sparkling green jewels. The cloak of levitation covered her shoulders and flew her to the ceiling of the room. She created a portal above the Indian Ocean and soared across the sky to a smoking volcano. From above she can see Druig connecting to the Uni-Mind in his glowing super suit. His eyes turned and body turned bright gold as he extended himself from the ground. Out of the corner of her eye she caught Ikaris striking him to remove his link to the Eternals Uni-mind. He snagged him and flew away to attempt killing poor Druig in his most vulnerable moment. This was the perfect moment to swing in to action to save him. She soared down in the cloak to catch up with the boys, but it may as well have been too late. Ikaris tossed Druig in front of him and attempting to vaporize him with his beam. Druig hit solid ground and was pushed miles underground by Ikaris and his threatening laser beam. He wouldn't stop beaming him until he thought he knew was dead. Sakura was so afraid she floated backwards to avoid his sight realizing how she was at a slight disadvantage. He flew off to destroy the Domo in the far distance. A perfect opportunity to swoop down to see if he was still alive underneath all that rubble. Sakura gently floated down to see his body covered in dirt and heated rock. Using her bare fingers she pushed the hot stone away burning her finger tips. She placed her palms on his abdomen and pushed a magical green aura through his robotic veins in hopes she could try to revive him. All of her abilities were not strong enough to heal him without cosmic energy. Druig is too far gone.
-end-
-new chapter coming soon-
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone